“Nia, you’re awake? That’s great…”
When Nia woke up, she heard a familiar yet gentle voice.
Her head was dizzy and heavy, her ears ached, and her whole body felt weighed down—especially her legs, which were utterly weak.
“Mm.”
She responded instinctively before slowly realizing what was happening, her eyes widening in alarm.
“Your Highness, didn’t I tell you not to look back?”
“Nia, relax. You’re safe here.”
Meila pressed Nia down gently as she tried to sit up from the bed, comforting her.
“First, take a good look at your surroundings.”
Hearing Meila say this, Nia’s doubts eased a bit.
She scanned the environment around her.
Unlike the cold, dark cave before, they now seemed to be inside a wooden cabin.
The room was very simple, with almost no furniture.
An arched window beside the door was open, and moonlight streamed in from that direction, casting a silvery glow like powdered sugar spread across the floor.
Obviously, this wasn’t the half-orcs’ territory but rather a human dwelling.
Feeling somewhat relieved, Nia withdrew her gaze and quietly asked Meila,
“Your Highness, what happened after I fainted?”
“I’ll keep it brief.” Meila gathered her thoughts and spoke slowly.
“After I ran out of the Goblin Cave, I headed straight for the place you mentioned. On the way, I met Mr. El—the man who rescued you from the Goblin Cave…”
Listening to the princess’s explanation, Nia got a rough understanding of the situation.
“So, the place we’re staying now is that man’s house?”
“That’s right.”
“Your Highness, did you tell him who we really are?”
As if remembering something, Nia interrupted Meila’s words.
“No, I only told him we’re outsiders visiting relatives, and that we were attacked by monsters on the way.”
“That’s good.”
Nia breathed a sigh of relief.
Just as she was about to say something more, a noise came from the doorway.
The next second, a man pushed the door open and stepped inside.
The moonlight spilled into the room and shone on the man.
He wore a strange outfit, the collar loose and casually undone.
His face was an unexpectedly handsome shade of healthy wheat color, with short black hair and thick eyebrows that flicked up sharply at the ends, piercing the gaze like a dagger.
He radiated a wild, unrestrained aura.
Seeing her, the man froze for a moment before speaking in a surprised tone.
“You’re awake?! It’s only been a day!”
Nia roughly understood why he was surprised.
Due to their lineage, elves’ bodies were much tougher than ordinary humans’, and their recovery abilities were especially remarkable.
“I heard… my lady said you saved me,” Nia replied. “Thank you, sir, for your help.”
“It’s nothing, really.” The man laughed heartily. “Helping ladies in distress is every hero’s duty.”
He pulled over a chair, sitting backwards on it cheerfully as he tried to make small talk.
“By the way, I don’t even know your names yet.”
Meila glanced at Nia, who immediately answered,
“My name is Nia, a Guard Knight.” She pointed to the princess beside her. “This is my lady, Meila. We’re on our way to visit Danf to see family.”
“Guard Knight?”
The man repeated the title, then let his gaze roam up and down Nia’s body.
After a moment, he muttered quietly to himself, “Goblin Cave? Female knight? Is this some kind of novel world I’ve slipped into?”
His murmured words were all caught by Nia’s ears.
Because of her lineage, not only was her recovery ability impressive, but her hearing far surpassed that of ordinary people.
She easily caught everything he said.
However, she didn’t understand what he meant by “novel world.”
But she could feel his strange gaze.
This made Nia start doubting what she had just said.
She began to think over whether she had revealed something she shouldn’t have, or if there was some logical flaw in her words.
Was it the Guard Knight title?
But in the Human Empire, any noble family with even a bit of strength would keep Guard Knights at home, so there shouldn’t be a problem.
After thinking for a while, she couldn’t find any flaw in her words and proactively asked,
“Sir, is there something you find questionable?”
“No.” He scratched his head and gave her a very “sincere” look.
Nia’s intuition told her this man was odd.
But since he saved her and hadn’t shown any hostility, she didn’t mind too much.
After all, neither she nor the princess had told the truth, and they had no grounds to question him either.
Not long after, the man started murmuring again,
“This girl looks like she’s really good at losing battles…”
His muttering made Nia frown in frustration.
What did he mean she was good at losing?
Though her recent battle record wasn’t great, her opponents were all notorious foes.
She had to protect the princess’s safety in multi-enemy situations… and losing to half-orcs was only because her previous injuries were severe.
If it weren’t for not wanting to reveal her identity and cause unnecessary trouble, she would definitely tell him who she really was and make him drop his jaw, regretting his rudeness.
What an impudent fellow!
So the elf is the real Mc