The bed on the aerial bridge wasn’t very large, so it was a bit crowded with two people lying on it. Their shoulders pressed together, and the arm wrapped around a waist was an intimate and suggestive posture. Elves didn’t require sleep, and Olivia was even less accustomed to resting in a bed. But perhaps because they had just done something even more intimate, or perhaps because Cynthia’s sleeping face was so beautiful, Olivia found she had no desire to get up just yet.

Lying here for a while didn’t seem so bad, Olivia thought, listening quietly to the steady breathing of the person beside her, a faint smile gracing her lips.

The Slade Sea Region rarely saw clear skies; most of the time, it was gloomy and overcast. The morning sun couldn’t penetrate the thick clouds, making the daytime look like dusk. The sound-dampening barrier around the bridge had long since been removed, and the chirping of insects and birds, mixed with the clamor of footsteps, reached the ears of Olivia, who was resting with her eyes closed. She opened them, glanced toward the stairs, then reached out and removed the arm still draped across her waist. “Someone from the God Race is here for you,” she said softly.

Beside her, Cynthia lay with her eyes closed, not moving, as if she were still asleep. But the hand resting on Olivia’s waist was not so well-behaved, its fingers finding their way to her belt.

In truth, the God Race didn’t need much sleep either, so Cynthia had only been napping. She had woken up a while ago, but because the opportunity to sleep in Olivia’s arms was so rare, she had been pretending to be asleep.

The belt, already loosely tied, came undone with a gentle flick of her fingers. Cynthia smiled silently and buried her head in the crook of Olivia’s neck.

“How long are you going to pretend to be asleep?” Olivia, who had known all along that Cynthia was awake, raised a hand to press down on Cynthia’s wrist, gently exposing her ruse. “Get up, quickly.”

If she didn’t get up soon, an elf warrior would come up to report.

Cynthia’s arm around Olivia’s waist tightened. Inhaling Olivia’s scent, she said lazily, “I don’t want to get up.” After speaking, she planted a few more kisses on Olivia’s neck, slowly moving downward, proving with her actions that she truly did not want to get up.

Olivia: “…”

It was the first time she had seen Cynthia act so playfully stubborn, and for a moment, she didn’t know how to react. But that helplessness lasted only an instant. The next second, the silver-haired member of the God Race, who was “indulging” in the beauty before her, was met with a blast of cold wind that instantly sobered her up.

Her laziness blown away by the cold wind, Cynthia chuckled softly against Olivia’s shoulder, then let go of her and sat up in bed.

As Olivia straightened her disheveled clothes, she said coolly, “Awake now?”

“Yes, thanks to Her Majesty the Queen’s cold wind, I’m much more awake now.” Cynthia raised a hand to tuck her messy long hair behind her ear. She then turned her head, her golden eyes tracing a path from Olivia’s lips down to her collarbone. Reaching out, she tapped the red marks on that expanse of fair skin and said with a curved smile, “So tempting.”

Olivia’s hands paused in their task of tidying her clothes. Cynthia’s finger was about to move lower, even trying to slip inside Olivia’s collar, but before it could succeed, a sudden whirlwind swept her up and tossed her off the aerial bridge.

…This member of the God Race was getting more and more improper. Olivia emotionlessly continued to arrange her clothes. Her fingers paused as they brushed against her collarbone. She glanced down, and the sight of the marks, some deep and some faint, made the tips of her ears grow warm.

She really shouldn’t have indulged Cynthia’s mischief.

The whirlwind that had carried Cynthia away seemed fierce but had actually delivered her to the ground quite gently, much more so than on previous occasions. Cynthia, of course, could feel the difference. She glanced up, then let out a soft laugh, her heart filled with a tender warmth.

Darcy, who was waiting for Cynthia below the bridge, was slightly taken aback to see her descend via a whirlwind instead of the stairs. Then, noticing her somewhat disheveled clothes and her long hair cascading freely down her back, she raised an eyebrow. “What happened to you…?”

Cynthia glanced at her and smiled gently. While straightening her clothes, she said softly, “I angered Her Majesty the Queen.”

Although she had never told Darcy about her relationship with Olivia, Cynthia believed Darcy had long since guessed from the clues. She finished arranging her clothes and cast a purification spell on herself. Seeing that Darcy was still sizing her up, she admitted frankly, “You interrupted Olivia and me.”

Darcy shrugged, defending herself. “It wasn’t me who wanted to come and interrupt you.”

Cynthia’s expression shifted, and she raised an eyebrow. “Have Chelsea and the others arrived?” She had indeed sent a message to Chelsea asking to meet after returning from the Tallas Mountains, but she hadn’t expected them to arrive so quickly.

As she spoke, she began walking toward the edge of the forest. Darcy followed beside her and nodded. “They arrived not long ago. They’re anxious to see you.”

The air within the elven forest was cool and fresh, but because the sky was so overcast, even this freshness was diminished. Cynthia reached out, took a drop of dew from an overhanging leaf, and asked nonchalantly, “Have they found the whereabouts of the Garcia and Anderson families?”

“Not yet.” At the mention of the Anderson Family, Darcy’s expression turned cold. She shook her head. “I don’t know if they’re lying to protect their own.”

Although it was the Sethite wizards who had attacked them and caused Chloe to fall into a coma, Darcy would not forget that the Anderson Family had assisted them.

She wouldn’t forget a single part of that debt.

“If the Morgan Family chose to protect their kin, they wouldn’t have come here,” Cynthia said, smearing the dewdrop on her fingertip. She murmured, “I didn’t expect the Garcia Family to go so far as to not even contact the Morgan Family in order to protect the Anderson Family.”

Among the three witch families, the Garcia Family had the gentlest and friendliest temperament. When the God Race first made contact with the witches, their interactions with the Garcia Family were the most frequent, followed by the taciturn Morgan Family, who were skilled in formations.

Becoming enemies with the Garcia Family was not something Cynthia wanted to see, but they couldn’t possibly let the Anderson witches go.

Especially after seeing the bizarre corpses of the Sethite wizards, who knew what schemes the Anderson witches were plotting now. If they didn’t investigate thoroughly, danger might once again befall the God Race.

Because of the Anderson witches’ betrayal, the relationship between the God Race and the Morgan Family had also become delicate. Although the God Race showed no hostility, the Morgan Family no longer entered their cities as freely as before. Even though they had come here in response to Cynthia’s message, they had chosen to wait in the wilderness for her.

When Cynthia and Darcy found the Morgan witches, they were resting in a clearing. Cynthia scanned their condition. Seeing them travel-worn and with grim expressions, she frowned slightly. She whispered a few words to Darcy, then walked toward Chelsea, who was sitting alone in a corner.

The series of events had made Chelsea even more withdrawn. Only when she saw Cynthia did a flicker of emotion appear in her eyes.

“You look exhausted.” Cynthia reached out and stroked Chelsea’s hair, sighing. “I’ve already had Darcy arrange for another city for you all to live in.”

Chelsea kept her head down, her voice muffled. “I can’t find them, and I can’t find Betty.”

More than being distrusted by kin with whom she shared thousands of years of bonds, what broke Chelsea’s heart was the attitude of Betty, who had grown up with her.

Between Eunice and her, Betty had chosen the former.

“Betty must have run into some trouble, that’s why she couldn’t attend to you,” Cynthia said, reaching out to pull Chelsea to her feet. She spoke gently, “I suspect something happened to Eunice. Otherwise, she wouldn’t have ignored your message.”

Only Eunice could command all of Betty’s attention. And only if something had happened to Eunice would Betty choose to ignore the messages from both her and Chelsea, which warned that Eunice might be colluding with the Sethite wizards.

“Let’s find them first, then we’ll talk.” Cynthia recounted to Chelsea the discovery of the Sethite wizard corpses in the valley outside the Tallas Mountains, then said with a frown, “Those bodies look like the work of the Anderson Family. I don’t know who is helping them from behind the scenes.”

Chelsea was stunned for a moment. The news was completely unexpected, and she was at a loss for how to react, only able to softly repeat Cynthia’s words, “Someone is helping them…”

Cynthia nodded. “We need to find them as soon as possible.” After a moment, she seemed to remember something and asked, “By the way, have you searched the Capri Plains?”

Chelsea shook her head. “No.” The Vampires used to enjoy capturing people in the Capri Plains. After abandoning that place, the witches hadn’t been back in a very long time.

The Garcia and Anderson families had begun their flight after a disastrous battle, so they had never included the Capri Plains in their search area.

Cynthia nodded thoughtfully. Seeing Darcy return out of the corner of her eye, she patted Chelsea’s shoulder and said, “Take your clan to rest for now. Tomorrow, we’ll go check the Capri Plains.”

Although she had previously led a large number of Magic Dragons to the Capri Plains to drive away the Sethite wizards who occupied it, and logically the witches couldn’t be hiding there with Magic Dragons around, but… Cynthia hadn’t forgotten that the Temple of Darkness was hidden underground in the Capri Plains.

The Anderson witches had been in contact with the Sethite wizards. Judging from the Sethite wizards’ memories, the reason they had a falling out was that the Anderson witches had suddenly turned on them and killed one of their elders.

Perhaps the location of the Temple of Darkness was no longer a secret to the Anderson witches.

Although Chelsea didn’t know why they were going to the Capri Plains, she didn’t ask any further questions since it was Cynthia’s suggestion. She was indeed tired. After exchanging a few more words with Cynthia, she left with her clan, following Darcy.

After the witches left, Cynthia stood in place for a moment, preparing to head back as well. But just as she turned, a vine shot out from nowhere and wrapped around her ankle.

Cynthia glanced down, a slight smile playing on her red lips. She looked around and said cheerfully in a certain direction, “Her Majesty the Queen wanted to come along. Why didn’t you tell me?”

Olivia emerged from behind a large boulder. The long dress she had been wearing was replaced by a high-collared robe. She watched Cynthia walk over and said coolly, “Avira and Kate are nearby, so I came to see.”

Cynthia and Olivia walked side-by-side, neither of them having any intention of using magic to speed their journey. Although the wilderness scenery was desolate, perhaps because of the person beside her, even the desolation couldn’t affect their mood. Cynthia glanced at Olivia, her gaze lingering on her clothes. She teased, “Her Majesty the Queen wasn’t wearing this when I left today.”

Olivia shot her a look but said nothing. While the long dress could have also hidden the marks, they might have been revealed with movement. She had no choice but to change into a robe. Cynthia, who habitually wore high-collared robes, didn’t have this problem.

This member of the God Race knew perfectly well, yet she still had to say it out loud.

Cynthia wasn’t bothered by the lack of response. She moved a little closer to Olivia, her long silver hair almost brushing against the other’s shoulder, and suggested with a smile, “It’s still early. Would Her Majesty the Queen like to come to my chambers for a while?”

Olivia raised a hand and pushed her slightly away, rejecting her coolly. “No.”

Undeterred, Cynthia continued to suggest, “Then let’s go to the aerial bridge and drink flower nectar.”

Olivia was silent for a moment, then gave a slight nod in agreement.

So she still doesn’t like my chambers, Cynthia mused, looking at Olivia with a thoughtful expression. Should she perhaps build a wooden house more to the elves’ liking?