Mark turned toward his subordinates.

"Don’t worry about me, I’ll be back soon," he said. "And if I’m not... you all know what to do."

"Of course," they all replied at the same time.

After that Mark stepped out through the room’s door and began walking down the castle corridor as his footsteps echoed softly against the floor.

’Good... everything is going according to plan,’ Mark thought, watching the backs of the elves walking ahead of him.

"Yuki," Mark spoke through the mental link.

"I’m here, Master," she responded instantly.

Yuki was right beside him, walking with him, invisible to everyone.

"You know what you have to do, right?"

"Of course," she replied with confidence. "I’ll return to your side as soon as I finish locating all the targets."

"Good, go."

And with that, Yuki’s presence vanished from his side in an instant.

’Ok... now I just have to do my part of the plan,’ Mark thought, refocusing his attention on the elves walking ahead of him.

Then Mark’s mind went back several days, specifically to the third night of the journey.

While the three elves and Zilu slept soundly, Mark and the others had stayed gathered around the campfire embers, speaking through their mental link so as not to wake them.

"As I said before, the moment we arrive at the castle I’m completely certain the elves will try to separate the Master from us," Rose explained without looking away from the fire.

"And we’re going to allow that?" Ely asked, frowning.

"Yes," Rose replied calmly. "Because that’s exactly what works most in our favor."

"Why?" Aria asked, confused.

Then a faint smile appeared on Rose’s face.

"Because that way we’ll ensure that all eyes in the castle will be on the Master and the elves accompanying him... and that will be precisely the moment we make our move to take control of the kingdom."

The atmosphere stayed silent for a few seconds as everyone thought over Rose’s words. Then they looked at each other and nodded at the same time.

But then the memory cut off abruptly when the armored elf’s voice echoed ahead of Mark.

"This is very strange," the elf said, looking to both sides of the corridor.

"What is?" Mark asked, returning to the present.

"We’ve been walking for a while and we still haven’t run into anyone... Normally, at this hour, there are guards every twenty meters."

"That’s true..." the druid walking behind him added. "I haven’t seen absolutely anyone since we arrived."

The armored elf was quiet for a moment before shrugging slightly.

"I suppose it’s better this way."

"Even so, it’s still strange..." the druid murmured, not very convinced.

And while they talked, Mark noticed the pink-haired elf at the front gradually slowing her pace until she was walking beside him.

"I want to thank you," she said, glancing at him sideways.

"For what?" Mark said, raising an eyebrow.

"For trusting us," she replied in a warm tone. "I know we didn’t exactly get off to the best start, and what I did with your demi-human companion was out of line."

Mark listened in silence.

"But I guarantee you everything we’re doing is only out of caution," she continued, looking ahead again. "We don’t want to risk anything bad happening to our queen, that’s all..."

"No problem," Mark replied with a smile. "I understand."

The elf nodded once and quickened her pace to return to the head of the group.

The four continued walking through the castle corridors for a few more minutes, crossing long hallways, passing by enormous windows looking out onto inner courtyards, and climbing stairs that took them higher and higher into the palace.

Until they finally stopped in front of a massive double wooden door.

The armored elf stopped in front of the door and turned toward Mark.

"We’re here," the armored elf said, turning to look at Mark. "On the other side of this door the queen will be waiting for you."

"You won’t come in?" Mark asked, watching as the elves stepped to the side.

"No, we’ll stay out here," the pink-haired elf replied.

And at that exact moment, Yuki’s presence reappeared at his side.

"Everything is going according to plan, Master," Yuki informed him through the mental link. "The others are already doing their part, and as soon as they all finish, you will hear the signal."

"Understood," he said out loud without changing his expression.

The pink-haired elf nodded, thinking Mark was responding to her.

"Good luck," the druid said from behind.

Then Mark opened the door and entered the room together with Yuki, closing the door behind him.

Upon entering, Mark immediately realized he wasn’t in the throne room.

’A bedchamber?’

The room was spacious with white walls and adorned with luxurious decorations.

There was an enormous bed against one of the walls, with white sheets and a canopy of translucent fabric hanging from the posts. A dark wooden vanity with an oval mirror stood in one corner, and shelves filled with books and scrolls occupied the opposite wall.

’I thought they’d take me to the throne room...’ Mark thought, looking around the room. ’Not her bedroom.’

But without a doubt what dominated the room was the window.

A massive window that took up the entire far wall from floor to ceiling, through which the ocean could be seen stretching to the horizon under the golden light of sunset.

And beside it, seated in a high-backed chair, was the queen.

Her hair was long and light green. And from her hair jutted a pair of pointed ears adorned with several small earrings.

On her head rested a thin silver crown with a green gem at the center. She wore a long white dress with golden embroidery that extended to the floor.

But then Mark quickly noticed something that clashed with everything else. She was looking at the ocean with a sad expression.

’She looks tired...’ he thought, carefully observing the queen’s face.

She, noticing his presence, slowly turned her head from the window until her green eyes met Mark’s. And seeing him, her expression changed immediately.

The sadness disappeared, replaced by a soft, warm smile.

"I’m so glad you decided to come and help me. Please, come in and take a seat beside me," she said, gesturing toward the chair in front of hers. "We have a lot to talk about."