After walking for about two hours, the palace was finally in sight.

There two palace guards were wearing friendly smiles when they saw the unit approaching the gate, but shock soon spread across their faces as they noticed the unconscious princess held in the arms of the one of the squad members.

"W-What happened!?" one of the guards urgently went up and asked the squad captain, his eyes clouded with worry as he got a closer look at the princess's abnormally pale complexion.

"The princess is injured. She has already been treated, but still needs much rest." the captain replied as she continued to make her way through the gates, not stopping to explain further.

The two guards also didn't dare to hold them back, hastily stepping aside even though there was already more than enough room for the squad to move through. With this, the unit proceeded smoothly through the gates and headed deeper into the palace.

"Do we need to report this to the captain?" one of the guards carefully asked his partner after the group exited their sight, still appearing flustered from what he just saw.

"You go." his partner replied after a slight pause.

"Why me!? You go!" the guard shot a glare back at his partner, but his partner was looking away.

"...let's just guard the gate." the partner said with a heavy sigh.

The guard hesitated for a moment before nodding as the two stayed in their post with uneasiness on their faces, occasionally sneaking glances within the palace.

---

As the personal guard made their way deeper into the palace, the faces of everyone they encountered changed instantly when they saw the unconscious princess, frantically moving to the side to make way for their passage.

Their steps got heavier with many of them feeling more unease with each step they took, but they still continued to make their way through the hallways and eventually stopped before an intricately decorated door that stood out even within the palace.

"Yes? Who is it?" a voice containing traces of fatigue suddenly came from across the door, startling the female squad captain and several of the other squad members.

The voice was gentle sounding and pleasing to the ear, a reliable voice that they usually rid them of their worries when they heard it, but only served to deepen their unease at this moment.

Even though they hadn't knocked yet, their footsteps had evidently given away their presence, attracting the attention of the elf who was hard at work within the room.

"Your Majesty, the princess's personal guard has something to report." the female squad captain sighed inwardly as she announced.

"Ada? What's wrong? Come on inside." a soft chuckle could be heard from the room before she replied, but her voice was clearly shaky with hints of anxiety not present before.

The captain let out a long sigh and took the princess from the squad member who was currently carrying her, making a bitter look as she pushed on the door that felt many times heavier than usual and entered the room.

The other squad members hastily followed behind their captain, entering the room orderly immediately after her with downcast eyes that reflected their unease.

---

The Queen was busy at work in the royal study when she heard multiple sets of heavy footsteps from beyond the door, looking up from the scrolls on the desk towards the entrance as an ominous feeling started rising within her.

Her heart skipped a beat when she learnt of the visitors' identity, but she quickly suppressed her worry as she welcomed them in while trying to maintain an optimistic outlook despite knowing that that her hopes wouldn't

This feeling rapidly intensified as she learnt of the visitors' identity, but she still tried her best to remain optimistic as she welcomed them in, hoping that they weren't here to bring bad news.

However, she also knew that this was merely wishful thinking on her part as the chances of that happening were slim to none especially with the identity of the visitors, bracing herself mentally for the news that was about to come.

After all, the royal study room was off-limits to everyone else unless she called for them, a basic rule that was known to everyone in the palace.

The only exception to this rule was when there was something important that urgently required her attention, and she had never received positive news in all her experience since taking over the throne over a decade ago.

Indeed, her hopes were instantly brought down by the first sight that entered her eyes when the captain of her daughter's personal guard, Ada, entered the room.

"AURA! WHAT'S WRONG WITH HER!?" she shouted at the top of her lungs as jumped out from her chair and rushed towards the captain, her eyes filled with worry as she saw at her daughter lying unconscious in the captain's hands.

"Your majesty, her highness was wounded by an arrow in the chest, but she has been treated and her life no longer in any danger." the captain reported with her head lowered towards the queen, too ashamed to look her in the eye.

Even though she could see that the princess was alive before her eyes, she still felt like her heart nearly jumped out of chest when she heard that her daughter was shot by an arrow, only managing to regain some of her composure after words that followed.

The queen gently caressed the princess's face with her fingers and lifted the layer of cloth draped over her chest, looking at the bloodstained bandages with a look of pain in her eyes.

She carefully took the princess from the captain's arms and set her down gently on the cushioned couch sitting in front of her desk that was usually used for receiving guests here.

"What happened?" about a minute later, the queen finally shifted her gaze from the princess to the captain and asked in a seemingly calm voice.

Yet, her body was visibly trembling and the chilling atmosphere radiating from her didn't let up for a second, giving away her facade while allowing the guards to feel the anger that was seething in her.

"After her highness played with the wolves......" the captain quickly began to describe the entire matter from the very beginning, summarising the entire flow of events with as few words as she could while the queen silently listened.

She had made sure not to miss out any important details, reporting all of the events and the knowledge they gathered, including the culprit's identities and their conjectures on the possible motives behind the attack.

There was however one small lie mixed into her report regarding the princess's treatment process, as she mentioned that Alz only provided them with the medicine instead of administering the treatment personally, causing Lily's mouth to widen slightly in reaction to her words.

"It's him?"

When the captain mentioned Alz, the queen briefly turned to a scroll on her table containing a written report submitted by the captain of the southern guardhouse that had read through earlier.

This report stood out in her memory because there was something mentioned in it that had caught her eye, the report stating that a guard from the guardhouse had invented a bow-like weapon that was superior in performance compared to the ones they used in multiple aspects.

Naturally, with the personal guard tailing the princess each time, the princess's frequent visits to the field were no secret to her and she had long since ordered for a thorough background check on Alz as she did with Maya the first time the princess met with her years ago.

However, she didn't link the matters together when she was reading the report, only noticing now that the elf who was written to have invented the new weapon, the 'crossbow', was the same elf that the princess had been visiting regularly, and the elf her daughter just risked her life to save.

The queen felt an intense rage towards Alz when she first heard that the princess gotten injured because she blocked an arrow that was meant for him, but her anger slowly began to ease as the captain mentioned how he risked his life to save the princess after and repeatedly stressed upon the fact that the medicine he provided was crucial in saving her life.

She was also surprised the captain reported that Alz was suspected to have killed three of the nine elves that were thought to be from one of the North's elite hunting squad despite being alone, another feat that was worthy of gaining her notice by itself.

"Alz... it seems I will have to meet with this elf personally." the queen mumbled softly under her breath as she stared towards the captain with a mixed expression.