Chapter 116 "Money is important, but you also..."
I woke up to a cold breeze this morning. I had forgotten to close the window properly last night, and the cool air made me shiver slightly.
I got up barefoot to close the window, and suddenly remembered something the Queen had told me in a dream: "Rely on your wisdom, courage, and strength."
But I'm just an ordinary girl, how could I possibly have these things? All my past shining moments were thanks to my superpowers.
Two days later, I vaguely heard that Artis had left, and I was also released from the room.
Amidst the howling cold wind, the Elf King led me onto a golden carriage. After flying through the sky for a while, we arrived at a huge pile of rocks. This place had clearly once been a mountain, but now it was littered with rocks, pits, and mud, crawling with snakes, insects, and rodents. Having only stood there for a short time, dozens of snakes and over a dozen rodents had already been driven away by the guards.
"Do you remember this place? This is where you led me out of the treasure cave where we found the spiritual root." The Elf King, dressed in a white robe, stood atop the mountain, the wind blowing his robe and golden hair fluttering, like a banished immortal.
“I remember,” I said. “You also encouraged me to climb from this mountain to the one with the palace; the passageway there is very narrow.”
“Very good, you’ve always remembered.” The Elf King smiled. “This mountain was blown open when you took Artis and Daio away. On the day you fled, I originally intended to pursue you myself, but the mountain was blown up, and the most important barrier in front of the palace was destroyed. I feared that someone would lead an army to occupy the palace, and the throne would change hands again, so I had to give up the pursuit. I never imagined that we would part for four years. During that time, I sent people to look for you many times, but there was never any news.”
"Why do you want to find me? Do you want your sister to eat me, or do you want me to help you find a mine?" I asked sharply.
“The first one is no longer valid,” the Elf King laughed. “If I wanted her to eat you, you wouldn’t be alive now. Your escape from her hot pot last time was not because you were lucky, but because the spy I sent to my sister was protecting you and secretly helping you escape.”
I remembered that a maid was indeed secretly helping me at the time.
“You remember now?!” The Elf King smiled and looked into my eyes. “I was already on my way then. If you had stayed a little longer in my sister’s room, or if you had taken your time to escape, you would have been able to wait for me.”
“No need,” I said coldly.
“I’m really angry that you were able to help Daio and the others find the mine,” the Elf King said, moving closer to me. “I’m furious. I never expected you could help them turn things around like this. I want to tear you, the one who started this, to pieces.”
I was taken aback; the Elf King's eyes looked hostile at that moment.
But he quickly laughed again, perhaps sensing my nervousness.
“But then I stopped being angry,” he said. “My sister wanted to eat you, and I wasn’t very nice to you either. You hated us so much that you would naturally help our enemies. I’m not angry with you, I’m angry with myself, angry that I only realized how important you were after you left.”
I sneered, "Of course, it's important that it brings in money."
"Yes, money is important, but you are important too."
He suddenly pulled me into his arms, and I was a little breathless.
“I don’t trust any other woman, except you.” He held me tightly. “You helped me when I was most helpless and in the most dangerous situation. When I escaped into the tunnel, I thought I was going to die, but you saved me and helped me recover. You are the most important person in my life.”
Why didn't you repay me sooner?
I was speechless.
Then he continued, “I used to be cold to you and turned a blind eye to the harm my sister did to you. It wasn’t that I didn’t understand your goodness, but…” He paused for a moment before saying, “I had a fear in my heart. I was afraid that getting close to you would make me sink into an incredible quagmire from which I could never climb out. I could only control myself and keep my distance from you, feeling that the farther away I was from you, the safer I would be.”
I was stunned for a moment, this...
“It wasn’t until after you left,” he hugged me tighter, that I realized there was no point in resisting, so I gave up.
"Now, I ask you to marry me. Although I cannot give you the title of queen, I promise you that you will never live worse than the queen. If you are willing, I will entrust you with the management of the entire palace, and even the queen's actions will depend on your mood."
"..."
I gently pushed him away, took a breath, and said, "I still stand by what I said: if I can't be queen, then there's no point in talking about anything else."
——
The entire palace was shrouded in a gloomy atmosphere, as if a heavy rain was about to fall, with a heavy, oppressive feeling.
Even though I was under house arrest in the small courtyard, I could feel this oppressive atmosphere.
The Elf King has not appeared for several days, but the maids still do not neglect me. They serve me carefully, afraid of doing something wrong or saying something wrong.
The food on the table has changed. It has changed from the steamed, boiled, cold-dressed, and baked dishes commonly found in the Elf Realm to barbecued and stir-fried dishes common in the Main Continent. Staple foods such as noodles and vermicelli have also been added, which are also common in the Main Continent. It seems that a new chef has arrived.
I still didn't have much of an appetite, and only ate a little bit of everything.
Living under such high pressure every day, how can I possibly eat?
I passed a little note to the Elf King, hoping to remain his supervisor and work for him.
"There are other relationships between men and women besides love or physical intimacy, such as a subordinate relationship, a relationship of trust, and if you wish, you can also have the purest friendship."
It's a bit messy, and I don't know if he can understand it.
I fell asleep just before dawn, and when I woke up, the sun was shining brightly, illuminating the whole room through the French windows with the curtains not drawn.
Do you really want to work for me?
The Elf King's deep, slightly hoarse voice drifted into my ears.
I was startled and jumped out of bed. That's when I saw the Elf King sitting on the purple-backed soft chair opposite me.
The setting sun's rays dyed his pure white robe embroidered with gold red, and his slightly wavy golden hair also shone with a dazzling red light.
"With your talent, it's a real waste to make you a manager," the Elf King said, his eyes gleaming with a cold, eerie light.
“I’ll do anything as long as I’m not made a mistress,” I said defiantly.
I've even jumped into a cesspool, what else could I be afraid of?
"Very well." The Elf King smiled slightly, but that smile was cruel and chilling.
I was taken to the lowest level of this palace, even deeper than the underground "fish tank" I had been to before. The underground passage seemed to stretch on forever, and a chilling wind blew in. The firelight on both sides of the passage flickered, and my hair stood on end, and goosebumps rose all over my body.
The Elf King and I came down from the elevator. The elevator here is similar to a modern elevator, except that it uses physical principles to move a large, enclosed "box" up and down, much like the "elevator" in the old Black Castle.
I don't know how many floors the elevator descended, but it took a long time, so I estimate it was about ten floors.
Stepping out of the elevator and into the tunnel, I almost had a second thought. Besides the chilling winds that made it feel like the deepest hell, there were also piercing screams coming from afar.
"Is this a prison?" I asked in a trembling voice.
"Yes, it is the most terrifying purgatory of our Elven race, where the most vicious criminals are imprisoned," the Elven King said slowly. "Your new job is to figure out how to pry out the information I want most from the most stubborn criminals."
"Why won't you make me a supervisor?" I gasped.
"Aren't you very capable? I'd like to know what the upper limit of your abilities is."
I looked at him, somewhat angrily, "Why... can't we be ordinary friends? I'm your savior, after all. Considering how much I've helped you, you shouldn't treat me like this."
“You can quit now and not do this job,” the Elf King said gently, “just stay by my side.”
Even more terrifying and pitiful screams followed, as if the victim was enduring the cruelest punishment in the world.
Seeing me trembling and silent, he embraced me even more gently and led me to the elevator we had just stepped out of.
But after taking only two steps, I stopped. "No, I want to try a new job."
I was actually very scared, extremely scared. When I broke free from him and walked step by step toward the place where the wailing was coming from, my calves were trembling.
As I reached the corner, I came across an open space where a dozen or so bloodied men and women, their faces unrecognizable, were tied to wooden stakes. A group of armored guards were whipping them with barbed black whips.
The screams and wails came from them, and bright red blood kept flowing from their bodies onto the ground.
"Do we still need to walk over there? I'm afraid I'll get your dress dirty," the Elf King behind me asked. "The people you need to interrogate are locked up in the back; these are all insignificant little people."
The ground was covered in blood, a bloody mess; it was impossible to pass by without getting blood on your hands.
I gritted my teeth, lifted my foot, and walked over. Blood stained my white dress, and the sticky blood clung to the soles of my shoes. With each step, the soles of my shoes would stick to the "bloody ground," and I had to exert a little force to lift my foot.
And so, I walked step by step with great difficulty to the other side, my white dress stained with countless bloodstains, and my shoes, inlaid with crystals and gems, became "blood shoes".
I was stunned when I saw the large iron cage in the corner.
A naked man with an amazing physique was forcibly tied to a wooden bed covered in blood, his body drenched in sweet, yellow honey, while countless black ants and dozens of rats crawled and gnawed at his six-pack abs and six-pack muscles.
An armored guard mischievously poured half a bottle of honey into his hiding place, and a large rat immediately came over and bit him, causing him to let out an exceptionally terrifying scream.
I turned my head away, unable to look any longer.
The Elf King smiled and said, "He just went through a brutal torture yesterday. Do you see the big and small holes burned on his body? But he's very stubborn and still refuses to say who the leader of the slave revolt on the three islands is."
His gaze softened. "Now, find a way to get him to talk about it."
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