I reincarnated as an elf .......and married the yandere villainess.-Chapter 45:Recognition.

Atheline felt her hold his robe trying to pull him back but the silk slipped through her fingers. He turned his head and smiled at her as he stepped down the step. He came to a stop a few steps from the noble elder and the general.

"I really didn’t want to interfere but I do not appreciate being called a low blood," he said while looking down at them as if they were ants.

If they wanted him to act like a true high elf, he would show them how it’s done.

The general looked at him as though he were a child playing adult.

"Really," he said in a drawn-out voice.

Atheline opened his mouth to speak when she cut him off.

"He is not just any elf."

Atheline smiled. She must have noticed his intentions.

Everyone looked at Atheline studying him carefully unlike the last time, when he had been dismissed as an accessory to their queen.

A flicker of recognition slipped through some of their eyes but not enough.

"...From which house," the general pressed on.

No one answered. The tension and uncertainty spread through the throne room. Some of them whispered amongst each other while others looked at the quiet Atheline with a frown on their faces.

The noble elder’s eyes narrowed.

"If you bring him before this court," he said, his voice sharpening, "you will not hide his name."

The words hand in the air were a mixture of a threat and a test of her authority.

She didn’t respond. Atheline could feel her gaze on his back.

His posture straightened, his shoulders set and his presence sharpened even more.

His gaze met the noble elder his face carrying the emotionless mask he had always worn and trained to maintain.

With his hands clapped before him, he did a small tight bow towards the man.

"You will not need to guess," he said attracting the attention more," I will answer."

His calm voice rang through the room demanding respect and authority and he got it, no one tried to interrupt him.

A small deliberate pause later he met every eye in the room.

"I am Atheline Sunblade, of the second house of the high elves," he paused just for a moment, "I stand directly beneath the royal line, I am Helmer Sunblades ’ son and I will not allow anyone to scorn my beloved choice."

’Oh God, I just threatened them’

Everyone in the room was far stronger and older than him, he was basically still wet behind his ears compared to them but he just couldn’t help it.

’I’m a better choice than that guy okay and I don’t plan on cheating so I’ve basically solved the oncoming disaster.’

That was the only comfort he could come up with.

The noble elder expression didn’t change despite that, his eyes narrowed as he scrutinised Atheline.

Some of the council members’ recognition flashed through them the more they stared but no one said anything.

Atheline exhaled his cold countenance unchanged.

"I was present in the negotiations you now question,"’ A lie’ he continued, "I took part in the arrangements of the former engagement."

This line cut deeper than any of them wanted it to. Right now they all understood one thing, he was closer to the situation than any of them wanted to admit.

"I know the terms you refer to," he said calmly, " the agreement and all the expectations."

There was a faint pause.

"And I understand the implications of standing here."

Atheline didn’t see a reason to make excuses or deny anything. The water had already been spilled and now he had to face the consequences of his own choices.

Atheline knew the stakes at hand, from her character, if he refused, she might just start a war over it.

"...Then you understand the insult," the noble elder said with a tight line.

Atheline nodded without hesitation.

"I understand the weight of the decision," he added his voice even," I did not arrive here without understanding what the decision would mean."

’I got technically kidnapped but we’re not going to say that’

His gaze flickered as he added with pride, " ..But I will not allow anyone to diminish where I stand."

The fact that there was no arrogance in his tone but absolute confidence in his declaration earned him a small amount of respect from the group.

The general exhaled slowly.

"You speak as though you have accepted this?"

Atheline’s eyes shifted to her just for a brief second and their eyes met then he turned back to the court.

"I stand where I have been placed," he said carefully, " but I do not stand without a will."

The line was careful and sharp a hidden message to the council left for them to decipher what it meant in their own imagination.

The noble elder’s lips thinned.

"A dangerous position."

"Yes," he agreed.

Then a soft laugh came. Atheline turned and looked behind him.

Her gaze was a little soft as she watched him with a satisfied look in her eyes.

That was far more telling than they all wanted to admit, she had expected it all along, everything had been within her calculations.

"He speaks for himself," she said curtly.

There was a small quiet before the general spoke again.

"Then the engagement must be formally dissolved," he said, forcing back control in his voice," messengers must be sent, terms renegotiated. We cannot simply..."

"It has already been done," she said calmly," I have no intention of asking for permission. "

That was the breaking point.

"You cannot..." The outburst echoed through the room but she raised her hand cutting it short.

"The engagement will be postponed in preparation for the new one and anyone among you who has a problem with it can lie on my blade."

Everyone was quiet.

On the other hand, Atheline was shocked too shocked to even react.

’When had all that happened? That is too fast’

He thought in surprise.

The elder sighed loudly enough for everyone to hear.

"And what of the one you cast aside?" He said quietly, "Do you believe he will accept this quietly. "

’He’ll cry tears of joy’

Atheline knew that Elydrah’s family would not accept the broken engagement that easily, he could already imagine the fight going on at home at the moment.

The broken engagement was akin to an insult and humiliation.

"He will not," she said calmly.

Everyone in the room knew it, this wasn’t just breaking the engagement it was publicly replacing a powerful figure with the one above him.

This kind of wound demanded blood especially with the pride of the high elves.

"He is irrelevant," she added.

The general’s voice dropped.

"Then we must prepare for retaliation."

"Do so," she acknowledged quietly.

An Aetherion lord wasn’t a power to be trampled with even a small one could prove to be a pest.

She glanced at Atheline who smiled at her despite his thoughts running through miles.

This was dismantling faster than he had expected and there was only one thing on his mind.

’I need to find a way to contact my parents ’

In the dark elf territory, he didn’t know anyone at all and was basically defenseless a prisoner of some sort.