"It can't be helped."

The Queen eyes began to dim as they swam around the court, taking the hesitation of the others in her sights. It was apparent to her that most of them were still feeling indecisive and it was likely that they wouldn't reach the conclusion she had hoped for.

However, to her own dismay, she actually felt some relief in her as she saw this, realising once again how powerless she truly was in the face of the current reality.

"Everyone, let us set this matter aside f..." the Queen announced, deciding to leave the matter for now and discuss it at a later time, but a sudden onset of marching sounds captured her attention, pausing her words to look towards the entrance.

As such, the coordinated footsteps instantly became the focus of attention of the hall as all of them turned their eyes to the entrance. After all, there was no way this would go by unnoticed with the footsteps were getting louder with each passing moment, clearly heading in their direction.

"Y-Your Majesty, t-the captain of the northern guardhouse has brought his men and---." just then, a panicked palace guard frantically rushed into the hall and fell on his knees, reporting the Queen with his head lowered.

The expressions of the court members and the Queen immediately turned ugly after hearing this, learning of the identity of culprits behind the footsteps that were rapidly getting closer.

"The Captain of the Northern guardhouse pays his respects to the Queen!" before the guard could even finish, a loud roar interrupted him from behind as orderly rows of guards began to march into the throne hall.

As this was happening, Ada and another female elf promptly stepped up from behind the throne and blew a whistle. Many female elves then began to enter from the two doors at the back of the hall with Layla and Lily among them, assembling behind the two and blocking the path to the throne.

Behind the group who had just marched in, there were also many palace guards gathering behind after chasing them from the entrance, sandwiching the group between themselves and the personal guards standing before the throne.

"My Queen, I hear that our young chieftain had caused some trouble for the palace. I deeply apologise on behalf of him and would like to request his return for our Chieftain to discipline him personally."

Despite being surrounded on both sides, the elf who identified himself as the captain of the northern guardhouse calmly stepped up from the group and began speaking without any form of greeting towards the Queen.

Additionally, although he had a respectful tone, there wasn't a single trace of fear or tension on his face as he spoke of his request while staring directly at the Queen.

From this show alone, the differences between him and the southern captain were immediately apparent, as despite being in the same position, the northern captain clearly held much less respect towards the palace and the Queen.

Faced with such insolence, the court members would have usually called him out immediately, but none of them chose to do so this time despite the anger on their faces as they looked on by the side.

"Is this what the palace has come to?"

The Queen was naturally enraged by his behaviour, but a deeper sorrow and sense of helplessness began to sprout in her heart as she met the northern captain's disrespectful gaze directly.

"Leave now! This is not a place you can enter!" the Queen shouted.

"Pardon my disrespect, but I cannot comply. We will only leave when the young chieftain is returned to us." a cold glint flashed across the northern captain's eyes as he heard this, openly choosing to refute her words.

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"Balk! How dare you speak like this to the Queen!" a low, rumbling bellow came an aged court member by the side who finally lost control of his anger, reprimanding the northern captain with a ferocious glare that caused him to flinch backwards.

However, he couldn't be blamed for that, as the impression the aged elf gave off was nothing short of imposing with his stout build and battle-worn appearance, alongside the two stone great sword he was famed for that only added to his ferocity.

"My apologies general, I do not mean to anger you. All of us deeply respect you for what you have done, and our chieftain has said that he will always wel---." this time, the northern captain bowed deeply to the elf and replied with his gaze lowered, unwilling to meet his eyes.

*BAM*. The general brandished one of his swords and slammed it heavily on the ground with an angry snort to cut him off but didn't continue to press the matter after this.

The northern captain also wisely chose not to continue on and turned back to the Queen, but he and his men were standing closer together, obviously rattled by the old general who was known as the strongest.

"May Your Majesty please permit the return of our young chieftain." after throwing a sideward glance at the general, the northern captain bowed deeply to the Queen as he respectfully requested for Cruz's return again.

"I'm sorry for being so useless Aura."

The Queen shot a quick look of gratitude to the captain before turning her eyes back to the northern captain in contemplation while letting out a sigh inwardly, feeling apologetic towards the princess.

In truth, her decision had already been made since the moment she chose to keep Cruz alive, as it was the decision she had to make for the elves of the forest and the duty she had to them.

After all, the palace might have seemed intact from the outside, but the reality was much harsher than it seemed.

In the recent years, over half of the previous court members had already left due to the Northern Chieftain's persuasions, with most choosing to wait by the side while some even went over to the North, leaving only the fifteen of them in the court.

This was also why the Queen treated them all with utmost care and respect, for all of them were truly deserving of it beyond doubt, choosing to stay with palace in the harshest of times.

While her abilities as a ruler have withstood the test of time over the past decade, she was ultimately just a stand-in for the throne, appointed to her position only because of king's absence.

The Northern Chieftain had wisely made use of this opening to incite dissent among the members of the court since the king's departure for his expedition, with ambitions to take over the throne entirely.

If the problem was only to this extent, the palace might still be able to come up with solutions for the matter, but there was a more fundamental issue that had already gotten too late for them to address, the matter of military might.

The fact of the matter was simple, the North had already amassed strength comparable to the capital. This was all that was required to put the Queen at a loss for ideas, unable to muster any viable forms of retaliation.

The Queen simply couldn't bear watching a war unfold among their own kind, repeatedly making concessions to the North and losing ground in the battle behind the scenes. This was the helpless plight of the palace, the story of a compassionate Queen.

"Ada, bring him over." the Queen said.

Ada wordlessly bowed to the Queen and left through a room at the back, leaving the hall in an uncomfortable silence that filled the air as everyone waited for her return.

About ten minutes later, Ada returned with Cruz dressed in simple clothes silently following behind her. There were several bruises on Cruz's face and body, but everything was intact, and the severity of the injuries were a far cry from Alz.

Cruz was still feeling puzzled from suddenly being told to leave and follow behind Ada, but his lights immediately lit up the moment he saw the Northern Captain, hastily dashing over to his side.

"I thank Your Majesty for your kindness. We will take our leave now." The northern captain finally let relieved breath as he confirmed Cruz's safety, thanking the Queen before commanding his men as they began to take their leave orderly.

The palace guards gathered behind them naturally made way for them to pass as well, escorting them by the sides until they smoothly exited the palace.

The group of personal guards also retreated to the two rooms by the side, leaving only Ada and Sylvia standing behind the throne, bringing everything back to how it was in the beginning.

However, the same could not be said about the emotions of the Queen and the court members, and there was also little meaning left in continuing this court session in the sombre atmosphere, especially with Cruz having been taken away.

"I thank all of you for coming over." the Queen stood up with a mildly forced smile and bowed towards the members of the court again as Sylvia walked up from behind the throne.

"Court dismissed." Sylvia announced, bringing the end to the session as the Queen exited by the room at the back.