Chapter 17: I Understand 

The second daughter of Viscount Rozena, Elliot Rozena, a prospective student of the Academy.

She possesses quite beautiful features, but they are overshadowed by her personality. 

Her twisted disposition is well-known to those familiar with her. 

Viscount Rozena is one of the vassals serving closely under Count Pontureyna. 

The count’s rank is undoubtedly high within the empire, and as prestige rises, so does the arrogance of their vassals. 

Elliot, already naturally vain, took this to an extreme.

Elliot’s specialty was belittling and trampling on provincial nobles. 

Those distant from central power, merely scraping by in their rural domains—

Elliot used them as stepping stones to enhance her own and her family’s prestige. 

Though the baroness warned her against such behavior, it was no more than that—a warning. 

Even the baroness saw the exploitation of powerless provincial nobles as a profitable venture to solidify the family’s influence and chose not to intervene much. 

Moreover, Elliot wasn’t entirely tactless. 

She avoided offending families she shouldn’t and managed such situations adeptly.

Today was no different. 

While she didn’t intentionally set out to target anyone, she had already assessed her opponent. 

The conclusion? 

“A target with no repercussions.” 

A quick apology for any perceived offense ensured that the matter wouldn’t escalate. 

Now, all that was left was to deliver her remarks, veiled but sharp: 

“Why do those who know the proper paths in the capital move so slowly? This is why provincials never succeed.”

“Barony of Heiner? Ha. They only gained some recognition because they’re next to the great forest. And yet, they act so arrogantly. Why are these backwater folks even crawling into the Academy? Polluting the waters of the capital.”

The Academy should be an exclusive social circle for central nobles alone. 

It seemed these provincials were dreaming of a new foothold, but there was no chance of that. 

Such ambitions must be crushed preemptively to stop them from having such foolish thoughts. 

And so, as usual, she subtly trampled on the baron’s daughter. 

Without crossing any lines, she skillfully presented facts that couldn’t be refuted. 

Having already apologized for any missteps, she felt no burden.

“Excuse me.”

This time, however, even Elliot had to step back.

An elf?

At first, she thought they were the baron’s people or perhaps hired guards. 

With their hood pulled up, that assumption seemed natural. 

They didn’t interfere recklessly in this matter and even maintained a distance.

But she was wrong. 

They weren’t servants or guards.

“Those who cause accidents by meddling have no right to speak, even if they had ten mouths.”

The moment their cold gaze swept over her, Elliot felt a chill run down her spine. 

It wasn’t a murderous glare, just an ordinary look. 

Yet, hearing those words from none other than an elf instinctively filled her with fear.

And no wonder. 

Elliot knew well about the deeds of that arrogant race.

“Elliot. I won’t comment on how you handle most things since you know what you’re doing. However, I’ll give you one piece of advice.”

“Do your best to avoid—no, truly refrain from getting involved with elves. That race values their honor and pride more than their lives. If that is denied, they’ll cause chaos that even monsters pale in comparison to.”

“Keep this in mind. The authority of nobles that you wield as a weapon doesn’t work here. Elves may be more ignorant of the human world than you think, but precisely because of that, they tend to pay even more attention to such matters.”

Strange advice from a noble of the Empire, telling him to avoid things not even affiliated with the Empire.

At first, Elliot questioned the words of the baron, but it wasn’t long before he came to understand them.

Elves are masters of magic and experts in spirit arts. 

There is nothing to gain from antagonizing a race with such exceptional capabilities.

Moreover, this isn’t just about the abilities of their race. 

True power—real power—ultimately comes from strength. 

Among the Empire’s influential nobles, almost all have private soldiers and knights under their command, as well as wizards and spiritists bound by exclusive contracts.

Elves provide substantial assistance to those magic and spirit arts practitioners.

It doesn’t matter whether elves integrate into the Empire or not. 

What matters is how useful they are. 

That’s all.

Currently, almost all elves residing in the Empire, knowingly or not, have ties with those ‘powerful individuals.’

This is the hidden, real reason why elves cannot be recklessly dismissed.

Some claim that the Empire hesitates because elves are too powerful, but that’s hardly the case.

From the Empire’s perspective, elves are beings who step out of their homeland without any concept of national affiliation and willingly share their magic and spirit arts.

Although they sometimes cause trouble—occasionally significant trouble—it’s not enough to warrant exterminating them entirely.

Thus, when dealing with elves, one must consider various factors. 

Their race’s strength if you have nothing, and the consequences if you hold a position of power.

Elliot thought as much, opening his mouth to address the elf standing before him.

*

“…Excuse me, but this is a conversation among those directly involved.”

Look at that. 

The informal speech naturally shifted to polite speech without him even noticing.

To be honest, it was a somewhat bold move on my part. 

I worried quite a bit after stepping forward.

Those who feared and felt uneasy about elves were, in the end, ordinary citizens of the Empire—or powerless nobles.

On the other hand, the influential nobles of the Empire probably wouldn’t be overly constrained by such matters.

Sure, these pointed-eared beings are impressive, but this isn’t the Great Forest. 

This is the Empire, where powerful elites are surely surrounded by strong and capable individuals.

For that reason, I wondered what would happen if that woman, Elliot, said, “This pesky elf should shut up and get lost.”

If she turned out to be even more influential than I anticipated, it could complicate things in the future.

But seeing her now, it seemed like just the fact that she was an elf held considerable sway.

“Conversations among those directly involved. I can acknowledge that. But don’t you think those conversations should be somewhat logical? If something ridiculous comes up, that’s not a conversation. And I can’t just let non-conversations slide.”

I think of the meddling elves I occasionally saw in the village. And now, I become one of them.

Even if it wasn’t their business, if something didn’t seem right, they would immediately step in and interfere.

Back then, I wondered why they behaved that way and criticized them for it. 

But now, I’ve become that very elf, stepping forward.

Because only then would these people think, “Ah, this pesky elf is standing up to us!” and back off.

Now then, let’s think. 

If I were an elf, what would I say to resolve this situation?

Taking Maria’s side outright would be a poor choice. 

It wouldn’t be good for her or for me.

There’s nothing more suspicious than an elf suddenly siding with a random human.

“Then… yes. In situations like this, that’s usually the best approach.”

Despite everyone insisting they are in a hurry, not a single carriage has departed.

Pointing my chin toward the carriages abandoned to one side, I continued.

“If a carriage accident occurred because two carriages collided, shouldn’t they just discuss the issue and move on? Why are they dragging this out?”

“Ah.”

Maybe I got too caught up in teasing the noble from the countryside.

Realizing why I intervened and what I was pointing out, Elliott let out a sigh.

He must have imagined the ways this could be turned against him.

For example, something like, “Isn’t this exactly what happens when a noble living near the capital blocks part of the main road like this?”

“We apologized, and if it’s been accepted, let’s just move on. If repair costs are needed, we already know where each of us comes from, so it can be handled through those channels, right?”

“…You’re right. What you said makes sense.”

Taking a step back, Elliott looked past me to Maria and then spoke again.

“It seems I got so caught up explaining things to someone new to the capital that I forgot that part.”

And yet, he still found a way to blame Maria.

Is she really human? 

The way she acts and her unlikable attitude remind me of a Kanph.

“That’s surprising. I never expected an elf to meddle in human affairs.”

“Because the conversation lacks logic, and the topic lacks decorum.”

One convenient thing about being an elf is that your existence alone makes you an unfiltered critic—

There’s no need to hold back.

Reiterating to Elliot that “You’re spouting nonsense,” seemed to make him realize that speaking further would only harm his position.

“Can I ask you something, elf?”

“If it’s not impolite.”

“You seem to have come here with that person. What’s your relationship?”

“I was simply asked for help, and I’m fulfilling that request.”

“A request, you say.”

Elliott folded his arms and seemed to mull something over.

But perhaps finding no more reason to continue, he turned away, saying, “That’s enough.”

He shot Maria a look that seemed to say, Consider yourself lucky today.

“…”

This is a problem. 

Not long ago, my own kin looked like Kanph to me.

I’d met good humans and had begun to feel guilty toward them.

But now, faced with the reality of the human world, I suddenly feel like I understand my kin a bit more.