Michael tertegun.
Suara itu terdengar tenang, mantap, dan jelas milik pria tua di sampingnya.
*Jangan membungkuk.*
Alis Michael sedikit mengernyit, tetapi dia tidak membantah. Pria tua itu juga tidak membungkuk. Mengingat rank-nya, hal itu sangat masuk akal.
Yang lebih penting, Michael percaya bahwa pria tua itu lebih tahu dan tidak akan menjebaknya dalam bahaya tanpa alasan.
Jadi, dia tetap berdiri diam.
Di bawah, tatapan sang royal elf menyapu area lapangan, bersikap tenang dan penuh pengamatan. Tatapannya berhenti sejenak pada supervisor Healing Sanctuary, lalu beralih ke sosok-sosok yang melayang di dekatnya.
Matanya terhenti untuk sepersekian detik.
Di sana.
Michael bisa merasakannya.
Bahkan dalam keadaan tersembunyi, rasanya tatapan wanita itu melintas melewatinya tanpa benar-benar melihatnya, namun tetap menyadari bahwa ada sesuatu di sana.
Senyum tipis terukir di bibirnya.
Meskipun ekspresi pria tua itu tetap santai, hampir acuh tak acuh, sama sekali tidak ada kesan santai dari pikiran yang bergolak di balik penampilannya.
Pada awalnya, dia menolak gagasan itu. Namun setelah berhari-hari melakukan pengamatan, keraguan, dan pertimbangan diam-diam, dia akhirnya bisa menerima kemungkinan yang tadinya sempat ia abaikan.
Michael bisa menyamar sebagai anak suci dari realm mereka.
Jika dia tumbuh jauh lebih kuat daripada kandidat lainnya, dia sangat mungkin diakui sebagai yang terpilih dari realm ini.
Penerimaan itulah yang menjadi alasan mengapa sikapnya terhadap Michael menjadi lebih lunak. Itulah sebabnya dia mulai lebih banyak berbicara, membimbing, dan turun tangan ketika sebelumnya dia mungkin hanya akan menonton.
Meskipun begitu, dia tidak mengubah pendiriannya tentang satu hal.
Michael tidak akan dibiarkan di bawah naungan akademi.
Mereka memiliki terlalu banyak kebebasan. Terlalu sedikit batasan. Terlalu banyak agenda yang berubah seiring angin politik. Kepedulian apa pun yang mereka klaim miliki dalam membina talenta, hal itu tidak pernah tanpa pamrih.
Di sisi lain, Federation.
Itulah tempat yang akan dituju Michael.
Dia merasa lega karena Michael bangkit lebih awal, lebih cepat dari perkiraan. Itu berarti dia bisa mulai memindahkannya segera, sebelum terlalu banyak pasang mata memperhatikannya.
Pria tua itu sudah merencanakan segalanya.
Sebuah peristiwa besar telah terjadi di Hell, sesuatu yang cukup besar sehingga Federation pasti akan mengetahuinya. Dan jika Federation tahu, maka akademi tidak akan tertinggal jauh.
Mengingat apa yang telah ditunjukkan Michael sejauh ini, siapa pun yang berakal sehat, terutama akademi asalnya, akan menyadari bahwa membiarkannya tinggal di sini tanpa pengawasan adalah sebuah kesalahan.
Mereka akan datang.
Dia sangat yakin akan hal itu.
Satu-satunya alasan mereka belum muncul adalah karena situasinya sendiri tidak biasa. Para elf bersedia membuka gerbang mereka untuk membawa Michael ke sini. Ke courtesy itu tidak diberikan kepada pihak lain mana pun. Tidak ada pihak lain yang diizinkan masuk secara fisik.
Namun, pesan adalah cerita yang berbeda.
Selama beberapa hari terakhir, dia telah bertindak sebagai perantara, menyampaikan informasi secara selektif, menyaring apa yang boleh lewat dan apa yang tidak.
Dia tadinya percaya bahwa ketika saatnya tiba, dia tinggal membawa Michael dan pergi.
Lalu ketertarikan keluarga kerajaan muncul.
Tatapannya beralih sejenak ke sosok berambut perak yang baru saja tiba.
Dia hanya bisa berharap itu hanyalah rasa penasaran yang tidak berbahaya dari seorang individu dan bukan karena para elf memutuskan untuk bersikap picik setelah kalah telak.
Michael memperhatikan elf berambut perak itu secara terbuka.
Sayangnya, pengamatan tenang yang sama itu memicu ketidaknyamanan di antara beberapa elf di bawah.
Beberapa mengerutkan kening. Yang lain sedikit menegang, merasa tersinggung dengan apa yang mereka tafsirkan sebagai kelancangan yang tidak pantas. Bagi mereka, sesosok makhluk tersembunyi yang berani memandang langsung seorang bangsawan kerajaan sudah mendekati tindakan tidak sopan. Namun, Michael tidak melihat ada yang salah dengan itu. Dia tidak menatap dengan menantang, juga tidak sedang menilai. Dia hanya melihat.
Pria tua di sampingnya tidak bereaksi. Begitu pula dengan beberapa elf ber-rank lebih tinggi yang menyadarinya. Bagi mereka, hal ini bisa diterima. Seorang anak suci tidak terikat oleh aturan tak tertulis yang sama.
Michael, yang tidak menyadari arus bawah tersebut dan terbiasa dengan lingkaran bangsawan di Land of Origin, terus berpikir.
Sistem kerajaan elven sangatlah fleksibel. Tidak seperti kerajaan manusia, di mana satu garis keturunan berkuasa hingga digulingkan, otoritas elven dibagi bersama. Pihak yang berkuasa bisa terdiri dari tiga keluarga, atau lima, terkadang lebih. Yang terpenting bukanlah jumlahnya, melainkan apakah keluarga-keluarga tersebut memenuhi fondasi yang dipersyaratkan. Kekuatan, warisan, pengaruh, dan stabilitas. Mereka yang memiliki hal-hal tersebut dalam jumlah cukup akan menjadi pilar realm.
Keluarga mana yang memegang kendali aktual bergeser seiring waktu.
Keluarga mana pun yang memegang keuntungan terbesar di era tertentu, baik melalui kekuatan, aliansi, atau individu luar biasa, secara alami akan memegang pimpinan.
Karena elf ini disapa sebagai seorang putri kerajaan, Michael bertanya-tanya di mana posisinya dalam struktur tersebut.
Apakah dia berasal dari keluarga penguasa saat ini?
Atau salah satu dari house utama?
Aeloria memiringkan kepalanya sedikit.
Michael froze.
The voice was calm, steady, and unmistakably belonged to the old man beside him.
Do not bow.
Michael’s brow tightened slightly, but he did not argue. The old man had not bowed either. Given his rank, that much made sense.
More importantly, Michael trusted that the old man knew better than to put him in danger for no reason.
So he stayed still.
Below, the royal elf’s gaze swept across the field, composed and observant. It lingered briefly on the Sanctuary supervisor, then shifted toward the hovering figures near her.
Her eyes paused for the faintest moment.
There.
Michael felt it.
Even concealed, it was as if her gaze brushed past him without truly seeing him, yet still acknowledged that something was there.
A faint smile curved her lips.
Though the old man’s expression remained relaxed, almost indifferent, there was nothing casual about the thoughts moving beneath it.
At first, he had resisted the idea. But after days of observation, hesitation, and silent deliberation, he had finally come to accept a possibility he had once dismissed.
Michael could pass as the holy child of their realm.
If he grew far stronger than the other candidate, he could very well be recognized as the chosen one of the realm.
That acceptance was the reason his attitude toward Michael had softened. It was why he had begun speaking more, guiding more, intervening when before he would have simply watched.
Even so, he had not changed his mind about one thing.
Michael would not be left under the academies.
They had too much freedom. Too little restraint. Far too many agendas that shifted with political winds. Whatever interest they claimed to have in nurturing talent, it was never without strings.
The Federation, on the other hand.
That was where Michael would go.
He was relieved that Michael had awakened early, earlier than expected. It meant he could begin moving him immediately, before too many eyes settled on him.
The old man had already planned everything.
A major event had occurred in Hell, something large enough that the Federation would absolutely be aware of it. And if the Federation knew, then the academies would not be far behind.
Given what Michael had already shown, anyone with sense, especially his academy, would realize that letting him remain here unchecked was a mistake.
They would come.
He was certain of it.
The only reason they had not already appeared was because the situation itself had been unusual. The elves had been willing to open their gates to bring Michael here. That courtesy had not been extended to anyone else. No other party had been allowed physical passage.
Messages, however, were another matter.
Over the past few days, he had acted as a middleman, relaying information selectively, filtering what passed through and what did not.
He had believed that when the moment came, he would simply take Michael and leave.
Then the royal family’s interest appeared.
His gaze flicked briefly toward the silver haired figure who had just arrived.
He could only hope it was harmless curiosity from a single individual and not that the elves had decided to become petty after losing so badly.
Michael studied the silver haired elf openly.
Unfortunately, that same calm scrutiny stirred discomfort among some of the elves below.
A few frowned. Others stiffened slightly, offended by what they interpreted as improper boldness. To them, a concealed figure daring to look directly at a royal bordered on disrespect. Yet Michael saw nothing wrong with it. He was not staring challengingly, nor was he judging. He was simply looking.
The old man beside him did not react. Nor did several of the higher ranked elves who noticed. To them, this was acceptable. A holy child was not bound by the same unspoken rules.
Michael, unaware of the undercurrent and accustomed to noble circles in the Land of Origin, continued thinking.
The elven royal system was flexible. Unlike human kingdoms, where a single bloodline ruled until overthrown, elven authority was shared. The ruling party could consist of three families, or five, sometimes more. What mattered was not the number, but whether those families met the required foundation. Strength, legacy, influence, and stability. Those who possessed enough of these became pillars of the realm.
Which families held actual control shifted over time.
Whichever house held the greatest advantage in a given era, whether through power, alliances, or exceptional individuals, naturally took the lead.
Since this elf was addressed as a royal princess, Michael wondered where she stood within that structure.
Was she from the current ruling family?
Or one of the major houses?
The silver haired elf inclined her head slightly.
"I am Aeloria Lysandriel Faelthirion of the Moonweave Court, Daughter of the Verdant Family, and Bearer of the Silver Bough," she said calmly.
The name flowed on far longer than Michael expected.
It carried layered titles, ancestral acknowledgments, and symbolic roles woven together into a single introduction. Each segment seemed to carry weight, history, and obligation. Several of the elves below straightened subtly as she spoke, their expressions shifting with each added designation.
By the time she finished, silence had settled across the field.
Michael processed it quietly.
It was long. Uncomfortably long, if he was being honest. He doubted he could repeat even half of it correctly. Still, he found the culture behind it interesting.
Yet despite listening carefully, Michael gained no clear answer to his earlier question.
The name alone did not tell him whether she belonged to the current ruling family or one of the major houses.
Aeloria’s gaze lingered in his direction again, patient and curious, as if waiting.
Michael hesitated only briefly.
She had introduced herself. Anything less in response would be discourteous.
"I’m Michael Norman," he said simply.
The contrast was stark.
Just a name.
Seeing the reaction of the elves to that name, for the first time in his life, Michael felt a flicker of embarrassment.
He wondered if next time he should add some flowery words to it.
However, just as his thoughts began to drift elsewhere, he heard something that made him stiffen.
"I cannot help but wonder if Sir Michael might be interested in doing something with me."
*
A/N: I don’t even have any excuses.
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