Chapter 157: Declaring sovereignty

Vivivia held Perletti’s hand as they slowly walked along the dappled paths of the Elf Forest.

She deliberately maintained a leisurely pace that felt perfectly natural, occasionally turning her head to chat with Perletti. A smile softer than usual — one even she herself had not noticed — lingered on her face.

The route she chose was not secluded. On the contrary, she intentionally passed through several groves and streambanks where elves often gathered.

Whether they were working or resting, the surrounding elves could not help but have their attention drawn to the pair.

Their princess — renowned for her calm discipline and restraint — was now naturally holding the hand of an unfamiliar white-haired girl, chatting and smiling with unmistakable warmth.

Whispers rose behind them like a disturbed swarm of bees before quickly spreading farther into the forest.

“Um… we don’t actually need to keep holding hands the whole time, right?” After walking for a while, Perletti finally whispered softly.

Olivia was not walking quickly at all. She could easily keep up.

This kind of overly intimate physical contact, especially under so many watchful eyes, made her feel slightly uncomfortable. Those probing gazes reminded her of certain unpleasant memories.

Idiot…

Olivia lightly scolded her in her heart, though her expression remained unchanged. Instead, she held Perletti’s hand even more firmly, her fingertips gently stroking the back of her hand in reassurance.

“If we don’t hold hands, how are all these eyes supposed to see clearly?”

What she needed was a clear, unmistakable signal.

An announcement.

A “declaration” that would rapidly spread through the elves’ subtle yet highly efficient social network.

Declaring her claim was only the first step. Before rumors could take shape, she needed to establish the tone first — to make every elf, especially the elders and their politically minded families, see and accept the special bond between herself and Perletti.

Only if public opinion leaned toward acceptance beforehand would her future plans — dealing with the council of elders, and even things far further ahead — have a solid enough foundation.

She did not mind leaving unpleasant memories for others.

Perletti would never be left as a vulnerability for any unclear witch or unknown force to exploit.

“We’re almost there.” She changed the subject, her voice gentle and guiding.

The two stopped.

Before them stood the colossal trunk of the World Tree, like an emerald wall connecting heaven and earth. Vast life energy silently permeated the air.

Standing beneath it, they were as insignificant as fallen leaves.

Looking upward, layer upon layer of canopy disappeared into clouds thousands of meters above, as though supporting another sky entirely.

“Follow me. This way.”

As the supreme sacred relic of the elf race, the outer area of the World Tree surprisingly lacked heavy guards.

The path leading inward was sealed by ancient thorn vines that had naturally grown together like fortress walls.

Yet when Olivia approached with Perletti, those seemingly vicious thorns behaved as though they possessed consciousness. Silently, they retreated to both sides, revealing a quiet path barely wide enough for two people to walk side by side.

The moment they stepped past the thorns, all outside noise vanished.

Smooth milky-white stone slabs stretched beneath their feet, winding deeper ahead.

On both sides of the path grew low clusters of faintly glowing ferns. Petals of various colors drifted down from nowhere, quietly scattering across the road and grass. The air carried the crisp scent of plants mixed with elegant floral fragrance.

Sunlight filtered through the branches overhead into hazy columns of light that slanted into the silent space, where dust slowly danced within the beams.

Perletti curiously looked around.

Compared to the vibrant vitality elsewhere in the Elf Forest, this place felt older, deeper, and more solemn.

“It’s really just as quiet as ever here…” Olivia softly sighed, a trace of relaxation in her tone, as though she had returned to a private refuge from the storm.

She tilted her head toward Perletti, genuine warmth surfacing in her eyes.

“Now that I think about it, it’s thanks to you coming here. Otherwise, with my usual schedule, I’d never find an excuse — or the spare time — to come here and breathe for a while.”

“You have… a lot of work to handle every day?” Perletti asked.

She could feel the faint calluses on Olivia’s palm — traces left behind from years of holding pens and turning through documents.

“Mhm. A lot.” Olivia’s tone was calm, as though discussing the weather. “But those are my responsibilities.”

Beneath that calmness was a burden long since woven into her very bones.

No complaints were needed.

Nor did she need to emphasize it.

When they passed a fork in the road, Perletti saw another figure within this quiet region for the first time.

It was an extremely elderly elf.

His beard and hair were nearly the same color as the surrounding moss. He sat quietly atop a smooth tree root, as though he had already become one with the space around him.

“Princess…?” the old man slowly raised his head. His cloudy eyes struggled to focus before finally landing on Olivia, then shifting toward Perletti beside her. “And this young lady is…?”

“She is the Witch of Light, Perletti,” Olivia introduced clearly and solemnly.

“The… Witch of Light?” the elder murmured, trying to widen his eyes to see more clearly, but ultimately failing.

After a long silence, he slowly shook his head. Wrinkles folded across his face with complicated emotions before finally turning into an almost inaudible sigh.

“I see… I see…”

He asked no further questions and slowly turned back toward the depths beyond the fork.

There stood a pitch-black wall resembling still water, tightly fused with the ancient bark of the World Tree, as though it were an inseparable part of it.

That was the true entrance to the World Tree’s core.

Guarding this place and sensing its subtle changes was the entirety of the old elf’s remaining duty in life.

After leaving the fork and continuing deeper inward, Perletti finally lowered her voice and asked:

“How many elves know that I’m the Witch of Light?”

Compared to the internal secrets of the elf race, she cared far more about how well her own secrets were being kept.

“When I was persuading the council of elders and seeking their support, I revealed quite a bit of key information about you,” Olivia admitted honestly, though she immediately reassured her. “But don’t worry. They only know the identity of the Witch of Light and the significance tied to it. No one knows your appearance. As for your most special trait — the Blood Feast…”

She stopped walking and turned to face Perletti directly.

“I swear upon the honor of the royal family that aside from me, not a second person within the elf race knows about it.”

She paused, a helpless smile curving at her lips.

“It’s just that those old men… ah, the elders, became even more anxious than I was after hearing you were coming.”

For hundreds of years, the World Tree’s “occupation” had hung above the elves like dark clouds that never dispersed.

Both the royal family and the council of elders desperately wished to eliminate it.

When Olivia presented the possibility of the Witch of Light — a card that might change everything — even those normally reserved and unfathomable elders had revealed burning eagerness in their eyes intense enough to leave even her overwhelmed.

Those elders practically wanted to abduct Perletti straight from the Empire immediately.

In the end, only Olivia’s fierce opposition stopped the matter there.

“They’re anxious? I’m anxious too!” Perletti complained quietly. “Light element powers are taboo among witches — you know that perfectly well. If news leaks and other witches find out… I’m the one who’ll suffer.”

“At least regarding that, Titi can rest assured.” Olivia softened her voice further upon seeing her agitation, even using an affectionate nickname. “Everyone in the palace who knows about this are ancient foxes who’ve lived for over a thousand years. They’re extremely shrewd. They understand better than anyone what should be said and what should rot forever inside their stomachs.”

“Is it really okay to describe your own elders like that?” Perletti nearly laughed at her wording.

“That’s not insulting them. It’s an objective statement.” Olivia paused slightly. “And perhaps… a form of praise?”