She is a peerless beauty. Even if you can guess, the age is only around the late 20s to early 30s. At first glance, it's hard to tell whether it's male or female.
He tied up half of his waist-length silver hair, with the ends delicately braided. Several strands of hair are decorated with colored threads and beads, creating a unique aura.
The human's eyes are blue-violet, containing an unfathomable mystery.
The ear hidden behind the cloak and the silver hair moved slightly. It has pointed ears and is much longer than normal people.
“… goblin?”
I muttered that and quickly covered my mouth with both hands.
This long-eared spirit is called Alfr, Alf, or Elf depending on the region. They are a mysterious race that often inhabits dense forest areas; The word Elf means someone born from a tree.
They are said to possess stunning looks, regardless of gender or age, along with extremely strong physiques. They are a secretive clan, extremely rarely appearing before the world, because they almost never leave the forest where they were born.
I only knew it briefly through books, this was the first time I saw it with my own eyes.
"To be more precise, perhaps I should be called a Half-Elf, since I am half-human. I am Richard of the Silver Birch Forest."
He responded in a gentle, inspiring voice. That voice was as beautiful and harmonious as the sound of a musical instrument.
For some reason, I stared blankly at him. Even though I knew it was rude, I still couldn't take my eyes off his face. In particular, every time those long, pointed ears moved slightly, my eyes unconsciously followed them.
“I have finished using Recovery Magic, but is there still something wrong with your body?”
“You… What did you say?”
I had to repeat the question stupidly. Recovery Magic? Ah, it seems my body feels a lot lighter than before. I opened and closed my hands a few times then slowly stood up.
There are many people around. All the staff of Luc Ngoc Cung appeared and surrounded me. In particular, the White Rose Cross Knights stood with the most tense expressions on their faces. Perhaps because they had lost trust after the previous conflict, the vigilance they showed was great.
“The escorting Knights arrived late, after hearing that His Royal Highness the Royal Highness had fallen into the pond!”
Delfina gritted her teeth and glared at the escorts. I quickly stopped her.
“No, this time I went alone…”
"But Your Highness, it is their duty to prevent such things. Why did Your Highness come here alone? When I heard that Your Highness had fallen into the water, I was so scared..."
“That, that…”
The reason I came here is because of the sleepwalking I saw. It led me to this lake. I feel like if I come here, I will see something…
“Someone pushed me.”
Delfina was startled and shocked and replied:
“Really?”
“Yeah, sure.”
At that moment, Richard stood up. Then he pointed at the woman lying on the ground.
“Is it that woman?”
“That woman?”
Where he pointed, there was a person lying in an extremely unnatural position. It was so strange that it was as if time had stopped at the moment she was charging. Furthermore, that face was Elda, the head maid whom I chased out of the Green Jade Palace.
“That's right, it's her.”
Richard gestured into the air. Elda's body shook violently, then she suddenly let out a shrill scream.
"Ah ah ah! What is this! Let me go!"
“… It's really noisy.”
Richard looked annoyed and gestured into the air again, this time her mouth immediately fell silent. Just made a noise like something was being blocked.
Elda still tried to struggle with her upper body completely motionless, as if tied by an invisible rope. Richard walked up to her gracefully.
"I don't want to interfere in human affairs, but I have to ask. Are you the one who pushed Prince Concubine into the lake?"
“…”
However, Elda did not respond. No, more like her mouth was blocked by something invisible, unable to make a sound.
“Ah, sorry.”
Richard raised his index finger again. After going through a few miserable times, this time Elda didn't dare to scream anymore. She just trembled violently and glared this way.
Meanwhile, Countess Elda approached. She greeted National Master Richard first:
"May the radiance of the Iron Cross shine upon you, Your Highness. I heard that His Royal Highness the Royal Highness has encountered an incident."
“May the radiance of the Iron Cross shine.”
Richard kept a stern expression and explained the situation to the Countess:
“So, I cast Conjuration Magic on the suspicious person loitering around here.”
Countess Elda frowned and asked Elda:
“Did you really push His Highness into the lake like you said?”
Elda swallowed dryly, her eyes shining.
"What, what is this slander? Since when did I do that? Is there any evidence?"
I exclaimed in shock because it was so unreasonable:
"What did you say? You obviously pushed me!"
Elda seemed determined to play a blatant trick. Her voice was hoarse like metal.
"Your Royal Highness, Your Highness, doing this makes me really confused. I passed by here and saw someone falling into the lake, so I wanted to come and save you! Why did Your Highness say I pushed someone down?"
She looked resentful as if she had been wrongly accused. When I was too shocked to speak, Delfina immediately spoke up in defense:
"Don't lie! Are you holding a grudge because His Royal Highness the Prince sent you away?"
Delfina was now in tears and shielded me. But Elda's tongue continued to spin blatant lies.
"I lost my job. How did I know that His Royal Highness the Royal Highness, who had sneaked out to escape the guards' guard, was still here?"
"It's so noisy. What's going on?"
At that moment, a familiar voice rang out. From afar, a woman walked up.
My whole body got goosebumps. It's Mercedes.
“Lady Aronzo…”
It was the woman who killed the Prince Concubine candidates with the scary face during the sleepwalking I just saw. She walked forward with an extremely gentle expression.
"So something happened. Your Royal Highness, long time no see."
Her appearance caused everyone to start whispering. Mercedes glanced at the bustling crowd and then spoke:
“I have been observing for a while now, Your Highness, but I'm afraid your words are a bit forced.”
“Forced shield… what?”
“Yes, I originally didn't want to say this, but why is His Royal Highness the Royal Highness present here?”
“That…”
“And even secretly avoiding the guards' attention, coming to such a remote and dangerous place like this.”
At that moment, my heart sank.
“I, I…”
I can't say that I came here to pursue an illusion that only I see. I remained silent, and Mercedes began a long lecture.
"I understand Elda's qualities well. And even though I haven't served His Royal Highness the Royal Highness for a long time, I also understand his personality well."
Then, she suddenly attacked my character.
“What did you say?”
“Isn't it enough to expel the maids personally appointed by Her Majesty the Queen, to also expel Her Majesty the Prince's only retainer, me, and now to slander others?”
This is an absurd distortion.
“No, Elda actually… pushed me into the lake…!”
Elda widened her eyes and shouted in response:
“Then I ask again, is there any evidence?”
Mercedes' eyes sparkled. She didn't miss the opportunity to see me falter and raised her voice even more.
"The reason why His Royal Highness the Royal Highness came here alone, is a reason that you cannot say. Should I speak for you?"
I remained speechless, afraid of what words would come out of her mouth.
She smirked and said:
“Could it be that His Royal Highness the Royal Highness was pessimistic about his situation and jumped down himself?”
Everyone who heard Mercedes' words started to stir.
“Suicide?”
“Why do you say such terrible words…”
At that moment, someone carefully brought up the topic:
"Why not? The previous candidate Hoang Tu Phi also died here. It was also a suicide by jumping into the lake."
“As expected of being cursed…”
The whispers grew louder. Mercedes' statement made the situation unfavorable for me.
"Not!"
I shook my head and shouted loudly. Suicide is an extremely disgraceful act and one of the absolute crimes in the Empire.
The act of self-harm is considered blasphemy, a rebellion against God and is considered murder because it destroys the body given to you by God.
If I were to make a mistake, I could be considered an apostate. They are trying to put those shackles on me.
Seeing me falter, Mercedes became even more pleased.
"If that's not the case, Your Highness. Please explain, why did you come to this place alone, even distracting the maid and the usual escort knight?"
“Thing, that thing is…”
I can't tell them that I came here to chase an illusion that only I see. That would be a very unusual answer. Illusions or negligent prophetic acts could cause me to be accused of being a witch.
Then, a person appeared from the bushes in the distance.
“About that, I witnessed it.”
The person who appeared suddenly… was none other than Giovinetta.