In the darkness, the passage of time had become blurred.
Though only a few days had passed, it felt like thousands of years.
And those thousands of years were filled with unending fear and terror.
In the end, she had become numb.
“When was it?”
Willis asked.
The next morning, sunlight poured in through the window.
The girl, freshly washed by the maids, now lay peacefully on the bed.
Yes, peacefully.
It was said that the maid had been startled by her corpse-like face while bathing her.
“On the sixth day, I went to deliver food and found she was nearly dead.”
Annie Donald snorted.
She seemed very dissatisfied.
It would have been better if this fox spirit had disappeared!
But women are always contrary.
Even more so with girls.
She couldn’t bear to watch such a beautiful elf die before her eyes—especially since she was the one Willis had designated to deliver her meals.
She had to take responsibility.
“So I made the decision to bring her out. After cleaning her up, she’s been sleeping here ever since.”
“When the Rebels broke in, I was worried she’d get caught in the chaos.”
Annie breathed a sigh of relief.
“Thankfully, she didn’t.”
“Six days, huh?”
Willis sighed quietly, sitting at the bedside of Winnie Kanasha.
Her battle wounds had been treated with the best herbs available at the time.
It was said there wouldn’t be any scars left.
With the Healer’s treatment, Willis’s wounds had already begun to heal.
Covered in luxurious clothes, she still appeared to be the beautiful, noble Imperial Princess from the outside.
Only Nidnia and the others still needed to keep this secret.
At this moment, Willis didn’t dare let them get too close to her.
Off to the side, Ofilia’s expression was complicated.
She had lasted a day and a night.
But this elf… had really survived six days!?
Just one more day, and she and her kin could have been free!
Though it was a shame, Ofilia looked at the girl sleeping on the bed.
***
A sense of deep respect welled up inside her, along with a bitter regret at her own weakness.
What a pity.
It was truly just one day short.
Willis sat by the bed, gazing at the elf who seemed to be sleeping, lost in thought.
Miraculously, since leaving the cellar, Winnie Kanasha hadn’t woken up.
But under Willis’s gaze, her eyes slowly opened.
“Your Highness, she’s awake!”
Annie sounded a little excited.
This way, her own mistake would be much less severe.
But unexpectedly, after waking, Winnie didn’t make a sound.
She just stared blankly at the ceiling, silent.
Her eyes were lifeless, numb.
“Winnie?”
Willis called out, but there was no response.
She tried threatening her, but the elf’s expression remained as dead as ever.
Even with her eyes open, she looked as if she had already died.
“Your Highness, this……should we call someone to take a look?”
Annie hesitated.
Willis shook her head.
“It’s fine. Everyone leave, let her have some peace.”
“Oh, and from now on, I’ll take care of her.”
At once, Annie jumped up.
“Why!? No way!”
Startled by her reaction, Willis asked in confusion.
“Why are you so worked up?”
Knowing she was in the wrong, Annie mumbled.
“I mean…… how could someone as noble as Your Highness care for her like a servant?”
“Let the maids—or me—handle it.”
The girl’s face turned red with embarrassment, her words coming out unclear.
Willis was even more puzzled.
“Aren’t you in love with my Sister? Now that things are settled, you finally have time to spend together and deepen your relationship.”
“Why would you want to take this on? Wouldn’t it just take up all your time?”
So understanding, Willis was nearly moved by her own generosity.
But the other party didn’t appreciate it.
“I……I don’t want to……”
“Why?”
Willis frowned.
“No……nothing……you idiot!”
With a soft curse, Annie hurriedly sped out of the room.
Leaving Willis utterly bewildered.
Why the insults now?
Don’t think just because you’re familiar with me, I won’t take action against you!
She turned to Ofilia.
“Did you see what that was about?”
She was answered only with a sulky,
“Hmph! I don’t know!”
After yesterday’s great battle, all the follow-up and cleanup would take at least a few days.
Because the fighting had just ended, Willis hadn’t made the remaining City Defense Army and Miners do any more work.
Instead, they rested and recovered.
Replenishing their strength in case the enemy had any hidden moves.
Otherwise, facing an attack in exhaustion might lead to collapse.
Fortunately, after a day and night of rest, nothing unexpected had occurred.
Even so, explaining things to the Empire and playing the role of the restored true Imperial Princess was still a headache for Willis.
Now, after the great battle, the total number of usable City Defense Army under Willis had shrunk to about five thousand four hundred.
Of the nearly thirteen hundred City Defense Army led by Hill Yu, only four hundred remained.
The other five thousand were the ones left behind at the request of the Miners when the mine was attacked.
Some of them were upright, never accepting bribes or abusing the Miners.
Others had lesser offenses, minor bribes.
Willis hadn’t punished them all equally.
Now, these five thousand four hundred were completely loyal to her.
It sounded like a lot, but with over thirty mines in the area, it wasn’t nearly enough.
Aside from the City Defense Army and soldiers, the Miners had suffered greatly in the battle.
Of nearly thirty thousand, only seventeen thousand remained.
A staggering loss.
On the streets and around the Castle Lord’s Mansion, bodies were everywhere!
To call it a river of blood, the stench filling the air, was no exaggeration.
How to deal with the corpses.
And how to calm the Miners and civilians, restore production—these were all difficult problems facing Willis.
Her brows furrowed as she thought of it.
Seeing her emerge from Winnie’s room like this, Hill Yu stood outside, bandaged all over.
Though injured, her Sister was still the same valiant Sister.
“Is she alright?”
Hill Yu asked.
“Her body is fine. Psychologically… that’s another matter.”
Willis regretted it.
The child was too stubborn.
If she couldn’t bear it, she should have said so—instead, she forced herself until she was like this.
“Although she didn’t last the full seven days, I think……”
Willis paused, as if making a difficult decision.
“I think we should let her go.
When she recovers, Sister, you should send her and her people away.”
Willis walked out of the inner courtyard, her mood somber.
Hill Yu tilted her head.
“Can you bear it?”
“If her heart can’t stay, there’s no point keeping her here.”
The girl’s figure looked lonely as she walked away, and Hill Yu hurried to catch up.
Afraid her Imperial Princess had suffered some trauma.
But Willis gazed at the City Defense Army cleaning up bodies and repairing the courtyard walls around the Castle Lord’s Mansion.
She said,
“I have too much to do. If Winnie wants to leave, let her.
Keeping her here would only bring more trouble.”
“If force won’t work, then try gentleness… cough, I mean, if you love someone, you should let them go. Isn’t that right?”
Hearing this, Hill Yu felt as if her understanding of Willis had been shattered once more.
Her face filled with disbelief.
“Sister, you’ve really changed.”