Queen Amara

After Lucas, for the first time, made a friend in his new life, they sat together and talked while on the way to the capital after entering the elven domain, Eldrath. Seven hours passed by when they finally reached the capital, Zefirah. The capital was filled with life: elves, humans, beastfolk, and multiple different races were inside, enjoying themselves. The buildings were almost all white and pristine, and nature could be seen everywhere, with birds and different types of animals roaming around.

After another hour, they finally arrived at the castle of the royal elf family. Sylv and Lucas stood in front of the huge, luxurious gate, with the royal guards behind them, occasionally throwing hateful glances at Lucas.

As for Luna, she wanted to explore the capital. Lucas gave her the okay since she could always use her link to communicate with him if something were to happen. However, he doubted that anyone would dare to cause trouble inside the capital right now.

"Wow..." was the only thing Lucas could say as his eyes were caught by the incredibly huge and majestic castle in front of him.

Seeing his reaction, Sylv was satisfied and had a proud smile on her face.

"Amazing, isn't it?"

"Yeah... it definitely is. Are you sure a 'human' like me is allowed to enter?"

"Of course. You aren't the first human to enter our castle, though your reason for entering is definitely a first," she said while chuckling.

As the gates opened and they entered the castle, before anyone could react, a silver blur passed by Lucas and went straight for the silver-haired elf next to him.

"My daughter, how are you? Are you hurt? It must have been scary!" A mature woman with long silver hair, resembling Sylv's, and the same eyes as her, hugged Sylv in a tight embrace while bombarding her with questions.

Amara Velariah, the queen of Eldrath, the elf kingdom, exuded a motherly aura as she worriedly checked her daughter for injuries. Her face resembled Sylv's, and Lucas couldn't help but think that Sylv would grow to look exactly like her in the future.

"Mother! You are embarrassing me in front of Lucas!" Sylv screamed with a red face as she tried to pry herself from her mother's embrace.

"Eh? Lucas, you say?" The queen suddenly remembered where she was, straightened her back, and coughed to hide her embarrassment as the guards and Lucas watched her.

"Excuse me for showing you such a side of me," the queen said as she finally let go of her daughter and looked at Lucas.

Lucas stood with his back straight and his hands behind his back, exuding confidence and pride. He thought that even though she was his friend's mother, she was still the queen of the entire elven domain, so he should at least look presentable.

"It's alright, Queen Amara. It is normal for a mother to worry about her daughter," Lucas said, looking straight into the queen's eyes.

The queen was surprised at the boy's attitude and confident demeanor. She was also taken aback by how handsome he was.

Suddenly, she bowed her head slightly. "You are right. As a mother, I would like to sincerely thank you for saving my daughter's life," she said.

"M-mother, please lift your head back up!" Sylv was flustered, while Lucas remained composed, though his eyes betrayed his surprise.

"It is alright, Queen Amara. Please raise your head. It was my mission to escort her back safely," Lucas said awkwardly.

As the queen raised her head, she examined Lucas further. She couldn't shake the feeling that there was something different about him—he wasn't like all the other humans she had met. Despite her efforts, she couldn't quite put her finger on what it was, except for his confident aura and handsome face.

Suddenly, she changed her demeanor to that of the queen of the entire elven race. "Please, Lucas, I would like us to talk further in a private room, without prying eyes."

"Sure, I don't mind," Lucas responded.

"Can I join as well, Mother?" Sylv asked nervously, unsure if she was allowed to be part of their conversation.

Hearing her daughter's question, the queen was extremely surprised inwardly, almost breaking her royal facade again.

'Huh, since when did my daughter become so interested in someone?'

She started evaluating Lucas again. She remembered that her daughter never wanted to hang out a lot with other people because she never trusted them. This made her extremely worried, but she knew it was because her daughter was special and had a greater blessing from the World Tree, allowing her to summon spirits.

So she was bewildered that her daughter, instead of trying to avoid Lucas, was actually wanting to stay and join them.

'Does that mean she trusts him? And he is a handsome boy as well. Hmm...'

"I-I can't?" Sylv asked anxiously, thinking that her mother's silence probably meant it was a problem.

As the queen snapped out of her thoughts, she turned towards her daughter and, breaking her queenly facade for a second, said with a teasing smile, meant only for Sylv to see, "Of course, I would love for you to join~"

***************

The three of them could be seen sitting on comfy chairs inside a luxurious room with a round table in the middle, all sipping tea.

Queen Amara had long abandoned her queenly facade, as there were no guards present.

"So, Lucas, you are the son of Alexander Nightstar and Violet Nightstar, huh..." Queen Amara said.

'To think Sylviette finally made a friend, I want to cry tears of joy!'

"You know my parents, Queen Amara?" Lucas said in surprise, feeling a bit more at ease now that the queen was acting informally.

"Please call me Amara, Lucas. In fact, just call me aunt, since you are a friend of my daughter~," she said teasingly, glancing at Sylv, who pouted in response.

"Mother! Stop being annoying; you're just making everything awkward!" Sylv said, clearly frustrated.

"Ara, are you embarrassed~" the queen teased further.

"Ugh... by the way, Mom, where is Father and Brother?" Sylv asked, grumbling at her mother's teasing while the tips of her ears were a little red.

Sylv also had an older brother, Raphael Velariah, who was set to inherit the throne of Eldrath. Despite him being the successor to the throne instead of Sylviette, she didn't harbor any resentment. She didn't care much about becoming queen; she just wanted to live her life freely. She loved her family dearly, and they were extremely close, unlike most noble human families.

"Your brother and father are currently in a meeting. They should be almost done and are already informed about your return and the attack that happened by the dark elves on you," Queen Amara replied, her voice turning cold at the mention of the attack, sending shivers down Sylv's spine, though Lucas seemed unaffected.

"As for your question, Lucas, I met your parents a few times and talked to them at some social parties," Queen Amara explained.

"Though I have to say, the Nightstars certainly are interesting~" she added, hinting at something that only Lucas and Queen Amara understood.

"Huh, what do you mean? Is there something with the Nightstar family?" Sylv asked, confused and not understanding the looks exchanged between them.

Sighing at the queen's antics, Lucas answered, "For your information, I don't really care or know either why we refuse to become a higher class even though we have more than enough power for it."

"Huh? Is your family extremely powerful, Lucas?" Sylv asked, her eyes sparkling with curiosity. She loved mysteries!

'Is his family perhaps some secret powerhouse!?' she wondered with anticipation.

Seeing her look and question, Lucas already knew what she was thinking, but he wasn't going to confirm her suspicions.

"Don't worry, I won't pry further into why your parents do as long as it doesn't endanger Myrniel or the elves," Queen Amara said, not wanting to put Lucas in a difficult position.

"Thanks, Queen Amar— cough Aunt," Lucas said with a bitter smile after almost being formal with her, quickly changing his tone after seeing her smile turning cold.

'Her smile reminds me of when mother gets angry!' he thought.

After that, they had a light chat, happily enjoying themselves until they heard a knock on the door.

"Yes, you may come in," Sylv's mother said in her queen-like tone, reverting to her formal demeanor.

A butler entered, his head bowed, and spoke, "My queen, His Majesty and the Prince have returned and requested everyone's presence in the throne room."

"Well, let's get going then, Lucas and Sylv~,"