I reincarnated as an elf .......and married the yandere villainess.-Chapter 44:Impulsive decision.

Atheline didn’t need to think of an excuse.

"I learnt it from a book," Atheline responded slyly and bit his lower lip to prevent a laugh from coming out.

Lilith found the move extremely sexy, so she moved one of her hands and cupped his cheek. He leaned into her touch.

She could clearly see his arousal from his eyes as he looked down at her and his wandering hand that was playing at the junction of her hip next to her core.

"You..."

KNOCK!

KNOCK!

’Thank goodness’

Her words were cut short by the knock. Atheline sighed heavily and tried to get off her but she wrapped her legs around his waist.

The irritation was clear on her face.

"Your majesty, the council has assembled, " the voice came through the door.

Lilith didn’t respond, she tried to go back to kissing him but Atheline shook his head.

"You should go," he whispered.

She stared at him for a moment before she pushed him off her. Atheline let himself fall on the bed.

She leaned in and took his lips for a second then got out of bed.

"You should prepare yourself we’ll be attending the meetings together."

"What?"

"Yes."

She walked away before he could ask any more.

.

.

.

.

The throne room was quiet today, unlike the usual time when the council of ministers would whisper greetings and gossip amongst themselves.

Everyone had their hearts in their palms, the rumour had already spread, something that had eventually been confirmed as the truth.

She had brought someone, a man, a stranger they had never seen or heard of before.

And not the one she was to marry.

Nine figures stood below the throne, their usual pride and composition gone replaced with uncertainty because the situation they were about to face should never have existed.

The throne room door opens.

She entered the room unhurriedly without a care for the much older elves waiting for her. Her gaze swept over them as she moved forward keeping them in place.

Then behind her, he appeared, with half of it tied up dressed in dark Elven robes that seemed to wear him, and an air of confidence that didn’t seem to care for anyone.

He followed her up the stairs to the throne, an unacceptable act. He wasn’t bound or being dragged but walking freely as though he owned the world itself.

"Your majesty.."

She stopped halfway to the throne, a perfect position where they could all see and observe him.

They could understand her meaning without being told.

"This," she said calmly, " is the one I have chosen."

The words hit harder than they had braced for. It was too unconventional, a sin on its own.

A general stepped forward his black hair shining against the light. He was named Thulem Florian, in charge of the Drokman border bordering the sea facing the demonic continent.

A prestigious position.

"You are already bound your majesty."

The room went quiet. Atheline also held his breath. This was what was fully holding him back from her.

"There is a formal engagement, " he continued his voice strained but controlled," with a high elf noble household. It has been witnessed, sealed, and signed. "

Everyone in the room knew. The engagement was a legally binding political agreement.

A foundation for peace.

"And yet," she said," I am not married. "

The answer was too simple for them to accept.

"This is not how this works," a noble elder snapped, composure cracking," an engagement between sovereign powers is not a trinket to be discarded."

Her gaze went to the elder.

"You mistake me," she said softly.

She took a step down a step. A hash fell in the room expected for the echo of her heel.

"I do not discard," she said and stepped forward again.

The echo felt like a decree coming breaking the little illusion that they held.

This wasn’t a negotiation at all but a sealed decision.

"I evaluated the arrangements, " she started her gaze unwavering, " and I found it lacking."

Murmurs rippled through the throne room as they discussed amongst themselves.

"You insult not only the agreement," another voice cut in," but also the one you are promised to."

Her expression didn’t change at the mention as they expected.

"He was ...sufficient, " she said slowly letting it sink in," but he wasn’t mine."

Lilith has never even seen her supposed fiancé’s face.

Silence.

Everyone thought that the elf she had brought had no advantage he was nothing but a whim.

That made everything worse.

"You would fracture a diplomatic bind for this?" General Thelum demanded gesturing towards Atheline, " For a stranger?"

The words were both deliberate and diminishing.

Atheline understood immediately that they were testing and demeaning her choices. The air shifted as everyone held their breath.

"You speak as if he is beneath the position."

Her words cut through the tension. The general stilled because now the dagger had been turned to him.

"You measure worth by bloodline and agreements," she said coldly, "as if power is inherited not taken."

Everyone swallowed at those words, they knew exactly what she was referring to. Her sharp gaze swept across them all.

"Do not project your limitations onto me."

Quiet.

The noble elder stepped forward again, pushing further than before.

"And what of the consequences?"

That made her stop her forward move. She met his fierce gaze with an even fiercer one.

He smiled to himself and pressed forward.

"The high elves will not accept this quietly. You risk war. Instability. Internal fracture," his eyes flickered briefly to Atheline beside her," And for what?"

The room seemed to hold its breath. Everyone was waiting for her to justify herself, to make it make sense.

"For what?" She repeated.

A killing intent so massive burst out of her sending everyone to their knees excluding Atheline who didn’t even feel it at all.

He stood beside her a casual smile on his face as he looked on at the kneeling group.

"For him," she continued.

She didn’t give a direct answer but what she said was enough. She withdrew her intent returning it to its normal level.

She had chosen him and they had no choice but to obey.

The ministers and nobles whispered amongst each other each trying to find a way to control or benefit from her decision.

"She has chosen," one of the quieter nobles said to himself.

"Yes," another said under his breath," and now we all suffer."

Atheline heard the Whispering and doubts moving around.

He understood their skepticism since he seemed like any run-of-the-mill high elf their queen had supposedly picked from the forest.

Atheline didn’t like that both their names might be drugged into the mud for a day or two if he remained quiet.

He stepped forward.

’I guess I’ll be using father’s name again’