~ Chapter 119: Getting to know Duchess Alve’Yahna ~

[Seryanna’s point of view] 

The incident at the gates was not one that either side wished to pursue it any further, especially since it was caused by an individual who was believed to be mentally ill. Speaking of whom, that would also the last time I would ever see that annoying el’doraw who dared to insult my husband. As for Duchess Alve’Yahna Desterus, she welcomed our entire group inside the palace for a more private discussion regarding our journey to the capital of their empire.

With their permission, we escorted Princess Elleyzabelle inside one of the meeting rooms at the first floor, where she was served some nice warm tea, a special blend that was brought over by the Duchess herself apparently. As her guards, Kataryna and I stood behind her chair and waited patiently without partaking in the pleasantries. We did not fear the possibility of poison being served because we had plenty of antidotes with us, besides, if they dared, they would also have to deal with two powerful Breakthrough-ers erasing this entire city off the face of the map.

We did not have to wait for too long for the Duchess before she made her appearance together with her two knights, who were escorting her in the same way we did our Princess. The difference in presence, strength, and equipment was quite clear, and it was my impression that we made them somewhat nervous. Princess Elleyzabelle, however, assured them that as long as they didn’t hold any malicious intentions towards her, neither of us would make a move.

“It’s understandable, but what if there’s a situation like the one from before?” the Duchess politely hinted to my earlier rampage.

“Alkelios Yatagai, that’s a name you should remember, Duchess Alve’Yahna Desterus.” the Princess told her with a polite smile. “Not only is he a Duke of the Albeyater Kingdom, but he is also Duchess Seryanna Draketerus’ husband and a dear friend of the Seyendraugher Royal Family. The vast majority of the draconians in our Kingdom also see him as a Hero worthy of prestige, respect, and the highest of honors. Speaking badly about him, would... not look good on anyone.” she then paused and looked into her eyes “No matter what their rank in the military is or what status they hold within a vast empire.”

The way the Princess spoke just now was with an almost surreal calm that surprised me, but also made me wonder why I took such a violent approach when I was triggered by that man. While it was true that I was mad when my husband was insulted, but was that really the best way of handling that situation or... was it the simple yet pure rage inside me boiling with the desire to speak up before I had the chance to think wisely?

“Indeed, it would be foolish to speak of a nation’s beloved heroes... and the friends of the Royal Family.” the Duchess said as she remained calm in the face of the Princess’ threat, but it seemed as though the hidden meaning of her words was passed on perfectly.

The conversation continued by telling the Duchess about the things we experienced on our way here. She was mostly interested in whether or not we took a liking to the el’doraw nation and if we were treated properly, as expected for our noble status.

We explained that we did not feel as though we encountered anything unusual or unpleasant on the way here, at least from our point of view. The monsters were weak and the bandits we stumbled upon were even weaker. There were adventurers we met and talked with as well nobles and merchants.

In the end, the Duchess seemed pleased that our journey by carriage was a pleasant one and hoped that the rest of it will be the same.

“When we received news that a Royal from Albeyater Kingdom arrived in the port of Offspray, we immediately made plans on how to welcome them to our Anui’Yahna Empire as well. Especially since it seemed as though they would inevitably arrive here sooner or later. Of course, we didn’t expect that you would take a carriage to enjoy the scenery, but after such a long journey by boat, it seemed inevitable.” the Duchess told us.

“Then I presume that the plans we discussed so far in regard to our safe arrival to El’Damaran will have no unforeseen setbacks?”

“Of course.” the Duchess nodded “To the most of our ability, we will first escort you from here to On’Asher Town, where we will rest at Zebraus Inn. The following morning, after we have our breakfast, we will head to Amir’Dalla City, where we will restock on provisions and rest at the Yabur Inn. From Amir’Dalla to El’Damaran it’s a straight road that has been cleaned of both monsters and bandits numerous times. The only slightly dangerous areas will be between On’Asher and Amir’Dalla, but it shouldn’t be anything our knights can’t handle.” she explained with a smile.

“Very well, then shall we depart right away?” Princess Elleyzabelle asked.

“If your Highness has no other plans, we can proceed right away. If your horses are tired, the Town Lord offered to change them for no fee at all.” she declared.

“Very well, then let us depart in an hour. Please have the Stable Master check to see whether or not our horses can still be used. If they were Khosinni, we would not have had any problems, but those beasts aren’t that easy to tame by those who are weaker than they are.” she replied with a nod.

If we had Khosinni, the journey from Offspray to Vazar would have taken us three days at most. They were strong beasts that recovered quickly and were compatible with the use of a Rotiqus potion. On the way here, we tried giving a few drops of it to one of the horses, but all it did was cause the poor beast to be restless and consume its already limited energy faster than before. Tanarotte carried the horse on her back until it recovered.

“Before we depart, I would like to ask what happened to the young lady knight who escorted us here.” the Princess asked.

“Are you referring to Lady Callipso Emerdel?”

“Yes.” she nodded.

“The Lady was sent back to the Ledmerra capital, with a letter of recommendation from me. We were pleased with her excellent job so far. That Royal Knight has potential to become one of this kingdom’s best knights.” the Duchess explained.

“Does escorting us all the way here have anything to do with that recommendation letter you gave her?” the Princess asked.

“Who knows?” the Duchess avoided a direct answer.

With all of our travel preparations done, we made our way to one of the private rooms that was prepared for us during our small stay here. While me and Kataryna took the role of her personal guards, Princess Elleyzabelle took a short bath and changed her clothes. Within one hour, we were ready to depart, and we were surprised to see the Duchess on horseback rather than riding in her own personal carriage.

Kataryna was the one who decided to stay with her Highness in the carriage, while I took the vantage position outside.

Although there was a line to cross the border, with the Duchess escorting us, the elves and el’doraw guarding the gates let us pass immediately. If she said the word to let us through, how could anyone there object? It was the same as going against the ruler of the land.

It was a good thing too; a useless border investigation would have cost us precious time. The sooner we reached El’Damaran the better.

At nightfall, we stopped to make camp in a place the Duchess had prepared for us beforehand. An entire group of soldiers was present there, they had the orders to keep the spot safe and clear of any passing travelers. This also made it a more preferable location for them to camp nearby since the soldiers appeared to go on regular monster hunting patrols.

Once our carriage stopped, I climbed down and prepared the tents. The Duchess had her own military tent prepared for her, which made it almost impossible for us to have a more friendly conversation with her. The journey now felt more formal than it was with Sir Callipso.

We did not mind that they wished to keep the interactions between our two groups limited. Normally, we would have done the same, but since her Highness had some things, she wanted to know directly from the sheep’s mouth, she decided to invite the Duchess over for dinner, which she accepted. Their conversation started simple at first and then continued to a more politically inclined one.

Her Highness had the intention of learning the peculiarities of elven politics and etiquette, which she could not learn from either books or our previous escort. This action did put a small stain on her reputation, but she preferred to be considered uncultured by observing eyes than to act out like a fool in front of the Empress and the High Nobles at the palace. For this, someone who often mingled with those in high society and had a good view of various parts of elven society was perfect. Duchess Alve’Yahna Desterus, as a Battalion Commander of the High General Tes’Mera Palladius was the perfect choice for this, and it appeared as though this humility shown by her Highness was to this woman’s liking. As they talked, she began to open up more and more to us.

Their conversation continued into the late night, but eventually was put to a halt when we received the signal that a monster was lurking around. Of course, we already knew of that critter’s presence, but it didn’t have the courage to get close to us. The presence we emitted wasn’t one to be taken lightly. A few of the Duchess’ soldiers did go after it to kill it and after what seemed like an hour of battle, they returned victorious.

The following day, Tanarotte separated from us and went to scout the local area as well as the road ahead. As an Awakened dragoness, she could easily spread her wings and fly up into the sky to get a bird eye view. If there were any bandit groups or powerful monsters nearby, she would report them immediately, but her main purpose for doing this was to spot any possible ambushes organized by a powerful military force like that of an Empire.

Even if we were equipped with items made by Alkelios, this did not mean that we were free of danger. A group of Breakthrough-ers could easily stop us in our track and even inflict serious damage to us. Discovering them before they launched an attack was Tanarotte’s job, but this did not mean that we were suspecting the Anui’Yahna Empire or the Ledmerra Kingdom of foul play, no, it was a basic precaution any group in our position would have taken.

It was better safe than sorry.

Our arrival to On’Asher was met with a lot of curious eyes. The Duchess and her troops were mostly to blame for this as the soldiers we met the other day were now traveling with us as part of our escort. Initially, it did not make sense for the Duchess to travel only with two knights by her side. Even if she was someone who was overly confident in her own might, I was expecting a few more guards, but once we met the group of soldiers, it made more sense.

Then again, Her Highness was traveling together with only two knights and a squire. While me and Kataryna were dragonesses with a Breakthrough, in front of a group of Breakthrough-ers there was a chance of being defeated.

Just as we were told back in the Ledmerra Kingdom, we saw a lot more Human Heroes over here, but they were working in what could be called a perfect harmony with the elves. This took us by surprise, and seeing our reaction, the Duchess felt obligated to explain.

“The Human Heroes who suddenly appeared on our continent stirred many controversies in the beginning. There were the so-called City States, which appeared over night because a group of Human Heroes managed to take over the seat of the local lord, or there were those who made things like Guilds and Sects, through which they attempted to dominate the local markets and monopolize monster hunting. Our Empress was wise enough to see through all of their schemes and deployed the Empire’s forces before they had the chance to develop into anything dangerous. Although their plans were foiled, we did not put a stigma on them or tried to round them all up for the crimes of the few. Originally, the elven people are not the type to discriminate or abuse others in the first place. Our el’doraw brothers and sisters are proof of our convictions and ways of life. Little by little, step by step, we won over the Human Heroes.”

“At first, they tried to conquer, but when they were stopped, they eagerly merged with your society, is this what you want say?” Princess Elleyzabelle asked as she furrowed her brow.

“Yes.” the Duchess nodded “Elves, by nature, are beautiful and elegant, so we easily captivated their hearts. Our kind didn’t mind mixing with them either, unless, of course, it was the matter of nobility, then the Human Hero had to prove worthy of being together with them.”

“Sounds reasonable, but there’s more to this story than this, isn’t there?” she looked right into her eyes.

“You are sharp, your Highness.” the Duchess giggled. “I guess you already heard of the Human Hero who took the Elf Princess as his bride?” she asked.

“We heard rumors of one Xardun Overtur.”  she replied.

“But I guess you don’t know the whole story of how he managed to reach this status?”

“I’m afraid we didn’t. Can you tell us, please?”

“Of course, it’s not a secret, but on the contrary, it’s a tale we are proud to tell.” she giggled and then began to tell us of how this Xardun came into power.

The story was long and told of how the Human Hero found himself in a remote village on the edge of the Empire just two days before it was raided by the human adventurers from Akutan Empire. The Human Hero, together with the elves there ended up in cages, ready to be sold all across the Human Continent. Unable to accept this fate, the Human Hero used his knowledge and skills to rally up the elves under his banner and fight off the oppressors. It was a difficult battle, but the power of friendship proved to be an incredible asset.

“Power of friendship?” the one to ask was myself.

“Yes, for every elf that joined his crusade and became his friend, his power rose by an impressive magnitude and so did theirs.” she explained.

That sounds an awful lot with Alkelios’ [Dragon Tamer] skill. I thought.

Kataryna looked at me, she was probably thinking the same thing, which was what if for every sapient species in this world there was a ‘tamer’ skill which allowed their users to create bonds and even strengthen them? If this was true, then who was the one with the [Human Tamer] skill?

When this skill was upgraded to the maximum of its potential, then it had the ability to turn its user into the half-species of the ‘tamed’ target. In Alkelios’ case it was a draconian, but would it be the same for the one with the ‘tamed’ target being humans? The idea of a superior human or something like that appearing on the battlefield sent a chill down my spine. It felt a bit ominous, but at the same time... I was made to remember of that strange individual back in Trindania.

When we first met the Dwarf Emperor Mush’Nomv’Azer, he did introduce us to his wife Liquasha Nimer, who was half-dwarf half-human, which I had found to be a bit odd at that time, but back then, my mind was focused on something else. Now that I thought about it, couldn’t it have been possible that... after all, she was the only half there, so naturally, knowing my own husband, I couldn’t help but think that she might have actually been the actual [Dwarf Tamer]?

Or maybe I’m just overthinking it... I shook my head and then let out a sigh.

There was no point to believe this outlandish theory until I actually heard it from that Human Hero himself. All of this could just be a wild guess based on a similar ability or skill, and we might accidentally reveal something about Alkelios, which we didn’t want to.

Maybe it’s some sort of leadership ability? Similar to how the Golden Scales can use their authority to raise the morale of their allies? I thought about it, as for the half-dwarf woman, it was also quite reasonable to think that she was rewarded with this transformation from the deities who watch over the dwarfs.

Anything was possible if you involved the gods and goddesses of this world.

The Duchess then continued her story in regard to how the Human Hero managed to save Princess Ser’Ezire Anui’Yahna and then return her to the empire, however, this wasn’t where the story ended.

“A betrayal?” Princess Elleyzabelle asked raising an eyebrow.

“Yes, and it was from someone we never would have suspected... the 1st Prince Joverick’Ar Anui’Yahna.” the Duchess nodded.

“An aspirer to the crown?”  she asked.

“Indeed.” she nodded “Blinded by greed and fascinated by the power a ruler held, he orchestrated a rebellion through which he was hoping to dethrone his mother. Getting rid of the 1st Princess was merely the first step, but his plans quickly became unraveled by the brilliance of those who still knew where their loyalty remained. The blow against the betrayer was swift and without mercy. Our Empress, through her grand mercy, was the one to strike down the cowardly prince, and with this deed, she also absolved the Anui’Yahna family of the shame that man brought upon them.” she declared.

We did not receive any details regarding how exactly that battle took place or what words were shared in that last moment between the mother and her son. In this story, the Prince came out as a cowardly fool who aspired to more than he deserved only to be struck down by the arm of justice represented by the fair ruler of the Empire. It was a heroic tale meant to shed light on the Empire, but... we were no fools to believe that this was the whole truth.

Even so, we took it as it was and did not ask any questions. We were not here to find out the dirty secrets of the Empire, they could have as many as they desired as long as they agreed in the end to give us the [Elf Queen’s Tears of Joy] with the added bonus of opening the trade routes between our continents.

The Duchess then began to tell us how the Human Hero’s help was crucial during this event because it helped the Empress gain the power she needed in order to fight back. His tactics in taking back the palace from the enemies proved to be flawless, while the safety of the Princess he brought back with him were the political edge she needed in order to convince the otherwise neutral nobles to now stand by her side.

In the following weeks after the death of the betrayer, they rooted out all the rebels from within the Empire while forcing the survivors to flee across the borders. Afterwards, with the help of the Human Hero, the government began to restructure itself while helping those who were affected by these months of unrest to recover. The reforms introduced in this time were much appreciated and welcomed by the vast population, while at the same time, unexpected talents among the Human Heroes rose up here and there.

Thanks to the Human Hero, the Anui’Yahna became a country that welcomed the collaboration with the Human Heroes.

While she was telling this story, we eventually arrived at the Zebraus Inn, where we rented all the rooms available. Princess Elleyzabelle had her own private room, while me and Kataryna shared one. In theory, Tanarotte acted as Princess Elleyzabelle’s maid when she made herself visible, but during this night, she headed off to spy on the locals.

The following day, early in the morning, we received the report from the dragoness.

“From what I have gathered, the elf society is different from the el’doraw one. First of all, only the noble families are Matriarchal in nature, while the commoners and merchants are Patriarchal, but women in general hold a lot more power than men do. It seems that we might be favored because her Highness was the one who made this journey together with her two knights, who are both dragonesses.” this was the first thing that was explained to us.

“Initially, I thought the entire nation was Matriarchal.” Princess Elleyzabelle fell on her thoughts as she said this.

“What about the Human Heroes?” I asked.

“There is indeed a true coexistence happening here. Most of them, however, appear to be infatuated with an elf. In their eyes, the elves are very beautiful and sexually appealing, more so than the other species are. I happened to overhear two of them talking about how blessed they are to arrive in a world where the targets of their hentai fantasies have a chance of being made real.” she explained.

“Hen... tai? What’s that?” Kataryna asked raising an eyebrow.

“I don’t know... it might be some sort of weird human religion.” Tanarotte replied and then shrugged. “The two I saw didn’t seem to be very sane to me... always ogling at the chest of passing by women, but there were also women Human Heroes who acted the same, but some of them kept mentioning ‘B L fantasy’, but again, I have no idea what that is, some sort of secret code maybe?” she shrugged.

“Those terms must be related to their original world, but we’ll have to verify this with other Human Heroes we trust...” Princess Elleyzabelle said.

“Did anything else happened?” I asked, wondering if she stumbled upon orphanages and the like again.

“Well... when I was on the roof of a house, I spotted a creepy-looking beggar who was looking through the bathroom window and muttering the words ‘pretty elf little boys and girls’, so... I broke his arms, shattered his legs, poisoned him with a powerful laxative and then handed him to the guards, labelling him as the worst of the worst criminal. Once I explained why I did all of that to him, I received ten gold drahmas as reward!” she said with a smile.

“You did good.” I nodded.

“You should have killed him and then tossed his body in the woods for the sheep to feast on him.” said Kataryna.

“She did the right thing, that man should be set as an example for anyone else who thinks it’s a good idea to peek on someone in the bathroom, especially children.” Elleyzabelle nodded.

“Hm, somehow... why do I have the feeling that the vast majority of the Human Heroes who arrived on the Elf Continent are nothing but perverts?” Kataryna wondered, and honestly, it made me wonder as well.

“What we might have thought to be unthinkable up until now... it’s quite possible that for the Human Heroes it was just a matter of time until they did it or something that their original society was prepared to fight against, while ours wasn’t.” Princess Elleyzabelle said while she fell into her thoughts again.

Indeed, they were all individuals born and raised in different environments on a different world that lacked magic but was in theory more developed than ours, so the problems in society they faced back there weren’t the same as those in ours. They had simple solutions for problems that had plagued us for generations, and what we believed to be unthinkable was quite doable for them.

“With such an incredible difference in culture, no wonder the other nations fell so easily to their corruption... We should consider ourselves lucky that Alkelios was our strongest influence so far.” Princess Elleyzabelle mumble in silence, but we caught on to her words and we wholeheartedly agreed with her.

“There’s no use mulling over it now, we’ll change the law when the situation arises, and while some acts are unthinkable for us, it’s not like there aren’t any corrupt nobles out there who do things far worse than peeking on children in the bathroom... The Kingdom before Albeyater has seen monsters like that come and go like the seasons of the year and no one did anything to them because they were of noble blood. Before thinking about how the Human Heroes could corrupt Albeyater, let us think about how to prevent the existing nobles from being more corrupt.” Kataryna told us and reminded us once again that the knowledge of the Human Heroes was like a double-edged sword.

It could bring a bountiful and positive change to our nation, but at the same time, it could make it reveal the darkness that was always there, hidden underneath our nose.