Time passed like a flash of light. Several days slipped quietly through everyone's fingers in the blink of an eye.
The news that the Elf Forest had established diplomatic relations with the Calencia Empire spread like a fierce wind sweeping across every corner of the land.
It quickly spread throughout the Empire and even across the world.
The most prominent position on the front page of the Empire's leading newspaper was occupied by this major event concerning diplomatic ties between the Elf Forest and the Empire.
Friendly exchanges between the two nations, trade interactions, and cultural integration.
The sudden emergence of these events shocked many scholars from different countries.
Even the kings of other nations paid great attention to it.
They simply couldn't believe it.
The mysterious elves, who had existed only in human rumors, had actually established diplomatic relations with the Calencia Empire?
No matter how they looked at it, it felt absurd.
To them, the news was almost unbelievable.
Most people had never even seen an elf in person, and many scholars were still researching the differences and diversity between elves and humans.
They were immersed in curiosity about the elves' mysterious background and were trying to find ways to establish contact with them.
And yet the Calencia Empire had already established diplomatic relations with the elves?
That wasn't right. Things shouldn't have developed this way.
No matter how far ahead you were, you shouldn't be this far ahead.
Establishing diplomatic relations with elves left many countries filled with envy.
They wished they could immediately establish similar relations with the elves and enjoy the various benefits they brought.
As for trade with the elves, that could almost be ignored.
The important thing was gaining the friendship of the elves.
That was what mattered most.
This matter even added another layer of glory to the faces of the Empire's citizens.
Whenever they talked about it, they felt full of pride.
After all, in many people's eyes, elves were symbols of good fortune.
Being able to establish diplomatic relations with elves meant the entire Empire would receive the blessing of the natural elves.
Meanwhile, Cocotte, the queen representing the entire Elf Forest, was leisurely sitting on her cloud.
One leg crossed over the other, she held a newspaper in her hand, a curved smile on her face.
The quiet smile even hid some of her usual laziness.
Cocotte stared at the newspaper headline with both eyes open, looking extremely pleased.
"Hahaha, I'm considered a celebrity now too."
She waved the newspaper in her hand, as if a flower had bloomed in the air.
The headline displayed the scene of diplomatic relations being established between the Elf Forest and the Empire...
[Nature's Grace: The Visit of the Elf Queen]
Beneath the headline was a dense and detailed introduction.
In the center were two photographs showing Cocotte and Oberly shaking hands in a friendly manner.
Especially eye-catching was the dreamlike cloud beneath Cocotte's feet.
The remaining photographs mostly showed scenes from diplomatic banquets within the royal palace.
As well as group photos of the elf representatives with the Emperor and ministers of the Empire.
Cocotte looked through them again and again, carefully admiring them, a satisfied smile on her face.
Seeing how delighted she looked, Liya raised an eyebrow and sighed, half teasing and half helpless, "I know you're famous now, but can you tone it down a little?"
Ever since the elves became famous throughout the Empire, the Clavenna Manor had once again become a popular destination for ministers and foreign guests.
They all came for one reason.
To meet Cocotte.
Even a brief meeting was enough to satisfy them.
Unlike Viktor back then.
At that time, many ministers and foreign figures came to visit Viktor, but Viktor only had two words for them.
Not seeing them.
Although a large part of that was related to Viktor being missing at the time.
Thinking of that, Liya fell silent for a moment.
Why did Viktor like disappearing so much?
Back to the point.
Cocotte was now at the height of her popularity. The nobles and ministers who wanted to invite her to banquets had crowded the streets outside Clavenna Manor until there was barely any space left.
The crowds surged shoulder to shoulder.
But Cocotte usually accepted invitations from the outside world.
After all, she no longer slept constantly like she used to.
As a result, her fame rose rapidly throughout the royal capital.
She was already a member of the mysterious elf race, and Cocotte was also the queen of the elves.
Her mysterious charm had already reached the point where ordinary people hardly dared approach her.
The current Cocotte had become a social celebrity.
Everyone wanted to know her.
As for why she had never been this famous before...
In the past, since the Empire and the Elf Forest had not established diplomatic relations, even though she was the Elf Queen, very few people dared approach her.
The nobles weren't stupid. They only cared about what benefited themselves.
Only a naive elf like Cocotte, who had never experienced social circles before, would think becoming famous was an incredibly wonderful thing.
However...
Liya sat on the armrest of the sofa, lightly leaning against its back.
She held a schedule notebook in her hand, making occasional marks on it.
"I've turned down all the other invitations for you. Stay at home for the next few days."
"Huh?"
Hearing Liya's words, Cocotte immediately bounced up from her cloud.
Grabbing a corner of the cloud, she widened her eyes, her face turning red as she shouted at Liya,
"Why did you reject them for me!? I protest!"
Cocotte loved talking with the humans who invited her.
Especially the way they looked at her with admiration. It gave her a feeling of joy she had never experienced before.
It was wonderful.
Even as queen in the Elf Forest, she had never enjoyed anything like this.
Those admiring gazes made Cocotte feel as though she were floating.
This was something she could never experience within the Clavenna family.
However, Liya simply picked up a pen and gently waved it in front of her.
"Protest denied."
Then she lightly tapped Cocotte on the head and reminded her,
"You're a queen. You're here to establish diplomatic relations with the Empire, not to socialize with nobles and become a celebrity."
"Figure out your position first."
Holding her head, Cocotte looked at the thick schedule notebook in Liya's hand as Liya sat on the armrest and muttered, "In another two days, both princes will return."
"As imperial princes, they'll definitely invite you first."
Liya smiled lightly and looked thoughtfully at the notebook in her hand.
She knew it wasn't hard to guess why the two princes were returning at the same time.
The throne was now basically destined for Princess Aurelian.
If the two of them didn't come back now, the throne would truly have nothing to do with them anymore.
"Though it's nothing more than pointless struggling."
Liya's finger lightly slid across the schedule notebook before circling a name and tapping it firmly.
"Leopold Lesser."
The head of the Lesser family, an important figure who had suddenly returned to the royal capital.
If the two princes still had any room left to struggle in the battle for the throne, it would likely begin with the Lesser family head.
Liya thought for a while.
During these past few days, people had constantly come to Clavenna Manor to invite Cocotte to banquets.
Although she had rejected most of them and only allowed Cocotte to attend a few.
This Lesser family head alone had never shown up.
Such an important figure was living in the royal capital, yet during these past few days he had seemed to disappear completely.
Logically speaking, he belonged to the First Prince's faction. It was impossible for him to do absolutely nothing now.
If no action was taken soon, the First Prince's faction might completely lose any chance of competing for the throne.
Aside from causing some discussion during the first few days after returning to the capital...
He had completely disappeared from public view afterward.
Although she didn't know what this mysterious figure was doing, Liya still felt she needed to pay close attention to him.
After all, he was undoubtedly a potential source of instability.
Liya knew Viktor supported the princess inheriting the throne.
Therefore, as the main person handling the affairs of the Clavenna family, she had to take care of everything on Viktor's behalf.
'Why does it feel like I was born to work for him?'
Liya felt speechless and complained inwardly.
Turning to Cocotte, her tone became serious.
"In short, pay special attention to those two princes at the upcoming banquets."
"Especially the First Prince. He's not a good person."
She still remembered the marriage proposal Jess Lesser had made on behalf of the First Prince.
Cocotte tilted her head up and stared at the ceiling while thinking carefully.
'The First Prince?'
'Who was that again?'
'Oh, the little guy in golden armor.'
She remembered seeing him when she traveled south with Viktor.
After that, she barely remembered anything about him.
She had no idea what he had done to make Liya so angry.
At that moment, Cocotte lowered her head again and looked at Liya curiously.
"What about Viktor? Will Viktor be going too?"
"If he isn't there, I won't be able to deal with those princes."
Liya knew Cocotte was just finding excuses. She hadn't seen Viktor for several days herself.
Still, she explained, "Viktor has been going to Gwen's place a lot lately. Apparently he's found a way to cure her."
Closing the schedule notebook, she said calmly, "For the next few days, just worry about yourself. There's no need to talk about Viktor."
"He knows his limits."
———
[The Delin Manor]
Kefra looked at Viktor with worried eyes.
"Will this... really work?"
Viktor kept his eyes fixed on Gwen and calmly replied, "We can try."
In front of him, Gwen sat upright in a chair with her eyes closed.
She wore only a thin inner layer of clothing.
Her pale skin was faintly visible beneath the fabric.
Viktor stepped closer and gently placed a hand on Gwen's shoulder.
Gwen showed no resistance, allowing his hand to move lightly across her body.
Kefra watched the two of them in silence for quite a while before speaking with a hint of jealousy, "Now you're the only one who can touch her."
Ever since Gwen's personality changed drastically, even Kefra, her own sister, couldn't touch her.
So now she was extremely envious of Viktor.
She really didn't know what kind of spell Viktor had cast on Gwen to make her trust him so much.
Soon, after measuring Gwen's body with his hands, Viktor withdrew them and said calmly, "Done."
A pale-white magic power rose from Viktor's palm and gradually spread across his entire arm.
A pale-white magical power flowed out from his palm and traveled along his arm.
Under his control, the silver-white Snow Mastiff Armor bloomed like snowflakes.
Pale fragments drifted slowly through the air and gradually shrank to a size suitable for Gwen.
Viktor picked up the armor and looked gently at Gwen before speaking, "Let's begin."