"I apologize for giving you the lock without permission, but I was worried you might reject me if you heard about my plan. After all, working for a criminal rarely ends well." She grinned. "But now that you're mine, I'm really glad! So, we can just leave it there, right?"
"Mmm, any side effects I should be aware of?"
She shook her head. "None. The lock is so that you wouldn't be able to reveal anything about me. If you tried to, you wouldn't be able to utter a single word."
"Alright then, so..." Mike stared at her. "How should we start?"
Meanwhile, Rafael, standing in the back, was about to doze off.
The two people he'd been watching only kissed for a while before locking their heads together like siblings scheming to overthrow the room.
He had no idea whether they were chatting or just... standing like that. Eventually, their lack of movement bored him, and he started daydreaming.
What would happen if Princess Elvina acted like her sister?
It'd be amazing if she were convicted and placed in the cell next to Elvida. Maybe she'd notice him the way Elvida had noticed Mike?
One had to admit, his imagination was something else.
Just when he was about to fully doze off, Mike returned to his station. Despite his casual expression, his brows were deeply furrowed, and he looked lost in thought.
Suddenly alert, Rafael rushed to his side, his expression cheeky. "What did you guys talk about?"
No response.
"Hey?"
He touched Mike's arm, and the latter finally snapped out of it.
Mike looked at him, puzzled. "What's wrong?"
"Why are you in a trance? Did the witch do something to you?"
"No... I'm just tired." Mike faked a yawn, dragging out his voice. "I think I might've dozed off, sigh."
Rafael butted in. "Not just you! I almost dozed off earlier too. Sigh, I wish there was a bed here... Do you think we could request one? Nahhh, I don't want my head to roll to my feet. Sigh, standing here all day is just so boring."
Mike had never met a man as talkative as his roommate. But letting him rattle on was at least better than being questioned about what he and Elvida had discussed.
Actually, Mike had never expected the whole thing with her to be this complicated. In fact, he was completely taken aback when he learnt the reason behind her capture.
According to Elvida, she'd been with her general-boyfriend, Kaelor, for almost four years now. He was one of her assigned guards and had constantly protected her, which led to his promotion from a simple guard to a general.
As a princess, especially the eldest, she often found herself in dangerous situations, and in every one of them, this man had saved her.
He was her Knight in Shining Armor.
Later on, impure feelings awoke between them, and finally, when Elvida turned eighteen and Kaelor was twenty-five, they entered a relationship. They kept it a secret due to the difference in status. Except for Elvina, who caught them making out and promised not to say a word, the only people who knew were Zoey and Rebekah: Kaelor's cousin and aunt from his maternal side.
To Elvida, Kaelor was everything she wanted in a man. He was gentle, intelligent, and treated her well. He'd hold her in his arms, sing her lullabies when she couldn't sleep, and look at her like she was his most precious treasure.
Her plan was to marry him once she became queen.
A few months ago, there was a ball held by the Pesyr family, Elvida's maternal relatives. She had brought Kaelor along as a guard.
During the ball, Elvida, who had just returned from handling a crisis in the South involving a group of Dark Elves killing nobles and digging out their hearts, complained to her cousin about being tired and needing a long rest. That's when her cousin suggested she take a trip with her boyfriend, away from the royal troubles, maybe it would help her relax.
Seeing it as a good idea, Elvida used the leave her father had granted and told him she was going on a vacation. Meanwhile, Kaelor followed along as her guard.
But the night before their ship were to sail, Elvida couldn't find the forged ID card she'd prepared, one meant to help them blend in as normal civilians at their destination.
She couldn't remember where she'd kept it, or even if she'd packed it at all. So she began rechecking their luggage. But what she found was something completely different.
It was the Dark Elves Unrest matters' document she'd been working on.
To avoid public unrest and prevent misinterpretation, the matter had been kept tightly under wraps. Only Elvida, the Elders, and her father knew about it. This was an information that should never have been heard by anyone else. It was that important.
When Kaelor arrived, she asked him why the document was in his luggage. He told her he'd found it on her desk and, thinking she might want to work on it during the trip, had packed it for her.
That should have set off alarm bells. But her trust in him was deeper than any well, and she genuinely believed the lie he told.
Though she appreciated his thoughtfulness, it didn't change the fact that these documents should never have left the palace. So she asked him to return them to her room, discreetly.
Hours passed, but he never returned to the ship. Just as Elvida was about to go search for him, several guards captured her, for attempting to commit treason. The evidence? She had asked her bodyguard general to smuggle sensitive documents out of the country.
Elvida thought she'd misheard. She couldn't believe her ears.
The betrayal came out of nowhere and shattered her heart into countless pieces. He had actually told the guards that she was the one who asked him to bring the documents?!
But there was no way for her to prove otherwise.
She was leaving the city, and Kaelor just happened to be her trusted guard. Many thus, believed she was guilty.