“I didn’t know there was a function to forcibly increase the distance with the person next to you. I’ve been standing alone until now.”

“Can’t you sit down?”

“Then we can’t have a carriage parade, so I said I would only wear it for the ceremony and quickly take off the petticoat.”

It’s too much physically. Just standing like this is tiring enough. If I had to walk for a while, I would have grabbed Hadel’s collar and shaken him lightly, saying to make it light.
“Still, it’s a bit disappointing that I can’t stand close to Hadel.”

Upon my words, Hadel lifted my hand and pressed a kiss on the back of it. I shrank my shoulders due to the ticklish sensation.

That was the moment when a messenger suddenly burst into the room.

“Your Highness! Something urgent has happened!”

Is there anything more significant than entering without permission to report to the king?

“What kind of absurd behavior is this!”

Cesil, who was standing in front of the door, scolded the messenger loudly. The messenger immediately knelt on the floor and reported loudly.

“Elves from the border zone have arrived! They request trade with the kingdom.”

“Elves?”

Unexpectedly, at the unexpected news, Hadel and I exchanged glances.

It had already been 100 years since all the different races were pushed beyond the mountains.

The winds of change were blowing.

An urgent central meeting was convened. I quickly changed my clothes and sat down for the council. My lips were unconsciously chewed.

Elves.

A type of fairy race living in the forest.

Closer to plants than animals, with a long lifespan and a strong tendency to protect their territory.

‘Just hearing the description makes them seem like affectionate tree fairies, but in reality, they were extremely hostile to humans.’

If elves saw humans cutting down trees or even slightly damaging the forest, they would ruthlessly try to harm them. Therefore, conflicts were frequent.

‘Above all, there was no way to retreat or yield.’

Even if it was disadvantageous for them, elves wouldn’t stop fighting even if it meant killing everyone, including children.

‘To them, trees were as good as family.’

If you think of them as enemies of the family, their seemingly incomprehensible actions of attacking become understandable.

‘But humans have no choice but to live by destroying the forest.’

To survive the harsh winter, cutting down trees for firewood was inevitable. Wood was essential for building houses.

However, elves would massacre humans at the slightest touch of a finger to a tree.

‘In reality, coexistence is impossible.’

But they came to trade with humans, which was unbelievable.

They would surely find it disgusting when they saw bridges or houses made from the trees.

‘Can coexistence be established?’

Even if 100 years had passed, I didn’t think elves had changed. They were that exclusive.

‘There seems to be some trickery.’

A race that attacks humans while suffering from the sight of cut trees voluntarily hopes to enter the places where humans live?

It seemed more reasonable to assume there was some trickery.

But except for me, no one present had actually seen an elf. In response to the news that a race from beyond the northern mountains was approaching, the central figures reacted fervently.

“Our descendants do not know the world beyond the mountains. Perhaps this is an opportunity to show our descendants the world beyond the mountains.”

“Let’s welcome the elves with grandeur.”
If I had gone down to the south, everyone was in a state of welcoming the elves into the kingdom without any opposition or hesitation. No one expressed caution or concern about the unfamiliar race.

“Just a moment.”

So, I had to step forward.

“This race is literally not human. Just as you can’t understand dogs and cats, this race also cannot understand us. Right now, you are looking at this race from an overly human perspective.”

Thinking that this non-human race would be friendly to humans is nothing more than projecting the frustrations of humans who usually find this land stifling.

‘There’s no reason for these races, who lived peacefully here and were driven away, to be friendly. Moreover, quite a few of them have a longer lifespan than us.’

Unlike humans who have forgotten all about the fight from 100 years ago, they might be harboring sharp anger and waiting for the opportunity to attack.

However, those who had never experienced these races strongly resisted my words.

“So, are we supposed to rely on the sea forever and live trapped? Should our descendants think that only our kingdom exists in this world and live accordingly?”

“Yes! Just as Princess knows that the kingdom she was aware of has changed, these races must have changed too.”

“We cannot miss this opportunity!”

Rather than inviting danger, it might be better to choose isolation. I wanted to ask them what exactly this opportunity was for.