Because the chaos had drained most of the barrier’s magic, Fia easily broke the iron door.
A room no different from an ordinary bedroom appeared before Fia.
Other than the lack of windows, there was almost nothing to indicate this was a prison cell.
Fia’s gaze swept around briefly, then focused on the only figure in the room.
Curled up in the corner of the bed, a young elf was staring at her with a mix of fear and panic.
Fia considered herself young enough, but this petite, pointy-eared elf, her ears poking out from purple hair, looked even younger—about the equivalent of a twelve- or thirteen-year-old human girl.
Her small body, outlined by a white dress, looked so fragile it seemed she might break with the slightest force.
Her loose purple hair spread across the bed, and her cute toes were curled up.
Terrified, the young elf hugged her knees tightly, rose-colored eyes brimming with tears.
If the elf princess was the symbol of elegance and wisdom, then the elf before her was the embodiment of pure cuteness—the kind that made people want to protect her, like a small animal.
—If it were anyone else, that would be the end of their thoughts.
But to Fia, this elf gave her a different feeling.
Especially when their eyes met, a connection she couldn’t put into words made her heart skip a beat.
It was as if she’d known this young elf for a long time, just like when she first met Anastasia—someone she could trust unconditionally.
The sense of blood relation filled Fia with warmth and affection.
This was her little sister, the third princess of the elf kingdom, Liti Alexia Yusil.
Realizing this, Fia felt a surge of emotion inside, but having never experienced familial love, she didn’t know how to react—until Liti spoke in a trembling voice.
“Si…sister?”
“Liti, Your Highness!” Brushing past Fia, Anastasia rushed to the bed.
After confirming Liti wasn’t hurt, she let out a long sigh of relief.
“It’s all right now, Your Highness.
We’ve come to rescue you.
Kirill, go check the other two rooms.”
“Understood.”
Anastasia reached out to wipe away the tears at the corner of Liti’s eyes, then helped her down from the bed.
This is… really awkward.
Fia stood there, feeling out of place.
She should have been the one to take Liti’s hand, or maybe, moved by their reunion, gone up to hug her.
But with no memories of Liti, the unfamiliarity made her hesitate for a moment.
This isn’t how a princess should act.
Even if it’s hard, she couldn’t move forward without trying.
She had to do what an older sister should do.
Taking a quiet breath, Fia stepped forward.
“Liti, are you all right?”
“Ah…” Liti was stunned by the question.
Her rose-colored eyes went blank for a second, then she quickly looked flustered, lowering her head shyly and speaking in a small voice.
“I-I’m fine, thank you, sister.”
What a polite kid.
Fia couldn’t help but think to herself.
At first, she’d worried her little sister would be spoiled, willful, and unreasonable, but it turned out to be the opposite.
Liti seemed to be the sensible, innocent, and adorable type.
Her worries vanished, and Fia, treating her like a neighbor’s child, instinctively patted Liti’s head.
But the moment she did, Liti jolted as if shocked, immediately looking up at her with disbelief in her eyes.
But compared to Liti’s surprise, Fia was even more taken aback.
She’d just patted Liti’s head like an elder, but Liti reacted as if she’d seen a demon, her whole body trembling.
Anyone watching would think Fia abused Liti all the time, making her terrified of her.
Wait—could that actually be the case? Fia couldn’t help but look at Liti again, and the girl cautiously raised her head, peeking at Fia as if trying to figure something out.
Her big, purple-red eyes were full of surprise and curiosity.
“Captain, we found them!” Kirill’s voice came from outside the room.
With the clanking of chains, three elves appeared at the door.
All three were adult males; two were clearly nobles by their clothes, while the other wore shackles and a prison uniform.
Compared to Liti, the three men looked much worse, especially the two noblemen, whose sunken eyes made it seem like they hadn’t eaten in a long time.
“Shameless traitor!” Before Fia could speak, one of the elf nobles at the door kicked the man in the prison uniform to the ground.
The other man, angered, stomped on the prisoner’s face, ignoring his cries of pain and venting all his hatred.
“Count Evan, Lord Alfred? What are you doing here?” Anastasia’s mature face showed surprise at the sight of the two men in their forties or fifties.
The two nobles stopped, panting, their bodies trembling with rage.
The thin man called Count Evan pointed at the prisoner and cursed.
“It’s because of him that we ended up in this hellhole.
Alfred and I led a team to chase this bastard who kidnapped Liti, but we were ambushed in the valley by paladins he’d warned in advance.”
Apparently still not satisfied, the nobleman stomped on the prisoner’s face again after speaking.
“He’s the traitor?” Instantly, Anastasia’s face darkened, a sharp chill filling the room.
She strode forward without a word, and the two nobles, sensing something, stepped aside.
Without hesitation, Anastasia kicked the traitor in the waist, sending him flying across the corridor to crash into the opposite wall.
The sound of bones breaking and the traitor’s scream echoed through the underground, making everyone’s heart clench.
It was miserable, but he deserved it.
Fia felt no sympathy.
Betrayers were unforgivable in any world.
The fact that Anastasia hadn’t just slit his throat was already merciful.
“Kirill, cripple his hands and destroy his magic flow.
He has to be taken back to Silivar.
Killing him here would be too easy—I want everyone to see what happens to traitors.”
“Yes!”
“Count Evan, Lord Alfred, leave the rest to us.”
“Ah, thank you.” The two nobles looked past Anastasia to Fia.
Before, their faces had been grim, but when they saw Fia with her black twin ponytails, hope lit up in their eyes.
They bowed deeply.
“Thank you so much for rescuing us, Your Highness.
The church people lied to us, saying you’d died in the ambush at the Unsinkable Moon.
Now we see that was just a trick to break our spirits.”
This was the time to show the dignity of a princess.
With that in mind, Fia kept her face expressionless.
“I did encounter the Unsinkable Moon, but it was just a minor problem.
We can’t stay here long—let’s get out of here.
Anastasia, you take the rear, I’ll go first.”
As she spoke, Fia took the initiative to leave the room.
Wanting to protect Liti, she reached out and took her hand.
No one could resist such a cute and polite little sister, especially someone like Fia, who’d never had one before and had a strong fondness for little sisters.
But unexpectedly, when Fia touched Liti’s hand, Liti flinched again and pulled her hand back.
Did the princess really do something to traumatize Liti? Unfortunately, Fia couldn’t remember what the princess had done to her before, so she could only ask, given her amnesia.
“What’s wrong?”
“N-nothing…” Liti timidly took Fia’s hand again, shrinking her neck and carefully moving to Fia’s side.
She was curious, but getting everyone to safety was more important right now.
A group of seven walked back along the path they’d come from.
Since Fia had already cleared out the chaos once, the return trip was much easier.
Unfortunately, there were no more living people in the cells on either side of the corridor; the entire underground was dead silent.
The ground was littered with the corpses and bloodstains left by the demon wolves.
The sound of footsteps splashing through puddles of blood echoed off the walls, making everyone uneasy, as if they were walking through a massive graveyard.
Unable to bear the oppressive silence, Liti’s timid voice broke the quiet.
“Big sis… you seem like a different person.”
Here it comes.
Fia’s chest tightened.
Even though she’d prepared herself for this, she couldn’t help but get nervous when actually confronted.
Luckily, Anastasia, who was at the back of the group, explained in time.
“Her Highness was gravely wounded by the Unsinkable Moon and lost her memory.
That’s why she’s different from the princess you remember, Liti.
I’m sorry, it’s my fault for not protecting her.
When we return, I’ll atone before the Holy Tree.”
“Lost her memory…” Still holding Fia’s hand, Liti lowered her head, her long purple hair falling down her back.
If Fia could see Liti’s face right now, she’d notice that the fear and panic from earlier were gone, replaced by a look of serious contemplation.
Compared to Liti, the two nobles in the group reacted much more strongly.
“Lost her memory?! Anastasia, this isn’t a small matter.
The Crown Princess has already been named heir by His Majesty.
You know what it means if she’s lost her memory, right? As her personal attendant, why are you still alive while the Crown Princess has lost her memory?”
“Don’t forget, if it weren’t for the Crown Princess’s mercy back then, you and your father would have been dead long ago!”
Anastasia didn’t argue, just lowered her head in shame.
“…I’ll take full responsibility.”
Fia, walking in front, frowned repeatedly.
Even though she knew the nobles’ accusations were reasonable—and that they were only doing this because they were on her side—Anastasia meant something special to her, and Fia didn’t like this scene.
“That’s enough.
Stop blaming Anastasia.
I only forgot people, not the magic I know.”
“You… you still remember your magic…” “That’s good.”
The two nobles clearly breathed a sigh of relief, then hurried to explain.
“Your Highness, even though you’ve been named heir, your position isn’t stable.
It’s true, you’re the most outstanding among all of His Majesty’s children, but your competitors aren’t just the obvious ones.
There are also His Majesty’s siblings, and even illegitimate children we don’t know about.
The former First Prince was poisoned by His Majesty’s brother.
There are many in the country eyeing your position.
You must always maintain your strength and reputation.”
“I suggest we keep your memory loss a secret until you recover your memories, and only then return to Silvar.”
They’re really trying to push me onto the throne.
Fia couldn’t help but feel troubled.
For some reason, she’d never been interested in the throne (after all, Fia used to be an AI that controlled the entire universe—how could a mere throne be tempting?), but she didn’t say that out loud.
Anyway, elves live long lives, and the current Elf King is still young, so she didn’t have to worry about becoming king anytime soon.
More than that, Fia was more curious about Anastasia’s past.
Anastasia had once told Fia that she was the sun that pulled her out of the mud, but Fia always thought that was just an exaggeration—maybe it just meant she’d promoted Anastasia.
But from what the two nobles said, it was a lot more complicated.
She’d ask Liti about it when they got back.
Fia changed the subject.
“By the way, why did the church lock the traitor up with you?”
“I—I know.” Liti squeezed Fia’s hand a little tighter, her cute face showing no fear anymore.
“The church wanted to use us and the traitor to negotiate with Father.”
“Negotiate?” “Yeah.
I heard this from the nuns and paladins who brought me food.
The nun said the church leaders originally wanted a quick victory, to go straight for the royal city and force Father to surrender.
But they didn’t expect, thanks to your advice, that we’d station way more soldiers at the border than usual, ruining their plan.
The two-year-long war messed up the church’s arrangements, and they couldn’t keep up with the cost, so they wanted to use us as bargaining chips to get both sides to agree to a truce.”
Liti swallowed—a gesture that matched her age and made Fia find her even cuter—then continued.
“Apparently, at first they planned to kill you and use force to make Father agree to peace, but for some reason, you, who were ‘dead,’ showed up in Aurora City.
Plus, the magical disaster in the Scorched Wasteland made the church really uneasy, so now they want to negotiate with you.
The church leadership isn’t united, and now the anti-war faction has completely overtaken the ones who started the war.”
“They told you all that, Liti…” “Because I’m a kid, they let their guard down.
Not just church stuff, they even told me all about their family drama~” Liti puffed out her flat chest, looking proud.
Maybe it was just Fia’s imagination, but ever since Anastasia mentioned her memory loss, Liti seemed to be leaning closer to her, and was much braver than before.
Especially when she accidentally stepped on a demon wolf corpse—she’d scream in fear and cling tightly to Fia’s arm.
Honestly, it was a bit uncomfortable.
Claire was better in that regard.
Thinking of Claire waiting for her outside, Fia quickened her pace.
But something felt off to Fia—the path under her feet was a little different from before.
At this speed, they should have already exited the corridor, but she still couldn’t see any light from the exit.
Come to think of it, the paladin commander had said their Inquisitor went to rescue Liti, but she’d never run into that Inquisitor—
A light appeared ahead in the corridor, and Fia stopped.
“Big sis, there’s someone up ahead!” “Yeah.”
It was as if the corridor had been cut in half—a pit over a kilometer wide and plunging deep downward appeared before them, with the sounds of fighting drifting up from below.
When Fia stepped forward to look, her ruby-like eyes narrowed sharply.
There were indeed paladins from the church in the pit, but the ones facing off against them weren’t demon wolves or chaos—it was a massive dark purple dragon the size of a castle, and a young girl with long gray hair standing on the dragon’s head.
As if sensing Fia’s gaze, the girl and the dragon looked up together, fixing their eyes on Fia.
“You’re finally here, elf princess.”
