On the day after the Elections which saw one of the highest turnouts for voting in the history of Eldinor.
In front of the gates of Elfaven, a wide stage had been erected on which stood 6 individuals.
In front of them, the roads of the capital of the Kingdom of the Elves were filled with people for as far as the eye could see.
In a few moments, the results would be announced and the person who would govern Eldinor for the next 5 years would officially enter the Palace.
From the predictions, it was quite clear who the victor would be. Yet, as per tradition, all the contestants had to be present on the occasion to congratulate their newly elected King or Queen.
In fact, the Voice of Eldinor which now stood on equal ground with the other three big news organizations had stated that this victory would set a record for the highest majority with which a contestant obtained victory.
On the other hand, the Network of Angaria was broadcasting the audio recordings of the debates it had conducted between the eminent Elves in the capital who discussed the virtues of each contestant repeatedly.
Although almost all of the debates ended with the conclusion that someone who had the experience of watching the governance of the Kingdom would definitely be the best bet in tumultuous times like these, Eloise was directing the Network carefully so that suspicion of a partisan attitude would be minimal.
Holding an embroidered piece of parchment in his hands, the aged Elf who had by now unwittingly become famous due to his act of knocking out the former Queen with a single blow made his way onto the stage amidst the cheers of the crowd.
Controlling the feeling of slight indignation, the Elf made his way to the podium before holding out the parchment and saying, "As per the rules set down by our ancestors, I hereby declare that Eldra Dartingnon has won the hearts of the Elves of Eldinor to take the throne as our rightful Queen. My Queen, please step forward to take the sacred oath."
Although the result was already expected, the deafening roars of support from the crowd drowned out the last words of the announcer.
With a serious expression on her face, Eldra walked up to the podium before the people and placed her hand on the oath stone which had appeared on the hand of the aged elf.
"I, Eldra Dartingnon, do solemnly affirm that I will faithfully execute the office of the Queen of the Kingdom of Eldinor, and will to the best of my ability preserve, protect and defend the law, and that I will devote myself to the service and well-being of the people of Eldinor."
As the oath got stored in the oath stone along with the ones of the rulers before her, Eldra turned around and made her way to the contestants to shake their hands.
To promote solidarity, this was another custom where the winner would give this gesture of friendship to those who stood in the election.
Each of the contestants congratulated and wished her good fortune before getting off the stage.
Only, at the end, Katerina said something different which made her halt her steps momentarily.
"Tread carefully, My Queen. If I find even the slightest evidence that you serve someone other than our people, you will meet the same fate as your mother."
With a glance into her eyes, Katerina left the stage with a measured stride.
Although Eldra was startled by the threat, she had already been told by Daneel that this was possible due to her actions on the stage of the first Grand Debate.
Regaining her composure, she waved once at the crowd before turning around and entering the Palace to ascend the Throne.
.....
Back in the Kingdom of Lanthanor, Daneel stretched lazily on his bed as he reveled in the feeling of coming back home.
Indeed, these chambers with the beating Dragon's Heart had already become his home. In the eyes of the others, he was still in "closed door training", and he had decided to go out a public appearance the next day in order to check on all the plans he had set into motion for the development of the Kingdom of Lanthanor.
Just as he was about to go to the Energized Training Chamber to continue training, a wide grin appeared on the King of Lanthanor's face due to the notification of the system which had just sounded in his mind.
[Achievement: Puppeteer-1 obtained.
Puppeteer-1: By placing a figure on the throne who has sworn to follow your commands, you have obtained control of a Kingdom and become the one who directs it from the shadows. Congratulations on taking the next step towards World Domination!
10,000 EXP awarded.
10 Kingdom Points awarded.
Total EXP: 11,000
Total Kingdom Points: 20]
This notification signified that his expedition to the Kingdom of the Elves had been grandly successful.
The feeling of hard work paying off was really something else. Now, he was one step closer to his goal of obtaining enough EXP to upgrade the system and unlock the secrets of the Lanthanor Kingdom.
Sadly, Daneel had no option but to let the Kingdom Points stagnate, as all the tools that required them to be used also cost EXP which he could not spare. Thus, he had decided that he would hoard them unless a situation came where he desperately needed to spend them.
Reaching the Energized Training Chamber, Daneel conjured his clone and continued the training that he had already become addicted to.
....
In Elfaven, many people could be seen gathered outside a large building which had numerous guards observing the surroundings with caution.
These were the families whose children hadn't been among the ones saved by now-Queen Eldra.
With the information of the location of the woman responsible for it all, they had chosen to wait outside with the hope that any details of their missing family members could be found out.
Yet, the truth was that the former Queen had already been transported to a secret cell inside the Royal Palace after making sure that the whole process was carried out as discreetly as possible.
The reason stated had been that the former Queen's life was actually in danger due to the information she had. It was all too possible that the slave buyers might send assassins to silence her so that Eldinor wouldn't obtain information about them.
After ascending the throne, Eldra had taken care of some official matters before retiring to the room in which her mother had previously lived in.
That night, she made her way over to the cell under the Palace with the aged Elf as company.
On asking, she had found out that he was the only Warrior Level mage still in the Nation. Sworn to defend the Kingdom at all costs, he was the one who controlled the formation that protected the Palace.
Over all the years she spent in the Palace, she actually hadn't seen him due to the fact that he only assisted from the shadows.
Ohera was the name he gave, but Eldra had no idea whether it was his real or just a made up identity.
The cell was a special trinket which isolated the person on the inside from everything outside. Yet, those outside could look in and observe the prisoner's actions.
On reaching, Ohera said, "My Queen, we have already extracted everything we can from her. It turns out that she was approached by an untraceable individual who was the only one she was in contact with to sell the slaves. She has also given the identities of the other 4 people who helped her, and has given testimony that they are major stakeholders of several organizations which they influenced to support her. Sadly, she only facilitated the transport of the slaves to a location and was paid after that. That is all she knows."
Nodding, Eldra dismissed Ohera saying, "Give me a moment with her. What is the public punishment again?"
"Death by burning to ashes using hellfire, Your Majesty. We can go ahead with it if you give the order."
Saying so, Ohera left after giving one last glance at the two.
After making sure she was alone, Eldra entered the room.
An hour later, she walked out and made her way to her chambers with mixed expressions on her face that no one could discern.
Yet, the order she gave Ohera shocked him, making him double check whether the message had been correct.
"Execute her tomorrow."