Chapter 99: Righteous Elif?

Back at the royal palace, shortly after Elif left searching for Marley, things had just started spiraling out of control.

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"Hmm? Dear, my divine sense isn't picking up Elif." Said Marcus while sitting on the throne beside Maria, having just scanned every inch of the royal grounds and coming up empty-handed.

"Tch, that boy, he probably snuck into Yggdrasil." Mentioned Maria, feeling slightly annoyed as she scanned the entirety of Yggdrasil, only to find no traces of Elif, leaving the two somewhat perplexed.

"He couldn't have left Yggdrasil. Could he?" Muttered Marcus as he and Maria scanned the nearby region of Yggdrasil, only getting more confused when they found nothing.

"Alright, enough of this; I'm sure Illumia probably knows where he disappeared to. You there, bring Illumia here." Declared Maria, irritated they'd still found no traces of Elif.

"Yes, Empress Maria." Stated one of the royal guards that lined the sides of the throne room's walls with a deep bow before leaving the throne room.

A few moments later, the guard, Illumia, and Sarah arrived in the throne room.

"You requested my presence, your Majesty?" Asked Illumia with a slight bow while a highly nervous Sarah stood beside her and copied her actions.

"Do you know where Elif has disappeared to?" Questioned Maria, taking note of Sarah's trembling when she asked that question.

"I do not, your Majesty; His Highness had asked me to leave his room while he and Ms. Sarah talked privately." Answered Illumia, causing the already highly nervous Sarah to start trembling.

"It seems like you were the last one to be in contact with Elif before he disappeared, Sarah. Do you know where he could've gone?" Interrupted Marcus, knowing Maria's overbearing personality might backfire when speaking to the already frightened Sarah.

"Y-Yes, y-your M-Majesty." Answered Sarah while stuttering, and even though Elif had ordered her not to say anything, his commands didn't mean much before the Emperor and Empress.

"Well then, can you inform us where Elif is currently located and why he can hide from our senses?"

"H-His H-Highness has left Yggdrasil, and I-I don't know exactly where he is at. T-Though before he left, he summoned a high God-tier artifact from his dimension ring called V-Voids Cloak." Explained Sarah while stammering nearly all of her words.

*Crack*

"That boy, I'm going to have my way with him when he returns home!" Declared Maria angrily while her hand cracked the throne's armrest, causing Sarah to flinch.

"Wait, your Majesties. His Highness isn't the one to blame! It was my fault; I had asked for His Highness's assistance in protecting my sister, so please punish me instead!" Announced Sarah passionately while deeply bowing, surprisingly not stuttering a single time.

"I appreciate the honesty Sarah, but even so, that doesn't change the fact that he disobeyed his punishment and left Yggdrasil." Said Marcus calmly as he eyed the throne room doors opening.

"My oh my. It seems Elif's disappearance has caused quite a commotion." Commented Tiana with a smile as she and Tyler arrived near Maria and Marcus.

"Hahaha, stop trying to punish him, Maria; he's a young boy seeking thrill and adventure; of course, he's going to sneak out. You were the same back then; how many times would you sneak out of Yggdrasil in search of adventure?" Said Tyler with a hearty laugh while remembering Maria's youth.

"Ahh, that little girl would give me a headache every time she snuck out of Yggdrasil; didn't she also use the Voids Cloak as well? Quite the coincidence, if I do say so myself." Mentioned Tiana with a chuckle while remembering all the time's Maria stressed her out.

"Like mother, like son." Muttered Marcus, causing Maria to glare at him while Tyler and Tiana laughed.

"How about instead of reminiscing the past, you help us locate Elif!" Declared Maria angrily as she slammed her fist on the armrest, causing it to crumble to pieces while the entire palace shook in response.

"Nope. We've already been forced to deal with the stress that comes with a thrill-seeking child, and now it's your turn. I want you to experience everything we were forced to experience as well." Said Tiana with a satisfied smirk as she looked at the fuming Maria and the annoyed Marcus.

"Don't worry so much; Elif may be a little reckless every now and then; however, one thing he isn't is foolish." Said Tyler with a smile, which managed to ease Maria's anger somewhat.

"You don't need to tell me that, Father; I know my own son. Now we just have to wait until Elif either returns or takes off the Voids Cloak." Said Maria as she closed her eyes in frustration.

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With that, several hours passed while Maria, Marcus, Tyler, Tiana, Illumia, and Sarah waited in the throne room for Elif to either return home or reveal himself.

"He finally reveals himself, and the first thing he does is confront a group of Celestial cultivators; he's definitely your son, Maria." Remarked Marcus, causing her to huff in annoyance while Tyler and Tiana chuckled.

"Whatever; now that he has deactivated the Voids Cloak, I won't allow him to use it again. He's not concealing himself from my senses again." Replied Maria in a much calmer tone than before, though her anger had only been steadily accumulating.

"I think this is the first time I've seen Elif so angry." Muttered Tiana with a slight frown as she and everyone else except Sarah viewed the scene through their divine sense.

"Elif's personality is very similar to Marcus's, yet at the same time, it's very similar to Maria's as well; it is quite fascinating. He is their child, after all, so it's only expected." Said Tyler with a smile, finding it intriguing to spot Elif's differences and similarities with Maria and Marcus.

"THAT MUDBLOOD!! How dare he attack my child!" Exclaimed Maria, enraged that an Elf would actually attack a member of Elven Royalty.

"I think that's enough, dear; you've killed him. Soul and all." Said Marcus as he attempted to soothe Maria.

"Tch, I should've kept him alive; he didn't deserve such an easy death for attempting to harm our child." Muttered Maria, having vented some of the accumulated anger onto the now-dead Elf.

"Sometimes I wonder if she's matured at all ever since she became an Empress." Muttered Tiana as Tyler nodded in response with a chuckle.

"Anyways, It seems like everything will be over soon. Elif should be returning shortly. And no, she hasn't, mother." Mentioned Marcus, once again resulting in Maria glaring at him.

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"So umm, Marley, you sure you didn't forget anything in the forest? We can always go back and search; I wouldn't mind." Asked Elif nervously as he and Marley stood a few kilometers before the main entrance to Yggdrasil.

"I'm positive, Prince Elif. the only thing that belongs to me is the clothes on my back, and even they are damaged." Answered Marley sadly as she apprehensively looked toward Yggdrasil while still wearing the clothes Elif previously gave her.

"Well then, let us head to the Royal Palace. I'm sure Mother and Father would like to have a word with me." Said Elif with a bitter smile as he and Marley began flying toward Yggdrasil.

Since I was no longer concealing my presence with the Voids Cloak, we couldn't just fly into Yggdrasil without any interruptions, but I'm the Prince, so once the guards recognized my identity, they left me alone as quickly as they approached me. With that being the only disturbance during the flight, we arrived at the royal palace relatively fast, and while the palace usually radiated a majestic presence, today, it felt like I was approaching my doom.

Landing on the ground just before the entrance to the royal palace, Marley and I headed inside while I led the way to the throne room, both of us feeling nervous, though for different reasons.

"You can come in if you want, but I'd suggest staying outside." Advised Elif as he and Marley stood before the entrance to the throne room.

"I-I think I'll stay outside; I'm still not ready to confront Sarah." Said Marley, various emotions like fear, panic, and nervousness filling her heart at the thought of meeting Sarah.

"Guard, guide Marley to my room." Ordered Elif to one of the two guards guarding the doors to the throne room.

"Yes, Prince Elif. Right, this way, Ms. Marley." Replied the guard with a bow before leading Marley to Elif's room.

'No turning back now.' Thought Elif as he took a deep breath before reaching forward and opening the doors.

The moment I opened the doors, I was greeted with the sight of Illumia and Sarah standing below the thrones, Grandfather and Grandmother sitting on the smaller thrones meant for Elaine and I, and Mother and Father sitting on the thrones while glaring at me.

'Heh, only missing Elaine.'

"Mother, Father." Said Elif with a nervous smile while greeting them as confidently as possible.

"Elif." Replied Marcus calmly while Maria continued silently staring at Elif.

"Before you get angry, I can explain." Said Elif, though he quickly stopped talking when he felt Maria's glare intensify.

"There is no need to; we already know everything."

"So then, I'm receiving no punishment?" Asked Elif with a smile, causing Marcus's face to twitch in annoyance while Maria's cracked armest crumbled to pieces under her grip.

"You disobeyed your punishment and sneaked outside Yggdrasil for several hours, yet you're asking for no punishment!? Elif, if you can give me a valid reason why you shouldn't be punished, I won't punish you." Declared Marcus as he rubbed his forehead in irritation.

"You see, Mother and Father, while I may have done exactly what you said, I did it for a logical reason, of course. As the Crown Prince, It's my duty to protect the inhabitants of the Empire from harm's way, and I'd done just that. I'd gone out of my way to risk your anger just to save a young woman from possibly getting raped. As the Prince of the Empire, I couldn't just sit still and do nothing at that knowledge. So while I apologize for my actions, I would've done it again without any hesitation!" Announced Elif in righteous passion as he determinedly stared at Maria and Marcus while also unintentionally gaining the support of the surrounding royal guards.

"Ahh, look at our grandson Tyler. Such an outstanding Prince!" Commented Tiana with a slight smile as she hid her laughter.

"Seeing how virtuous Elif is really makes me feel ashamed of my youth." Replied Tyler with a sigh while not bothering to hide his laughter.

'I hope my acting was good enough; otherwise, I will be severely punished.' Thought Elif nervously while maintaining his determined expression.