I stepped forward, opening my mouth to try and de-escalate the King's growing fury with a logical explanation. But as I moved, I felt a slight weight shift in my pocket. Before I could react, the small velvet box I had hidden earlier slipped out, hitting the marble floor with a soft, distinct thud.
The room went deathly silent.
Claude was on it in a flash. He snatched the box off the floor and flipped it open, revealing the silver ring with the pale blue stone. A twisted, triumphant grin spread across his face—a look of someone who had just found the final piece of a puzzle.
"HAHAHAHA! I GOT THE EVIDENCE, your highness!" Claude barked, his voice echoing with a mix of malicious glee and genuine anger. He marched up the dais and thrust the ring toward the King's face. "Look at this! Human, you were planning on giving this to Princess Elphyete! Even if you claim to be 'just friends' right now, you were clearly planning on marrying the Princess and infiltrating the royal bloodline!"
Elphyete's head snapped toward the ring, her eyes widening until they were dinner-plate size. The steam began to hiss from her ears again, her face turning a red so dark it was almost purple. "Wait... what...?" she stammered, her voice trembling. She looked at the ring, then at me, then back at the ring, her mind clearly racing back to the moment at the market.
"It's a misunderstanding!" I shouted, the panic finally starting to set in.
Inside, I was cursing my luck. That was the ring I had bought in secret because I saw her looking at it—I just wanted to give her something nice because she had been so kind to me. It wasn't supposed to be a marriage proposal; it was a gift. But in the middle of an Elven throne room, in front of a protective father, a ring meant only one thing.
"I swear, it's not like tha—"
I didn't even see Claude move. He was a blur of silver and green, and before I could finish my sentence, the cold, sharp tip of his crystalline spear was pressed firmly against the skin of my throat. The mana radiating from the weapon stung like a thousand needles.
"Shut up, human male!" Claude hissed, his face inches from mine, his eyes burning with zeal. "You don't have any more excuses. We have the evidence. You've compromised the Princess's honor and plotted to join the royal house through deception!"
"STOP THAT, CLAUDE!" Elphyete screamed. She lunged forward, grabbing the shaft of the spear with her bare hands, her magic starting to flare around her fingers in a desperate attempt to pull the weapon away from my neck.
The King stood perfectly still, his large hands gripping the armrests of his throne so hard the wood groaned. He stared at the ring in Claude's hand, then at the sight of his daughter desperately shielding a human boy. The air in the room became thick and heavy, like the pressure before a catastrophic lightning strike.
"A ring..." the King whispered, his voice dangerously low. "You brought a ring into my forest... into my daughter's bed... and you expect me to believe you are 'just friends'?"
The guards around the room leveled their spears, and for the first time, I realized that my lack of mana wouldn't help me here. I was standing in the heart of a kingdom that functioned on it, and I was one twitch away from a very sharp ending.
Elphyete shoved herself squarely between me and the glowing tip of Claude's spear, her hands raised and her eyes blazing with a sudden, fierce authority I had never seen from her before.
"Stop it! I was the one who asked Sogha to sleep on the same bed with me!" her voice echoed through the massive chamber, silencing the rustling leaves above. She didn't look at Claude; she looked directly at the High King. "Father, let's talk somewhere private. Right now."
The King stared at her, his stern expression faltering for a fraction of a second. He gave a slow, heavy nod, rising from his throne of roots. He gestured toward a side door woven from thick vines and pale wood. Elphyete marched toward it, and her father followed, the heavy door shutting firmly behind them with a dull thud.
I was left standing in the center of the throne room, completely surrounded by armored guards. Claude was pacing like a caged predator, glaring daggers at me, his spear still humming with lethal energy. The silence in the room was suffocating, thick with unspoken threats.
Behind the heavy wooden door, the atmosphere was entirely different. Elphyete stood before her father, her hands clenched into fists at her sides, her face flushed but her gaze steady.
"I love Sogha, Father," she said, the words spilling out in a hurried, desperate whisper. "And you did say to me once that I could love anyone in this kingdom. Why can't I love a human? Besides... he doesn't even know that I love him yet." She looked down at her hands, her voice softening. "He is just so kind. I was the one feeling lonely. When we first got to the mansion, he said that he would sleep on the couch to give me space, but I was the one who stopped him. I told him to stay with me."
King Elfhonse stood in silence, looking down at his daughter. The fierce, overbearing anger of the High King slowly drained away, replaced by the heavy, complicated guilt of a father realizing he had jumped to the wrong conclusion. He let out a long, weary sigh, his broad shoulders slumping slightly.
"If that's what you want..." he murmured softly. He reached into his robes, pulling out the small velvet box that Claude had handed him, and gently pressed it into Elphyete's trembling hands. "Fine. Do whatever you want."
A few moments later, the heavy vine door swung open. Elphyete walked out first, her head bowed slightly, clutching something tightly to her chest. King Elfhonse followed, his face an unreadable mask of royal stoicism. He strode back up the dais, his robes sweeping across the floor, and sat heavily upon his throne.
He cleared his throat, a sound that demanded absolute silence from everyone in the room.
"I, King Elfhonse of the Elf Kingdom, announce that this man, Sogha, will now be called Prince Sogha."
The words dropped like an anvil.
Claude physically recoiled, his spear clattering against the marble floor. "WHAT!????!!!" he shrieked, his voice cracking completely. He looked like he was about to have a genuine heart attack, his eyes darting frantically between the King and me.
I felt entirely paralyzed, my brain struggling to process the sheer absurdity of the situation. My heart hammered in my chest. "Wait, it's a misunderstanding!" I blurted out, waving my hands defensively. "That ring is just a gift! I just saw her looking at it in the market, I swear! It wasn't—"
"I didn't say anything about marriage," King Elfhonse interrupted, his voice booming over my panic, though there was a strange, undeniable stubbornness in his eyes. "But, if you are going to live with the Princess of this realm, you must be a Prince. Those are the rules of my court. Otherwise, I don't have a choice but to put you in jail for trespassing on royal dignity."
He leaned forward, resting his chin on his massive hand. "So. Prince or the dungeon. Choose."
I stood there, the weight of the entire Elven court pressing down on me. I looked at Claude, who looked ready to faint, and then at the King, who was absolutely dead serious.
I slowly closed my mouth, swallowed hard, and just nodded, keeping completely quiet.
Beside me, Elphyete had buried her face entirely in her hands, her silver hair falling forward to hide the fact that her ears were glowing bright, radioactive red.
I looked at Elphyete, who was still trying to hide her face behind her hair, and spoke softly so only she could hear. "I'm sorry, Elphyete. I didn't mean for that ring to cause all this trouble for you."
She looked up at me, her eyes shimmering with that gentle, soft light she always had. "It's alright, Sogha," she whispered, her voice a mix of relief and lingering bashfulness.
King Elfhonse stood from his throne, his regal robes rustling like leaves in a storm. "Since you are now a Prince of the realm, you shall stay in the royal wing. You will share the Princess's quarters for the duration of the festival to ensure your... safety." He gave me a look that suggested he was still keeping a very close eye on me.
Without waiting for another word from the King or a protest from the still-fuming Claude, Elphyete reached out and grabbed my hand. Her grip was surprisingly firm. She practically dragged me out of the throne room, our footsteps echoing against the polished marble as she led me through a maze of corridors made of living wood and shimmering crystal.
When we finally reached her room, the double doors swung open to reveal a space that made our university mansion look like a shack. It was massive—the ceiling was a dome of enchanted glass that showed the shifting clouds above, and the furniture was accented with actual gold filigree. Despite the luxury, there was a noticeable chill in the air; the high altitude of the tree-castle let the mountain winds whistle softly against the panes.
Elphyete closed the doors behind us and finally let go of my hand. She stood there for a moment, looking at the floor, her ears drooping slightly.
"Sogha... I'm so sorry," she said, her voice trembling. "For my father, for Claude, and for... for making you a Prince just because I was selfish. I didn't want you to get dragged into all of this royal mess."
I walked over to her and stood in the center of the vast, cold room. I looked around at the gold and the silver, then back at the girl who had spent the last few weeks cooking my breakfast and holding my hand in the market. "I told you, it's alright. I'd rather be a Prince than be in a dungeon, right? Besides, I'm just glad you're okay."
She looked up at me, her face still a soft pink, but the stress seemed to bleed out of her. "You're too kind to me," she murmured.
The room was silent for a moment, the only sound being the distant chime of the forest bells signaling the start of the festival preparations. The bed in this room was even larger than the one in the mansion, draped in fine silks and furs, looking warm and inviting against the chill of the castle.
"Since we're stuck here as 'Prince' and 'Princess' now," I said, trying to lighten the mood, "what exactly does a Prince of the High Forest do during a festival?"
Elphyete fidgeted with her sleeves, a small, shy smile finally returning to her lips. "Mostly... we have to stay together. My father will want us to appear at the opening ceremony tonight. But until then..." She looked at the large balcony overlooking the endless sea of trees. "We can just stay here. Just the two of us. Away from the guards."