If anything happened to the Princess of the Four-eared elves race under his watch, it would have the opposite effect of what he hoped to achieve. Therefore, he wanted to ensure that everything was perfectly alright with her. If she needed to return home to recover, he had no problem with that.
"No, nothing is wrong with me," Isadora responded, swiftly shaking her head. However, as she caught Orion's solemn, questioning expression, she hesitated, avoiding his gaze.
"What is it that you are hiding from me?" Orion asked, his expression becoming even more serious. He halted and observed as Isadora also halted and hovered, awaiting her response.
Isadora suddenly slumped her shoulders, her gaze still avoiding Orion's eyes, as she began to explain, "The reason I've been behaving strangely is because of my race's innate ability, which is related to these ears." She then detailed everything her father had told her about their innate abilities, sharing her discovery and the reasons behind her recent behaviour until she concluded her explanation.
Orion nodded in understanding, inwardly relieved that it wasn't anything serious. "Is that all?" he asked, his eyes fixed on Isadora to ensure she wasn't hiding anything.
Isadora nodded, "Yes, that's everything," she responded, fidgeting in her position.
"Okay, let's get going. We'll cut your task short today so you can return home to rest comfortably and resume your task tomorrow," Orion responded.
"I understand," Isadora replied, nodding dissapointedly.
Just as they were about to resume their flight forward and dash out of the Pixie Kingdom—
"MR. ORION, PLEASE WAIT…!" A loud voice tore through the air, resonating in their ears and causing them to halt their flight, looking toward the direction of the voice.
They immediately saw a mature woman who appeared to be in her late twenties. She wore a vibrant green and yellow thigh-high dress adorned with detailed designs accentuating a beautiful pair of black tights visible from underneath as she flew towards their position. She had a sword with a red jewel on its hilt, securely sheathed at her waist, and a shield strapped to her back.
The woman soon arrived before them, breathing heavily, showcasing she had exerted herself to catch up with Orion.
"Haaa… Mr. Orion, I wasn't expecting to see you here today!!" Meave exclaimed, trying to catch her breath.
Orion nodded, "I just came to meet with High King Eldric and discuss some private matters with him," he responded before quickly introducing Isadora, "This is Isadora, my personal assistant." He then introduced Meave to Isadora, "Isadora, this is Maeve, the Vice Guild Master of the Gardeners' Guild."
Maeve instantly shifted her attention toward Isadora, carefully examining her. She was surprised to hear that Orion had a personal assistant whom he had brought along to the Pixie Kingdom.
Isadora, in turn, did the same, taking in Maeve's entire being from head to toe. Even without being told, she knew Maeve was an important figure, especially after witnessing how she approached Orion.
"It's a pleasure to meet you, Vice Guildmaster Maeve," Isadora said, bowing slightly in respect.
"Likewise, Miss Isadora," Maeve responded, returning the gesture. "Mr. Orion, why don't you visit the Gardeners' Guild before you leave? I have a matter I would like to discuss with you regarding our last conversation," she added promptly, fearing that Orion might suddenly change the topic and leave.
"Oh!" Orion's eyes widened in response, instantly recalling their last conversation and understanding what she was trying to say."I'm sorry, I forgot. There's been a lot of things for me to handle lately, especially with everything going on, so it's a little hard for me to keep track,"heexhaled tiredly.
"You don't need to explain, Mr. Orion, I perfectly understand,"Maeve responded, shaking her head firmly. "Nonetheless, if that's the case, why don't you use this opportunity to rest before you leave? That's if you are still interested in helping them out,"she quickly added.
Isadora's ears twitched, sensing thatsomething was going on between Vice Guildmaster Maeve and Orion that shewasn't aware of. They were speaking with each other almost cryptically, as though they didn't want her to understand what they were saying.
She furrowed her brows, narrowing her eyes at the two of them.
Hearing Maeve's words, Orion nodded thoughtfully before shifting his attention towards Isadora, "You can continue without me and return home to rest.I have something I need to attend to before I leave,"Orion said, his tone serious.
Isadora shook her head fiercely, "No, I am not leaving without you, Mr. Orion. If you have something you need to take care of before returning home, then I might as well follow you as your personal assistant and help complete it as best as you can,"she responded, her expression solemn as she stared at Orion.
"COUGH!!"Maeve suddenly started to cough continuously when she heard Isadora's words, attracting Isadora's attention.
Isadora stared at Maeve suspiciously.
"Miss Isadora, this is not something you can or should handle. I assure you that Mr. Orion is perfectly capable of taking care of this, so there is no reason for you to stress yourself and worry," Maeve responded, arranging her words sensibly to prevent her from following them.
"Vice Guildmaster Maeve, I am Mr.Orion's personal assistant, not yours, so regardless of your position, I don't thinkyou have any right to inform me on how to do my job. Only Mr. Orion has that right.If Mr. Orion says I should go, then I'll.If he says I should accompany him, I'll accompany him. However, if I see the need to ensure that he completes his task properly without acquiring any stress, I'll ensure that I do so as his 'personal assistant,"Isadora responded, slightly bowing towards Maeve to showcase that she hadn't spoken out of spite or anger and was mainly explaining the fact.
Maeve narrowed her eyes at Isadora. Initially, she had thought that the woman beside Orion was someone she could form a familiar relationship with in the future.However, after listening to her response, she instantly began to think it was improbable.