"As you expected, I was the one who orchestrated the downfall of Testarossa."
A chilling silence fell over the eting room.
Around Shion, sparks of mana crackled in the air, sending ripples through the atmosphere.
A force more powerful than words—a silent, seething fury, obvious to anyone who saw her.
Rohan imdiately spoke up.
"Continue the conversation. I will keep my promise."
“!”
Both the High Elder and Shion interpreted Rohan’s words in their own way.
For Levin Maxwell, it sounded like an affirmation of what had been stated earlier—that under the na of Hekes, all responsibility would be placed upon him.
For Shion, it reminded her of the promise she had made with Rohan back at the dormitory.
“…”
Shion, who had been glaring daggers at the High Elder, shifted her eyes for a mont.
Seeing Rohan speaking and Clara seated beside him, she felt a sense of stability.
Taking a deep breath, she reined in her mana, suppressing the storm of emotions within her.
I have to hold back. I must hold back.
If she lost control here and acted recklessly, she might never get another chance to hear the full truth.
All she could do was silently thank Rohan for keeping her from crossing that line.
“Of course, Princess, I understand that you must have many doubts. You have been asking us increasingly difficult questions for quite so ti now.”
“…”
“There is little ti, so I will provide only the most crucial details.”
Even as Levin Maxwell spoke, he glanced at Rohan, as if seeking his approval.
When Rohan nodded, the elder finally revealed the hidden past that Shion had never known.
“I’m sure you want to know why we elders did what we did. How we dealt with Weber Testarossa, who ruled Tigrova before the Great Tiger Emperor appeared.”
The High Elder had been commanded by Hekes’s emissary—to confess everything and prove his ntal fortitude.
His tone was firm, his words direct.
Hearing him so blatantly admit to harming her father, Shion clenched her fists, gritting her teeth to suppress her boiling rage.
“Your father, Weber Testarossa. Even after his defeat, he showed no sha. Instead, he was joyful, saying that the Great Tiger Emperor would lead Tigrova to new heights of power.”
Shion remained silent, barely restraining herself from exploding.
Sensing that he had control of the conversation, the High Elder continued.
“Afterward, he gathered us and proposed an idea. He suggested that we work alongside the new ruler, the Great Tiger Emperor, to help the country prosper. He even claid that the emperor had personally requested that the elves of the Evergreen Forest remain in Tigrova and hold key positions within the governnt.”
“…And what exactly was the problem with that?”
Levin Maxwell spoke as if this was the most critical part of the story.
But to Shion, his words made no sense.
Even in defeat, it sounded like an ideal resolution.
“Princess. Elves cannot be ruled by beastfolk.”
“…Why? For what reason?”
The High Elder let out a dry laugh.
Until now, he had always chosen his words carefully when speaking to the princess.
But thanks to Hekes’s emissary, he was finally free to lay everything bare.
“How can you even ask such a thing? The noble elves are not ant to be ruled by such lowly creatures. That is obvious.”
“…Elder. Have you lost your mind?”
A sliver of Shion’s suppressed rage leaked out, filling the eting room with heavy pressure.
But the High Elder, emboldened by his belief in Hekes’s protection, remained unfazed.
“Princess, please watch your tone. Our guest is watching. I am perfectly sane. And clearly, I am not alone in my beliefs—just look at how many elders here agree with .”
He motioned to the elders sprawled across the floor.
Though they had been beaten senseless by Rohan, none of those who remained conscious voiced a single objection.
Not a single one showed a hint of remorse in their eyes.
Rohan silently observed the tense exchange between Levin Maxwell and Shion.
The High Elder’s supremacist arrogance was even more blatant and aggressive here than it had been in Abyss City.
A delusional old man.
An elf who had lived far too long, his worldview twisted into an outdated and extre superiority complex.
Rohan had known from the start that this elder had warped beliefs, but now that he had a shield protecting him, his unchecked arrogance was on full display.
The High Elder continued speaking, without pause.
He seed to enjoy revealing the truth to Shion.
It was disgusting.
Perhaps it was this very disgusting mindset that had drawn the attention of the Reverse Praise Society in the first place.
"He refused to accept our petition to sever ties with the beastfolk, so our paths were bound to diverge."
"And what exactly should my father have done?"
"He should not have grown complacent just because a competent ruler had erged. He should have fought to reclaim his sovereignty."
"You speak so easily for soone who has never fought a battle."
"Princess, it is the duty of a ruler. The difficulty of the task is irrelevant."
At that mont, Shion understood sothing with absolute certainty.
She and this old man would never—not in a thousand years—see eye to eye.
"Look at how powerful Tigrova has beco. Look at the Great Tiger Emperor’s reputation. My father made the right decision given the circumstances. His only mistake was failing to eradicate the trash he kept at his side."
Even as Shion growled, her voice thick with aggression, Levin Maxwell remained unbothered.
He rely continued spilling the truth of the past, knowing that in this argunt, as long as he laid out the facts, he would never lose.
Because Shion would hate every word she heard.
"Let continue. Even if your father was weakened from defeat, how do you suppose we could have killed Weber Testarossa?"
"…"
"Weber Testarossa was incredibly strong. Even to soone like , who has no experience in combat, it was hard to believe he was the sa species as us. He was the very definition of a warrior capable of taking on a thousand foes alone."
"You bastards… You had outside help."
"Indeed. The Reverse Praise Society’s higher-ups stepped in to assist us."
Without any hesitation, he admitted it.
Shion had never heard of this organization before.
But from the way Levin Maxwell spoke, she could easily tell who he thought Rohan was working for.
"If that was your plan, you should have killed too. Why did you deceive and bring here?"
Her voice dropped to a deadly low, her glare drilling into the High Elder.
Like a predator about to sink its teeth into the throat of its prey.
"It’s quite simple. You were part of the deal."
"A… deal?"
"Think back to what you were taught all these years. You were trained to be the bullet that would bring down the Great Tiger Emperor. You spent your life being molded for that purpose."
Shion didn’t even need to think about it.
The mories surfaced imdiately.
"You tried to brainwash into believing I had to kill the Great Tiger Emperor and reclaim Tigrova, feeding supremacist nonsense about humans and beastfolk being beneath ? That was part of this ‘deal’ too?"
"It was both a deal and the natural order of the world."
"Hah…! High Elder. You really chose the wrong backers, didn't you? They seem pathetically afraid."
For the first ti, Shion’s words struck a nerve.
The High Elder’s wrinkles twitched. His eyebrows tensed.
"Princess. Watch your words."
"Look at the situation. I'm just stating facts."
Shion had pieced it together.
The Great Tiger Emperor was a massive threat to the powerful figures in the shadows.
The Reverse Praise Society had no real confidence or reason to move against him directly.
Instead, they raised disposable assassins—weapons with the potential to kill him.
And they would keep throwing those weapons at him, again and again, until one succeeded.
They were certainly plotting other sches as well.
"Because of bastards like you… my parents…!"
The weight of her wasted years ant nothing to her.
Her parents' faces burned vividly in her mind.
Now that she knew the truth, her rage didn’t even feel like rage anymore.
It was beyond anger.
It was pure disbelief at how utterly senseless it all was.
"High Elder. You turned your back on your people, abandoned a comfortable life of wealth, and locked yourself away in this decaying ruin just to raise as a weapon. What did they promise you in return?"
"They promised many things. But above all…"
Levin Maxwell’s face shimred with euphoria, as if the re thought of it was intoxicating.
He lifted his robe, revealing an unnaturally smooth, youthful arm—completely devoid of wrinkles.
"They promised youth."
"What?"
Shion felt a wave of sheer absurdity crash over her.
Had she misheard?
The words had left her mouth before she even realized it.
"Princess, as you know, I am not a warrior. I was born into a long-lived species, so compared to humans, my lifespan is greater. But compared to those who honed their bodies through combat, my life would have been relatively short."
"…"
"That is why it was so tempting. The chance to beco young again."
"You… really fell for such an outrageous lie? You betrayed your own people, all to defy the natural order? Aren’t you ashad?"
"Hekes’s power is no lie. I have seen it with my own eyes. I have experienced it firsthand."
Levin Maxwell rembered it clearly.
He had watched Hekes, a Reverse Praise Society executive, toy with an elf—making them young, then old, over and over again, until they finally died.
He had felt it himself, the sensation of his body rewinding to his pri, even if only for a short mont.
And even now, traces of that youthful vitality remained in him.
"…High Elder. You’re insane. You’ve lost your mind."
"Princess, you cannot comprehend this fear. The ones who fear death the most are not children. Nor the young, filled with boiling blood.
It is the elderly—those who stand at the very edge of the abyss."
As Levin Maxwell muttered, lost in the mories of his past dealings with the Reverse Praise Society, Rohan clicked his tongue in disgust.
Because he knew the truth.
Hekes’s ability was nowhere near as miraculous as it seed.
There were too many conditions, too many hidden costs that the High Elder had conveniently chosen to ignore.
"…"
Shion realized there was no point in continuing this conversation.
The thing in front of her was no longer a man.
He was a lunatic.
And she had only one final question left.
"One last thing."
"Ask away."
"Where are the elves you claid to have smuggled out to another country?"
Levin Maxwell paused, as if dredging up an old mory.
Then, in the lightest tone possible, he answered.
"If you dig deep enough in Tigrova’s soil, you’ll probably find so bone fragnts."
That was all she needed to hear.
Shion exploded into motion.
PAK!
Her kick landed squarely on Levin Maxwell’s chest.
The High Elder was sent flying, crashing over the already-downed elders sprawled across the floor.
"Ugh!"
Had it not been for his robes cushioning the impact, that single strike would have killed him outright.
And he knew it.
Which is why he was confused.
Wasn't Hekes’s emissary supposed to be protecting him?
Why was there no intervention?
"High Elder. Right now, I don't feel like I'm hitting a person."
Her heels clicked against the floor as she slowly approached.
"I feel like I'm hunting a monster."
"…!"
Desperate, Levin Maxwell turned to Rohan, seeking help.
But Rohan…
Was still seated in his chair.
Calmly watching.
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