After searching through the rest of the royal treasury, I didn't find anything that I believed would be an appropriate main gift for Eyvor; everything was either too valuable or didn't pique my interest. So I decided to leave the royal treasury and spend some quality time with Great-grandmother before heading back to my room; thankfully, she was considerate enough to return my body to normal before I left.
Laying on my bed, I brought out a crystal ball and, after injecting Qi into it, it glowed before an image of Idonea appeared.
"Yes, your Highness?" Asked Idonea while the background displayed the same bland room as always.
"We'll be leaving the Empire in two days, so make sure you're ready by morning to leave."
"I understand, your Highness." Replied Idonea before disappearing as Elif stopped supplying the crystal ball with Qi.
Storing the crystal ball away, and with Elaine most likely still annoyed with me, I decided to spend the rest of the day cultivating to pass the time by.
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"Elaine, I'm entering. You're not still angry with me, are you?" Asked Elif as he slowly entered Elaine's room only to see her hovering above her bed cultivating.
Softly walking toward Elaine, I stood beside her bed while patiently waiting for her to finish cultivating, which didn't take long.
"No, Brother. Why would I be angry?" Asked Elaine as she looked at Elif with an innocent smile, slightly surprising him.
"Ah, well, it's just that yesterday you seemed quite angry with my outfit. But I'm glad you're no longer angry." Replied Elif with a slightly confused expression, though he didn't dwell on Elaine's sudden change of heart.
"I have no reason to be angry anymore; I've already fixed the reason for my anger after all." Said Elaine with a smile, though that smile felt slightly strange to Elif for some reason.
"I heard you'll be leaving for the Divine Fairy Clan tomorrow. Is it true?" Asked Elaine while resting her head atop Elif's lap once he sat on the bed.
"Yes. Eyvor had invited me to her twelfth birthday celebration, and I, of course, accepted it. So I'll be absent from the Empire for several days. Once that is over, I also plan to visit the Divine Phoenix Clan for a day or two." Said Elif as he looked down at Elaine while rubbing her head.
"Eyvor? Isn't she the one that visited us on my birthday four years ago?"
"Yes, she is, and I'd say we are quite good friends; after all, we do communicate on a daily basis." Replied Elif as he looked up, which caused him to miss the dark expression on Elaine's face before she quickly returned to normal as if nothing had happened.
"If she is such a good friend, why didn't you introduce me to her? Since we're both girls, I'm sure we'd get along quite well." Said Elaine with a smile, though her smile seemed quite unnatural.
"That isn't a bad idea; since we're allies, you ought to befriend them as well." Said Elif, agreeing with Elaine while never noticing anything strange from her.
"Now that I think about it, Brother, did you decide to wear those clothes for Eyvor's birthday celebration? Could you possibly have a thing for her?" Asked Elaine with skeptical and mischievous eyes.
"Well, you're not entirely wrong; I did pick this outfit for the celebration because I wanted to look the absolute best, but it wasn't specifically for Eyvor; also, she is just a friend, Elaine; I haven't once thought of her as anything more than that. Though, you asking that type of question is quite suspicious." Replied Elif with a shake of his head before eyeing Elaine with suspicion.
"I just didn't want some girl to take you away, and you forget all about me." Stated Elaine with fake sadness as she attempted to mislead Elif, which successfully worked.
"Such a useless thing to worry about, Elaine; you're my beloved sister; no one in the entire OverRealm could ever make me forget about you." Said Elif with a slight chuckle while lovingly rubbing Elaine's head.
"Hmph, I just wanted to make sure." Said Elaine with a lovely smile.
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"Well, I think it's about time I leave, I have some things to do, and I'm sure you would like to get back to cultivating." Announced Elif as he gently moved Elaine off his lap before heading to the door.
"You can't just leave like that, Brother. Aren't you forgetting something?" Declared Elaine as she looked at Elif with a knowing smile.
"Really, Elaine, aren't you a big girl now?" Replied Elif with a blank stare.
"Maybe, but I'm still your cute and adorable little sister, am I not?" Stated Elaine with a triumphant smirk.
"Alright, alright." Said Elif in defeat, before approaching Elaine and kissing her on the cheek, much to her satisfaction.
"Hehe, bye, Brother." Said Elaine joyfully as she watched Elif exit the room, leaving her all alone.
Once Brother exited the room, the smile on my face vanished, along with all the joy and happiness I was just feeling, and replacing all of that was a dark expression fueled by wrath while my killing intent leaked out.
'What do I do, what do I do!? I'm just the Princess of the Elven Empire. I may be able to force all of the women within the Empire to distance themselves from Brother; however, I can't do anything about the disgusting whores in the OverRealm who'll lust after Brother!' Thought Elaine as she walked in circles around her room, seemingly going crazy.
'What if I forcefully stop Brother from ever leaving the Empire? No, that won't work. Brother got annoyed with me yesterday; I can't have my beloved Brother ever get annoyed with me! But just the thought of Brother ever getting close to another woman other than me is maddening!' Thought Elaine as she stopped walking in circles and stared at the ground while mumbling incoherently.
'Should I kill every woman? No, that won't work either; it'll take too long for me to kill every woman, and I'd prefer not to kill Sarah. Besides, I'd probably be killed before I accomplished my goal, and If I'm dead, I won't be able to spend time with Brother.' Pondered Elaine as she looked in a nearby mirror and saw the madness swirling in her eyes.
"Since I can't stop Brother, nor can I kill every woman, I'm just going to have to do what I've been doing and make sure no women can get close to him. And on the off chance some other woman does get close to him. Hehehe!" Declared Elaine as she laughed psychotically, the madness in her eyes growing.
Since I couldn't do anything right now, I left my room and headed toward the training grounds to blow off some steam.
"Maxim, let's go and do some training." Said Elaine; her expression had returned to normal the moment she stepped out of her room, and as she walked down the hallway, all of the maids in her vicinity instantly looked to the ground in fright, which only caused her to smile.
"Yes, your Highness." Replied Maxim, having appeared out of nowhere.
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"Alright, my baby boy, be safe out there. There are a lot of dangers present in the OverRealm." Said Maria with a happy yet sad smile as she hugged Elif while the family said farewells.
"I'll be fine, Mother; Illumia will be with me. Besides, what are the chances that we'll come across someone that is not only strong enough to bypass my protective artifact but also crazy enough to make enemies of our Immortal Empire?" Said Elif with a smile as he reciprocated the hug before letting go.
"Still, do try and be careful; there is no shortage of crazy and dangerous people in this world." Replied Marcus softly as he patted Elif's shoulder, sporting a prideful smile.
"I will, Father."
"While you're visiting the Fairy Clan, you should do some adventuring; you never know what you might find in the vast expanse we call the OverRealm. It'll also be a knowledgeable experience." Said Tiana with a smile as she gave Elif a light hug before releasing him.
"Hehe, I'd already planned to, Grandmother." Replied Elif quietly, with a mischievous smirk, much to Tiana's amusement.
"Make sure to have some fun, Elif, and if you happen to come across anyone from the younger generation, make sure to show them the might that the Crown Prince of the Elven Empire wields!" Declared Tyler seriously with a large ferocious smile.
"But of course, Grandfather, everyone needs to know who this generation belongs to. I can't have some other fools thinking anything else." Declared Elif with an equally serious and prideful smirk as he stared at Tyler.
"Haha, that's my grandchild!" Exclaimed Tyler with a hearty laugh.
"Anyways, where is that little rascal?" Muttered Maria while scanning her surroundings.
"You mean Elaine? Now that you mention it, Mother, I haven't seen her at all today." Said Elif with a thoughtful expression.
"Oh well, if nobody said anything, I wasn't going to say anything, but it seems like I can't just ignore it now." Commented Tiana as she tapped Elif's dimension ring before Elaine suddenly appeared in her arms.
"Hehe, surprise!?" Said Elaine with a cute innocent smile, though unfortunately for her, she wasn't dealing with just Elif.
"Don't think your cute act can cover up your attempt at trying to smuggle out of the Empire, little girl." Said Maria as she snatched the Voids Cloak from her hands.
"I think I'll be keeping this for a few weeks." Added Maria before storing it in her dimension ring, much to Elaine's displeasure.
"Tch, I almost got away with it too." Muttered Elaine.
"Try not to do anything foolish while I'm absent, Elaine." Said Elif with a chuckle as he affectionately rubbed Elaine's head.
"No promises!" Replied Elaine with a smile, her mood swiftly improving.
Shaking my head at her response, I gave her a light kiss on the cheek as I knew she wouldn't let me leave unless I did so before turning around and approaching my carriage that had already been prepared for my journey.
"I'll be back soon." Declared Elif before stepping into the carriage, which was guarded by Mandy and her subordinates, followed by Marley and Illumia.
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Elven Legacy (Chapter 107: Elif's boredom) at [patreon.com/Ozonelayer691]