Chapter Seventy: The New King Is Framing Him

Hearing the voice, the night elves turned their heads.

“Your Highness?”

“Why is he here?”

The night elf who stepped forward was Irelle. Although Irelle had pledged allegiance to the new king, he was among the few nobles respected by the night elves throughout the river of time.

“My friends, I want to join your struggle,” said Irelle.

The night elves were momentarily stunned, then overjoyed, but his next words left them puzzled.

“I want to bring him along as well.” Irelle pointed to Linley. “He is my friend. He did not come to Emerald City to bring us chaos—in fact, it is because of him that I have decided to join you.”

A commotion broke out among the night elves.

“What’s going on?”

“How could the prince be friends with him?”

Most night elves could not understand why the prince would say such a thing, though a small number were aware of the battle that had taken place at the port.

“His Highness fought with the boss… no, with that forest elf; the two seemed to get along well…”

In truth, even the night elves at the port were unclear how Irelle and Linley became friends, for none dared approach when they fought.

But now they knew—the prince seemed to have taken quite a liking to Linley.

“Your Highness, no, he deceived us!”

After exchanging information, the night elves disagreed with Irelle’s suggestion. “We should lock him up.”

Yet Irelle was unmoved. “I don’t believe he deceived you. A trickster always acts for personal gain—so I ask you, what would he gain from deceiving you?”

“Of course—”

Some night elves tried to answer, but found themselves at a loss.

“You want to say the Twin Moons Wheel, but you realize that’s not right.” Irelle smiled. “Because you know, the forest elf doesn’t even have the power to touch it—how could he possibly steal it?”

“Power? That’s even less likely. Once this struggle ends, everyone’s true identity will be revealed—he’s an outsider, how could he ever gain your recognition?”

Irelle looked at the night elves deep in thought. “Don’t forget—he’s the young prince of the forest elves. Why would he even care for your power?”

“More importantly, if he had ulterior motives, he would never have brought a girl with him.”

Irelle finished.

His words shook the night elves; these were things they had never considered. Upon reflection, Linley truly seemed to gain nothing from all this.

If he received no benefit from them, then why was he part of this struggle?

“You’re wrong, Your Highness.”

A night elf, wracking his brains, finally thought of Linley’s possible motive. “He created the organization to sow more chaos among us. Chaos benefits the forest elves!”

Irelle turned to him. “You’re right—our chaos does benefit the forest elves.”

The night elf was delighted, but the next moment, Irelle’s tone shifted.

“At first, I thought the same—that he was deliberately sowing chaos. But tell me, is what he brought us truly chaos?”

“Raise your heads, my friends. Look carefully around you. Do you see chaos? What I see is a united organization, a great cause for which countless night elves strive, bound together by a common ideal.”

The night elves looked around. Countless torches held by their kin nearly illuminated all of Emerald City, but all the night elves were calm, listening to the prince’s speech, with no sign of disorder.

This was not chaos—

Suddenly, the night elves realized Emerald City was not in turmoil. They were united, nearly all of them sharing the same ideals, save for the new king’s minions. The true chaos was not here, but outside—in the place ravaged by monsters.

The organization Linley created had not brought chaos; on the contrary, it had united the night elves of Emerald City ahead of time, preparing them to face the monsters together.

Is this chaos? How could such a situation benefit the forest elves?

The quicker-minded night elves began to look at Linley anew. From the perspective of forest elf interests, Linley had no need to form this organization.

The new king was clearly hiding information about the monsters, but he couldn’t keep it secret forever. Emerald City would eventually be thrown into turmoil, and it would surely be far worse than now—the forest elves could simply observe from afar, letting the monsters devour the disunited night elves.

But Linley had not done so. Instead, he built a united organization.

Many night elves felt their hearts tremble. Thinking seriously, Linley’s creation of the organization brought him not a single benefit—why, then, did he do it? What was he thinking?

“Why did you join our struggle…”

A night elf fixed his gaze on Linley, hoping to hear the answer from his lips.

Linley’s lips lacked color—the dagger had clearly caused him great harm. His body was frail, his skin unnaturally pale—all the night elves began to feel pity. He was still just a child!

“I came to Emerald City for the first time yesterday…”

Linley spoke, his voice weak, yet loud enough for most night elves to hear.

“In this city, I witnessed one of your heroes die to save a child. Many were crying and shouting. I thought: ah, there is chaos here; surely you must have some hidden sorrow.”

“I saw your fear and longing, and could not contain my excitement. I founded this organization because I wished to join you in opposing the misuse of the Twin Moons Wheel. I hoped all night elves could unite to face the monsters, and that you could rely on yourselves…”

Outside the palace, the night elves fell into a deathly silence.

They listened to Linley’s words, their hearts trembling. In their eyes was disbelief, inexpressible emotion—and deep remorse.

At this moment, they remembered his true identity. The legend of the prince who suffered a curse to save his people was well known throughout the night elf kingdom.

If he truly was that forest prince, then he naturally represented justice.

In the hearts of all girls in this world, the young prince of the forest elves was a symbol of beauty, righteousness, and kindness. The night elves had let anger cloud their vision, only now realizing the boy before them possessed the same nobility as the legends.

He acted for justice, yet had been imprisoned by a cruel king!

He faced all their anger, but never sought to escape; instead, he reminded the night elves to pursue their ideals and continue the struggle!

He had always… cared for the night elves.

Had it not been for the prince’s words, none of them would have realized this—no one could have understood the heart of this young prince. He was so good-hearted, yet repeatedly slandered; how much pain and grievance must he have endured!

Suddenly, the night elves hated themselves. They should have realized sooner. If Linley were a fraud, how could he have exposed his identity for a mere maid?

How could a liar sacrifice himself for a woman!

“Bo…boss…”

Several night elves’ lips trembled—they felt they had been terribly, terribly wrong.

“That’s right, he is the legendary young prince of the forest elves…”

“The one who sang inside the gem!”

“The prince who fell into slumber to save his people.”

Other night elves murmured, tears springing to many eyes—at last, they realized that racial prejudice had blinded them.

“He is our Boss, he has always fought for us!”

“He has never betrayed us!”

More and more night elves could no longer contain their surging emotions, shouting loudly: “In every battle, the boss has always stood before us—have you all forgotten?”

“Whether it was the chief astromancer or His Highness the prince—he always faced the most dangerous enemies himself!”

“He has always protected us!”

Those who had fought alongside Linley were overwhelmed.

“The Boss never let us face danger; he never harmed our kin. What are we doing now? Why do we doubt him?”

“He personally cooked for us! Has anyone ever seen such a good villain?”

The night elves gradually recalled scenes from yesterday—the boss treated them like brothers, eating together, laughing together, fighting together; the boss never shrank back, always stood at the front lines.

Suddenly, many night elves shed tears of shame. The boss was still their Boss—the one who led them toward their ideals. Does identity really matter?

Must justice and evil be divided by race?

“Comrades! The Boss has done nothing wrong!”

“It must be the new king framing him!”

“Save him, we must save him!”