From Ada's story, the queen could tell that it wasn't entirely their negligence that got the princess injured, as a large part of it came down to the unexpected nature of her actions in the first place.

She let out a deep sigh and decided to let the matter rest, not intending to fault them for their inability to protect the princess. Of course, the main reason she could think this way was because the princess was alive and sound, or even she didn't know how she would have reacted.

" Aurelia is still safe and that's what matters the most. I hope that you will all learn from this incident and protect her better in future." with this in mind, she addressed the guards with words of consolation, finally setting their minds at ease.

Although, all of them also heard the strong warning behind these words, knowing that while the queen had decided to let this matter rest for now, she didn't want to see any such incidents ever again.

"We thank you for your grace, your majesty." the captain fell to her knees and shouted while the others promptly followed after, echoing after her in unison.

"Ada, everyone, get up quickly, you don't have to do this. I know that this matter was out of your hands and you must all have been worried as well." the queen urged for the guards to rise, moving up to support Ada up personally.

Ada didn't resist the queen's support and soon got up, bowing deeply towards the queen to show her thanks once again after she got back on her feet with the rest of the squad following suit.

The queen looked at this with a helpless expression on her face but chose not to interrupt this time as she received their thanks.

After this, the queen finally moved her eyes to the other unconscious elf that was lying on the floor, looking towards him with eyes that were burning with an intense rage.

Her attitude towards Alz had softened on account due to his actions and the princess's attitude towards him, and she had also decided to not pursue the personal guards' oversight on the matter.

However, this didn't mean that her rage towards the incident had quelled in the slightest, rather, it was all channelled towards the party that held the most responsibility for the entire incident, the culprits behind the attack.

Knowing that the other nine perpetrators were already dead also didn't do much to make her feel better about the princess's injury, as no amount of lives lost could make up for the weight of her beloved daughter in her mind.

An intense struggle manifested in her eyes as the impulse to murder Cruz filled her mind, but she ultimately let out a deep sigh and turned her eyes away, unwilling to look at him any longer.

"Take him out and confine him, you are free to punish him... but don't kill him." the queen spat out words with her nails digging deeply into her palms, showing her dissatisfaction towards the decision she had just made.

A thousand deaths wouldn't have been enough for her to forgive Cruz for his crimes, but she above all understood the gravity of the situation and knew that the consequences of making such a selfish decision now was not something she was willing to face now.

"Yes, your majesty." Ada had a complicated expression on her as she heard the queen's decision, wearing a look that was mixed with bitterness, grief and relief at the same time, knowing how hard it was for the queen to make such a decision.

"Ada, I will have Sylvia send ten of her guards to you from now on, make sure you keep Aurelia safe." the queen suddenly turned her eyes towards Ada and changed the subject.

"This... but... your majesty... what about your own safety?" Ada frantically said with a difficult look, trying to convince the queen out of her sudden decision.

"You're worrying too much, that elf won't come after me first, he knows better than that." the queen frowned slightly at Ada's reply, but she knew that Ada was just worried for her safety, so she didn't get mad at her.

"But... your majesty, what if..." Ada still didn't give up after this, continuing to persuade her.

"Enough! Do as I say!" the queen cut her off halfway, not letting her finish her words.

"Ada, I know that elf too well... he will definitely target Aurelia first when he decides to move, so make sure you protect her well, if anything happens to her..." the queen let out a sigh as she saw that Ada was still not convinced, deciding to explain further.

"Yes, your majesty." Ada decided to abide after a brief moment of silence, having seen that the queen's mind was resolute.

Sylvia was the captain of the queen's personal guard, the second of the only two units that were comprised entirely out of female guards. There was a total of 20 elves in the queen's guard which was double that of the princess's, but now the queen wanted to switch that around.

"Ada, thank you." the queen's gaze softened as she looked towards Ada, offering her a heartfelt thanks.

"Ella, Lily, Lydie...... Thank you for your hard word and I hope you will all continue working hard from now on." she then proceeded to thank all of the guards personally before returning to her desk.

"Bring Aurelia back to her room and call in the physician to check up on her. Also, bring this to the palace guards and have them notify the rest of the council." the queen picked up an empty scroll and quickly carved on it with her sharp brush before handing it to Ada.

"Acknowledged." Ada received the scroll with both her hands and briefly looked over its contents before gently lifting princess Aurelia off the couch, leading the way out of the room.

The scroll was an urgent court summons that called for all the members of the royal court to gather at the throne room the next day, issued only when the monarch had something extremely urgent and important to discuss with the council, as with now.

Thus, the room quickly emptied out, leaving only the queen working silently in the room with an additional shadow of worry above her head as she looked over the documents on the table.

---

It had been several hours since Lily and Ada left, with Layla dutifully keeping watch over the surroundings for any potential dangers while occasionally glancing towards the unconscious elf lying on the bed.

Suddenly, the eyelids of the unconscious elf started twitching as he tried to lift them unsuccessfully. Moments later, he seemed to have found the strength in him to lift his eyelids fully, finally opening his eyes once again.

Alz instinctively tried to rise from the bed to look around, but a sharp pain ran across his body as he tried to sit up, resulting in him falling back onto the bed.

"You're finally awake, how are you feeling?" a youthful voice rang in his ears from above.

"It wasn't a dream?"

Alz fell into a short daze as he heard the unfamiliar voice in his ears, but his confusion soon faded away as memories of the day began to flow through his head, allowing the shock from the series of unexpected events to finally dawn upon him.

Everything had felt so surreal since the golden figure dashed out of the forest that he had even thought it was all just a nightmare at one point, but the reality of his current situation clearly showed otherwise, confirming that nothing was false.

"She took a bag after all."

As though remembering something, Alz turned his head towards the shelf by his left and saw that there was one less bag than he remembered on the top shelf, bringing a bitter smile to his face as he immediately figured out where it currently was.

The loss of one bag wasn't the problem here, as he could always make more. However, considering the background of the elf who presumably took it, there was no doubt that it would ultimately make its way to the queen's hands, potentially hindering some of his future arrangements.

That said, he didn't blame them for their actions as he knew that it was their duty, as he would probably have done the same if he were put in a similar position.

"At least I saved her, whatever happens will happen."

A gentle smile floated onto his face as he thought back to the golden-haired elf who suddenly appeared and took the arrow in her chest, washing away the worries and uncertainty he held towards the future.

He did what he wanted to do, and he didn't regret it after. No matter how many chances he was given to choose, he would have made the same decision regardless so there was no point worrying about what already happened at this point.