Hearing this, Addison finally set aside her worries about Archmage Elric and his disciples. They only needed to hold out until today; by tomorrow morning, the remaining mages would retreat, and the guards assigned to deploy the biochemical agents would carry out their tasks.
Tonight, however, they still had to prepare the hot air balloons, check the biochemical canisters, and finalize the sequence and locations for their deploynt.
Now that she thought about it, Zion and Maxwell hadn’t had the ti to discuss any of this with Archmage Elric and the others. They were far too busy planning to evacuate the rest of the pack and the nearby packs. That ant the responsibility fell on her now, and truthfully, it had always been hers to begin with.
With that in mind, she headed out of the packhouse. Levi followed closely behind her, just like he used to back when she was still the Luna of the Midnight River Pack. The familiar sight made her smile softly as old mories surfaced.
She walked toward the inner part of the territory, where Archmage Elric and his people were staying.
After a twenty-minute walk, she finally arrived. She noticed the shimring ripple of energy surrounding the locust swarm, and she imdiately noticed how much denser they had beco. It seed that the scrap food she had thrown in before, ant only to pacify them and stop their destructive movents, had instead helped them multiply even further.
Her gaze shifted to Archmage Elric, who stood among his disciples. He looked utterly worn down, dark circles shadowed his eyes, his posture sagged with exhaustion, and he even appeared thinner than before.
Seeing the old man, Addison rubbed the tip of her nose. She had been so caught up in her own worries that she forgot hers were only the tip of the iceberg; Archmage Elric had been carrying the true weight on the frontlines. The realization made her feel almost laughable. She steadied her thoughts, took a deep breath, and began walking toward him.
The mont she moved, Archmage Elric noticed her. Their eyes t.
"Princess! You’re here!" he exclaid with a weary smile as he slowly approached, leaning heavily on his staff to support himself. He looked so exhausted, looking like he was on the verge of collapsing, that Addison felt a pang of pity for him.
"Archmage Elric, sir... how are things here?" she asked as her gaze swept over their surroundings. None of the mages looked any better than the others; every one of them appeared exhausted, pale, and sickly.
They had clearly pushed their bodies far beyond their limits these past days. They might be silent, but their effort and contribution to this mission were anything but small; in fact, they were its backbone.
Addison made a quiet decision then. Once they returned, she would ask her father to reward the mages generously. She didn’t want them to feel disheartened or believe the Royal Palace saw them as nothing more than tools.
That kind of resentnt could seed trouble in the future, and her enemies might even seize the chance to sway the Mage Tower to their side. Even if not all mages could be persuaded to betray their alliance with the werewolves, so might.
Better to prepare now, she thought, and prevent such a possibility before it ever had the chance to grow.
So instead, she would make sure everyone was rewarded according to their contributions, not only the mages, but all who had taken part in this mission. As that thought settled, her gaze drifted toward Levi. She and Levi walked toward the barrier beside Archmage Elric, moving slowly so the archmage wouldn’t need to force himself any more than necessary.
When they were close enough, Addison leaned in toward Levi and whispered, "Levi, please help . Make a contribution list, and list everyone’s efforts, one by one, so that when we return to the palace, we can report it to Father and reward them properly. I can only entrust this to you. Will you help ?"
She looked up at him with her golden eyes, which looked wide and bright because of their height difference, doll-like in a way that made her seem even more earnest. Levi’s throat tightened; how could he possibly refuse her when she looked like this?
He nodded, biting his lip, before his large hand gently ca down to cover her eyes as he looked away, flustered.
Addison, startled by Levi’s sudden action and unsure why he had covered her eyes in the first place, nearly stumbled over a small rock. Fortunately, Levi was walking so close beside her that the mont her body lurched forward, he imdiately slid an arm around her waist and steadied her. In doing so, the hand he’d placed over her eyes fell away.
Only then did Addison notice his face, bright red, as flushed as a cooked shrimp. He was blushing so hard that she finally realized he must have been embarrassed... or shy? She wasn’t entirely sure. All she knew was that Levi looked unexpectedly cute like this, and the sight made her want to tease him even more.
It was definitely better than seeing him gloomy.
A wide smile blood on her lips, and Levi’s already crimson face sohow deepened in color. Flustered, he released her as though he’d just touched sothing scorching. Addison couldn’t help it, a soft giggle escaped her lips.
Archmage Elric, who had been walking slowly beside them, glanced over, only to catch the two of them openly flirting. He felt as though he’d been force-fed a mouthful of dog food, and he rolled his eyes dramatically before letting out a snort. Without another word, he turned and headed back to his station, leaving the two behind.
Addison, who monts ago had felt genuinely sorry for him because he looked so frail, could only stare in shock. The archmage was suddenly walking briskly, full of energy, as if all that earlier weakness had been nothing but her imagination.
In the end, Addison couldn’t help but laugh out loud, all the gloom and negativity from earlier completely washed away by those two unexpected monts. Seeing her laugh, Levi’s mood brightened as well, and he found himself smiling along with her.
But soon after, they both returned to work mode. Levi took out a notebook and a charcoal pen from his magic bag as he continued walking beside her. He began listing the people who had contributed to the mission, just as Addison requested.
Since he had grown used to following Addison, ever since they left the Royal Palace with this group, he’d already gotten to know many of them. Their nas ca easily to him, since he often spoke with them and chatted a little while traveling, much like he used to when he served as Addison’s Gamma.
He carried that habit with him until now, and because of it, the task she entrusted to him beca much easier.
Seeing Levi diligently working on her request, Addison felt she could finally focus on planning tomorrow’s biochemical counterattack with Archmage Elric. She followed him as he settled onto a tree stump near the barrier, where most of his disciples were still chanting tirelessly to maintain the barrier.
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