Hearing the elder's question, Lyrica furrowed her brows.

"This one does not know. I hope that the elders can educate me on the matter." Lyrica replied respectfully.

"We've called you back here because your father's legacy has been discovered by your brothers."

"My father's… Legacy?" Lyrica asked in confusion.

"Indeed." The elders nodded.

"Why must you call me back now? Is it because the legacy's been discovered and you want me to claim it for you?" Lyrica asked with a sigh.

From what Shiro had told her, she knew that she needed to be careful with trusting the words of the elders.

"You're wrong."

Hearing their response, Lyrica looked up in surprise. She could see the sadness in their gaze while looking at her.

"Back then, your father had asked us to keep you away from the city should he fall into an accident and not be able to help you. He wanted you to live a peaceful life away from battles. This was why we had tried our best in making sure that your brothers wouldn't attack you since you were your father's favourite child." One of them sighed and tilted her head back. Reminiscing about their deceased king, she couldn't help but feel emotional.  

"But this changed when they discovered the legacy. Knowing that you had the biggest chance to unlock the legacy, Neldor and Elashor have turned their focus on you. If we didn't send Blythe to get you soon, you would have been kidnapped by them without anyone knowing. Thankfully, Blythe's support is still lacking right now so we can suppress him." Another added on and massaged his eyes tiredly.

"But weren't you displeased with my father?" Lyrica asked in confusion. Seeing the elders expressions, she realized that they were not who she thought they were.

"Child. We're not that petty. While we were indeed annoyed by his actions, we respected his choice. The elven race's survival had been placed on his shoulders. What is a little freedom compared to the survival of a race? For him to have offered so much of himself for the elven race, allowing him to be with your mother was the least that we could do."

Hearing their response, Lyrica looked towards Shiro for help. She didn't know if she should trust their words.

"Don't worry Lyrica, they're speaking the truth." Shiro nodded her head. She wasn't surprised that Lyrica was confused since she was as well. But the fact that they were indeed telling the truth couldn't be denied. Their speech, gestures and subconscious movements couldn't be faked.

"But if that's the case, why are you letting my brothers kill each other? Isn't this just weakening the elven race even more?" Lyrica asked.

"Hais… You see, after your father and mother died, we had to make some compromises or else everything would have been over. Without a stronger leader that could dissuade people from making a move against us, our race would have been enslaved. Therefore, the best option at that moment was to allow the princes' to fight each other.

"They would gather supporters and stop the enemy from attacking easily or else they'll offend the large factions. This was the only compromise that we found at the time. With the time that this conflict bought, we've tried to find a suitable king but none of your brothers fit the role.

"Even your fourth brother, he cares for the people but he had no ambition nor did he have the steeled heart of a king. Having him ascend the throne would only send this race into a slow but inevitable dead end."

"Then how does getting me to return changes the situation? I don't want to be a ruler either." Lyrica frowned.

"You don't need to be the ruler. I just hope that you can support your fourth brother to survive this conflict. Even though your fourth brother would send this race into a slow destructive path, we can only hope that he can marry and give birth to worthy descendants in the time that we're still alive so that we can train them when they're young." One of the elders shook his head.

"And I suppose that having Lyrica claim her father's legacy will solidify Lyrica's position am I right?" Shiro asked.

Seeing her cut in, the elders found it a little rude but decided to let it pass for now.

"Indeed." They nodded.

"I'm sorry to be blunt but that's foolish." Shiro shook her head.

Her response had caused the party to widen their eyes in shock.

'Wasn't it you who told us not to piss them off!?!?!?!' They protested in their minds.

*BOOM!!!

A furious aura crashed down into the room as the elders didn't look too happy.

"I don't care if you're Lyrica's friend but are you challenging us?"

"Yes I am." Shiro grinned as her own bloodl.u.s.t countered their aura.

Feeling her bloodl.u.s.t, they realized that Shiro was no ordinary C classed adventurer.

"Do you not see the foolishness in your plan? Using the fourth prince as a vessel to create a more suitable heir. Was this not the reason for this situation to begin with? Lyrica's father was used as a political tool to create alliances and heirs. But because of his actions to focus on his true love, he had offended lots of people. If you hadn't forced him to do that, things would not have escalated to this point." Shiro rebutted.

"By doing the same for the fourth prince, you're only creating the foundations to your own demise. The situation is already tense. If you put so much focus on the fourth prince, which many nobility and factions think has the least chance of succeeding, you're effectively adding fuel to the already raging fire.

"This would only prompt the factions and nobles to eliminate you first since you're their biggest blockade." Shiro narrowed her eyes.

"Once that happens, even if you had the best plan in the world, it wouldn't work."

Hearing her reasoning, the elders paused as realization struck them. They had focused on running away and preserving the race and couldn't see the obvious flaw.

"However, think of this as an alternative." Shiro grinned. Since she knew the elder's goal and reasoning, she could finally take the initiative.

If she was to present her solution, not only would it clear Lyrica of her responsibilities as a potential queen, it would also hopefully resolve the elves worry about enslavement.

Of course, she wasn't going to put all of her cards on the table. What she was going to show them was just the solution she could get with minimal amounts of effort.

"What you want to do is support the third prince on the outside. Once that happens, both the first and second prince will be on guard since his class is the most troublesome. This will prompt them to team up and defeat the third prince. However, in doing so, it will also reveal their trump cards to the factions. Should you sneak some extra manpower to increase their power and proof of 'ambition', the factions would realize how much of a problem the princes are. But at that point, they've already helped them a little too much. This will prompt them to work together and split their profits of this country once that happens."

"Isn't that just speeding our destruction?" The elders narrowed their eyes.

"On the surface yes. But think about this, where have they directed their focus?" Shiro smiled.

"The first and second prince!"

"Bingo." Shiro grinned.

"But that isn't all. While they're focused on the first and second prince, they're also focused on each other. The big factions don't want one side to be stronger than the other, so they'll limit the amount of manpower they provide in hopes of reaping rewards with the least amount of casualties. They'll determine which prince is the weakest out of the two and provide them with help, overpowering the strongest contender. Once that happens, they can then focus on weakening the chosen prince. While also keeping checks on each other.

"And while all of this is happening, the fourth prince is free to be trained. You can also increase his influence among the citizens to ensure his safety." Shiro smiled.

"What do you mean by that?" The elders frowned.

"The power of the populace is bigger than you think. Once he shows his support for the people, he'll become a target of reverence and give him a place in the hearts of the people. Once that happens, he'll become an integral part of this country to the point that the factions can't easily remove him or else everything they've worked towards will be foiled.

"Because once he dies, the people will revolt. This means the collapse of the system in this country and a decrease in its value and manpower. Once that happens, any faction that wants to monopolize this place will have to expend a lot of power to keep it safe. But with their focus on the front lines, they cannot spare too many people so this place will become more trouble than it was worth."

"How can you guarantee that the people will revolt?"

"They've already lost a symbol of peace and protection. If they lose another one, they'll have to be idiots to not realize the looming threat of having other factions influencing in their country. And it all boils down to one key word. Pride." Shiro narrowed her eyes as her face looked extremely devious at this moment in time.

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