“I found nothing on my end, so I smashed the wall to vent my frustration. That’s when I discovered there was another space behind it. I thought it might be a secret passage, so I broke through.”
“Then I saw this.”
That river, suspended upside down over their heads like gray-blue sludge.
Leah had always considered herself well-traveled for an Elf Princess, but this was her first time seeing a structure built beneath a river that wasn’t flooded.
How was this even possible?
And what about those orbs of light?
Leah’s gaze was drawn to the three glowing orbs placed in the room.
For some reason, she felt they were familiar, as if she had come into contact with them long ago.
But she was certain this was her first time seeing them.
The light they emitted was so gentle that it reminded her of her father.
“Leah, can you feel anything?”
Leah started, suddenly realizing that her hand had touched one of the orbs before she even noticed.
But since Winnidith asked, she carefully felt the texture.
It was hard, like a stone.
Beyond that, there was nothing.
Meeting Winnidith’s expectant gaze, she shook her head.
“You too, huh.”
Winnidith deflated instantly, frustratedly tugging at the silver hair by her ear.
She had hoped Leah could master the Saint Realm magic inside these orbs and gain a massive boost in power; that would have greatly increased their chances of defeating Alvain.
“Why do I get the feeling you’ve been here before, Winnidith?”
Leah quipped.
She had already observed the surroundings; this was a completely enclosed space.
The only entrance was the wall she had just smashed.
How could Winnidith have possibly been here…
“I actually have.”
Winnidith spread her hands and told them everything that had happened inside the Fountain of Memory that day.
Leah was stunned as she listened.
Being this old, it was her first time knowing there was Saint Realm magic inside the Fountain of Memory.
Before this, she had always believed the highest level of magic inside the fountain was Ninth Rank Magic.
After all, normal people wouldn’t think to jump into a pool of mana, and neither would normal elves.
“So, those three orbs contain Saint Realm Magic Formulas?”
She quickly realized this was a great opportunity to increase her strength, but her fantasy was ruthlessly extinguished by Winnidith.
“Don’t even think about it. The magic formulas sealed in the Fountain of Memory possess a certain degree of intelligence. They choose masters who are qualified to use them. Judging by your performance just now, you clearly weren’t recognized by them.”
“Ungh!!!”
Leah covered her chest and stumbled backward.
She had touched the Fountain of Memory before, so she naturally knew that what Winnidith said was the truth.
But if a magic prodigy like Winnidith and an Elf Princess like her weren’t qualified to use these three pieces of Saint Realm magic, then who was?
Did it require a true Saint Realm user?
That would be too absurd.
“My Lady, if you’ve been here before, how did you leave?”
Arns did not understand magic; he only knew that these three precious magic formulas were not meant for them.
But beyond that, he was more concerned about how to get out.
“I don’t know.”
Winnidith spread her arms with complete honesty.
“I lost consciousness after being forced to absorb the spiritual energy, and when I woke up, I was lying in my own bed. I heard from Mei that she found me in the flower pond. I don’t even know how I ended up in such a place.”
Winnidith still remembered an experience before she fully lost consciousness, as if she were being flooded with water.
Could it be that she had entered the river on the ceiling and been washed away by the current to the Silver Moon Palace’s flower pond?
Does that mean this palace is located directly beneath the Silver Moon Palace?
Connecting this to how Alvain had teleported to visit her as soon as she woke up, Winnidith felt the probability that this palace was right under the Silver Moon Palace was increasing.
But… how had she gotten pulled into the water in the first place?
Winnidith looked up, but she couldn’t find any holes or gaps anywhere.
“Maybe Alvain teleported me out; I’m not really sure.”
Alvain?
Leah paused for a few seconds before realizing that was her father’s name, and she deflated.
Her father was being watched closely by Alvain right now; it was good enough that he could protect himself, let alone rescue them from here.
“So does that mean we’re trapped here forever? Why don’t we go back and see if we can find a teleportation array to the history museum? I actually think it’s possible for us to take on two Ninth Rankers.”
She automatically ignored the severely injured red-haired elf.
They had no other choice.
During this time, Winnidith tried to touch the three Saint Realm magic orbs again, still unwilling to give up.
To no surprise, they rejected her touch with their scorching heat.
‘Hmph! Once I reach the Saint Realm, I will definitely create an all-purpose magic that can open every seal!!!’
Winnidith gritted her teeth and walked away, but soon her frustration and annoyance vanished into thin air.
Because Isabella had woken up.
“Bella! How are you feeling? Do you still have any hallucinations? Is anything in your body feeling uncomfortable?”
She threw herself onto Isabella, staring anxiously into her eyes, terrified that she might have lingering symptoms but was too stubborn to admit it.
Fortunately, perhaps because Isabella had not been eroded by the spiritual energy for long, she had no other abnormalities aside from the feeling that some irrelevant memories had disappeared.
“Wendy, don’t hold me like this. I’m fine now, really.”
Isabella didn’t push her away.
Nonsense, it had been a long time since Wendy was this passionate.
She was enjoying it far too much to push away the warm embrace.
Moreover, she did indeed need Wendy right now to help her combat the lingering fear.
“Sorry for letting you see my embarrassing side.”
Isabella smiled slightly at the two who had arrived later.
Even though they were intentionally not mentioning it, she could imagine how pathetic she had been when she fell into the hallucinations.
“It is my incompetence that allowed Her Highness to suffer such pain.”
Arns knelt on one knee to admit his fault.
His pain had only lasted for a moment, yet just recalling that instant felt like falling into an icy abyss.
But Isabella had endured it for a whole minute.
For that reason alone, Arns held the highest respect for this seemingly delicate princess.
“Relax, relax. I was quite pathetic when I was being hunted too, wasn’t I? Let’s call it even.”
Leah was open-minded.
Since everyone was safe, she didn’t mind losing face.
Anyway, she was currently the most embarrassing person present; if Isabella wasn’t more embarrassing than her, why would she worry about that!
“Looking at you, you’ve already explored the area. Have you found a way out?”
When Isabella woke up and didn’t see Winnidith by her side, she knew they must have been looking for a way out.
After quietly listening to Winnidith’s deductions, she suddenly paused, felt something hard in her pocket, and said with a wry smile.
“If this place is really located beneath the Silver Moon Palace, then I do have a way to leave safely.”
“Huh? Where did you get a way?”
Leah stared straight at her.
A way to leave right under the Silver Moon Palace?
What, was the Empire mining beneath the Silver Moon Palace?
It wasn’t just her; Arns and Winnidith were also full of confusion.
Winnidith even wondered if the spiritual energy in her body hadn’t been fully consumed by the little creature.
‘Why is she talking nonsense here? .jpg’
“I’m serious. Have you forgotten? I have the teleportation scroll you gave me, don’t I?”
Isabella stroked her silver hair, and with her other hand, she took out a neatly folded piece of yellow parchment from her skirt pocket.
It was a magic diagram; or more accurately, a magic diagram inscribed with a teleportation magic circle.
On the day she was talking with Olivier on the plains where the Empire and the Natural Forest met, Winnidith had given her this scroll to save her life.
And its function was very simple: as long as they were within 3 miles, it could teleport the user back to the carriage they had ridden in that day.