“Of course. After all, I’m just a weak woman traveling alone to a foreign land. It’s only natural for me to feel apprehensive and invite a friend to accompany me, right?”
Isabella made no attempt to hide the truth.
After all, Winnidith’s appearance was far too striking; if the other party truly wanted to investigate, it would be easy to find out.
‘She really did come.’
Olivier confirmed the news, completely ignoring Isabella’s claims of being a “weak woman.”
If nothing else, if she were truly apprehensive, it would be impossible for her to sit here so leisurely drinking tea with him.
To be honest, Olivier hadn’t believed at first that the Empire would allow Winnidith to leave their borders.
After all, she was the pioneer of Life Magic and a guaranteed future Archmage.
But now that he was certain she was here, Olivier had to consider the possibility of mutual destruction.
However, after assessing the strength of both sides, he decisively abandoned that thought.
“Speaking of which, I heard your older brother has not appeared in public for a long time due to illness. I wonder if his health has improved?”
Winnidith’s appearance acted as a signal, representing the moment both sides tore away their mask of feigned kindness and began probing into each other’s secrets.
“My brother’s health has improved, but the root of the illness remains.”
Olivier gave a bitter smile, his handsome face clouded with a sorrow that could make anyone want to give everything to ease his burden.
“To be honest, the purpose of this trip to the Natural Forest is to borrow the Elven Secret Treasure to refine an antidote for my brother.”
‘Seeking a secret treasure for a cure?’
Isabella’s eyes lowered slightly.
If that were the case, Olivier’s goal would clash with her own.
She would have to see if she could convince him to change his mind…
“The Second Prince is truly devoted to his brother. However, I’ve heard rumors that the First Prince doesn’t think much of you. Is it really worth doing so much for him?”
She subtly pointed out the irreconcilable nature of their positions regarding the throne.
She believed that Olivier, being a clever man, would understand the underlying meaning of her words.
“Whether it is worth it or not, he is still my brother.”
Whether he truly didn’t hear her or was simply feigning ignorance, Olivier only sighed in response to Isabella’s question.
“I only have this one brother. If he dies, I won’t even have an elder left to rely on.”
“Besides, we are brothers. We share the same blood. It is only right for siblings to help one another, isn’t it?”
Not only that, but he also took a subtle jab at Isabella.
Over the past few centuries, the Robert Royal Family had been plagued by scandals involving the struggle for the throne.
There were even people in the taverns of the Alendine Capital who spent every day amusing themselves with those stories.
But what Olivier admired was that even when faced with such direct mockery, Isabella’s expression didn’t change at all.
‘What a terrifying woman.’
Olivier clicked his tongue.
Who had claimed the Pearl of the Empire was just a pretty face?
He had a premonition that the Robert Empire would soon welcome its second Empress.
When that time came, the struggle between the Alendine Kingdom and the Robert Empire would essentially be a struggle between the two of them.
He had to take this opportunity today to learn as much as possible about his opponent.
Isabella had known from the start that this Second Prince was no pushover.
Seeing him suddenly become enthusiastic, her vigilance reached its peak.
They traded barbs back and forth, neither side revealing a single weakness.
This made things very difficult for Winnidith, who was eavesdropping on their conversation.
There was only one reason—she couldn’t understand them!
‘What? What are they even talking about? How did the topic shift from me to the First Prince of Alendine, and then to the Robert Royal Family?’
‘And now they’re talking about their favorite foods? You’re in the middle of two opposing armies, not a tea room!’
By now, Winnidith could only admit the fact that she was indeed a bit slow.
However, she could see that Isabella wasn’t losing ground in this conversation, which immediately eased much of her worry.
“My Lady, can you hear what the Prince and the others are saying?”
Aaron had already noticed that his lady’s expressions were exceptionally vivid—going from worry to a long period of confusion, and finally to her current state of self-abandonment.
That magic tool she called a “Telescope” was still pointed straight at Isabella.
Even a fool could guess what was happening.
But how was that possible?
Aaron’s heart pounded.
As an 8th-rank Warrior, he had to use Douqi to enhance his hearing just to vaguely catch a few words.
Yet looking at Winnidith, she clearly heard everything they were saying!
It was a recognized fact that the physical constitution of Mages was far inferior to that of Warriors who utilized Douqi.
Just as the warriors at the front of the Guard Army could clearly see Isabella’s movements, the mages standing only a step behind could only see two blurry figures.
They had to rely on the movements of the warriors beside them to judge when to cast their spells.
For thousands of years, this fact had become a standard, an absolute truth of the world.
But now, a flaw had appeared in that truth.
Winnidith, with the body of a 5th-tier Mage, had surpassed an 8th-rank Warrior in terms of hearing.
She was definitely using magic, but who was to say she was the only one who could use such a spell?
In an instant, Aaron seemed to understand why the Duke always looked at Winnidith and said that the future would surely belong to mages.
As long as she lived, the advantage of warriors would grow smaller and smaller, until they became nothing more than slightly stronger, slightly more special ordinary people.
But Aaron didn’t panic.
On the contrary, he was somewhat excited—excited that he could personally look after the founder of a new era.
“Yes, I can hear them clearly, but I don’t understand what they’re talking about.”
Winnidith naturally had no idea about the stormy thoughts in Aaron’s mind.
At the moment, she was still immersed in the sadness of being a dummy.
She wasn’t even interested in the information the Wind Elements were bringing her anymore.
Since she couldn’t understand anyway, she might as well listen to something else.
Thus, Winnidith only kept a small portion of the Wind Elements to transmit Isabella’s conversation, while the rest were scattered to eavesdrop elsewhere.
She heard the heavy breathing of the two diplomatic missions, the nervous whispers of some individuals, and the whistling sound of wind from afar.
‘Wind? But there’s no wind right now. Where is that sound coming from?’
Soon, the joyous Wind Elements dancing by her ear gave her the answer.
They said, “The Darling of the Wind is arriving.”
‘The Darling of the Wind?’
Winnidith’s confusion didn’t last long.
Soon, every expert present could feel a powerful wind whistling down from the north.
When it came to a halt, a flash of brilliant gold became the focus of the entire field.
“I am Princess Astria of the Elves! This area is near the Natural Forest. No one is permitted to fight here!”
‘This is tricky…’
Astria was a bit dazed.
Her father had only told her that the Empire’s diplomatic mission would be visiting today.
But there were two missions here; which one belonged to the Empire?
‘If only I had asked what the crest of the Empire’s royal family looked like.’
Astria stole a glance at her bosom.
Because of her high-speed travel, Vilda had fainted halfway.
Even now, her two eyes were still spinning like black lines.
It seemed she would have to rely on herself.
Astria focused her gaze on the two people at the square table.
From the attitude of those around them, she could sense they were the highest-ranking individuals of the two groups.
She at least knew that the princess sent by the Empire was a woman.
However…
‘Both of them look like women!’
Astria’s head began to ache again.
She looked back and forth between Isabella and Olivier, finally resting her gaze on Olivier.
‘His chest is even flatter than mine! His status as a woman is questionable!!!’
“You!”
Astria pointed a finger, not caring whether the other person was a prince or a princess, and barked a question.
“Are you a man or a woman!”
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