Trust
“Lord Veirya, a human envoy Queen Sisi sent would like to see you. Fortunately, she gave the order early, or the envoy might not have been able to see you.”
An elf bowed and chuckled. Veirya nodded, and that was that. Meanwhile, Angelina perked up an eyebrow, opining, “I, on the other hand, hope you can kill the envoy. I can say with absolute certainty that the envoy doesn’t bring good news if she’s here now of all times.”
“Why? Is Queen Sisi not the one Veirya serves?” asked Ascillia.
“Do you not already know? Why are you so careful about breaching topics, testing the waters and not outright sharing your feelings? Imagine the vicious woman Sisi is. Wouldn’t you take advantage of situations to get rid of the biggest obstacle when given the opportunity?”
Ascillia covered her mouth and stammered, “So, so, you are saying… Her Majesty… also… l-, Lord Lin…?”
“Am I. In the way?” asked Veirya, flummoxed.
Angelina stroked Veirya’s head: “No, Queen Sisi just happens to consider you a nuisance, which is why the envoy is a hazard.”
“Her Majesty. Won’t. Hurt me.” Veirya told the elf, “Let the. Envoy in.”
Queen Sisi’s lady-in-waiting, who the elves almost killed, strolled in, neither nervous nor afraid, instead, maintaining her regal aura and dignity, which meant that she represented Queen Sisi. She bowed to Veirya and elucidated, “Lord Veirya, I am glad to see you safe and sound. News does not travel far from here. Therefore, Queen Sisi has only known about your injury recently. So accordingly, she sent me to see that you are safe. I came here after hearing you were in the elven lands.”
“How did. You know. I was. In the. Elven lands?”
“The three elves at your house are still waiting for you and Lord Lin to return, so I asked them.”
The lady-in-waiting paused after she finished her reply and paid attention to Veirya’s gaze.
Veirya struggled up into a sitting position. Anxiety evident, she inquired, “You came from the. Imperial capital. How is he? What is he doing? Is he safe?”
“Are you asking about Lord Lin? He is well. He stayed at the imperial palace for a while and then left. I do not know what he is doing recently.”
From the sounds of it, Lin Dongqing and Her Majesty didn’t do anything. On second thought, though, the “stayed for a while” conjured ambiguous assumptions. How long was “a while?” One night? Several nights? What happened between Lin Dongqing and the Queen during his stay? When Veirya wasn’t there last time, he and Queen Sisi had gotten together. Vierya had returned; however, Angelina never told her about Lin Dongqing and Sisi to avoid ruining their relationship. Having said that, Angelina was aware that Sisi wouldn’t spare Lin Dongqing given her character.
The pertinent question was, how did Sisi find out Veirya was hurt? For all they knew, she might’ve planned to kill Veirya to convince Lin Dongqing to go back to her. Lin Dongqing was deeply in love with Veirya, so he wouldn’t team up with Queen Sisi to plan it. Nevertheless, Angelina had no proof to prove or falsify Queen Sisi’s involvement. Veirya, however, never suspected Sisi. Possible things behind the scenes had never crossed pure Veirya’s mind. Thus, Angelina kept to herself.
Veirya was eager to share her assuaged feelings with Ascillia and Angelina, evident from the constant glances their way. Ascillia pressed her hand to her chest and let out a breath of relief. The only who was happy was the relatively dense Veirya. Otherwise, anybody would’ve been able to read Ascillia.
“So, I can get to the main topic now,” stated the lady-in-waiting, clearing her throat. “Visiting Lord Veirya was my first job. My second job is to relay Her Majesty’s message. Her Majesty would like you to return to the imperial capital, Lord Veirya. After what transpired, Her Majesty has been awfully worried about your condition. She strongly urged me to bring you to pick you up. As you are fine, you should come to the imperial capital to allow us to take care of you. As you are aware, elves and humans are still hostile toward each other. Her Majesty does not feel assured with you staying in these elven lands as a human.”
“The elves couldn’t be more accomodating to Veirya. They don’t like Veirya, but they know how to treat their friends,” retorted Angelina, body language closed off. “As for why elves and humans have the current status quo, I would assume that Queen Sisi knows the answer.”
“Sorry, I am not here to improve the relationship between elves and humans. It is not my business to be thinking about that. I am merely here to pass on Her Majesty’s suggestion, which is for Lord Veirya to return to the imperial capital. We have the best doctors and conditions to ensure that Lord Veirya recovers at the imperial capital. Furthermore, Her Majesty has stated that she will allow Lord Veirya to borrow her hot spring treatment centre for her recovery. The provided conditions are far superior to the elves’,” said the lady-in-waiting, not even sparing Angelina a glance.
Angelina voiced, “We’re not leaving.”
“Sorry, I did not ask you,” grumbled the lady-in-waiting, finally casting her gaze onto Angelina.
“I’m Veirya’s mother!”
“Lord Veirya is an adult now; she can make her own decisions.”
Veirya looked left and then right, only to realise that the man who should’ve been her advisor wasn’t by her side. She turned to Angelina. Sadly, Angelina was still arguing with the lady-in-waiting. She looked to Ascillia, but Ascillia was panic-stricken.
“Sorry. I’m staying. I’m not. Declining Her Majesty. It’s just. He sent me here. He didn’t. Tell me to go to the imperial capital. So, I’ll obey him. And wait here. I won’t go. To the imperial capital. It’s also. Nice here. The elves. Are also very nice. So I won’t. Go.”
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