Chapter 22: Meanwhile, in the Elven Kingdom (4)
About seven months after Lydia left the great tree.
Inside a splendid office within the Elven Kingdom’s royal palace, as snow drifted lightly outside.
Veronica gnawed at her nails in irritation.
Piled high on the desk before her was a mountain of petitions.
[Due to poor harvests, please grant us more of the “Blessing of the Priestess of Abundance.”]
[Please come and offer your prayers to our land.]
They all said the same things.
The abnormal weather still showed no sign of ending, and cries of poor harvests were pouring in from all regions.
Tree growth had worsened as well, and even timber—once used freely—now had to be restricted.
They had managed to survive until winter by distributing the medicines Lydia had left behind as the “Blessing of the Priestess of Abundance,” but even this method was gradually losing its effectiveness.
According to the chief pharmacist, there was not much of Lydia’s medicine left.
They were urgently analyzing and attempting to reproduce it, but because it relied on Lydia’s unique techniques, progress was slow.
‘Why is nothing going right!’
Veronica bit down hard on her nail.
She had assumed the abnormal weather would end once summer passed, but according to those studying the climate, there was a high chance it would continue for quite some time.
‘Why did it come to this!’
Then, a thought struck her.
What if Lydia was doing something?
A thousand years ago, an elf offered as a sacrifice and imprisoned within the Silent Great Tree had gone mad and released a curse into the ley lines.
As a result, the Elven Kingdom had fallen into ruin, and that incident had become the catalyst for abolishing the sacrificial system.
Considering that history alongside the current situation, perhaps Lydia was doing something unnecessary inside the great tree.
Veronica abruptly stood up.
“That’s it!
It has to be!”
She rang the bell and summoned Gilbard.
When he appeared with a slightly gloomy expression, she barked orders at him.
“We’re going out tonight.”
“…Where to?”
“That place.”
Gilbard’s eyes widened.
“Are you going to ask Lydia for help?”
Veronica shot him a sharp glare.
“Of course not!
I’m just going to tell her to stop doing anything unnecessary!”
“Anything unnecessary?”
“Yes.
This abnormal weather is probably her doing.”
“I don’t think Lydia would do something like that.
…Unlike you.”
Gilbard muttered the last words so quietly they were barely audible.
That night, the two of them slipped out of the palace under cover of darkness.
After riding in a carriage for several hours, they reached the great tree at dawn.
Veronica strode forward with her enormous magic staff, Gilbard following behind her with a dark expression.
They arrived before the towering great tree bathed in the morning sun.
The area around the tree was warm, like spring, making the snowy climate outside seem like a lie.
Veronica looked up.
“It hasn’t changed at all from ten years ago.”
“No.
The flow of magic feels the same too.”
Just to be safe, the two of them walked around the great tree—
“…!”
They froze in shock.
The trees growing behind the great tree had been flattened, and the ground was deeply gouged.
Faced with traces that looked as if an overwhelming attack had struck the area, both of them went pale.
“N-No way!”
They rushed around to the front of the great tree and flung open the door.
Stepping inside, they sucked in a sharp breath at the sight before them.
“No one’s here!?”
The interior was neatly cleaned, with no trace of anyone remaining.
On the wall were notes with dates written on them, stopping at seven months ago.
“She escaped!”
Veronica screamed in hatred.
She felt an intense sense of defeat that Lydia had escaped from a place even she herself had been unable to leave.
More than that, what surged up within her was pure hatred.
“How far do you intend to push me!
That woman!”
Gilbard looked at the raging Veronica with frightened eyes.
After that, Veronica returned to the royal palace.
She immediately summoned the royal intelligence division—the shadow operatives—and issued a harsh order.
“The criminal, Princess Lydia, has betrayed our trust and fled.
Find her and capture her in secret before Father learns of it.”