Winnidith slept for two days and two nights.
Because she had spent her entire time in the Imperial Capital within the Duke’s Mansion and never socialized with anyone except Isabella, no one found her absence strange.
Correspondingly, it was also normal that Isabella had not been seen for these two days.
After all, there were only two people in the delegation with equal status.
Like follows like—dragons stay with dragons, and mice stay with mice.
It was perfectly natural for the two of them to stay together in this foreign land.
In reality, however, Isabella had spent these two days searching as thoroughly as possible for any clues related to the “Dark Elves.”
She had never heard the term before, but she knew from the name alone that it had to be related to the Light Elves.
Thus, she began with the ancient legends of the Light Elves, attempting to catch a glimpse of a lead.
She failed.
The circulating books contained many descriptions of the Light Elves: the natural-born rulers gifted to the Elves by the Sacred Tree; the heroes who saved the Natural Forest; the exhausted, hardworking monarchs and the most devout believers.
In these legends, there was not a single trace of any Dark Elves.
Either they had never existed, or they had been crudely erased from history.
Consequently, she changed her approach.
She remembered Wendy saying that Elaril was proficient in the Dark Element.
Considering the powerful affinity Light Elves had for the Light Element, it was highly probable that Elaril was a corresponding Dark Elf.
She began investigating Elaril’s background.
This investigation was much easier.
As a Priestess of the Sacred Wood Monastery, Elaril’s growth trajectory was completely transparent—she was born over 100 years ago in a remote village in the Natural Forest and grew up there.
When she reached her 20s, she followed her parents to the City of Emerald Shadows to pay homage to the Sacred Tree.
While attending a festival, the previous Priestess of the Sacred Wood Monastery discovered her incredible talent for the Wind Element and Wood Element.
She negotiated with Elaril’s parents to take her in as a disciple and train her as the next Priestess.
Her parents agreed, and so Elaril remained in the City of Emerald Shadows as the successor to the Priestess and began her study of Magic.
Elaril did not disappoint her master’s expectations.
Her strength grew exceptionally fast, and she eventually succeeded in breaking through to the Saint Realm one year after Alvain inherited the elven throne, becoming the second strongest individual in the entire elven race.
It was a classic, common underdog story of a grassroots comeback—the kind of tale bards loved most—but Isabella still found two suspicious points within it.
First, because the Bishop of the Sacred Wood Monastery was the Elven King (a Light Elf), when the Elven King returned to the Sacred Tree, the Priestess of the Monastery also had to yield her position to a chosen successor.
Most of these retired Priestesses chose to settle in the City of Emerald Shadows, where they were more familiar with the surroundings.
If Isabella wanted to find them, she could easily locate their whereabouts.
However, Elaril’s master, Sylvia, chose to return to her birth village after stepping down as Priestess, and she had not been heard from since.
Second was Vilda’s birth.
No matter how much Isabella searched, she could find no record of Vilda’s father’s identity—where he lived, what he looked like, or what his name was.
She only knew that, like Elaril, he came from a remote village.
Of course, the elven race rarely experienced heat.
As the successor to the Priestess, Elaril had to tour the entire Natural Forest to proclaim the grace of the Holy Tree in the years before her succession.
If she felt an attraction in some village, it would not be strange for her to have a one-night stand with one or more elves.
But the three protagonists in these two stories all came from remote villages in the Natural Forest.
Perhaps it seemed normal to others—after all, the Natural Forest was vast, and outside of the City of Emerald Shadows, the rest of the territory consisted of villages that accounted for 70% of the elven population.
But to Isabella, who was already suspicious of Elaril, this provided enough grounds to make a bold guess.
‘There is something wrong with Elaril’s background. She didn’t want someone in the City of Emerald Shadows to discover her true identity, so she claimed to be from a remote village to avoid investigation.’
As for who that someone was…
Isabella immediately thought of the counterparts to the Dark Elves—the Light Elves, specifically the contemporary Elven King, Alvain.
Why?
‘Because it was the Light Elves who erased the traces of the Dark Elves’ existence. As the Elven Kings, they have the absolute power to do so!’
Isabella could even guess who had done it.
She wrote a name on a piece of paper—the first Elven King, Anaris.
Then, she wrote down two terms—the Council of Elders and the Sacred Wood Monastery.
‘If it truly was Anaris who erased the traces of the Dark Elves, then there must be information closely related to them within the Council of Elders!’
‘It’s even possible that a Dark Elf is a member of the Council of Elders themselves!’
She circled the Council of Elders in red and then drew a line downward—the War of Divine Fire.
The members of the Council of Elders were all heroes who had made outstanding contributions to the survival of the elven race during the War of Divine Fire.
The Dark Elves would be no exception.
Then, she wrote another sentence.
‘Before the War of Divine Fire, there were no special elven sub-races.’
Based on this, she arrived at an answer that terrified even herself.
‘When the Elven Holy Tree descended, it didn’t just gift the elven race Light Elves—it also gave them their twins, the Dark Elves!’
But if that were the case, why did Anaris do this?
Would the Holy Tree grant the elves more Dark Elves in the future?
Judging by Elaril, it seemed they still appeared.
‘Does that mean for every Light Elf that appears, a Dark Elf appears as well? If so, aside from that one in the Council of Elders and the current Elaril and her daughter, where did the Dark Elves in the middle go? Alvain is the ninth-generation Elven King, so there should have been at least seven other Dark Elves in between. Where are they? Why can’t I find any trace of their existence in the history books?’
Moreover, every generation of Light Elves was born directly from the Holy Tree and raised by the previous generation.
As their twins, the Dark Elves should have been born together, so why…
Isabella stared intently at the summary she had written, her bloodshot eyes closing in exhaustion.
There were many suspicious points and even more questions, but this was already the most likely explanation she could conceive.
She had to start her investigation from here.
Isabella slowly opened her eyes, focusing all her attention on the war that had changed the world’s landscape 1,000 years ago—the War of Divine Fire.
She had a premonition that the legends of the War of Divine Fire currently in circulation were all incomplete.
Something more mysterious had been hidden away by the leaders of various nations in a tacit understanding.
What she had to do now was uncover the truth!
She had to know why Elaril was targeting Winnidith.
It was impossible to find such information on the open market.
The first Elven King had done his job far too thoroughly.
After thinking it over, Isabella realized there was only one place where a true record of the War of Divine Fire might be found—the Great Historical Archives of the Elven Race.
Isabella stared at that name.
Her body suddenly lost its strength, and she slumped into her chair, yet the smile remained on her lips.
She had finally found the entrance to the maze.
All that remained was to take action.
But she was too tired.
Two days—48 hours of high-intensity mental activity—had left her exceptionally fatigued.
She desperately needed rest.
“Princess! Miss Winnidith is awake!”
The words acted like a powerful shot of adrenaline, instantly dispelling Isabella’s exhaustion.
It seemed… rest would have to wait.