“Annabell? She actually dares to provoke me?”
Charles’s face darkened.
“She stole your magic herbs?”
“She, she not only stole my magic herbs, but also cleaned me out completely! She didn’t even spare the first-grade health-restoring grass I had hidden in my shoe!”
The lackey cried with snot and tears.
“She used some kind of magic to target the most precious herbs. The formation we painstakingly set up on the perimeter was shattered by her kick!”
“Useless!”
Charles kicked the lackey to the ground in anger, his chest heaving violently.
“You’ve disgraced the Royal Family! Did she just run away after stealing?!”
“N-no, she didn’t run…”
The lackey tremblingly pulled a piece of torn cloth from his chest.
“She, she not only didn’t run, but also left a message on my back, telling me to bring it to you, Your Highness…”
Charles snatched the cloth and unfolded it. On it, a line was scrawled crookedly in blood.
The arrogant tone seemed to pierce through the fabric and slap Charles across the face:
[Charles, the quality of the herbs your useless lackeys gathered is terrible. Listen up. Have your dogs immediately collect more high-level magic herbs and fill up the ring.
In half an hour, I’ll come personally to “pick up the goods.” If the quantity is insufficient, I’ll beat you so badly even your father won’t recognize you. — Your dear Annabell]
Charles felt a surge of blood rushing to his head, his vision going dark.
“Too much! This is too much!!”
He tore at the cloth frantically, veins bulging on his forehead like an enraged beast.
“Annabell! You reckless bitch! I, Charles, swear if I don’t kill you today, I’m not human!”
[Ding! Detected that Prince Charles’s rage value has exceeded the limit! Current affection level: Irreconcilable!]
[Congratulations to the host for obtaining a special reward: Golden Chest x1!]
Annabell, at the other end of the Herb Garden, heard the pleasant system notification in her mind and couldn’t help but snap her fingers crisply.
“Oh my, Prince Charles is such a generous guy. He drops chests way too often.”
Annabell was in a great mood. She turned to Charlotte.
“Come on, my little guide, let’s go see where the biggest treasure in this ruin is.”
Time ticked by, and the trial’s countdown was about to end.
During this time, Annabell completely let herself go.
She not only beat up several of Charles’s outer vassals but also transformed into the most fearsome “Reverse Bandit” in the Botanical Garden.
Any so-called “genius” who had looked down on Charlotte or shown hostility to Annabell was ruthlessly beaten by Annabell.
“Hand over the storage rings, or I’ll plant you in the ground as fertilizer!”
This extremely arrogant line became an unforgettable nightmare in the Botanical Garden.
Under Annabell’s overwhelming armed might, combined with Charlotte’s precise and accurate eye for identifying magic herbs, the two of them were like a plague of locusts, leaving nothing behind.
“That’s about enough. We’ve taken enough ordinary magic herbs.”
Annabell tossed the full storage ring in her hand and smacked her lips with lingering interest.
“Miss Annabell, follow me. Ahead is the most central area of this Herb Garden.”
Charlotte watched Annabell’s utterly villainous demeanor, but instead of feeling scared, she found her reckless attitude extremely cool.
The two passed through a dense Forest of Illusions, and the surrounding mist gradually thickened.
The air was no longer filled with ordinary mana, but a pure law aura that made one feel as if their soul was cleansed with each breath.
Finally, the dense fog dispersed, revealing a well-hidden small valley before them.
In the center of the valley, there were no other plants, only a strange, divine tree standing quietly.
No, it wasn’t one tree, but two.
Two ancient trees with starkly different colors and intertwined branches, tightly wrapped around each other like a pair of embracing lovers.
Their leaves shimmered with dense golden magical patterns, and every swaying branch emitted a low hum akin to a hymn.
“Th-this… what level of item is this?”
Although Annabell didn’t understand magic herbs, just by its appearance and aura, she knew this thing was an absolutely super incredible treasure.
“This is the ‘Twin Bond Tree’!”
Charlotte’s voice trembled with excitement.
“A divine-level magical plant left by the Elf King! Miss Annabell, every part of this tree is priceless!”
“Its leaves can be used to concoct saint-grade potions that can revive the dead, its branches are top-tier materials for forging an Archmage Scepter, and the ‘Bond Fruit’ it bears can allow one to directly comprehend a new attribute magic upon eating!”
‘We’re rich!’
Annabell’s mind flashed with symbols of gold coins.
‘With this tree, the Duke’s Estate’s assets could increase tenfold or more!’
“What are we waiting for? Let’s dig it out!”
Annabell pulled out her staff and prepared to move.
“Wait! Miss Annabell, you can’t just dig up this tree!”
Charlotte hurriedly stopped her.
“The Twin Bond Tree is sentient. It is protected by the Elf King’s law. To obtain its power, you must make it recognize you as its master.”
“Recognize master? How?”
Annabell asked.
Charlotte’s cheeks suddenly reddened at a visible speed.
She lowered her head, fingers nervously twisting together, her voice as soft as a mosquito’s buzz.
“This tree… the reason it’s called the Twin Bond Tree is because it must be… be activated by two people simultaneously recognizing it as master.”
Actually, Charlotte had concealed the most crucial passage from the Elven Pharmacopoeia.
The Twin Bond Tree not only required two people to simultaneously recognize it as master, but more importantly, once successful, the two would form an ancient “Soul Twin Contract.”
In Elf legends, this was a contract representing eternal love.
The souls of the two bound by the contract would form an unbreakable bond, never to be separated for ten thousand years.
As long as they were together, mana recovery speed and combat power would receive terrifying boosts.
Charlotte’s heart pounded wildly in her chest.
‘If it’s with Annabell…’
‘I’m willing.’
‘I’m sorry, Miss Annabell. Please allow me to be selfish this once.’
‘I have no magic power. In this dangerous world of cultivation and magic, I can only use this method to bind myself to you forever.’
“It must be two people?”
Annabell scratched her head.
“How troublesome. Well, then just come with me and recognize it together.”
“Mm!”
Charlotte looked up, her eyes filled with undisguised joy and tenderness, her cheeks red like a ripe apple.
“Let’s do it together.”
Just as Charlotte extended her hand, ready to interlock fingers with Annabell and touch the tree trunk together—
A crisp clapping sound abruptly broke the valley’s tranquility.
“What a touching bond between master and servant. However, for such a precious divine tree, Miss Annabell, intending to monopolize it, aren’t you showing a bit too much disregard for others?”