Chapter 61: Leo is told off by the snow song bird (2)

“Wh…What…!”

Lena nearly shouted out of instinct, her throat burning for the first time in a while.

However, no one around her noticed her trembling shoulders. This was because, led by Albert, the men all stood up suddenly, their faces turning pale.

“Snow Songbird…?!”

Yes, the bird with its graceful white feathers and long tail was the Snow Songbird that Albert had previously entrusted to the girl.

“The Snow Songbird flew…?! Could it be…?!”

“Hey, what’s a Snow Songbird? What happens if it flies?” Lena quickly asked Kai, her curiosity piqued.

Kai, now pale, responded in a shaky voice, “It’s a bird that the Crown Prince gave to Lady Leonora to be released in case of an emergency, a bird that understands human speech and flies off to inform his Highness in times of crisis “

“An emergency…?”

Lena furrowed her brows. Could it be that Leonora was indeed facing some kind of danger?

Albert, no longer hiding his true nature, immediately questioned the Snow Songbird on the spot.

“What happened?! Is something wrong with Leonora?!”

“Peep! Pee!” The bird, known for understanding human speech, chirped weakly towards Albert, its voice slowly transforming and beginning to speak human words.

Its high-pitched, awkward voice seemed to recreate a conversation between two individuals.

“Well, well, looks like you’ve got yourself a good one, huh?!”

One voice belonged to a man, speaking with a vulgar Elrand accent. He made no effort to conceal his nasty tone as he issued a threatening statement.

“You understand what I’m saying, don’t you? Too bad. I was going to sell you, but I’ve changed my mind. I’ll strangle you right here.”

A delicate shriek echoed in response.

“Stop it!”

The source of the scream was obviously a girl. Albert and the others’ expressions tensed up.

“Don’t worry. This land is where the spirits originated. Your soul will surely find its way to the great spirit and bring them satisfaction!”

“No! Stop it!”

The harsh reenactment of the shriek continued, causing a desire to cover one’s ears.

“Hah! Your body may be weak, but it’s quite beautiful. Perfect for a sacrifice!”

The villain shouted those words, ending the reenactment.

“What the hell…! Lady Leonora! Lady Leonora!”

“Hey, bird! What happened to Leonora?! … Damn it! Can’t you create sentences on your own?!”

Kai and Oscar shook the bird desperately, their faces drained of color. Albert clenched his fist tightly, his face pale and silent.

Meanwhile, Lena and Bruno experienced a different shock altogether.

“How…how could this happen…”

Lena slumped, almost burying her head in the ground, while Bruno stared off into the distance.

It was evident that the one speaking with the coarse Elrandic accent and crude content was Leo, and the shrieking voice belonged to the bird.

Leo must have thought of killing and eating the bird she was planning to sell.

Perhaps she had inadvertently revealed her escape plan in front of the bird, and the bird, sensing the danger to itself, had flown away.

And yet…

“Because the bird understands speech…? Could it be… Leonora, who overheard the Elrand language conspiracy, is being silenced…?”

“They mentioned a sacrifice to the greatest spirit. If it’s not a spirit of light… could it be a sacrifice to the spirit of darkness…?”

Kai and Oscar, with their hands on their foreheads, were shouting increasingly outrageous theories.

It was easy to imagine that they were picturing the delicate girl being tied to an altar and strangled by an evil sorcerer.

(Oh no… Oh no, oh no, oh no…)

Lena nearly burst into tears after saying they wouldn’t cause trouble unless there was a life-threatening situation.

Albert appeared calm but was lost in thought, his stern lips murmuring, “An ambush or soldiers…”

Hearing him, Lena paled. Was he considering whether to storm in immediately or return to Weitz to gather soldiers?

If the prince led soldiers into Elrand, it would mean the start of war and the end of Elrand.

(You’ve got to be kidding me…)

How could such a ridiculous calamity occur?

Lena’s eyes widened in panic as she broke into a cold sweat and raced through her thoughts.

At the very least, she needed to inform them that Leonora was safe and calm them down. Words alone wouldn’t suffice; she needed to provide clear evidence.

(But how…?!)

Using the prince’s distant vision magic—no, that wouldn’t work; they were already within Elrand territory, so magic wouldn’t be usable.

Having Bruno summon a spirit of darkness to prove there was no suspicious ritual—no, revealing Bruno’s true nature to the prince of the empire was too risky.

Lena felt an intense frustration at her current body’s lack of magic. If only she could use magic, she could resolve the situation with brute force.

(What an inconvenient twist of fate…)

Lena looked down at her own hands in annoyance, only to be struck by a sudden realization.

Her body lacked magic, but the spell to switch bodies had already been cast and remained intact.

(Why, despite the intense spirit power in Elrand, do our bodies remain switched during the contract ritual?)

Lena had never questioned the obvious fact before, but it led her to a hypothesis.

(Magic is being suppressed since the prince can’t use magic. Still, the magic of keeping our bodies switched and sealing the charms remains effective…)

So existing spells could continue to function, even if new magic couldn’t be activated.

Lena looked at her hands intently.

She kept the monitoring crystal’s spell in place, allowing both Leonora’s body to use it, and their voices to reach each other with a shout.

She had set the crystal to be always on standby.

(The crystal involves a previously cast spell. If that’s the case…!)

Lena quickly sorted through her thoughts, grabbing Bruno’s arm and running off.

“This guy’s an Elrand native with a little spirit power. We’ll call on the spirits around here to find out what happened to Lady Leonora!”

She hastily announced to the panicking crowd.

“What are you up to?”

Once they were far enough away not to be heard, Bruno questioned her in confusion.

“We’ll contact Leo to prove the situation isn’t what they’re imagining. I’m sorry for revealing your spirit power, but we can easily cover up the whole ‘spirit of darkness’ thing, right? I’ll reveal the crystal magic too, so let’s call it even.”

Lena answered quickly, pulling out a crystal from her pocket.

She needed to deal with the greedy idiot and get their story straight before the prince and the others could hear.

“Activate the crystal. Show the current state of Leonora von Hakenberg.”

She whispered the spell, and the crystal glowed faintly. The crystal Leonora held should also be glowing, indicating their connection.

If Leonora noticed and chanted the same spell, they could communicate.

(Come on out, Leonora!)

As Lena strongly wished for Leonora to appear…

Whoosh!

A ring of light appeared around the crystal, and the next moment, the familiar face of the girl emerged within the transparent orb.

“Le…Lena…?! This is amazing! It’s actually connected…! Is this a miracle?!”

Leonora, dressed in a foreign robe, half-sat up from her lying position, exclaiming in Elrand language due to speaking it for the past few days. She seemed genuinely surprised that the crystal was working despite the lack of magic.

Seeing her casually lounging while people were panicking, Lena lost her temper and shouted at her in Elrand.

“A miracle? Really? I told you not to be greedy! What were you trying to do to that bird? Sell it? Roast and eat it? Thanks to you, the prince and everyone else are in chaos!”

“Eh? A bird? What? The prince?”

“Let me tell you, according to them, you’ve uncovered a sorcerer’s plot and been captured by thugs sent by him. They’re tying you up to an altar as a sacrifice to the spirit of darkness and planning to strangle you!”

Lena’s outburst left Leonora wide-eyed and speechless.

“……”

“How are you going to handle this? If the angered Weitz soldiers march in, your escape plan will be in ruins!”

“That’s amazing.”

Leonora interrupted her and quietly muttered.

“How did you know?”

“—Huh?”

Lena furrowed her brow, confused.

The crystal’s view slowly expanded, revealing that Leonora was floating in the air, and when Lena finally saw Leonora’s full body, she was left speechless.

“I…I’m literally in that situation right now.”

Leonora, with a cold sweat and an awkward smile, was surrounded by goat heads, bloodstained gold coins, and suspicious candles—her ankles chained to the altar.