Lia pushed open the door and stood in the courtyard, observing the gathered crowd.

Leon was standing at the entrance of the mansion, accompanied by another elf with long, pointed ears.

The appearance of an elf naturally drew the attention of many servants.

Lia waved her hand, dispersing the onlookers.

Then, she focused her gaze on the elf.

The newcomer had long golden hair that danced gracefully in the air.

White silk wrapped around her, and her fair skin seemed to glow slightly in the sunlight.

Her petite body appeared somewhat unsteady, like a delicate ice sculpture, standing nervously next to Leon.

Leon approached Lia's side and said respectfully, "Miss Lia, she says her name is Lexi."

Lexi looked fragile, but her personality seemed to contradict her appearance.

She held her head high, somewhat proudly, and was also examining Lia.

However, upon hearing Leon's respectful tone, she seemed a bit taken aback.

"Fellow... kin?" she asked. "Why are you so respectful to a mere human?"

Hearing Lexi's words, Lia raised an eyebrow.

This elf didn't seem very friendly towards humans.

"Shut up," Leon's cold voice rang out. A chilling glint flashed in his eyes hidden under the hood as he gave Lexi a frigid look.

Lexi seemed startled and stared at him blankly, only to receive Leon's continued cold and distant words.

"I have no kin like you."

The surrounding air seemed to tense up. Lia, sensing the subtle atmosphere, quickly stepped in to smooth things over.

"Hey, alright, alright," she said. "Leon is my family, she's just protecting me."

As she spoke, Lia gently patted Leon's back, signaling her to ease up a bit.

She didn't want Leon's attitude towards Lexi to lead to rumors accusing her of abducting elves.

Oh, Cocotte doesn't count.

As always, she's a contracted employee.

Free to oppress.

"Okay Leon, don't say anything more," Lia said.

Hearing Lia's words, Leon finally softened her attitude, turned her head away, and remained silent.

Lexi still seemed unable to accept it, but then Lia spoke up with a smile.

"I heard you're looking for the Elf Queen?" she said. "I might have some information here."

...

In the luxurious hall of the mansion, a faint scent of incense wafted through the air.

Several enormous sofas occupied the center of the grand hall.

Floor-length black and gold curtains covered most of the huge windows.

Only a few rays of sunlight filtered through the gaps and the skylight above.

Lia sat on the sofa, with Lexi naturally taking a seat opposite her.

White, slow-moving clouds drifted across the domed ceiling, reflecting the azure sky before everyone's eyes.

Leon stood behind Lia, clearly in the role of a personal guard.

"Why were you capt... mixed in with those demi-human ships?" Lia asked Lexi kindly.

For elves, especially the seemingly proud Lexi before her, it was naturally inappropriate to use passive words like 'captured'.

So Lia quickly corrected herself.

Sure enough, the elf just slowly raised her head, appearing extremely proud and confident.

"To find the Queen, I left the Elven Forest and happened to encounter those humans in the wilderness," she said.

"They said they could help me find the Queen, but on the condition that I go with them and help them with something."

"So I went along with them."

She shrugged, her tone clearly nonchalant.

It was as if she was telling Lia that if she hadn't voluntarily gone with those people, she could never have been captured.

Listening to her words, Lia wore an expression of complete agreement and nodded.

"Did you have any impressions of those people who capt... encountered you?" she asked.

"Huh? Impressions?" Lexi put a finger to her chin, her eyes blinking and darting left and right, as if trying to recall something complicated.

"I just remember there was a warrior with a sword who looked quite strong. I was quite impressed by him," she said.

"Of course, he definitely wasn't as powerful as me."

As she spoke, she crossed one leg over the other and spread her arms out on the long sofa backrest, palms up.

Recalling the swordsman's appearance, Lexi's face still carried a hint of disdain.

Lia looked at her, smiling and clapping her hands, saying admiringly, "Wow, that's so impressive."

"Oh right, it's early in the morning and we don't have much to offer. How about some tea?" she added.

"Helnersen? Please brew some tea and bring it up."

Lia called out behind her, then turned back to look at Lexi.

"We only have tea here, you don't mind, do you?"

Lexi showed an indifferent expression and waved her hand.

"Well, no matter how precious human things are, they're nothing special. Ordinary tea will do," she said.

"Back when I was still in the Elven Forest, we drank natural dew and nectar. Of course, the dew there isn't ordinary dew."

You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.

"The elves would collect it and bless it with nature's power. It's incredibly sweet. If humans like you drank it, it could even extend your lifespan."

Lia squinted her eyes again, clapping her hands lightly and tilting her head with a smile, "Wow, that's amazing."

"Of course, there's so much you haven't seen," Lexi said.

Hearing Lia's compliments, Lexi seemed to enjoy it very much and became even more proud.

She held her head high, as if she could fly into the sky at any moment.

Lia didn't say much more, just continued smiling, quietly watching her.

Lexi was still holding her head high, looking at the azure sky.

But why did it feel like things were shaking?

The expression on her face stiffened slightly.

From outside the room came a series of massive tremors.

It was as if the entire earth was shaking.

Lexi, as if frightened, quickly shrank her head and covered her ears.

"Wah, what's happening?" she cried.

"Don't worry, that's probably just the sound of our family knights' daily training," Lia explained with a smile, as if nothing had happened.

Lexi was very confused and looked up at Lia in surprise.

"Da-daily training? Can it make such a loud noise?" she asked.

"It's nothing special. Their training usually involves carrying rocks, running, and practicing horseback riding," Lia replied.

...

On the training ground, a dense formation of knights was arranged on the field.

Each person's body was burdened with an extremely large boulder.

Those boulders were as tall as three or four people combined, like small mountains compared to the knights.

Yet those knights carried the boulders on their backs as if they were weightless, running back and forth across the huge training ground with ease.

After one round, they suddenly placed the boulders on the ground, raising a cloud of dust.

A sound like an earthquake echoed throughout the entire estate, as if proving their efforts.

A cat-eared instructor wearing a trainer's cap and revealing black cat ears blew a whistle, constantly directing from the side.

"Next group training! Continue!" she called out.

The demi-human outdoor training methods were unexpectedly effective for human knights as well.

Lia crossed one leg over the other, placing one hand over her mouth, half-covering it as she chuckled softly.

"It's just training that ordinary people can do," she said.

Lexi: "..."

Lexi was still puzzled about what kind of training could cause such enormous sound waves, transmitted so clearly to her ears.

But suddenly, an incredibly terrifying pressure came from behind her.

It was as if a muscular, cold beast was hiding in the shadows, staring at her.

Lexi's neck instantly stiffened, and beads of sweat formed on the back of her neck.

It was like a huge shadow, blocking out the sunlight above her head, completely enveloping her.

Soon, the shadow gradually moved away from behind her.

A figure passed by Lexi's side.

He was like a giant, with a height equivalent to two people combined, and an incredibly muscular body.

Even through his butler's uniform, one could see the terrifying muscles that seemed about to burst out.

He was like a giant bear, standing upright next to Lexi.

In his enormous hand, he held a tray.

The tray, which would require a normal person to use both hands to carry, seemed much smaller compared to his giant palm.

On the tray sat an exquisite ceramic teapot, emanating the fragrance of tea.

The giant bear-man gently pinched the teacup with two fingers, as if afraid to use too much force, and softly placed it on the table in front of Lexi and Lia.

Then, he similarly pinched the teapot, which looked equally small in his hand, and poured tea into the empty cups before the two.

The water level was controlled perfectly, neither spilling nor filling too full.

Lexi watched in a daze.

The huge body paired with the delicate tea set looked very incongruous.

But his skilled and elegant movements seemed as practiced as if they had been honed over thousands of repetitions.

Lexi couldn't understand it.

After finishing all this, the bear-man slowly bowed to the two.

A strong sense of pressure slowly emanated from his body, as if completely enveloping Lexi within it.

"Please enjoy," he said.

Lexi, frightened by this powerful aura, trembled with both hands, lowering her head. Her previous proud demeanor seemed to have completely vanished.

"Th-th-th-thank you for your hospitality," she stammered.

Lia picked up her teacup and nodded at Helnersen with a smile.

"Thank you, Helnersen. You may go rest now," she said.

"Miss Lia, please don't hesitate to call if you need anything," he replied.

He bowed respectfully to Lia, and as he stood up, he glanced at Lexi.

With just that one look, Lexi seemed to lose her soul, sitting stiffly on the sofa.

Even after Helnersen had left with his muscular body, Lexi still hadn't come back to her senses.

It was as if that powerful pressure still hadn't dissipated from her body.

Until Lia's voice rang out:

"Huh? What's wrong? You look a bit unwell."

"Uh, oh, ah? I-I-I'm fine, I'm fine," Lexi finally came to her senses, smiling with a somewhat stiff expression.

Seemingly wanting to ease the awkwardness, she picked up her teacup and gulped down some tea.

But the next second, she quickly closed her mouth again.

H-hot... so hot!

Even though her face turned bright red, she didn't open her mouth to spit it out.

This temperature... she, as an elf, could handle it!

Lexi forced herself to swallow, enduring the scalding heat.

Even though tears were squeezed from the corners of her eyes from the heat, she still persisted in putting down the teacup.

"Mm... this tea... is not bad!" she managed.

Lia smiled, blew on her tea gently, took a small sip, and put down her cup.

"That person just now is our family's butler. Don't be fooled by his large size, he's actually quite dexterous," she said.

"I knew you would be satisfied with the tea he brewed."

Lexi nodded very agreeingly.

"Yes, yes, I think you're right," she said.

Dexterous?

Did they think she couldn't tell that was a bear-man?

The pressure Helnersen gave her was too terrifying.

It felt like he could kill her with one punch.

Lexi felt like she had inadvertently walked into some kind of wolf's den. She was starting to regret it now.

If she had known, she would never have come to this Kravina family, no matter what.

Knights whose training alone could cause earthquake-like tremors.

And that terrifying bear-man.

That bear-man must be the strongest in their family, right...

Lexi didn't want to stay here for another second. With a forced smile, she said:

"Um... let's talk about the main topic, Miss Lia."

"Ah, you mean about the Elf Queen? Well..." Lia smiled slightly, but that smile seemed as calculating as a devil's.

"You'll have to ask my brother about that. He knows more."

"Your... brother?" Lexi was slightly stunned.

Suddenly, an even more devastating aura instantly climbed to the top of her head.

In a daze, she seemed to have arrived in a place of silence.

A blazing sun hung in the sky, and she seemed to be completely surrounded by a lush forest.

Suddenly, in this primeval forest, she seemed to see some terrifyingly powerful beings.

Two colossal beasts appeared in mid-air.

One was spewing magma all over its body, while the other was entwined with wooden vines.

The extremely terrifying pressure made Lexi's body drenched in cold sweat.

Click! Click!

As if treading on stairs, crisp footsteps slowly sounded.

It abruptly pulled Lexi's consciousness back to reality.

She couldn't help but look towards the source of the sound.

What met her eyes was a cold, stern face slowly emerging from the darkness.

Before Lexi could see clearly, an indifferent gaze, like a sharp blade, pierced through her body.

"I heard you have something to discuss?"