Chapter 110: Your Highness, You've Been Caught

Eldara’s casual, almost offhand, “We meet again,” was like an invisible wall of ice slamming down, instantly freezing the clamor at the city gate into absolute silence.

The color drained from Prince Alex’s face, inch by agonizing inch. The blood fled from his ears, down his neck, leaving his skin a deathly, sickly pale. In his azure eyes, all light suddenly collapsed, swallowed by a black hole of pure, unadulterated terror.

It’s over!

She’s here to catch me!

Father’s peace plan hasn’t even started, and I’m about to become the first prince of the Human Kingdom to be captured as a prisoner?

I can’t be caught! I am a prince of the Human Kingdom!

A million desperate thoughts exploded in his mind, and a bone-chilling cold instantly flooded his limbs, leaving his body stiff and utterly beyond his control.

‘Oh my, look at our little prince’s face. He’s so scared his soul is about to yeet itself out of his body,’ Celeste observed with rapt interest from the back, the snarky commentary already scrolling through her mind like a live-stream chat.

‘Just this? His mental fortitude is way too weak, isn’t it?’

‘With guts this small, you actually dared to steal the Elf Queen’s entire collection of Dark History? Where in the world did you get that kind of courage?’

‘But then again, Commander Eldara’s entrance really maxed out the oppression stat. Without saying a word, just standing there like that… it’s like the final boss just descended. If it were me, my legs would probably be jelly, too.’

City Lord Carlos’s wrinkled old face instantly tightened like a piece of dried leather. He glanced at the deathly pale Alex, then at the expressionless Eldara, who was wreathed in a freezing aura. A dark, ominous premonition surged in his heart.

He had lived for decades and seen all manner of people. For the prince to react like a terrified mouse seeing a cat, he must have stirred up some truly monumental trouble.

“Commander Eldara,” Carlos said, taking a step forward to quietly position himself between the elf knight and the prince. His tone remained respectful, but it was now laced with a sharp edge of vigilance. “The Prince is merely passing through. I wonder, Commander… are you acquainted?”

Eldara didn’t even spare the old City Lord a glance. Her gaze shot straight over Carlos’s shoulder, pinning itself firmly on the cowering figure behind him.

Stared down by those crimson eyes, Alex felt like a lamb being coiled by a giant python. Every inch of his skin screamed in terror, and the extreme fear finally crushed his last shred of reason.

Alex’s voice suddenly shot up, becoming sharp and distorted. “What… what do you want?! This is the territory of the Human Kingdom! I am a prince! If you dare touch me, you’ll be declaring war on our entire kingdom!”

He shrieked, all while pathetically shrinking back, trying to hide behind the Royal Guards whose own palms were slick with sweat.

The moment his words rang out, the surrounding human soldiers and officers grew restless, their hands instinctively tightening on their weapons. The hostility that had just faded began to rise once more. They could be grateful for the elves’ assistance, but they would never tolerate an outsider threatening their prince on their own soil.

In an instant, the fragile “ally” relationship from moments ago plunged to a freezing point.

Selene frowned at the sight and whispered to her sister, “Sis, does this guy have a hole in his head?”

“The Commander hasn’t even said anything, and he’s already jumping the gun. Isn’t he basically screaming to everyone that he has a guilty conscience?”

“Shh,” Celeste whispered back, making a silencing gesture, but her eyes were practically sparkling, like a spectator who had just stumbled upon the juiciest gossip of the century. “Don’t talk, the good show is just getting started. The more this prince flails, the better the climax will be.”

Eldara turned a deaf ear to Alex’s shouting and completely ignored the sudden tension flaring among the human soldiers. She simply watched him, her expression unreadable, as if she were appreciating a clown’s clumsy performance on a stage.

Only after Alex had shouted himself hoarse did she finally speak again. Her voice wasn’t loud, but it cut through the air, suppressing all other noise at the gate.

“I have some questions I would like to ask the Prince.”

Her tone was as flat as if she were asking for directions, but when combined with the heavy armor radiating a deathly chill, every word landed like a final judgment in Alex’s ears.

“I… I have nothing to say to you!” Alex stiffened his neck, trying to sound stubborn.

“Is that so?” The corners of Eldara’s lips curled into a barely perceptible arc. It wasn’t a smile; it was the chilling precursor to a killing frost. “Regarding those Magic Tomes belonging to Her Majesty the Elf Queen… is the Prince certain he has nothing to say?”

The Elf Queen!

Magic Tomes!

The words fell with the weight of a thousand pounds, making everyone’s head buzz. It wasn’t just Alex; even the old City Lord Carlos’s expression changed drastically. He whipped his head around, his eyes wide with shock and inquiry as he stared at the prince.

Could it be? Had this prince truly dared to steal the core secrets of the Elven race? This wasn’t just “trouble” anymore… this was actively trying to start a war!

Alex’s face lost its last shred of color, becoming ashen.

Just as I thought! This woman came here specifically to catch me!

‘A King Bomb! The Commander dropped a King Bomb right at the start!’ Celeste mentally gave Eldara a frantic thumbs-up. ‘She’s pinned the crime on him right out of the gate. Let’s see how this kid tries to act tough now. Stealing royal secrets! His status as a prince just became the heaviest shackle binding him.’

“Since the Prince feels there is nothing to say,” Eldara’s gaze slowly swept across the growing crowd of onlookers. Those curious, vigilant, and confused eyes now morphed into tangible pressure, weighing down on Alex layer by layer.

“Then let us speak here.”

She paused, giving him one final, damning choice.

“Or, we can find a quieter place to talk in private.”

“Prince, the choice is yours.”

Alex’s gaze fled frantically from Eldara’s face, instinctively searching for a lifeline. He looked at the old City Lord Carlos standing before him and saw the man’s knuckles turning white from gripping his sword hilt. He saw the soldiers behind him, men who had just survived a bloody battle, exhausted but still loyally raising their weapons for him.

Loyal. Brave.

But… weak.

His gaze involuntarily drifted back to Eldara. That obsidian heavy armor seemed to swallow the very light, and the deathly chill rolling off her made his teeth chatter. He remembered the scene he had just witnessed on the city wall—this black-armored knight order had carved through the Undead Army like a hot knife through butter, and the woman before him had leveled the entire undead command center with a single, devastating sword strike.

Could City Lord Carlos protect him?

The answer was a resounding no.

If he kept resisting, the only outcome would be Eldara cutting him down on the spot. These human soldiers couldn’t stop her, and they certainly wouldn’t dare to truly try. His threat of “declaring war on the Human Kingdom” was a pathetic joke in the face of such absolute martial power.

The primal instinct for survival overrode everything else.

Alex finally understood. He had only two options: ‘resist and die now,’or’confess and perhaps live.’

His lips trembled as he finally squeezed out a few words, his voice as dry and raspy as a broken bellows.

“…Let’s find a place to talk in private.”

As soon as the words left his mouth, a wave of suppressed gasps rippled through the crowd.

‘Oh, so the prince’s little brain does work, after all,’ Celeste commented silently. ‘He ran a quick combat power analysis and concluded his side is a bunch of low-level scrubs. If he doesn’t surrender, he’s toast.’

‘Survival instinct winning over dignity—very realistic. I like it.’

City Lord Carlos gave Alex a long, deep look, his eyes filled with unmistakable disappointment. He let out a heavy sigh, turned, and bowed to Eldara once more, his posture even lower than before.

“Commander Eldara, there is a quiet Council Chamber within the City Lord’s Mansion. Please, follow me.”

He knew the situation had already spiraled far beyond his imagination. This prince had likely provoked a catastrophe. And he, along with the entirety of Stoneshold City, had just been dragged into the heart of the terrifying storm.

Eldara nodded, retracting her terrifying aura. She turned to the knights behind her and issued a crisp order, “Rest on the spot. Maintain vigilance.”

The knights’ unified response sounded like the clashing of steel.

Then, she took a long stride and followed Carlos toward the City Lord’s Mansion. Celeste and the other three immediately fell in behind them.

As they passed the dumbstruck Alex, Celeste could still hear the faint click-clack of his teeth chattering.

‘Tsk tsk, now this is going to be a good show,’ Celeste thought gleefully. ‘I wonder just how much juicy intel this prince is going to cough up.’

The group walked through streets filled with the wounded and refugees, and under the gaze of countless complex eyes, they entered the relatively intact City Lord’s Mansion.

The heavy wooden doors swung shut behind them, sealing off all the noise and prying eyes of the outside world.

[Elysian’s Note:

Having a good time with the story?

Every single bit helps immensely:

Thanks a ton for making this journey possible!]