Chapter 170 The Grand Debate 2
As if answering her prayers, an uproar arose in the crowd as the most controversial contestant in
the history of Eldinor made her way to the stage.
Protected by a barrier, Eldra was surrounded by soldiers with serious expressions on their faces as they escorted her along the central passage which had been cordoned off as the method of entry.
Seeing the murderous expressions of all those around her, Eldra felt as if she were drowning in a river of hate and disgust.
Multiple fireballs and ice pricks were already being conjured by the Elves in attendance as they prepared to directly assault the barrier to take revenge for their lost sons and daughters.
Having already thought of this, the government had chosen to deploy the strongest barrier in all of Central Angaria.
As a hot commodity which had demand but no supply, this barrier was able to protect one from the full power strike of a peak Warrior stage existence.
As one of the feats of trinket design which Eldinor was very proud of to this day, it was classified as the most expensive defensive trinket in all of Central Angaria.
Even though Eldra knew this fact, the sheer amount of attacks that she saw in the crowd only made the fear inside her rise further.
"Miss, the barrier will hold."
Hearing the gruff voice of the Elf who was commanding the escort, Eldra calmed herself down and nodded, trying to distract herself from everything happening around her.
This was her defense mechanism: when things overwhelmed her, she was prone to retreating and recovering.
Just as she was about to do so, the conversation she had with Daneel just before leaving resounded in her mind.
"Eldra", he had said, sitting in that central chair as if it symbolized that he was at the center of everything.
At that moment, she had been standing at the window looking out while dreading the moment when she had to go up on stage to speak in front of scores of people who all probably wanted to kill and dismember her into pieces.
So far, all the training given by her mother had been regarding the matters that came after becoming Queen. As for the aspect of how to actually address a crowd and win it over, she had no experience whatsoever.
Although the plan made by the King of Lanthanor was great, it all depended on her execution.
Hearing his call, she had turned around to look at the man she had once called an "upstart brat".
Never in her wildest fantasies had she imagined that she would be in this position right now, where she had sworn an oath to follow his every command.
Disregarding the reasons she had for doing so, Eldra felt as if everything that had happened so far was a dream which she could awaken from if she just pinched herself hard enough.
Although Daneel was her salvation, he often irked her due to his habit of hiding details from her, like when he had insisted on the excursion to the warehouses.
Thus, all in all, Eldra had mixed feelings towards the teen in front of her who was over 10 years younger than her.
Shaking her head to get rid of all the distracting thoughts, Eldra nodded at him to show that she was listening.
Daneel had already gotten used to this Elf recently phasing out of conversations due to the immense pressure she had on her. Thus, he had waited for the nod before proceeding.
"In a few hours, you will be in front of a crowd which hates you so much that they will definitely attack you. Who can blame them? In their eyes, you were the one who ripped multiple families apart by taking away their treasure which they cherished with their entire heart and soul. In their eyes, you are the demon who was willing to enslave children of your own kind for monetary profit.
In their eyes, you are sin, you are evil and you are the plague of Eldinor."
Hearing this bitter truth, a defeated expression appeared on Eldra's face.
As she wallowed in self pity, Daneel stood up suddenly and banged the table in front of him, startling her and making her focus her eyes on the angry expression in the King of Lanthanor's eyes.
"Just saying these words makes me wish that the person who is actually responsible for such grievous crimes is in front of me so that I can get my hands on them. Such scum doesn't deserve to live. Don't you feel so, Eldra?"
Tears appearing in her eyes, Eldra nodded resignedly.
"This is your chance to change all that. Just imagine it. The alternative is living with this mark all your life, or choosing to end it all and die leaving nothing in this world except an unmarked ditch and countless resentments that will torment you even in your afterlife."
As those tears started flowing, Eldra's eyes began going out of focus as she started imagining herself in that position.
Seeing this, Daneel smiled to himself as he had achieved what he wanted. By choosing his words carefully, he had made sure to plunge her into the depths of darkness.
Now, it was time to give the light which she would grasp with all her strength to leave that dreadful pool which was currently drowning her.
"If I were you, I would grasp this chance with everything I have and march towards the stage with my head held high. I would use all the anger and frustration built up in me to speak to the people with as much passion as I can muster. I would throw this weight off my back, no matter what it took. It's all up to you, Eldra. By the end of today, you will either be the one revered as the Elf who brought the true culprit to justice, or the one who was too cowardly to even speak out when she had the chance. Make your choice."
Saying these words while looking straight into Eldra's eyes, Daneel left the room after seeing the fire that had been lit inside them.
Now, in front of the angry crowd, Eldra calmed down and regained the serious expression she always had when she did things which were tough.
Keeping the goal in her mind, she walked towards the stage with a measured pace.
After reaching and taking her place amongst the 5 contestants, she glanced to the side briefly to see her mother smile at her with an indiscernible expression.
Seeing her stand on the stage surrounded by the impenetrable barrier, the crowd finally quieted down and looked on with simmering fury.
A few minutes later, an Elf who seemed like he would die at any moment made his way onto the stage before reaching the podium meant for the host.
Taking out a voice magnification trinket, he spoke in a booming voice which echoed across the clearing.
As around 1 million people watched on, the Grand Debate began to these words:
"Welcome one and all. Without further ado, we shall begin with the individual speeches from the contestants. As is the norm, we begin with those who have addressed the people of Eldinor the least. Miss Eldra, the stage is yours."
Expecting that this would happen, Eldra nodded before calmly walking towards the wooden podium.
Just the mention of her name had already rekindled the blazing fury inside the crowd, making it so that the clearing was completely filled with boos and shouts such as, "Death to Slavers!", "Justice for the Children" and "Eldra must hang!".
Listening to all these things which she had already become numb to since the past two weeks, Eldra first tapped the trinket to make sure it was active before giving a statement that silenced the entire crowd in front of her.
"If you folks do not quiet down and listen to me right now, more than 100 elf children who have been abducted to be sold as slaves will die in an explosion a few kilometers away from this location."