"I finally rember you," Sylphia said, narrowing her eyes at the elf.
The elf was stunned and looked at Sylphia in wonder.
"You’re the daughter of Duke Valerin—Vera Valerin. The one who was said to have disappeared thirty years ago," Sylphia continued, making the elf’s eyes widen as her body trembled.
Seeing her reaction, Sylphia knew she was right. Aldrian and the others watched the developnt with curiosity. From the elf’s response alone, they could tell Sylphia was correct, and for this elf to be a duke’s daughter and end up here, there had to be a story behind it.
Evin, who looked at her mother and Sylphia with innocent eyes, felt confused. She did not understand their conversation at all. But when she saw her mother’s unusual reaction, she reached out and touched her hand, watching her with a questioning gaze.
"Mother?" she asked softly.
She then saw her mother draw her closer, as if trying to shield her with her arm.
"Who are you? How do you know my real na? Did my father send you here?" Vera’s voice sharpened. Though her face and body were weakened by illness, she tried to appear intimidating, releasing an aura that, while faint, made it clear to Aldrian and the others that her cultivation was at the middle Earl stage.
Worried that Vera might misunderstand further and knowing it could beco dangerous, Sylphia pulled back the hood of her robe, revealing her full face and hair. Vera still did not lower her guard since she had never seen Sylphia before.
However, she then watched as Sylphia released her disguise technique, and her true face appeared, strikingly beautiful, with golden hair that could srize anyone.
"I wasn’t sent by your father or anyone else. Don’t you recognize ?" Sylphia asked, offering a warm smile.
Her face had beco even more beautiful and mature since the night she t the mysterious woman in her dream, the night she had sex for the first ti with Aldrian.
Vera was stunned by Sylphia’s true appearance. However, due to the changes in Sylphia’s face, she didn’t imdiately recognize her.
Still, Vera didn’t let her guard down. She narrowed her eyes and studied Sylphia’s face more intently, trying to recall every elf she had ever t. From Sylphia’s features, she could tell that she ca from a noble family—or perhaps even the imperial family.
"The last ti we t was 35 years ago, at the banquet Duke Valerin held for his breakthrough to the Emperor stage," Sylphia said.
After a few monts, Vera’s eyes widened, and she looked at Sylphia with a trembling gaze.
"Your Highness, Princess Sylphia?" she asked.
Seeing that Vera had finally rembered, Sylphia smiled and nodded.
"Yes, it’s ."
Vera was truly shocked, unable to believe that a mber of the imperial family had arrived at this place. She hadn’t recognized Sylphia when she first saw her face, and the fact that she hadn’t imdiately done so made her feel guilty. But then, she glanced at Aldrian and couldn’t help but question what she had just heard from him.
Princess Sylphia is his lover?
Had she heard that correctly? Sylphia was a mber of the imperial family, and Vera doubted that His Majesty, the Emperor, would ever pair her with a human. So what did Aldrian an by that? And also, why was Sylphia here with this group of people? What had she missed while being away from the Ivory Empire for so long?
"So beautiful," Evin blurted out after staring at Sylphia’s real appearance for a few monts. Vera couldn’t help but sigh and She looked at Sylphia again.
"So, Your Highness, what is this all about? Why are you here? Why are you—" She stopped, her gaze shifting to Aldrian and the others.
Sylphia smiled and walked toward her, standing beside Evin and gently stroking the child’s head before turning to Vera.
"I know you have many questions, and so do I. So why don’t we talk about it?" she said. "But before that, let my man heal you. You seem really sick, and in your condition, we won’t have a good conversation."
Vera looked at Aldrian again, truly astonished. She hadn’t heard it wrong—Princess Sylphia really did have a human as her lover! Many questions flooded her mind, but she pushed them aside as Aldrian approached, pulling a chair beside her and sitting next to her bed.
"Like Sylphia said, let heal you so you can tell your story, and you can ask about us as well. Also, don’t you want to be healthy again so Evin can be happy?" Aldrian said with a smile.
Vera looked at Evin beside her, who gazed back with innocent eyes. Sighing as she looked at her daughter, she turned her gaze to Aldrian.
"Of course I want to be healthy again, my lord," she replied.
"Good. Now give your hand," Aldrian said, and Vera obeyed, giving her hand to him. He held her wrist and checked her entire body with his sense.
What he sensed was that her internal organ function seed weakened, and on so parts of her skin, there were slashing wounds—wounds that like those left by a sword.
He also sensed sothing from her dantian, sothing that should not be there. He could not help but frown after sensing it, sothing not unfamiliar to him, sothing he always encountered throughout his journey.
What he sensed was a residue of devil energy, trapped inside her dantian.
Although the quantity was small, it was enough to throw her energy inside her dantian into chaos, which prevented her from cultivating.
The worst part was that this residue had beco the very cause of her illness. The devil energy was acting like poison, contaminating her own energy and weakening her body from the inside.
It was no wonder her body had beco so sickly—her condition was in terrible shape, as the devil energy had been wrecking her from the inside. For a residue so small to cause this much damage, the source must have been a powerful cultivator, likely at the King or even Emperor stage among devil cultivators.
He could not be certain, since the residue had already blended with her own energy and dantian, but the strength of its effect gave him confidence that its owner was at least King stage.
He set aside the question of who the owner might be and began erasing the residue of devil energy. This was the source of her illness, and he needed to purify her energy first. His golden energy worked wonders as he injected it and spread it throughout her body.
Vera suddenly felt a comforting warmth spread through her body. All this ti, she had always felt uncomfortable and sick. Ever since she escaped from "that" incident, she had never felt healthy again. The wounds had left behind effects she found hard to erase.
But now, her body felt at ease, and she even felt the urge to close her eyes and enjoy this mont, to sleep peacefully for once.
After a few monts, the sensation faded as Aldrian pulled his hand away from her wrist. She tried to sense the changes in her body and couldn’t help but be surprised—her body felt light and refreshed. It was as if the illness she had endured had only been a dream, and she had just awakened from it.
She tried to circulate her energy and found that the uncomfortable pain that always followed each ti she did so was gone. She was truly astonished and couldn’t help but look at Aldrian with gratitude, from her position on the bed, she bowed her body towards him.
"Thank you for healing , my lord. I’m ashad that I can’t do more than offer my thanks, but it’s the only thing I can do right now," she said.
Evin’s eyes lit up with excitent as she heard her mother speak those words, it seed the healing had been a success. Seeing her mother bow to Aldrian, Evin wanted to do the sa, but Sylphia gently held her back, offering a warm smile that made Evin smile in return.
Vera, still bowing, was truly thankful that Aldrian had healed her. She hadn’t been able to call any physicians, as she didn’t have the wealth to afford their services.
There was a kind-hearted monk who had generously allowed her to stay in this place, but she couldn’t bring herself to ask him for more. She had hoped her condition might improve, but instead, it had only worsened with each passing day.
"Vera, after checking your body and healing you, I have a question for you," Aldrian said, his expression solemn, making it clear to everyone present that this was a serious matter.
She straightened her body and nodded.
"Please ask, my lord. I will answer to the best of my ability."
"Here’s the thing, Vera. What I sensed in your body was the presence of residual devil energy, which I’ve already purified," Aldrian said.
Hearing this, everyone was astonished, including Vera, who couldn’t believe it. She had never imagined that the source of her illness was residual devil energy.
"So, what I want to ask is, when did you start feeling sick? There must have been a trigger that allowed the devil energy to seep into your dantian and wreak havoc on your body," Aldrian asked.
Vera, understanding the gravity of the situation, tried to steady her heart as mories of a painful past resurfaced. She remained silent for a mont before finally speaking.
"It happened not long after the second prince of the Atria Empire, Prince Wilmar, started the civil war," she
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