Inside the cage, the Forest Elf girl gazed with her dark green eyes at the vibrant red cloth before her, which kept the Iron Cage hidden from sight.
Because there wasn’t enough magic power within her body, she couldn’t even sense her surroundings, nor did she know where she was at this moment.
After the cloth was thrown back over her and she was carried away earlier, everything around her had been silent for a long time.
But now, the Iron Cage was being lifted once again.
From the sensation, she knew she’d been carried along for some distance.
The cage kept swaying, and her heart hung in suspense right along with it.
She couldn’t understand the common tongue of the Human World, but she could feel that she seemed to have been handed over to that person who, from their scent, seemed to be a good woman.
But could humans really be good?
As an elf, this was her first time stepping into this territory that belonged entirely to humans, but the welcome she received was nothing but an utterly
barbaric kidnapping.
Though her body hadn’t suffered any humiliation, she was confined in this small Iron Cage and fitted with Manacles that suppressed her magic.
Just like a bird stripped of its freedom.
If it had wings, it should be allowed to soar freely in the vast sky.
That was a saying from the Sacred Text of the Nature God.
The Forest Elf girl looked down at her bound hands, a trace of sorrow rising in her heart, and she couldn’t help but murmur softly.
“If I’d known, I wouldn’t have crossed the border.”
She hadn’t ended up in the Human World by getting lost in the Northern Mountains!
Not long ago, that Princess Vivienne from the West Wind Empire had visited the Forest Elf Kingdom and even met with the Saintess.
Accompanying her were not just those human guards, but also many curious novelties from the Human World.
It had to be said, elves were a race both elegant and beautiful, but sorely lacking in creativity.
Or rather, their creativity and artistry had long since been worn away by their race’s endless lifespan.
So, when elves saw something new from the Human World, they would uncontrollably begin to feel Curiosity towards it.
Curiosity was like the Seed of a weed, drifting with the “wind.”
[Once it falls into someone’s heart, it begins to grow wildly.]
When elves grow Curious, they’re prone to crossing boundaries they shouldn’t.
In the Elven Kingdom, among the forests of the Northern Mountains, there were clear rules about which rivers and ridges were never to be crossed.
And it was precisely with a strong Curiosity toward the Human World that she had stepped past that boundary—only to encounter vicious humans…
As a Forest Elf, her combat ability wasn’t high, but being able to join the Patrol Team and sneak past the border meant her personal strength wasn’t exactly weak, either.
The reason she was caught was actually because she underestimated her enemy—and because those Orderly Knights accompanying Vivienne gave her the impression that all humans were wooden blockheads, so she let herself be ambushed by those despicable outsiders.
“Thinking about it now, I really was foolish.”
The Forest Elf girl drooped her head even lower, inwardly berating herself for ever believing outsiders could be kind.
Suddenly, she felt the entire cage descending.
The girl lifted her bound hands, trying to grip the iron bars of the cage.
[But those special Manacles were chained to the floor where she now knelt, making it impossible to lift her hands.]
[Her slender calves were also locked up, though with only a regular pair of iron Manacles.]
Her head banged against the iron bars.
“Ow….”
It hurt, but she couldn’t use her hands to rub the spot.
What a miserable thing this was, and all because of those wicked humans!
The cage was set down, which meant the destination had likely been reached.
There’s no way they’d be stopping for a break, right?
The girl heard the slow approach of heels and couldn’t help but hold her breath.
She could also hear people outside speaking in words she couldn’t understand.
Inside a spacious room, a male attendant bowed respectfully to the gray-haired lady who strode in gracefully and said with flattery,
“Honored madam, the two items you purchased are both here. Please inspect them.”
“Mm. No need. If that’s all, leave.”
Enya didn’t spare him a glance.
She simply walked to the cage covered in red cloth but didn’t lift the cover immediately.
The male attendant grinned obsequiously and nodded repeatedly.
“Of course, honored madam. I’ll be leaving right away!”
Sophia watched as the man and two maids who had carried the cage quickly left the room and closed the door behind them.
She then turned her gaze to the Iron Cage veiled in red cloth.
Enya turned her head toward Sophia, a thoughtful look flashing across her face.
She quietly stepped back and said to Sophia,
“You do it.”
“Thank you… thank you, senior.”
Sophia looked at the gray-haired female scholar before her, gave a respectful nod, and exhaled deeply.
She took off the Cloak she wore on her head.
Her soft golden hair tumbled down, and in the midst of these radiant locks, her signature long elven ears twitched.
She stepped up to the cage.
At the same time, Enya moved aside, found a chair, sat down, and watched Sophia.
Sophia reached out and lifted the red cloth.
As the cover was removed, the Iron Cage beneath was revealed, along with the girl inside, whose hair was the color of a Green Veil.
She wore a long white dress, with swathes of fair, delicate skin exposed.
Her Green Veil hair draped all the way to the ground.
A gentle blush tinged her smooth forehead, and her exquisite face was tilted upward, staring dazedly through the iron bars at Sophia standing outside the cage.
“Your High—”
Smack!
The moment Sophia heard that word, she immediately slapped her hand across the Forest Elf girl’s mouth.
The girl’s eyes widened in shock and, within those beautiful eyes, a shimmer of tears glistened.
Clearly, that slap had really hurt.
The corners of Sophia’s mouth twitched under her Green Veil.
One hand pressed over the girl’s mouth, while the other slowly lifted a corner of her veil.
Elves could recognize each other’s identity by the scent of their soul, which helped overcome the trouble of looking so much alike in appearance and build.
Even with her Green Veil, Sophia couldn’t block out recognition among her kin—only shield herself from outsiders’ gazes.
That was why this Forest Elf girl could recognize Sophia at a glance.
Tears welled in the girl’s eyes, overflowing with a deep sense of grievance.
With such a beautiful girl weeping before you, who could remain stone-hearted?
Sophia shot her a glare.
“Call me Sophia.”
With that, Sophia removed her hand from the girl’s mouth.
She then saw that the skin around the girl’s lips had been left a rosy red from the earlier slap.
A fine sheen of sweat appeared on Sophia’s forehead.
No… No way that was me! How could that possibly have been me?
It must have been the humans!
It had to be those detestable humans bullying my kin!
She let down her veil, hiding her current embarrassment, but even with the veil in place, Sophia dared not meet the Forest Elf girl’s questioning gaze.
She turned her head away and pretended nothing had happened.
The girl’s mouth throbbed with pain.
But even so, she forced herself not to complain, and spoke to the golden-haired elf before her with the utmost care, terrified of being hit again.
“Sophia… Missy? “Sophia!”
Sophia made sure to emphasize that she was to be called by her name, and absolutely not with the addition of “Missy.”
The Forest Elf girl blinked in surprise, then softly called out Sophia’s name.
“Sophia?”
“Mm.”
Sophia nodded.
“What’s your name, and which division are you from?” “Uh…”
On hearing this question, the girl’s face went pale. Unconsciously, she lowered her head and dared not meet Sophia’s gaze.
Sophia narrowed her eyes.
She crouched down, reaching out and poking the girl on the head.
“Speak up!”
“I—I’m called Wen… Wen—”
The Forest Elf girl, Wendy, stammered out her name but didn’t dare reveal her position to Sophia.
Sophia let out a sigh.
“Wendy, is it? I’ll let you out now.” “Huh?! N-no need!”
Wendy was thrilled at the thought of being freed, but when she saw Sophia squatting outside the cage and her finger poking her head,
She wilted instantly.
She pressed her head down hard, her chin almost touching her chest, not daring to dodge Sophia’s finger. She mumbled weakly,
“I like it here… no, I’m just used to it!”
Sophia pursed her lips.
She knew this little Wendy “sister” must have snuck out to see the Human World after reading one of those new adventure novels Princess Vivienne brought along.
In the end, she’d run into bad humans and been caught.
“Luckily you ran into me—no, you ran into Senior. She’s kindhearted and spent sixty thousand Gold Coins to rescue you!”
“Uh…”
Wendy was startled; Gold Coins were something she was very familiar with.
Even though you didn’t need much money in the Forest Elf Kingdom, elves would still trade high-quality Seeds among themselves.
If you had none, you could use Gold Coins instead.
By that calculation… one Gold Coin equaled one high-grade Seed, enough to cast a Fourth-Tier spell once.
Sixty thousand Gold Coins could last her for decades!
Her previous position only paid her ten Gold Coins a month, so sixty thousand divided by ten was six thousand months.
Six thousand months—that’s five… five hundred years?!
Would I spend half my elf life repaying this debt?
Thinking of this, Wendy saw her future as bleak.
She might as well rot in this cage.
Yes, she wasn’t coming out!
Wendy shrank back, genuinely unwilling to leave the cage.
Seeing her so timid, Sophia felt quite helpless as well.
She stood up and turned to Enya, who had been quietly watching the whole time.
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