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The guard took Mirabelle to a door that was more extravagantly decorated than any other room.

“Her Majesty is waiting for you inside here. Please enter…”
“I understand…”

Mirabelle nodded. The guard then immediately turned around and walked a few steps away before standing there and watching Mirabelle.

Mirabelle pushed open the door and entered the room. The elven queen was sitting in the center of the room while glancing nostalgically out the large window. Currently, it was dark and rainy outside.

“Your Majesty, what are you watching?”

Mirabelle took the initiative to speak to the queen.

“Of course, I’m watching the sky. The sky is currently crying as it’s covered in dark clouds.”
“What?”

Mirabelle didn’t really understand the confusing words coming from the queen’s mouth.

“Mirabelle Brillana. Perhaps you don’t know who I am, but I know you, Mirabelle. Your mother’s name is Beth Brillana, and she was my best friend. We were just like sisters.”
“J… just like sisters? You and my mother?”

Mirabelle stood where she was and looked at this elven queen’s back. At this moment, the elven queen turned around.

Mirabelle looked at the real appearance of Queen Vio, who had removed her veil. Vio’s long silver hair reached all the way to her feet. She was wearing extravagant clothing, and she had a crown-shaped marking on her forehead.

Mirabelle recognized the crown-shaped marking. Only the true elven bloodline would have that marking. Mirabelle’s crown-shaped marking was on her ear.

“You can sit down to speak, Mirabelle…”
“Oh, okay…”

Mirabelle sat down by Vio’s side. At this time, Vio directly used both hands to gently caress Mirabelle’s face.

“You really look like her…”

The elven queen spoke her own thoughts while caressing Mirabelle’s face without asking for permission to touch her.

“Wait a minute, if you only called me here for such a thing, then I’m going to go back…”
“Don’t be in such a rush. Honestly, even your personality is so similar to hers. Should I say it’s as expected of mother and daughter?”
“I don’t know my mother at all. She died before I was born…”

Mirabelle’s eyes were filled with sadness. Her parents had both died before she was even born.

The person who had always taken care of and raised Mirabelle was her adoptive mother – Joanna.

“Is that so!? She’s already dead… is that how it is…”

The elven queen Vio O’Neill had a sad expression.

‘Could it be that she had a really good relationship with my mother?’

Mirabelle felt really confused as she sat about two or three meters away from Vio.

“Sorry, I felt rather sad when I heard about my sister’s death…”
“You and my mother weren’t just like sisters, were you?”
“That’s right, it’s just as you surmised. Beth and I weren’t merely like sisters. I liked her. I previously confessed to her when we moved here, and I originally had wanted to bring her here with me. Even though she didn’t know that I had such feelings for her…”

Mirabelle kept thinking as she looked at Vio, ‘No wonder she had such a warm look when she was caressing my face just now.’

“What happened after that?”

Mirabelle decided to ask for more details since Vio had stopped speaking.

“She rejected me after that. It wasn’t because she didn’t like me. To be honest, she actually had romantic feelings for me as well. This was how she rejected me – ‘Sorry, I’m really happy that you feel that way about me, and I like you as well…’ I was incredibly delighted back then and eagerly took her hand, intending to directly take her away. However, she shook my hand off. ‘I’m sorry, although I feel the same way about you, my family will die if I run away, so I can’t go with you.’ That was why she returned to that man’s side and became his wife. That was also why I made the rule that all male elves are forbidden from entering here. The day that she left me was also a rainy day similar to today.”

Vio’s face was filled with nostalgia as she gazed into the distance.

This was the first time that Mirabelle felt fortunate that she was currently a female.

“So that’s the reason behind such a rule?”
“Yes, it’s because I truly loathe men that I forbid any men from entering my land. I’ve previously sunken many passenger ships filled with men. Men don’t deserve to exist at all in my land. Girls should just marry girls, don’t you agree?”
“Ahaha… I… I really agree as well. Actually, I don’t really like men, either…”
“As expected of her daughter. Rest assured, I absolutely won’t let any dirty men possibly take you away!”

Mirabelle had a helpless expression. However, she noticed something – thus, Mirabelle hid her expression in the shadows as she tried to ask Vio, “You’re in such a hurry to force me and Kirsten to marry, but it’s not only because of this, is it? You must have only recently noticed my identity, right?”

“As expected of her daughter. Your senses are both so sharp. Now then, what are you trying to say?”
“I only have one condition I’d like to request of you, which is to not force Kirsten and me to marry each other, especially in such a short period of time…”
“Regrettably, I can’t agree to that…”
“Why?”

Mirabelle stood up with great emotion as she tightly clenched her fist.

“No particular reason other than that the rules are the rules. You two broke the taboo here, and if I release you just like this, that will mean that I’ve personally broken the rule that I set myself. What authority would I still have as queen then?”

Mirabelle looked downward at the floor after she heard this.

“It’s already set in stone that the two of you shall marry each other. The two of you must get married…”
“…”

‘Why? Why is Vio forcing us to such an extent? There must be a reason for this. Just what could her reason be? We were highly secretive whenever we were intimate before. Yet, how were we discovered? Could it be that-’

“Your Majesty, could it be that someone else is threatening you right now? Someone is…”
“Stop saying such foolish things; this is my decision! Someone hurry and come! Take Mirabelle back to the dungeon!”

The guard standing at the door immediately entered and restrained Mirabelle’s arms. However, Mirabelle kept struggling furiously in an effort to break her restrained arms free.

“Don’t be violent with her; be gentle. Take her back down and lock her up in the dungeon. Don’t let the two of them out of the dungeon until they agree to get married…”
“Wait, wait, Your Majesty… Your Majesty! Listen to me say this one last thing…”

However, the queen turned around to look outside the large window and wouldn’t turn back around again. The guard immediately carried Mirabelle away and tossed her back into the dungeon.

“You’re truly unlucky. You couldn’t succeed in negotiating with the queen. Now, the two of you have no other option, as you’re forbidden from leaving the dungeon until you agree to get married…” The guard commented to Mirabelle as she locked the jail cell. “To be honest, this is good for both you and me…”

After saying this, the guard then closed the door to the dungeon. Mirabelle could only hear the sound of a key being turned in the iron door.

“Ugh… damn it…”
“Are you alright? Mirabelle?”

Kirsten’s voice was concerned as she helped Mirabelle onto the bed.

“I’m fine…”
“Just what did you talk about with the queen? For things to become like this…”
“Nothing much, I just learned some things…”

Mirabelle decided to explain to Kirsten as she saw the latter’s concern.

“I’ve already learned that Her Majesty is actually being threatened by someone. Perhaps someone in the elven territory said something like this to her: ‘Unless you make Mirabelle and Kirsten marry each other, I’ll spread this matter everywhere,’ something like that.”
“How could that be?”
“If this matter is spread everywhere, we’ll probably be in an even more pitiful situation than we are right now, which is why Her Majesty was forced to do this in order to protect us…”
“So that’s how it was. But, who would want to harm us like this?”

Kirsten sat down next to Mirabelle while asking her this question.

“About that… I don’t know yet. However, I’m now certain that the person behind all this absolutely isn’t Reyne Miren. Reyne probably has feelings for you, after all.”
“I’ve already faintly noticed that as well. However, I like you, not her…”

Kirsten directly held Mirabelle’s hand as her face became covered in red. Mirabelle’s small body, slender hands, and tender cheeks made Kirsten feel really allured. Mirabelle’s every single action was capable of making Kirsten’s heartbeat increase.

“Is… is that so? You… like me?”

Mirabelle didn’t really know how to respond to Kirsten, even though Kirsten had already said this to her multiple times before. Mirabelle’s face still became as red as an apple.

“A… anyways, let’s get out before saying such intimate things…”
“But, that means that we’ll have to get married…”
“Get married? I feel rather complex about it. I clearly wasn’t ready to think about such a thing before I achieved my wish. Unfortunately, this is the only way I can get you released from jail…”
“Mirabelle, you’re so gentle. I really like how gentle you are…”

Kirsten pushed Mirabelle down on the bed as the two of them hugged each other. They simply enjoyed the silence of raindrops hitting against the window.

Suddenly, they heard two elves outside the window discussing something.

“What!? Miss Reyne ran outside the safe district in this huge downpour!?”
“That’s right. It’s become a huge commotion. I heard that Elder Miren was incredibly angry when she heard about this, and that she sent almost every single guard in town to search for Reyne.”
“Yeah, this is almost identical to when Reyne ran away from home three years ago…”

Of course, Mirabelle and Kirsten overheard this conversation.

“Kirsten, did you hear that?”
“Ah, of course…”

Kirsten replied in a resolute tone, as if the two of them were thinking the same thing.

“Perhaps this is our only opportunity to escape…”
“Indeed. Mirabelle, do you have any good ideas?”
“Of course…”

Mirabelle showed a mysterious smile.