There she was, soundly sleeping against the carriage's seat, her long blonde dishevelled hair, her feet barely touching the ground. There was no doubt, she had certainly been drugged to fall asleep in such a position.
The mercenaries had not lied.
However, what was truly troubling was the identity of the person before me...
To think that I would see her after this much time had passed, a small part of me wondered if she would recognize me. But, showing her my identity was a bad idea. There was no way to tell how she had changed during the years we had been apart.
'So, she was a princess...'
Thinking about her past attitude, I would have never guessed it.
"Argh..."
Suddenly, she began moving her body. The drugs they had given her didn't seem to have worked all that well.
'Just how mediocre can you be.'
"AH! W-Who are you?"
Her voice immediately trembled as she opened her eyes, slowly moving away from me, her entire body shaking in fear.
"I'm the one who saved you," I coldly replied, sitting comfortably.
The two mercenaries from before thought this was their opportunity to fool the princess as they quickly shouted.
"Don't listen to him, princess! He attacked us out of nowhere and immediately went into your carriage. We're lucky that you woke up in time or he might have kidnapped you!"
The princess frowned as she peeked out the window and saw the two mercenaries with bleeding ankles, unable to move an inch.
I sighed and didn't even let her question my intentions.
"If I were here to hurt you, I would have already done so. Don't you think?" I shook my head. "The Royal Academy's headmistress is the one who sent me."
"T-The headmistress?!"
She couldn't help but let out her shock.
"Y-You mean, the Wind Goddess?! She personally asked you to escort me to the Royal Academy? Really?"
I was surprised by how flustered she look as even her pointy, elven ears turned bright red from embarrassment.
"Let's go, she must be waiting for us... princess," I awkwardly said.
"C-Can I ask your name, sir?"
'Sir? Does she think I'm old?' I frowned internally.
It was true that my face was hidden. However, I didn't think that my body was that developed to be called "sir". My height was a little above average and my body was quite lean without any overdeveloped muscles.
Even if I felt a little annoyed, I simply knocked against the front of the carriage for the driver to start moving again, which he did without the need of any threats. It seemed my abilities had been enough to deter him of trying anything.
"Mhm. Did the headmistress say why she personally asked for your help?"
"She mentioned you were important."
Once more, the face of the elven princess burned of embarrassment.
"Though, if you were so important. I'm not sure I understand why you were being escorted by those mercenaries."
"Uh, uh, uh. That's-"
She jumbled her words, trying to find an answer. However, without her even speaking, I had already found a few cues regarding her overall situation.
The first cue was the amount of bruises she had on both her arms and legs. A normal princess wouldn't have any and she would be cared for, which meant that just like Amelia Lix, she had been abused at home.
The second cue was simply how she had behaved with me. Princesses were normally haughty because of how they were raised. However, she seemed to be the exact opposite.
'Is it really a coincidence that the headmistress sent me to help her or does she know my real identity?' I shook my head. 'There's no way. There's no documents that show our connection. It must be a coincidence.'
"It's just that most of the guards were occupied yesterday and couldn't accompany me all the way to the Royal Capital. So, my family hired mercenaries to protect me..."
"C-Rank Mercenaries..."
She coughed twice and glanced away.
"It's-"
"Whatever, it's none of my business."
The elven princess suddenly tilted her head. "Have we met before?"
I frowned and stayed silent. 'Did she recognize me even with the mask and the black clothes?'
There was no way she could recognize me. The last time we had seen each other. The two of us had been barely ten years old.
"Mhm. I don't believe so."
She brushed it off with a smile. "Nevermind, it's just... your replies. It reminded me of something."
"I see."
"How do you know the headmistress? Are you a professor at the Royal Academy?"
'Just how old does she think I am?'
I scratched my head and let out a sigh. "Do I really seem that old?"
"No, no! That's not it. It's just that I don't think any student would have been able to take care of three mercenaries as easily as you."
'Was it really that impressive? They were only C-Rank.'
"So, if you're not a professor. Are you maybe a student? What year are you? Third year?" She asked as she tilted her head again, truthfully interested in my response.
Just as I was about to find an excuse to her questions, I noticed something strange about her mana core and her mana circuits. I hadn't noticed it earlier because I hadn't paid attention. However, now that I had been looking at her for so long, it was as clear as day.
Most of her mana circuits were damaged. The only reason she could even use her affinities was because of how large her mana core was.
With her current state, any spell she would cast would take ten times as much mana than for others. It would also put a much greater strain on her body.
Ivy, the elven princess, seemed to notice my perturbed gaze as she quietly asked. "Is something wrong?"
"Turn around and remove your top."
"Huh?!"