Elaris was sitting at the meeting table with her subordinates. Among them, all were quite satisfied with the outcome of the war. They may have lost soldiers, and without a doubt they would honor all the fallen, but at the same time, the losses were much smaller than originally expected.
'Good thing I brought him'
Everyone was injured, and among them the old elf soldier was the one who had taken the most damage in the fight. Tailon against Azharkiel in a battle where neither of them managed to win. When he saw that the war had ended against him, he used a teleportation stone and fled the place.
'From what he said, Azharkiel didn't seem very concerned about the fall of at least half of the cult'
That meant there were only two possibilities: either he simply never cared about the cult, or he had something prepared to rise again from that devastating defeat. Hiderom placed a report in front of her; among it, she saw some captured prisoners, and of course some were corrupted elves, which she didn't care much about, as only two were interesting.
'These two gave up fighting... they don't seem to have loyalty to my sister, nor to the corrupted elves or the rotten part of the world tree'
Ardelion, a seventh circle who could be useful even if Hiderom didn't like that decision much, and Maeryn, a sixth-circle corrupted elf. Both raised their hands to surrender after a few minutes of fighting against Hiderom and his two sons.
"I know you don't agree with this, Lord Hiderom, but we need at least two possible allies to strengthen our forces"
"I know, Queen Elaris"
Upon hearing that title, Elaris felt a slight urge to smile, but the situation was serious, so she kept a neutral expression. Of course, she was somewhat satisfied to have taken that title from the sister she hated so much, and it was even more exciting to think that she had defeated Elithia in a fair fight.
'Even so, I understand you, Hiderom, and because of that I will place these two under your command'
His previously cold face seemed to gain a glint—not something dangerous, since he would follow Elaris's orders to the end—but with those two under his command, he could ensure they would never betray the new elf queen, and if they did, he would kill them without hesitation.
"I will keep an eye on them, Queen Elaris"
The other three who were in the room with them were Cavirieth, who simply reported that Malik had disappeared along with someone, which honestly worried Elaris to the extreme. If that man had escaped, then her kingdom would still be in danger. For her, the elven kingdom would only have peace after all those loyal to Elithia were eliminated. It was dangerous, and because of that she sighed in relief for not having used that incredible item that would increase her circle by one during the fight against Elithia.
'We need to make some plan in case he returns'
The other person was none other than Angela. That was because Virelle was unconscious, just like Enrico since the war ended. Apparently, she came out of a cocoon made of wood without major visible injuries, even so, it was worrying that she still hadn't woken up.
'Did she really break into the ninth circle...'
Angela had suggested that possibility, since that unconscious state could be due to her trying to contain her ninth circle from exploding everything when it was awakened. If that was true, then they had a great ally by their side, and for her to continue with them, Enrico had to remain Elaris's subordinate.
'I wanted to ask why he was so different, but he was brought unconscious by Lyrielle'
The last person in the room was Lyrielle herself, whom Elaris very much wanted to recruit to her side. The girl in front of her had said she would protect the elves' dimension, mainly because Elaris offered the remaining dark elves a place to live there, and they accepted because they felt comfortable in that dimension.
'Now they have a new home and a city just for them, but I feel like this elf will only be loyal to one person'
When Lyrielle brought Enrico while asking them to take care of him, she called him guardian. That was undoubtedly loyalty forming in her, especially because he truly fulfilled his promise to defeat Sairao in her place while she dealt with the traitor of the dark elves. In fact, her eyes drifted outside, wanting to return to stand guard in front of Enrico's door.
'She also seems to like Valença... even if on a smaller scale'
Moments ago, she saw Lyrielle thanking Valença for taking care of Val'Drakar's body. Even if she didn't seem to fully understand the feeling she had upon seeing the face of the former guardian of the dark elves, the elf felt both sad and relieved to now know what the face of that statue looked like in small fragments of her memory.
'It was a good victory for our side, without a doubt. The only problem is Malik and Azharkiel, who fled the battlefield or disappeared.'
It was concerning, which was why she kept thinking about how to respond to possible attacks from the two. With a sigh, she decided to continue the meeting quickly so they could rest more. Even though a few days had passed since the war, everyone was still helping rebuild the cities.
The meeting didn't last long. More information was delivered to her about the reconstruction of the cities, along with the continent beginning to return to normal after Elithia's death. In addition, Elaris herself was using the blessing to accelerate this process.
"With everything analyzed, I would like you all to rest for today"
"But, Queen Elaris, we can help with the reconstru—"
"That is an order from Queen Tailon"
The older elf seemed discouraged before leaving along with Hiderom and a hurried Lyrielle, who went ahead. The only ones left in the room were Elaris and Angela. Before the maid left, the new queen stood up to say something.
"Angela, could you call Valença? I need to speak with her"
"Of course, Queen Elaris, I'll be quick"
She made a small bow before leaving in a bit of a hurry. Just like Lyrielle, Angela wanted to quickly reach the nurse to take care of both Enrico and Virelle, as both were in the same luxurious place Elaris had provided for their care.
"It's time"
The new elf queen stretched her arms a bit before straightening her posture. What would happen in that room would be an important negotiation. Since Enrico was unconscious, it was better to speak with one of his future wives.
"You called me, Miss Elaris?"
'That was really fast'
"You may come in, Valença, the door is open. Go ahead and sit down, there are many chairs"
Valença entered with curiosity and, as Elaris asked, sat in one of the chairs—specifically, the one right in front of the elf queen. Seeing Elaris's serious face, her curious expression also turned serious, as that look meant it was a serious conversation.
"Let me in and become one of Enrico's wives"
"I knew it"