Qiansitelin keenly sensed Muxuan’s discomfort and the unusual gravity in her gaze, and replied in a low, quick voice.
“A local elf who calls herself Ailiya, here to gather herbs. Your Highness, how are you feeling now?”
She deliberately avoided explaining too much about the girl’s identity, more concerned about Muxuan’s condition.
After all, she wasn’t entirely sure who this elf was either.
Muxuan was silent for a moment, then gently shook her head at Qiansitelin to indicate that she was fine before struggling to climb out of Qiansitelin’s arms.
Her feet landed on the soft ground covered in grass down, but Muxuan’s expression remained grave.
Her golden eyes swept across the deathly still forest around her, finally landing on the nervous elf girl Ailiya ahead.
She didn’t speak, only raised her hand and gave a somewhat stiff wave toward the depths of the forest ahead.
Ailiya flinched at the sight of Muxuan’s eyes, instinctively shrinking her neck.
She stole a glance at Qiansitelin, who still wore a cold expression, but whose gaze was tightly fixed on Muxuan.
Seeing Ailiya’s gaze come her way, and apparently thinking the girl hadn’t understood Her Highness’s intent, Qiansitelin explained in an icy tone.
“Follow your instincts and keep moving forward.”
Her Highness must have also noticed the forest’s abnormality, so Qiansitelin didn’t need to ask much—she would simply follow Her Highness’s wishes.
“Y-yes, Lady!”
Ailiya’s voice trembled slightly.
Seeing that neither of the two important figures seemed flustered, Ailiya quickly turned around, re-holding her wicker basket full of plants.
She took a deep breath, as if to bolster her courage.
After a moment’s hesitation, Ailiya finally stepped forward, walking along the forest path nearly covered in thick moss, once again taking the lead.
Qiansitelin helped Muxuan and quickly followed behind Ailiya.
Muxuan felt the soft touch on her arm and paused briefly, but her attention was mostly on Ailiya.
‘Is this illegal employment? I didn’t pay her, there’s no superior-subordinate relationship, just ordering her around like this—that’s not quite right, is it?’
She grumbled inwardly, but quickly began analyzing the current situation.
Muxuan didn’t intend to recall what had caused her memory loss.
It was obvious—another brush with something forbidden.
What mattered now was the situation at hand.
Something might have happened in the Kanoqiesi Forest, forcing Qiansitelin to bring her directly to the Elven Forest.
But this Elven Forest…
Looking at the still withered and grayish-white forest before her, Muxuan couldn’t help shaking her head.
She truly didn’t know the state of the Elven Forest… but more importantly, even the local elves found it abnormal.
However, Muxuan suddenly furrowed her brows.
Deep in her golden pupils, faint golden light flickered on and off.
With each flicker, the suffocating grayness in her vision seemed to shed an extremely faint impurity, and the lines of the surrounding environment became half a degree sharper.
The saturation of colors was slowly increasing at an extremely gradual pace.
Was this a good thing?
Unable to grasp the situation, Muxuan had no choice but to suppress her doubts and continue following Ailiya forward.
To Muxuan’s surprise, as they progressed, the gray filter in her vision seemed to be slowly erased like by an eraser.
The withered tree trunks began to show deep brown textures, and the moss covering them gradually revealed a moist, lush green.
Qiansitelin, walking beside Muxuan, also felt the obvious change.
The persistent sense of stagnation was quickly dissipating.
The life force that had seemed frozen in the air began to flow again, and a gentle breeze carrying the fresh scent of grass and trees softly brushed her cheeks, bringing a long-lost warmth.
Her tense nerves relaxed slightly, and she extended her perception in all directions to confirm the surroundings.
Ailiya, walking ahead, felt it most directly.
The cold gloom pressing on her heart was rapidly receding.
Though bird songs and insect chirps hadn’t returned to her ears yet, the absolute silence that made her scalp tingle had been replaced by a stillness unique to the forest.
The rustling of wind through leaves and the soft drip of dew all indicated that the forest had returned to normal.
Qiansitelin looked around again and turned to Muxuan with some confusion.
“Your Highness, the forest… seems to be returning to normal?”
Muxuan didn’t answer immediately.
Instead, after a few steps, Ailiya’s tense shoulders visibly relaxed.
Her arms, which had been clutching the wicker basket tightly, also loosened, and her steps even became a bit lighter.
The relief of surviving a calamity made her unable to help letting out a long sigh.
“Whew… thank goodness. Really… seems like it’s okay?”
However, just as Ailiya hadn’t fully exhaled that breath, inwardly rejoicing that the crisis was over, Muxuan’s cool voice sounded behind her.
“Ailiya.”
Muxuan stopped, her eyes—which had reverted to their disguised emerald green—fixing on the elf girl’s instantly stiffened back.
“You… seem to be hiding something?”
Ailiya spun around like a cat whose tail had been stepped on, nearly shaking the plants out of her basket.
The blood drained from her face in an instant.
Her emerald eyes were filled with startled panic and the fluster of being exposed, and she even took a half step back instinctively, her voice going shrill.
“N-no, Lady! I absolutely haven’t hidden anything important!”
Qiansitelin’s eyes sharpened immediately, and her hand quietly rested on Lyrasel.
“Really?”
Muxuan’s voice was calm but carried an invisible pressure.
Ailiya trembled even more, her lips moving soundlessly, her eyes dodging, not daring to meet Muxuan’s gaze.
But under Qiansitelin’s increasingly cold stare, her last shred of denial crumbled.
“I-I’m sorry, Lady!”
Ailiya’s voice was tinged with tears.
“I… I didn’t mean to hide it! I was just… just too scared…”
Seeing Ailiya like this, Qiansitelin’s heart softened a little, and she eased her gaze slightly.
Judging from Ailiya’s demeanor, the hierarchy among elves seemed to be very strict.
Muxuan also sighed softly, then walked over to Ailiya, reached out, and stroked her head, showing a gentle smile.
“Don’t be nervous~ If there’s anything, just say it. We’ll understand~”
Hearing Muxuan’s warm, soft voice and sensing no reproach, Ailiya slowly lifted her head to look at Muxuan.
It seemed… these two ladies weren’t as frightening as she had imagined.
After composing herself, Ailiya immediately said:
“It’s the Great Elder…”