Chapter 246: Throne

Ten people walked towards a majestic hall surrounded by walls made of clear, beautiful crystals that reflected the colors of the rainbow. The walls were clear and free of blemish, and the ceiling was filled with what seems like naturally occurring crystalline stalactites glowing with white-ish light.

It was a long hall filled with beautiful treasures on the sides.. As they walked towards the end of the hall, they saw a throne made of the same finely cut crystal, with a cushion made of velvety fabric to ensure whoever sat there would be comfortable.

Two of the ten people separated themselves and approached the throne. They were two male elves, one with blue hair and the other with white hair.

The blue-haired elf looked at the other one in reverence before he bowed deeply and said.

"My Lord Monarch, I present to you, the seat befitting the ruler of Forlorn."

Of course, the white-haired elf was no other than Tristan. After the massacre he did in the Forlorn city center and the murder of their prince, he was now being escorted to the hall of Forlorn Kingdom, where the older prince Elroth offered him the seat to rule all of Forlorn

Tristan looked at the seat tentatively, but he did not directly accept it. He turned towards one of the seven surviving Forlorn elders, along with his wife, Serene.

"No, this is not right," Tristan shook his head. "This seat had always belonged to the Forlorn Royal bloodline, and there is no way I could just accept this."

He turned away from the throne, looked at Elroth, and said.

"You are the master of Forlorn, and the throne should belong to you."

Upon hearing what Tristan said, Elroth kneeled down without hesitation. With his head almost touching the floor, he said. "Lord Monarch, there is no way I would dare to take the throne, especially not with you standing in front of me. Please, the throne is yours."

Tristan gave a small smile for the prince's response and walked casually towards the crystal throne before sitting on it. He took a moment to observe the others' reactions, before turning to look towards Serene with a sincere smile.

"So, what do you think, my wife? Does this seem appropriate?"

Serene looked at her husband with mixed feelings evident from her gaze. On one hand, she was grateful for him rescuing her, but on the other hand, there was no way for her to forget what she had seen. The massive massacre and merciless killing of the Forlorn prince were burned deep into her mind, and there was no way to rid herself of that image any time soon. But she dismissed her own thoughts, looked towards the man, and nodded.

"Do you really think so?! wow!" Tristan laughed, and strangely, there was a sense of comfort from sitting atop a symbol of power. Before all this, Tristan never thought of himself as someone who cared for power.

Then, he glanced at Elroth. His first question towards the prince was nothing more than a test to see whether the prince would dare to take the seat from him. He had to acknowledge that ruling is annoying, but in the long run, being someone in charge would always be better for him.

"Elroth, I will accept the honor, but only as long as I am here. Whenever that is not the case, you shall still be the master of Forlorn."

Prince Elroth kneeled once more to express his gratitude.

Even an ordinary person would know, this 'test' was nowhere near enough to prove the elf's loyalty. No matter how composed he is, Tristan needed to still make sure that the elf would not interfere with his affairs, and taking the throne would not be enough.

In other words, he needed to seal their loyalty.

"Elroth, then let me ask you this," Tristan stared at him, as if trying to find a trace of falsehood. "By giving the throne to me, you are swearing your allegiance to me, right?"

"Of course, my Lord Monarch," The prince looked down and answered. "It comes without saying."

"Then, let me ask you this, how far would you go to follow my orders?"

A small, momentary shudder went down the prince's spine, but he quickly composed himself. He had seen the affairs of the royal court in his life, and he was smart enough to realize Tristan was attempting to trick him. He decided to answer without sounding like he hesitated, perhaps a bit too quickly. "Lord Monarch, I will follow your every command, even if it would cost me my life."

Well, that would be good enough for now. Tristan nodded and complimented him before asking again.

"Alright then, but what about these elders in front of me…?" Tristan looked up and scanned their expressions one by one. They all looked stoic and unmoved by what was happening in front of them. "Will you all follow any order I gave you?"

The question has been thrown in their direction, and out of the seven elders, some hesitated to answer, but the smart ones quickly kneeled, and realizing there was no way to defy him, the others quickly followed suit.

Surely, Tristan did not think their words and expressions would be enough of a guarantee.

"Then, tell me this, what if I ask you all to risk your lives to attack any of the other kingdoms? Would you still pull your weapons against them?"

This time, he asked a more specific question, and the ones who previously agreed hesitated for a moment. Tristan could understand their reluctance, for such an order would mean constant risk to their lives due to the war it would bring.

But, when his next question was spoken, he would know the difference between whether they truly pledged loyalty or whether they merely spoke empty words to appease him.

"Prince Elroth, if it was true that they were all willing to die for me, then I am going to give my first order."

Elroth merely stared at him without saying anything, but the slight twitch of his fingers betrayed his true feelings.

Tristan stood from the throne confidently, looked at each of the elders, and said.

"Elves of Forlorn, for all your violations and your gall to go against me and my family, I hereby sentence one of evey five of you to die."

No one expected such an order, and they gasped in shock before they were able to control their expressions.

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Written by Avans, Published exclusively by W.e.b.n.o.v.e.l,