The white light in front of her eyes gradually faded. Lacy lifted her gaze, and what entered her sight was a vast sea of flowers.
Butterflies and bees kept dancing above the vibrant blossoms, and the garden path was also covered with petals of various colors.
A breath of air filled with the scent of flowers tickled the tip of her nose.
"Where is this…?"
Lacy stared at the sea of flowers in a bit of a daze.
It felt just like she'd returned to the lush patches of blossoms inside the forest.
It was clear that this sea of flowers was tended to often.
Viktor had told her she could find the person she was looking for here.
'Could it be… the Elf Queen… is here?'
Lacy looked around as she stepped along the small path, gently stepping on petals and heading toward the depths of the flower sea.
As she walked, a strange aura drifted out from within the flowers.
Lacy panicked and quickly ducked behind a flowerbed.
She poked her head out, peeking over the tall wall of flowers.
Lacy saw a young girl tending to the blossoms in the flower sea.
She was carrying a watering can, walking happily into the flowers.
One hand held a pair of scissors, constantly trimming extra buds from the blossoms, while the watering can sprayed water over them.
Her long black robe seemed to cover her figure, but the warm sunlight shone through the crystal-like water droplets and refracted onto her flushed cheeks, making her appear even more radiant.
Lacy showed only her eyes as she secretly peeked at the girl from afar, trembling slightly.
'This… what place is this?'
'How can there be a human here?'
'Could it be… Her Majesty the Queen… has been imprisoned by humans!?'
A terrifying thought suddenly flashed through Lacy's mind, making her heart pound wildly.
She didn't even notice she had accidentally crushed several flower buds in her hand.
The girl seemed to sense something and turned around to look in Lacy's direction.
Lacy immediately shrank down, curling tightly into a ball with her head buried between her legs.
'Please don't see me… please don't see me…'
Perhaps her prayer was answered, everything around her was so quiet she could hear nothing but the pounding of her own heartbeat.
Seeing the girl didn't seem to notice her, Lacy slowly opened her eyes and looked around.
Only then did she let out a breath of relief.
But at that moment, something soft bumped into her back.
Lacy stiffened and raised her head.
The sunlight in front of her seemed to be blocked by a cloud.
A shadow gradually enveloped her.
She jumped in fright, wanting to turn around to see what had hit her.
But the tension deep in her heart made her too scared to look back. Her limbs wouldn't move at all.
At this moment, a soft, sticky-sounding voice came from behind her.
"Hey, you. Turn around."
"You dare sneak in here and act like I don't exist?"
The moment the voice sounded, Lacy felt all the hairs on her body stand up. Her mind had only one thought left. 'I've been found! I'm going to be captured!'
"Nn… don't catch me, don't catch me…"
She hurriedly spoke, slowly and stiffly turning her body around.
She lifted her head. Their eyes met.
Viktor was right.
She really had seen the person she wanted to see.
The moment she saw the other, Lacy froze slightly, stunned on the spot.
Cocotte sat on the cloud, and she also saw Lacy's pair of pointed long ears.
"Huh?"
"Ah?"
Cocotte sat on the cloud with her mouth open, dazed for a moment.
Her expression stiffened too. Then as if suddenly realizing something, she quickly covered her ears and buried her head in the cloud.
Then she loudly shouted, "Someone! Someone come quickly!"
"There's a thief who snuck into the garden! Catch her!!!"
The huge shout, filled with concentrated natural energy, spread across the entire garden.
Lacy instantly panicked.
She tried to stand, but her body could no longer move.
Suddenly, Lacy sharply noticed the green magic circle glowing under her feet.
Several green vines wrapped tightly around her, constantly draining the magic from her body.
A wave of weakness rushed up. Lacy instantly understood, she was being bound by magic.
It was only a second-tier spell. Under normal circumstances, Lacy could break free easily.
But this second-tier magic circle was inexplicably complicated.
It was like countless intricate magical lines intertwined.
The magic level was only second tier, but the complexity rivaled a third tier.
Most importantly, Lacy wasn't a mage.
There was no way she could dispel this instantly.
Finally, the caster of the binding magic appeared.
Henny stepped out from behind the flower wall.
Her expression was serious, and invisible magic rippled around her.
Countless lines linked between several arrays, forming totems like tiny spirits. Runes carved complex patterns along the edge of the circle.
"Who are you?"
Lacy opened her mouth, but she couldn't speak a single word.
Silencing magic.
And the strength of this silencing spell was definitely not something a second-tier human mage could cast.
The answer flashed instantly into Lacy's mind.
She turned her head, eyes full of confusion and disappointment, looking at the elf who didn't even dare lift her head out of the cloud.
'Your Majesty… why?'
"Hurry, Henny! I already used silencing magic to stop her! Quickly restrain her!"
"Otherwise she'll start chanting some super powerful magic!"
Hearing Cocotte's voice, Henny became even more tense.
She didn't expect this person who had somehow snuck in to be so dangerous, even Cocotte couldn't stop her.
She didn't think anymore. Magic surged around her.
She began chanting.
"Scatter, green veil. Bind and entangle the heavens. Seal them within the spreading vines."
As she chanted, the petals beneath her began floating into the air, spinning.
A massive storm spiraled up from the ground, gradually sweeping across the entire garden.
"Prologue of life, block the path of living. Whisper the declaration between purgatory."
All the flowers trembled. Wisps of green energy seeped from them, gathering toward Henny's chest.
"Seal the sigils, merge the ancient tree, imprison within the marsh's shrine."
A dense orb of green magic expanded in the sky.
Henny stood within the storm of petals, as though the flowerbeds were pouring incredible power into her.
Her amber eyes glowed green, and the vines around her whipped wildly like they'd broken free of restraints.
Lacy was bound in place, unable to speak.
She watched the rising storm that blocked out the sun and shook her head continuously.
There seemed to be tears glimmering in her eyes.
But Henny only looked down at her and said mercilessly, "I won't hurt you."
"But I need to restrain you for now. I need to know why you sneaked in here."
[Second-Tier Magic: Nature Spirit's Enchanted Cage]
The moment her voice fell, the terrifying magic burst forth.
Endless vines surged like countless shackles, pouring toward Lacy.
At the same time, staring at the terrifying waves of wooden vines, Lacy had only one thought left, 'This is supposed to be second tier???'
But just as the magic was about to touch her, a figure appeared in a flash of blue light, stepping in front of Lacy.
His hands were in his pockets. He didn't even bother trying to block it properly.
A simple magical barrier appeared before him.
The overwhelming magical vines slammed into the barrier, but countless branches extended from it and blocked them all.
The vines dissolved into threads of magic, sliding along the barrier and scattering into the air.
In the end, as if nothing had happened, they faded away.
The moment the magic vanished, Henny froze slightly.
When she saw who it was, her amber eyes widened and she shouted in joy, "Professor!"
The blue barrier shattered. The wind slowed. Viktor's fluttering coat settled down.
He looked at Henny and calmly said with approval, "Not bad."
"Looks like you didn't slack off while I was gone."
Receiving her professor's praise instantly filled Henny with satisfaction.
She stood in place, smiling foolishly with joy.
Viktor didn't respond further to her. He turned and tapped a finger against Lacy.
The complex binding magic dissolved into glittering specks, fading into the air.
Lacy could speak and move again.
But what she'd just experienced was something this timid elf would never forget.
She squatted on the ground, voice trembling with sobs.
Viktor finished the task, then shifted his gaze to Cocotte.
This elf queen who refused to take responsibility for her people, even telling Henny to imprison an elf, needed a lesson.
Cocotte seemed to realize the situation had collapsed. She hurriedly tried to fly away on her cloud.
But Viktor's cold voice sounded, "If you leave now, I'll blow that cloud of yours into cotton."
The cloud froze immediately. No matter how Cocotte urged it, it didn't dare move even half a meter.
Her body stiffened. She turned her head around.
Scratching the back of her head, sticking out her tongue, one eye squeezed shut, a completely punchable expression.
"Ehehe?"
———
"I'm sorry! I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry!"
Henny bowed repeatedly, nearly folding herself in half.
But her figure wasn't suited for that, she'd hit her legs if she bent further.
Lacy sat in front of her, hugging her legs. She slowly lifted her head, eyes red and filled with tears.
Like she'd shut down completely, she didn't want to say a single word.
Cocotte sat on her cloud like nothing was her business. Liya saw this and shot her a glance.
"And you call yourself the Elf Queen?"
"One of your own people shows up, and the first thing you do is shout for someone to arrest her."
Cocotte looked guilty, eyes darting everywhere.
"I didn't recognize her at first…"
"Not recognizing her doesn't mean you attack her with magic. Does she look like someone strong and dangerous to you?" Liya commented speechlessly.
For some reason, Lacy buried her head even deeper between her legs.
She looked even more shut-down than before.
Cocotte sighed helplessly. She floated the cloud over to Lacy, reached out, and patted her head.
"Hey, alright, alright. Don't cry anymore."
Lacy lifted her head slowly, tear-bright eyes still trembling.
"Then… are you willing to come back with me?"
"No."
Her head dropped again, and she began crying even louder.
Liya folded her arms and finally asked the question she'd been wondering about.
"So, why don't you want to go back?"
Cocotte sat on the cloud and helplessly spread her hands.
"Do you enjoy staying inside a tree all the time? Being worshiped by a bunch of elves every day and not being allowed to leave whenever you want?"
Liya thought for a moment, then replied, "But all you do every day is sleep. Isn't staying in a tree sleeping all day exactly what you want?"
"But! But when I wake up, it's boring!"
"Ha. Fair point." Liya rolled her eyes, sounding dismissive.
"So your elf queen is basically useless. She just stays inside some lousy tree every day."
"It's not a lousy tree…" Cocotte explained. "We elves are born from nature. You know that, right?"
"But this birthing ritual requires an appointed elf to stay inside the Sacred Tree. Only then can the Sacred Tree produce new elves."
She pointed at herself with a cheeky grin.
"So that means if I don't go back, the Sacred Tree won't give birth to any more elves."
"Huh?" Liya blinked.
She felt like she'd just heard something extremely serious.
But Cocotte didn't care at all. She even had the mood to ask another question.
"Oh right, where did Viktor go?"
"I had something I wanted to talk to him about. How did he leave the moment he came back?"
"You mean Viktor?" Liya glanced around and said with complete certainty, "Wait a bit."
"At this time of day, he's probably out wrecking someone's house."