455: Chapter 440 The Mysterious Frederica

Upon returning to the tribal lands, Anna first went to see the Elf King to report the results of her observations from the previous night.

After finishing her quick report, she lowered her head with trepidation, waiting for the Elf King's next instructions or punishment.

However, the Elf King merely nodded and waved his hand, signaling her to withdraw.

Anna didn't quite understand why the King never brought this matter up, leaving her in a constant state of dread. It even reached the point where she felt an impulse to ask the King how he intended to punish her.

In the end, she didn't dare. She backed out of the palace, sighed, and hurried toward her own residence.

When she returned to her room, she was surprised to find that the Elders were still lingering in the hall.

Seeing her return, the Elders immediately surrounded her, chattering away as they shared their theories.

After listening, Anna smiled and didn't say much else, only asking where Sinéad had gone.

An Elder replied that she had been sent to the Forbidden Grounds by the King as punishment.

Anna fell silent for a moment before heading straight for the Forbidden Grounds. Sinéad was currently undergoing punishment inside and wouldn't be out for a long time, but Anna was desperate to confirm a few things. She was willing to wait at the exit just so she could be informed the moment Sinéad emerged.

To her surprise, as she approached the Forbidden Grounds, Anna was stunned to see Sinéad pacing around the entrance.

Her hurried pace slowed as she walked up slowly. "Didn't the King order you to enter the Forbidden Grounds immediately?"

Looking up at Anna, she said sullenly, "Father didn't say immediately. I wanted to get ready before..."

"Sinéad."

"Teacher."

"How did you know that the human Princess Frederica befriended is named Zhang Mu?"

"Did Saldari and Alice tell you?"

Sinéad was clearly taken aback. Her instinct was to argue, but then she realized that her father's punishment already made everything clear. Denying it was pointless, so she spoke frankly.

"I guessed it myself."

"Guessed it?"

"Yes." Sinéad kicked a pebble at her feet, watching it fly into the bushes. "My sister isn't the type to interfere in human conflicts, yet this time she insisted on an expedition at any cost. I could only think that the human she mentioned was that heretic."

"Why couldn't it be that the human just happened to be staying in Lake?"

"If that were the case, my sister would have chosen to take Saldari and Alice to Lake instead of leading a legion."

Anna thought for a moment. "True."

"Teacher, I..."

"If you have more to say, wait until you come out. Now, obey the King's order and get in there."

Sinéad stared into her eyes and saw a hint of affection in her pupils.

Ultimately, her teacher still cared for her, even after she had behaved so recklessly.

"Okay." Sinéad turned and walked toward the ancient stone gate.

...

Upon receiving the report, the Elf King immediately sought out Zhang Mu.

Zhang Mu was resting in the guest bedroom Frederica had arranged—initially, she had invited Zhang Mu to stay in her own palace. Her palace had many rooms and more than enough space for one person, but Zhang Mu had politely declined after careful consideration.

Hearing the knock on the door, he walked out of the bedroom with a yawn.

"Who is it?" he asked while pulling open the door.

"Mr. Zhang Mu, the corpses have been swallowed by the earth," the Elf King said impatiently the moment the door opened.

"Yes, just as I expected."

"Can it be saved?"

With the survival of the Elf Clan at stake, the Elf King didn't care about losing his dignity at all. Like an elementary student looking forward to a spring outing, he stared at the teacher and asked.

"It can be saved, and it's quite easy."

"When can we start? What do you need me to do?"

"You... gather a group of elves, they need to be strong."

"And the mission?"

"Once they're assembled, send them to blockade the perimeter of the Forest of Spirits. Strictly forbid anyone from entering or leaving. Remember, anyone. Humans cannot come in, and elves cannot go out."

"What if humans try to force their way in?"

"Explain to them first that normal passage will resume in a month. If they still try to barge in after that, don't you elves know how to fight?"

The Elf King vanished instantly to see to it.

"Phew—"

"Frederica should be up by now. Since I'm free anyway, I'll go see her."

Treating the life tree wasn't troublesome. As for the necessary 'medicine,' Zhang Mu had returned to Blue Star last night to instruct Neo to collect it.

The quantity required was quite large, and it wouldn't be ready until tonight.

With the whole day free, Zhang Mu had nothing to do and didn't want to sleep in his room all day, so he prepared to find Frederica for a chat.

...

Frederica's palace.

Saldari and Alice had each pulled up a wooden chair and were sitting in a corner of the hall, staring at each other.

After a long silence, Alice asked hesitantly, "What exactly is wrong with Her Highness? Is it because Mr. Zhang Mu is here?"

"Uh..." Saldari scratched his head. "That state she's in... it's more like she's suffering from some kind of difficult illness, something mental."

Alice couldn't help but nod in agreement, while simultaneously recalling everything that had happened last night.

After the two of them said goodbye to Anna, they made their way back to the palace. The process was very smooth; their tribesmen didn't stop them, and there were no traps waiting for them within the tribal lands.

The abnormality appeared after they met Frederica.

As the two walked into the palace one after the other, they heard soft humming coming from Her Highness's bedroom. The tune was a traditional folk song of the Elf Clan expressing happiness.

Up to this point, things were still normal. Frederica had survived a brush with death and had been reunited with the person she admired, so joy was inevitable.

The weirdness came afterward.

Out of concern for privacy, Saldari waited outside the bedroom door while Alice pushed it open and walked right in.

In her expectation, having suddenly returned when she was supposed to be far away in Lake, Her Highness should have been incredibly surprised to see her and would have asked how Alice knew she was out of danger.

However, when Frederica, who was sitting at her dressing table, turned and saw her, she didn't ask who had brought them back. She just smiled and said, "You're back. Go get some rest," before turning back to the crystal mirror and grinning like an idiot.

Alice walked out of the bedroom completely confused and told Saldari what had happened.

Saldari thought Her Highness was just happy about Zhang Mu's arrival and didn't pay it much mind, turning to go back to his own residence to sleep. But in the middle of the night, Alice had rushed over in a panic to wake him up and dragged him back to the palace by the arm.

They pushed the palace door open just a crack, their two heads stacked one above the other as they peeked into the hall.

Inside the hall, Frederica had somehow cooked a whole table full of dishes.

She sat at the dining table, holding a knife and fork as she cut a slice of fragrant lean meat. Instead of putting it in her own mouth, she fed it toward the empty space across from her, as if someone were sitting there.

As she fed the air, she murmured with a tender expression, "How's the taste? We've finished touring this place; where should we go next?"

This eerie scene lasted for an hour until the dishes were all cold, at which point she finally stood up.

Alice thought Her Highness was going to her bedroom to rest, but instead, Frederica began pacing back and forth in the hall. Her right arm would crook and then drop, her brow furrowed, looking very agitated. Her lips also moved constantly, as if she were whispering something.

The sound was too faint. Alice and Saldari were afraid of being noticed, so they didn't dare use magic to eavesdrop.

As dawn broke, Frederica finally broke into a smile and hummed a little tune as she went into her bedroom.

Waking from these gray memories, Alice asked worriedly, "Could Her Highness have... suffered a shock?"

"What kind of shock?"

"Her tribesmen wanted to sacrifice her, and even Her Highness's teacher betray— Her Highness."

Didn't she just lie down? How is she up already after such a short time?

Alice saw Frederica's figure emerge from the bedroom out of the corner of her eye. While questioning it in her mind, she quickly stood up to greet her.

"I couldn't sleep, so I... oh, when did you guys get back?"

Saldari slapped his thigh. This was bad—Her Highness really did have something wrong with her head!

Alice carefully observed her expression. "We returned to the tribal lands last night and even saw Your Highness once."

Frederica asked blankly, "Is that so?"

"You even told us to get some rest early."

"I don't have any memory of... never mind. It's good that you're back; it saves me from having to send someone to notify you." After Frederica finished speaking, she headed toward the kitchen, muttering, "Those dishes were all made according to elven dietary habits. I feel like they didn't quite suit his taste. I have to find a way to improve them."

Alice and Saldari looked at each other.

You ask Her Highness what happened—Alice signaled with her eyes.

I don't dare, you ask—Saldari signaled back.

Alice didn't quite dare to ask either, but out of concern for her mistress, she finally plucked up the courage as Frederica was about to enter the kitchen door. "Your Highness, Alice has something she wants to ask you."

"Huh?" Frederica turned her head in confusion. "What is it?"

"Well... you..." Alice hesitatingly recounted Frederica's bizarre behavior from the previous night and then asked, "Your Highness... what were you doing?"

"Oh, you mean that." It was hard to explain in just a few words, so Frederica turned around and walked toward them. "Once Zhang Mu heals the life tree, I plan to travel to the outside world with him.

"Since we're traveling, we can't stay in cities all the time. Occasionally we'll have to sleep in the wild, so we'll have to prepare our own meals.

"Although we could just eat dry rations, the taste isn't as good as home-cooked food. So, I was rehearsing the scene of dining in the wild with Zhang Mu."

"But you... I... I saw you... uh, Mr. Zhang Mu's limbs should be functional, right?"

Alice's hesitant tone seemed to make Frederica realize that her behavior was somewhat perverted. She blushed and defended herself, "What if his hands are occupied?

"For example, if he wants to drink soup and he's holding the bowl with one hand and a fork with the other, wouldn't I have to feed him?"

Alice really wanted to say that there was a possibility Zhang Mu could put the fork in the bowl so his free hand could take the soup spoon.

However, after seeing Frederica's dangerous glare, she wisely restrained the impulse.

"Your Highness," Saldari interrupted the two of them, asking, "then why were you walking back and forth in the hall?"

"Rehearsing the scene of traveling on the road."

"Traveling... why was your arm moving around?"

"Why was it moving around..." Frederica blinked, as if remembering something, and let out a couple of silly giggles. "Hehe."

Saldari was a bit confused by her laughter. "Your Highness?"

"Huh? Oh, it was moving because I... it's nothing." Halfway through, Frederica suddenly shut her mouth.

"Is it inconvenient to say?" Alice asked.

How could she say it? Say that she was testing which arm-linking posture was the most intimate?

Frederica waved her hand. "No, there's no reason."

"You were just about to say it." Alice's curiosity was piqued. If she didn't get a clear answer, she probably wouldn't be able to sleep tonight.

"I said it's nothing," Frederica finished and hurried toward the kitchen in a slight panic.

Alice wanted to press further, but Saldari was quick to grab her wrist. "If you ask again, you'll be in trouble."

"Yo, Alice, Saldari, long time no see."

Alice dissatisfiedly shook off his hand. Just as she was about to speak, she suddenly heard a familiar voice coming from the direction of the palace gate and looked over with Saldari.

Zhang Mu squeezed in through the crack in the door. "I saw the door was open when I came."

"Mr. Zhang Mu!"