16 The Marriage After (1) - 15

Hearing my greeting, the hall descended into silence as they all wondered how I knew the exact formalities that the elves used to greet the people in this room.

After all, they had been expecting me to just greet the King and Queen, so they definitely didn't think that I would know what the tribunal was, much less greet them in the proper way.

"How do you, a human child, know such a thing?" Asked an elder on the Tribunal.

"I have studied for years now, it would have been shameful for me to come here not knowing anything."

"Oh, you, a human noble, would learn the customs of the elves?"

"Don't underestimate the power of knowledge. It's something I've learned after too many mistakes to count."

"A young man like you sounding so much like an old man... you must have been through a lot."

I could only nod to this statement, as I sure had been through a lot, and nobody could ever take those experiences from me.

Anyways, seeing that it had mostly been this one elder talking to me this whole time, I had been facing him, but now, I could see that the King was fixing to speak.

"Would you like to know the date of your wedding?"

"No thank you." I responded without hesitation.

"Why?"

"I would rather court your daughter with all my heart before marrying her. Knowing the date of our wedding will only make me want to rush things."

"A fine man indeed." Muttered an elder standing relatively close to me.

These words were met with a general consensus, as many of the elves nodded their heads, impressed by how the kid in front of them carried himself.

"But how do you expect to court her with that mask on?" Asked the Queen, not swayed by the small conversations that the elders were engaging in.

"Please allow me to wear this mask for a little bit more. I must get over a trauma of mine before I can continue on with my life. If I want to be able to do my best for your daughter, than this is what I must do."

This was my final response, as it seemed like most of the elves present were now pretty accepting of my presence.

But, of course there were the usual dissenters.

I could feel their burning gazes on the back of my head as I was being led out of the grand chamber with Estella following close by.

Ignoring them, I only kept my head forward, as I followed the queen who wanted to introduce me to her daughter personally.

"Are you sure that you will be able to meet all of her needs?"

It seemed like the Queen was still questioning my ability, as she once again started her questioning of me as soon as we were out of the hearing range of the other elves.

"I can't guarantee it, but I will do my best."

"Why though? Why are you willing to go so far as to make those types of promises in front of hundreds of witnesses?"

"Because there was once a boy in the exact same situation that I was in."

"Oh, there was another human that was betrothed to an elf before?"

"Please, just listen on."

Hearing this, she nodded, respecting my right to tell my story.

"He was a bastard, the scum of society, somebody unfit to carry around life itself."

The Queen's eyes widened for a second, but that was the only change in her expression, as she waited for me to continue.

"This boy, after marrying the little elf girl, spared no violence against her, as he regularly abused her day and night."

"Yet, that elf girl, throughout all of this, she held a happy smile on her face, devoting herself to her partner in all aspects of the word "entirely"."

"Finally, in the end, the human boy killed the elf girl, but, as she died, that ever present smile was never wiped from her face, as she happily accepted the death that her partner condemned her to."

As I finished my story, everything was silent, as the Queen took the time to absorb the contents of my story.

"And what might be the name of this little boy?"

"Callian, Callian Castor, at least, the Callian Castor in my dreams."

"These dreams of yours... Have they ever become reality?"

"Sometimes, but I try my best to avoid the pathways my dreams show me."

"Why?"

"Because I am the villain."

"..."

Hearing that, her footsteps had stopped, I turned around, only to jump a little bit in surprise, as I felt a soft hand ruffle my hair.

"Hahahahaha!"

Chuckling loudly, the Queen tried to console me.

"Seeing you now, as such a fine man, I would have never believed that you were a villain, so don't worry about those useless dreams, you are young with a long journey ahead of you, and so you should just worry about trying to win my daughter's heart."

Warmly smiling at me, the Queen suddenly took my hand and pulled me along.

I could only smile back, enamored by her bright smile, as she pulled me along.

'So this is where Faye got her smile from.'

"Thank you... Mom." I murmured, softly, as we arrived in front of Faye's room.

"Hmm?"

Turning her head around in surprise, she could only pat my head even more, as she pretended to be unfazed by what I had just said.

But the trembling in her hand, no matter how much she tried to hide it, would always be visible to me.

Thinking that I had successfully started off my relations with the elves, especially Faye's mom, I smiled in satisfaction, as I opened the door to my future.

Looking through the door as the bright light coming from a window in the room blinded me for a second, I waited for my eyes to adjust until I could see clearly, fully opening my eyes to see her once again.

"Mom? Is he my fiancé?"

A melodious voice filtered into my eyes as I could only stare.

Such a familiar person, I could never forget her after all this time, as my heart ached. And there, still on her neck, was the necklace that I had given her all those years ago.

And, as she turned around, it was obvious that she recognized my mask.

"Y-you! You're the one who saved me!"