"So... you ca here as prisoners to... negotiate peace?"
Morvain stared at her with a raised eyebrow once Aurelia was done retelling everything that happened. Together with the Matriarch, the other Council mbers were staring at Aurelia as well. The soldiers and Kayden had already returned to their positions, and Kael and Lavinia...
They too had stopped their public display of affection and were staring at Aurelia like the others—just that Lavinia still wasn’t willing to let go of Kael’s hand, as if afraid that he might leave again.
"That is correct."
Aurelia nodded, looking back into Morvain’s eyes with a solemn look on her face, and Morvain... she just frowned.
"So you are telling ...
Your n surrounded Kael, then you proposed a duel saying that if you lost, you would let him go, you lost, and your n went back on your words, and now... your entire Kingdom would co after Kael because... he killed the people who went back on their words and attacked him and his children...?"
The Matriarch questioned.
And it wasn’t just her; every being present there had a skeptical look on their faces, as if they couldn’t even believe the nonsense they were hearing.
The Sky Kingdom soldiers, on the other hand, shifted uneasily. They too could see how... unreasonable all of this was.
Aurelia, however, was different.
Her expression did not change; even in front of Morvain’s pressure, the General did not back down. Instead—
"You act like this is sothing new."
She countered.
The Matriarch frowned, but the General continued—
"Or is it because it has been so long since the Velmourns beca the outcasts that you people forgot how the real world works?"
The Matriarch narrowed her eyes at those words. Aurelia, however, lifted her head and looked at everyone present right in their eyes.
"What you are implying is true. Everything that happened and everything that will happen from here on out is unreasonable—or outright unfair if you want to call it.
With the injustice Kael has suffered, instead of focusing on ways to negotiate peace, he should be thinking about the compensation he should be seeking.
But...
What I, you, or anyone else thinks simply does not matter.
What matters is only... power."
The General declared, and Lavinia’s eyes flickered at her words.
"The Sky Kingdom can act like this because it has power, far more than what any of you can imagine."
She then turned towards Kael and—
"Sure, you are strong. I won’t deny it; I can never deny it after seeing it with my own eyes. But even then, even though you are as mighty as you are—
I also know that you aren’t arrogant enough to believe that you alone are enough to suppress the Sky Kingdom. This is the reason you agreed to my terms anyway.
Keep in mind, Kael.
The only reason peace negotiations are even possible in this case is because the world and the Sky Kingdom need you for our survival. The Kingdom too will look for reasons to extend a hand in peace, but...
While it will go your way, you still need to understand how or why things are happening the way they are happening.
That is the only way you can grow.
The Kingdom will negotiate, not because you were right, but because you are powerful. If you were weak or did not have the potential you have, they would... just get rid of the ’stain’ on their na.
That is how the world works—
On mutual benefit, mutual use."
The General then once again turned towards the Velmourn Matriarch, who was staring at her with narrowed eyes, and—
"And don’t look at like that. No one, especially you, gets to look at like that.
If you read the history books, it won’t be long before you find out the atrocities your ancestors committed—atrocities that can’t even be compared to anything we or any other Kingdom has done.
The only reason your lot has stopped is because you were defeated and are now weak—
Else the blood you carry is far viler than my own."
"..."
Silence.
Complete silence fell in the courtyard. It wasn’t just the Matriarch; everyone else stared at the General with accusing, dissatisfied eyes.
After all, her words didn’t just target her—they targeted every single one of them.
"Do not twist this on us, Zyphyrian. What our ancestors did has nothing to do with us."
Nyris, the old High Chronicler who usually stayed silent in most conversations, spoke up, her hollow, wise eyes staring right into Aurelia’s.
The General, however, still did not step back—
"It does not matter.
None of it does. I am not shifting the bla on anyone; I am not justifying what your ancestors did, or what my Kingdom is currently doing.
I am here to offer a helping hand."
"You are here because you wanted to live."
Morvain corrected.
"Everyone wants to live."
And the next instant, Aurelia answered.
"Aren’t you people here because you all wish to live? Aren’t you doing everything in your power just so you can survive another day? How are you people any different from ?"
"My people do not go back on the word I give."
Morvain shot back.
"And I am paying for what my n did."
Aurelia answered again, pointing at her bound hands.
For a mont, there was silence.
Both sides couldn’t say anything because sowhere in their hearts, they knew the other side was correct.
They both needed each other. Aurelia needed the Velmourns to survive, to correct her mistakes, and the Velmourns needed Aurelia to... survive.
In the end, Morvain just sighed.
She then glanced at Korvath and—
"Have soone take her away. Prepare a hall to lock her and her people in, and position ten strong tars to keep an eye on them."
She ordered.
"Yes, Matriarch."
Korvath nodded as he took out his communication crystal and started giving orders.
Then, the Matriarch turned towards Kael and—
"I will not be responsible for feeding them."
Kael nodded back. He obviously had no intention of using the already scarce Velmourn rations. He would feed the prisoners and their beasts on his own.
What he needed from Morvain was permission to keep them—not that the Matriarch had a choice in the matter.
After all, they still needed to negotiate with the Sky Kingdom.
"I need to talk to you in private, but right now, there is a more important matter that you need to deal with."
The Matriarch spoke, her eyes still focused on Kael.
Kael nodded again. Now that he was here, Imperia didn’t have to stay with Lavinia and had already returned to the Sanctuary.
The Ant had already briefed him about it, so he directly turned towards Korvath, who nodded at him, not surprised that he already knew.
"Co with ."
The Commander ordered. Kael nodded and began to follow him, but Lavinia held him from behind.
He paused and looked at her, then he nodded at her reassuringly and held her hand even more tightly.
The Hero then nodded at the Mage, gesturing for her to co with him, and the Mage nodded back.
Just like that, the Commander, the Hero, and the Mage left the courtyard. A few minutes later, the prisoners were taken away by the soldiers Korvath had called. Now, the only ones left in the courtyard were Morvain, Aelindra, Tarevian, and Nyris.
Yes, Draksis wasn’t here—after all, he was already kicked out of the Council—but—
"So now he is bringing back prisoners without discussing it with the Council, hmph!"
Aelindra suddenly spoke up, making everyone’s head turn towards her and then—
"That’s what he would have said if he were here."
The Warden of Provisions joked, trying to lighten the tense environnt. After all, too many things were happening at the sa ti; they were all on edge.
"I don’t think so. He would have understood the seriousness of the situation. Kael was left with no choice."
Tarevian tried to defend the ex-council mber, but Aelindra, together with Morvain and Nyris, just stared at him with deadpan looks on their faces and—
"He really would have blad it all on Kael, huh..."
The Voice of the Commonfolk realized it and smiled awkwardly.
"He did try everything to best him and suppress him in any way."
Aelindra comnted.
"It had beco a sort of obsession. I do not know how I would have reacted if I were in Kael’s position and had soone constantly—"
"That is enough."
Suddenly, Morvain spoke up, silencing Aelindra.
The Matriarch then looked at the Warden of Provisions and—
"Did you check the wood Kael’s party brought? How long would all of it last?"
She asked.
"About a month."
Aelindra’s answer ca almost instantly, as if she had been waiting for soone to ask this.
"A month...?"
The Matriarch raised an eyebrow.
"Yes, the party brought a lot."
The Warden of Provisions nodded with a smile.
"And what about the... Divine Tree they brought...?"
Morvain asked as she turned towards Tarevian, and the Voice of the Commonfolk nodded—
"It was planted in an open area, just like Lavinia instructed. Lavinia then used her magic to connect it with the ground. The tree is now alive, just that..."
"What?"
Morvain frowned.
Tarevian hesitated for a mont but then—
"The people...
Their reaction to it... isn’t normal."
He answered with a strange look on his face.
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