After leaving the wooden cabin, Olivia didn’t stop until she was near the Forbidden Land. The dense sea of trees made the wind in the Elf Territory exceptionally gentle. The light breeze caressed her face, carrying away its unusual heat and allowing Olivia to slowly calm down. She stood at the entrance to the Forbidden Land, her expression somewhat grave.

…Why did she run?

The sound of someone landing came from behind her. Polly and three elven guards leaped down from the trees and walked up behind Olivia. They all wore different expressions, but a trace of astonishment flickered in their eyes.

The superior hearing of the elves allowed them, who had been guarding Olivia nearby, to hear Hanni’s shout. But their astonishment had little to do with that.

Olivia was powerful and beautiful, and she had never lacked for suitors from other races. As her guards, they had seen such scenes many times. What truly surprised them was Olivia’s reaction.

They had only ever seen Olivia coldly reject those suitors and draw a clear line. They had never seen her flee in a panic just because of a single sentence.

…This was too strange.

The elven guards exchanged glances, and one of them asked tentatively, “Her Majesty the Queen, did something happen?”

Lost in her thoughts, Olivia came back to her senses. She glanced back over her shoulder and said coolly, “It’s nothing.”

The thought that she had become so flustered over a single question from Hanni sparked a baseless annoyance in Olivia’s heart. The surprised expressions on her elven guards’ faces magnified this irritation infinitely. She took a deep breath, and instead of entering the Forbidden Land, she turned and walked away.

Polly stared at Olivia’s back for a moment, then hurriedly followed. “Her Majesty the Queen, where are you going?”

With a cold expression, Olivia replied in a low voice, “Just for a walk.”

She needed to calm her emotions. If possible, she wanted to settle these vexing feelings that had arisen because of Cynthia.

It was afternoon, and most of the elves were at the training grounds practicing archery and magic. Olivia had no intention of disturbing them, so she avoided the training grounds and headed toward a more secluded, deserted area.

A rich floral fragrance suddenly filled the air, causing Olivia to feel dazed for a moment. She stopped, her light green eyes looking in the direction of the scent, her brow slightly furrowed.

Polly came to her side, observed her expression, and said cautiously, “Should we continue forward? The Twin Flower territory is ahead, and they’re in bloom right now.”

Had she really walked all the way here? Olivia was taken aback. She lowered her gaze and pondered for a moment before saying in a low voice, “Let’s go have a look.”

She hadn’t been to see the Twin Flowers since they had bloomed.

The fragrance of the Twin Flowers could stir feelings of passion and desire, so one had to eat a special fruit to suppress this agitation before entering.

It was a tradition for elves to find a partner after coming of age and then enjoy the pleasure brought by the Twin Flowers together. At other times, however, being inadvertently affected by the fragrance was a nuisance. Therefore, every elf kept a large supply of the suppressive fruit in their Space Gem.

Olivia ate the fruit and waited until her body temperature slowly returned to normal before continuing forward. As the surrounding trees thinned, her field of vision suddenly widened. The grassy ground beneath her feet, which at first had only a few scattered white petals, was eventually replaced entirely by a carpet of flowers.

The gentle breeze swirled the petals through the air as if to welcome Olivia’s arrival. The tree trunks, which would take fourteen or fifteen people to encircle, were not particularly tall. Their branches spread out like blossoms, with pale yellow flowers nestled among the tender green leaves. Green vines wrapped around the branches, and the small white flowers blooming on the vines overlapped with the pale yellow ones, making them look like a single entity.

Several thousand Twin Flower trees were planted in this area, with the one in the very center—the largest one—being Olivia’s. Although some unopened buds could still be seen among the leaves and on the vines, the flowers that had already bloomed were far more captivating.

Olivia stopped about ten meters from the Twin Flower tree. She tilted her head up slightly, gazing at the unopened buds with a clear coolness in her light green eyes.

Standing behind her, Polly also looked at Olivia’s Twin Flower tree and sighed with some emotion, “The Twin Flowers have all bloomed.”

Olivia’s composure and maturity often made Polly forget her age. She shifted her gaze from the Twin Flowers to Olivia. Seeing her staring at them in a daze, she smiled and asked, “Is Her Majesty the Queen thinking of choosing a Guardian?”

Just then, a team of elven warriors was patrolling nearby. Polly glanced at them a few times and said, “There are many elves of the younger generation with excellent aptitude and talent. Would Her Majesty the Queen like to select a few to transfer to the royal guard?”

When the Elf Queen chose a Guardian, her own wishes were paramount. If she had no one in mind but needed to conceive the next queen, she would use the branch left by the Goddess of the Forest to automatically select the most suitable Guardian.

From the era of the gods until now, the number of times an Elf Queen had used the branch to designate a Guardian could be counted on one hand. Therefore, Polly also hoped that Olivia could choose a Guardian she truly desired.

A Guardian from her own race that she desired, not one from an outside race.

Olivia didn’t seem to understand Polly’s hint. Hearing her words, she turned to glance at the elven warriors. Coincidentally, one of the elves had the same hair color as Cynthia. The silver hair, dazzlingly bright in the sunlight, made Olivia stare blankly for a moment.

Seeing that she seemed interested in the elven warriors, Polly called them over, then looked at Olivia with an expectant expression.

The elven warriors came before them, instantly snapping Olivia out of her daze. She retracted her gaze and said with disinterest, “There’s no rush to choose a Guardian.”

She waved her hand, her voice cool. “You are dismissed.”

The expectant look on Polly’s face vanished instantly. She looked at Olivia’s profile and sighed inwardly.

Night had fallen by the time they left the Twin Flower territory. When Olivia returned to the Forbidden Land, she found that Cynthia had already arrived. Judging by the way she was pruning the branches of the Tree of Life, she had been there for some time.

Olivia’s steps faltered slightly as she looked at the familiar figure. She still felt a little uncomfortable, but she concealed it with a cold expression.

Cynthia sensed Olivia’s presence and turned to look at her, greeting her naturally with a smile. “If you hadn’t shown up soon, I was about to go looking for you.”

She looked Olivia up and down, unsure of her attitude toward what Hanni had said earlier, so she didn’t bring it up. “You look well-rested.”

Olivia gave a curt nod in response. She walked to the other side of the Tree of Life and bent down to check the condition of the Elf Fruits.

Cynthia frowned at Olivia’s cold and distant attitude. She put down the pruning shears and stared intently at Olivia’s profile.

Although Olivia was examining the Elf Fruits, Cynthia’s gaze was too scorching to ignore. The hand holding the Elf Fruit paused, and she turned her head to ask with a frown, “What is it?”

Cynthia walked over to Olivia, took the Elf Fruit from her hand, and placed it in the stream. Her golden eyes looked directly at Olivia as she asked in a serious tone, “Are you rejecting me?”

Her gaze made Olivia instinctively want to look away, and she did just that. Olivia turned her head, saying with displeasure, “What are you talking about?”

Olivia’s evasion made Cynthia sigh softly. She raised a hand to her forehead and said helplessly, “I don’t know why Hanni asked me that question, but it’s true that I like you.”

“It’s not the simple kind of affection one has for the Elf Race.” Cynthia raised her hand, intending to touch Olivia’s cheek, but changed her mind midway and placed it on her shoulder instead. She said softly, “Rather, it’s the kind of affection that includes the desire to kiss you.”

Olivia hadn’t expected Cynthia to say something like that. Her eyes widened instantly, and the temperature of her face began to rise. She raised her hand to press against Cynthia’s wrist and looked up into her eyes. She had intended to scold her for her impertinence, but for some reason, the words died on her lips. “You…”

Although Cynthia appeared calm, she was actually quite nervous. Hanni had interrupted her plan to take things slowly. While waiting for Olivia in the Forbidden Land, she had been constantly thinking about how Olivia would react upon learning of her feelings.

And pretending it never happened was clearly not a reaction that would make her happy.

Olivia looked angry, but the heat on her face didn’t seem to come entirely from rage. Cynthia observed her for a moment, and the corners of her lips curled up unconsciously. She let out a low chuckle. “I thought that after seeing so many suitors, Her Majesty the Queen would no longer feel shy about a few words of affection.”

Olivia shook Cynthia’s hand off, took a deep breath to steady her voice, and deliberately spoke in a cold tone, “None of them have ever said anything as outrageous as you have.”

Cynthia saw that the blush had already spread to the tips of Olivia’s ears, and even her fair neck was tinged with pink. Her eyes darkened slightly. She licked her lips and said in a low voice, “It seems Her Majesty the Queen really does have a lot of suitors.”

Olivia glanced at her and said with a frown, “I don’t have any suitors.”

She had never paid attention to such people, nor did she find it amusing to have many admirers. To her, it was a nuisance.

But why was she explaining this to Cynthia?

Olivia’s reaction made the smile on Cynthia’s face deepen. She understood Olivia’s personality and knew that forcing a response now would likely lead to a rejection out of sheer embarrassment. So, she took a step back and said with a smile, “Am I not considered a suitor? Everything I just said was serious.”

“Olivia, you can take your time to think about whether you like me.” Cynthia’s gaze, fixed on Olivia, was filled with tenderness. “I can wait for you.”

Having just composed herself, Olivia was once again thrown into turmoil by Cynthia’s sudden confession. Cynthia’s gentle gaze made it impossible for her to utter a cold rejection. She raised a hand to tidy the stray hairs on her forehead, blocking Cynthia’s view. After a moment of silence, she slowly nodded. “…I will consider it.”

After saying that, she silently turned her back to Cynthia.

Not being rejected outright was, in Cynthia’s view, the best possible answer. Cynthia looked at Olivia’s back, her eyes as gentle as water. Knowing that Olivia probably didn’t want to “deal with” her right now, she didn’t say anything more.

Time flowed by quietly. A light breeze blew past, lifting Olivia’s long, light green hair. A small white flower tucked in her hair fell to the ground.

Cynthia glanced down, then bent over to pick up the small white flower, examining it casually.

The movement behind her made Olivia turn her head slightly. Cynthia looked up, and their eyes met. Wanting to strike up a conversation, she held up the flower and asked, “What kind of flower is this?”

Olivia glanced at the small white flower in Cynthia’s hand and recognized it as the female flower of the Twin Flower. She was silent for a moment, not answering Cynthia’s question. Instead, she lowered her eyes and said, “It’s for you.”

Cynthia was stunned. She looked at the small white flower again. Though she felt a sense of bewilderment, she still smiled at Olivia and said softly, “Thank you. I like it very much.”

Olivia looked at her for a while before silently averting her gaze. She turned away, pressing a hand to her forehead as a flash of annoyance crossed her face.

She had actually given Cynthia a Twin Flower.