As the trio drew closer, Maggie quickly scanned the treehouse's surroundings. The interior was laid out clearly, offering virtually no hiding place. The only possible hiding spot was probably...
Under her skirt.
Maggie regretted not changing into a Rococo dress before leaving the house, as that would have provided much more space for people to hide. This saintess's dress was far too form-fitting, with only the fishtail hem allowing Nesser to squeeze in.
Fortunately, he was still young and small, but now Nesser had to stick close to her legs to hide.
"Come here, crawl under my skirt."
Maggie stood up, sat down at the table, and turned to wave at Nesser.
"???"
Nesser was stunned for a moment, his face instantly turning bright red, and he frantically shook his head and waved his hands to refuse.
“I am the Holy Maiden of Light, they dare not touch me, but their target is you, you must hide.”
Maggie's core is that of a modern person, and she has no taboos.
"But....."
While Nesser was still hesitating, the footsteps outside suddenly became chaotic and hurried, and the sound grew closer and closer. Seeing that she was about to be discovered, no matter how shy Nesser was, she gritted her teeth and crawled under Maggie's skirt.
The next second, a group of people broke down the door and rushed into the treehouse.
Their skin touched, and they could feel each other's body temperature. Maggie felt a strange sensation; she could clearly feel a pair of hands tightly holding her calves, and a face pressed against her thigh. The feeling was very subtle.
"What's going on?!"
The intruder who broke down the door was clearly taken aback when he saw Maggie.
The next second, the leader turned to the person next to him and asked fiercely.
"No...I don't know..."
The short, thin man behind the leader was also stunned, and answered in a trembling voice.
Maggie observed their reactions without showing any emotion, a sense of annoyance and coldness rising from her body as she was disturbed. She turned to the side, and the holy staff pendant, which symbolized her identity as the Holy Maiden of Light, slipped off her neck.
Who are you?
The man in the lead had his brows furrowed tightly, his fierce expression resembling that of a desperate criminal.
"Who sent you?!"
Maggie raised her voice, her expression fierce, and she was just bluffing.
In fact, her other hand was gripping the hem of her clothes tightly, and her cheeks were slightly flushed.
Nesser's warm breath sprayed on her skin, the itch seemed to seep into her bones, and she could hardly control her thighs from trembling slightly.
[Stop breathing, it's so itchy!]
Maggie was lost in thought when, a second later, she realized that the warm current seemed to have disappeared.
Thank goodness, otherwise we would have been exposed.
She secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
The leader's gaze swept across the treehouse; there was almost nowhere to hide. He then fixed his gaze on Maggie, who was sitting at the table watching them coldly, and finally spat under his breath.
"Forget it, let's retreat. We can't let that elf hide here."
The three turned and left, even closing the treehouse door behind them as they went.
Outside the door, Maggie could still faintly hear their complaints.
"What bad luck! I never expected it to be the Holy Knights escorting the Holy Maiden, and they just happened to be staying in this village. I'm really having the worst luck ever."
"Hey? Boss, isn't that saintess from that family?"
"Nonsense, if it weren't for that family, I would have gone in and searched them. I don't care who they are. Anyway, we mercenaries are out on the run. After we finish this job and leave the Temple of Light's territory, the temple can't do anything to me."
"It's just that the Zefnia family has too much influence in the Dark Zone. We still need them to make a living, so we can't afford to offend them for the time being."
"Besides, the elf can't be with the saintess. Humans and elves have always been at odds. Let's search carefully again in another place!"
Only when their footsteps faded into the distance from the treehouse did Maggie let Nesser emerge from under her skirt.
When Nesser crawled out, her face was flushed, her eyes were watery, and tears were welling up in her eyes, whether from holding back or from embarrassment, it was hard to tell.
Are you alright?
Looking at Nesser's expression, Maggie felt both sorry for him and amused.
"I'm fine, thankfully the bad guys are gone."
Nesser seemed to notice that his face was too hot, and turned away shyly, not wanting Maggie to see his face. His voice was so soft that Maggie almost couldn't hear him.
"You must stay here for now and absolutely do not go out."
Maggie's gaze fell on the village through the window, a look of sorrow creeping into her eyes.
Nesser is safe for now, but his family and clansmen are still outside. She is a little worried that Nesser might sneak out and run into that group of people, which would ruin everything.
According to the invaders, they were cold-blooded mercenaries who only cared about money.
Now, many of Nesser's people are probably...
Maggie couldn't bear to think about it any longer.
"Okay, sister."
After Nesser was safe, worry gradually appeared on his face, and he kept glancing out the window. However, after hearing Maggie's warning, he pursed his lips and agreed.
For the rest of the time, Nesser kept looking out the window, very concerned about the situation in the village.
For Nesser's safety, Maggie could only watch this scene in silence.
In the distant elven village.
While searching for their target, the mercenaries also had to fight against the well-trained paladins. They quickly became overwhelmed and began to retreat.
The sounds of battle outside gradually subsided and disappeared as night fell.
As soon as things calmed down, Nesser couldn't wait to rush outside, only to bump right into High Priest Arlin, who was pushing open the door.
With a 'thud,' Nesser was knocked back two steps and landed hard on his backside.
Yarlin was also a little confused. He looked down and saw a tiny elf covering his slightly red forehead.
"Holy Maiden... Your Highness?"
Yarlin hesitated slightly, then looked at Maggie with a questioning gaze.
"Have the mercenaries all left?"
Maggie didn't intend to explain Nesser's situation to Arlin, but instead asked about the battle situation outside.
"The elves are all excellent mages, and their teamwork is superb. The Paladin Order suffered no casualties, but some elderly elves, whose strength was waning,..."
Yarlin spoke slower and slower, his gaze sweeping over Nesser, as if hesitating whether to continue.
"..."
Maggie had guessed that the elves would be killed, and she wasn't too bothered by it, but Nesser would definitely find it hard to accept.
As she expected, Nesser understood the subtext in Arlin's words and kept her head down without saying a word.
After a while, he forcefully shoved Yarlin aside, buried his head and rushed out of the treehouse, running towards the village.
"Your Highness, this..."
Arlin stood still, his eyes gesturing to Maggie whether he should chase after the person and bring them back.
"No need."
Maggie shook her head.
"We found a number of explosive agents containing immense magical power on the mercenaries. These are all dangerous and prohibited drugs. What does Your Highness intend to do with them?"
"Yarlin asked."
The moment Maggie heard the word 'explosive agent,' her mind exploded like a firework, and seemingly unrelated clues quickly connected.
A terrifying yet plausible idea gradually took shape.
In the original storyline, there was a deep pit on the road from Santa Fe City to the Kingdom of Arnold.
Explosives.
The vanished forest.
An elven village that did not appear in the storyline.
Furthermore, in the original storyline, Maggie was already a dead saint at this point in time, so the Holy Knights would not pass through this area, let alone help protect the village.
If she hadn't shown up here...
Wouldn't Nesser...?
Maggie's heart sank uncontrollably.
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