“So, you think there was something wrong with that black-haired Elf?”
After hearing Winnidith’s description, Isabella was forced to consider the potential dangers of this diplomatic mission to the Natural Forest.
She did not possess Winnidith’s exceptional magical talent and hadn’t sensed what the woman had done, but she trusted Winnidith’s words implicitly.
“I will try to gather some information from the Elven King during the banquet. Until we uncover the truth, Wendy, it’s best if you don’t wander too far from Uncle Aaron.”
Isabella stroked Winnidith’s hand to comfort her.
This was, after all, Emerald Shadow City—the capital of the Elves.
Bypassing Elven King Alvain to conduct an unauthorized investigation could easily provoke resentment from the Elven race.
“I understand,” Winnidith nodded.
The carriage remained warm, but both Winnidith and Isabella knew their journey to the Natural Forest would definitely not be as smooth as they had initially imagined.
***
They passed through the streets and arrived at the palace.
The rooms Alvain had prepared for them were quite luxurious, but considering Isabella was the Imperial Princess and Winnidith was the only daughter of the Empire’s Duke, the accommodations still lagged behind their own bedrooms back home.
After all, the material conditions of the Empire were many times better than those of the Natural Forest.
Once they finished tidying their rooms, the two changed into formal gowns featuring Elven characteristics.
Under the protection of the Royal Knights and the Trenton Guard, they headed toward the banquet hosted by the Elven King.
“Winnidith, you’re here! Over here, over here!”
When the two arrived at the Radiance Palace under the guidance of an Elf, they were surprised to find very few guests.
The delegations from the Orc Tribes and the Kingdom of Baierston had not yet arrived at the Natural Forest, and for some unknown reason, Olivier and his companions were still in their rooms.
As a result, Winnidith and her group were actually the first batch of guests to arrive at the banquet.
In one corner of the hall, Lya, who had changed into a formal gown and styled her hair differently, waved at them enthusiastically.
Vilda, still wearing her maid outfit, stood by her side and offered a smiling greeting when their eyes met.
This sight quite startled the Elves in the hall.
Their Princess was usually extremely arrogant even toward her own kin; it was hard for them to imagine her being so warm toward two humans.
‘Who are they?’
In an instant, the attention of all the Elves focused on the two girls.
Their distinctive appearances announced their noble status almost immediately.
But was Lya the kind of Elf who spoke kindly to others just because of their high status?
Of course not.
Consequently, these Elves began to discuss what was so special about these two humans that they could attract the attention of their Princess.
Their chatter added a touch of liveliness to the otherwise quiet hall.
“In that case, Princess, Miss Winnidith, we shall head over there to enjoy the food. We hope you have a wonderful time with Princess Lya.”
Hiberton bowed to them.
During this mission, the young nobles of their generation had already gathered around Hiberton, forming a small group with him at the center.
Compared to the Imperial family and the Trenton family, their own family influences were similar.
This made communication more relaxed and allowed them to easily establish relationships of mutual assistance.
“Arns, Uncle Aaron, you two should also go and enjoy the evening. This is the Elven King’s palace; you don’t need to worry about our safety,” Isabella said with a smile.
The Radiance Palace was safe; that was the judgment she made based on reality.
After all, if the Elven King truly wanted to deal with them, he had had countless opportunities since they entered the Natural Forest.
There was no reason to wait until they entered the Radiance Palace.
Furthermore, she couldn’t think of a reason why the Elven King would target them.
Therefore, she could only guess that the actions of that black-haired Elf were her own will rather than the Elven King’s intention.
Arns and Aaron nodded.
Like Isabella, they were unaware of the danger Winnidith had encountered in the carriage; otherwise, they would never have left her side, no matter the circumstances.
Once the crowd around them dispersed, Isabella and Winnidith could finally go see Lya and Vilda, from whom they had only recently parted.
“You guys are so slow. Is being an Imperial Princess really that much trouble? I’m also a Princess of the Natural Forest, so why doesn’t anyone surround me?”
Lya grabbed an apple and took a bite.
Transparent juice was squeezed out by the girl’s neat teeth, and a small amount overflowed from her pink lips, sliding down her slender swan-like neck and onto her noble gown, leaving behind dark stains.
It was strangely alluring.
Winnidith covered her nose and mouth.
Compared to when they parted, Lya had not only changed into a blue-purple short skirt that looked like peacock feathers but had also pinned up her beautiful golden hair.
Only one small, curled strand of gold was left dangling beside her cheek, making it impossible not to focus on the girl’s flawless face.
Furthermore, Lya had gone all out with her accessories.
Around her neck was a black silk ribbon with silver patterns; on her right wrist was a bracelet made of white jewels; on a finger of her left hand sat a ring embedded with a purple rhombus crystal.
Most importantly, a dark blue ribbon was tied tightly around her right thigh, the slight indentation in her snowy skin adding a hint of fleshiness to her slender body.
‘Nice outfit!’
Winnidith gave her a mental thumbs-up with starry eyes, only for Lya’s face to immediately collapse the moment she heard the praise.
“Vilda helped me coordinate all of this. If it were up to me, I probably would have just come in my everyday clothes. There’s no need for all this… I feel a draft down there. It feels unsafe.”
Lya pressed down on the hem of her skirt.
The awkwardness in her tone reminded Winnidith of her first few years after arriving in this world.
Back then, she, like Lya, wasn’t used to wearing dresses.
But now…
‘It’s wonderful!’
“Enough about me. Why are you two dressed so simply? I thought you’d come wearing those complicated Imperial gowns.”
Recalling the only banquet she had attended in the Empire, Lya couldn’t help but shiver.
She truly couldn’t understand why eating a meal required wearing layer upon layer of clothing.
Even more baffling to her was how those noble ladies and young misses could walk with such easy, elegant steps while wearing such complex attire.
“When in Rome, do as the Romans do. Since we are attending an Elven banquet, our attire should naturally reflect the Elven characteristic of lightness,” Winnidith whispered as she quietly pulled Lya aside, seeing that the eyes of those around them were no longer on them.
“And I also hate Imperial formal wear. To be honest, I’ve only ever worn clothes like that once.”
‘She’s just like me!’
Lya looked at Winnidith in surprise, finding her more and more likable.
On the other side, Vilda, who had been under Isabella’s constant gaze, finally couldn’t help but ask a question.
“Is… Is there something on my face, Miss Isabella?”
“No, there isn’t.”
Isabella smiled and stepped forward to pinch her cheek.
“I’m just curious, Vilda. You’re so cute, so why didn’t you change into a gown to attend this banquet?”
“Eh? E-Eh!”
Pinching her cheek made Vilda freeze for a moment before she let out a cute whimper like a startled small animal.
“I… I can’t! I’m just Lya’s maid, and I’m not nearly as cute as Lya. A… A formal gown wouldn’t suit me at all!”
“That’s not true! Vilda is clearly super cute! Isn’t that right, Winnidith?”
As soon as she said that, Astria, the world’s number one Vilda fan, couldn’t sit still.
She grabbed Winnidith—the good friend she had known for less than a day—to testify for her.
“Uh, yes, Vilda is indeed an absolute beauty.”
However, looking at Vilda’s face reminded Winnidith of the Divine Messenger who had nearly killed her at the city gate.
She became uncomfortable and offered only a brief, perfunctory agreement.
Fortunately, Lya was a bit of a simpleton, so the half-hearted response actually worked.
“Ugh…”
Being praised so bluntly by Lya caused Vilda to enter “steam-engine mode” in public.
With a flushed face and her head bowed, her ten fingers tangled and fidgeted in front of her stomach.
‘Truly a cute girl.’
Winnidith genuinely hoped that Vilda had nothing to do with that woman.
Even if there was a connection, she hoped Vilda was truly unaware of it.
Otherwise, this world was far too cruel.
“Speaking of which, back at the gate of Emerald Shadow City, I noticed that the female Elf who greeted us looked very similar to you, Vilda.”
Seizing the opportunity Lya had created, Isabella threw out her intended question.
“Do you know her, Vilda?”