Reborn as a Mind-Reading Empress-Chapter 676: Alwin’s Nanny
Alwin was at a loss for words and glanced at Arabella and Ferdinand for help.
[Does she know me or my parents?] Alwin was confused.
"Mother, please calm down and explain. Our guests are confused," Laurencia spoke softly.
"Oh, my apologies. I was overjoyed to know that His Highness is alive," Elder Satara tried to dry her tears. Her children helped her to the sofa.
"It’s alright, Elder. Please take your time," Arabella smiled.
It seems not only Arabella was connected to the Elder but Alwin as well.
Elder Satara then collected herself before speaking.
"Your Highness must not recognize me since you were too young back then. My appearance is a bit different from now since I was younger and I prefer to have my hair dark brown and curled back then. Everyone called me by my nickname Tarah as well," Elder Satara changed her appearance to her younger self and Alwin gasped.
"Why do you have that appearance?!" Alwin gawked at Elder Satara.
[I could not recall everything since I was young back then, but this was the appearance of my nanny.] Alwin blinked repeatedly.
"Because I was the one called Tarah who looked after you when you were a child, Your Highness. I’m not sure if you recall, but your parents instructed me and the other maids to escape with you when they realized they were poisoned and the humans were coming to attack," Elder Satara made another revelation that shocked everyone.
Alwin blinked repeatedly in disbelief and gawked at the Elder, "You were my nanny, Tarah? I... I thought you were dead. The humans who fought with the maids said they killed you before heading in our direction."
Elder Satara then told them what happened. On the day the humans attacked, Alwin was sent away to escape with her and the other maids while his parents (the former King and Queen of the Elves before Alvis and his wife) who were already poisoned and had no chance of survival, remained to fight against the humans to ensure his safety.
Tarah and the maids ran as far away as they could and teleported from mountain to mountain. However, humans have learned magic too and there were still a lot who chased after them.
Thus, since Tarah was the most powerful among the maids, she volunteered to be the bait and fight off the magicians who chased after them while the other maids escaped with Alwin. They agreed to meet in this mountain.
"I almost died repeatedly. But I managed to use an illusory spell and switched with tree roots and soil for a fake body with the last of my strength. I passed out shortly after that and when I woke up three days later, all the mountains around me were in flames. I quickly headed here, hoping the other maids had escaped with you and managed to hide in a safe place. But I was horrified to see the whole mountain had been burned as well. Everything had turned to ashes and I could not even find a single body," Elder Satara retold with so much sorrow in her eyes.
"The maids continued teleporting from mountain to mountain. When they lost all their strength, they sought the help of the nymphs who tried to flee with me while the maids stayed to fight the ones chasing us," Alwin explained what he recalled.
Alwin could not recall everything in detail but he recalled getting passed around from one forest to another as the dryads desperately tried to save him.
However, in one of the forests, the human magicians caught up to them and used magic to set the entire forest ablaze so they could not escape anymore.
"Then how did you survive? I immediately sought help from King Alvis. We searched for a while with the other elves and were not able to find you. Your presence vanished completely as well. The branch of the Holy Tree with the Former King and Queens along with yours had wilted and turned to dust as well. Thus, even King Alvis had no choice but to admit you had died. How come we could not feel your presence at all? And why did even your branch at the Holy Tree turn to dust?"
Elder Satara was puzzled since the Holy Tree branch of the elves where Alwin’s life could have been monitored, also died.
It was why they concluded Alwin was also burned to ashes along with the other maids on this mountain. And it was one of the reasons that Elder Satara refused to head to Estrella where she would be safe and sound.
Elder Satara lamented the deaths of her comrades and most especially her ward, Prince Alwin. She thought she had failed to protect Alwin and put the sacrifices of all the other elves in vain.
Thus, she remained here all her life, where she thought Alwin and her comrades had died and mourned them.
Alwin closed his eyes and tried to feel the presence of this forest as he recalled the place where he had parted with his maids.
"I think this is indeed the forest where I last parted with them and they handed me to the dryads. They could no longer teleport so they pretended I was here with them but the dryads had already passed me to their comrades in the next forest. They kept passing me to the next forest and the next, as far away as they could," Alwin explained.
It meant that the other maids indeed died here but Alwin survived through the dryads’ help. Because of their efforts to delay the magicians, the nymphs were able to take Alwin away so he managed to survive until help arrived.
"In one of the forests, I thought I would die with nymphs when My Lord arrived and saved us," Alwin said as he glanced at Ferdinand.
"Oh... I see... You were saved by the Great Primordial! That was why you grew up with him?" Elder Satara slowly nodded her head and glanced at Ferdinand.
