This unexpected statement completely quieted the crowd down.
Along with the crowd, even the soldiers and the elf who was overseeing the debate had panic appear on their faces as they heard what many thought to be a blatant admission of guilt.
Only, the former Queen of Eldinor had shock and fear cloud her expression as she heard the accurate description of the most valuable assets in her possession.
During the debate, contestants were allowed to bring communication trinkets to speak with their consultants if needed.
Thus, Eldara quietly spoke into her hand after making sure that everyone had their eyes firmly fixed on Eldra.
"Check the room!", she said frantically, making the soldiers on the end jolt into action as they approached the prison which they had just checked a half hour ago.
From the tone of the former Queen, they had already resigned themselves to activating the explosive after checking inside.
Yet, they heaved a sigh of relief that everything looked normal. All the children were accounted for, and there were no signs of an intrusion.
Reporting the same, the soldiers hurriedly exited the prison to go back to their duties.
Hearing the response, Eldara relaxed slightly.
The worst case that she had imagined hadn't come to pass, and if all her daughter had were accusations, then she was naïve indeed to bring up the topic.
Of course, there still existed the case where she might be privy to the details of the prison, in which case the former queen would have no choice but to press the button in her locket.
Discreetly raising her hand to her neck, Eldara dislodged the locket before hiding the button inside her palm.
After the brief silence, Eldra continued to speak after ensuring that all eyes were on her.
"Yes, you heard me right. In the warehouses a few kilometers away from this location, there is a small prison hidden in the inner wall of the private godown which is regularly hired by outside parties. Inside that prison, you would find more than 100 Elf boys and girls locked like livestock. Of course, the one who is truly responsible for this setup has a failsafe where any intrusion will result in an explosive going off and wiping all traces of all the little ones from the face of this continent. Imagine it. One soldier or one man even accidentally finding its location- and BOOM!"
The sudden sound that Eldra made at the end made the people watching collectively wince.
"Little arms and legs flying in the air. Dismembered, burnt bodies. No way to even identify just which unlucky citizens of Eldinor had just lost all hope of being reunited with the treasures of their lives."
Eldra said these words in a flat tone, allowing each and everyone watching to visualize the scene in their own minds.
Slowly, the expressions of anger and scorn on the elves' faces morphed into ones of terror.
"No! My Angela! I want her back!"
It was a female Elf who broke the silence by screaming out loud while clutching her hair in agony.
This seemed to have broken the spell cast upon the audience, as all of them started shouting various things which were very different from their statements before.
"Have mercy!"
"What do you need us to do?"
"Please tell us!"
Of course, although denouncing shouts were still there, they were now in the minority.
Seeing the complete u-turn in the attitude of the crowd, Eldra smiled wistfully before saying, "No, this is not a hostage situation. I did not come here to use those children as a threat to force you to vote for me. My only intention is to bring your attention to a person who is capable of doing just that if it ensured her victory in the election. Isn't that right, mother?"
Gasps of incredulous shock resounded across the clearing as Eldra calmly leveled the accusation she had been holding inside her for so long.
As the attention shifted to Eldara, the former queen of Eldinor simply humphed and said, "Daughter, don't go throwing baseless accusations around. I know that it was my fault for not giving enough attention to your life. If I had, maybe I could have been able to stop you from committing the ultimate crime in our Kingdom. It is not too late even now, my child. Admit your guilt and step down to be arrested by the soldiers. In doing so, you will at least have saved those elf children who are trapped in the location you just spoke about."
Even at this moment, Eldra was amazed by her mother's intellect. Using that simple statement, she had both warned Eldra and swayed the crowd to doubt even the possibility that she was the one responsible.
Laughing to herself mirthlessly, Eldra said, "Your fault? Yes mother, it was your fault. Your fault for desiring power so much that you broke our family apart to obtain it. Your fault for stooping to engaging in slave trade to fund your election expenses. Your fault for raising a daughter who resents you because all she can remember of her life are a series of decisions made by her mother while her having no say in them."
Even though Eldra used the simplest of words to speak of her plight, it resonated with the people due to the sheer amount of emotion that they carried.
Her voice cracking and her expression set into one of extreme mockery, Eldra spoke directly to the hearts of the Elves of Eldinor.
Seeing the effect that the words of her daughter was having on the observers, a look of surprise first appeared on the former Queen's face before being morphed in a split second into one of regret.
Sighing deeply, she walked forward and said, "Eldra, it is not the time or place to speak of the issues between us. Yes, I am truly sorry that I was too engrossed in the service of our people. Thus, I had no time to take your opinions into consideration. Like I already told you many times, the people of Eldinor are all also my sons and daughters. Hence, I have-"
"Oh, STOP IT!"
In the high strung state Eldra was in, these words had managed to irk her to no end.
Unable to take it anymore, Eldra shouted these words which brought an expression of delight on Eldara's face.
Indeed, although passion and emotion had its power, it was also easy to be manipulated.
The sudden shout had shaken the observers, making them doubt for an instant whether she really was just mindlessly throwing accusations around.
This instant was all Eldara needed.
"Daughter, I know you are angry. Just surrender yourself, and I will speak with the council personally to be lenient in their punishment. That's the least I can do as your mother."
Hearing their former Queen speaking to her daughter so dutifully, the crowd were again swayed to believe that she was truly the humble servant of Eldinor that she claimed to be.
Seeing things going downhill, Eldra slightly panicked. She had been standing on more or less stable ground due to the excellent start. Yet now, she realized that she had probably ruined it with that single shout.
At this moment, the voice that had laid out this entire plan resounded in her mind.
"Follow the plan. Bring out the trump card."
Bewildered, Eldra wondered when he had snuck a communication trinket onto her. Before, they had agreed that it would all be in her hands.
Still, these words managed to snap Eldra out of that spiral.
Looking up again, she addressed the crowd and her mother and said:
"Yes mother, I am angry. But that doesn't mean my accusations are 'baseless'."
Looking into the crowd and seeing a small figure standing between two men, she said the words which made terror appear again on Eldara's face.
"Lizzie sweetie, can you come onto the stage and tell everyone here where you were until just a few hours ago?"