The next day, Sir Winstin flinched as he turned to see Elizabeth. He was surprised. She murmured in her sleep as she slowly roused herself awake. Sir Winstin could not believe it himself. Strictly speaking, her injuries were purely self-inflicted from her magic. The emperor did not touch a single hair on her head. Her friends stood in the way of that and had taken a harsh beating instead. That said, it did not lessen the severity of the damage to her body. Arcania was like a wild bull, it could not be tamed so easily. Especially with that world-shattering power she displayed, if she really survived with no injuries, she would be too frightening! She would be called a monster!
For the price of using her magic, her skin from her elbow down were charred black, like they were burnt. Cracks were spread out like the shattering of glass. It made her arms seem so fragile that with a light touch, they would collapse into dust. Her fingers received the worst of it all as she materialized that magical arrow through her fingers. The physicians could heal these injuries and they did so marvellously. After the two weeks, there were mere scars here and there. It was practically a full recovery. Unfortunately, her magical injuries were harder to heal. Without a specialist, such as the White Healer, it was nigh-impossible to cure.
Hence, Sir Winstin believed she would come around later, when such a specialist arrived from the Zino Kingdom. The Zino Kingdom's fleet had still not arrived, yet she was already waking up. How could that not be surprising? Meanwhile, Nassandra, as a bona-fide Ten Dawn and one of the apex Arcanists, remained unconscious all this time! The man shook away the unnecessary thoughts and called for the physicians, Arcanists, and servants. Forget about the why and focus on the now! Within minutes, several figures appeared in the tent as Elizabeth opened her eyes.
Huh? This scene feels familiar… was her first thought. She had a case of déjà vu as she stared at the ceiling. Right… That happened after I was rescued in the forest. At that time… Her head throbbed as memories came flooding in. That's right! What happened to the emperor? Where am I?
She glanced around as moving her body was too tough. In doing so, she caught sight of a familiar person, Sir Winstin! He left a deep impression on her as the pinnacle of strength in the kingdom. The man was also Lord Korogin's Protector, so she remembered his face well. Even so, she was confused. She had no idea about the end of her fight with the emperor. There was a gap in her memories. Like a magic trick, she was transported from a brutal fight to a bed. She wanted to speak, but her throat was weak.
Sir Winstin came and supported her as water was brought over. She took a gentle sip and felt her body's condition improving significantly. After a little bit, she drank all the water and set her sight on food. The girl then devoured food ravenously, surprising the various people around her. It was well known that the path to recovery was a slow and steady one. The body needed time to heal. That was why patients took their time eating and drinking to slowly let their body build up strength again. Acting too quickly could shock the body and have negative effects instead. There were rare exceptions, such as Sir Winstin, who recovered at a ridiculous rate, or Recovery Arcania, which could enhance the body's recovery rate.
However, they were that. Rare. Who else besides Sir Winstin could boast of such an absurdly strong vitality? How many White Healers were there in the world? The answer was obvious. There was practically no one at all! Once again, everyone was shocked. They felt this girl was full of unexpected surprises! She could not be judged by their standards at all. While they thought this, Elizabeth finished her meals and gave a hearty burp. She blushed after realizing how many people were around her. It was truly unladylike, but this was how she was! Caring about etiquette, who would bother on New Havens?
Elizabeth stretched her joints and felt rejuvenated. Her fatigue was melting away like snow under a fire. In no time at all, she could support herself and speak. She immediately asked about what happened to the emperor. No matter how she tried to remember it, she recalled nothing. Sir Winstin quelled her curiosity as he ordered for the physicians and Arcanists to assess her condition. A flare before extinguishing, it was all too common that people would give one last burst of strength before passing away. He had seen it many times. The physicians went to work, examining every bit of her body, while the Arcanists used basic methods to assess her state.
General Gordon and General Illion came in at this time. The surprise was evident in their eyes. "This…" both muttered.
"How could this be?" Gordon was dumbfounded. They received word Elizabeth awoke less than half an hour ago, so they were expecting to check up on the situation. She needed her rest after all. Yet…
"I'm as surprised as you," Sir Winstin said happily.
Illion heaved a sigh of relief. It was not a bad thing that she recovered so fast. In fact, that would accelerate their plans in returning to the kingdom. The faster they left this place, the better. He could already smell the impending chaos. Think about it. Would the Imperial Council let them go so easily? Elizabeth killed the emperor! Illion understood that the words of the Imperial Princesses meant little at this point. Even if they wanted peace, the princesses were too weak to play the game. Might was right! Whoever won would rewrite history. It was a matter of time before another battle would unfold here for the right to rule the empire!
Elizabeth was passed through all sorts of inspections and tests. The people dared not miss a thing. She was the heir apparent of the Alzar Kingdom, a princess! If, by chance, they made a mistake, the lightest punishment was death. The heaviest was that their entire bloodline would be exterminated down to the last child. Therefore, they went to extreme extents, checked, double-checked, triple-checked, and then redid everything over several times. Their lives were on the line! The entire process lasted from the morning till late in the afternoon. The suns were beginning to set when the physicians and Arcanists wiped sweat off their brows. They were done.
The generals returned when they heard and stood beside Sir Winstin as the reports came in. The physicians scratched their heads awkwardly and said she was at the peak of health. She was immaculate! From her physical injuries to her magical injuries, all was practically healed. She made a full recovery! Unfortunately, that served to baffle the experts more. They really could not make heads or tails of the case.
"So, what happened in the battle?" Elizabeth asked. She might be uneducated, but she could read the mood well. She could tell that in her memory gap, somehow, they reached a ceasefire with the empire. However, she wanted to hear the story directly.