Lord of Caldera - Chapter 358

Chapter 358: Chapter 358 Eldira’s Gambit
“Let us go, you say?” Eldira’s voice was sharp, her expression one of scorn. “Letting us go is the bare minimum. Did you truly think you could commit such offenses and send us away without reparations?”

“…What?”

Eldira’s words reverberated through the banquet hall, eliciting gasps of disbelief.

“L-Lady Eldira,” Veles whispered urgently, his face pale as he tugged at her sleeve. “He’s letting us leave. Why push further?”

Eldira ignored him, raising her chin defiantly.

“You dared to overreach, insulted us, and attempted to act with impunity despite knowing my identity. And now you expect to end this by simply letting us leave? The decision to leave is mine, not yours!”

“What did you just say?” the Emperor sputtered.

“Emperor of the Empire! Compensate us for the indignities we’ve suffered! Until you do, I will not budge from this spot!” Eldira declared.

Both humans and elves in the room froze. Even the Royal Guard felt a chill run down their spines. They all knew there was no way the Emperor would agree to such demands.

Predictably, the Emperor erupted in fury.

“You insolent little elf! Fine! Rot in the dungeons, then! Royal Guard, arrest her—”

Schrrk!

“Ahhh!”

“She cut herself again!”

“…!”

The Emperor froze mid-command, his face going pale as Eldira slashed her own arm once more. The blood flowed freely, pooling on the floor. One elf fainted at the sight, and even Veles was trembling as he shouted in panic.

“L-Lady Eldira! Please, stop this madness!”

“What madness? This is merely the mark of torture!” Eldira replied, her voice steady even as her face turned paler.

“This is not merely a mark! You’ve lost too much blood already! At this rate, you could die from blood loss!” Veles exclaimed.

“Oh, could I?” Eldira smiled faintly, though her expression was growing increasingly wan.

“Veles, answer me one question,” she said weakly.

“This is not the time for questions!”

“If I were to die here, would you ensure the Emperor pays the price?”

Veles clenched his eyes shut. Eldira’s voice, strained from blood loss, carried a quiet resolve. After a moment, Veles opened his eyes and answered grimly.

“Even if I do nothing, the Emperor will pay the price.”

Eldira said nothing, prompting him to continue.

“If you were to die, war would be inevitable. The empire might survive, but the Emperor will not. He’ll be dragged down, just as surely as night follows day.”

His words mirrored the Emperor’s own fears. Eldira shook her head faintly, her face ashen.

“Not enough.”

“You’re right. It’s not enough. So I won’t stop there. I’ll make sure he pays with his life,” Veles said, his voice trembling with anger.

“…!”

“The Crown Prince might prefer to keep the Emperor alive as a powerless figurehead, but I won’t allow it. Even if it means plunging the empire into chaos, I’ll see the Emperor dead. Grand Duke Arathion will demand vengeance, and Sylas will not stand idle. With the empire teetering on civil war, even the Crown Prince will see the necessity of removing the Emperor permanently.”

Veles’s chilling declaration left everyone in the room stunned. While he wouldn’t openly call for the Emperor’s execution, the implication was clear—if it came to it, the Emperor would quietly “die of a sudden illness.”

It wasn’t uncommon in history for deposed rulers, confined to obscurity, to die “unexpectedly.”

“Rest assured,” Veles said grimly, “the Emperor will pay for his actions.”

“Good,” Eldira replied simply, signaling the end of the conversation. Blood continued to drip from her arm, and her body trembled more violently as her strength waned.

Despite her worsening state, no one dared to stop her anymore. The Emperor, meanwhile, felt his entire body break out in goosebumps as fear took hold.

“These… these damned elves are all insane!”

Though he tried to muster his anger, no genuine fury surfaced. Instead, cold dread began gnawing at him. Eldira’s blood loss was clearly life-threatening. If she didn’t receive immediate aid, she wouldn’t survive.

“Stop!”

Finally, the Emperor caved.

“What do you want? Name your terms! I’ll agree to anything—just stop this madness!”

At his desperate shout, Eldira smiled faintly and extended her arm toward Veles, signaling him to tend to her wounds.

Veles wasted no time, placing his hand over her injury and chanting,

“Πληγές να γιατρευτούν!”

A faint light enveloped the wound, and it began to heal rapidly.

“Magic!” exclaimed one of the Royal Guards in astonishment, as the cut on Eldira’s arm vanished without even leaving a scar. However, the blood already lost couldn’t be recovered, and her complexion remained pale.

Eldira turned her gaze to the Emperor, meeting his wide-eyed stare.

“You promised to do as I asked, didn’t you?”

Her pale smile sent a shiver down the Emperor’s spine.

That same night, the elven delegation was quietly released. In stark contrast to the grand welcome they had received, their departure was kept secret, carried out under the cover of darkness.

Thankfully, Eldira’s identity remained undisclosed. The delegation made their way south without pause, only relaxing once they had crossed the border between the central and southern territories.

“We should be safe now,” one of the elves remarked with a sigh of relief.

“Still, it might be wise to send a messenger to inform Lord Sylas to meet us,” another suggested.

“That’s a good idea. Who knows if there might be another lunatic like the Emperor?”

“Surely not in Lord Sylas’s territory. Even the Emperor’s actions were beyond reason.”

Though southern lands were less perilous than the west or north, the elves remained cautious. Conflict with humans along the way was always a risk, especially as the humans living in this area might not recognize them as allies.

Eldira, who had been riding quietly with Veles, frowned. “We’re nearly there. There’s no need to trouble him with such a task. We can manage on our own.”

“Stop being so stubborn. You still haven’t fully recovered,” Veles chided, ignoring her protests.

Eventually, the elves concealed their ears and continued their journey to Sylas’s territory without stopping in any villages or cities, wary of encountering someone as unpredictable as the Emperor.