"The Princess of the Garden also mentioned that he is now outside the mountain, but unfortunately, his condition is not good," Elara added. "It's uncertain whether he will recover or not."
The joy in Selene's eyes vanished as she shifted her gaze toward the ground, clenching her teeth in anger.
Elara observed her reaction and shook her head with a sigh.
"I've done my part and obtained the information you needed. Now, do your part and tell me who completed the trial and received the unknown power to defeat the White Flame," Elara asked impatiently.
After all, the farther she was from this place, the better for her.
Selene locked eyes with Elara's impatience and nodded in response, "Alright, I will tell you," she said before adding, "But before I do, you have to agree to one condition."
Elara's frustration surfaced, "What are you playing at, Selene? This wasn't part of the agreement," she said with a frown.
Ignoring Elara's irritation, Selene shook her head with a smile, "I promise it's not anything too demanding."
Elara scrutinized Selene for a moment, gritted her teeth, and asked, "What is the condition?"
"I want you to take my daughter with you as you leave this mountain," Selene said, staring at Elara with a determined expression. She could ensure her daughter's safety outside the mountain if she couldn't escape.
Elara's frown deepened as she exhaled deeply, looking at Selene's pleading expression. "That foolish son of mine has taken an extreme liking to your daughter and hardly lets her out of his sight, so I don't think that would be an easy task to do now," she responded seriously.
"Please…"
"I don't think that we are close enough for me to want to risk my safety for the sake of saving your daugh—"
"I'll tell you where the Crystalforge clan's artefacts are stored," Selene interrupted, staring at Elara with a resolute expression.
Elara's face scrunched up in displeasure. Selene's offer was tempting because, from what she knew, the Crystalforge Clan's artefacts treasury was more incomparable than any of the five major clans, mainly due to their clan's unique abilities.
So, even though she couldn't take all of them for herself, she could still find some things to help her get out of this mountain.
"Alright, where are the Crystalforge Clan's artefacts stored?" Elara asked, accepting Selene's request.
Selene nodded in understanding and explained everything about where the Crystalforge Clan's artefacts were hidden within the Crystalforge Clan and how to get to them. It took a few minutes for Selene to cover every detail for Elara.
Afterwards, she listed the names of all the individuals who had succeeded in gaining the unknown power that would enable them to defeat the White Flame, along with their physical features so that Elara could recognize them correctly.
Once she finished, Elara nodded in understanding, her brows furrowed.
"Are you sure that's everything I need to know?" Elara asked for clarification.
"Yes, that's everything you need to know," Selene nodded, with a tired sigh escaping her lips. All this conversation was beginning to take a toll on her mind.
"Okay, besides, you don't have any reason to lie to me," Elara responded.
She looked at Selene with pity for a moment before shaking her head and walking towards the door. When she reached the door, she halted her steps.
Without turning around, she spoke, "A Queen who has lost her crown, her kingdom, and now lives the rest of her life chained, imprisoned, and fed like the worst criminal," she paused before she suddenly continued, "Compared to me, you are the one who looks extremely pitiful, former Queen Selene," her voice sounding behind her as she opened the cell door, stepped out, not forgetting to close it behind her.
As the silence settled within the cell once more, former Queen Selene found Elara's words ringing in her ears for a moment before they disappeared. Absentmindedly, she adjusted her knees to one side and attempted to lie down on the ground and get some rest.
However, her arms were restricted by the chains, drawing her body backwards and reminding her that she was still chained to the walls.
Sighing deeply in defeat and frustration, she bent her head forward, her lustrous red, long-flowing locs slowly shifting to cover up the intense emotions in her eyes and expressionless face.
As she attempted to force herself to sleep, eager to lose the feeling of being starved until she could eat something again, one thought kept ringing in her mind.
'Where are you, foreigner? Aren't you coming back?'
…....….
A loud knock resounded on the extravagant crystal door; however, after a few minutes with no response, the knock echoed once more. Already guessing who it might be, former Princess Crystalia suppressed the irritation in her voice as she asked, "Who is that?"
Her voice was loud enough for the person on the other side to hear her. Instead of responding, another knock echoed from the door for the third time, much louder than the last.
"Tch!" Holding down her annoyance as she understood her current situation, Crystalia stood up from her bed and walked toward the extravagant, thick crystal door.
She swung the door open angrily.
"What is it…" Just as she was about to speak, her mouth immediately snapped shut the moment she noticed the figure standing outside the door.
"Ely —" Crystalia wanted to say before she suddenly sealed her lips, remembering several guards were outside her room. Most of all, seeing as Elysia had disguised herself by wearing another maid outfit and changing the colour of her hair, Crystalia understood that it would cause big trouble for both of them if it were found out by anyone that the former Queen's personal servant was meeting up with the former Princess of the Prismerian Kingdom.
So, she immediately feigned ignorance to fool the guards outside the room.
"Who are you? What do you want? Did Zephyrion send you?" Princess Crystalia asked with feigned annoyance.
