Chapter 87 "I almost..."
During the sleepless midnight hours, I kept thinking about how to leave the Elf Realm, but I couldn't think of anything and could only sigh repeatedly in the dead of night.
A few days later, I again requested entry into the king's private treasury, asking to be alone for a while and promising not to take anything. Of course, it was impossible for me to take anything. I entered wearing only a thin garment and barefoot, with nowhere on my body to store treasures.
Furthermore, even though I was told I could be alone for a while, Nasiah still stood in front of the treasury door, coldly watching me, ostensibly to protect me, but in reality to monitor me.
I didn't hurt myself with a knife; I just walked around and touched things.
Nathia kept yawning as he watched.
Half an hour later, I walked out of the treasure vault and regretfully informed them that I had found nothing.
The sun was high in the sky, and I walked quickly under its dazzling rays. I was sweating profusely as I stepped onto the jade steps of the corridor. Just as I was about to wipe the sweat from my forehead, a beautifully scented handkerchief was handed to me. When I looked up, I was surprised to see a gorgeous, unfamiliar woman.
She was young and beautiful, with an extraordinary temperament, wearing a shimmering pink trailing dress that made her look noble and elegant.
“Miss Lana, I apologize for being so forward.” She smiled gently.
"Thank you." I took her scented handkerchief with surprise.
"May I have the honor of walking with you?" Her voice was soft and melodious, making it impossible to refuse.
In the garden, as we strolled along the jade-paved path, she said, "I almost got engaged to Wang when I was twelve years old."
I recall that the Elf King once said that he was suddenly poisoned the night before his engagement, and that his fiancée was actually her.
"Later, the king had an accident, and our engagement was called off. My father arranged for me to marry someone else, but I didn't want to. The king still doesn't know my feelings."
"Oh? That's such a shame." I had a vague idea of what was going on.
“I dated Wang for a while, but now I dare not rekindle our past relationship. I only hope to see him again,” she said sincerely.
I smiled slightly. "So, why did you come to see me?"
“I would like to ask you for a favor,” she said, her voice lowering. “Even just mentioning my name to the king would be enough. You are the only woman, besides the new queen and the two mistresses, who can speak privately with the king.” Her tone turned sorrowful. “But I can’t even see him.”
It's not so easy to speak to the king. Apart from wives, mistresses, top nobles, and important maids, anyone else who wants to see the king must report through multiple levels of hierarchy.
“It’s not impossible,” I thought to myself with a secret delight, but my voice was so low that only I could hear it. “It just requires… paying a price.”
Inside a side hall filled with the aroma of food, the Elf King, dressed in a golden robe, was dining, while I directed the maids to serve dishes and pour wine.
The Elf King ate very little, so he remained so thin. Although I no longer bathe him, I can still imagine his skeletal, bony body.
"I heard you met with Eleanor?" he asked as I was leaving the side hall.
I paused for a moment, "Eleanor?" Then it dawned on me, "Oh, yes." It must be the woman he was engaged to.
He took a small sip of red wine. "What deal did you make?"
I instinctively retorted, "N-nothing."
He smiled slyly and mysteriously. "Good, very good."
I chuckled twice and said, "She asked me to help her see you, but I haven't decided whether I should help her yet."
"What will you get in return if you help her?" His smile grew even deeper.
I remained silent. After a long while, just when I thought he wouldn't respond, he suddenly said again, "If you want to use her power to escape from here, forget it."
His golden eyes stared at me, their light strangely eerie. "I haven't used your power enough yet."
"Yes, yes." I nodded and bowed, then awkwardly withdrew from the side hall.
It was late at night, and the air was cool and still. I sat on the balcony, swinging my legs idly, while Black Wolf stood not far from me.
The Elf King had clearly guessed that I wanted to escape and even warned me not to cause trouble, but I wouldn't be easily intimidated.
"Have you contacted your family?" I asked Black Wolf, turning to him.
"I've made contact," came the hoarse, low voice of Black Wolf.
Did they agree to help you?
"You don't need to ask so many questions, just tell me your plan."
I laughed. "You're so arrogant when you ask me for help?"
"Act quickly. I've received word that Princess Marcy is about to take action. Your death is imminent." Black Wolf's voice was icy. "You're not helping me; you're helping yourself."
"That's true, but I still helped you, didn't I?"
"Whether I can even help is another question," Black Wolf said dismissively.
"But you have no better help than me. Without me, you're doomed."
Black Wolf left in anger.
As dawn broke, I changed into a formal long dress, styled my hair, applied light makeup, and respectfully led a group of maids into the fragrant priest's hall.
Today is the third day of the king's wedding, and a ceremony will be held to worship the ancestors and forefathers.
Two strong guards pushed open two large brass doors, each about ten meters high, adorned with lifelike engravings of roses and lilies. Beyond the doors lay an open courtyard with about a dozen columns. On either side of the courtyard stood three-story buildings, likely the priests' quarters and places to store important items.
The front porch of the courtyard leads to a magnificent hall, where more than a hundred gold and silver lamps hang on the walls, burning lamp oil mixed with flower petals and essential oils, emitting a strange fragrance.
A massive altar made of pure gold stood at the front of the hall, where a red-robed priest was chanting incantations to the golden-robed king and the silver-robed queen.
My maids and I stood behind the nobles, our heads slightly bowed.
After the red-robed priest finished reciting the blessing, he suddenly raised his hands and said something else. With a loud bang, a wall behind the golden altar split open from both sides, revealing a hidden altar on which were placed some ancestral tablets.
Before I could look closely, I heard a loud bang, and the walls on both sides of the hall suddenly split open. The nobles turned around, and I looked over as well. What I saw were portraits.
A very familiar portrait suddenly came into my view—a shimmering face, dreamlike and translucent skin, radiant and beautiful, with an unparalleled temperament.
It's her, it's actually her!
I was stunned on the spot. For a long time, I remained motionless.
Overwhelmed with emotion, my nose tingled and my eyes welled up with tears.
They didn't even know what happened afterward.
I didn't notice whether the red-robed priest was chanting incantations again or the king and queen were bowing again.
I remember the little fairy girl in the rain long ago, and that kiss in the deep sea. Through the coolness of my fingers, it passed through the cracks of time and once again covered my lips.
The past seems like it happened just yesterday.
Another loud bang snapped me back to reality. Seeing the wall slowly closing in, about to obscure the painting, I rushed over and, without thinking, covered the portrait with my hands…
Just as the wall was about to close, Nacia forcibly pried my hand open and dragged me back. "Are you crazy! Aren't you afraid of getting crushed by the wall?" he yelled.
I hurriedly turned my head away, my long hair slid messily across my face, concealing my tearful eyes.
After the ceremony, the king in his golden robes sat lazily on a soft armchair in a side hall and asked me, "She is a very important queen in this country. Have you met her?"
“Yes.” I nodded, unable to lie. “I know her.”
"How did you meet?" The golden-robed king looked at me lazily.
I told him the story of two girls in the rain long ago.
After listening, a subtle smile appeared on his face. "No wonder you rejected the prince you awakened in the tower, the prince who rescued you from the tower, and you disdained to be my mistress. So, it turns out, you like women."
"Yes," I replied. Let him misunderstand. He's unlikely to understand the friendship between two girls, though perhaps other subtle emotions are involved, but neither do I. I still haven't figured it out.
“She was our country’s last queen, the youngest daughter of the Houns family,” he said. “She was extremely beautiful, and no elven woman has ever surpassed her. She had many older brothers and sisters, enough to form a guard, but she was the only one who ultimately inherited the throne. She was a very ruthless and cunning woman.”
He looked at me meaningfully. "So, it was you who helped her get the golden crown that no elf could ever obtain. I was very young then, but I also found it strange. How could she possibly get the golden crown? It was a cursed golden crown that no elf could ever obtain."
I stood frozen in front of him, unable to utter a single word.
He laughed again, “The age difference between you is really strange. If it’s a big difference, then she should be much older than you, but she was only in her twenties when she inherited the throne. If it’s a small difference, then you should be much older now, but you don’t look that old.”
“We live in different worlds,” I replied. “Our times are not synchronized.”
"So how old are you exactly?" he asked with great interest.
“It’s this big as you see it now,” I replied.
"So, many years ago, it's highly likely that she suddenly realized something and mastered the method of traveling between different worlds, which is why she obtained the crown of power," he said thoughtfully.
"Aren't you required to travel to different worlds from the age of eight?" I couldn't help but ask.
“Yes, but this different world refers to different countries on this continent, not to traveling to another world,” he said.
But she told me back then: "My siblings and I have had to travel to different worlds since we were eight years old..."
Was what she told me back then only half true and half false?
He seemed to see through my thoughts and said with a half-smile, "No king can tell the whole truth, just as no ordinary person can tell the whole truth."
“You guys are really good at making excuses,” I said sincerely.
"Are you telling me the truth?" he retorted.
I was speechless. He laughed again, a sly, triumphant laugh, his golden eyes gleaming.
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