Lizbeth honestly felt somewhat grateful for Ivy and Leo's intentions.
It was only natural, as regardless of their motives or reasons for coming, they had come for her sake, harboring no ill intentions and approaching her with genuine goodwill.
Besides, the fact that they wanted to rescue her from house arrest was undeniable.
Combined with Ivy's sincere and excited demeanor, although Lizbeth felt somewhat overwhelmed by the way the woman treated her, compared to all the other people who had schemed against her, these two people from the Hidden Land were unquestionably allies.
Even so, hearing Ivy's words left Lizbeth with mixed feelings.
It could not be helped.
She had always considered herself an ordinary, even somewhat insignificant girl. Before the age of seven, she had wandered the outside world like an orphan. After turning seven, she became a princess confined within the royal palace walls and forbidden from leaving.
Finally, not long after becoming a Sword Master at fifteen, she became Riezel's attendant and was at last freed from the identity of a princess that had bound her for so many years.
As had been mentioned before, she had never particularly liked being a princess.
If possible, she would rather have traveled the world with Riezel, going on adventures together just as she had once wandered with her grandmother. Although life had been difficult back then and they had never stayed in one place for long, it had been free.
For her, that was the kind of life she longed for—a simple life without burdens or expectations. As for being a princess, that status had always felt too grand and too distant for someone like her, something she could never truly live up to.
Yet ever since she left the royal palace and became Riezel's attendant, one unimaginable revelation after another had appeared relentlessly before her.
She was not a wandering orphan but a princess of the royal family of Jinas, the illegitimate daughter of the current king, which already sounded absurd enough.
Yet, to her surprise, even more unbelievable truths had followed.
A descendant of the Reinnail Clan.
A bearer of the hero clan's bloodline.
A member of the royal clan of the ancient magic civilization.
When had she ever become someone so extraordinary?
Regarding all those secrets that had been uncovered, as well as her true identity, Lizbeth had never really felt any sense of reality. Everything seemed so distant that it was difficult for her to genuinely believe any of it.
After her bloodline awakened, Moslow restored its true appearance from the era of the ancient magic civilization, and it was revealed that she was not even Hendrick's biological daughter.
Everything felt even more dreamlike to her.
It was as though she had been swept into someone else's story, forced to watch one shocking revelation after another unfold before her eyes.
And now, the Hidden Land—the place she had been searching for all this time—had finally appeared. Not only that, it was the shelter where the surviving spark of the ancient magic civilization had been preserved. Ivy and Leo had come here specifically to bring her back there.
Honestly speaking, Lizbeth was gradually reaching the limit of what she could accept.
As a result, she reflexively glanced at Riezel beside her.
After parting ways with her grandmother, this young man had become the most important person in her life.
Even when she had still been a princess of Jinas, he had never treated her differently because of her status. He had interacted with her calmly, naturally, and without any special regard.
Even after she became his attendant, he had never treated her like a servant. Instead, he had cared for and protected her attentively. Whether in daily life or during dangerous situations, he had always looked after her without ever making her feel inferior because of her position.
According to Marilyn, a master like him was practically a rare treasure beyond measure.
Truth be told, being with him made her feel safe because it allowed her to relax and be herself without worrying about expectations or responsibilities. Most importantly, it gave her a sense of belonging she had not felt in a very long time.
She was comfortable around him.
She trusted him.
And before she realized it, she had become deeply attached to him.
Yet now, someone had appeared, intending to separate them and take her away to become royalty once again, just like when she was seven years old, when she had been taken away from her grandmother by Hendrick.
Suddenly, the memory surfaced in her mind almost immediately, causing her chest to tighten.
Honestly, the thought alone filled her with resistance, and that was why her emotions were so complicated right now.
Gratitude, resentment, reluctance, confusion, anxiety—countless emotions surged through her heart all at once, colliding with one another and leaving her unsure of what she should say or how she should feel.
Until Riezel reached out and gently patted her head.
"Don't overthink it."
Riezel's voice came from right beside her.
"No matter what the Hidden Land is or what connection it has to your clan, all of that is in the past."
"You don't have to worry about any of it. Just focus on the things that actually matter to you."
"Just ask the questions you wanna know the answers to."
Upon hearing those words, Lizbeth raised her head and looked at him.
What entered her sight was Riezel's usual calm and indifferent expression—there was no pressure, no expectation, and no attempt to influence her decision.
Seeing that familiar look helped settle the turmoil in her heart as a sense of reassurance gradually spread through her chest.
Taking a deep breath, Lizbeth turned toward Ivy and asked the question she cared about most.
"D-Do you know anyone named Mia?"
Yes.
What Lizbeth truly cared about was neither the heroic identity of the Reinnail Clan nor its status as the royal clan of the ancient magical civilization.
What she cared about was her own origins.
Who was her mother?
If Hendrick was not her true father, then who was?
And why had she been wandering the world with her grandmother ever since childhood?
Most importantly, what exactly had happened around her all those years?
Why had Hendrick's memories and understanding been altered?
What was the purpose of the person who changed his perception and made him believe she was his illegitimate daughter before bringing her into the royal palace?
Who was behind all of this?
Was it her grandmother?
All of those questions were the things Lizbeth truly cared about.
As for the identity of the Reinnail Clan, honestly speaking, she did not care much about it at all, since the reason she had searched for the Hidden Land was simply to uncover the truth about her origins, while everything else was secondary.
Therefore, she pushed thoughts of the Reinnail Clan aside and looked at Ivy with hopeful eyes, waiting for an answer.
Unfortunately, she was disappointed.
"Mia?" Ivy looked utterly confused. "I've never heard that name before. Who is that?"
Her words felt like a bucket of cold water poured directly over Lizbeth's head, instantly extinguishing the hope that had begun to rise within her.
In the next second, she hurriedly began explaining.
"She's an elderly woman around seventy or eighty years old. She looks something like this..."
Lizbeth clearly remembered Mia's appearance and described her in remarkable detail, detailed enough that even Riezel could roughly picture what she looked like.
Yet Ivy still appeared completely confused.
"A woman in her seventies or eighties... There are many elderly women like that where we live, but as far as I know, I've never seen anyone matching the description Your Highness just gave."
In other words, Ivy did not know Mia at all.
She had never met her.
She had never even heard her name before.
Lizbeth could not help but feel disappointed.
"T-Then do you know who my parents are?"
By the time she asked that question, Lizbeth was no longer expecting much from it.
After all, it was such a vague and uncertain question that she herself didn't think anyone could give a meaningful answer.
Who would possibly know something like that?
Just as both Lizbeth and Riezel were thinking that, Ivy's answer surprised them.
"I don't know who Your Highness's parents are, but the high priest seems to have some idea."
As soon as those words left Ivy's lips, both Lizbeth and Riezel immediately straightened up.
"T-Then who exactly is this high priest?"
Lizbeth asked without hesitation as a spark of hope returned to her eyes.
"The high priest is the high priest."
Ivy's answer remained as straightforward as ever.
Only after both Riezel and Lizbeth repeatedly questioned her did they finally learn who this so-called high priest was.
Simply put, the high priest was the highest-ranking leader in the Hidden Land.
According to Ivy, the Hidden Land was unlike the Akasha Continent—there were no numerous nations of varying sizes.
Instead, there was only a single official authority: the Sanctuary.
It functioned much like the Guild of the Labyrinth City of Orario from the world of Danmachi. It possessed administrative authority over the Hidden Land, the shelter preserving humanity's final sparks. It was responsible for maintaining order and peace, serving as both humanity's guardian and the Hidden Land's protector.
Its status was exceptionally elevated.
Within the Sanctuary, the highest-ranking individuals were the priests, who were known as the servants of God.
Following the traditions of the ancient magic civilization, the Hidden Land had always regarded God as its sole faith.
During the era of the ancient magic civilization, the heroes of the Reinnail Clan were those who listened to God's will and received divine power, while the priests devoted themselves entirely to serving God.
They occupied a position similar to that of saints in ordinary religions, so their status was exalted, and their identities were noble. Even during the ancient magic civilization, they had been second only to the Reinnail Clan in both standing and authority.
Among them, the high priest held the greatest authority, possessed the most prestigious position, and wielded the greatest power.
Since the Reinnail Clan no longer existed within the Hidden Land, the high priest had become the leader of all priests and the supreme ruler of the Sanctuary.
If the people of the Hidden Land did not firmly believe that only Reinnail had the right to be called a ruler, then the high priest would effectively be the ruler of the Hidden Land.
According to Ivy, during the era of the ancient magic civilization, the high priest had even possessed the privilege of sitting beside the king himself, truly a figure second only to one and above all others.
Which meant...
"Does the high priest really know about my origins...?"
Lizbeth murmured quietly, her voice barely above a whisper as a trace of uncertainty flickered across her expression.
"Most likely," Ivy answered with considerable certainty. "When the high priest summoned us, she acted as though she knew a great deal about Your Highness. Leo and I also heard from other priests that the high priest met Your Highness shortly after you were born."
If that was true, then this so-called high priest really might know who Lizbeth's parents were.
After all, if she had met Lizbeth immediately after her birth, it was difficult to believe that she would not know who her parents were or where they currently were.
At least, Riezel certainly did not believe otherwise.
Unfortunately, Ivy clearly knew only this much, and everything beyond that lay outside her knowledge.
Lizbeth fell silent, her face filled with conflict and anticipation.
Riezel continued gently patting her head and, after giving her some time to process everything, casually asked Ivy another question.
"Do you know what the Dimensional Magic Cube is?"
Lizbeth wanted to find the Hidden Land because she wished to learn the truth about her origins.
Riezel, on the other hand, wanted to find the Hidden Land because he wished to uncover the origins of the Dimensional Magic Cube.
Including Ivy, everyone descended from the ancient magic civilization referred to the Dimensional Magic Cube currently spinning inside Riezel's mind as God.
If that was the case, then where exactly had this God come from, and what secrets did it still hold that he did not know?
He could only seek answers from the people of the Hidden Land.
"Dimensional Magic Cube? What's that?"
Under Riezel's seemingly casual inquiry, confusion once again appeared on Ivy's face.
'...Yeah, figures.'
Riezel remained expressionless on the surface, but inwardly, he let out a sigh.
After seeing Ivy's complete ignorance regarding certain secrets, he had already more or less expected this result.
Still, it was understandable.
Whether it was the matter of Reinnail or the matter of the Dimensional Magic Cube, both would have been considered matters of the highest importance in the ancient magic civilization—top-level secrets, even.
Secrets of that level would naturally be known only to the relevant upper echelon.
Even though Ivy and Leo were powerful experts sent by the Hidden Land to bring Lizbeth back, that was the extent of their role—they were here to carry out a mission and were not part of the leadership themselves.
'It looks like if we wanna get the answers we're looking for, we're gonna have to rely on that high priest, huh...'
Riezel sorted out the path ahead in his mind.
Considering that the high priest held a status second only to the Reinnail Clan within the ancient magic civilization and was also the highest-ranking priest among those who served God within the Sanctuary, the high priest clearly possessed some clues regarding Lizbeth's origins.
As for the Dimensional Magic Cube, the high priest certainly knew more about it than anyone else.
After all, the Dimensional Magic Cube was the very God they revered so deeply.
"One last question..." Riezel said, wanting to ask Ivy one more thing. "Can you get in touch with that high priest?"
Naturally, the answer was no.
"No, the high priest holds an exalted position. People like us can't simply meet or contact her whenever we want." Ivy shook her head as she spoke. "If this mission hadn't involved the Reinnail Clan, we wouldn't have had any contact with the high priest either."
Even though Leo and Ivy were top-tier experts, one being a swordsman whose strength rivaled, or perhaps even surpassed, that of veteran Sword Saints, while the other was a battle-oriented magician no weaker than the former, neither of them could even meet the high priest?
Just how prestigious and powerful was that high priest?
If they had been on the Akasha Continent, no matter which nation they were in, people like them would have been treated as honored guests and welcomed with the utmost courtesy.
Yet in the Hidden Land, individuals of their caliber could not even see the high priest under normal circumstances?
"Hm, now that's interesting..." Riezel narrowed his eyes. "In that case, how do we get to the Hidden Land?"
Ivy's answer this time genuinely surprised him.
"Leaving the Hidden Land is simple. All you need is the teleportation magic circle provided by the Sanctuary."
"But returning to the Hidden Land requires finding the spatial boundary through which humanity's last survivors once retreated into the Hidden Land and opening a passage from there."
"This was also done to prevent the disaster of that era from reaching the Hidden Land."
Needless to say, the Hidden Land was a place that was easy to leave but difficult to enter.
"And where is this so-called spatial boundary?"
Riezel fixed his gaze on Ivy, his eyes narrowing slightly as he asked another question.
Under his stare, Ivy gave the answer that caught him completely off guard.
"It's in the north, the Queendom of Theresis."
As soon as those words were spoken, not only Riezel but even Lizbeth froze.
"Theresis..."
Both master and attendant looked at one another.
In the end, both of them smiled bitterly.
It seemed they would have to make a trip to that queendom after all.
===
[A bonus chapter for every 300 Power Stones.]
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