Chapter 747 - 280: The Truth of War (Part 4)

But the man seemed to genuinely give up on continuing the confrontation and directly asked the fairy girl he called "Penny":

"This… Magical Girl, what did she say to you beforehand?"

"Huh?"

Penny was momentarily stunned, then answered honestly, "She said we must not deal with any Magical Girls who are still alive, and then she was about to take action…"

"I see."

The man nodded, his gaze once again turned towards Cornflower.

This time, Cornflower noticed that the other party was scrutinizing her face.

— "Then stop for now."

The man said this.

This answer not only momentarily made Penny lose her composure, but also left Cornflower even more baffled.

"But, but Elf Chief, the current mission is Her Majesty's…"

"Precisely because it's Her Majesty's order, we must wait for further instructions from Her Majesty."

The man interrupted Penny's doubts: "The current situation is beyond our capacity to continue making judgments."

"Why on earth… this Magical Girl, she…" At this point, Penny also understood that the man must have discovered something unusual about Cornflower, prompting this decision.

"Take her for some treatment, and then request instructions from Her Majesty," the man said.

"How could I possibly go with you…" Cornflower instinctively wanted to retort, but as soon as she opened her mouth, she felt a heavy weight on her entire body.

The man's hand had unknowingly tapped on her forehead.

"My apologies."

He said this.

Along with this statement, Cornflower's body, which was already beyond exhaustion and had barely managed to stand through sheer self-destruction, finally lost all its strength.

Naturally, she also lost consciousness.

...

...

When Cornflower awoke once more, she found herself in a strange space.

Opening her eyes, she saw white bed curtains, a wooden dome, and four carved bedposts supporting the space in her view.

This seemed to be a bedroom.

She turned her face to the side and could see through a gap in the half-open bed canopy a row of floor-to-ceiling windows, with white daylight streaming in.

The carpet, wardrobe, bedside table—every piece of furniture in sight was so luxurious and grand, as if meant for giants, that even when Cornflower half-raised herself, she couldn't see the entirety of the room.

She looked around in confusion and then saw herself. The dark blue dress she wore as a Magical Girl had been replaced with a white nightgown adorned with lace, and the cracks on her Magic Body had somehow healed.

She slightly felt the Magic Power within her body; though still scarce and weak, it had somewhat recovered.

But all of this information seemed insufficient to answer her current confusion: Where was she? What was the situation?

— "You are awake, Your Highness."

An abrupt voice echoed in the room, and Cornflower then noticed two people standing by the bed—they had been blocked from view by the bedpost before. They were two young women dressed as maids. They approached the bed under Cornflower's gaze and curtsied to her: "How do you feel now? Is there any discomfort? Do the clothes fit well?"

"Who are you?" Cornflower asked, unsure of how to react.

"We are the maids of the Rose Palace, the servants of Her Majesty the Queen and Your Highness," one of the maids replied.

"Rose Palace?"

"Yes, you are currently in the Rose Palace."

"…Did you heal my injuries?"

"I'm sorry, we are not clear on how the healing was done. When you were brought here, there were no injuries on you."

The other maid responded, "We only took the liberty to freshen you up and change your clothes."

"What about the others?"

"Only you were escorted into the palace. If you are referring to the whereabouts of other surviving soldiers, they have likely been moved to shelters and sanatoriums by now."

This finally put Cornflower's biggest worry to rest. For a moment, she didn't know what else to say.

"The 'Your Highness' you mentioned… does it refer to me?"

After a moment of silence, she asked tentatively.

"Yes." The maids replied in unison.

"Why?" Cornflower asked further.

The two maids exchanged a glance.

"I'm sorry, this question might require you to go to the main hall, where Her Majesty will personally provide you with the answer."

Cornflower now understood her situation.

Clearly, just as she had overheard before losing consciousness, the man referred to as the "Elf Chief" must have identified some sort of peculiarity about her and reported it.

And because of this, she was here now, awaiting an audience with the Queen, instead of being killed outright.

And if the "Your Highness" spoken by these maids wasn't merely a term of respect, but one with actual significance, does that mean…

Cornflower interrupted her thoughts.

She told herself not to continue thinking further.

If she allowed herself to develop unnecessary expectations, she would only be more disappointed when confronted with results that did not meet those expectations.

"When should I… uh, meet the Queen?" She slightly turned her head, glancing to the side.

"A messenger was already sent to inform Her Majesty as soon as you woke up. If you are willing, you can go to the main hall to meet her now."

The maid's response made Cornflower's heart tighten involuntarily.

In her mind, a certain suspicion had already surfaced.

No matter how much she told herself not to overthink, not to expect, this suspicion disregarded her will, causing her thoughts to become airy.