"Sorry, did I disturb you?"
The woman outside the door wore a windbreaker and a very thick hat, hiding most of her long hair under the hat. However, from both temples, a few red strands of hair could still be seen.
In the Ilinor Kingdom, red hair was a symbol of the royal family.
"No, no, not at all. Wait! Your Highness Yuffie, why are you here?"
Vielsia was still in a state of confusion.
She had just mentioned to Reji that she wanted to seek help from the eldest princess, and the next moment, Yuffie knocked on the door?
"I just happened to be handling some matters in the academy, so I thought I'd also come to see Miss Vielsia. But it seems that I'm being a bit rude and abrupt. If you're busy, let's do it another day."
The princess in casual clothes explained to Vielsia, then turned her gaze to the other person in the room behind her, Reji.
Yuffie appeared very polite and respectful, and even though she was the eldest princess, she still showed an apologetic expression to Reji, as if apologizing for interrupting his class.
Then, the casually dressed eldest princess was about to turn and leave, but Reji spoke up immediately.
"Vielsia, don't stand at the door like that, quickly invite Her Highness in."
"Right! Your Highness, please come in, we have something we want to ask for your help!"
"You have something to ask of me? Alright..."
Yuffie nodded and also entered Reji's office. As for the two plainclothes guards she brought with her, the princess left them at the doorknob and did not follow.
"Miss Vielsia, tell me about your situation first. You seem to be in a hurry. What happened? How can I help you?"
"Uh..."
Vielsia stammered, thinking only of how to keep Yuffie behind, but she had no idea how to explain the situation to the princess. She couldn't just mention the elves directly, could she?
At this point, it was Reji who spoke up.
"Your Highness, it's like this. You know that Miss Vielsia is a transfer student, and she comes from a small village near the royal city.
A few days ago, she made an appointment to meet her fellow villagers in the royal city, wanting to let them also experience the prosperity and grandeur of the royal city. But..."
Reji shook his head and said, "But it's been several days, and her fellow villagers should have arrived long ago, but there's still no news.
However, it was at this moment that a hoarse, low voice came from the dark corner of the princess's room.
"Your Highness is in high spirits."
A man dressed in a tattered gray cloak with holes of various sizes, like some filthy vagrant, slowly walked out.
Princess Yuffie glanced at him without surprise and remained seated at her desk, saying indifferently, "If I'm not mistaken, our agreement states that you cannot appear without my permission."
The princess's cold warning did not deter the man in the gray cloak. Instead, he seemed to find it amusing and sneered, "Is that so? In that case, my dear princess, you can continue to be monitored by others."
Finally, Princess Yuffie furrowed her brow and asked, "What do you mean? Monitored?"
The man in the gray cloak did not explain further. He reached out from under his cloak with a hand that was rotting and covered in burns. However, in this ugly hand, a holy light shone brightly.
Under this light, Princess Yuffie's shadow seemed to be stimulated and began to move, startling the princess.
After a few seconds of illumination, the shadow seemed to have nowhere to hide, and a black shadowy monster jumped out, trying to escape. However, the man in the gray cloak seemed to have been prepared.
With one swift move, he pierced the heart of the shadowy monster with his sword, as if he had done this countless times before.
"What is this?" Princess Yuffie was briefly confused but soon regained her composure, staring in bewilderment at the dead shadow monster on the ground.
"Shadow demon," the man in the gray cloak said with disgust and hatred in his voice.
"A scout for the demon race," he continued.
"The demon race? Are you joking? The demon race in the history?" Princess Yuffie asked twice in a row, revealing her disbelief.
This seemed to provoke the man in the gray cloak, making him somewhat crazy, and his creepy and hoarse laughter echoed in the room again. This was not his original voice, but rather the result of damage to his throat and vocal cords, making it sound like a monster.
However, if one listened carefully, one could hear not only mockery but also sorrow, unwillingness, and revenge hidden deep within the laughter.
"That's right, Your Highness. You, of course, do not recognize it, after all, the demon race has been erased from history by you"
"Just like..."
The man in the gray cloak removed his hood. Half of his body was hidden in the shadows, and the sunlight from outside only faintly illuminated half of his face.
One of his eyes had been gouged out, his ear seemed to have been pierced by a sharp object, and his face was covered in ugly scars and scabs from severe burns.
He might have been a handsome warrior once, but now he looked like a monster, just like his voice.
"You don't recognize me either, do you? Just like those of us who have been erased from history?"