Chapter 14: Queen Sisi’s Cruel Test and Vilya’s Moral Dilemma

At this moment, within the human army’s camp.

“An envoy from the elves, I presume? Haven’t your elven heroes already departed? That little Lucia truly is quite a dull elf.”

Queen Sisi lay reclined on her bed, propping her head up with her left arm. A peculiar smile played on her lips as she regarded the elven envoy before her.

She was clad only in a thin bath towel. The elf, draped in a long white cloak, watched the queen with palpable awkwardness.

Normally, witnessing a monarch in such a posture would be deemed highly impolite. Yet, was it the queen’s disrespect towards the elven envoy, or the envoy’s impoliteness in observing the queen’s current state?

Nevertheless, having already arrived, the elven envoy could only gaze at the queen.

He lowered his head and spoke respectfully: “Here is a letter from the elves. I hope you can read it now and provide a response I may take back.”

The elf presented the letter with both hands. Queen Sisi offered a faint smile and waved her hand.

A nearby attendant swiftly took the letter, opened it to ensure its safety, then handed it to Queen Sisi.

The queen perused the contents, then, with a pensive smile, looked at the elf before her.

She raised the letter in her hand. “Then, I have a question,” she inquired. “Is the sender of this letter your queen, or someone else entirely?”

The elven envoy looked at the queen, a slight twitch at the corner of his mouth.

He replied, “This… naturally, it is…”

“This is certainly not a letter from your elven queen, is it?” Queen Sisi interjected. “It must be from some peculiar individual among your people. And for you, it must be the same.”

“Though all are elves, one’s stance as an elf is exceptionally important. Just as your current position is clearly not by the side of your elven queen.”

“This matter is exceedingly complex,” the envoy began. “After all, it is an internal affair among our elves. Our internal issues are intricate, and we do not wish for human involvement—”

“Hahahahahahahaha!!!”

Before the envoy could finish, Queen Sisi erupted into a burst of unrestrained laughter.

She fell onto her back on the bed, clutching her stomach, and rolled around with joyous, clear peals of mirth.

The elven envoy watched the queen with profound embarrassment. Queen Sisi, utterly uninhibited, continued to roll, revealing her impressive long legs as she shifted.

Her thin bath towel barely concealed her proud bosom and shapely limbs.

The elf’s gaze darted about, uncertain where to settle, a fact the queen seemed entirely oblivious to.

Queen Sisi laughed until she was breathless, clutching her stomach. Finally, she propped her head up once more, leaning sideways to look at the elf.

She wiped a tear from her eye, a smile still gracing her lips. “What are you saying, elf?” she chuckled. “Are you telling jokes just to amuse me? I truly have never heard such a hilarious jest before.”

“Do you know, nothing is more amusing than an injured clown still trying to act cool? You elves are already in such a state, yet you insist on feigning nobility.”

“You clearly need my help, yet you claim you don’t want human intervention. Your pathetic pride, coupled with your miserable condition, is truly laughable.”

“Why not be more straightforward, my dear elf? When will you cast aside your inexplicable haughtiness and truly humble yourselves, like someone who genuinely needs assistance?”

The envoy gritted his teeth, lowering his head without a word.

Though such remarks constituted an insult to the elves—a transgression they would normally never permit—the current situation was, as Queen Sisi had stated, one of supplication.

Thus, for now, he could only endure it.

“Come now,” Queen Sisi smiled. “Don’t you require an answer from me to take back?”

Queen Sisi rose from the bed, crossing her legs with exquisite grace and extending one foot towards the elf.

The elf froze, staring at her with confusion. Queen Sisi chuckled. “Don’t you understand? Haven’t I already said that you elves must shed your pathetic dignity and haughtiness?”

“Since you are the ones seeking aid, show some awareness. Now, kneel and lick my foot. Allow me to properly instruct you in what you call etiquette.”

“If you please me sufficiently, I shall grant your request.”

“What kind of request is this?!” The elven envoy exclaimed, recoiling in shock. “Your demand is utterly outrageous! This is an insult to me! I protest!”

The elven envoy stumbled back a step, shouting incoherently at Queen Sisi.

His usual elven grace and composure vanished in an instant. He stared, aghast, at the queen’s slender, elegant legs, her perfect ankles, and her fair feet.

Her pearl-like toes seemed to subtly beckon him. His gaze traveled up the length of her leg, drawn towards the tantalizing shadows beyond.

A deep blush spread across his face, rendering even his protest shaky and stammering.

“What, unwilling?”

Queen Sisi leaned her cheek on her hand, a light laugh escaping her. “Since you can’t even show sincerity, what makes you think we would surely help?”

“You seek aid from us humans, yet you refuse to humble yourselves. I don’t know who your leader is, but she wouldn’t even come herself, sending you with just a letter, expecting to gain our human support.”

“Don’t you think you’re being overly confident? Come, I’ll teach you precisely how to beg. Lick well, make me comfortable, and I will grant you money, weapons, and medicine. How does that sound?”

“This… this…”

“Come,” she urged. “Don’t you need these things? I am telling you now, do you deem your dignity more important, or your cause? Let us see, right now, what truly holds more weight for you.”

Queen Sisi watched as the elf slowly knelt, a cruel smile playing on her lips.

The elves were consistently the proudest race on the continent; this was the first time an elf had ever knelt before Queen Sisi, let alone cradled her foot.

The elf trembled, gazing at Queen Sisi’s beautiful, delicate foot. He gently cupped it in his hands, as if holding the most precious treasure in the world.

The elf looked at the queen with despair, but her expression remained unchanged.

Instead, she regarded him with an encouraging gaze, actively extending her foot towards his lips.

Trembling, the elf extended his tongue, a mix of anticipation and resistance as he tentatively reached for those pearl-like toes…

Queen Sisi watched the elf, the smile on her lips growing colder and more ruthless.

She suddenly thrust out her foot, pressing it onto the elf’s face and grinding it slightly.

“Tell me, elf,” she sneered, “do you know how many people would willingly lick my feet? Then tell me, what makes you any different from them?”

“If I were to grant every request from someone willing to lick my feet, I would be far too frivolous.”

“But… but…”

“Stand up, elf,” Queen Sisi commanded. “Unfortunately, I have no interest in you, and therefore, I am unwilling to grant your request.”

“Just as you said, we humans have no intention of involving ourselves in your elven affairs. So, I will not grant your petition. You may relay this as my answer.”

“Wait!” the elf cried out. “Didn’t you say, if only I… if only I licked—”

“Indeed,” the queen replied, “but my purpose was never to have you *servicing* me.”

The queen turned away casually, her cold voice continuing to drift back. “If I desired *that*,” she stated icily, “I would certainly not choose an elf.”

“My objective was to make you elves relinquish your tedious nobility and pathetic dignity. Now, you should be able to let go, shouldn’t you?”

“After all, even an elf has performed the act of licking my feet. What a blow that must be to elven pride!”

“Such was my purpose. Now you should understand how one approaches begging, shouldn’t you? And now I have also shown you that requests are inevitably met with refusal.”

“Now, you understand. If you do, then leave. I wish to rest.”

The elf stared blankly at the queen’s retreating back, a monumental regret and shame swelling within him, making him wish he could bash his head against a wall and die.

His most cherished elven dignity and composure had been mercilessly toyed with by the queen.

Queen Sisi had shown him no quarter, devising every possible means to utterly shatter everything the elves held dear, crushing it beneath her delicate, pretty foot.

He didn’t understand why. Why, why was everything he valued so utterly fragile?

That night, the elven envoy was found hanged from a tree near the camp.

No one knew why.

****

To the North…

“Papa!!!”

I had just reached the entrance of the village when a small figure suddenly rushed forward, wrapping tightly around my waist.

Lia’s sobs and tiny fists pounded against my chest. She clung to me, weeping loudly: “Why, why do you always do this, Papa? Leaving Lia behind and going to such dangerous places!”

“What would Lia do if something happened to you? Don’t you care about Lia’s feelings at all?! I’m so scared, Lia worries so much about you, Papa! And you left me alone with *that woman*—it’s just too much!”

“I’m sorry, Lia,” I said, smiling.

I stroked Lia’s head, still smiling. Just then, the clanking of armor drew closer.

I looked up, meeting Vilya’s gaze as she approached, her brow slightly furrowed. It seemed their private interaction earlier had not been pleasant.

She looked at me, a hint of reproach in her voice. “So, what have you accomplished? If you hadn’t interfered, this situation should have been resolved by now.”

“In fact,” I replied, “it has indeed been resolved now.”

I turned around, and just as I expected, all the deserters emerged.

Their faces showed no trace of defeat, pain, or panic; instead, each wore an expression of relief and contentment.

Vilya stared at them, drawing her blade directly. I immediately reached out and gripped Vilya’s arm.

“They are here to surrender,” I informed her.

“Surrender?”

Vilya seemed to struggle with the word’s meaning, mulling it over before looking at the deserters before her.

They had no other choice.

Rather, I had known this from the moment negotiations began to draw to a close.

Their entire leverage, their only bargaining chip in our discussions, was the very people standing before us.

Yet, I had plainly told them that Vilya held no regard for these people.

These soldiers were merely deserters, possessing neither strength nor honor.

All they desired was to return home alive, and they harbored no particular wish to kill the innocent townspeople.

Therefore, I offered them the simplest path: Vilya would allow them to leave, but they would gain nothing.

Their bottom line was survival.

And I had met their bottom line.

Thus, they would undoubtedly do as I commanded.

Which meant, confessing their crimes to Vilya.

As for Vilya, I understood her.

Vilya was a knight.

She would not kill prisoners of war.

Thus, she could sever their necks without hesitation, yet she would never slay a surrendering foe.

And so, here we were.

“Lady Vilya… please… spare us…” a deserter pleaded, his voice cracking. “We only want to go home… we truly want to return. My wife is waiting for me, and I have a newborn child. Please, let us go home…”

The deserters knelt on the ground, weeping bitterly before Vilya, one even wailing about his misfortunes and family.

Vilya stared blankly at them, then glanced at the somewhat bolder villagers who had come to observe from behind.

She then looked at me, and finally, raised her longsword.

“What are you doing!!!!”

I quickly reached out and seized her arm. Vilya looked at me with icy resolve, uttering each word distinctly: “Deserters must die!”

“But I promised them!” I retorted. “You don’t need to do anything! Just let them leave on their own! Let them go; they haven’t harmed the townspeople, there’s no need for them to die!”

Vilya seemed to disregard my words. She abruptly shoved me aside and raised her blade high above the kneeling deserters.

They watched the descending sword with desperate wails, nowhere to run. Had they not been before Vilya from the start, they might have slipped away.

But now, with everyone exposed to her, the wings of this butterfly of slaughter would surely claim every life.

“No! Don’t do this!!! We don’t have to give them anything, just let them live!”

I tore myself away from Lia and lunged forward, shielding Vilya.

It wasn’t that I cared for these men; their lives and deaths ordinarily meant nothing to me.

But now, it was different. I had promised them survival. The results of our negotiation were clear, and both sides had to abide by them.

Trust was paramount. All the residents were watching. If these men, who had surrendered, were still killed, any future government outreach would fail, and public trust would plummet.

This was the last thing a leader wanted. Retribution could come later, but not now!

“Get out of the way!!”

Vilya’s blade was at my throat once more. For the first time, her eyes held emotion.

I saw anger and regret in her blue gaze, a sight I’d never witnessed before. I knew nothing of her past, nor what fire now burned in her eyes.

Yet, I knew this: if I remained here, Vilya, driven by her past, would sever my head without hesitation.

She was serious.

I had to stop her.

To dissuade Vilya, who was consumed by anger from her past, without knowing anything about it.

Was it this kind of situation again? A single sentence determining my life or death. I truly felt it was a matter of life and death now.

If my words didn’t make Vilya hesitate, I probably would die alongside these men. I had never seen Vilya so agitated. A calm Vilya could kill; an agitated Vilya certainly would.

“Deserters must die!”

“Do you want Lia to witness this again!!!”

I roared at Vilya. “You personally killed her parents in front of her! You killed two people in front of a child, letting her see their mangled remains! Don’t you understand?! This is exactly what Lia fears!”

“You said you wanted to build a good relationship with Lia, but are you going to do something now that will make her resent you even more?! Consider Lia’s feelings!”

Vilya’s blade froze abruptly at my throat.

I looked at the stunned Vilya, letting out a small sigh of relief, but remained vigilant. I continued to gaze at her, softly trying to persuade her: “There’s no need to kill. Don’t kill in front of a child.”

“The war is over; they are no longer deserters. They are merely a group of pathetic, homeless people now, Vilya. The war is over, it’s finished. You are no longer a knight, nor a hero. You are now the lord of this region!”

Vilya watched me silently, her blade still pressed against my throat, but the flames of anger and regret in her eyes slowly faded.

Lia stood to the side, clutching her chest tightly, too terrified to speak, large tears streaming down her face unconsciously. I remained motionless, facing Vilya.

“Clang…”

After a moment, Vilya’s blade slid down from my throat. I felt the cold edge lightly graze my skin, leaving a shallow cut, but she had, nonetheless, withdrawn her sword.

For the first time, she looked utterly helpless, reaching out to gently grip my shoulder.

The deserters behind me were too petrified to make a sound. I turned to them and waved my hand.

They scrambled away on all fours, tumbling and crawling, fleeing the area.

“I’m sorry…” I whispered, looking at Vilya, who was almost leaning her entire weight on me.

I wasn’t sure why I was apologizing…

But I felt, somehow, that I bore some responsibility for Vilya’s current vulnerability…