Kolvar had seen these temple knights before. They always came to cause him and his fellow dark elves trouble.

As such, he only wanted to cause some trouble for these temple soldiers and teach them a lesson.

But when casting his spell, he had been discovered and knocked out. He did not even get a chance to bite his tongue and die before he could get captured.

And that was how he had ended up here - with his hands tied behind his back and his body rigid as he looked at the man in front of him.

"Ho! And what do we have here? A little chick managed to slip his way into our nest and finally get caught. Is it a lucky day for us?"

Brother Gustav asked as he held Kolvar's face in his hand.

Kolvar tried to bite his tongue off, but the holy man did not allow it. Instead, he grabbed Kolvar's mouth and forced it open so that he could force a cloth in his mouth.

"I cannot have you kill yourself right now. As much as it would delight me to see, I still want to use you as bait for your friends and family. They would come to save you, right?"

Brother Gustav asked, and Kolvar flinched before he tried to refute.

The more he tried, the more Brother Gustav laughed, amused, before letting him go.

"I am afraid that it is too late already. I've already sent the message, and a flock of your hair is coming to your tribe's location. They will notice it early if you are lucky and go for you.

If not, then you all would die at different times.

Ah, but worry not! Goddess Kara is a benevolent mistress. She will finally help all your family in the afterlife."

Bother Gustav patted Kolvar's hair before he stood up and decided to leave him alone. He had a lot of work to do here.

...

"With this, our deal has been finalized. Working with the dark elves is a pleasure, and I will ensure I uphold the end of my deal."

Layla bowed before the elf queen, and the old queen gave a small bow back.

She had heard from Mary and Layla about their status and their current conditions.

The queen understood that Layla would not be the one to protect them, but the Ducal house of Lockhart would.

Even in seclusion like this, the elf queen had heard of Duke Lockhart and his influence and cruelty.

As such, he was a man who had enough strength and reputation to protect them all.

That was the only reason she decided to go under Layla's barrier and help her.

"Girl! We will all trust you and put our lives in your hands. Just know that if we all die, our deaths will be on your shoulders, and you will bear the karma of our lives. Are you ready to take that risk?"

The elf queen asked as she handed the contract over to Layla.

A small smile bloomed on the young female's face before she coughed to maintain her neutral expression.

"You do not need to worry about it at all. I have given you my word, and I intend to keep it. Please get ready to leave in two days. We need to make it back-"

"Q-Queen, we have an emergency! The temple people who had been trying to kill us all this time caught Kolvar! They return a few locks of his hair to order us to surrender. What should we do now?"

The lady who entered asked. She looked young, and her shaking made her look even younger.

Layla felt a stab of sympathy for her, and she wanted to speak up for her. But the queen decided to speak up before Layla could.

"It cannot be helped. Kolvar knows the rules as well as we do. Since he has been captured, he has to abandon him. Ask everyone to get packing. We will leave this place in two days. It is not safe here."

The elf queen spoke without any emotions.

Looking at her, one could not tell that Kolvar was her blood-related grandson. But a queen had her burden, and this decision was made to keep everyone else in line.

"B-But queen-"

"My decision is final. We cannot risk the safety of so many for the sake of one. We will leave Kolvar back here."

The queen decided, and Layla sighed in annoyance.

She had offered the contract, so her obligation was to ensure Kolvar was safe.

Although he was not present when the contract was signed, he was part of this park, so Layla decided to bring him back.

"You should leave this to me. I promised you all protection in that contract, and I meant that. Mary, come! We have a kid to bring back."

Layla stood up, about to leave, when the queen spoke up again.

"You don't have an obligation to help Kolvar. His kidnapping happened before our contract was signed. I would rather focus on the future of our people and -"

"Then, think of this as nothing. I am not doing this for you but to show kindness to the person who became my guide here. Mary, we should get going now."

Layla quickly changed her words, and the queen had no choice but to let her do what she wanted.

Mary let out a small laugh as she looked at the old queen with a knowing look.

"Don't worry about it. My young lady is always reckless like this. But I assure you that we will make it back alive.

We will give you proof of our authority and promise. In return, please serve us all."

Mary finished the topic for Layla before she followed her young mistress out.

The temple decided to strike so soon, and Layla would show them how being crushed felt.

She would not have felt so confident if she had not had Mary and her secret weapon at her disposal, but she felt relaxed since she did.