Chapter 30: The Difference Between Portraits and Reality

Chapter 30: The Difference Between Portraits and Reality

Anna completely ignored the reactions of those around her, her big eyes still wandering between the portraits of Airael herself.

It was as if she had to discover something.

Airael allowed her to continue, simply watching from the side.

After a while, Anna suddenly reached out her hand toward the portrait.

Understanding her intent, Airael manipulated the portrait to float over to the perfect spot for her to touch.

Anna’s hand immediately found its way to Airael’s face in the portrait, giving it a gentle scratch.

The portrait instantly wrinkled.

Then she turned her gaze back to the real Airael, her eyes sparkling with wonder.

She reached out her small hand, attempting to grab Airael’s cheek.

Airael cooperatively lowered her head, allowing Anna to touch her.

After the little one had felt Airael’s face, her eyes flickered back to the still-wrinkled portrait.

That look of confusion in her eyes was utterly adorable, causing Airael’s smile to grow even broader.

“That’s just mommy’s portrait, not mommy,” Airael said, gently taking down Anna’s little hand.

Without caring whether Anna understood or not, she put the portrait away.

This time, Anna didn’t throw a tantrum like before.

However, her little brows were furrowed as if she was still deep in thought.

Seeing her like this, Airael shook her head.

“She’s still so little; what could that little head of hers possibly come up with?”

But she didn’t interfere with Anna’s thoughts.

After all, it was a good thing for her daughter to be so curious.

And so, another day went by.

After several days of travel, that morning, Shadow and Hank finally arrived outside the Elven Royal City.

Staring at the magnificent and exquisite city walls before them, infused with a rich sense of history, they were both struck with awe, having never seen such a sight before.

While they had previously visited Menas City, that city had undergone countless renovations as a hub of external communication, and its walls paled in comparison to those of the Royal City.

“This is the Elven Royal City?” Hank murmured.

Snapping back to reality, Shadow cast a glance at him. “Let’s move. There will be plenty of time to appreciate it later. We need to get down to business.”

Though he was equally awed, having seen much of the continent, he was no stranger to extraordinary things.

There were plenty of remnants of elven ruins scattered across the continent.

While not as alive as the towering structure before them, they still offered a glimpse into the true essence of the Elven Race.

Just as the two prepared to enter the city, a squad of guards stationed at the gate blocked their path.

Hank felt an inexplicable familiarity with the leading female elven knight.

“You are humans, aren’t you?” Celia spoke, eyeing the hooded figures before her.

After some investigation, they had already figured out everything from before and learned from Mori that the humans they were looking for were on their way to the Elven Royal City.

So for the past few days, Celia had been waiting at the city gates.

“Milady Knight, we are indeed humans,” Hank replied, lifting his hood.

“Ah, Hank, right? We’ve met before,” Celia said, looking at him with familiarity.

“You’ve seen me?” Hank replied in surprise.

Shadow also shot a surprised glance at Hank.

“I’ve indeed seen you; my name is Celia,” she said with a smile, introducing herself.

Upon hearing “Celia,” both Hank and Shadow felt a stir in their hearts.

They recognized the name well.

She was a mysterious woman who accompanied Ailia.

“Now you should recognize me. I’m aware of your intentions. You want to meet Your Majesty the Queen. Follow me, and I’ll take you to her,” Celia said with a smile before turning to lead them into the Royal City.

Shadow and Hank exchanged glances and followed her.

After this little twist, they were convinced that Ailia was indeed the Elven Queen.

Yet, the unfolding events were still a bit hard for them to digest.

It was simply too magical.

Under Celia’s guidance, Shadow and Hank passed through the gates of the castle without encountering any barriers.

At that moment, Celia sent a magical message to Airael: “Your Majesty, I have the humans now and am currently bringing them to the palace.”

In the palace, Airael paused her work as she responded, “I understand. Bring them to me.”

With a sigh, Airael felt resigned.

What was meant to come has finally returned; since it couldn’t be avoided, she might as well meet them.

On the streets of the Royal City, just as Celia was talking to Airael, Shadow glanced at her.

Though unsure of what was happening, he sensed a wave of magic, albeit faint.

Such minor magical fluctuations generally went unnoticed by most mages, much like a sudden gust of wind.

The air was saturated with magical elements, and something could react at any moment, causing a magical wave.

However, Shadow was different from others; he paid close attention to every little change around him.

Moreover, that magical fluctuation was certainly not a natural occurrence.

“What did you just do?” Shadow finally asked.

“Are you talking to me?” Hank, taken by surprise, looked at Shadow, confused about his intentions.

Celia, who was walking ahead, turned her head to look back at Shadow, who was staring at her. “Were you just talking to me?”

“Yes,” Shadow nodded. “I sensed an unusual magical fluctuation around you a moment ago.”

Celia understood and replied, “I just cast a subtle little spell. Besides, don’t make a big deal out of it. Magic is quite common among the Elven Race; casting harmless spells in public isn’t strange at all. Don’t treat this place like the human world.”

With that, Shadow found no retort; her logic was sound, and maybe he was indeed overreacting.

“Alright, let’s hurry along. We wouldn’t want to keep Her Majesty waiting,” Celia said, quickly changing the subject and leading the way again.

After about half an hour, they finally arrived outside the palace.

Faced with the palace of the Elven Race, both Hank and Shadow couldn’t help but be amazed once again.

Especially Shadow; he could feel the tight-knit security around this palace.

Even he would find it challenging to infiltrate this place.

As for Hank, he was already feeling defeated.

Every guard here was at least his equal.

“This is where Her Majesty the Queen resides. Let’s head inside,” Celia announced, but just as Shadow and Hank were about to enter, they were stopped by the guards.