Volume 1, Chapter 28 – A Critical Moment?

“Your Highness, when did you meet this woman?”

Upon reaching the second floor, Anastasia immediately threw this question at Fia.

Fia was sitting on the bed in the room, while Anastasia stood by the window, her gaze fixed on Claire, who was talking to soldiers downstairs. Clearly, Anastasia didn’t fully trust Claire.

“Last night? I ran into Claire in the courtyard while she was treating slaves, so we ended up talking for a bit.”

With her hands propped on the bed, Fia swung her legs slightly as she surveyed the room.

Though Claire’s residence looked no different from the surrounding houses from the outside, the interior was strikingly distinct. The walls were painted white with lime, and the furnishings—from low cabinets to vases—were all well-appointed. Ordinary homes usually didn’t bother with painted walls, and their beds often looked messy, but none of that was noticeable in Claire’s home.

However, judging by the decor, this wasn’t Claire’s bedroom but rather a guest room. While clean, it lacked the lived-in feel.

“Earlier, Claire called you ‘Anna’—have you two spoken before?”

“Hmm,” Anastasia’s breath hitched for a moment before she frowned slightly, lost in thought. “I do recall using the alias ‘Anna’ when we first arrived in Aurora City, but I have no memory of this woman. Your Highness, she’s extremely dangerous. Once we evade these soldiers, we should relocate as soon as possible.”

“Dangerous?” Catching onto the concerning detail, Fia blinked. “What kind of feeling is it?”

“Fear. Just standing in front of her feels exhausting. If it were someone less resolute, they’d probably flee without a second thought.”

Even Anastasia was afraid?

No wonder, last night when Fia had been staring at Claire, the latter had suddenly leaned in and asked why she wasn’t afraid. This must be what Claire meant by her “curse.” Fia lowered her head slightly in thought. The curse’s effect was likely something like “instilling fear upon sight” or “never being liked by others.”

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For such a breathtakingly beautiful woman to bear this kind of curse—was this what they called “fate being jealous of red-haired beauties”? The elf princess, too, had her life cut short at just fourteen, taken from the battlefield.

Wait, was the elf princess really only fourteen?

Suddenly struck by the question of age, Fia froze.

In any story, elves were long-lived creatures. Though the elf princess looked like a fourteen-year-old girl, her actual age might be far older.

Could this body have already reached… that stage?

Fia couldn’t help but swallow hard.

Though she could rely on Anastasia now, this matter was delicate in every sense. How could she even bring it up? If it really happened, how would she handle it? Would she have to take off her skirt and let Anastasia teach her step by step—

At the thought, Fia’s cheeks flushed bright red.

This was too shameless!

Almost instinctively, her legs clamped together beneath her skirt, and her hands pressed down on the fabric. For the first time, she felt that having a flesh-and-blood body was so inconvenient.

No, wait a minute.

After pondering that, Fia realized another issue.

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Now that she thought about it, since arriving in this world, she’d never encountered the need to… expel waste from her body. It wasn’t that she’d forgotten or hadn’t noticed—it was that this body simply didn’t seem to have such needs.

Was this the legendary “a beautiful girl doesn’t do that”?

True, the elf princess was adorable beyond words, but defying the laws of physics like this was hard for Fia to accept. She couldn’t possibly believe she could just skip the whole waste-disposal process—what, was she supposed to keep everything inside forever?

Did elves handle it in some other way?

Almost instinctively, Fia was about to voice her question aloud.

Wait.

Remembering the situation, she immediately shut her mouth.

Right now, she and Anastasia were being hunted by soldiers. Asking childish—no, infantile—questions at a time like this would be completely tone-deaf.

Not to mention, even in a different setting, this question would be beyond embarrassing.

If she phrased it as a subtle request, like, “Anastasia, where’s the restroom?”—even if she endured the humiliation and potential judgment—Anastasia would probably just answer matter-of-factly, “Over there,” pointing her in the right direction. That wouldn’t solve her actual problem.

But if she asked more bluntly, the dignified image she’d built in Anastasia’s eyes would shatter into pieces. Especially after wiping out their attackers and spinning the tale about investigating the Unsinkable Moon, Anastasia had once again placed her on a pedestal of authority.

It was hard to imagine someone so dignified asking such a basic—no, instinctive—question.

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And even if she threw caution to the wind and explained her confusion in the most explicit terms, what if Anastasia responded with utter seriousness, detailing exactly what to do, how to do it, and even demonstrating—

That would be absolute hell!!!

Fia screamed internally.

Just imagining how to ask the question made her want to roll on the floor in agony.

Maybe she should look for some books to find a solution.

But would books even cover this? Now that she thought about it, in her world, this wasn’t even a matter of common sense—it was pure bodily instinct. If a book taught you how to expel waste, the author must have had some waste in their head too.

Damn it.

This was a dead end.

There was one last option—secretly observing how others, like Anastasia, handled it—but as an upright person, she’d never stoop to that.

“Your Highness, is something wrong?”

Just as Fia’s brain short-circuited, Anastasia’s voice snapped her back to reality. Anastasia was looking at her with an unusual expression, her gaze fixed on Fia’s hands pressing down her skirt.

Fia hurriedly replied, “N-nothing!”

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If Anastasia found out what she’d just been thinking, her life as the elf princess would be over.

Fortunately, Anastasia didn’t press the issue. Her attention returned to the window, where the soldiers were now bowing apologetically to Claire as they left the clinic.

“Those soldiers seem to respect her—perhaps she’s helped them before. They’re leaving now, so Claire didn’t betray us. But… How did you meet her? Unless I misheard, she mentioned having a fateful encounter with you. Not that I’m judging your personal life, of course. But last night, you were only gone for a short while. In just that brief time, you and this woman…”

By the end, Anastasia’s lively blue eyes were filled with a complicated look, her face practically screaming “I don’t approve.”

“N-no, it’s not like that! She was just joking!”

Fia waved her hands frantically.

Though letting outsiders think she and Claire had some ambiguous relationship might’ve been a win for her, the truth was the truth. She couldn’t let Anastasia think she was some frivolous woman.

“Joking? But didn’t you agree that after receiving help, you’d pay a small price? Is little Fia trying to skip out on her debt?”

Just as Fia was about to explain further, Claire’s voice came from the doorway. The corners of her lips curled up slightly, her clear emerald eyes brimming with amusement.

“Just kidding.”