Five hours later, the Elven Delegation, as well as William, gathered at the throne room to hear Empress Sidonie’s verdict.
To their surprise, the Qilin, Eneru, was also present in the throne room. He stood arrogantly, just like he did a few days ago, but clearly, something in him had changed.
The teenage boy with light-blue hair stood between Nero and the purple-haired woman. He had a very satisfied smile on his face, which could only mean one thing…
William chuckled because he realized that the teenage boy had succeeded in taking the Qilin’s whiskers. This act of ridicule earned him a hateful glare from Eneru.
‘This is all your fault!’ Eneru wanted to gnash his teeth in anger, but he didn’t want to add more insult to his injury. Although everyone in the room was aware of what happened, all of them decided to respectfully remain quiet, with the exception of William, who didn’t care for the Qilin’s feelings.
Although he wasn’t confident that he could beat Eneru in a one on one battle, escaping from the Qilin who was under his suppression was not a hard thing to do.
“Thank you for coming,” Empress Sidonie said in a tone that matched her standing. “After careful consideration, I have finally made my decision.”
The Elves’ and William’s ears perked up as they waited for Empress Sidonie’s decree. The Decree that would decide who would become the second most powerful faction in the Southern Continent.
“The tributes I received from both parties are quite satisfactory, because of this, I have decided to… form a Non-Aggression Pact with both parties.”
Elandorr and William exchanged a glance before looking back at Empress Sidonie. Both of them had calm expressions on their faces. Although an alliance would have been better, having a Non-Aggression Pact was the next best thing they could get from the current Overlord of the continent.
“Of course, this Non-Aggression Pact will only become effective if both parties are able to present the things that they promised,” Empress Sidonie stated. “If the things that you’ve promised this Empress are not delivered then I will make you regret it.”
Empress Sidonie made a gesture and Evexius nodded his head. The Grand Archmage produced a scroll and tossed it in the air.
The scroll unrolled itself and several words materialized in the air.
Just like everyone suspected, the scroll was some kind of contract. The contract stated that everything written on the list, that was given by the Elves, must be delivered in good faith to the Kraetor Army, a week after the Elven Teleportation Gate was operable.
Failure to do so would lead to the immediate deaths of the people whose blood would be printed on the scroll.
The powerful Divinity that the scroll radiated was more than enough to tell everyone that this particular contract had the blessing of a God. A contract that had the backing of a God was something no ordinary mortal would dare break.
Even Pseudo-Demigods and Demigods would have no choice but to take this contract seriously.
“Please, offer a drop of your blood to this contract so that the deal can be finalized,” Evexius declared.
Elandorr was the first to prick his finger to draw a drop of blood. He then flicked it towards the contract. A moment later, the contract glowed and a beam of light shot towards Elandorr’s chest. It was the proof that the contract had now taken effect and the Elven Commander was obligated to uphold his part of the deal.
Alessio followed suit. Since he was the one that revised the resources written in the list, he was confident that he would be able to procure it.
One by one, the Elves followed suit and similar beams of light shot out from their chests. Even the Qilin, Eneru, wasn’t spared, and he, too, was forced to draw his own blood. A Qilin’s blood was very precious, especially a Qilin of Eneru’s rank.
It had the power to strengthen a person’s body, cure ailments, and was often used as an ingredient to make pills that helped warriors break through their bottlenecks in rising up the ranks.
Not only that, it also had the power to ward off miasma for a brief period of time.
The Qilin’s purple blood glowed as it shot towards the contract, binding Eneru to it as well.
After the contract was finalized. Evexius took it back and presented another scroll, this time for William.
However, there was something different on William’s contract. There was an additional condition that William would agree to one of Empress Sidonie’s requests. This request wouldn’t require him to kill, or harm anyone, whether it be physically, emotionally, or spiritually.
There was also an added condition that if William didn’t really want to fulfill Empress Sidonie’s request then he would not be forced to do so.
Although this added condition was strange, William didn’t see any demerits in it.
William took a deep breath before flicking a drop of his blood towards the contract. After the beam of light had penetrated his chest, the negotiation between all parties had finally come to an end.
Elandorr and William once again faced each other and gave their parting words.
“The next time we meet on the battlefield, I will end your life,” Elandorr declared.
“I won’t bring flowers to your funeral,” William replied with a casual smile.
Elandorr snorted before leaving the throne room along with his entourage. Eneru gave William one last hateful glance before taking his leave as well. He swore that if the opportunity presented itself, he would eat the hateful boy’s flesh and drink his blood to vent out the humiliation he suffered at the hands of the blue-haired boy that took his whiskers from him!
“Well then, it is time for me to go as well, Your Majesty.” William gave a brief bow to the Young Empress before turning his back to leave.
Empress Sidonie had to use all of her willpower to prevent herself from reaching out to him and asking him to not leave her side.
Morgana watched all of this with a sad smile because she didn’t know when she would see William again. Perhaps the next time they would see each other would be when the war between the Hellan Kingdom and the Elven Army had reached a conclusion.
Just as William was about to take a step outside of the throne room he stopped and glanced back at Empress Sidonie.
“The reason why I said no to your friend last time was not because I don’t like her,” William said. “It is because I was afraid that I would hurt her feelings.”
The red-headed boy sighed as he looked in front of him, however, he still didn’t move from where he stood. Instead, he continued his explanation.
“Love is like a stretched rubber band. If their feelings for each other are true, neither of them will let either end go. However, if only one is putting effort into the relationship, and decides to let go of the rubber band on their end, the one who is still holding on will get hurt.
“If I survive this war, and your friend’s feelings haven’t changed after I reach my coming of age ceremony, tell her that I will consider giving her my babies. I’m sure that the smiles of our children would be enough to bring down a nation or two.”
Although he said this in a teasing tone, his words also carried a subtle promise.
Empress Sidonie’s gaze softened as she watched the person she loved walk away from her.
Morgana, on the other hand, was grinning from ear to ear because William had subtly told them that he was willing to give them a chance.
A chance was all they needed.
A chance to make the narcissistic Half Elf look at them with eyes filled with Love.
