“Yes, she is my mother,” Vilda replied timidly.
Just as she thought.
The thing she feared most had finally become a reality, yet Winnidith was surprised to find herself feeling no sorrow.
She simply, silently, placed Vilda a greater distance away in her heart.
“Your mother? She looks so young. I thought she was your sister.”
Compared to Winnidith’s silence, Isabella’s expression management was far superior.
She displayed a fitting hint of surprise and doubt, as if truly shocked by the news.
“Th-thank you. Mother would certainly be very happy if she knew.”
Vilda’s face turned beet red.
No girl would be unhappy about being called young; even if the praise was for her mother, she shared in that joy as her daughter.
“We Elves have long lifespans! A few years or even a few decades leave no trace on our faces!”
Leah stood with her hands on her hips, looking proud.
Just like the other Elves in this hall, their lifespans were all over 300 years!
In the entire world, only the Vampires among the Demons could rival the Elves in longevity.
Though, once a Light Elf became the Elven King, they would return to the Sacred Tree after 100 years.
“Is that so? That is truly an enviable gift. Even with careful maintenance, we humans inevitably face the problems of skin aging and wrinkles by our forties or fifties.”
“While cultivating Douqi and Mana can slow the aging of the body, it is ultimately just a drop in the bucket. We cannot achieve true agelessness.”
Isabella sighed, seemingly intentional in keeping the conversation on the topic of feminine skincare, yet she skillfully left an opening.
In her estimation, Leah would surely notice this gap and step into the trap.
“That’s not right, is it? I remember the sisters and priestesses of your Imperial Sanctuary can maintain an ageless appearance?”
‘Here it comes!’
Isabella chuckled inwardly, continuing the conversation Leah had provided.
“That requires receiving the Divine Blessing of Lord Helios. However, members of the Royal Family are strictly forbidden from practicing religion. Once discovered, they are immediately stripped of their royal status.”
“The Trenton Family is much the same,” Winnidith added.
After all, the Trenton Family had always been the most loyal followers of the Robert Royal Family; maintaining consistency in faith was part of that loyalty.
“Didn’t your Empire establish itself using the power of a god? How could… forget it, I can’t be bothered with your circumstances.”
Leah spread her small hands.
“In any case, among the Elves, anyone who dares to be disrespectful to the Sacred Tree would certainly be branded a heretic and expelled from the Natural Forest.”
“Leah…”
Vilda tugged at the corner of Leah’s clothes, wanting to remind her not to go on.
But how could Isabella let such a perfect opportunity pass?
She immediately followed up on Leah’s words.
“If that is the case, is every Elf a divine messenger of the Sacred Tree?”
“It doesn’t quite work like that,” Leah replied, not sensing anything wrong with the topic.
She explained naturally, “Although the Sacred Tree bestows its blessing upon all Elves equally, this blessing only affects physical enhancement. It does not increase their strength.”
“The Elves have an institution similar to your Sanctuary called the Sacred Wood Monastery. Members of the monastery are called monks, and they are all the most devout believers of the Sacred Tree, naturally receiving its protection. However, I don’t know much more beyond that. It is better to let Vilda tell you.”
“Leah!”
Vilda’s voice was a bit agitated, but she was one step too late.
Leah let the next sentence slip out.
“Vilda’s mother is a Priestess of the Sacred Wood Monastery. She definitely knows more than I do.”
The heart Vilda had held in suspense finally died.
“Sacred Wood Monastery?”
Winnidith asked curiously.
Why had she never heard of this name?
But this was not a deliberate concealment by the Elves; it was simply that Winnidith had never paid attention to the religious affairs of other races.
The Sacred Wood Monastery had been established 700 years ago by the second Elven King, Aldorin.
Before then, the Elven divine and monarchical powers belonged entirely to a faction called the Council of Elders.
Its members were all heroes who had made outstanding contributions to the Elves during the War of Divine Fire.
They all had the right to directly have an audience with the Sacred Tree and enjoyed supreme honor within the race.
When they were in agreement, even the Elven King could not escape judgment.
But eventually, the first Elven King, Anaris, destroyed it.
No one knew why he did it.
The history books merely explained it away with a single sentence, stating that the first Elven King’s temperament had changed drastically.
What was certain, however, was that Anaris had been severely injured in the struggle.
After barely raising a new Light Elf to adulthood, he returned to the embrace of the Sacred Tree.
The divine power did not return to the Council of Elders upon his departure.
The second Elven King established the Sacred Wood Monastery upon ascending the throne and personally took on the position of Bishop.
From then on, successive Elven Kings were the supreme rulers who possessed both monarchical and divine authority.
If Vilda’s mother was a Priestess of the Sacred Wood Monastery, Isabella would have to re-evaluate the likelihood of the Elven King taking action against them.
Isabella clenched her fists, her teeth pressing tightly together behind her thin lips.
If she wasn’t worried about alerting the enemy, Isabella would have wanted to notify Arns and the others to take Winnidith out of the Natural Forest immediately.
“I apologize, Princess Isabella, Lady Winnidith. It is not that I do not trust you enough, but these matters involve certain secrets of our Elven race. Please forgive me for being unable to speak of them.”
Vilda’s voice finally pulled Isabella from her worries back to reality.
Knowing she could no longer hide it, Vilda bowed to express her apologies to them.
However, among the three people listening to her, the one most surprised was actually the Elf Princess, Leah.
‘Were those things actually Elven secrets? Then just now…’
Leah blinked, a sudden sense of guilt washing over her for having done something wrong.
‘Don’t be afraid! Winnidith and Isabella are such good people; they certainly won’t tell anyone what I just said!’
‘They shouldn’t… right?’
Leah peeked over and happened to run into Isabella’s smiling gaze.
She immediately looked elsewhere.
‘This ceiling sure is a ceiling, haha…’
“If that is the case, then please allow me to apologize for our unauthorized inquiry into Elven secrets.”
Isabella took Winnidith’s hand and curtsied in apology.
After straightening up, she looked at the guilty-looking Leah with a smile.
“Of course, I will not tell anyone what Leah just said. I swear it in the name of Robert.”
‘Ha! I knew it! These are friends this Princess has acknowledged; how could they do something as treacherous as leaking secrets!’
Leah’s confidence instantly surged.
Her eyes stopped wandering, her back straightened, and that aura of fearing neither heaven nor earth returned to her.
Just as she was about to speak to smooth over the awkward atmosphere she had caused, the arrival of a group of people immediately soured her mood.
Olivier had arrived.