Inside the tent, the three people who had been electrocuted slumped on the ground in various awkward poses, tiny arcs of electricity still crackling across their bodies.
Elon wiped his face with his sleeve. His green hair had been curled slightly by the shock. He let out a long breath, his gaze falling on the figure wrapped tightly in restriction orders not far away.
Sern was wrapped from shoulder to toe in several loops of emerald-green magic. Currently lying on her side, she let out muffled, discontented whimpers through her gagged mouth, her tail flicking impatiently behind her as she glared death stares at Shane.
“This is your fault,”
Alicia said, also sitting on the ground. Her fiery red hair stood completely on end, and her voice carried clear irritation. “How do you plan to handle this?”
Shane, however, wore a face that said he had expected this all along. Pushing himself up with his weak arms, he sat up and turned to Elon. “Can't you just make her sleep again?”
“Her constitution is special.”
Elon supported himself on his knees to stand up, then walked over and squatted beside Sern. He pointed to the restricting rings around her body, which were already beginning to crack. “A suppressive spell of this level can only be used on her once in a short period. See that? Even with a restriction order, it's only a matter of time before it breaks if she keeps thrashing around like this.”
To this, Shane could only reply expressionlessly, “Am I really going to die, then?”
“Not necessarily.”
Elon turned to Sern, who was wriggling her body in an attempt to distance herself from him. Shrugging, Elon said, “You see how things are now. In this situation, none of us can best the other. Even if you break free of the restriction, I can just bind you again. Why don't we both calm down and have a proper chat?”
Sern stopped struggling and looked at Elon, seemingly agreeing to a “calm” resolution.
This delighted Elon. He pointed a finger at Shane and continued, “As you can see, the Ring of the Exiled on his wrist is a sentence handed down by the Imperial Magical Council itself. He is under the Council's supervision; it's impossible for him to go out and harm people.”
“As for Her Highness and me, we aren't controlled by him, nor are we being coerced. We are simply cooperating for mutual benefit.”
Sern narrowed her eyes. Her heterochromatic pupils darted back and forth between Elon and Shane. Her tail twitched, and she finally gave a slow nod.
However, Elon was in no hurry to remove Sern's gag. Instead, he looked at the Imperial Princess, and only after receiving her nod did he wave his hand to undo the restriction on Sern's mouth.
“Speak,”
the Imperial Princess said, standing up from the ground and smoothing down her wild hair. She walked over to Sern. “Why did you come here?”
Surprisingly, Sern did not hide anything. She took a breath and said, “That big dummy Olaid Erhart told me Elon was planting trees in the Golden Sea, claiming he wanted to destroy the desert environment so the prisoners here could escape.”
Sern strained to lift her upper body, glaring at Shane, who was sitting on the ground. “So I came to take a look, only to catch you harboring a necromancer.”
“Olaid?”
The Imperial Princess raised an eyebrow. Instead of anger, a subtle smile played on her face.
She glanced at Elon, who clearly understood her meaning and nodded. “It seems Miss Val's movements are faster than we anticipated. The news has already reached the heart of the Empire.”
The Imperial Princess's smile widened. Crossing her arms, she said in a playful tone, “Though, that boy Olaid would never think of such a roundabout scheme. It must have been that sickly fellow Virgil's idea.”
“Who are this Olaid and Virgil you speak of?”
Shane stood up shakily from the ground, brushing the dust off his clothes. “Why are they targeting you?”
“They are the First Prince's left and right hands,”
the Imperial Princess replied in a casual tone, showing no clear animosity. “One is brain, the other is brawn—they actually complement each other quite well. It's just that sometimes, it's nothing more than wishful thinking on their part.”
Shane didn't understand the political landscape of the heart of the Empire, nor did he grasp the meaning behind her words. However, something occurred to him, and he asked, “Then... was Cole's incident also their doing?”
“I'm not sure. After all, he didn't say anything in the end.”
The Imperial Princess didn't rush to make a judgment. Instead, she turned and called out loudly toward the outside of the tent, “Lanche!”
The young guide, who had been guarding the tent outside, immediately slipped inside upon hearing her voice. Keeping his head lowered, he knelt before the Imperial Princess. “Your Highness, at your command!”
The Imperial Princess didn't speak immediately. She turned to Elon and held out her hand. He caught on instantly, pulling three gold coins from his pocket.
Taking the coins, the Imperial Princess leaned down and placed them on the ground before Lanche, one by one. “Help me spread a piece of news, and these gold coins are yours.”
“Say that Sern Lancaster, the Judgment Knight of the Church of Life, was inspired by the Goddess of Life upon arriving at Silver Sand Lake, and has decided to remain here indefinitely.”
Beside them, Sern's ears perked up with a whoosh, her eyes screaming What do you mean by this? But with Elon holding her back, she didn't make a sound.
Lanche didn't raise his head, but he could sense the tense, dangerous atmosphere in the tent. Gulping hard, his hands trembled as he gathered the three gold coins. “Do not worry, Your Highness! I will make sure the news is spread!”
“Furthermore,”
the Imperial Princess said, sizing him up. “Once this is done, if you wish to work under me, I happen to be short of a cartographer.”
Lanche's heart clenched and his body trembled. How could he not understand her underlying meaning? He immediately expressed his gratitude, loudly assured her that the task would be completed, and then quickly stood up to leave.
Once Lanche had left, the Imperial Princess turned to see Sern's expression and smiled. “What? Am I wrong? You couldn't leave right now even if you wanted to anyway.”
Sern sat there expressionlessly. After a moment of silence, she spoke. “What is the deal with that Ring of the Exiled?”
She was asking Shane, but she had clearly directed her question to the wrong person. Shane shrugged. “No idea. I'm a prisoner. How would I know the details of a torture device?”
Seeing this, Elon took the opportunity to ask, “What crime did you commit back then anyway?”
“Theft of seven corpses, plus illegal necromantic experimentation.”
Shane recalled the faint memories of his sentencing and his arrival near the oasis. “Then the execution knight threw me into the teleportation array, and I ended up here.”
Elon was visibly stunned, clearly disbelieving. “Just that? And you were fitted with the ring and exiled to the Golden Sea?”
“You should know, that's treatment reserved for necromancers who unleash plagues or slaughter entire cities.”
Thinking about it now, there indeed seemed to be some discrepancies. Shane frowned. “But that's what I remember... The memories of that time are very blurry.”
Elon and the Imperial Princess exchanged a look, both seeing the suspicion in each other's eyes. “If that's the case, your crime might be far more complicated than it appears on the surface.”
“None of that matters to me right now,”
Shane said, not particularly caring about his past. He raised his arm to show the ring. “I just want to know what we do now.”
Elon glanced at the ring, thought for a moment, and said, “In theory, the Council will definitely send someone to check on your status, but that will likely take some time. So, during this period, this thing can't be removed, and you'll have to move together with her.”
“With her? Together?”
Shane stared, wide-eyed. Anyone forced to spend a long period of time with someone who wanted to kill them would probably be just as uneasy.
But Sern had already managed to sit up from the ground. Her face was completely expressionless as she cleared her throat and spoke in a monotone voice, “Ah. To think you have so many mysteries surrounding you. It might involve the dark side of the Magical Council. To uphold justice in this world, I can consider temporarily refraining from attacking you.”
“Is there a rule in the Church of Life's doctrine that forbids believers from lying?”
Shane turned decisively to Elon, who answered just as bluntly, “No.”
Silence fell over the tent.
After a long while, Elon let out a heavy sigh. “Then let's keep her bound like this for now, and have people take turns watching the two of you, just to prevent any accidents.”
Shane nodded, too exhausted to even complain.
Just then, a sudden clamor erupted outside the tent. After a brief commotion, a tearful female voice cut through the canvas and reached everyone's ears:
“Your Highness! Please, have mercy! Save Isha!”
Rate on N.U.
