The Elf Journey In The Western Fantasy World-Chapter 41: Silent Maneuvers

No need to worry? But who the hell uses a thumbs-up as a secret signal?

The elf was speechless.

After making the gesture, Darius wasn’t at all concerned that his companions wouldn’t understand him.

He was gambling that Seoryun wouldn’t dare to make a move.

He wanted to see if his theory was correct.

The king mentally ran through what a reasonable reaction from Seoryun should be after being teased by Darius.

He concluded that the most likely responses in such a scenario would be either a smile or silent acquiescence.

Seoryun forcefully suppressed the fury rising within him and struggled to put on a smile—though it ended up looking rather stiff and awkward.

Seeing how the king responded, Darius thought to himself, It’s confirmed.

On his way back to the palace, he had been pondering a question.

Why would the impostor king go out of his way to interact with him?

If he really wanted to, he could have just ignored him or discreetly eliminated him—why go through all this trouble?

That led him to a rather startling realization.

The impostor wasn’t just impersonating Seoryun—he was meticulously trying to become him, convincing everyone that he was the real Seoryun and no one else.

Over the course of more than ten years, the impostor had gradually made subtle changes, starting with small details—like the layout of the palace.

This also explained why he had chosen to promote the most inconspicuous member of the knight order, Narae.

Someone with low presence meant they had little direct interaction with Seoryun, making them easy to control.

What a clever plan.

But precisely because of this, Darius could be sure that Narae was in no immediate danger.

If he could make contact with Narae, he could use his position—someone who had the most direct access to the king—to stage an inside-out operation.

That way, he could observe which places the impostor deliberately avoided or frequently visited.

It was possible that one of those places was where the real Seoryun was being held.

The brief exchange ended with Darius securing a complete victory.

Seoryun, his expression frozen stiff, announced the start of the banquet like a mechanical puppet.

After saying a couple of formalities, he used the excuse of changing his clothes to slip away.

Darius immediately took note of this.

Maintaining his usual composure, he walked up to Illiya, slung an arm around the elf’s shoulder in a display of camaraderie, and took advantage of the moment when no one was paying attention to him.

In an almost imperceptible voice, he uttered two words before letting go.

Illiya’s ears twitched.

He had heard them clearly—"Narae."

Was he asking him to find Narae?

His eyes flickered as he scanned the room.

In an inconspicuous corner, he spotted a particular knight—someone who was supposed to be constantly by the king’s side.

And in that moment, he understood.

Narae hadn’t left with the king.

That meant one of two things.

Either the impostor never considered his personal knight important enough to keep close, or Narae had realized something was wrong and deliberately chose to stay behind.

Having a low presence didn’t mean he lacked awareness.

Illiya believed that both possibilities could be true.

Darius probably sent him to find Narae because of his elven race’s high (lazy) noble (arrogant) cold (aloof) and glamorous (unapproachable) personality.

At a banquet full of nobles, Darius, as the king’s close friend, was constantly the center of attention.

In contrast, the presence of an elf was far less striking.

So, going to find Narae was the best choice.

As the heir of the Taeharin family, Eoryun was quite skilled at reading people, if nothing else.

The moment Darius placed an arm around Illiya’s shoulders, his invisible radar immediately went off.

Although he wasn’t sure what it meant, he knew something was going on.

Before he could figure it out, he noticed that Darius had started actively engaging in conversations with the surrounding nobles.

More and more people were trying to strike up a conversation with him.

Meanwhile, in his peripheral vision, he saw Illiya quietly step out of the social circle.

At that moment, he understood.

Wasn’t this just about drawing attention? He was an expert at this.

Eoryun patted away nonexistent dust from his clothes and then "casually" revealed the high-end spatial bracelet on his wrist.

He subtly adjusted his posture so that the lighting would hit the hidden patterns on his outfit just right.

A flash of silver shimmered—clearly not something cheap.

His series of actions successfully attracted a wave of attention.

After all, no one disliked wealth, and nobles were even more predictable in that regard.

Those nearby hesitated only briefly before tentatively striking up a conversation.

Surprisingly, it was quite easy, and before long, a crowd gathered around Eoryun, eager to "befriend" him.

Illiya watched from the side, amazed.

This was supposed to be a luxurious noble banquet, yet Eoryun and Darius had turned it into their own personal showcase. H

is teacher was right—humans are creatures that always seek profit.

Interest never goes out of style.

But that worked out just fine.

At this moment, everyone at the banquet had probably forgotten about the existence of the elves.

Since elves couldn’t offer them anything beneficial, why would they bother paying attention to them?

Taking advantage of this opportunity, Illiya quietly slipped away with Drow, heading straight for where Narae was standing.

Narae wasn’t surprised that the elf had come to him—he had expected this.

From the moment Darius clashed with the false king, he had already guessed how things would unfold.

After all, his years as a knight hadn’t been for nothing.

Narae nodded in greeting to Illiya and skipped the pleasantries, getting straight to the point. "I’m guessing Captain Darius sent you to find me. Yes, I’ve already realized that the king is an imposter. Just because I’m not noticeable doesn’t mean I’m stupid."

Illiya hesitated, his lips moving slightly, but in the end, he didn’t voice the thought in his mind: Then why did it take you years to figure it out?