Chapter 59: The Trouble with Dark Elf Pirates
Once upon a time, Clown had no idea what love was and wouldn’t even bother chasing after it.
But after spending time with Georges, he began to understand a lot of things.
He also realized just how wonderful love could be.
Although he knew that love was nearly impossible for him, it didn’t stop Clown from yearning for the beauty of love in his heart.
To Clown, Arthur and Ailia were undoubtedly a loving couple.
After Arthur and Ailia left the Nick Kingdom, Clown had heard many stories related to them.
Even though Ailia hadn’t appeared in public much lately, Arthur’s actions were simply too heartwarming.
Though it had little to do with Clown, Arthur’s behavior shattered the longing for unattainable love that resided in Clown’s heart.
This made him a bit annoyed with Arthur.
You live a life I long for but can’t have, and yet you abandon that life to live like me!
Arthur’s actions felt like a slap to Clown’s face.
At the same time, Clown was puzzled: Does beautiful love really exist in this world?
Previously, the love between Arthur and Ailia seemed beautiful to Clown, but now it felt like it had all turned to nothing.
Pondering these thoughts put Clown in a rather gloomy mood.
Georges sighed when he saw the prince looking so troubled and said, “Your Highness, don’t think too much. Everything in this world is incredibly complex. Human hearts are unpredictable. For example, a person who may seem kind at first might end up becoming a horrible villain after some experiences.”
“So… people can change?” Clown asked.
Although it was a question, he was already quite certain.
From his perspective, Arthur was the best example.
Initially indifferent to fame, he later became a general in Machia and now a lord.
He started without love, sought love, and now he has given it up.
Isn’t that change?
“As long as you understand. Don’t worry about others; just focus on being yourself. Remember your mission and do what you need to do.”
“I got it, cousin,” Clown replied with a faint smile.
Thanks to Georges’ guidance, the unease and confusion in Clown’s heart temporarily faded away.
Time flowed by.
As youths with aspirations gathered in the capitals of various countries to participate in the highly anticipated Elven Queen’s suitor selection, the preliminary rounds finally kicked off.
The preliminaries were in full swing across the capitals, boosting the local economies along the way.
Though the event drew major attention, it was no concern to the Elven Queen Airael, who after a brief interest, decided to tune it out.
This was merely a distraction she had devised to delay humans.
In the end, it didn’t matter who emerged victorious.
Winning her heart would be far from easy.
Therefore, instead of obsessing over this destined-to-be-a-joke competition, she preferred to focus on the pressing political matters of the Elven Race.
The Elven Race was entering a new development phase, bringing a surge of responsibilities her way.
In a sense, Airael was joyfully suffering through the workload.
Honestly, who wouldn’t want to be a leisurely queen?
With the entire nation supporting her, she should only have to attend to necessary matters, rather than running around chaotically as she did now.
Some essential tasks required her to triple-check due to her unease.
Such burdens drained her spirit.
Lately, Airael faced a new problem.
Dark Elf Pirates!
Although those Dark Elf pirates graciously refrained from attacking Elven ships at sea, traffic between the elves and the mainland had increased dramatically.
There were not only Elven ships sailing but also vessels from other races, with human ships making a majority.
Even though these ships weren’t Elven, they came to trade with the Elves.
If any of these ships were seized, it would undoubtedly impact the Elves.
For example, merchants would become too frightened to trade with the Elven Race anymore.
In such a scenario, Elven merchants would have to actively seek them out for trade.
This was a time-consuming and strenuous task and didn’t align with Airael’s original intent.
Currently, the Elves were in desperate need of trade, particularly with humans, so they required merchants from other races to prefer coming to trade with the Elves.
Thus, the actions of the Dark Elf pirates at sea disrupted Airael’s policies.
At first glance, it seemed that as long as the Dark Elf pirate problem was resolved, all would be well.
However, the key issue was that dealing with the Dark Elf pirates wasn’t straightforward.
As mentioned earlier, the Dark Elf pirates refrained from attacking Elven ships, which left the Elves without grounds to retaliate against them.
As exiled elves, not attacking Elven ships was quite respectful toward the Elven Race.
The Elven Race couldn’t overstep on this matter.
After all, they were eventually kin.
Given the current low Elven population, they couldn’t act too harshly.
Still, this problem had to be resolved; ignoring it would only cause more trouble, ultimately leading to irreversible consequences.
In her office, after finishing a hefty report, Airael sighed and said, “Looks like I need to have a good talk with Mork.”
To untie the knot, one must first face the source, so only the Dark Elves could help resolve their own issues.
Although Airael had previously been enemies with Mork, she didn’t hold a bad impression of him.
Especially after their last encounter, Airael learned that Mork was a person capable of discussion.
Because of that meeting, she now entertained the idea of speaking with Mork.
If they could resolve this through conversation, then she’d prefer to avoid using force.
Also, Mork had an unclear connection with Linis.
Though Linis had stepped back from politics, Airael felt the need to show her some courtesy.
With this plan in mind, Airael began arranging the upcoming conversation.
The process wasn’t going through formal channels like the Ministry of Foreign Affairs; she intended to speak with Mork privately.
During this time, she didn’t want to attract any attention.
Every move she made would be scrutinized due to events surfacing from across the ocean.
Their talk would take place on an unnamed island in the sea.
Airael and Mork each brought their trusted confidants, appearing on the island at the agreed-upon time.
