Claire slightly curled her lips, returning Fia’s pure and gentle smile.
“If there’s a chance, we’ll meet again—if you still remember me and tonight by then.
So, goodbye.”
“Ah, goodbye.”
Fia waved lightly, watching Claire leave.
However, after only a few steps, Claire stopped and turned to look at Fia behind her.
Her emerald eyes no longer held a smile but an observant gaze.
What’s wrong? Before the words left her mouth, Fia sensed something unusual.
Claire wasn’t looking at her; her focus was behind Fia.
There was a faint sound of hooves and the creaking of carriage wheels.
It wasn’t just one person coming, but an entire group.
Fia immediately turned around.
Elves have much sharper senses than humans.
Even though it was nighttime, Fia could still make out the size of the group under the faint moonlight.
The group numbered over a hundred, slowly emerging one by one from the street corner.
However, their target wasn’t Fia; they seemed more like a troop returning home after a long journey.
The leaders, clad in silver armor, rode on horses, while the soldiers behind them walked.
The entire group moved silently down the street.
The only thing that caught attention was the creaking carriage—more accurately, a prison cart.
On the cart was a large cage made of sturdy wood, filled with elves covered in blood, forcibly crammed inside like garbage.
They seemed exhausted, unaware of their entry into a human town, simply lying limp in the cage with their eyes closed.
“These are soldiers returning from the front lines.
According to the battle reports, the elf princess was defeated by the knight order a few days ago, and her troops were routed.
The elves in the prison cart are prisoners of war.
If the elf kingdom can’t offer compensation to exchange for these prisoners, they’ll be sent to mines or monster forests for labor.”
Claire, who had already left, returned to explain softly to Fia, gently pulling her to the side of the road.
“Don’t be afraid, just stand by the roadside.
Although humans and elves are at odds, the knight order won’t attack law-abiding elves in the city.”
“Ah, thank you.”
Fia replied softly, her eyes fixed on the approaching army.
She wasn’t afraid of the soldiers but was looking for any elves in the prison cart that matched her memories of the elf princess.
Soon, the head of the group reached Fia.
At this distance, Fia could see the expressions of the leaders.
Contrary to the triumphant look one might expect after a victory, the leading man’s face was solemn, clearly deep in thought, not even noticing Fia and Claire standing by the roadside.
There was no one familiar to the elf princess in the prison cart.
After careful observation, Fia concluded.
However, she decided to inform Anastasia about the prisoners in the city once she returned.
She had no ill feelings towards Anastasia, and providing information might help Anastasia to some extent.
More importantly, she might have to live as the elf princess in the future, so helping Anastasia was like helping herself.
—Until a leader wrapped in bandages, like a mummy, suddenly stopped right in front of Fia without warning.
“Hey, what’s wrong?” The sudden change made the leaders at the front turn their horses to look at the one who stopped, but he didn’t answer immediately.
Instead, he stared at Fia by the roadside, like a hawk eyeing its prey, his sharp gaze making Fia’s heart skip a beat.
Not good.
She had been discovered.
The moment she was targeted, Fia’s heart skipped a beat.
Even though she had never met this bandaged man, she could sense his suspicion from his eyes.
Fortunately, Anastasia had disguised her before she left, or they would have already been fighting.
The man on horseback slowly approached Fia, looking down at her, his right hand quietly resting on the hilt of his sword, ready to draw it at any moment.
If it came to a fight, this group wouldn’t stand a chance against her.
Keeping a calm face, Fia calculated.
In “The Witch’s Secret History,” magic was divided into ten levels based on its destructive power.
Her magic, capable of destroying an entire city in an instant, was at least at the ninth level, which was the pinnacle of magic.
Throughout the continent’s history, those who could cast ninth-level magic were heroes among heroes.
After all, even in the human alliance where she lived, there were no examples of individuals countering atomic power, so Fia didn’t think this group could withstand a nuclear explosion.
Thinking of this, Fia felt much calmer.
“Elf, have we met before?”
“Never.”
Fia replied with neither humility nor arrogance.
The man slightly raised his head.
“Is that so? But it’s so late, where are you going?”
“Just an ordinary walk.”
“An ordinary walk? So, you have time? In that case, how about coming with me to the lord’s mansion? You—look a lot like the elf princess.”
“Elf princess?” At the mention of the elf princess, the group became restless.
Fia could even see confusion and panic in the soldiers’ actions, like startled birds.
