Chapter 29: Love Turns to Hate

Chapter 29: Love Turns to Hate

After negotiating with Shadow, Mori took his well-deserved reward and left the inn.

Once he was gone, the room fell into a brief silence, and Hank turned to Shadow and asked, “Sir, do you think Miss Ailia could be the Elven Queen?”

“I can’t say for sure; maybe she is, maybe she isn’t,” Shadow replied.

Silence returned as both of them pondered their thoughts.

After a while, Shadow spoke up, “Whether she is or not, we need to head to the Elven Royal City to find out.”

“Yeah,” Hank nodded in agreement.

Indeed, whether she was or wasn’t, confirmation was essential.

At this moment, Hank was no longer worried about Ailia’s safety in his heart.

If Ailia really was the Elven Queen, she wouldn’t be in any danger within the Elven Race.

As for why she had gone missing, it was naturally to return and assume her role as the Elven Queen.

After all, she’s Your Majesty; she can’t be gallivanting around every day!

While Shadow and Hank decided to make their way to the Elven Royal City, in the palace, Airael was in the courtyard enjoying playtime with Anna.

Hela and a group of maidens stood quietly nearby, watching the mother and daughter play childish games.

Suddenly, a maid rushed over to Hela’s side, leaned in close, and whispered something into her ear.

Listening to the maid’s words, Hela’s brows furrowed, her expression turning stern.

Clearly, she was upset.

Noticing this scene while playing, Airael paused her game and hugged Anna, asking, “Hela, what happened?”

“Your Majesty, someone is investigating you in secret.”

“Investigating me?”

Airael raised her eyebrows in surprise and then asked, “What do they want to investigate about me?”

“Not sure for now.”

“Then how are they investigating me?”

“Apparently, they have a portrait that looks a lot like you,” Hela answered.

“A portrait that looks like me? What portrait? Did you write it down?”

Airael felt quite perplexed.

Did they really need a portrait to investigate the Elven Queen?

While she wasn’t someone anyone could just meet, her appearance wasn’t exactly a secret among the Elven Race; anyone could gather details with a little digging.

Hela didn’t reply, instead looking at the maid who had just come over.

“Your Majesty, we have it,” the maid said, pulling out a folded piece of paper.

Hela took the paper and presented it before Airael, unfolding it.

Airael then saw an image of herself from her time wandering in the human world.

Behind her, Celia, who served as her personal maid, also caught sight of the portrait.

She gasped, unable to contain herself, “Your Majesty, this…”

“Celia!”

Airael reprimanded lightly.

Celia instantly clamped her mouth shut.

However, her feelings were anything but calm.

There weren’t many who had seen the Queen’s face in the human world.

And anyone who could travel such a distance to find the Elven Race could only be one person.

Who else could it be but the father of the little princess whom their queen had dismissed?

Meanwhile, far away in the Machia Republic, Arthur suddenly sneezed.

Airael looked at her portrait, trying to maintain her composure on the surface, but inside, she was restless.

So he has come for her?

Honestly, didn’t they agree to go their separate ways?

Complaining in her heart about someone, Airael couldn’t help but form a slight smile.

Despite her efforts to conceal it, those around her, like Hela, Celia, and Aurora, noticed something was off.

Celia, feeling that she shouldn’t speak, communicated telepathically with Aurora using the newly learned communication magic.

Celia: “That guy Axi is really infatuated! Even after the Queen dumped him, he still traveled all this way to find us Elves.”

Aurora provided another guess: “He could be coming to seek revenge on the Queen.”

Celia: “Revenge due to love turning to hate? If that’s the case, things just got a lot more interesting.”

After glancing at the overly curious Celia, Aurora decided not to engage further.

But she knew they could only watch the drama unfold.

After all, it was a personal issue of the Queen, and she needed to handle it herself.

Hela didn’t say much, but her gaze on Airael shifted uncomfortably.

“Hela, this is how I appeared while training in the human world,” Airael said, pulling her gaze from the portrait to Hela.

After saying that, her eyes returned to the image.

Although she lived like that for less than a year, that period of her life was unforgettable.

It was during that time that she had her precious Anna.

“Did those humans come looking for me?”

Hela spoke up, “I just wonder if they are your enemies or friends, Your Majesty?”

“Probably friends,” Airael replied confidently.

Definitely friends, and very close ones, Celia silently added.

Those enemies wouldn’t recognize the Queen’s face.

“Since they are friends, Your Majesty, do you plan to meet them?”

Hela asked, feeling relieved.

Though they weren’t afraid of enemies—if they were exposed, they could easily find and deal with them—she preferred avoiding unnecessary troubles.

What frightened her was the potential for unexpected events; the safety of the Queen couldn’t allow her to let her guard down.

Airael hesitated, not answering Hela immediately.

At the moment, she didn’t want any more contact with Arthur.

Because if they did, they wouldn’t be able to focus on their own matters.

Yet Arthur had found the Elven Race, and he must have guessed it was related to her.

This meant her identity was no longer a secret.

Even if she didn’t reach out to them, one day they would come seeking her out.

After thinking for a moment, Airael finally said, “Send someone to find them and bring them here.”

Since she couldn’t hide it any longer, it was time to lay some things out in the open.

“Understood!”

Hela replied.

She carefully stored the portrait and prepared to leave.

Suddenly, Anna in Airael’s arms burst into tears: “Waaah!”

Airael hurriedly bent down to check on Anna’s condition.

She noticed Anna’s eyes were fixed on the portrait that Hela had just folded up again.

“Hela, give me the portrait.”

“Yes!”

Hela handed the portrait to Airael.

During this process, Anna’s gaze shifted along with it.

Airael smiled gently and used magic to levitate the portrait, unfurling it in the air.

Seeing the things she wanted to look at again, Anna stopped her cries.

After looking at the portrait for a while, she raised her little head to look at Airael.

Noticing her action, everyone around couldn’t help but chuckle.

It was simply too adorable!