“Royal Father, do you not love Cylia anymore? Why do you look at Cylia with such indifference?” Princess Cylia questioned. 

The elf king glanced at his youngest daughter before he calmly replied, “How can a father not love his child? My love is boundless; for you, and the entire world.”

“For the entire world…?” 

Princess Cylia stepped back with bewilderment. 

Shortly after, Princess Floria furrowed her brows before stepping forward and said, “Royal Father, I will be leaving the tribe with some of my people to follow the Dark Lord in a few days.”

“That is not a bad idea,” the elf king consented with a nod and said, “You should go out and see more of the world, share your love, serve the people, spread the happiness, and ease their suffering.”

While everyone in the room was surprised by Princess Floria’s shocking statement, her lips twitched in response to her royal father’s agreement. 

Persuasion would have been needed in a normal situation. 

“Royal Father, the person I will be following is the Dark Lord… I’m afraid that I will only be spreading hate, death, unhappiness, and suffering unto others instead…” Princess Floria stated. 

“Well, that is no good.” The elf king shook his head and said, “If you’re going to be like that, I can’t let you go. You have to stay and master the five moral precepts before you can go.”

“It’s not me who will do those things, but the Dark Lord… It’s the Dark Lord, you know?” Princess Floria felt exasperated. 

Her father was trying to teach her about Buddhism!

“The Dark Lord, huh? That’s no good either. Excessive cruelty and greed is a sin. Amitabha… You must help this person correct his way. The greatest achievement in life is selflessness. We should learn to be like the sacred tree; pain is inevitable, but suffering is optional.”

The elf king preached.

Not long after, his body was imbued by a holy aura before it began to spread out and affect the others, making them feel relaxed and at peace. 

The Elders quickly retreated with startled looks, pulling Princess Floria and the other princes and princesses along with them.

“What a fearsome king. His Majesty’s talent is unparalleled, no matter what he does; already able to cultivate a holy aura…” an Elder commented. 

“If it’s already like this, we may be forced to lock up the king and prevent from misguiding the other tribesmen into following the same path,” another Elder whispered.

However, the first elder shook his head and whispered, “Locking up the king is too much. He is still the king, after all. We need to stop him from talking…”

“In the past, royal father’s strength was to be fear. But now, I’ve found something even more fearsome than his strength; his words!” 

“Why did you all distance yourselves from me? Come over and take a seat. There is much to discuss,” the elf king calmly patted the bed beside him. 

Everyone’s expression abruptly changed before they excused themselves. 

“Your Majesty, we have something to do, so we’ll be leaving first.”

“Royal Father, we have something to do, so we’ll be leaving first.”

…

Shortly after escaping the king’s bedchamber, Princess Floria looked back at the closed door with a frown.

“This doesn’t make any sense. When did royal father learn how to speak like that?”

“The spirit of the sacred tree is most likely teaching the king as we speak…” Princess Cylia assumed before shaking Princess Floria’s hand.

“But, sister. What did you mean when you said you were leaving the tribe to follow the Dark Lord? The Dark Lord is…the tribe’s enemy, you know? Just look at the state of the sacred tree…”

Little did she know, it was precisely that Dark Lord that Princess Cylia had asked to go out with her. 

The fourth prince glanced at her silently but chose not to say anything.

He didn’t want to shoot himself in the foot.

“I know, but it was the condition for getting the Dark Lord’s help to get rid of that vixen,” Princess Floria explained before glancing at the elders. “If I had known that the Elders were out of seclusion, I wouldn’t have sought the Dark Lord’s help.”

“Never mind. What’s done cannot be undone.”

The Elders sighed.

…

Not long after, an informant suddenly arrived to report.

“Respectable Elders, the Dark Lord has sent a messenger to deliver his message. Would you like to receive the guest in Hiss Majesty’s stead?” the informant inquired. 

“The Dark Lord sent a messenger?” Princess Floria furrowed her brows in thought as she wondered, “It hasn’t been long since Lord Albion left. Is he already urging me to leave?”

“I will receive the Dark Lord’s messenger. Take me to him,” Princess Floria ordered the informant.

“We will also follow and see who the messenger is,” the elders said before the fourth prince spoke shortly after. 

“How dare the Dark Lord send a messenger after what happened in our tribe? We cannot do anything to the Dark Lord, but we can definitely do something to his people!”

“Don’t be foolish,” an Elder immediately dissuaded, “Do you want to destroy the tribe? It’s easy to invite a god but difficult to send it away. The Dark Lord can easily massacre the tribe if he is offended.”

“You’re right, Elder. I was carried away by my emotions,” the fourth prince quickly realized his mistake and apologized. 

…

Sometime later, the group met with the Dark Lord’s messenger before Princess Floria, and everyone else learned the Dark Lord’s message had nothing to do with her but the tribe.

“Dammit, how dare the humans abduct our people!” the fourth prince stomped the ground with fury and said, “I’ve received reports of many tribesmen that went missing in the forest. I didn’t expect it was due to this!”

“You subordinated yourself to the Dark Lord for nothing, sister. He did not even keep his promise to kill Empress Una,” the fourth prince stated. 

Princess Floria frowned for a moment before she recalled, “I requested Lord Albion to get rid of the empress. I didn’t think he would use the loophole like this…” 

“Nevertheless, this situation works better for us,” an elder coolly stated.

“Whether the empress lives or not, we still need to rescue our people.. Now we can do that and, at the same time, take revenge with our own hands! We ought to thank the Dark Lord for presenting us the opportunity.”