"It’s alright, girl... it’s alright. I’m here now. You can leave all your worries and sorrows to me. You won’t be alone anymore."

Rios gently embraced Queen Elena, stroking her hair with tenderness and care.

He had seen and heard everything that had happened between Elena and the three councilors five days ago. Although he had been sealed while merging with the Tree of Life, he had remained aware through its consciousness, which extended across all the vegetation within the royal palace.

Seeing Elena’s unwavering attitude toward him had filled him with joy, especially when she declared that from this day forward, the Elves would revere no sacred tree other than the sacred Tree of Abyss, His Majesty King Rios.

At that very moment, her place in his heart rose to an entirely new level—from merely a subordinate he intended to use for his own growth into someone he could truly rely upon.

For the first time in many years, Queen Elena cried openly.

Ever since she had been only a few days old, a white veil had been placed over her face for fear that she might accidentally harm someone.

When she reached school age and entered the Elven Academy, both classmates and teachers labeled her with the cruelest names imaginable.

Monster. Cursed. Harbinger of Misfortune. Calamity. Nightmare. Unclean. Disgrace...

Countless titles that could drive anyone into despair.

Had the Light Elf bloodline not been so rare—and had killing someone who possessed it not been considered blasphemy among the Elves—little Elena would likely have been executed in childhood simply to rid the world of the so-called curse.

From then on, she lived in complete isolation, avoiding everyone without exception.

Until strange prophetic dreams began appearing.

At first, she did not believe them.

But every dream eventually came true.

In the beginning, they foretold only trivial events in her daily life.

Everything changed ten years ago when she started dreaming of the three great prophecies.

Only then did she receive the attention she had always longed for.

Only then did she gain her very first true friend.

Someone who never avoided her, never feared her eyes, and never called her by those monstrous names.

That friend was Thandria.

Yet even around Thandria, Elena still had to wear the white veil to avoid accidentally hurting her only friend.

Rios, however, was different.

For the first time in her life, Elena looked directly into another person’s eyes without a veil between them.

For the first time, she felt like an ordinary person instead of a cursed monster.

At long last, the nightmare had come to an end.

Now there was someone before whom she could simply be herself.

Someone who made her feel she was no longer alone.

Someone who saw her as more than a mere tool whose disappearance would go unnoticed.

Rios gently held Elena’s face, wiped away her tears, kissed her forehead, and gazed into her reddened eyes.

His voice was filled with warmth.

"These tears are worth mountains and rivers. Wars are fought and blood is spilled for the women of King Rios, but not a single tear should ever fall from their eyes. Hold your head high, wipe away your tears, and if anyone dares look down on you, I’ll gouge out their eyes for your sake."

Elena met Rios’s gaze.

Her body temperature rose.

Her vision blurred.

Her limbs weakened.

The blush spreading across her face deepened until it was almost the color of blood within moments from sheer embarrassment and excitement.

She looked as though she might melt on the spot after hearing his words.

"Ooooh... you two look just like a pair of lovebirds on a rosy night."

Standing to the side, Thandria could no longer contain herself as she watched the newly blossoming romance, unable to tell whether the feeling in her heart was admiration or jealousy.

Elena immediately panicked at the sound of her friend’s voice and buried her face in Rios’s chest in embarrassment, wishing the earth would split open and swallow her whole.

"Hahahahaha!"

Rios laughed freely, completely unashamed of Elena’s reaction or Thandria’s jealousy.

He could not even remember the last time he had laughed so sincerely.

"Oho, my dear lord, it seems you enjoy bullying young and helpless girls. But how long are you planning to stay half-naked like this?"

Thandria looked at Rios’s barely covered body with visible embarrassment and sighed helplessly.

"Why should I wear clothes? Everyone here is my servant and my subject. Should I be embarrassed in front of my own servants?"

Rios spoke mockingly, as though Thandria’s logic made no sense to him.

Within Elven culture, the sacred trees were far more than kings or objects of worship.

They were the protectors and the very origin of the Elven race.

To the Elves, sacred trees were the noblest and purest beings in existence.

At the dawn of their civilization, the Elves had sworn an eternal oath to serve the sacred trees and willingly regarded themselves as their servants.

Because of that, Rios found nothing strange about standing half-naked before Elena and Thandria.

Since when did masters feel embarrassed about exposing themselves before their female servants?

"Besides, I’m a tree, not an Elf. Why should I wear clothes?"

Rios added shamelessly, clearly amused.

"For the love of the sacred trees, put something on! You’re no longer some rootless beast, nor a savage living in the wilderness wearing that grass skirt. You’re a king with a human form now, so act like one!"

Thandria snapped in frustration before tossing a two-piece white outfit toward him.

"Watch your words, woman, and remember who you’re speaking to. I may forgive you this time, but I can’t promise the same next time."

Rios caught the clothes, looked at Thandria coldly, and released his overwhelming aura as a warning, his tone stern.

Yet inwardly, he felt something entirely different.

Shit, being a king and ordering your followers around really is incredible. Now I understand why all those tyrants and bastards in my previous life clung to their thrones with such obsession and would rather die than give them up.