When Fia woke up, it was already close to one in the afternoon the next day.
Explaining things to Anastasia was both simple and complicated.
Anastasia accepted Fia’s explanation so easily that Fia felt a sense of unreality, as if Anastasia just casually replied “no problem,” but didn’t actually mean it.
Maybe Anastasia thought that, no matter what kind of complicated connection she and Liti had, it didn’t matter at all.
As a subordinate, she shouldn’t judge her master.
That way of thinking was definitely wrong.
Because of that, Fia had to explain the whole sequence of events from start to finish, and only when Anastasia nodded thoughtfully did Fia finally relax.
Since Fia was on duty for the second half of the night and hadn’t slept at all, she completely forgot about studying continental history.
As soon as the sun came up, she crawled into the carriage and fell fast asleep, missing not only breakfast but also lunch.
It’s worth mentioning that when they set out at dawn, the refugees who had received Fia’s help were very reluctant to part, with some even wiping away tears.
Although Fia felt that, besides gratitude, most of their reluctance was probably because of the food she had, it was still a kind of attachment.
So before leaving, Fia had Anastasia leave them some flatbread that could serve as breakfast.
Those flatbreads were mixed with wheat germ and bran, making them not only hard to eat but also strange in color and taste.
The only advantage was that they were more filling than regular food—something Fia wouldn’t eat herself, but very useful for the refugees.
Considering that after she left, the refugees might fight over the bread, Fia specifically told Anastasia to make sure the refugees finished eating before they set out.
What Fia didn’t know was that, as they were leaving, some refugees tried to give their children to her.
They didn’t care if Fia made them servants or slaves, as long as she would take them away.
It wasn’t that these parents wanted to get rid of a burden.
On the contrary, they were actually doing it for their children’s sake.
Following a noble, even as a lifelong servant or slave, at least meant survival.
If they performed well, maybe they’d even be noticed by the nobility and enjoy privileges their parents never had.
The refugees didn’t know how much farther they could go—hunger, disease, bandits, and beasts could take their lives at any moment.
If there was a lifeline, of course they’d grab it.
Anastasia flatly refused the refugees’ request without any room for negotiation.
Fia was the crown princess of the Elven Kingdom—countless people would kill to be the elf princess’s servant, and only the best could serve at Fia’s side.
The refugees’ children just weren’t qualified.
“Whew…” The jolting of the carriage gradually woke Fia up.
Even though her eyelids still felt heavy, she chose to open her eyes—the carriage was too stuffy, and it would be more comfortable to get some fresh air outside.
Then, Liti’s pretty face appeared in her field of vision.
Noticing Fia was awake, Liti, who was acting as her pillow, waved gently and greeted her happily.
“Big sis, it’s already afternoon.”
If Liti hadn’t revealed her secret last night, Fia would have found her incredibly soothing right now, and would have thought to herself how cute a little sister Liti was.
But now, even though Liti was still cute, the soothing feeling was gone.
This girl definitely had an agenda.
Realizing her head was resting on Liti’s lap, Fia sat up at once, frowning slightly.
“Wasn’t I sleeping on a pillow?”
“Hehe, I switched it out.
A lap pillow is still a pillow.”
Liti puffed out her chest, looking quite proud.
Fia could only hold her forehead and sigh.
“You little…” Way too forward.
“This is just a little sister caring for her big sister.
To outsiders, we look like close siblings, you know~ Your sleeping face, ehehe…”
Don’t make that kind of dreamy sound.
Fia let out another long sigh.
“Haah, I feel like I’ve lost an innocent, cute, and well-mannered little sister.”
“What? Am I not innocent, cute, and well-mannered? If you like the way I was before, I can always be like that.
Besides, other close sisters give lap pillows too, you’re just overthinking it—ow…”
While Liti was looking smug, Fia flicked her on the forehead.
“Even so, you’re not allowed to sneak peeks while I’m sleeping.
Otherwise, I’ll have Anastasia tie you to the front seat.”
“Ugh…”
Ignoring Liti, who was holding her head and whining, Fia turned to look at the carriage curtain.
For some reason, the carriage was gradually coming to a stop.
“I’ll go take a look outside.”
Fia really didn’t know how to deal with Liti’s affection.
Like Liti said, to outsiders, the lap pillow just looked like something close sisters would do.
Only people who cared would care—real sisters wouldn’t think anything of it.
Liti was just too sly.
Feeling helpless, Fia sighed softly, tidied her twin ponytails, and went to the driver’s seat.
An endless plain stretched out before her.
While she was sleeping, the carriage had already left yesterday’s forest behind.
Patches of grass only a few inches high spread out from her feet into the distance, and the gently rolling hills kept the scenery from being too monotonous.
The dirt road stretching into the distance added a splash of color to the scene.
Since it had just rained, the air was filled with the fresh scent of grass.
Fia took a deep breath, and her still-groggy mind instantly cleared.
If it weren’t for the refugees in the distance, carrying their bags, this would be a perfect view.
“Good afternoon, Your Highness.
You’re awake.”
Anastasia, sitting in the driver’s seat, bowed her head and greeted Fia.
Fia sat down in the empty seat next to Anastasia.
“Yeah, good afternoon.
Why did we stop?” “Up ahead is the border between the Holy Nation of Milcandis and the Principality of Bart.”
“Elves can’t enter the Principality of Bart?” The reason they could move freely on the Holy Nation’s border was because, before setting out, the church had given them a pass for the eastern part of the Holy Nation.
But that pass didn’t work in the Principality of Bart.
The Principality of Bart was also a human-dominated country, so it was hard not to suspect there might be discrimination against non-human races.
Anastasia’s answer put Fia’s worries to rest.
“No, elves can enter the Principality of Bart.
The Principality of Bart only appeared on the map a hundred years ago because of its founding emperor, who claimed to be ‘from another world.’ The people respect the founding emperor a lot.
That emperor believed that, for the Principality of Bart to last, it had to abandon xenophobia and accept other intelligent races.
Only with such policies could the country become strong.”
“So, starting a hundred years ago, the Principality of Bart allowed non-humans to hold important positions.
Those non-humans who made great contributions in the founding war and fought for the emperor were granted noble titles and land.
Even now, while most people are still human, almost no one discriminates against other races.”
“That’s why the non-human races in the Principality of Bart are proud to be part of the country.
Especially the nobles—they treasure their hard-won status and are extremely sensitive about it.
If anyone insults their noble status, they react even more strongly than regular nobles.
On the other hand, they care more about their responsibilities and their people.”
Sounds pretty good.
Fia gave her own assessment in her heart.
As long as he’s responsible for his people, a weird personality isn’t really a problem.
But what Fia cared more about was that founding emperor.
The ideas of racial equality and claiming to be “from another world” made Fia feel like he was a fellow reincarnator, just like her.
“Is that founding emperor still alive?”
“He’s dead.
Humans have short lifespans, only a bit over thirty on average.
That founding emperor died in his prime, in his forties, from overwork.”
“So he’s already dead…” Fia’s voice was tinged with disappointment and regret.
She’d been hoping he might be a fellow earthling, someone she could meet.
“Are you interested, Your Highness?”
“A little.
But if he’s dead, then forget it.”
Fia’s answer made Anastasia’s expression a bit complicated.
“Actually, what I wanted to say is, next we’ll be passing through Count Euro’s territory in the Principality of Bart, which is ruled by vampires.
The count’s third daughter, Estelle Euro, is your friend.
You and Miss Estelle have only met a few times, but you’ve kept up a correspondence,” Anastasia paused, “Should we stop by to see Miss Estelle?”
“Let’s do it next time if we get the chance.
Getting back to the Elf Kingdom is more important right now.”
“Understood.” With that, Anastasia turned her gaze forward, her expression growing serious.
“But it looks like there’s trouble ahead… the refugees are turning back.”
Just as Anastasia said, besides the refugees moving forward in the same direction as Fia’s carriage, there were also refugees coming from the opposite direction at the end of the road.
The two groups met, making the border area between the two countries quite lively.
“Let’s keep going and see what’s up ahead.”
“Yes.”
The carriage gradually approached the area where the refugees were gathered.
Unlike the scattered refugees along the way, there were at least a hundred people gathered at the border.
This ragged group seemed to have been here for a while, with no intention of moving on.
Instead, they’d set up a temporary camp right at the border.
All around, new refugees could be seen joining the crowd, heads bowed as they asked what was happening up ahead.
But that wasn’t what caught Fia’s attention the most.
The moment the carriage got close to the refugee camp, Fia’s eyes were drawn to a gorge in the middle of the plain—or maybe “gorge” wasn’t quite right, “fissure” was more accurate.
It looked as if the earth had been split open by a giant sword, leaving a gap hundreds of meters wide.
A two-meter-wide suspension bridge made of wood and rope spanned the crack, and refugees were crossing back and forth over it.
The camp was set up about a hundred meters from the bridge.
Anastasia pulled the carriage to the side of the road, jumped down, and gave Fia a formal bow, her face serious.
“Your Highness, I’ll go ask the refugees over there what’s going on ahead.”
“Okay.”
Fia nodded, and as Anastasia crouched down, offering half a loaf of bread as payment to ask about the situation, Fia also jumped down from the carriage and walked toward the sudden fissure in the plain.
The closer she got to the crack, the sparser the grass under her feet became.
When she was only three or four meters from the edge, the ground was nothing but bare, pitch-black rock, completely lifeless.
The reason Fia was so drawn to the fissure was because she knew exactly what it was.
This was the “Abyss” described in the Witch’s Secret History.
Legend said that in the beginning, all living things lived on a land much broader and richer than now.
But after the final war between the Darkspawn and the gods, that fertile land was swallowed by chaos.
The endless chaos was too much even for the gods to resist, so they had no choice but to lead their people to a land that jutted out from the original continent—a barren, desolate place used for exiling criminals.
That place of exile is now the World Tree Continent.
Because the World Tree Continent sticks out so far from the original land, the power of chaos can’t reach it, making it the only refuge for people.
But even here, there are many cracks called “Abysses” that connect the World Tree Continent to the original continent.
Some are only a few hundred meters wide, others cut across half the land.
No one knows how deep these abysses go, but everyone knows they lead back to their homeland.
The problem is, that homeland is now filled with chaos, and nothing can survive there.
In the past, plenty of adventurous souls brought enough supplies and tried to explore down below, but few ever returned.
Those who did all said the same thing: “bottomless,” “nowhere near the end.”
Mysterious and dangerous.
The living must not enter, the dead never return.
That’s how the Witch’s Secret History describes the Abyss.
According to the moon dragon Radric, the silver dagger in her hand was once carried by the Witch of Hope hundreds of years ago, and the Witch of Hope was already at the ninth rank back then.
That means the Witch’s Secret History she has was probably written by the Witch of Hope herself.
If even a ninth-rank person called the Abyss dangerous, Fia couldn’t help but be curious.
She quietly stretched her neck out to look down.
The black cliff face had almost no outcroppings, dropping straight down and making her dizzy just to look at it.
If it were a normal person, their legs would have gone weak from fear of heights, maybe even toppled right over the edge, but Fia didn’t feel a thing.
Below the crack was a sea of white—thick clouds blocked her view.
Occasionally, the wind would shift the clouds, letting Fia catch a glimpse of what was below, but all she could see was blackness that swallowed everything.
Not even sunlight could reach the bottom.
Fia conjured a five-meter-wide Ice Bullet and dropped it down, but after two or three minutes, there was still no sound.
It was only when she saw the Abyss that Fia truly felt she was living on a continent far above the original land.
Her expression grew a bit complicated.
Thinking about it, the creatures living on the World Tree Continent really had it rough—driven from their homeland by monsters, and even after ten thousand years, still not strong enough to go back.
No wonder the Darkspawn were so hated.
From the perspective of the gods’ people, if the Darkspawn hadn’t started the war, chaos wouldn’t have appeared, and they wouldn’t have been forced to stay on the World Tree Continent.
The World Tree Continent was called a wasteland for a reason—it was hard to imagine just how rich the original land must have been.
“Hope you have a better time down there.”
Just as Fia was sighing, a voice came from about ten meters to her left.
Instinctively, Fia looked over.
A filthy man was tossing a burlap sack over the edge, and behind him were five or six more sacks, each about the size of a person.
Fia could tell from the shape that they held corpses.
As proof, behind the sacks stood a dozen or so refugees, crying and wiping their tears.
Those sacks held their loved ones.
With that in mind, Fia slowly walked toward the burly man who was tossing sacks down and loudly calling out, as if giving a eulogy.
In just a short while, the man finished tossing the sacks, took money from the families of the dead, then clapped his hands as if his work was done.
Fia called out to him.
“Excuse me, could you wait a moment? What were you just doing?”
“Oh… a noble lady?” The burly man was startled by Fia’s clothes, then quickly dropped to his knees, afraid of angering her if he was even a second late, his face full of obsequiousness.
“What can I do for you, miss?”
“No need to bow, just stand up and talk.
What were you just doing?”
Seeing that Fia wasn’t here to cause trouble, the man stood up, rubbing his hands awkwardly and fawning.
“Miss, I was helping deal with the bodies.
It’s hot, and if we don’t get rid of them, they’ll bring plague.
I used to be the village gravedigger, so I know a bit about handling the dead.
I was heading north to the Holy Kingdom and ran into these refugees, so I did some work for them to earn travel money.
I only tossed those bodies down with their families’ permission, miss, I’m not some grave robber or murderer.”
“When you usually deal with bodies, do you always throw them down there?”
Not sure what Fia was getting at, the man scratched his head.
“How could that be? Today’s a special case.
Instead of burying someone in the wilderness and letting them become a wandering ghost, it’s better to throw them down below.
Everyone says life down there is better than up here.
Maybe in their next life, they’ll be reborn into a good family.”
“Life down there is better than up here? Isn’t it supposed to be a land of death?”
“Ah, that’s what the nobles say.
But among the commoners, some people think the chaos down there disappeared long ago, and life is actually better than up here.”
“I see.
You can go now.”
“Thank you, my lady! Thank you, my lady!” Like a prisoner granted a pardon, the burly man ran off without looking back.
At that moment, Anastasia came over to Fia, looking a bit anxious.
“Your Highness, what did you say to that man? It’s dangerous near the Abyss.
No one knows how many people have been framed and pushed in—once you fall, not even your body can be found.”
“Don’t worry, Anastasia.
I was keeping an eye on our surroundings.
I just talked to him about something unimportant.
I’ll explain more in the carriage—this isn’t the place to talk.”
“Yes.”
Anastasia answered softly and followed after Fia.
