The royal palace.
Ning Busan felt like his timing couldn't have been worse.
Isabella was curled up in Novalia's embrace, her blonde hair falling in a disheveled mess, and wet tear tracks still staining her cheeks.
Ning Busan rubbed his nose. “What's going on here?”
He remembered that Isabella was supposed to have returned to the Holy Light Territory after the Mage Exchange Conference. Why was she in the palace now?
Isabella's tears, which had just stopped, began to flow freely once more. “Elvin has been taken away.”
Ning Busan asked, “Don't tell me he was taken by the Elven Clan?”
Isabella sniffled. “How did you know?”
“...Just a guess.”
Ning Busan couldn't help but complain in his head. He had literally just seen the prophecy about the Elven Valley, and now news of Elvin's trouble arrived. Talk about impeccable timing!
Isabella clenched her fists. “When I first met Elvin, he was gravely injured and on the verge of death. Ever since I saved him, he has stayed by my side.”
“I asked him why he wouldn't go back to the Elven Valley, and he said he was a rogue elf who had fled. Now that the Elven Valley has sent people to drag him back, they must be planning to execute him!”
“You're overthinking it.” Ning Busan realized this young girl had quite the overactive imagination. “The elves aren't fond of killing, especially their own kind.”
“If it really is as he said, and he's just a rogue who ran away, they'll probably just put him in solitary confinement for a while when he gets back.”
“Easy for you to say!” Isabella huffed.
“Easy for me to say?” Ning Busan pointed at himself, utterly speechless. “I'm trying to comfort you out of the goodness of my heart, and you're turning on me?”
Isabella pouted. “Waaah...”
“Alight, stop crying,” Ning Busan said. “It just so happens that I need to make a trip to the Elven Clan anyway. I'll keep an eye out for Elvin's whereabouts.”
Novalia suddenly raised her head, her brow furrowing slightly. “Ning Busan, what are you going to the Elven Clan for?”
“Entrusted by another, bound to fulfill my duty. Actually, that's not quite right...” Ning Busan couldn't exactly admit he was being threatened by his own card. “Anyway, I have a reason I must go.”
“Then I'm going with you.” Isabella's fighting spirit was instantly reignited. “I came to see Sister Novalia in the first place to ask if she knew where the Elven Valley was.”
“You want to tag along too?” Ning Busan paused, trying to break it to her gently. “Actually, it would be much easier if I went alone.”
Isabella said nothing, only continuing to weep.
Eventually, Ning Busan couldn't take it anymore. “Fine, we'll go together. We'll go together.”
How on earth could a woman have so many tears?
Isabella's tears vanished instantly, replaced by a bright smile. “Then when do we set off? Do you know how to get to the Elven Valley?”
“If you want to go to the Elven Valley, you can just ask me.”
Leo, clad in a black robe, materialized silently behind them like a ghost.
Isabella jumped in fright. “An undead?”
Novalia introduced him, “This is a scholar from the Undead Realm. You can just call him Mr. Scholar.”
Leo's identity was easy to hide. After all, no one would associate a ghost-like undead with the legendary Emperor Leo.
Isabella asked, “Mr. Scholar, do you really know where the Elven Valley is?”
Leo pried open his ribcage, rummaged around inside, and pulled out a dozen or so rings woven from grass and wood, tossing them onto the table.
“The Elven Valley is protected by a barrier set up by the Elven Mother Tree, making it nearly impossible for outsiders to enter. However, if you have a token given by the Elven Clan, you can locate the entrance.”
Isabella asked in confusion, “Then why do you have so many tokens of the Elven Clan?”
“Don't look at me like I'm just a pile of bones. You can't even begin to imagine how handsome I was before I became an undead,” Leo said, his voice dripping with pride.
“Back in the day, I happened to visit the Elven Clan by chance. Countless female elves were head over heels for me, and these are all tokens of affection they begged me to accept.”
Ning Busan's mouth twitched.
This lie was so blatant it practically had "fake news" written all over it.
Just as Ning Busan reached for the rings on the table, Leo slapped his hand away. “Haven't you forgotten something?”
Of course, Ning Busan hadn't forgotten.
“It knew you were the one who had me ask that question, and it refused to answer no matter what,” Ning Busan said helplessly. “I thought it had a pretty good temper. Just how did you offend it?”
Leo naturally knew that "it" referred to the Book of Sages. He let out a cold chuckle. “A good temper?”
“It's a pity I don't have eyeballs to roll right now. Otherwise, I'd show you what it looks like to roll my eyes all the way to the back of my head, around the Landia Continent three times, and tie them into a neat little bow.”
Ning Busan couldn't do anything about it either. “If you really want to restore your sense of taste, I'm afraid you'll have to wait until I become an undead myself.”
Leo smiled indifferently. “As long as there's a way, I don't mind waiting. It's not like I'm in a rush.”
Isabella gathered up all the rings from the table and eagerly asked Ning Busan, “When do we leave?”
“Now.”
Ning Busan looked at Novalia and Leo, murmuring, “I leave the empire in your hands.”
Novalia nodded. “Take care of yourself.”
Leo gave a noncommittal grunt. “You'd better not bring back a pack of stray cats and dogs abandoned by their owners.”
Ning Busan pretended not to hear, grabbing Isabella by her sleeve as he hurried out.
Novalia watched Ning Busan's departing figure, feeling a sudden sense of emptiness.
Out of nowhere, Leo asked, “He gave you his anchor?”
Novalia instinctively touched the pendant around her neck. Meeting Leo's half-smiling gaze, she let out a bitter laugh. “How did you know?”
Leo gritted his teeth. “Ten thousand years ago, using every trick in the book—from trickery to outright deception—it still took me seven whole years to bring Louis over to my side.”
“By comparison, Novalia, you're truly enviable. You gained his trust without lifting a finger, and he even left something so critical in your keeping.”
Novalia thought she smelled a hint of jealousy in the air, but having spent so much time with Leo, she already knew exactly how to soothe his ego.
“Isn't that all thanks to you? He only trusts me because I carry a trace of your bloodline,” Novalia said.
Leo was easily mollified, replying with a touch of satisfaction, “At least you have some self-awareness.”
Novalia asked curiously, “Your Majesty, how did you and General Louis actually meet?”
The soulfire in Leo's eyes flared brightly. “Now that is a very, very long story. If you want to hear it...”
Leo cleared his throat, and under Novalia's highly expectant gaze, ruthlessly spat out three words:
“In your dreams!”
Rate on N.U.
