š Scene ā The Plan That Hides the Truth
The King of the Demi-Humans sat upon his throne, lost in deep thought, focusing all his senses on a single question:
How had the rumors about the legendary flower spread so quickly across the continent of Mira?
His mind moved in closed circlesāanalyzing, connecting, eliminatingā¦
Thinking of betrayal, and who could be behind it.
The first to come to mind was the dark elves.
But after a few moments, he shook his head, dismissing the idea.
The dark elves would lose far more than they would gain if they had spread such rumors.
The King of the Demi-Humans let out a deep sigh, as fatigue began to creep into his mindā¦
Before he could continue thinking, the silence was broken by the voice of a herald:
"My lordā¦ the duke and his wife request an audience. Shall we allow them to enter?"
As soon as the king heard this, he rose from his throne and walked toward the grand doors, saying quickly:
"Let them inā¦ let them in!"
šŖ An Unexpected Meeting
The great doors of the hall opened, and the duke and his wife entered.
The moment the king's eyes fell upon his sister, his expression brightened, and he laughed out loud, as if his worries had vanished in an instant.
He hurried toward her and embraced her warmly, saying with joy:
"I've missed you, my sister! Why don't you visit me more often? Have you forgotten me?"
She looked at him, shaking her head slightly with a laugh, while the Demi-Human King's tail swayed with visible happiness. She said:
"I've missed you too, my brother."
The duke stood beside them, smiling, then said:
"I came to speak with you about an important matter, my lordā¦ but my wife insisted on coming along to see you."
The King of the Demi-Humans looked at his sister and laughed:
"Her behavior hasn't changed even after growing up, has it?"
The duke nodded with a somewhat resigned tone:
"Indeedā¦ she still has a bit of childish thinking. Honestly, I can't understand her actions or control them."
š An Unexpected Request
The wife looked at both her husband and her brother with annoyance and said:
"I've grown up now! I came here to check on my brother, not to joke around! You're both really annoying."
The king looked at her and quickly nodded, trying to calm her:
"Alright, alrightā¦ you're right. You're wonderful, and you've truly grown."
She felt the sincerity in his words, but didn't back down, saying firmly:
"Thenā¦ I want a gift as an apology. Will you give me one or not?"
The king looked at her curiously and said:
"And what does my dear sister want from me?"
She looked at him seriously and said:
"I want to enter the treasuryā¦ and choose a treasure as my apology gift."
š The Treasury Hall
The King of the Demi-Humans was slightly surprised. He stared at her for a moment, then said:
"It seems you truly have grownā¦"
He waved his hand slightly.
Suddenly, from the shadows of the hall, a guard appeared.
The king looked at him and said:
"Go with my sister to the treasury, and let her choose a treasure. Understood?"
The guard nodded respectfully, then turned to the duchess and said:
"Follow me, my lady."
The duchess smiled and looked at her husband, saying:
"I'll leave you to speak with my brother about the matters of the kingdom. When you're done, come find me."
The duke nodded with a smile, watching her as she left the hall.
āļø A Conversation of Politics and Danger
As soon as the doors closed behind her, the atmosphere changed.
The duke looked calmly at the King of the Demi-Humans and said:
"My lordā¦ I came today to speak with you about the rumors that have spread across the continent of Mira recentlyā¦ and the danger they pose to us."
Silence fell for a momentā¦
But it was not a peaceful silence.
It carried within it the beginning of a new stormā
where interests collide, conflicts ignite,
and hidden forces move in the shadowsā¦
all for the sake of the legendary flower.
As soon as the duke said that, the king looked at him with curiosity and asked:
"Really? And what is your proposal to ensure we are not harmed by this?"
The duke looked at his king calmly, his face showing sincerity and confidence, and said:
"That we actā¦ as if we never knew about the flower in the first place."
Before the king could even ask a question, the duke continued, explaining his plan:
"We must pull the guards and knights away from the flower, erase all our traces from that areaā¦ as if we know nothing of its existence. Then we show shock like the rest of the races when it is discovered."
The king looked at the duke with unease and said:
"Butā¦ wouldn't that make it seem as if we've completely abandoned the flower? If anyone comes to steal it, they could do so easily!"
The duke chuckled lightly and said reassuringly:
"Do not worry, my lord. Even if someone steals itā¦ that would benefit us in many ways."
The king's eyes widened in surprise:
"And how would that benefit us?"
The duke replied confidently:
"We will erase only our tracesāthe demi-humans'. But we will not erase the traces of the dark elves. When anyone comes to investigate, they will see exactly what we want them to seeā¦ and thus, we remove suspicion from ourselves."
He leaned in slightly and continued in a lower voice:
"And in doing so, we also avoid the wrath of the dragons. Ever since the rumor of the flower spread across Miraā¦ it is no longer a treasure, but a curse. You understand me, don't you, my lord?"
The king fell silent for a moment, thinking deeply, then sighed:
"You're rightā¦ but I didn't want to lose such a valuable treasure. This is truly painful."
The duke laughed softly and said with pride:
"We don't need that flower, my lord. Isn't it better to gain the trust of the dragons instead?"
š A Deal with the Dragons
As soon as the king heard this, he looked at him in shock and said:
"You meanā¦ we actually inform the dragons about the flower?"
The duke nodded firmly:
"Yes, of course. We will tell them that we learned of the flower from the rumors spreading across the continentā¦ and after investigating, we discovered that the dark elves were the ones hiding it from the world. That these rumors exposed their secret."
As soon as the King of the Demi-Humans heard this, his expression shifted from shock and tensionā¦ to a wide smile filled with admiration.
He said enthusiastically:
"And by doing that, we gain the dragons' favorā¦ and it wouldn't be surprising if they reward us with a precious treasure from those they've hoarded for thousands of years!"
Both the duke and the king laughed together, the plan seeming perfect in their eyesā¦ flawless.
Butā¦
The King of the Demi-Humans did not realizeā¦
that at that very moment, he had become nothing more than a piece on a chessboardā¦
moving exactly as Loki intended.
(Author's Note):
Hello everyone! Thank you for your continuous support of this novel; your comments and interactions mean the world to me.
Stepping away from our story here for a moment, I wanted to share another project I've been working on with great passion. I have started publishing a webtoon (comic) on the Webtoon platform titled "Me and the Wolf."
It is a [Comedy / Fantasy] story about a miserable young man and a cunning wolf who is constantly getting him into trouble! If you enjoy my writing style and the way I build scenarios, I promise you're going to love this comic.
I would be so grateful if you could go check it out, subscribe to the series, and let me know what you think in the comments there!
š Search on the Webtoon app for: [Me and the Wolf]