The Transmigration Survival Guide Volume 5 Chapter 48
āWhat do we do? What do we do now that something so serious has happened? Thereās no way weāll be able to hide it. How do we explain this to the other elves? Weāre doomed if all elves know. Itās fine if we die, but everything we worked for will be destroyed after we die. Weāll return to the era of imperialism, and a new monarch will be born! All of our efforts will have been for naught!ā
Luciaās brother clenched his teeth, grabbed his head and racked his brains. It all happened too abruptly for he, himself, to know what to do. It was arguably the most shocking event in elven history. The elves were a race that highly valued tradition and never permitted killing each other unless the other was a traitor. Else, those who killed fellow elves would either be exiled or join the fallen elf in the other word. With that said, the incident was attributed to him. Actually, it shouldnāt have been attributed to him, but all of his friends around him and everything else. The elvesā fury wouldnāt be directed at him, but all of his friends.
As a revolutionist, everything that he did would result in his undoing at the hands of the elvesā fury. In fact, not even his friends would support me. He would be exiled. The consequences of the incident werenāt something he could bear. He wasnāt afraid of death; what he was afraid of was all his efforts up until now being for naught as the Queen he went through so much effort to have exiled would be replaced with another. He did everything he did to help elves reach a higher state of prosperity. He didnāt want it to all end there.
It wasnāt easy for the elves to live in freedom as they once did in the forest. He fought to earn them that privilege. If the Queenās faction leveraged the incident to betray elvesā freedom and dignity, he wouldnāt be able to die with his eyes closed.
āIt wasnāt our soldiersā fault; our soldiers are reasonable people. None of them would willingly shoot down a fellow elf! It was definitely the work of that human! It was definitely him who instigated it! His aim is to sow discord amongst us! It was unquestionably him!ā
Luciaās brother angrily glared at the enraged elf and coldly responded, āDonāt just randomly blame people. He wasnāt present; he was at home.ā
āHow do you know that?ā
āBecause Lucia told me so. I trust my sister. Moreover, I can distinguish between humans and elves. I can confirm that he was not present. While I think that this might not be a one-off clash and might be some sort of plot, it is still unlikely to have to do with him.ā
Luciaās brother shook his head, āLetās put aside how it happened for the meantime; we need to think about what weāre going to do now first and foremost. Thereās definitely no way of hiding this. Itās bound to be spread. We need to announce it. We need to be the first to announce it; weāll claim it was the Queenās factionās scheme with humanity involved behind the scenes, too. Then weāll prepare to attack humanityās small town.ā
āAttack humanity?!ā
The other elves were stunned. They looked at him with disbelief. The elvesā numbers determined whether or not they could wage a head-on war. They had energy to spare in the forest, but fighting on an open field or assaulting a city would result in more losses than they could tolerate. Initiating an attack on humanity was a death wish. The elves couldnāt say their prayers enough when humanity chose to not continue with their attacks after their first failed attempt.
āCorrect. Isnāt that why I mentioned it? We can just attack a small town.ā
Luciaās brother knew where to draw the line. His plan was very simple. In essence, he wanted to redirect the elvesā conflict away from them. It was proven in the last battle that elves will unite to face foreign threats. Therefore, he wanted to get the elves to fight an imminent war. Although the calamity of war mightāve buried the elves if a war broke out, if they sat on their laurels now, they, without a doubt, would be destroyed, as well. It was all the same in the end.
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Current time in Luciaās roomā¦
I looked at Lucia and continued, āLucia, is this the world that you wanted? Look at the dead elves outside; is that the sort of rule you desire? Do you honestly think that elves can prosper more and have more freedom under your brotherās lead? Lucia, think about this carefully. When the Queen was in power, did you kill that many elves? How many elves were killed by other elves when she ruled? You might say that she might destroy elves owing to her fondness for humans, and you, therefore, had to exile her. But think about it carefully, Lucia, did more elves die to humans or did you kill more elves?ā
Luciaās body trembled. She extended her arms to try and hug me. She was on the verge of crying. She stammered, āI didnātā¦ I didnātā¦ Iā¦ Iā¦ I didnāt want to hurt themā¦ I donāt knowā¦ Iā¦ Pleaseā¦ Travorā¦ I beg youā¦ donāt say anymoreā¦. Give me a hug. Iām scared. Iām cold. Pleaseā¦ Hug meā¦ā
I stopped Luciaās hand. Luciaās tears began to course down her face. She pulled her arms back to wrap around herself. I gave her no retreat path. I seriously asked, āDo you honestly think that this is right? Do you honestly think that your brother can lead elves to greater prosperity?ā
āIā¦ Iā¦ donāt say any moreā¦ pleaseā¦ Travorā¦ weāreā¦ weāre getting marriedā¦ donātā¦ talk about this anymoreā¦ Brotherā¦ Brotherā¦ didnātā¦ itā¦ it wasnāt our faultā¦ā
āLucia, think about it carefully, Lucia.ā
I grabbed Luciaās wrists and didnāt allow her to cover her face with her hands: āLucia, I know, Lucia. Look at me and honestly answer me. Between elves and I, who will you choose?ā
Luciaās body jolted. She yanked her hands out from my grip while her tears flew off her face. She loudly wailed and refused to speak as a child would. She avoided the question. I clasped her face with one hand and demanded, āLucia!! In a loud voice, answer me!! Look at me!! Lucia!! Tell me!!! Answer me!! Between elves and I, who will you choose?! Lucia! Answer me!!ā
Lucia trembled and turned her head away. She was truly afraid and overwhelmed with despair. Regardless, I threw more difficult questions her way. I knew how much I hurt her, but I wanted her to hurt.
Lucia tightly gripped my arm; she gripped firmly enough to almost stab into my flesh. As she cried, she curled up into a ballā¦ I knew she was heartbroken; however, that was exactly what I was after.