"Listen to me! Lucilia, I'm your brother; I won't lie to you. Think about it; think about it. Why did he never tell you that he loved you, yet chose to suddenly confess now of all times? Don't you find it odd? Lucilia, I'm telling you he's lying to you!! He doesn't love you. He just wants to rescue Queen Sisi. He's a human, Lucia; you have to remember that he's a human!! Don't trust him so easily, Lucilia! Listen to me!!" Lucia's brother despairingly pleaded Lucia, who kept checking herself out in the mirror.
Lucilia took on different poses with a blissful smile as she checked to see if her long dress fitted her or not. She had never worn dresses before. She had a fondness for archery and adventuring in the forest since she was a kid. As a consequence, she always sported leather armour or form-fitting clothing.
Lucia's two sisters beamed as they watched their youngest sister. None of them paid the man's poignant and rational pleas any attention. Lucia didn't take him seriously, wither. One of the elves gently placed a hand on Lucia's shoulder and opined, "Lucia, you look great in this. You have such a nice body, after all. If I could have a chest as flat as you, that'd be fantastic. I'm already careful, yet my chest is still visibly bulging. It's so frustrating."
"I never imagined our younger sister would be getting married already. I really never thought Lucia would choose to get married. She never gave the impression she was an elf who would marry. I'm amazed the human managed to win your heart. Lucia, what exactly do you like about him?"
Voice soft, Lucia chortled: "Because of a number of things, I suppose… Lots of things happened between us; he helped me every single time. When I needed something, I'd think of him. We also accidentally kissed in the forest…"
"Lucia, Lucia, please, listen to me!"
Lucia's brother finally found an opportunity to interject. He emotionally begged her again, but Lucia punished him with a grouchy gaze: "Brother, you're so annoying."
"Wh-…"
Cue the sound of a heart breaking. It was perfectly normal for a brother's heart to shatter after being impaled so ruthlessly, wasn't it? Heartache seized Lucia's brother's face. No words would come to mind. Despair and pain eventually surfaced on his face.
"I know he loves me. Brother, you haven't seen his gaze. He has a sincere gaze. Plus, he also came here to tell me that he loves me and wants to marry me. I don't think he would dare to lie me in our territory." Lucia continued with a nonchalant look: "Queen Sisi has to be returned to humans in the end, anyway. We'll send her back once we receive the thirty-thousand gold coins, so there's no need for him to come here, is there?"
After gently adjusting her hair, Lucia added, "He's a very smart man; he would never put himself in danger. If he tries to escape from here after confessing to me, he'd have himself a death wish. I won't accept my lover betraying me. If he does, I'll dig his eyes out. On the other hand, if he doesn't and continues to love me, I'll be happy to be his wife. I also like him, after all."
"Y-Yes…" Lucia's brother barely articulated.
Lucia wasn't madly in love. Lucia and Lin Dongqing's feelings were doubtfully at that deeply-in-love stage. It sounded as though they merely had good impressions of each other. Nevertheless, Lucia was eager to get married.
"Wh-Whatever the case, I'll watch him!! I'm your brother! I won't allow anyone to trick you! If someone does, I'll be the first to stand up for you!"
"Thank you, Brother." Lucia walked up to her brother with a smile and gave him a peck on the cheek: "So, what do you think of this dress, Brother?"
"You're adorable in it. Lucilia, you're cute and pretty to begin with, so you look cute in anything."
Lucia's brother's response was a sincere one. By elven standards, Lucia's body type was the cutest. Lucia changed into a white long dress embellished with butterflies and flying birds. Her short hair was combed into a small bundle that was held in place with a jade hairpin, thereby revealing her delicate neck. A light-green gemstone hung down to her chest. Lucia looked totally different to usual; she looked purer and cuter. But nonetheless, her statement saying that she'd dig out her husband's eyes if he betrayed her certainly wasn't an empty threat…
"Well, things should be ready on this end now. I'm sure everyone is looking forward to Lucilia's engagement ceremony." One of Lucia's sisters came up and pushed Lucia's brother away. She then said, "Okay now, okay now, Lucilia, let's get going. Let's go and see your fiancé. He may be a human, but I'm sure he'll fit perfectly into elven clothing."
"Uhm!!" responded Lucia.
Lucia couldn't wait any longer. Her brother, however, didn't look pleased…
========
Current time at the elven dungeon.
Queen Sisi opened her eyes. Some sort of liquid trickled down onto her face. She instinctively touched it; it was a sticky and stinky liquid. Having no appetite to begin with, she felt an urge to vomit as the stinky liquid dripped onto her. She quickly crawled aside. She touched her eyes. They were still there, proving it wasn't dark because she was blind but because she had been thrown into a place without light.
"Where exactly am I?" wondered Queen Sisi, realising that she wasn't restrained. Therefore, she figured the elves must've put in the stops to ensure she couldn't escape. She silently questioned, "Where exactly is this place? Will I still be able to see the sun? Will I be able to survive?"
Queen Sisi neither shouted nor feared for she knew that it was futile to. She tried to stand up; she carefully took a step. She accidentally stepped on something. She heard a painful squeak underfoot, causing her to shudder. She finally figured out where she was.
A command was received. Countless eyes suddenly glowed in the darkness. Their squeaking reverberated… Queen Sisi's entire body froze in place. She staggered backwards and knelt on the ground.
"Aaaaahhh!!!!!!!" The young girl shrilled as though a crushing tide would crush her…