"Your Highness! Your Highness!" Phyllis ran into the cave with some excitement, calling out as she ran, while the thousands of tender green branches hanging down playfully hindered her progress.
"Bean Sprout, why are you so excited again today? Even though your chest heaves quite a bit when you run, but it still looks very small, doesn't it?" Irina turned around and looked at Phyllis's chest heaving as she ran, and said seriously.
"Your Highness! I'm still growing!" Phyllis said righteously, but her voice lacked conviction.
"About the same as when I was thirteen." Irina nodded.
"Your Highness, if you keep this up, I'm going to cry..." Phyllis's expression crumbled, her voice full of grievance.
"Alright, I'm pretty bored today anyway, I'll just watch you cry for a bit." Irina said, her eyes lighting up as she smiled and nodded.
"..." Phyllis felt like she'd been hit hard. She realized she couldn't communicate with the princess in a normal way.
"So, what's the matter that you rushed here so quickly?" Irina asked with a smile.
"Snar is back. Do you want to see him now?" Phyllis asked hurriedly, almost forgetting the important matter.
"Let him in." Irina clenched her fists, her expression unable to hide her excitement.
"Yes." Phyllis turned and ran towards the cave exit. The Tree of Life seemed to sense Irina's emotions, parting to make way for Phyllis.
A moment later, Phyllis led a tall, slender elf with golden hair into the cave, walking quickly towards Irina.
"Snar greets Your Highness." The tall, slender elf stopped two meters away, placing his hand on his chest and nodding to Irina in greeting.
"Golden Beetle, you've lost weight." Irina said after a moment of silence, looking at Snar.
Phyllis, who had been somewhat tense, almost burst out laughing upon hearing this. She turned her head away at a 45 degrees angle to look at the sky, trying to calm herself down as quickly as possible.
"Your Highness, you've lost weight too." Snar said, startled. His expression was also a little strange. He had grown accustomed to the nickname that had accompanied him for over ten years, though he felt helpless. It was still odd for an elf to be called Golden Beetle, but compared to Bean Sprout, the princess was treating him quite well.
"Really? Looks like my recent weight loss efforts are going well. You have a good eye, Golden Beetle." Irina nodded, but the smile on her face quickly faded. With a gentle lift of her hand, a pale golden light enveloped the entire cave. Looking at Snar, she asked, "Golden Beetle, what did you find out in Luo Du this time? Are Alex and my child still alive? Where are they now?"
"Your Highness, I did find quite a lot of useful information in Luo Du this time. After verifying it with what I found in the previous investigations, I can confirm that Lord Alex and your child are still alive. The fire three years ago was faked, no one died at all." Snar said quickly.
"That's wonderful!" Phyllis's face lit up with excitement.
"Then where are they now?" Irina asked, her face also showing excitement, as she took a step forward.
"I don't know either. Not only me, but also our Elf race in Luo Du, probably no one knows where they are. But if no one knows, then they are safe." Snar said, shaking his head.
"Joshua also said that they haven't found any trace of them." Irina clenched her fists, controlling her emotions. After a moment of silence, she looked at Snar and asked, "Regarding what happened three years ago, have you found out who was involved in Luo Du?"
"Regarding Luo Du, I've investigated many people, and all the clues point to the Mage Tower. Apart from those demons, the only ones who attacked Lord Alex should be the mages from the Mage Tower." Snar said.
"Joshua told me that those were rebels who colluded with demons and attacked Alex. Later, the Mage Tower carried out a purge, and those guys have been executed." Irina nodded slightly.
"But Your Highness, according to my investigation, the archmage who participated in this matter back then was not killed. He still holds a high position in the Mage Tower. Only a few level nine mages were killed. If they were level nine mages, they probably wouldn't even be able to withstand a single sword strike from Lord Alex." Snar shook his head with a somewhat solemn expression.
"You mean... Joshua is lying to me?" Irina's gaze suddenly turned cold, her brows furrowed, and after thinking for a moment, she said in a slightly cold voice, "Joshua has considerable influence in the Mage Tower. His confidence in competing with Sean for the throne lies in the Mage Tower, so it's impossible for him not to know who participated in the ambush three years ago. In his and my letters, he swore that all those people had been executed, and Alex and the child are also dead. Their charred bodies have been found."
"Your Highness, there's something I'm unsure if I should say." Snar hesitated for a moment, then looked up at Irina.
"Go ahead." Irina nodded.
"Given Lord Alex's influence among the people and military of the Los Empire back then, and his formidable strength, no one would dare to assassinate Lord Alex in the streets of Luo Du without a meticulous plan and absolute confidence. Demons alone simply couldn't have accomplished this, and our Elven race would never cooperate with demons. Therefore, there must have been an intermediary. And this intermediary must have enough power to mobilize the archmages of the Mage Tower, while simultaneously suppressing the wrath of the royal palace and the military. People like that are rare in Luo Du." Snar said earnestly.
"Besides the King of the Los Empire, only Joshua • Edward could do this. Sean's influence is limited to the Imperial military, he has no say in the Mage Tower. Alex was stripped of all his powerful positions in the military five years ago. Without power, he poses no threat to the King, so he won't be the King's target." Irina's expression grew colder, and she clenched her fists, somewhat puzzled. "Why would he do this? Back in Luo Du, he drank and laughed with me and Alex, never showing the slightest malice."
"Lord Alex comes from the military and fought alongside the First Prince for many years. Once the First Prince and the Second Prince openly fight for the throne, it's not hard to guess which side he will stand on. And with Lord Alex's strength and influence, his decision may be the decisive one." Snar replied.
"Alex never said he would support Sean, so did Joshua plan this assassination just to reduce the uncertainty in the succession struggle?" Irina murmured to herself, her long, loose silver hair suddenly flowing backward, and the countless branches hanging from the Tree of Life also suddenly swayed.
"Who among the elves was involved in this?" Irina asked coldly.
"The patriarch of the Kroll family, Lord Hubert, personally escorted the young female master to Luo Du." Snar stated confidently.
Irina nodded slightly and walked straight towards the cave entrance. The branches of the Tree of Life spread out to both sides, as if bidding farewell to its king.
"Your Highness, where are you going?" Phyllis asked with some concern.
"To kill." Irina said coldly, and with a flash of golden light, she disappeared from the cave.