The Eleventh Ring

by AlexisZarc

Solomon, the grand caster of the counterforce, has fulfilled his duty as the protector of humankind. He cast aside his title to save humanity. Now he has been summoned to a world where gods are equal to humans—carrying his wisdom from the era of the ancient heroes to the last one.

6. Chapter 5 : Cycle

"Lady Riveria, are you already finished your homework?" Aina asked the young elf, who only focused on her study table.

"Just a moment, Aina," Riveria answered, adding more speed to her writing.

Aina, who only watched the princess, could only smile. The mountains of paper piled up were quickly cleared by Riveria in no time. Of course, she recalled this was a particular must for her.

"Okay, it's done." Riveria stretched her arms before she stood, taking her mantle on Aina's hand.

With a smile, the young elf opens her door and what is waiting for her is the same majestic hallway that always makes her heart pound.

Riveria had forgotten how often she had passed through this particular hallway made of magecraft that even she could not understand. However, at the end of this hallway, the thing that made the princess happy was a place where she could smile gaily.

Then the door opened, revealing the villa shining under the sun, and when she set her sights on the garden, a smile formed on the figure of the princess.

"Ah, lady Riveria. it was surprising to watch you late like this." The spirit asked in a tone that made Riveria always calm.

"My apologies, Lord Caster. My homework only increased in number. So I have no choice." The elf admitted, sighing in tiredness.

The teacher gives her a knowing smile. "I understand your burden, lady Riveria. It must be hard to be the future Queen of the entire country if you came late again for the same reason that was not a mistake. But a duty you must accomplish."

Hearing the sentence causes the princess' heart to lose some of its burdens.

"Then, what is today's learning matter?" Riveria asked out of pure curiosity.

"It was a new form of magecraft. I hope you are already preparing yourself." The spirit proclaimed, which only made the jade-haired princess beam.

"Of course, my teacher."

Training with her teacher went smoothly as her progress accelerated rapidly. Riveria, the child of a prodigy herself, could rapidly catch every tutelage from her teacher.

But at the same time, Riveria earns many strict rules from her father about how she must behave in every single manner of a noble's life.

Not only that, even her personal time and training undergo many changes. From time even, Riveria's teacher changes, except for her magic teacher, lord Forgar. Hours after an hour's worth of training in literature, magic, and even secretly training in martial arts and sword fighting from the various command in the king's court.

From those endless stressing days, Riveria found her comfort.

It was the Villa. During the weekend comes, she would bring the brightest smile to everyone she encountered. And eventually, Aina, who always accompanied her in every activity, could only smile.

It was because someone who was waiting for her was there. The exact figure that gives her the gift that changes Riveria forever.

Lord Caster, the spirit, made the miracle come true.

"Primis!" A single word came with the power to bind the world to its will. Thus she throws a gem at the stone, and then an electric spark surge across it, turning that solid object into dust.

"Is that my power?" Riveria muttered, glancing at the magic crest in her arm, which was glowing with green color.

Caster only stared with silence before regaining his carefree expression. "That was an amazing achievement, milady."

Riveria smiled at him but suddenly winced. The crest began to flicker as pain surged in her nerves.

"What is happening?" Riveria asked.

"It seems your crest is trying to archive your spell, milady." The man answered.

The future Queen only smiled in satisfaction.

Years passed, and now the girl has become a fine lady who grew wiser as she aged. But the burden on her shoulders made the young and youthful soul lose her spirit, leading her to share her story with the wise man.

It ranges from food or hobbies.

"Lord Caster, what is your favorite food?" The young lady asked—the man rubbing his chin before answering her question.

"Hmmm. Let's see. Well, I don't have any, but I love sweets." Caster said.

Riveria only nodded and focused her eyes on the chamberlain.

"Do you need something, milady?"

"I think I know what kind of snack I will bring next weekend." The elf royal stated with a gleaming smile. And it only made the spirit blink several times.

And yet, to the point of being mischievous due to the elf's carelessness.

"Teacher, watch out!" The gem is flying at the man with the speed of the wind.

Widen his eyes from the book in his hand. Caster used his magecraft barrier to deflect the gems in the blink of an eye. Fortunately, it was turned into dust, and unfortunately, it resulted in the creation of a sheer size water ball.

"Wha-" It was already too late, the spirit was washed away by the water, and thus he deadpanned at the princess.

"I'm sorry." She said slowly.

Caster just sighed.

Even with their various activity, their joy never dies. Eventually, their relationship borders something that resembles a parent with his children.

Riveria, at this point, is sitting under the tree. Leaning agast it, her eyes landed on the teacher examining the training ground.

"Lord Caster," Riveria called in tiredness.

"Is something bothering you, lady Riveria?" Caster asked in concern.

"It's my father. He made various rules which resulted in me being watched everywhere, and even every time I went out, I had to get his direct permission." Riveria sighed, resting her cheek on her hand.

"Perhaps your father wanted the best for you."

"But that doesn't mean he has to lock me in my room daily." Riveria protested in a grumbling tone.

Caster chuckled, patting the young elf's head. Not only Aina, Riveria herself was shocked by the sudden action of her teacher. But neither of them complained.

"At least he still notices that you're in your room, do self-study with the book in your hand."

And with that, the three of them laughed.

Their relationship begins with the teacher and student relationship. But after the princess came to her age, she realized something. It was a sentiment that kept pounding from within her chest.

At first glance, she considered it a mutual feeling that came from her gratitude. But eventually, she embraced it.

Aina, who always accompanied Riveria wherever she went, realized something that made her little heart happy. Regardless of her status as a princess and magecraft practitioner. Riveria was a powerful elven mage that had mastered three spells, and she also heard that her lady could use more than three magic, which was the limitation of any living beings in the world.

Yet, that was pale of comparison from what she saw on her lady's face.

A face that could face the darkest horror the world could offer.

Riveria's life came with burdens and duties that await her in the future.

It was a heavy task to fulfill. But, since their meeting and training. Riveria was changed as if someone had lifted the burden.

It is Riveria's dream of achieving freedom and adventuring beyond those trees. Even though it has not yet happened, she could say that her lady is the happiest girl in the kingdom.

"If you are an elf noble. Then everything will be fine, Lord Caster."

---

One day, Riveria is walking in the castle's hallway. Her face tensed with various expressions. Currently, she is on her way to her father's room.

It was unusual for her father to call her into his room. There were few deductions in Riveria's head, but for now, she chose to be silent.

In front of the door, Riveria tried to calm herself. Then, she knocked on the door.

"Come in." She could hear her father's face. Stilled herself, Riveria opened the door.

At the end of the room was King Larfal, taking care of the documents. Piles of paper lined each side of her father's desk.

"You called me father?" The younger elf asked in a soft tone.

"So it was you, Riveria. Yes, I did call you. Now, take a seat." His daughter simply obeyed the order.

"May I know why you asked me to come into your room, father?" Once again, she asked politely.

"I wonder why you forgot about it. I will refresh your memory then. Do you remember how old you are?" The king bluntly asked the princess.

Riveria knew this question would be the only thing on the table now. "Yes. A few days ahead, I will be seventeen years old."

The king smiled as he picked up a document from his table. "Read it."

Riveria braced herself as her hand opened the document. As her eyes scanned the paper carefully, Riveria tried hard to keep herself from snorting. It was a list of the names of the kingdom's heirs of the elven family.

They were all sons of nobles with ancient bloodlines or significant influence in the kingdom. The thing that made Riveria feel helpless was not biting her lip.

She knew some of them personally, and they left her with many bad marks on her memory. They are arrogant, and many have already forgotten about their ancient traditions. Those are traditions that have been a fundamental part of elf society. And that was enough to make her hate them.

"Those are your future husband candidate. They came from ancient families that originated thousand years ago. That would be a suitable husband for you, Riveria." The king said with a hint of joy in his voice.

"But aren't we already agreed that myself is the one who chose my future husband?" Riveria rebutted politely.

"And did you find any? No? Then I will choose one for you." Larfal said calmly.

"But, father. Marriage must come from love, and then the duty shall follow." Larfal narrowed his eyes.

"Love could come after marriage, Riveria. We must secure the future of our bloodline. Moreover, you are the descendant of Queen Celdia. I don't want that sacred bloodline corrupted by a vile commoner, or worse, you married another race." The king hissed.

Riveria grabbed her robe in silence. That was the final straw for her to retreat. And yet, there is only one rebuttal that could return her standing.

"I'm sorry, mother. But, I must." Riveria took a deep breath.

"But the ideal Queen must come with the actual image of her personality. In this case, it is her happiness. She is ruling with her beloved king. Isn't that mother's last wish for me? To be an ideal queen for our people?" Riveria shot back with her stern voice.

But to her surprise, Larfal did not flinch nor surprise. Instead, the king narrowed his eyes with anger holding in that gaze.

"Now, you were using your mother as an excuse. I expect more from you, Riveria."

"But that was the will from my mother: your wife, father. I'm just saying, what is her last wish for me." Riveria calmly replied.

"An ideal queen is a queen that could maintain her stability as a ruler. But they can also keep her popularity among factions and her people. What do you expect, Riveria? Fall in love and then marriage? Your mother was right that marriage must come from love, but it could come later, as I said earlier. And now you were saying that my daughter, Riveria Ljos Alf is a hypocrite?" His tone is calm and severe, but Riveria could clearly hear that his father was hiding his anger.

"I-I understand, father." She ran out of ideas to reply to her father's words.

"Good." Larfal sighed.

Riveria bites her lip, hidden from her father. She was shocked by the king's sudden outburst. And yet, she felt ashamed and guilty for her mother.

"Am I this depserate?" She asked herself with pain in her words.

"Besides securing your future, I have arranged invitations for all noble families on the list to come to your birthday party. So I hope you get to know them more at the party. Am I clear, Riveria?" Larfal stated, which made Riveria nod her head slowly.

"Now take the document and think about who your future husband will be." Larfal went back into his work of compiling documents.

Riveria silently took the document and started to get up from where she was sitting. When she was about to reach for the doorknob, Larfal spoke again.

"Think about what you said earlier. To put yourself this low and even carry your mother's name. Tell me, Riveria. Do you love anyone else?" That icy tone left the young elf wholly frozen.

Sweats started to form on the young princess' forehead. She knows each second wasted will erupt suspicion from her father.

Suppressing her feeling and hardening her heart, Riveria opened her mouth.

"No." Said Riveria in a calm and neutral tone.

Larfal gives her calculating eyes for a moment, making Riveria panic inside. Leaving her figure, Larfal continued his work.

"Fine, you can go."

"Then I shall take my leave." She could feel her vision darkened when she was already on the outside. The hallway became black, and in silence, Riveria returned to her room.

Riveria walked down the hall slowly as if the energy had left her feet. The hallway was so dark that Riveria had to put her hands on the wall to help her walk.

She could barely see anything, and the only sound she could hear was coming from her shoes.

It was dead silent for a silent scream from the princess. Dark and that she could not see what was beyond.

Something piqued her interest. There was an open window in front of her. Slowly, the princess approached the opened window and saw what was behind the castle wall.

Then she was something.

A little girl was smiling and playing with her doll. She was dancing with her toys. The little girl twirled like dancing, hugging the doll with such innocent giggles. A cheerful feeling made all the elves who saw it smile at the little girl's behavior, including Riveria, who also smiled at the innocent girl.

Riveria, who saw the dance moves, immediately noticed the movement pattern the little girl was making. It was a royal dance move.

"Why did she do that?"

"Anidia! Where are you been? Mother was so worried about you!" A woman ran toward the girl, breathing heavily from her exhaustion.

"I'm trying to find my way toward the castle, mommy!" The girl exclaimed.

"The castle? Why?" The mother asked.

"I want to see princess Riveria," The girl said.

"The princess? "The mother was seemingly still lost in the conversation.

"Yes! Princess Riveria is a beautiful elf that is so polite. She was also the kindest person I've ever seen besides you, mom. And I have heard the story she could defeat monsters. So with that, I want to be a princess to protect you and father!" The little girl bluntly said.

"Don't!"

The mother chuckled as she reached the girl to put her in her embrace. "Listen, Anidia. We have our own duty as part of elf society. Princess Riveria is part of that. She was our future leader, and our duty was to be with her to lead the elves to prosper."

"But I want to be a princess!" The girl pouted.

Once again, the mother chuckled heartily. "Why do you want to be a princess but already a princess yourself?"

"What do you mean, mommy?"

"You are my and your father's princess, Anidia. The sunshine that always brings us happiness." With the proclamation, the girl's eyes widen in amazement.

"Yay! I'm a princess!" The young girl throws her hands to the sky, laughing merrily.

"Now, as a good princess, you must sleep." The mother replied in a voice that was softer than silk.

With that, both of them leave Riveria's sight.

The princess was silent, kicking her way back to the room. Slowly but surely, she reached her room.

In the soundless room with pale lights, Riveria laid herself on her bed. Slowly, the fatigue began to consume the elf.

Her destiny has been set in stone, immovable without the power to back it.

She wants freedom. She wants to reach the goal she had dreamed of. To make her own decision.

Wondering and predicting two different potential futures made her heart sink to the bottom of her thought.

"That girl's smile. I wonder how I can smile like that. Ah, I want to return to my childhood."

Another pain surges within. Because at the tragic point, she could not even remember when she could receive such luxury.

And there, the princess began to sleep without taking off her robe or shoes. She was lying with her eyes closed.

Suddenly, a tear escaped her eyelid before she entirely lost consciousness.

---

Riveria is currently fighting with the golden humanoid figure. They traded blows with numerous scales of power.

The humanoid figure moves faster and faster to land some hits toward the elf. Riveria activated her magic circuits in those areas and reinforced them to minimize the damage.

Riveria dodged several attacks that her magecraft could not withstand, locking in every opponent's move with a swift counterattack. Blow after blow, Riveria could launch into the figure's body.

It was a form of martial arts she had studied under various teachers of the best Elven martial artists could offer.

With that, her movement went from scratch to a tactical one. Her move was not a mere raw and untrained endeavor. Now, Riveria transformed it into deadly and calculating blows.

She earned some punches from the figure, but thanks to her reinforcement, Riveria could immediately prepare a counterattack.

The elf only increased her concentration with her enemy to outmatch it in raw power and strength. After observing its pattern of movement, Riveria only smirked.

Caster watched as his disciple's strength and abilities had drastically increased, causing the spirit to squint, his hands moving at a different tempo, controlling the glowing figure at a completely different rhythm.

Riveria widened her eyes in surprise. Her opponent's movements which were far different from before, made the elf receive several blows to her body.

It was hurtful, but because of her reinforcement, Riveria could withstand the fatal momentum of the attacks. A heavy blow threw the elf to the stomach, and Riveria fell violently.

Her body felt a sudden paralyzing and some sensation of electroshock, which made her unable to move. But she did not give up as the magic circuits began to flare brighter than before. With that, she could move her finger and then be followed by the rest of her body.

"My lady!" Aina shouted, running towards Riveria, who was still trying to get up to face her opponent.

"Aina, stop!" Riveria ordered to immediately raise her hand as a signal to make the panicked treasurer stop.

"B-But!" Aina tried to object, but Riveria's smile of determination answered her worry.

"Don't worry. I will beat it." Riveria gives a glance at the tanned man. And what she saw made the princess' smile grow wider as her spirit rose from the ground.

The teacher nodded, seemingly aware that she could defeat the figure with her current strength.

Then he said a sentence that surprised Riveria slightly and widened her eyes.

"You can use your magic crest." A sentence that made Riveria immediately stand up straight, and now

"All right, teacher." Riveria activated the magic crest in her arm, shining brightly in its complex array. In an instant, Riveria could feel a large amount of mana seeping into her body.

Riveria then performs reinforcement on a maximum scale to all of his limbs. Then she immediately took a fighting stance. In an instant, the enemy shot itself toward Riveria. With the mana that had grown massively in her body, Riveria could land a punch on the enemy's chest from below, followed by the speed that had increased considerably. Riveria launched a follow-up move, catching the enemy's neck and quickly throwing it. And thus, the spectators heard a loud crash sound across the grassland.

Aina, who witnessed that, just gasped in admiration. While on the other hand, Caster smiled with satisfaction and immediately returned to swing his arms to move the glowing humanoid.

With her superior strength and speed, Caster used his magecraft to enchant the humanoid figure to go its limit. The blazing speed meets the vigorous defense of the immovable opponent.

Riveria uses every drop of knowledge to exploit any weakness from her enemy. And with her relentless try, she finally found it.

"Haaa!' She roared, slamming the figure with her power. Riveria sent her opponent flying across the grass field with overwhelming force. It collided with stone which even made the solid rock explode.

"That was enough." She could hear her teacher's order, cooling her magic circuits, and drew a deep breath to fill her lungs with air.

"You've done well, milady." Aina approached, handing the young elf a towel.

"Thank you, Aina." Riveria weeps with it, drying her hair and sweat on her face.

"Your move and constant movement with counter and defend. It was an experienced tactic. Did you practice some martial arts whenever we did not meet?" The Caster asked purely out of curiosity.

"You got me, Lord Caster. Since your first lesson about close-quarter combat, I have managed to gain some favors from a few martial artists and war veterans to teach me. Well, as you can see, it was not meaningless." Riveria replied, smiling with pride in her.

"You did take my lesson pretty eager, didn't you, milady?" He joked, causing the elves' women to chuckle.

"At least I could sneak out under my father's own nose." Riveria pointed, which invited two different reactions. Caster shook his head with a smile, and Aina only sighed in exasperation.

"I think that words also came from your teacher, Lady Riveria."

"Actually, it was self-taught by learning from my father. As I've said, he was a person who respected his political genius." Riveria herself must admit it. Even she hates her father. She could not deny that her father was a genius in politics.

"Well then, it was a break. Milady, I think you should change your cloth." Caster suggested.

"Ah, you might be right." Riveria took the first step, followed by Aina. Although, Caster remains in his place.

But with just that one step, Riveria immediately fell from exhaustion.

"Lady Riveria!" As they expected, Lord Caster was the one who captured the princess's body.

"Sorry, this is the umpteenth time you have helped me in this condition, Lord Caster." Riveria chuckled softly, blushing slightly as well.

Caster sighed and used his magecraft to make Riveria's limp legs straight again. "You really like to push yourself, milady."

"I also agree with lord Caster, Lady Riveria," Aina added in a tone of agreement.

Riveria just rubbed her head while she looked away as much as she could from the two of them in embarrassment.

"Uhum. Anyway, let's check your condition, Lady Riveria." Caster's voice broke the awkward silence between them.

When they were on their way to the Villa, Riveria kept glancing at the surrounding with an intrigued look, which was noticed by Caster.

In no time, they arrived at Riveria's room with Caster sitting on the edge of the bed, observing the magic crest in Riveria's hand. The green light that emanated from the series of magic circuits still managed to amaze Riveria with its beauty.

"Let me guess. Circuits exhaustion." The princess guessed with a wry smile.

"Yeah. Even though I permitted the usage of the magic crest, it doesn't mean overloading your circuits with mana, Lady Riveria." Caster tapped the crest as it glowed with a pale gold shine.

"Now, it is done." He released her hand.

"Thank you." She turned her head at the voice of Aina that now holding a set of cloth.

"Maybe I could wait on the outside." Caster politely asked the princess.

"No, I mean you to stay here. "The jade-haired elf insisted, which made Caster powerless to deny it. But she chose to be silent as much as possible.

Aina grabbed her lady's arm, and with that, she whispered something into her princess' ear.

"My lady, are you sure? This decision was unsuitable for you as a princess." Aina whispered with concern. Riveria waved her hand.

"It's fine. There is something that lord Caster and I must discuss. Just bring the sketch." She ordered the chamberlain with a smile, which made the older elf powerless to deny it.

Realizing the meaning behind Riveria's words, Aina opened her mouth, but in less than a second, she closed it again. The answer was clear.

"As your wish, milady." Not wasting more time, Aina prepared what her lady asked her.

Meanwhile, the princess only stared at the man with a bitter smile. Leaving the man impassive, Riveria could tell that her teacher was distressed.

"It is ready, milady." Aina bowed her head, seemingly did not want her lady to see her face.

Knowing this circumstance, Riveria could only smile. "Thank you, Aina. You could leave."

With that simple command, the older take her to leave. But right at the moment, she will disappear from their gaze. She glanced at Caster before she smiled fondly at him.

The door is closed.

With that, the princess took her position behind the sketch. She began to unbutton her cloth. Heavily she tried to calm herself.

"What do you want to discuss, lady Riveria?" The spirit asked.

Unbuttoned her cloth, Riveria began to talk. "Ever since we meet, I have wondered about many things, such as the outside world and magic. You've saved me from that night. A night full of horror."

"I take your gratitude. But aren't you already said that to me years ago? So I guess you are hiding something from me right now." Caster pointed.

The elf chuckled weakly. "It seems I could not hide something from you, lord Caster."

"Just tell me, Lady Riveria." He insisted patiently.

"Plase, call me Riveria. There were just two of us here."

"Very well. Tell me, Riveria." The Caster asked in a soft tone.

There was a pause for a moment.

"My father will betroth me with someone from a noble family," Riveria answered, to which Caster narrowed his eyes.

"This is not the solution, Riveria." He replied with a stern voice.

"I know, lord Caster. I know," Riveria quickly refuted it. And then, with a weak voice, she said a sentence. "I already learned many magecraft from you, and I want to make you proud of me and then achieve my own freedom. But I noticed that some of your lessons have their own gaps."

"Care to elaborate?"

"You only taught me to share effective offensive magecraft against monsters, magecraft to strengthen my strength and defense, and even mana channeling. Every time I plug it in, there is always something missing. And when I matched with what Queen Celdia learned from the journal she wrote. And I noticed there was a gap in it." Riveria explained as she continued to take off her top.

"Want to explain what the correlation is, Riveria?" Caster replied calmly.

"My dream is to be free and look out there. But it's not enough to achieve my independence and become a queen." Riveria said in as neutral a tone as possible.

"But if that was your dream. Isn't your power enough to achieve it?" Again, he denies it with a reassuring tone.

"No. Freedom comes with a prize, which was the danger always lurking behind the shadow. And yet you thought an incomplete form of magecraft," Riveria retorted with a small smile that emanated sorrow.

A queen must protect her citizen no matter the cost, and she read uncountable monsters that are hidden all across the shadow of the world. But that was not the only reason.

Being a free person and adventurer must face the greater of the unknown.

And thus, she must be more assertive.

"At this very castle. I wondered about the energy that covers the entire area you used several times. Like when you manipulate my mana at our first meeting. Why did you not teach me that magecraft?" She said in calm, and yet there was some desperation in it.

Caster's brown only furrowed, inviting unpleasure thought from the princess.

"I can't teach you any of that magecraft. With more training, you have enough magecraft to defend yourself and achieve your freedom. You are one of the most talented elves in the world, Riveria." Keeping his patient, Caster smiled at the young princess.

But that only invited a bitter expression from Riveria. The princess then slightly clenched her fists with bitten lips.

"Putting yourself this low and even carrying your mother's name."

Her father's voice echoed in her head, burning until it left a permanent imprint on her memory. From that day, those words keep ringing in the princess' head.

What is the meaning of a talented elf if her own teacher was hesitant to make the talent shine?

What does a queen mean that she could not protect her people's lives?

And what is the meaning if a student cannot be trusted with the knowledge from the teacher?

Is she that low as an elf?

"Am I unworthy?" She said slowly.

There was a pain in that sentence. To be honest with herself, Riveria felt devastated. Even her father pointed the same point.

"You are worth more than any elf in this forest, milady." The man simply answered.

"But why?" She insisted.

The Caster did not answer for several seconds, closing his eyes. Not long after, he opens his eyes.

Riveria, who had finished wearing the clothes Aina gave her, started appearing from the sketch. She wore a graceful green dress with no over-embellishments on it. It symbolizes a princess who is humble but also contesting.

"My lord," Riveria said softly, making the spirit widen his eyes.

She wants to say one final word to the man that she adores. Riveria takes a step toward the man with a smile. Even though it hid some pain from the spirit's gaze, she braced for it.

"Please teach me everything so that I can protect my people. Became a free woman that managed to reach her dream. Most importantly, become worthy as your student to be bestowed with your knowledge. It was either a wonder, miracle, or the most profound depth of oblivion. Please, teach me." Riveria lowered her head and displayed a humility that even the elves had never shown. The elves, as beings with the most extended lifespan of all races, were endowed with magical abilities above humans who did not receive the blessings of the gods, making their race harbor a sense of pride that bordered on their dignity as a mighty race.

Riveria, a princess who would later lead her race, bowed concerning the man before her. Despite her feelings of being worthy of her teacher's recognition and knowledge. Riveria also wanted to be deemed worthy by Caster as someone meritorious for standing by his side.

Deep inside her heart, she wanted to make her teacher trust her with her own existence to the faint feeling of the elf that might mean her salvation in her father's engagement.

Caster never leaves his gaze on the bowing elf, speaking slowly and calculatingly. "My most profound and humble apologies, Riveria. I can't grant your request."

The elf's figure was shattered, stepping aback by the statement. "But I want to make you proud. To live with your guidance and be worthy of your complete trust,"

"I want to be worthy to stand by your side." Trembling, she said the words.

Again, Caster shook his head, gazing at the princess' eyes. "My conclusion is final, Riveria."

Riveria gasped in silence. Tears began to manifest on the edge of her eyelids.

"Then why do you teach her to such an extent?" The voice of a betrayed person.

"Her?"

"Queen Celdia. You are her teacher, don't you?" Riveria asked with nearly heard sobbing. Riveria has long since deduced who is the mysterious figure behind Queen Celdia's power. Many of which came from unknown legendary figures.

But she founds out that they have a similarity. Red robes, long white hair, and a pair of golden eyes. She knew it would not be enough to make a bold deduction. Though the princess did not care right now, as if the words only came along without hesitation.

Without anything to hide, Caster sighed. "Yes, I was her teacher a thousand years ago,"

The revelation left the elf shocked, paralyzed by the weight of the words. The spirit sighed to himself before saying another phrase.

"She was a wonderful elf. She exceeds many of my expectations of magecraft study. None of my students has the same mark as she did. Indeed, a prodigy among prodigies." He said with a tone that was somehow in between neutral and somber, yet Riveria could not tell what kind of emotion her teacher hid behind that solid face.

"Is that why you teach her more than I do, lord Caster?" Riviera asked bluntly.

"No," His answer only gives more questions to the jade-haired elf.

"Then, what? Am I not like her?" Again, she asked but only earned a silent gesture from the spirit.

"So that was it." The princess could not hold some tears as they streamed out from her eyes.

Caster approached the crying elf, using his hands to wipe the tears from his cheeks. "That's not the reason. It's just something I can't explain."

Riveria quickly brushed away Caster's hand.

Gasping in shock, Riveria took steps back in realization.

"No." She murmured, putting her hand on her mouth.

"Rive-"

"No. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry." Riveria continued to mutter her apologies. Her gaze was only directed downwards with regret. Caster tried to approach Riveria, who was constantly crying.

Riveria took a step back, enough to stop Caster in his tracks.

"I'm sorry, Lord Caster." The sound of sobbing has now been replaced by a reassuring voice, which cannot fool anyone. Her voice trembled with the strength to hide the sadness hidden from Riveria.

"Looks like I have an impromptu schedule that I just remembered. So, I ask your permission to leave." She smiled, full of lies that would let even the most innocent child know it was fake.

The spirit did not say a word, choosing to be silent by the poor condition of his student. Without saying other words, Riveria stared with her broken smile.

"Then I shall take my leave." Now, there was no sadness, and there was no grief. Only a smiling elf with her gleaming face.

Before the man could answer, Riveria had already made her way out of the room, leaving the man alone in the chamber.

As the doors opened. Aina, the one who stayed right beside the door, watched her lady come out from the room and make an approach.

"How it's going. Milady?" Aina noticed the significant difference in her lady's expression.

"Firstly, let's head to my personal chamber." Her sound was utterly different. It was neutral, but there was a crack that was quickly noticed by the older elf.

"As your wish, milady." With that, they left and went to the white hallway. There was silence within the noble magecraft product.

Riveria was ahead of the chamberlain and did not budge nor slow down her pace as if she wanted to run away from something, yet she did not want to show it.

The tension only grew as they reached their destination. When the door was closed, the princess laid herself on the bed with her hand covering her eyes.

"Milady." Aina sits on the edge of the bed, looking at the princess with concern.

And then, a faint sob was heard. It caused the chamberlain's concern to escalate. "Milady!"

The princess then changed her position to a sitting place. She slowly looked at Aina with a face that was already wet from the tears welling up in her eyes.

"What happened?" Aina asked.

Riveria then couldn't hold back her tears, hugging the maid with all her heart to heal her broken heart.

"Aina. Aina." She kept calling the chamberlain's name, and the hug getting tighter made Aina return the hug by patting her on the back.

"Shhh. Everything will be fine, milady." Aina said in a reassuring tone.

Riveria's cries slowly began to subside, calm again, even though sobs were still heard from the princess.

"Tell me, Aina. Am I an unworthy person?" A question that invited an angry expression from Aina.

"Lady Riveria. Why do you ask that?"

"My teacher and my father. They... They." She is trembling and unable to speak correctly because of overwhelming emotions in her head.

The chamberlain's expression changed quickly, smiled with a knowing gaze.

"Shhh. Take it easy. Speak one by one, Riveria." Aina called the princess without any formality. This statement made the girl fall silent as her shoulders were no longer shaking.

"My father. As you know, he wants me to choose my future husband as soon as possible. And I don't love them, and I'm using my own mother as an excuse. Am I that desperate to use my past mother to avoid my grueling fate?" Riveria did not know how to describe her chaotic feeling yet lost in wonders.

"My lady. There must be a way." Aina reassured, which only earned the princess a blank and distressed look.

"Another way? I think I already destroy it. No, even it was impossible in the first place." Losing hope, she muttered under her breath.

"Hey, look at me." The older elf held the young princess's chin, directing the princess's gaze to look at him. A pair of emerald eyes stared at each other, Aina said softly.

"Every problem has its own solution. Now, take a breath and calm yourself down. Then speak to me what your heart truly desires," A voice as soft as silk managed to calm Riveria's panting breaths. Glancing to the side, Aina saw a glass teapot on the table.

"I'll get you a drink." Aina stood up and walked over to pick up the teapot in question. Riveria took deep breaths repeatedly, trying to calm her heart which was beating uncontrollably.

Not long after, Aina returned with a glass of water which Riveria immediately drank. The glass was empty in no time, followed by a long sigh from Riveria.

"Now, how do you feel?" The older elf asked.

"I don't know how to say it. It was complicated, and yet I'm messed up with it." The simple words escaped her mouth, showing the stress in her mind.

"What the thing you messed up with?" The concern in the chamberlain was paramount. It was unusual for Riveria to talk in this manner. The words she chose and the tone, it made Aina grow uncomfortable.

"It was Lord Caster." The simple words cause the older elf to be anxious. Lord Caster, as a person, was a perfect example of a noble or maybe a ruler. That does not count his prowess as a magician that held no bounds compared to even the most elite mages in the forest.

A perfect alternative for Riveria. No, not a choice. But an excellent solution for all Riveria's problems. Indeed, the main problem is that he is not an elf. But, witnessing the source of her lady's distress came from such a man, various unpleasant thoughts invaded her head.

"What happened?" The tone has changed, and it became more severe as if not leaving any room for doubts.

"I forced him to teach me like he teaches Queen Celdia, and he rejects it," Riveria said slowly.

Lord Caster, that was new for Aina. But for now, that was not that important. "That not went very bad. Lord Caster is a man of understanding. He must have a reason for that."

Riveria looked at her hand, and an image in her mind kept playing the same scene. At the second, she brushed lord Caster's hand that tried to comfort her.

"No. I'm desperate at that time. I want to be free, and I want to be strong enough to face any dangers that lie ahead. But finally, I want to be worthy by Lord Caster's side. I want it for my freedom. My windows grow short, making me destroy everything I've built." Hearing that, Aina could not help but feel deep remorse for her lady's condition.

She is a young girl who blinds to her surroundings, seeking comfort to escape her ultimate grief and thorn; her father's engagement. A desperate measure resulted in calamity.

Aina hugged the princess with all of her heart. "This is not your fault. I'm sure there was more than one reason he rejected your request."

"Because I'm an unworthy elf?"

"Is he said you are an unworthy elf?" Aina asked.

Riveria took her time recalling the moment when it happened for a while.

"No." She simply answered.

"Then that was not the reason."

"How did you know that wasn't the reason?!" Riveria shouted in desperation, but her voice had slight hope.

"I don't know." This statement enraged the young princess.

"What?! Then why did you give me such statement in the first place? Explain yourself to me!" She shouted, and the calm and calculating princess was gone, replaced by the princess who lost control of herself.

Aina watched the rage of her lady calmly. And because of that, Riveria could regain her sense and calm her temper.

"I'm sorry, Aina. I'm so sorry."

"Apologies accepted. Now let's begin our talk," Riveria nodded.

"Good," She smiled.

"Now, can you tell your story, Riveria?"

"As far you know that my birthday is near. My future husbands are arrogant boys who have forgotten our ancestors' teaching. I don't want that kind of husband. What is the meaning of elf if they forgot their ancestors? What is the purpose of an elf if they forgot their origin." Riveria grabbed her head, and tears began to flow again down the young elf's beautiful face.

From their mere descriptions alone, Aina could have some pictures and guess who they are. Indeed, they are troublesome.

Aina wiped tears from the woman's eyes with a handkerchief taken from her shirt pocket. A gentle and understanding smile shone on Aina's face.

"Then that's why you're looking for Lord Caster?" Aina asked softly. The question was answered with a nod from Riveria.

"Yes." The answer is short yet full of emotions.

"I must ask this. What happened with your discussion with Lord Caster?" The tone was suggestive, but there was also some force to make the princess tell her story.

Sucking a breath, Riveria steeled her heart. "I hate it. I hate myself because of that. I want to seek freedom, and I want to be free from my fate. Lord Caster is my answer. I know he's strong, wise, and the most powerful mage in this forest. No, maybe the world. I want to be worthy of his knowledge and admiration to prove myself worthy of my own fate and choice. And thus, he is my choice."

The answer was predictable. This was not a secret that Riveria held some feelings toward the spirit.

"He taught me everything. He gives me everything I want as a mage and scholar. And I found out that Queen Celdia was also his student." The statement invited a raised eyebrow from the chamberlain.

"Can you explain that to me?" She asked.

For seconds, Riveria fell silent. Seemingly wondering how she would explain it to the person before her.

"It is just an assumption. While I'm learning that Queen Celdia learned her magecraft from someone she referred to as 'my teacher.' With that, I search for many references with the same characteristic. I found many figures similar to the Queen's description and Lord Caster's," There was a pause in her sentence.

Aina looked at her with concern, seemingly disturbed by the princess's sudden expression change.

"The Great Sage, The Watcher of The Cycle, The Mage in Red. There was much, much more. But as my desperation blinded me. I blustered he was Queen Celdia's teacher. And yet..." She paused once again, folding half of her face with her hand.

"He admits it. He revealed that he was Queen Celdia's teacher a thousand years ago." The revelation made the chamberlain lose words while her jaw hung open.

"Queen Celdia's teacher. What a piece of information to take." She mumbled to herself.

"I know. It was also a lot for me to regain my sense at that moment." Riveria admitted.

"What happened next was: You forced him to teach you. He rejects you. And then when he tries to comfort you, you dismiss his intention with... Unprecise manner." Aina recapped the story's events with a neutral, yet some lecturing was in her voice.

Riveria only nods in confirmation.

"Riveria." The chamberlain called.

"Yes?"

"I just want to make it clear. You want Lord Caster to teach you like he did with Queen Celdia, right?"

"Yes..." She replied slowly.

"Then why do you not become one like her?" The statement made the princess stare at her servant.

"What do you mean?"

"He rejects your request. To begin with, there must be a strong reason he cared about you and taught you the most impressive piece of magic I've ever seen. I think the reason why he rejects it is because he cares about you." Another sentence that only gives the young elf questions.

"Aina, you seemingly don't understand what I'm talking about right now. I want to teach myself that knowledge to see myself as a worthy student. To give me the power to choose my own path. My rightful path to walk beside him." Riveria gritted her teeth, yet the chamberlain only maintained her calm gesture.

"I have some assumptions that he did that because he wants to protect you," Aina said patiently.

"Protect me? From What?"

Aina smiled, tapping her finger on Riveria's chest. "He wants to protect you from yourself."

"From my... Self?" She lost track of the conversation. Trying her best to find the correlation in it. Before the answer could be discovered, Aina touched her nephew's cheeks.

"As a person who lived for a thousand years, he must possess knowledge that surpasses us as a mortal. And yet, he was the teacher of the wisest elven Queen who ever lived. Maybe he saw something within us all that even only gods could see. The flaw of our race, the elven race that it always seeks pride." With a soft and calming tone, Aina said her argument.

Like the puzzle piece had fallen into their place, Riveria could regain her sense, clearing her mind from the clouding emotions.

"He was afraid I might harm me and thus lead me into my own downfall." She murmured.

"Remember, Riveria. When knowledge has been bestowed into living beings. Shall it improve their surroundings or destroy them until nothing's left? It depends on how the wielders manage to see their flaws. Accepting it or rejecting it. And whenever they can accept and then reflect on their flaws for a better future, it shall be the most beautiful world ever created and remembered." The words rang a bell in the Princess' head.

"I see. I see. I'm such an airhead." Riveria rubbed her eyes, realizing her mistakes, trying to make the tears disappear.

"After you were able to learn in the right way. Accepting your flaw as well as nature as an elf. Maybe you could make him change his mind." Aina patted her head, smiling with a sign of pride and joy.

"Yeah. Thank you, Aina. Then I shall become stronger with the flaws carved deep within my flesh as an elf. I will become stronger, and not only that, I will become like him, a wise ruler for my people."

"That's the spirit," Aina said with a smile.

Now Riveria needs to be strong. She needs to hone her magecraft knowledge but can sort out and become independent of her studies and train herself to be the figure worthy of Lord Caster.

Her magecraft shall not be her downfall. She will prove that her teacher was wrong.

At this moment, she also remembered something.

Another book that might help her in her study.

---

Riveria glanced at her surroundings when realizing there was no one in the hallway. She slowly took other steps into the particular room.

Her direction is the library. As far as she could remember, there was not only one book. Riveria could sense the interior of her destination using her magecraft. She could predict every significant living creature and movement in it.

Taking a deep breath, Riveria opened the door and silently stepped into the library. She spotted the librarian was still pondering his job by cataloging various books on the desk.

Seizing the opportunity, Riveria immediately strode through the various bookshelves undetected. Once she reached a place that no one else could see, Riveria touched the floor so she could feel the state of the room around her in more detail. She noticed from several corners of the room that she was flowing with mana. A corner in the wall seemed unable to be touched by her mana.

Inviting her curiosity, Riveria made her way toward the peculiar corner.

A red marble wall and a socket of a particular type of jewel were there.

"It's." Mumbling as she reached into her pocket to take the required item, Riveria began wondering about the mechanism behind this gimmick.

She placed the ruby in the socket and channeled her mana toward the mana gem. Not long after, the machine behind the marble.

"Who made this?" Another question escaped her mouth. The wall began to open, revealing a glass showcase. Despite the complex mechanization, there was no sound to be heard.

Inspecting even closer, Riveria noticed that within the glass was a book. An old-green book.

Just as she was about to touch the display case, Riveria stopped her intent. Because it was there that she realized that there was magic energy protecting it.

Activating her magic circuits, the elf channeled the same mana that protects the showcase. In an instant, a complex pattern of magic circuits materialized on the showcase.

She recognized this particular mana because of how the circuits radiated the flow of its mana.

"Magecraft. Here?" Another question popped into her head. But for now, that was not important. She must focus on dispelling the circuits before her.

Concentrating all of her mana on destabilizing the circuits, she realized how complex the pattern was designed to be flawed like the maker wanted the gimmick behind its protection could be bypassed. Using her hypothesis, Riveria started work to dispel the circuits.

She smirked, "So my theory is true."

Not long after, there were sparks. The energy exploded into a blue flame that covered the young elf's arm. Despite the raging inferno, Riveria could not feel any pain; even her circuits at the burning area seemingly resonated with the flame.

"Interesting." She murmured as the fire died out. Glancing at her surrounding, Riveria quickly opened the showcase and took the book with her. And after that, the showcase returned to its hiding place as the marble wall began to reassemble itself to hide the secret behind it.

Sensing that none of the room occupants approached her, Riveria took the opportunity to sneak out.

Riveria quickly returned to her room without wasting more time, avoiding any servants wandering the hallway.

Opening the door, she was greeted by her loyal chamberlain, who was currently tidying her room.

"Did you get it, milady?" She asked.

"Yes. I did it." Riveria answered, showing the book in question.

"Then I will get you some tea." Answering the young elf's achievement, Aina immediately came out of the room to get some tea, as she said.

With a small smile, Riveria immediately sat down in her study chair and opened the book she had 'borrowed' from the library. Once opened, Riveria was greeted with various writings that she was familiar with.

As she expected, this was the second book in which happiness spread within the body of the elf princess.

All of the knowledge within it was beyond anything she had ever seen.

Bounded Field.

It was a long thought that came to Riveria's mind since Caster had demonstrated the strange yet fascinating form of magecraft.

She could remember that very moment. It was when Lord Caster could manipulate the entire mana of her surroundings and even her own to the specific course.

And she had some theories about the same thing from her father's perspective on her room. And it might be this was the answer from that magnificent hallway bridge. Yes, a bridge of time and space that brought her here.

With a burning enthusiasm, Riveria brought her writing utensil to immediately write and analyze all the information in the book. She obtained information that led her to a conclusion about the Bounded Field in a short period.

It was a magecraft that focused on spreading mana around the user's environment and creating a reality that separated the user from the outside world. A discovery that made Riveria unable to think about the limits of magecraft itself. Looking at the data, Queen Celdia wrote down from her book illustrates how much different the knowledge Caster and Riveria had taught her.

The thing that made the pain reappear in her heart.

But she will prove herself worthy of it.

She was lost in her own thought, focusing on writing every piece of information from the book. Riveria catalogs it and splits the subject to make her easier to put into practice.

Then she heard a clicking sound, and with that, she hid her book and notebook. Fearing the most, she braced herself.

"Is there something wrong, milady?" The feminine voice made the princess let out a sigh.

"Aina, please knock first." Riveria nearly felt her heart fall into her stomach.

Aina only giggled. "Did you forget that I'm the only person you give the privilege to open your door without your permission, milady?"

The realization hit the princess directly. "I'm sorry, I forgot."

"Now, now. Here, I brought your favorite tea." On top of her hand was a tray filled with various sweets and snacks and a ceramic teapot which allowed Riveria to guess the tea Aina was serving from its aroma.

"Black tea. How nice of you, Aina." Riveria commented.

"Think of this as my congratulations to you, milady."

"What for?" asked Riveria.

"Of course, to find the book. When you entered this room, your eyes lit up like when you first met Lord Caster. I'm glad you were happy once again, milady," A greeting that brings a warm smile to accompany you.

Riveria slightly widened her eyes. Seeing a figure made her resonate with someone absent for a long time.

"Thank you, Aina." Riveria smiled.

"You're welcome, milady."

---

Elegant music resounds across the room. The room was spacious and full of noble guests from all walks of life. Bright light shines brilliantly in every room corner, revealing the beauty of the architectural ornaments that make up the room.

Riveria could hear the laughter of the various people there with multiple conversations that she did not bother to listen to. Because all the talk is focused on her.

Yes, it was her birthday party, where she wore the most beautiful dress she had ever seen. Of course, this was with a particular purpose, to attract the attention of the noble youths here. Well, that is happening now.

"Lady Riveria, may I introduce myself. My name is Levian Varsilis, heir to the Varsilis house. House of lords of magic and arts! I think no one is more suitable to provide your hunger for knowledge than my family." A flamboyant boy with a long-white hair greeted her.

"Ah, you were beautiful as I could remember you, my lady. I thank your father for providing the Oulives family to attend your birthday party. My family has everything you could be proud of, and thus, I hope we can be united in a holy ceremony." Another proud sentence came to her ears.

"My lady, I think you should accept the offer I sent you a few weeks ago about your engagement that I was the solid choice for our talent in the pool of studies."

"Our union is destined. You could not deny it."

"You shall be mine. Yeah, King Larfal will approve it."

Again and again, Riveria forced her smile to please them. They are different but have the same characteristic of being proud of their heritage, though that was all. None is more, and none is less.

But she must maintain her composure to make the flow not stop and, worse, destroy it.

Then she heard a clapping sound, drawing every attention in the room.

When she laid her eyes on the voice source, Riveria was greeted by the figure of her father.

"Ladies and gentlemen. I am honored to stand right before you on my daughter's birthday. Today she has come to her age then. The sacred promise must be created under the upcoming holy vow. Thus, I invite all of you to fill that position. May the princess shall lead us into prosperity alongside her future king." He raises his hand with a glass, followed by the guests.

"May the princess lead us into prosperity!" They answered in unison.

Riveria watched him from a distance, glancing at her drink before hearing a clapping sound from the guest for her.

Wanting to give them a good image, she smiled at them. Unbeknownst to her, Larfal gives his daughter an unread expression.

Then the next stage of the party began as the music turned into the rhythm. Everyone in that room began to corner themself, creating a space in the center.

The dance time had come, and Riveria only sighed silently to hide her tiredness.

Her eyes scanned her surroundings, and without any sign of sour expression, Riveria steeled herself and smiled at numerous sights on her, seeking for opening to asking.

"May I dance with you, milady?"

Without any ado, the princess accepts that particular hand, and she realizes that he is not the only one. Preserving her mental state, Riveria began to dance and took another boy to dance with her whenever the dance was over.

Somehow, at this moment, Riveria began to wonder how much pride was leaving her right now.

One hour seemingly passes, and Riveria takes her drink to ease her mind from that stressful event. She did not like wine because of its taste and the effect of those unhealthy drinks. Looking at other people consumed made her wonder why they take the risk to enjoy their own happiness in return, albeit it was only a while. Or maybe that was the point that only made another question for her.

Dismissing the thought, she filled her empty glass with cold water.

"Ah, Riveria. Do you enjoy the party?" The voice she was very familiar with called her from behind.

"Pretty much. Although I want to say that it was unusual for those heirs to come to my party." She replied to the older jade-haired elf.

"Indeed, I'm wondering myself they bother to do that," He said with a neutral tone, though there was a hint of curiosity.

"Even so, the northern tribe sending one of their nobles here was new." The king of high elves remarked.

"Maybe that was our opportunity to open some more open trade with them," Riveria replied casually.

"If that was the case, it was a gift from the sacred forest for us. Or maybe the northern tribes want to see you, my daughter." It made Riveria frown.

"Me? Why?"

"Isn't that obvious? Look at yourself now, Riveria. You are the most beautiful elf in this kingdom and the prodigy of our species. You are the perfect princess, Riveria. And with that, you must be married into the most," He said with a convincing voice.

For seconds, the elven princess fell into silence. Before she could give him a reply, Larfal took the chance to speak again.

"Riveria, what's wrong?" He asked.

"My apologies, father. I don't understand your question." Riveria brought a thick mark on her face, showing her completely lost on the topic.

"Something was bothering you. Deny it and thus make you a liar." Another aggressive statement was made. Fortunately, Riveria was unaffected by it.

"I'm just tired, father." She reasoned as she tried her best to keep her neutral face.

"Tired? "

"Yes. Yesterday I pushed myself to learn political topics in my self-study, so I have only three hours' worth of sleep." Riveria changed her demeanor, showing that she was indeed tired.

The king gives her a calculating gaze. Most likely, he tried to find something peculiar about his daughter. Riveria tried her best to not invite unnecessary suspicion from her father.

"Fine, you got my permission to leave. Rest and take care, Riveria." Larfal said.

Without showing any change in her facial expression, Riveria bowed her head.

"Thank you, father." With that, Larfal tapped a spoon against the glass on a nearby table, attracting their attention.

"It was unfortunate that I must inform all of you. My daughter shall leave the party earlier because of her physical condition." She could see them. They clicked their tongues to not show the disappointment on their face.

Riveria gave her father a glance which earned a slight smile from him. "Then I shall take my leave. I hope my party can satisfy you all."

Riveria bowed her body, showing a deep bow to show them respect. With that, all the nobles showed their affection in their own way, which was varied, but Riveria did not mind it.

The young elf finally took herself out of the room, still unbeknownst to her. Larfal stared at his daughter with a mixed expression that no one could tell what the king felt.

Feeling an imaginary weight lifted from her shoulders, Riveria quickened her steps to her room.

Opening the door, she sees her chamberlain waiting for her arrival.

"I have prepared you cloth, snacks, and an emergency first aid kit to help you with your training, milady." Riveria must admit since her cries in the older elf's embrace, Aina increased her care for her by a noticeable degree. Riveria is only grateful for her chamberlain and her relative's care.

"Let me change first."

Riveria only recalled the moment she hated the most as she changed her cloth. Whenever she tried to forget that moment, it only caused her heart to ache.

Her mistake sought to destroy her relationship with the most prominent teacher she ever had.

Her desperation and hunger for knowledge and freedom blinded her, leading to the crucial moment she might hurt her teacher's feelings.

She used her usual cloth, but Riveria had ordered the tailor to make some addition to clothe's pattern. Now there were ring-like symbols on her left chest. This came from Lord Caster's ring. At the moment those rings shone, Riveria could feel the power and wisdom from them. They are powerful, yet they are warm. No words could describe them.

But she could also sense that those rings held unspoken stories and responsibilities. But that made the symbol on her chest special.

Riveria glared at the clock on the wall. It was almost time, and then the clock answered. Thus, the elven girl steeled herself to open the door before her.

She sighed to herself, prepared for anything that could greet her. Every bad outcome has been predicted in her head and many others.

Riveria reached the door's handle, and the door opened.

Riveria blinked again, again, and again. She could not believe her eyes, which made her rub them as if she had a false vision.

Followed by the chamberlain, who also has a bold mark on her head at the sight before them.

There was no white and majestic hallway. There is only the castle's usual hallway.

"What?" That was the only question that came out of Riveria's mouth.

"Are we too early to open the door, milady?" Aina asked.

"N-no. It was the right moment to open the door." She replied nervously.

Riveria held her breath as her muscle tensed. Various unpleasant feelings invaded her heart, making the princess shake her head to dismiss them.

"Let's wait a little bit longer. Yes, let's do that." Riveria retorted. But from how she talks, Riverita tries to convince herself rather than Aina, who looks at her lady with concern.

"Milady," Aina murmured quietly.

Riveria sat on the edge of her bed, rubbing her forehead, which began to sweat. She began to mumble as her stomach started to manifest a feeling that she wanted to puke.

"Lady Riveria, breath slowly." Aina immediately wrapped her arms around the princess's shoulders, stroking her gently.

"Aina," Riveria spoke in a trembling tone.

"Shhh, Lady Riveria. Please, calm yourself." Aina spoke softly into Riveria's ear.

"I'm scared. Does Lord Caster hate me, or maybe he doesn't want to see me because of last week. Is it my fault?" Riveria continued to ask with pain clearly emanating from her tone. She slowly held the ring symbol on her chest tightly.

"Lady Riveria, now take a deep breath and calm your mind."

"How can I calm down, Aina? This doesn't usually happen, but this happened after... After I scolded him for refusing to teach me that specific magecraft." Riveria lost herself more and more in her emotions.

She began to sob, tearing down any of her emotional barriers.

"Why. Is this really my fault. My fault. Now I lost my hope." Degrading further by the unpleasant words that always blurted from her mouth.

"Milady," Aina held the princess's cheeks, wet from her tears. Looking at her gently, Aina spoke again.

"It's nobody's fault. Did Lord Caster scold you when you asked him to teach you magecraft for the first time?" Riveria just shook her head.

"Then Lord caster has a particular reason for not opening the hallway. There must be a reason why he did that." Aina wiped the tears, gently stroking her head.

"Reason? What reason? This happened because of me, Aina. Please, there was no other reason for it." Riveria asked, not only to Aina but also to herself.

Aina saw the pitful denial of her most beloved mistress. Clouding in distress and fear, she kept mumbling about her image of the worst reality she had come up with.

"Look at me." The chamberlain gently said.

Riveria slowly raised her eyes toward the older elf, snapping from her stupor. But still, she did not have any guts to stare directly into the older woman's eyes.

"It was not your fault. No matter what happens today was not your fault. Try to be an optimist as well as try to see this situation from another point of view. Remember, there was truth to be spoken. With that, we must seek the truth behind this, milady." Aina patted the head of her relatives.

"Seek the truth..." Riveria stopped her sentence, widening in surprise.

Nodding, Aina continues. "Yes, Lord Caster must do this for a solid reason. Like yours when you tried to learn more about magecraft. Believe him, Lady Riveria."

Riveria stared at the pair of Aina's eyes, unmoving by the impact of her words. Another smile was manifested on Aina's face, caressing the princess' cheek. "I know you've buried that emotion for him."

"H-How did you know?" Riveria asked, caught off guard by the sudden claim.

Aina chuckled lightly. "It was easy to read, actually. Whenever you two meet or how you talk with him."

Riveria opened and then closed her mouth, unable to speak against the word of her chamberlain. Embarrassed, the younger elf only blushed.

"How do you think about it?" Riveria asked slowly.

Aina patted the head of her master and smiled with all of her heart, causing Riveria to widen her eyes in hope.

"I approve." She said gently.

Riveria lost any word to speak as her eyes only darted to Aina's. It was not a real surprise, yet it still shocked her.

"I-I don't know what to say," Riveria admitted, lowering her gaze.

"Just used your feeling to trust him." Riveria glanced at her caretaker, to which her smiling face did not leave the young princess.

Riveria takes the words of her chamberlain deep into her heart. With her calmness, Riveria slowly began disposing of the clouding doubt in her head.

Taking a deep breath, she could hear her heart not pounding violently. Instead, it was calm. Riveria opens her eyes with determination.

"You are right. Lord Caster is my teacher, and he is also the Grand Caster. One of the seven Grand Spirits. I must trust him with my heart. What kind of student if they could not trust their teacher." Riveria said confidently, slightly smirking with her satisfaction.

"That's my lady."

Riveria frowned, her eyes narrowed as if she was planning something. "Aina. I think I need to check the villa."

This statement made the chamberlain widen her eyes in shock. Shooking her head, Aina open her mouth. "What are you thinking, milady? It was dangerous!"

"I know! But I must make sure of it." Riveria threw her gaze away from the person before her.

Aina only stared into her lady's eyes for a while, wanting the answer to ease her pain. Indeed, pain needs to be relieved. But for now, Aina only needs one explanation to approve her decision.

"Then how were you able to sneak out from this palace?' Aina asked with a neutral tone.

"I think I know the answer. That book provides me with this particular magecraft to deal with my circumstances." Riveria directed her eyes toward her table, especially the specific book.

Aina followed Riveria's gaze, recognizing the book as the second book from the ancient journal that kept Riveria company. Another sigh escaped from her nose, and Aina cleared her throat.

"Even if we managed to get out of this place. Then how we make our way to the villa. It was too far away, milady." Aina pointed somewhat; she felt uneasy as Riveria held her chin with a calculating eye.

"I think I know the answer." Riveria stared at the woman before her, unfazed by the flinching expression from Aina.

---

The sun has fallen into the horizon, and the light of magic stone began to illuminate the sacred forest. Although bright, the city's light was completely hidden under the thick forest that enveloped the kingdom.

The palace was not an exception. Somehow many lights are coming from the window, and many soldiers and serve are walking around the castle's environment.

Like the nature of the elven kingdom, a room remained hidden among the light.

It was princess Riveria's private chamber.

Riveria focused all her concentration on the gem, shining in dim green light. It was a magic gem she had created when trial and error always happened with her study on the second book.

Tapping the gem, a wave of magical energy began to envelop the entire chamber in less than a second.

It was a bounded field. Yet, Riveria only stared at the art before her with mixed feelings of joy and disappointment. The reason was the fact it was amazing. It was incomplete, and when she compared it to the Caster's bounded field, it was a pale comparison.

"The preparation is done. What about you, Aina?" Riveria turned her back to the female servant behind her. She wears a black-maid outfit to think it is suitable to sneak at night.

Riveria smiled in amusement at her chamberlain's precaution. But she decided not to follow her advice. Instead, she wants to wear the same cloth for her own selfishness.

"I'm ready." She simply answered, which made the royal elf nod.

Riveria took a pair of gems from her robe, tapping them and thus triggering their stored mana to ignite. Riveria then gave one of them to Aina, and with a slight scratch on the gem's surface, an invisible wave enveloped the maid's body.

"What is this, milady?" Aina asked.

"It was a bounded field. Similar to the one I used to cover this room. But it was only limited to only one person." Surprised would be an understatement for Aina, who is currently staring at Riveria's achievement in just a week.

She is indeed a prodigy among prodigies.

Riveria tapped her finger on her gem, manifesting a bounded field around her body.

"We need to move fast. Then." Riveria glanced at Aina, giving her a calculating look as if she was trying to measure something.

"Then what, milady?" Aina titled her head.

Thinking for seconds, Riveria sighed in determination. "Let me carry you, Aina."

"Eh?" Aina stared at her lady with a plain face.

"Just come here," Riveria ordered.

Aina did what she had ordered too. Without any further words, Riveria carried her in a bridal style.

"What are you doing, milady?" Aina nearly shrieked at the sudden action by Riveria.

"We will use the window," Riveria stated shortly.

"B-But, we are on the third floor!" She objected, yet Riveria did not even bother to respond. She activated her magic circuits.

"It was not a trouble for me." Riveria immediately takes her leap out of the window. Aina closed her mouth using her hands.

Riveria channeled her mana into her legs, reinforcing them to their extent while maintaining their flexibility. Aina tried not to scream with their state. But on the other hand, Riveria only looked calm. Riveria's feet suddenly hit the ground, making a loud sound. However, Aina immediately looked at Riveria with increasing concern, but her anxiety was only greeted by Riveria, who gave her a small smile. She did not see a single wound or sign that Riveria was in pain.

Then she realized something made her flinch. "Lady Riveria, the sound. It might be alerted the guard."

Riveria showed her gem that was shining in green. "Don't worry. There was no sound."

Indeed, the miracle of that particular gem is doing its work. The guard in front of them has his gaze in this specific direction and does not notice them as if they have never existed in the first place.

"Amazing," Aina murmured.

Riveria chuckles lightly. "Compared to Caster's bounded field, it was nothing. Now, show me the passage, Aina."

Snapped from her amazement, Aina nodded as she stood. "Follow me."

With that, they walked. Walk around the castle and make their way past the guards walking here and there to secure the palace. Thanks to the gems Riveria made, their journey to where Aina was headed goes undisturbed.

Riveria only frowned at their directions. She had known the castle environment since she was a child.

Then her questions were answered. It was a gardening tool shed in the corner of the palace, a place that looked neat even though it was empty. Aina then approached the room slowly.

"This is it," he muttered, approaching the building.

Riveria followed Aina, who was walking towards that place. As soon as the door opened, Aina approached a particular spot at the room's far end. Riveria could see a chest she recognized three years ago when the incident occurred.

Crouching down, Aina touched the royal family symbol engraved on the chest. Channeling mana, the logo shone for a moment, followed by a slight vibration emanating from the mechanism in the warehouse starting to work.

The chest shifted, revealing a staircase leading to an underground tunnel.

"So this, this is the secret passage," Riveria could only look on in admiration.

"Indeed, this was built for the emergency evacuation of the royal family when they visited the Villa," Aina commented, walking first through the underground passage.

Riveria was silent for a moment, and she immediately shook her head and followed Aina.

Inside the passage, Aina picked up the lantern hanging at the mouth of the tunnel. With the two elves already in the underground passage, Aina pulled the chain beside her, immediately closing the entrance again. At the same time, Aina lit the lantern in her hand.

Nodding her head, Aina walked in first. Riveria, who followed her, could only see the architecture from the surrounding passageways. The tunnel was created with solid stone and covered several small ventilation holes on each side. Surprisingly, a damp tunnel like this should have some moss attached or even some erosion damage.

But, it never existed as if this part was very well cared for by someone.

"Father? Why?" Riveria asked herself in her head.

After little more than one hour of walking, the two elves began to feel the humidity changing with each step. Which caused Aina to touch the wall beside her.

"Hmmm... I guess we were almost there." Aina said, causing the princess to snap from her thoughts. Yet, she heard something that made her titling her head.

"Wait. We just have one hour of walk, and we have arrived?" This question made the chamberlain chuckle.

"You can say this tunnel was created by the most brilliant mind of our engineers. And I heard that many mages were involved in this tunnel's construction." Aina explained.

Riveria stopped her step. Glancing at the stone-made tunnel with an intrigued look, she placed her hand on it as a smile formed.

"I see. So that's why." Riveria murmured. Unfortunately, because of their location, Aina could hear what her lady said.

For a moment, she did not know what the noble elf meant. But after processing the words even further, Aina only smiled at her.

"Let's continue our walk then," Aina suggested, which was answered by a nod from Riveria.

Not long after, they arrived at stairs that led the way to the surface. Another chain was pulled, opening their exit. In an instant, Riveria makes her way out of the tunnel.

"No. Please, no." Riveria was standing still, shocked by the thing she had witnessed.

Aina watched her lady lost in her thought with a smile that emanated a longing and ironic emotion, leaving the chamberlain with a question in her head.

But without words, she could tell that this villa was preposterously different. The warm and ever-present energy is gone.

Riveria hitched, biting her lips like she had swallowed bitter sustenance. Her face turned grim with her skin began to crawl.

"Lord Caster," Riveria did not care anymore. She makes her way to the villa. Aina was left alone and tried to catch her lady's move.

"Lord Caster?!" Riveria said, half shouted. The door opened and what she found inside made her face darken.

The room is empty, without any sign of life. Did not want to give up, and Riveria tried another door. As it was opened, the answer was still the same.

Empty.

She tried another one, and it was empty.

Her heart began to race with anxiety alongside various grim thoughts started to cloud her head. The sound of the door opening continued to be heard within the villa, with Riveria's breathing becoming increasingly erratic, making the atmosphere in the dark building even heavier.

Unbeknownst to her, tears threaten to fall from her eyelids. Riveria kept her legs running and her hands to open the door. Her efforts became futile as no one was there to greet her.

The man who always smiled and taught her was nowhere to be seen.

Desperately, she seeks the last door. Of all the rooms she had opened, there was one left untouched. It was her personal chamber.

Adding more strength to her legs, Riveria reached right at the entrance of her room. Gasping for air, Riveria takes a moment to recover. At the same time, Aina arrived with a heavier breath than the princess, struggling to keep up with her lady.

"My lady," Aina said in between her breath.

Riveria ignored the chamberlain and stared intensely at the closed door. Anxiety, fear, and a faint hope currently floating in her heart. Uncertainty and the revelation behind the door made Riveria's hand tremble. Eventually, it was freezing in the air.

"Lady Riveria," A warm feeling came to her skin as a very fond hand grabbed the feared hand.

"Aina," Riveria glanced at her side, only to find the smiling face of the elf that made her heart still with determination.

Swallowing her saliva, Riveria opens the door.

Hurty, but it was not unexpected.

The room is empty.

Even though she was prepared for this, Riveria still found her chest hurt by the answer. The pain in her only grew as her eyes stared into the empty room. Lost in thought, Riveria could barely hold her tears and the emotional sensations that threatened her state to break.

"Lady Riveria, maybe we could find the clue inside. Why and where Lord Caster has disappeared." As if she was fully aware of Riveria's imminent mental breakdown, Aina suggested with a soft voice akin to a mother to her young child.

With the regal voice, Riveria could regain her sense. "Yes. Let's find any clue inside."

Then they began to search the entire room. Whether under the mattress, in the closet, or in various places worth searching. But they found nothing, and to their surprise, Riveria found that this room did not seem to have been occupied for months. Indeed, since a monster attack forced this villa to be vacated several years ago, maintenance was only carried out once a year.

When she heard the news, Riveria felt apprehensive. However, remembering Lord Caster, who lives in this place, makes Riveria's concern disappear. But now, staring at the room usually filled with laughter, sweat, and struggles with her teacher, which was empty with dust, punctured the elven princess's heart.

But those emotions slowly faded as her eyes fell on her study table. The first journal Riveria had purposely left in this villa to keep a secret now opened to reveal a blank sheet.

Riveria knew the book like the back of her hand. She always questioned the meaning of the sheet. The sheets were not old or damaged.

"Did you find anything, milady?" Aina asked.

"Maybe," Riveria slowly touched the sheet. Channeling her mana into the book, the sheet began to manifest a circuit-like pattern. A cracking noise came from it as words started to appear on the thin paper.

Her eyes widen with the mechanism before her.

It was a language far older than any sentences recorded in this book. So ancient that Riveria herself was barely able to read it.

"What kind of language is this?" Even Aina asked, confused by the unreadable words.

Riveria gulped, clenching her palm in determination. "Aina, could you find me a paper and something to write?"

Nodding her head as she smiled, Aina obeyed her order. Riveria took a sit, and thus she began to read it intensely. Not long after, Aina returned. She gave the princess what she asked, and thus Riveria began to write.

Even though it was ancient, even older than one thousand years, Riveria, who spent most of her time in the library, could familiarize herself with the words.

Despite its contrasting vocabulary with another sheet in the same book, Riveria found out that there was a pattern. Searching her memory, Riveria finds what she needs to decipher the message.

Using the basic knowledge from the arcane study of long-dead language, Riveria could partially see the meaning behind the words. But she was also unsure if her translation were the right one. But she had to try.

Then, she writes the pattern and different exact words reappearing in the sentences. Her brows furrowed, solely concentrating on uncovering the meaning behind the ancient words.

Tiring, and yet, she keeps trying. Little by little, the truth began to show itself. Riveria ignored her surroundings and smiled because of progress as if she began to achieve her life goal.

Aina only watched her lady's determination to find Lord Caster's location or anything that could help her to find the missing spirit made her smile appear.

She walked to the window, glancing at the now dark and empty garden. Aina felt a similar sadness that radiated from Riveria. The park was dead by all its means. The field that Riveria mentioned during her training was gone.

Needless to say, the flower, despite their beauty. Now, it looked unkempt, and Aina saw that everything looked dead.

Then he felt something that made his eyes stare straight ahead, towards the forest surrounding the villa. Seeing the forest she had watched for a while was only the calm she found. Aina heaved a sigh of relief, closing her eyes to calm her mind.

Then her eyes opened again, but both opened with a shock that made Aina's body freeze. Fear began to creep into her body as quickly as a chill touched her nerves.

Far from her standing, Aina could see it floating in the air with its sinister stare.

It was a pitch-black creature with a pair of wings that resembled a dragon attached to its body. It was humanoid in shape, yet muscular and disoriented. In its face, only its mouth can be seen.

No, Aina was wrong, and she was sure about it. It was a wide mouth that covered its entire face. What made her terrified as it was not a sharp-like monster. But it was a humanoid one.

She was petrified by a single emotion, dread that overcame her power to move and scream.

Riveria noticed it. She stopped her writing and glanced at the shocked elf. She only saw the chamberlain freeze in fear, pale like a corpse, while her eyes could not leave a particular direction.

"Aina," Riveria called her chamberlain quite loudly. Much to her worries, Aina did not answer. Instead, she pointed her finger in the direction she laid her eyes.

Taking a previous measure, the princess placed the paper inside the journal, closed it, and kept it safe in her robe.

Approaching the older elf, Riveria moved her head in that direction.

What she found was a blur of a dark humanoid from the darkness. It tore the gale as it moved at a speed Riveria found almost impossible to follow.

Her instinct screams and adrenaline became paramount.

"Aina!" She screamed, pushing Aina's body away from the window with her reinforced power.

Seconds passed, and a loud sound exploded as debris flew across the room. Riveria is shielding, still shocked, Aina using her robe.

"Kikikiki." A sound was heard. It was a sound that similar to laughing. Riveria could feel a cold sweat begin to form on her forehead.

"What kind of sensation is this?" Riveria asked in horror at the sight before her.

The atmosphere began to stir into its heaviest condition as the creature's head stared directly into her eyes. A creature without any facial features, only a wide mouth spread across its face.

It was not a monster. It was an abomination.

With her reflex to survive, Riveria throws a ruby at the monster. Channeling her mana to reinforce her legs into their limit, making her escape while her arm carrying the pale-looking Aina.

"Primis." A word came in a whisper from the elf as the rubies began to glow.

The door opened violently as an explosion erupted from the rubies. Riveria runs to the hallway while flame and debris rage amok from behind her. After taking a safe distance, Riveria stopped her legs. Glancing at Aina's pale state, the princess shook the body of the chamberlain.

"Aina, stay with me. Aina!' Slowly, the older elf regained her color as her eyes stared at the worried princess.

"Ri-Riveria." Her body is shaken by the sudden terror. Aina utterly forgot the honorary title she usually uses.

"Aina. Please, stay with me." Riveria placed her hand on her relative's cheek. She was surprised at how cold her skin was because of the shock attack.

Then she heard a childish and creeping laugh that sent a dreaded chill on her spine.

"Kikiki!" A step also could be heard alongside the laughter.

"Aina, please run and take this." Riveria takes the journal and the paper from her robe, handing them to Aina.

With the statement, Aina widens her eyes. Shocking would be an understatement. "Riveria! What are you thinking? You must also run. You must live, Riveria, because you are our last heir. The last hope of our kingdom."

Like a mad person, Aina frantically shouted at the princess.

"But the kingdom, my father, must be warned about this monster. If it went away, the loss would be astronomical. So please, Aina, leave. I shall hold the monster." Riveria bore a smile on her face, a gentle and warm smile that made tears start to flow from the chamberlain's eyes.

"B-but-" Before she could make another objection, the step became louder.

"I'm going to be okay, please. For my sake and our people," Riveria smiled at her servant with the brightest smile she could ever make.

Did not find any options, Aina nodded slowly as she took the journal. "Promise me you will come back alive."

"I promise." Riveria simply answered. With that, Aina leaves as fast as she can.

Clenched her fist and stilled her heart, Riveria directed her view at the end of the dark hallway. Barely could see it. The monster's white teeth.

"Kikiki!" The sound made her heart shudder as the monster increased its speed.

With a grim face, Riveria activated her magic crest, glowing with a circuit-like pattern as mana, and numerous amounts of knowledge surged into her body and mind.

"Face me, monster!" Riveria taunted, and immediately she got her answer.

"Kiii!" It shrieked as the monster lunged itself at the elf.

Other jewels were taken from her sleeve, throwing them into the air. They shone in brilliant purple, manifested lighting that connected to each of them like a chain.

With the flying jewels, Riveria began her chant. "VOCATIS. Tonitrua. Ligate!"

Resembling thunder, the jewel trapped the creature into a blast of pure electrical magecraft.

The creature was staggered by the lightning, shrieking in pain. Riveria leaps to the window, using her reinforced muscle to withstand the drop. Riveria placed several jewels on the ground without wasting more time, creating a triangle formation. She could feel her precious gems were has been broken by the creature.

"Come here!" She lured the monster, and the shout was answered.

"Kikiki!" It jumped down, staring at the princess with its laughter.

It jumped to her. With her speed, Riveria could dodge the attack, but the shockwave made her body fly. With her back slammed into the ground, Riveria gasped for air, even with pain engulfing her spine. Because of her reinforcement, the damage was rendered painless soon after.

"Facate. Ignis!" Riveria shouted her incantation as a fireball manifested on top of her finger, flying right into the monster's chest as it erupted. Though its chest burned with the flame, its skin had no scratch.

"Kikiki." The way that abomination laughed made Riveria frown. It was like a child that saw its friends get pranked. But, she smiled.

Slowly, the humanoid made its way to the triangle.

"It seems even you were strong. Your brain did not, huh? " Riveria said confidently as the complex magic circuits began to activate.

The creature stopped at sight, glaring at the elven girl with curiosity. Not long after, Riveria shouted her incantations.

"Gravitas. Purgio!" The powerful words were left spoken, commanded the gems to glow.

The abomination stared into the ground. Then a dome shielded its body, crushing the creature's body into its own weight. The ground shackle as the gravity power overcame the creature's strength to stand.

Riveria takes her opportunity, pointing her magic crest at the monster. Riveria took a deep breath as mana began to suffocate from the complex crest.

"Heed my words, spirit of flame and destruction. I call thee for the destruction of my foes. Shall it be done by avenging flame or inferno,"

The dome began to crack, overlapping with enormous power from the abominations. Riveria did not flinch, keeping her focus in one direction.

"As you please, there shall be extermination. My name is ALF, Inferno Flate!" A wing of fire erupted from her hand, manifesting a blaze of flame that sought to consume their victims. Flying like a phoenix, the attack burns the air and defenses. At the same time, the dome shattered as the black creature's skin collided with the magical flame.

A pillar of flame tears the night away, shining like a sun that illuminates the darkest night. It was bright as if the night had turned into the day.

It was her power, the edge she had finally achieved.

Riveria gasping for air, completely exhausted from mana with her spell. Despite her drastically weakened state, the princess did not regret it. Her opponent was gone, leaving a trail of burned dust on the ground.

Deactivating her magic crest, Riveria could feel her entire arm have a sensation of burning. With her current condition, Riveria solely focused on calming her circuits and replenishing her mana.

"I think it was enough," Riveria muttered, glancing at the crest that glowed slightly.

She took one step to chase Aina, but a sudden dread snuck her neck.

"What an amusing elf," a child's voice distorted as it was unnatural.

The creature stands before her, gesturing an expression that she could only read as amusement. She froze in fear at the unharmed abominations, and then Riveria felt a sharp pain in her chest. The creature slammed its hands against her ribs, breaking her bones with pure force.

With her instinct, Riveria reinforced her chest area, preventing deadly injury. But still, the pain was beyond her. Flying across the garden, Riveria slammed against the floor as blood spilled from her mouth.

Pain and flickering consciousness made Riveria's vision begin to blur. Blood kept flowing from her mouth while her ears could still hear the creature's step getting closer.

"Kikiki. That was an impressive stunt you made, elf. Pathetic but amusing." The abomination speaks with its cheerful voice.

Even with her pain, Riveria was shocked and did not believe her eyes or ears. The creature talked. The horror did not stop there as Riveria could feel the broken rib begin to push deeper into her chest, threatening to pierce her lungs and fill them with blood.

The creature maintained its laugh and did not want to stop as its sharp nail cleaved into the elf's skin. The abominations did not intend to kill Riveria, but seemingly the wounds were only carved to inflict pain.

Due to her pain and the risk of being killed by it, Riveria tried to stay silent. Pain only kept coming and tore her skin and flesh.

After a while, the creature stopped. Its face stared at the unmoving elf. "Boring. Boring. It was boring!"

The creature shouted, slamming its leg into the ground. It only cried with its childish behavior. Riveria was submissive to her fate and closed her eyes.

Then, the creature stopped as the slamming was indeed gone.

"If that was the answer. I need to seek another toy, then." The creature casually suggested.

Riveria opens her eyes in shock. Even though the creature did not directly mention it, the elf had her deduction. A deduction that she desperately wants to be false.

"I smell it. Yes! I smell it! So, underground, eh? It will be interesting!" The creature flies, leaving the wounded elf.

Riveria wanted to get up, yer the wound permitted it as blood poured from her mouth. The lungs must already be damaged as breathing becomes more complicated and painful. Even with her injuries, Riveria crawls.

"Aina... No." Tears started to come from her eyes as the inevitable became closer.

She was powerless, and now one of her loved ones shall disappear by blood with that abomination's hand. Riveria began to sob as the pain started to take over her consciousness.

"Run away, Aina. No. Please don't take her." She pleaded at the currently empty space.

Again and again, Riveria, with all of her remaining strength, tried to stand. The pain made her nerves dull. Even with a simple command, her body did not comply.

Each fall resulted in pain and agonizing sensation that flooded her mind and body.

She wants to save her. She wants to save her people. Three years ago, Riveria was haunted by the image of her soldiers dying and her people being slaughtered by monsters.

It was a devastating attack on the forest, freshly burned into her brain. Even with Caster's intervention, the dead could not be resurrected, and many had fallen.

When the report reached her table, she could not believe her eyes and brain. A disaster that cost thousands of innocents. It deeply wounded her responsibility as a princess that sought to protect her country.

And that truth had been left hidden until her sixteenth birthday.

It was an undeniable truth to her lack of power to shield them under her aegis. Ever since she read the journal, Riveria tried her best to become a queen like Lady Celdia. Even more. She was also Caster's disciple.

A dry laugh escaped her mouth as her vision blackened. In that lifeless eyes rest a glimpse of hope to save someone dear to her.

"Please," Riveria said weakly.

There was darkness, silent darkness that consumed the princess. The wounds she succumbed to as the pain started to disappear. Indeed, Riveria knew her end was near, and she did not have more time left.

She remembered one thing, the most precious memory in her head. A memory from her past, a smile from her mother who always cared for her.

Somehow, the young elf fell close to her mother. She is very close to the point she begins to accept her fate.

"Riveria." She called in her regal voice, snaping the elf from her darkness.

The magic crest flared, much to her surprise. Mana surge into her circuits and nerves as well. A power that began to heal her wounds, reversing the blood in her body as if the time itself reversed. Mana filled her circuits, powering her strength even more.

An immense power surged into her very circuits, yet a particular sensation slowly emerged from her body.

Riveria could feel it, a warm sensation from various emotions.

She could see it. A man that always smiled at her. Since her mother has gone, only Aina was the only person who cared for her.

And he came, guided her, and taught her. With his knowledge, Riveria gained the knowledge and power to be the person she dreamed of. Yet, that rejection destroyed the hope.

She opened her eyes and stared at her arm. The gentle light flowing through her veins proved that her feet had begun to stand. Riveria points her eyes forefront.

A silhouette of him. A man with his regal robe and long white hair, smiling at the princess with a heartful smile.

He did not leave her. He is still here. Always.

A faint whisper came to her ear.

"Go, save her."

She could feel it. A determination filled her heart.

"I'm sorry I still could not be reunited with you, mother. I have a person that I must save. And a person I must find." She said faintly, but the perseverance was there.

Riveria glanced at her shoulder and widened her eyes in surprise. Her mother was present, smiling at her with a waving hand. Blinking, the ghost figure vanished.

Smiling, the princess took a deep breath. Thus, she ran.

---

Aina was crying along the underground hallway. Ignoring her fatigue, Aina keeps pushing her legs to move to carry her lady's order.

Tears only fell to the ground as sobbing echoed throughout the solid wall. She did not receive extensive training in stamina; thus, her stomach began to ache, and she was at the edge of puking.

As the focus was cracked, Aina slipped on her own foot, which caused her to fall and hit her head hard on the ground. The hard impact made Aina feel a sensation of pain and dizziness stabbing into her brain.

Slowly, she opened her eyes, and all she saw was a blurry vision. Aina put her hand on the wall beside her, helping her walk again. Her forehead was bleeding, but Aina did not care about that and continued to quicken her pace.

Yet, because of her wounds and blurred vision, Aina could not help it as she stopped. She was on the edge of fainting, but the elf's duty and will to deliver the message kept her eyes open.

The blood from her forehead blended with tears pouring from her eyes. Aina dragged her feet, and the pain only worsened.

"Milady... Riveria," Aina muttered in between her breath. Pain could clearly be heard in her tone.

"Please stay alive for me. Please." She prayed silently. The abomination. The monster was a foe that no one could master. The dread that came from it was none she had ever experienced.

As a long-lived race, Aina fell many malicious auras from monsters, and that particular creature was different to its core. It feels old, as old as the primordial itself. She could sense the origin of a new concept from it as if it was a new archetype of living beings.

Aina paled when she thought about that abomination even further. She knew her lady would not stand a chance to face that monster. Again and again, she nearly falls to the ground.

Then the ground began to tremble, with dirt starting to fall from the gaps in the tunnel's wall. This was not an earthquake. Aina was well aware of it.

Then, a sound that made her heart drop into her stomach came to her ears.

"Kikikiki! Found you!" It was the abomination calling for her.

"NOOO!" Aina screamed at on top of her lungs as the black limbs dragged her body from the tunnel. Her skin scratched the stone with the cloth torn apart by the earth. Some parts of her skin turned red as blood came from them.

Aina screamed with a solid object coming into contact with her head, causing the injury to be exacerbated.

Then a loud sound came to her ear as her skin could feel the cold air breeze. The monster slammed her body into the ground, causing a blunt force into her chest. Aina gasped to fill her lungs, but the monster did not give her a break. With its sharp limb, it pierces her hand.

The pain snapped the elf from her dizziness, screamed with pain burned her nerves.

"Hahahahaha. Good! Good, it was fun!" The abomination said while laughing like it was losing its mind.

Aina whimpered in pain, eyes laid into the source of her misery. The bone had been cracked and broken irregularly as blood only poured through it.

With a chuckle, the creature pierced her calf and ripped the bone apart by creating a hole. The creature pulled both of its limbs, causing severe bleeding that could potentially kill Aina. But the creature did not want such a thing as it stabbed her calf again.

Losing the power to scream, Aina only coughed in pain.

"Heh. Are you that weak?" The creature asked, which Aina did not answer.

Glancing at the elf, the abomination realized something that piqued its curiosity. Using its hand, it lifted Aina's body.

Knowing the creature's intent, Aina tried to fight back, causing the bone in her calf to crack.

"Kihihihi. A resistant, but it was meaningless." The creature manages to lift its victim's body. There lay the journal her lady trusted on her.

"What I find here." The creature grabbed the ancient book, examining it with interest.

Aina looked at it with fear. The book is in the abomination's grip, and for the sacred forest's sake, Aina would not forgive herself if something happened to that book.

Aina used her strength to stand, ignoring the pain in her leg. The creature noticed her movement, yet it smirked with its wide mouth.

"Risking your life for this book. It will be interesting indeed!" Aina did not understand what the creature talking about. In an instant, she was thrown away, flying as her body crashed against a tree.

She coughed with blood, feeling tremendous pain in her back. Barely able to open her eyes, Aina witnessed the monster flipping the book violently, tearing some papers in the process.

Aina was paralyzed by the sight her eyes provided her. The vile abomination tore the precious book that Riveria adored beyond anything in her possession. Now it was ripped by the unholy touch of the abomination.

"No..." Aina muttered with tears threatening to escape from her eyelids.

It was an uncaring joy of the monster. It was smiling as if it was evil as the precious book was broken sheet by sheet.

Silently watching, Aina began to lose consciousness with terror, and fear clouded her soul. She did not want to see this horrific sight. Her pride, as well as her promise, was shattered in mere seconds by the abominations.

Then, the monster stopped. The black-jet body tensed and trembled for unknown reasons. In Aina's blurry vision, she could see it. The teeth were gritted with fury.

"This. This!" He shouted angrily, tore the book into pieces, and then stepped on it until it was out of shape.

"How?! HOW?!" It roared. Despite its childish characteristic, the voice was distorted with wrath that even made the half-conscious elf feel a dread like cold ice being stabbed into her spine.

"How does this craft exist in this place?! In this era. How?!" The monster slammed the ground until it cracked, eventually creating a crater.

"So I think I know the answer. Yes. Yes. I must also destroy this forest and its inhabitant so that mother will not be harmed. Yes, it should do fine." The abomination approached Aina.

Aina slightly opened her eyes and smiled, accepting her fate with a smile that held regret.

Lifting its strong limb, the creature barked as it was ready to kill her.

Then, a voice was heard.

"Ignis." Flame showered the creature, pushing it backward in a burning state. Aina opened her eyes in shock as she knew that sound very well, a voice that thrilled her heart. "I'm sorry, I'm late." It was her princess, her lady.

She stood tall with a smile on her face. Feeling that nothing weighed on her heart, Aina slowly closed her eyes and gave in to her exhaustion.

---

Riveria stands in between her dearest relative and the monster. Seeing Aina lose her power to stay awake, Riveria took an emerald from her robe. When she placed the precious stone on top of her body, the wound began to glow in warmth and radiance light as it began to close.

"I will take care of this. Rest well, Aina." Riveria said, moving her body to face the creature. The fire has been extinguished, with the abomination staring directly at her.

"How?! How did you manage to survive that?!" The creature shouted in a fury, at which Riveria smirked.

"Maybe you have no power to back you up." Riveria taunted, still preserving her confidence.

Knowing what the creature would do next, Riveria moved away as, like what she deduced, the beast lunged itself in relentless wrath. The crest began to glow instantly as reinforcement magecraft enveloped her arm.

The brute force of the creature met the solid craft of the elf, yet because of her inferior endurance, Riveria was forced to let her body be dragged by the creature's advance.

Despite her reinforcement, the pain was inevitable as her bone began to crack. Riveria grimaced.

"Kiii!" Shrieked as it threw the young elf away from its body. Riveria held her stand firm and eventually received another blow from the creature. Again, reinforcement saved her life from the deadly assault of the abomination.

Like the previous actions, it came with a price as the bone and flesh began to take their damage. Riveria gritted her teeth. Seeing an opportunity, the elf took a single gem from her sleeve. As it activated, a light burst, blinding the creature from its sense.

Riveria herself was affected by her own craft. Immediately, she used her circuits to cut all mana circulation around her body and then reactivated it again as a shock to her body to regain its sense earlier than her enemy.

Gaining the upper hand, Riveria used her gem to perform another magecraft. A red jewel was used, and thus a blaze erupted, burning the creature in the heat of the conceptual fire.

It was not enough to harm its thick skin, as Riveria herself could feel it. There was a higher mystery enveloping the creature.

Riveria absorbed even more mana from her crest as the wound began to heal instantaneously. It was the moment Riveria took a pair of her last jewels.

Before that, she used the stored spell in her magic crest. Pointing her finger, various black orbs immediately shot out from her fingertips.

It was one of the most basic spells she had studied under Lord Caster's tutelage. A spell that is capable of conceptually reducing the target vitality. Shocking but not unexpected, the shoots did not work as she intended as they shattered upon impact.

"How dare you!" Again, the monster recklessly charged at the elf. Riveria pulled another mana from her arm as the magic circuits flared to life.

Riveria crushed both gems in her hand as the monster's momentum was interrupted because of her gandr taking effect. Even if it was a slight moment, the seconds were enough for her.

"Clypeus. Potentia. Pugnare." The gem exploded in light, forming a pair of gauntlets made of pure mana. Reinforcing her arm, Riveria deflects the blow from her enemy.

It was restraining and taking some toll on her. But she persisted, sending a counterattack with her power. Insignificant compared to the creature's deadly attacks, Riveria narrowed her precision over her strength.

"Damn you, lowly creation!" The mad creature relentlessly tries to break Riveria's defense. Still, the elf only grows more vigilant and increases her reflex. This was the moment her physical training paid off.

"Come and claim my blood like you've said before, abomination," Riveria said with a smirk, inviting a shrieking of anger from the monster.

"How dare you!" Riveria deflects its attack, sending her own to the chest.

Again like the same rhythm, Riveria deflects every attack from the monster and then focuses Riveria punches to the exact point as before.

Again and again, the creature felts something ache in its chest. It could feel it, but the anger consumed its move and instinct.

"Got you," Riveria claimed, sending a direct punch to its chest.

"Wha-" The creature realized it. It could not attack as its body grew heavier, as if something was bounding its body.

Unfortunately, not only the monster. Riveria began to take effect from this fight. Her body is at its limit because of her reinforcement magecraft being pushed at most of her limits. As it started damaging her muscle and bone.

Gritting her teeth, Riveria held a deadly stab from one of her enemy's limbs. Again, she sending her punch to the creature. Another after another, Riveria did not give the creature mercy.

"What have you done to me?" The creature asked, shaking in tremor.

Riveria stared at the creature, smirking with her confidence. "Maybe I should tell you that every single of my move has its own meaning."

The simple answer made the humanoid monster ponder in between its attacks. Seemingly lost in the thought, it was suddenly stunned by the realization as pieces of the puzzle came together in its mind.

"The spell as well as the gems. How dare you! DIE!" In the pain of the truth, Riveria smiled with satisfaction.

She knew, and she had already prepared for this. The gandr only opened her opponent's weakness as the pair of gems was a gauntlet and curse magecraft. With that, she only needed to land some hits at her enemy, and then the magecraft shall do the rest.

It was tiring and costing her endurance and mana though it was worth it. The ever-present mystery that enveloped the creature managed to be destroyed by Riveria little by little.

And now she had reached her price for her sacrifice. At this moment, she felt joy and pride, which made her even more eager to finish the fight. And in that sense of happiness, she could feel a distant memory calling for her.

Despite dodging the killing blows from the abomination, Riveria could feel it clearly and heard it.

It came from the sheet she had unveiled its secret. A secret that made her feeling became even more difficult to reason with.

But on the different side of the coin, it also came with an impulse that made Riveria's heart race for it.

A letter that held many of her spirits to be flared.

"I am Queen Celdia. If you read this letter, my teacher. It means I'm already dead."

Dodging, Riveria answered with her punch. Flashed with sentiments, Riveria only seeks one answer from that hidden message. And that was the opening, the last letter from the legendary Queen of Elves.

---

"This was a long journey since I started my steps toward freedom and adventuring. It was my joy and tears that brought me to this point. A joy that goes beyond my wildest dream."

---

The only answer and that long forgotten. It was Celdia's twilight.

---

"Lord Caster, even I don't know your actual name. It was my utmost gratitude toward you. Since I was a kid, I have been a doll for my family. There was nothing you called freedom nor power to choose your own path."

---

The same fate since ancient times has been passed down to their generation. Being repeated again by her descendant.

A fate that made the future queen desperately try to escape.

---

"In this cruel and unforgiving world, there was no other means to seek other than the power to keep us alive. Yet, in that power, many fall into corruption with their egos. And thus leading to many death that did not come from monsters."

---

A fear. A direct fear that only made Riveria shudder. She knew it very well, yet she wanted to find it.

Freedom amongst all and yet that process of seeking independence, Riveria found something else that also happened to the ancient queen of the High Elves.

A feeling born from age and yet melted in the warmth of his.

---

"Yet you prove me wrong, my Lord. How you see the world and teach me made me remember my purpose in reaching such an endeavor. Thanks to you, finally, I was able to become the person I wanted to be. A mighty Queen who able to defend her people."

---

A kind and yet sad. Calling her teacher her Lord. Same and yet ironic.

---

"You guide me and, with your kindness, crafted my sight. But as time went on, I finally saw it. The ultimate threat to our existence. I want to slay it for good. And I don't know why, I have a feeling that it might be my last adventure."

---

It was like what history recorded. The story of brave heroes facing the nemesis of all living beings. An epic tale that is only reincarnated as a fairytale.

But unlike the others, it did not end with a cry of joy or glory.

---

"Many dead, every single of them. Children, parents, lovers. They died and were eaten alive, my Lord. I can't see their blood in my hands. I could hear their cries for as long as I lived."

---

The grudge and pain marked the Queen's failure. The same loss that haunted Riveria since the tragedy struck.

---

"I will help them. I will pursue them and save my people. I'm sorry I could not reach you for these few years. To my utmost apology, I... I must go with Albert to finish these events once and for forever."

---

It was the end of the tale. Left unspoken by the majority of elves.

Since that sentence, her book has yet to be fully translated. It remains unclear what the rest means, but there was a single part that Riveria knew and could swear upon her soul that it was fully translated.

She spends more of her time deciphering the last part of the letter. It was an invisible hand that made her attention fully drawn to the bottom of the page.

And that was the moment Riveria stilled her heart and determined her goal.

---

"These were my last words for this letter. I'm glad to be with you and walk beside you as long as I have lived. I managed to stop the monsters from running amok at this land, and tomorrow shall be my fight with the black dragon. Albert was in his highest spirit, as my other companions were eager to defeat this menace. I miss you, Lord Caster,"

---

When Riveria read and translated that particular section, there was a rusty paper that Riveria concluded was preserved by the magecraft. The letter was wet and not by any normal means. It was a mark that was only able caused by drops of water.

The Queen was crying when she wrote it.

---

"Forgive me. I am really, really sorry. I will only be able to see you again if I do this Grand Quest. Everything is uncertain. Again in my head, there was ever-presence dread that haunted me. What if I could not meet you again or I could not learn from you again. What if I was dead and left you alone... I don't want this student-teacher relationship to be over. You know, Lord Caster. I like this relationship to go beyond just a student and a teacher. I had a dream to be with you in these few days somehow, but I found it amusing that an elf and spirit were together. Hehehe... A perpetually immortal being and a race that has a very long lifespan that might be worked. Yet, a dream is just a dream, always fading when reality comes to mind. But in that dream, only sentiment always made me strong in my decision on this quest, existed in my heart since then,"

---

The last sentence was a simple one. Even if it was simple, it burned a mark on the late princess' memory.

---

"I love you, Lord Caster."

---

Riveria roared with all heart and will, slamming her mighty fist at the creature's face. The body of the crumble monster began to lose its stand as it was thrown away by the sheer force of the elf.

"Impossible... How could you-" Before it could answer, a spell manifested.

"Ignis!." A flame burned the monster. Shrieking in pain was the only thing it did. Riveria runs to the burning monster, leaping and sending another blow to the vulnerable creature.

Riveria waged with her emotions and fists as the creature's skin began to crack. She did not care about her body anymore. The only thing she wants is the creature's destruction.

The abomination makes its move, grabbing the neck of the elf. The burning hand made Riveria's skin ache, inflicting burns on her neck.

She roared, grabbing its hand. Their power dueled violently. None prevailed for a moment, then Riveria reinforced her arm beyond its limit.

The hand severed, causing the creature to let out its terrible scream. Riveria's freedom came with a cost. Her bone was broken because of her own magecraft. Yet, Riveria creates a distance between them.

The abomination only stretched in its pain, violently slamming its limb at any point it could see. Did not want to waste the opening, Riveria charged her magic crest. Ultimately, it began to burn her magic circuits, as her nerves began to feel tremendous pain.

But this is her only chance, and wasting it, means more lives will be lost, and her duty as a future Queen would be tarnished and destroyed beyond repair, marked with failure.

And it would be a remembrance of Riveria herself that she has failed and a shame for her ancestors, especially Queen Celdia.

"Novissime. Ardere. Potentia. Absolutum. Perditio!" She chanted, grinding her remaining mana to the last spell to end the creature before her.

Within seconds, a magic circle was manifested beneath her foot, recreating a magecraft she had been secretly studying. The gauntlets began to fade into a cloud of dust, billowed, and immediately formed an orb in front of Riveria's hand that was pointing forward.

It was a spell she could barely understand in the first place, yet she knew how to make this spell destroy her enemy once and for all.

Riveria condoned the mana around her, and another magic circle formed before her. The orb shone in the darkness, splitting the image of an invincible monster.

"No-NOOO!" The monster stared at the horror before it, trying to save its own life by crawling as its body was in flame.

"Die you, abominations," Riveria said calmly, utterly devoid of emotions except her sentiment to eradicate the plague before her.

And thus, the orb began to glow in brilliant white, shooting itself to the creature at a speed that even her elf's eyes could follow, creating a destroyed path toward the monster.

"Damn you! CURSE YOU, ELF!" The elf heard the final cursing, giving her a smile of relief Riveria desperately wanted.

The light of destruction consumed the monster, leaving none of its existence.

Now, her power did not make enough to make her stand and fall into the earth with heavy breath. Riveria's eyes began to dim, losing their light as fatigue and mind down consumed her.

"I... I think... That was enough."

In her half-awake state, Riveria was relieved as if an innumerable weight had been lifted from her body. At least, she could be delighted by the defeat of that abomination.

Did not have the power to make her eyes open; thus, Riveria began to lose her sight.

The air froze as the dread wind came to her spine. It was a primal fear that she was familiar with. How not so? She just killed that monster.

From the source manifested a liquid, dark and sinister liquid.

"That was close. Indeed, very close." The same voice resounded.

In an instant, Riveria was petrified by it. It was the moment she was in a state beyond terrified, feeling helpless when the doom came. The liquid formed the abominations, regaining its form as time passed.

"You thought you'd win, insolent elf? You, lowly and primitive life form, could stand against me?" The mocking tone is distorted beyond recognition.

Riveria herself became pale as she wanted to activate her circuits. Yet, it was futile. The circuits were dried and fried, with nothing left to salvage or spark the mana. She was defenseless, did not have any means for her survival, and worse, the fate of Aina and her people.

Fate is in thorn, manifested in the despair of the princess.

And it comes with the realization that her body did not want to move, completely unmovable. The dreaded feeling suddenly changed into despair and vanished, replaced by a moment of nostalgia.

At this second, Riveria could feel every emotion in her brain, forming tears on the verge of her eyelid. Did not have the power to move. Did not have the strength to even make any expression by the end before her.

Riveria was left only with tears and fading gaze.

"... I'm sorry," The eyes began to close, and the darkness shall envelop her for eternity.

"DIE!" It shouted.

Riveria could barely see the creature coming to take her life, but she felt a kind of relief within her chest. At least she will die without knowing the pain.

The pain could be painless because of the gentle darkness that soon embraces her.

"... I'm sorry." The words left unspoken, remaining secret in her heart.

Then, something came to her ears. It was the sound of iron cutting flesh perfectly.

Using her will, Riveria tried to widen her eyes. There she could witness the impossible.

The monster was slain and sliced into two pieces, and blood of black poured into the ground.

Riveria only stared at the death of her enemy, shocked by the blood and flesh that faded into black mots.

As she tried to lie her gaze into the executioner, Riveria lost her solidity, and darkness clouded her eyes.

She wanted to see it. She wants to witness anyone behind the veil of the night with a glimmering hope. A hope behind her savior.

But her body betrayed her; the eyes only continued to close.

But she saw something in between that pitch-black vision.

She saw a blue fire illuminating the dark forest.

---

Riveria is in the darkness, trying to feel her sense once more. Still, it was in vain, as her senses did not return to her. The darkness was cold and calm, slowly pushing into the young princess' skin.

After a while, on the edge of the pitch-black darkness, Riveria could see a faint glow that slowly began to light brighter.

The light filled the void, enveloping the princess in its ardor embrace.

Finally, Riveria fully retained her sense as her eyes were opened.

She found herself in a very familiar room. In further glancing, Riveria could be sure that this was her room at the palace.

Instead of worrying about her being caught sneaking out of the palace, Riveria's mind was invaded by Aina's state and the worry that the creature was still alive. Immediately, she tried to get up, only to find herself stung by pain.

"Ach!" Riveria flinched, glancing at the causes of her pain.

There was a bandage wrapping around her arms and torso. Riveria tried to loosen it, only to discover traces of gel on her skin beneath the white bandage. When she touched it and brought it to her nose, Riveria recognized the mixture in that particular substance.

"Panacea gel," A name came from her mouth.

It was a medicine that could heal nearly any kind of magical wound. In Riveria's case, it was her magic circuits.

The sound of a door opening came to her ears, pulling the princess from her initial concentration.

Riveria's heart dropped into her stomach when her eyes laid into the incomer. Her father's expression was the one she had not witnessed since birth.

"Ah, you finally awake." The voice was not right. There was a strain of emotion, and yet there was not. It was a sentiment that stung her spine cold.

"How did I get here?" Riveria asked weakly, though she did not show any weakness in her demeanor.

"Soldiers who were patrolling the wood founds you and Aina. Disgustingly, you were the one who battered and utterly wounded." He replied calmly, but the way he delivered was devoid of any emotions.

"Disgusting? What do you mean by that, father?" Riveria raised her tone, narrowing her eyes in bitterness.

Seemingly unaffected, Larfal stared back at the heated gaze of his daughter, calling a call for her daughter. "Why? Isn't that obvious? She is your chamberlain, your servant."

"Even though she was in servitude for the central branch family, it doesn't mean we should stain her name as a proud high elf," Riveria answered back, sitting still with her eyes, never leaving the piercing gaze of the older elf.

"She still a servant. A servant, Riveria. She must keep you alive no matter what, and now you are on the nearly dead side when the knights find you. She failed, and that was clear." The words left Riveria speechless. Her father's sentence did not show empathy but anger and disdain.

Clearing her thoughts and collecting a will to protest, Riveria shot back. "She is an elf, father. Our people we swore to protect. Your prior statement only proved the biggest shame in our family."

For a moment, there is silence. An uncomfortable and chilling silence made the room's two occupants grow tense, thus making them severe. Larfal raised his chest, narrowing his eyes in such dangerous dread that it successfully made Riveria's eyes flinch slightly.

"Don't dare to say such a thing towards me, insolent daughter of mine. You run away from this castle, casting your duty as a crown princess for the sake of your own egoistic ideal. Pursuing your worthless dream instead of ruling your people into prosperity. Who is the greatest hypocrite among us, Riveria? Tell me so that I can know." The king said with authority, sparking with power that demands submission.

But for this time, Riveria did not submit to his father's charisma. She stared deeply with calculating eyes, trying to find and weakness in his father's expression.

But it came with one realization that brought Riveria to accept the current circumstance. Riveria sucks a deep breath, calming her nerve and extinguishing her burning vexation. Then, she stared into her father's eyes without malice or spiteful emotions. Riveria stared with a serene calmness that took Larfal aback by his daughter's sudden change of sentiment.

With his reserve, the king managed to hide his surprise. Larfal opens his mouth to speak.

"I think you could hold your tongue against your father, Riveria," Larfal stated, still glaring into Riveria's eyes.

"My apologies." She replied calmly.

"Do you think it was done? No, you stole the ancient journal from its place and then secretly 'borrowed' another one without my knowledge. The punishment will be severe," Again, Riveria only stays still.

"To make matters worse, the oldest and most prominent among Queen Celdia's journals was destroyed by your attackers. " This statement managed to get Riveria's attention.

Mouth agape, Riveria tried to call her mind and tell it to her father. But the sense of guilt and bitterness clouded her mind entirely. Riveria did dare to stare directly again. She lowered her head in remorse. With this state, Larfal raised his voice.

"Do you know how much it cost us?"

"I know," Riveria gulped with unpleasant acumen. "I know it very well."

She had lost everything, and now the anger began to surge once again from her. But it did not direct toward her father. Instead, Riveria directed it right into herself. But as far as she could blame herself, the princess was still steadfast and did not flinch.

"We lost our history and culture. Even now, the legend itself was destroyed because of you. Why did you not just sit there and study to be a model princess and then marry, producing an heir for the next generation," Larfal spoke like there was venom in his voice, which made Riveria feels a rising disgust in her chest.

"It is not destroyed," Riveria muttered.

"What did you say?"

"Nothing," Riveria countered, giving a gap between her father's sentence for not inviting unnecessary suspicion.

"Your punishment awaits, and numerous parties you must attend in the near future are also there. I hope your near-death condition could give you a bold experience, Riveria. At this very moment, I forbid you from ever leaving this room until I command it. The guard will always be guarding your door. With that, I hope you did not disappoint me," The severe tone came from his mouth.

Riveria only silently seemingly obeyed her father's command. But deep beneath her mind, the young princess was smirking. "I wish you could understand what I said earlier. Then, I shall take my leave. We will talk about this again when your body has already recovered." Larfal stepped out of the room, leaving Riveria, who only stared back at the closed door.

"So, my initiative to find my teacher cost me the priceless journal," Riveria said, turning grim.

Rubbing her head, Riveria could feel every single nerve screaming in shock. However, she tried to suppress it when in the presence of her father. Now, her body could not hide it anymore as her hand trembled.

"I'm sorry, Queen Celdia," Riveria said, trying her best to conceal her emotion.

Apologizing words keep muttering in her head. The relic was no more, and the letter that recorded the truth about Queen Celdia's relationship with Lord Caster was just a memory.

Before she could fall deeper into her own misery, a knocking sound was heard. Thus, snaping the young elf from her stupor.

"Come in," With that permission, the door opened.

"Milady," The familiar sound came to her ears. Glancing at the source, there was Aina in her maid cloth.

"Aina," Riveria answered with a nod. Cautiously she scanned the chamberlain's body and noticed no bandages or wounds on her skin.

"How do you feel right now, milady?" Aina asked, sitting on the edge of the bed.

"I'm fine. Panacea gell really did their job." Riveria remarked while caressing the bandages on her arm.

Smiling gratefully, Aina nodded her head. After that, her expression changed significantly as if she tasted bitter.

"I failed, milady. I was unable to protect you. Simply apologizing. It will not be enough to make amends to you." The pain was suffocating in her words, causing her palm to be clenched.

"Aina..." Riveria tried to call her chamberlain from her current state, though it appeared she failed.

"Because of my helplessness, you must face that abomination. That monster was beyond horrifying. That sense of primal fear. No monsters could emanate such a kind of horror. " Aina's face became pale, shaking in fear and paranoia.

Even feeling an ache across her body, Riveria forced her body to approach the scared elf. Placing her hand on the older elf's shoulder, Riveria began to speak.

"Aina, please, it wasn't your fault."

"Not my fault? Milady, you almost died last night!" She shouted in a rage that molded with desperation.

Shooking her head, Riveria carved a fond smile on her face. "The creature's death now. There's no need to be worried. Moreover, I'm still alive right now."

Aina stopped her mumbling, looking at the princess with her tearing eyes. There was a sign of burden and regret as she spoke somberly.

"Even though the creature was gone, you're still alive—the book. I failed to protect it. No, it was permanently destroyed, and that letter was forever gone. I'm so sorry, milady." Aina sobbed, placing both palms on her face, trying to cover her shame and guilt.

It was a pitiful state for the older elf. Since she was in front of Riveria, she tried her best to cover her emotion so that the princess would not be worried about her. Now, the barrier and the mask have shattered, could not prevail with the overwhelming failure she faced.

Riveria watched her dearest friend as well as the closest thing she had that resembled a mother.

Seeing Aina like this made the future Queen devastated. The pain in her body was shadowed by the despair from Aina's state.

Stilled her heart, Riveria wrapped her arm around the chamberlain's body, giving her a warm embrace that even Aina herself was shocked by Riveria's sudden hug.

"Aina. It was my order that you must carry that book. No, it was my idea to escape from the castle to find Lord Caster. Eventually, it leads us to encounter that monster, thus causing us to be injured, and the book's destruction comes after that. Please, don't blame yourself for it." Riveria said in a tone that was softer than silk.

Aina ceased her sadness, clinging to her lady's arm in sobs. "But I still failed to protect that book. I should forbid you to go at that time."

"Shhh... It's okay. Whatever will be, will be." Riveria caressed Aina's hair gently, patting her back patiently. As if the role were reversed, Riveria now comforted the elf in her embrace with her kindness.

"Do you forgive me, milady?" Aina slowly asked as she tried to have the courage to stare into the kind princess.

Riveria smiled at the poor elf. With a soft wipe, Riveria cleaned Aina's cheeks of tears.

"I forgive you for now and forever, Aina." With that simple words, Aina's smile returned to her face.

"Thank you. Thank you." Aina repeatedly said in between her breath. Happiness was clearly shown on her face despite her weakened state because of mental exhaustion.

After the next few minutes, Aina was still in her lady's embrace. She did not want to be separated, and yet Riveria did not bother by it. She kept her arm around her as if trying to protect the chamberlain from foul distraction.

Then, when the older elf had calmed herself, Riveria ceased her hug and stared kindly at her chamberlain.

"Feels better?"

"Yes, thank you, milady." Aina nodded, giving Riveria a relieved sigh.

"That was glad to hear," Seeing her dear relative could regain her smile was more than enough for the young princess. Just like what she expected from Aina, she rose from the bed.

"Thank you for everything, milady. But unfortunately, the duty's calling." The demeanor changed again. The air of confidence enveloped the older elf. Although there was a trace of prior emotional distress, the elf had regained a new height in her determination.

"I think you were correct. The job is waiting for us. Moreover, I had punishment awaiting." Riveria chuckled dryly.

Sighing, Aina only smiled thinly. "Don't worry, milady. I will always be on your side."

Hearing this, Riveria only sighed in satisfaction. She did not doubt the loyalty of the chamberlain in her life. But now, Aina will not be the one who stands in front of her. Instead, the princess will swap that role, taking responsibility as the protector.

Taking a glance at her study table, Riveria noticed something. "Aina, what is that?"

"That," Aina said before slightly lowering her head. "That was a formal invitation from various houses that demanded your presence to discuss your marriage,"

The princess' face darkened for a moment. But, it disappeared, replaced by her usual calm expression.

"Can you light the fireplace, Aina?" Riveria asked softly, though there was a hidden meaning behind such a tone.

Aina stared at the younger elf for a moment, trying to determine the correlation between Riveria's initial question and the current request. Then, the answer rang in her head, causing the chamberlain to give her lady a concerned look.

"Just do it," Riveria simply said.

Aina nodded slowly before taking her steps into the fireplace. Giving herself a deep sigh, she used the magic stone beside the fireplace. Placing it into the other magic stone beneath the fireplace with a rectangular shape. Like a stove, the magic fireplace's stone was ignited, creating a fire that burned the firewood.

Riveria, using her magecraft, tried to empower her muscle. Because her body had not yet recovered, pain struck her as if her body had fallen victim to lightning-based magic.

But she endured.

"Interesting," Riveria muttered, taking one of the invitations into her hand.

Opened it, the princess began to read what was inside. Again, she took another. Furthermore, until there was nothing left to read.

"Milady, the fireplace is ready," Aina called.

Riveria collected the scattered invitations without further ado, leading them toward the fireplace. In silent words, she throws them into the fire.

"Milady!" The chamberlain shouted in shock, and Riveria kept her eyes on the burning invitations.

"Why did you do that, Lady Riveria?" Aina asked, feeling cautious by her lady's sudden action.

For a moment, the royal elf did not answer. Riveria's eyes darted into the pile of ashes that formed from the papers.

"Don't worry, I'm still attending their invitation," Riveria answered with her princess' demeanor.

"It still didn't answer my question, milady," Aina insisted.

A dry laugh came from Riveria's mouth. Even though the princess persona is still there. But there was a sign of tiredness secretly hidden beneath the neutral face.

"What an irony, don't you think? A princess that had a responsibility to make her people happy, nobles included. Now, burned their invitations for her egoistic emotion." Riveria replied softly.

"Milady," Concern is rising in the air around the chamberlain as the princess' gaze did not leave the fireplace. The burning state of the letters turned into ashes. From there, the princess smiled.

It was a smile of determination and steel, yet serene as it was wise.

Aina gasped at the sight. The face of a young, cherished young elf was momentarily gone, replaced by a similar look that always marked her dreams.

The stilled and wise Queen manifested as a noble elf that had long perished.

"I will have my freedom. But responsibility is always there, sitting on my shoulders to bear. The invitations shall be honored and will not be tainted by my sheer ego on my freedom. But, the will for seeking it will be here," Riveria pointed to her chest.

"I'm blind, Aina. The more I sought my freedom, there was only destruction. Therefore I was blind that I fell in love with someone that did not want me to be like this. I failed him," Pain was the only word that could describe the young royal elf's words. But, there was an unmoving will in that sentiment.

"I burn it to forget that failure. I don't want to blind in my ego. Never again. So that I burn the letters to forget my grudge but still honor the nobles. Yet, it will be my scorched mark in my memory of my failure and ego. I know it was unwise, but I need it as a reminder," Riveria genuinely said from her heart, and Aina could feel it.

"I will be a great Queen one day. But for now, I must focus on becoming an ideal princess. Not the one in their minds, but the princess that someday became someone less but more than Queen Celdia,"

Every Queen in this forest always uses Queen Celdia as their standard, and Riveria is no exception. But now, she has changed.

"I want to be myself that one day manages to be free, become an independent elf. And more importantly, I will make myself worthy of such luxuries as I stand alongside him. As I, Riveria Ljos Alf, have taken her oath."

Indeed, her lady has grown up.

---

There you go. Sorry for the late update because the original story was deleted when I cleaned up my folders.

Me personally, this story is nothing compared to the original. But hey, I tried.

The next update will not be the Fate series because I need a new page to write with some new themes. Think of it as my guilty pleasure, and it was a little tiring when trying to compare the power scale from the Nasuverse to other fiction. Yeah, I need a 'stomp' kinda story to refresh my brain.

Don't worry. I'm still writing another Fate fanfic. Heck, that is one of my favorite fiction. But I still couldn't deny my obsession with sci-fi fiction.

So you have it.

Next update: Thus The Gods Descend (Stellaris x Gate)