"Alright, Croll, stop talking. Leaving this place is the best way to protect Her Highness. I know you mean well for Her Highness, but that is the prince of the Glaze Kingdom. Even though your martial skills are exceptional, they also possess powerful alchemy."
Milan interrupted, attempting to stop Croll's absurd idea.
"Alchemy?" Leona asked in confusion.
Seeing Leona's stunned expression, Milan could not help asking:
"You don't know alchemy?"
Leona turned her gaze to Anna with a look that said, you deal with this.
Anna scratched her cheek awkwardly. "I thought you knew, Leona."
"I have no idea at all. To this world, I'm like a newborn baby." Leona shook her head. She had only seen alchemy mentioned in books, but those were novels that had nothing to do with fairy tales.
"Could you tell me about it?" Leona asked again.
After all, since the witch class existed, alchemists weren't impossible either. Knowing a bit more was always a good thing.
"If I were to explain it, even talking for three days and nights wouldn't be enough. In short, alchemy is extremely powerful. It can bestow a thing with traits it shouldn't have, or create secret elixirs that can alter the human body," Anna said after thinking for a moment, cupping her face as she weighed her words.
She didn't know how to explain it well either. This was something they had known since childhood, yet very few people could learn alchemy. According to alchemists, only those who could resonate with God could learn alchemy.
"Isn't that just what a blacksmith and a witch combined could do?" Leona couldn't help chiming in.
The former crafted items, similar to equipment, though Leona had never seen a blacksmith on the Ninth Floor, only hearing Aria mention in passing that there might be blacksmiths who crafted items.
And the secret elixirs of the latter simply corresponded to potions or magic brews, didn't they?
"Witches? What's that?" Except for Leona, the other three asked the exact same question.
Alchemists existed, but they didn't know what witches were? Leona clicked her tongue. Could it be that the Queen didn't know how to make a poisoned apple?
"Can I ask, is the Queen a native of this kingdom?" Leona inquired, eager to know the answer.
"My apologies, friend of the princess, but I fear only His Majesty and the Queen can answer your question." Although Milan didn't understand why Leona asked this, she still answered the question.
"Father brought the Queen into the palace the day after the former Queen passed away. However, no one knows what she used to do. Perhaps she was a gardener, or maybe just a country woman."
Milan didn't mention nobility, as she knew every noble lady, prince, and princess of the neighboring countries by heart.
"If the former Queen were still alive, you could fully ask her about alchemy. But for now, there's no need to waste time on the three of us laymen."
After answering the question, Milan continued elaborating on the topic of alchemy.
"You mean Anna's mother knew alchemy?" Leona asked in surprise. She looked at Anna, who nodded like a chicken pecking at rice.
"Queen Breya was once a princess of the Glaze Kingdom and an extremely precious alchemist. I believe no one other than her could create such a magical place."
Milan glanced around the surroundings, and Leona couldn't help but look up at the wishing well as well.
"Do you have any other questions, friend of the princess?" Milan smiled faintly. If Leona had no further doubts, she was going to state her request.
"Just call me Leona."
"Does Leona have any other questions?"
Leona shook her head.
Although she still had many doubts, Milan was clearly not the person who could answer them.
Alchemy could bestow items with traits they shouldn't possess; was the Main God truly an omnipotent existence?
"Then, could you grant me a word?" Milan finally found an opportunity to speak the purpose of her visit.
"Sorry, I almost forgot. You came here to speak with me." Leona scratched the back of her head sheepishly. She had strayed far off topic.
Milan didn't mind. After all, she was the one coming to ask for a favor.
She remained silent for a long moment, exhaled heavily, and looked at Leona with hopeful eyes. "I want to ask you to save Grant."
"No, that's too dangerous." Croll stood up first, uttering those words with almost no hesitation.
"Grant, Croll's father, the most valiant knight of the Kingdom of Ferent?" Leona asked in a questioning tone. She remembered every single word Anna had told her.
The reason she asked was that she had assumed Grant was already framed and put to death by the Queen.
"Yes, Leona, the very person you mentioned."
"Why look for me? Because of my ability to change my appearance?" Leona asked in surprise.
Milan nodded. "Yes. Grant is locked in the dungeon. Only the Queen and the King can enter and leave freely. Although the King hasn't gone inside even once, the Queen has been going in and out with increasing frequency lately. I fear..."
"Say no more! Grant is my father. If anyone is going to rescue him, it will be me. It has nothing to do with you guys," Croll declared firmly.
She was unwilling to involve others in her own affairs.
"Croll, this isn't just your affair. Both Her Highness and I want Grant to be released. Besides, this is... a task entrusted to me by Queen Breya."
Milan closed her eyes, seemingly reminiscing.
She drew a leather-bound book from her breast, covered in obscure and difficult-to-understand text.
But Leona could read it. Strangely enough, it was neither English nor Chinese, nor even any language she was familiar with, yet she could somehow understand it.
Milan kept her eyes closed while everyone looked at her curiously. For a brief moment, it was as if they had an illusion, seeing light shine upon Milan.
She slowly opened her mouth, seemingly reciting a passage.
"When darkness covers the earth, when the abyss surges and the world sinks, light shall rise from the gloom. The Redeemer shall descend, judge sin, and save those who wait."
Reaching this point, Milan opened her eyes, set down the leather-bound book, and pushed it toward Leona.
"This is what the Queen told me before she passed away. It is a prophecy: the one who waits is Her Highness the Princess. The only person to suddenly appear before Her Highness is you, so I think the Redeemer..." She looked at Leona solemnly, her eyes already conveying the answer.
"Me?" Leona pointed at herself in disbelief.
"Stop, stop, stop! How could you think I'm the Redeemer? As you can see, I'm just a one-eyed, frail girl." Leona stood up and displayed her unimpressive figure to everyone.
"A frail girl killed an assassin and threw the entire royal palace into turmoil," Croll said flatly. She completely believed Milan's words!
"So that's how it is! No wonder I felt so close to Leona right from the start," Anna couldn't help saying.
Your Highness, how can you believe in such baseless things too?
Prophecies and all that are feudal superstitions, you know?
Looking at the three of them watching her with solemn eyes, Leona felt a massive headache coming on.
This instance wasn't created solely for her; perhaps the true Redeemer would arrive here in the near future.
"So, if I'm to save you, is this book the reward for rescuing Grant?" Leona lifted the leather-bound book slightly.
"No, whether you choose to rescue Grant or not, this book will be given to you. Perhaps it contains the alchemy methods you desire," Milan said. She couldn't understand a single word in the book and had no idea what was recorded inside.
Back then, she had simply thought the Queen was driven to a breakdown, but she had never expected someone to actually appear before the princess out of thin air.
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