I hear a man's voice, not the Elf King's. He comes near us with several elves. It's Orto.
His followers came forward and formed a wall around us. Seeing this, the men who had just attacked me slowly backed away. The Elf King watched the scene with a blank expression on his face, then turned on his heel and motioned with his hand to the assembled elves, and strode swiftly toward the door.
Just before leaving the room, the king stopped in front of me and muttered in a small voice.
"I'm sorry."
Meek followed behind him. Ortó urges us to follow them.
We thought they were going back to their room, but the Elf King walked past them. Meek passes through the room as well. He wondered where he was going, but suddenly the king went into another room. Meek passes that room and continues down the corridor. We follow Meek, worried about the Elf King.
She went into a room a few meters away.
"Hey, what the hell is that?"
I open my mouth to Meek as soon as I enter the room. She sits down in a chair beside me, sighing loudly and looking up at the heavens.
"I am so sorry. I am so sorry that I behaved like that to the person who brought Princess Janice to you. ....... I apologize deeply.
Ortó is bending over deeply. I looked at Sidi and let out a small sigh.
"What the hell happened?"
"Yes. ......"
Ortó looks for a moment at the elves who seem to be his followers. They bow and leave the room. Sidi nods broadly, as if to say it is all right.
"Now I have ordered the young men to guard this room and you. They are the ones who are always with me. You need not worry.
He then turns his gaze alternately to me and Sidi.
"Master Ortó, perhaps, but isn't this what the Elf King was saying to all the elves who came over there just now?"
When I told Ortó exactly what Sidi had explained to me, he looked at me with wide-eyed amazement.
"You know what I'm talking about," he said, "you know exactly what I'm talking about. Where in the world did you get our communication ...... if it was the princess ......?"
"No. It's intuition. I just had a hunch.
"Is ...... so ...... so ......?"
"Elves are just like us, we can naturally read some of their thoughts by looking into their eyes. Facial expressions and eye movements, as well as the circumstances surrounding the elves ......, are all things that you can somehow ...... consider when you look at them."
"No, you're brilliant. You are the daughter of the Dwarf King, are you not? You are indeed a Dwarf. No, it's wonderful.
Thank you very much. But there's something I don't understand. I was wondering if you could help me.
Yes, anything I know.
Why was Leila killed? Is there something wrong with her?"
"...... honestly, I don't know why Leila was killed. She certainly had a way of responding to different people. She was very friendly to those whom she liked, but sometimes cold to those whom she did not like. But she was impeccable in her work. She took care of the queen, and the queen trusted her and depended on her. And now she was killed. The queen's anger was not appeased. ......"
"He called me a god of pestilence."
Meek mutters sadly. Apparently, some rather harsh comments were made about her at the meeting. And it was coming from her own mother. I can only imagine what she is going through. Ortó glanced at her with a sideways glance, but then turned his attention back to Sidhi and continued.
"The queen does not want what happened to Princess Janice to happen again. We elves value our bond more than anything else. It would be unbearable for one of our people to be kidnapped. And even more so when one of our own is taken from us. ....... I can only imagine the pain the queen must be going through. ....... The queen was so upset that she spoke out of her heart to Princess Janice. Besides, she was also rude to all of you ......."
I don't know what the queen was saying about us, but I can easily imagine that she was saying quite a few abusive things. She must have called us a plague of misfortune.
Meek is muttering in a small voice. He has finally returned to his hometown and met the parents he has always wanted to see, and now he is being treated like this. Of course, anyone would be depressed.
Sidi also looked at her with concern, but immediately turned to Ortó and continued.
"I'm sorry, but does the Elf King have another princess? ....... Could that have something to do with what just happened?"
"...... I'm not sure I understand what you are saying."
"I am very sorry. I have a hunch that ...... the people who are around the other princess may have plotted to get rid of Princess Janice."
"Absolutely nothing like that. What proof do you have for such a statement?
Ortó's words are soft, but I sense anger in every word. I interrupt the conversation between them.
"I'm sorry. It happens all the time in our world. It is not so much the children ...... who fight for the throne, but those around them, who often eliminate qualified heirs in order to place the masters they serve on the throne. Now, in hearing Mr. Ortó's story, I am sure that this is not the case only with the Elves, for whom the bond is the most important. I beg your pardon for this."
"...... No, such . We are not gods either. There are many who have an evil heart. I'm sure that this incident was caused by those wicked people. The king just gave me strict orders to find out who killed Leila. It will not be long before the wicked are caught.
After saying this, he walked over to Meek's side and bent down deeply.
"I, Ortó, will do everything in my power to protect you, Your Highness. Please rest assured.
He then turns to leave the room.
"You will all receive some instructions from the king shortly. Until then, please wait for a while.
With these words, he politely closed the door and left the room.
"...... Let's get out of here. Let's get out of here!
Meek opens his mouth as if he had been waiting for Ortó to leave. He has tears in his eyes.
"It's not a good idea to leave now. "It's not a good idea to leave now," he says, "we're being watched by all the elves. It would be suicide to leave now.
"ugh ....... I'm sorry. You were right. I thought ...... my life was in danger. But ....... I had no idea that you would be ....... involved. How can I apologize ......?"
"It's all right. I'm prepared to do that much. I'll take good care of you.
Actually, I was quite anxious too, but I was bluffing in front of my girlfriend. Feeling a little guilty, I unconsciously looked at Sadie next to me. She was in her usual pose with her right index finger under her chin, thinking about something.
"Mr. Linos!"
I thought I heard a calm voice, and Sidhi moved her face closer to mine.
"I know one thing for sure about this case," he said.
"What do you know for sure?"
Yes. I'm talking about the person who killed Leila."
"Oh."
I let out a yelp. I wonder if they've already guessed who did it. As usual, you have great insight. She looked me in the eye and nodded slowly.
"The culprit is in the elven village ......."
...... That's right, of course. It's the only way I can think of.