Chapter 23: Your Majesty’s Certification

Chapter 23: Your Majesty’s Certification

On the other side, Airael and her companions were slowly making their way along a little path in the deep forest.

Though called a path, it was really just a few traces left by those who had walked before, allowing later travelers to follow without getting lost in the lush expanse of this vast woodland.

As they progressed, they were constantly on the lookout.

First, to guard against any monstrous beasts that might suddenly appear, and second, to search for the signs of the Treemen.

From the current information, it seemed that the Treemen were likely hiding within this great forest.

After walking along the path for quite a while, the elves still hadn’t spotted a single Treeman.

It was as if the Treemen didn’t even exist in this vast woodland.

Airael’s face grew somewhat grave.

It appeared that this mission was not as simple as she had imagined.

The group of elves continued on until they came upon a towering tree that was much taller than the surrounding ones, yet they had still not seen a single Treeman.

Now, the sky color was gradually darkening.

“Your Majesty, it’s getting late. It seems we won’t find those Treemen today,” Hela said thoughtfully.

“Mm!”

Airael responded in a low voice, her mood visibly dejected.

Her gaze was drawn to the enormous tree before them.

Seeing this tree again after more than half a month brought her a rush of familiarity.

Unlike her, the other elves gazed at the tree with a look of reverence.

They could only cautiously lift their eyes, often diverting their gaze or keeping their heads bowed.

The Tree of Life was not just the divine tree that nurtured their Elven Race, but also their deity.

“Your Majesty, those Treemen have been in hiding for many years, and since there’s a conflict between them and our Elven Race, it’s only natural they would intentionally avoid us. We won’t be able to find them right away. Let’s try delving deeper tomorrow,” Hela explained, showing no signs of disappointment.

But precisely because of that, she knew the task of finding the Treemen would not be easy.

Upon hearing Hela’s words, Airael finally realized why they hadn’t found the Treemen today.

The Treemen were purposely evading the Elven Race.

Thus, if they followed the paths left by their Elven predecessors, they would surely not see any sign of the Treemen.

Because the Treemen would definitely avoid those paths.

“Hela, since you knew this all along, why didn’t you say so earlier?”

Airael complained angrily to Hela.

Her cheeks puffed up in irritation made her look even cuter.

She had searched tirelessly all afternoon!

“Well, that might be true, but trying doesn’t hurt. What if we actually did find them?”

Hela offered in defense.

Upon hearing this, Airael calmed down: “Alright, you’re right, Hela. It’s just a pity that the Treemen are still hiding from us, and we weren’t able to find them.”

“Then Your Majesty should rest well, and tomorrow we’ll continue our search for the Treemen.”

“Looks like we have no choice. But Hela, you all need to rest well too.”

“Thank you for your concern, Your Majesty. We’ll make sure to rest up.”

After having dinner, except for those who needed to keep watch, the other elves took the opportunity to get some rest.

While the elves were resting, at the same spot, a few large trees revealed their faces and began a meeting.

“The elves are targeting us; they’ve come here to find us.”

The ancient tree spoke.

A tree spoke up in an unfriendly tone, “What do they want? Do they intend to make us submit to them like before?”

The mention of past grievances fuelled its fury.

Its voice, full of anger, startled a flock of birds, transforming the previously quiet forest into a lively scene.

Clearly, this tree held a strong grudge against the events of long ago.

“I’m not sure yet,” the ancient tree replied to the question.

“But I think it’s not the case. The Elven Race isn’t as strong as it once was, and I sense that they don’t harbor any hostility.”

“Then let’s meet with them. The Elven Queen is worth our effort to greet.”

The tree that spoke in the afternoon chimed in.

The other trees remained silent, waiting for the ancient tree to make the call.

After a long pause, the ancient tree finally made a decision, closing its eyes and saying, “Then let’s meet them tomorrow!”

The other Treemen said nothing.

They respected the decision of the ancient one.

Airael was unaware of the Treemen’s deliberations.

Thus, she didn’t know that it was her identity as the Elven Queen that would ultimately allow them to easily locate the Treemen hiding in this vast forest.

Lying in the tent that Celia and Aurora had set up for her, Airael fell asleep immediately.

Traveling was indeed a mentally exhausting endeavor.

Even though her unicorn was a high-ranking mount, it only made her comfortable.

Moreover, after entering the great forest, she had diligently searched for the Treemen all afternoon.

Therefore, her exhaustion for the day was quite significant.

Before long, her soft snores filled the tent.

The next morning, Airael was woken up by Hela.

Rubbing her eyes, she groggily sat up from her bed, then instinctively stretched out her arms in a huge yawn.

Just as she raised her hands, she noticed Hela standing inside the tent with an expressionless face, staring at her.

This made her quickly lower her arms and offer a charming smile to Hela.

“Your Majesty, your earlier behavior was quite disrespectful. I hope you won’t make this mistake again next time!”

Hela said solemnly.

Seeing that Hela had only scolded her a little, Airael felt relieved and quickly apologized, promising, “Teacher Hela, I know I was wrong. I assure you, I’ll never commit such an error again!”

Hela seemed satisfied with this and turned to Celia and Aurora beside her, saying, “Hurry and dress the Queen; we’ll be setting off soon.”

“Yes!”

The two responded promptly and started assisting Airael in getting dressed.

Airael stood up from her bed and stood on the ground like a delicate doll, allowing them to adorn her.

After getting properly dressed, Airael quickly had her breakfast inside the tent.

When she stepped outside, the Royal Palace Guards had already finished their breakfast and assembled.

Each of them stood tall and proud, looking full of vigor.

Airael nodded in satisfaction.

It seemed everyone had rested well last night, and only with that could they have more energy today to seek the Treemen.