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In a quiet office, a woman read the documents laid out before her at a leisurely pace, her legs crossed.

Ainel Shianella, her eyes swimming through the sea of text densely packed on the pages.

One sentence at a time, as Ainel read intently, she simultaneously dropped her hand that had been resting on her chin.

Tap—tap—tap—

Sticking to her long-standing habit, Ainel began to tap her index finger rhythmically on the desk.

The steady sound. In the calmness of her heart, Ainel quietly let out a breath, occasionally furrowing her brows to process what she had read so far.

“The Great Forest’s tree guardians—”

The dense information spoke directly about the descendants of the Great Forest, the elves.

Details of notable deeds by elves recognized in the world and assessments agreed upon by many humans, including the friendship shared between the Shianella family and the elves, woven through history.

Ainel swiftly shifted her gaze.

Among the numerous documents scattered across her desk, her eyes fixated on one particular paper.

Quietly, Ainel followed the lines with her eyes.

“The Shianella Count family has shared deep ties with the descendants of the Great Forest.”

While the physical distance was not far between the Count family in the kingdom’s far west and the elves in the far east, their spiritual connection was quite close.

Historically, the Shianella family had fought against demons alongside the elves. There were ample records of times when they provided help to one another without hesitation during moments of need.

Although a millennium has passed, and the trust established back then might no longer be present, the families still occasionally exchanged letters, reaffirming their goodwill toward each other.

Ainel shifted her gaze again.

As her gaze roamed between several documents, it landed once more on a particular page.

It contained assessments of the elves circulating in the world.

“Elves are fundamentally as clear and transparent as glass, gracious and kind, able to embrace all, and deserving of love.”

Tap—tap—

The index finger that had been drumming the desk came to an abrupt halt.

“Hmm—”

The widely spread characterizations of elves were, as expected, filled with praise.

They resembled a perfect race formed in fanciful imagination, heavily adorned with the allure of the woodland tribes.

Each elf bore an unparalleled beauty, not easily granted to humans, and every time they revealed themselves to mankind,

no matter how artificial that display might be, they appeared infinitely generous and noble.

The world, or rather, humanity defined them as righteous, and it became a universally accepted truth.

Therefore, originally, Ainel intended to treat them as long-time friends without any doubt based on the widely known evaluations and the records left by the Shianella family regarding their history of friendship with the elves.

“Ugh…”

Yet, Ainel Shianella displayed a hint of hesitation.

“Why did I have to hear such stories?”

Every time Ainel read the praises of the elves’ goodness, she recalled the words of Ray, Shione’s devoted servant.

Or rather, now renowned as the family producing the kingdom’s most exceptional knights, the Shianella Count family. The up-and-coming first male knight, Ray, who had spread his name far and wide.

His words echoed in her ears, shaking her thoughts.

Ainel crossed her arms and reminisced about the recent past.

‘Surely after the cultists disrupted the princess’s coming of age ceremony…’

During a series of important meetings, one day, I’d grown so tired that I fell into a deep sleep.

And while I was trapped in that slumber, Ray had come to visit me.

As a result, I hadn’t even tidied my unkempt hair or changed out of my light blue pajamas…

“Tch…”

Did I start to overthink from the very beginning?

Ainel clicked her tongue lightly while adjusting her outfit, recalling the conversation that had taken place afterward.

—Ray, I’d like to hear what you discussed with the daughter of the Arielte family. What transpired and what conversation did you share? Report every detail without omission from this spot.

—Lady Friel Arielte told me this.

A slight tension flared in Ainel’s eye corners.

—It’s amusing. You, a mere human, are amusing. In that sense, would you like to belong to me?

Such a notion was unexpected.

—You claim not to belong to me. Do you truly think so? Ray. It doesn’t matter if you are a slave bound to the Count family or a servant. What matters is… your will.

The family renowned for their exceptional nobility even among the already noble elves.

Ray mimicked Friel Arielte’s words and intonations with remarkable accuracy, and they remained vivid in Ainel’s memory.

—If you desire it, I can assure you I would be able to accept Ray from your family. But then… it’s merely the Count family of a kingdom formed by a short-lived species, right?

In front of her, the daughter of the Great Forest dared to speaking so insolently towards the Count family, as if disregarding their decades-long friendship.

Her words were enough to sever the bond between the Count family and the Great Forest. Severing it brutally.

—Contrary to the widely accepted notion of purity, you made your greedy intentions manifest before me without concealment. And while it conflicts with the concept of loyalty, you stated that even if it is the property of Shianella, you could acquire it by any means if desired.

Neither pure nor loyal elves.

—I would hope, Ainel, that you foster some suspicion of Lady Friel Arielte rather than harboring deep trust in her… it’s better to be cautious, gradually keeping your guard up.

This was the elf known to be the embodiment of the sentiments Ray had captured, and moreover, could perhaps indicate the true nature of elves that had remained buried until now.

And ironically enough—

The elf who visited the Count family last night was none other than that Friel Arielte.

I was bound to delve deeper into these thoughts.

“Phew…”

A deep sigh filled the office, echoing through its walls.

As Ainel, enveloped in her thoughts, took her gaze from the document she had been staring at.

Through the curtained window, a sliver of light seeped through.

“I’m not sure.”

With her chin once more resting against her hand, Ainel stared blankly at the door, her aquamarine eyes clouded with turmoil.

Soon, an upcoming conversation with Friel awaited her.

She felt a strong urge to light a cigarette for the first time in a while.

*

“So… that’s how it happened.”

“Hmm…”

Upon hearing the news from the royal family, Siabel didn’t seem particularly pleased.

The troublesome ear-pulling nobility, focused solely on maintaining their pride and image. The first sight of their dark intentions often left a complicated reaction in newcomers.

Siabel’s reaction could very much be seen as textbook.

“That explains why Shione’s mood has dropped. I never thought the elves, known for their simplicity and loyalty, would act like that… Ray, you didn’t mix in any lies, did you?”

I nodded at her words.

“It’s all true.”

Although humans are not gods and thus imperfect, so there might be slight distortions in memory…

The words spoken by Friel to me as recounted to Siabel might have been slightly adjusted or changed.

But still, it’s safe to say that the atmosphere and the essence of Friel’s words were conveyed accurately, so I could affirm that all I told Siabel was the truth.

Having gathered her thoughts, Siabel looked coldly at her sword.

“There will be a discussion with the daughter of the Arielte family and her mother later today.”

Siabel began to regain her composure.

“I trust my mother will manage well, right?”

“Of course, it’s no one but our head.”

“Indeed—”

As Siabel wrapped a thin aura around her training sword, I too began to channel my mana, inspired by her.

“Mother will handle it well.”

Clang!

The resonating sound of pure steel echoed through the air.

Today, the impact of the sword visibly reverberated in my grip.

*

In the spacious and lavish reception room, filled with the stale smell of old papers, two women met.

Ainel quickly inspected Friel’s attire.

She bore a sword at her waist and carried a rather large bag containing who knows what. Particularly, she sensed something extraordinary about that sword instinctively.

Having noted that, Ainel and the elf from the Great Forest exchanged simple greetings while facing each other.

With a fresh smile, Friel leaned forward and revealed what she had brought.

“I didn’t get the chance to speak properly yesterday, did I? I brought the tea leaves cherished by our children of the Great Forest, would you accept them?”

“Certainly.”

Ainel raised her smile just slightly as she received the gift from her.

Even in the midst of this, their teal and blue eyes locked onto each other, both were busy gauging and assessing the other.

The discussion progressed slowly yet surely.

Starting with inquiries about each other’s well-being, it gradually transitioned into deeper conversations, and Ainel increasingly noticed the seriousness in Friel Arielte’s teal eyes.

Especially whenever the topic of the Great Forest surfaced, Ainel caught the glimmer of that tranquil smile deepening.

Calmly, she steered the conversation toward a pivotal query.

“Friel Arielte. As a member of one of the three families recognized by the High Elf’s authority, how did you come to the Count family in the kingdom? May I ask the reason?”

Friel Arielte finally wiped the empty smile from her face in response to that query.

“The Grand Elder instructed me to convey the truth directly to the head of the family… so before I explain why I came to the Count family, it would be best to first share the current situation of the Great Forest. I hope that would be fine with you?”

“Please do.”

At Ainel’s word, Friel brightened her smile once more and took a sip from the tea before her.

With grace, she set the cup down and gracefully placed her hands on her lap.

“The Great Forest is currently facing quite a precarious predicament. A cult that had been operating in the Empire a long time ago has stealthily invaded our sacred woods, and monsters intoxicated by powerful magic have begun to wreak havoc in the forest.”

“We realized it a bit late, but if it were merely monsters and cultists, our tree guardians would be more than capable of handling them. Thus, the guardians purified numerous monsters and cultists. However… the cultists who survived the Empire’s strong oppression did not make it easy for us.”

“They ultimately summoned demons and succeeded in hiding the existence of those demons from us.”

Friel’s voice transformed into an utterly chilling tone, devoid of any trace of the elf’s usual kindness.

“The demons were cunning. They concealed themselves and started burning the roots of the World Tree from the very end with their magic. By the time we became aware, the World Tree was already severely corrupted by the dark magic. To the point, even now, it has weakened to a stage where we elves face difficulties summoning spirits.”

“Hence, the Grand Elder of our clan decided to call upon our trustworthy former allies, the Shianella family, who fought alongside us against the demons in the past.”

“Thus, I take this opportunity to request assistance on behalf of the Grand Elder.”

The elf spoke.

“Please send Shione Shianella and her knight, Ray, to the Great Forest.”

Ainel stared at Friel with an icy, startled gaze, as if frozen in place.

She managed to suppress the rising waves of irritation threatening to burst out of her.

Such absurd and discordant statements.

Friel Arielte. My heart finally tilted between the two lines of belief and suspicion surrounding her.

“Say that again… one more time?”

In Ainel Shianella’s pupils brimmed with doubt, and her posture carried a clear sense of caution.

 

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