A dull longsword and a heartbroken villager

"Name?" Bray made the same expression as Levy—A0.

"Dead fish eyes, you didn't even think about this?" Naruko exclaimed in surprise.

“No,” Bray said honestly.

If you gave Bray a sword, he probably wouldn't even bother to name it.

"Give this important thing a proper name!" Naruko slammed her hand on the railing.

“What’s it called?” Bray asked.

"Fireball?" Levy uttered her own voice.

Naruko was speechless.

“A flame,” Bray said.

“…” Naruko was already covered in cold sweat.

"You two actually think these two names are good?"

“Hmm.” Levy agreed with Bray.

"Meow?" The little lion looked completely bewildered.

“Of course it should be called Cute!!” Naruko gave her opinion.

“Let’s just call it Flame after all,” Bray said.

"Fireball won't work?" Levy asked, her eyes wide as she looked at Bray.

"Then let's call him Fireball." Bray was easy to talk to. Since Levy wanted to be called Fireball, then the little lion would be called Fireball from now on.

"Fireball~ Meow~" Levy said to the little lion, oh no, now it's fireball.

"Meow meow meow?" The little lion still didn't understand what was going on.

"Hey, isn't cute enough? Let's change it. Fireballs and flames are too common."

"How about calling it 'Chasing Life'?"

"..." Bray was stunned for a moment.

“This name seems pretty good…” Bray surprisingly agreed.

“But if Levy wants to call it Fireball, then let’s call it Fireball.”

Finally, the little lion was named "Fireball". Years ago, Dorothea thought her life would be spent peacefully in Heimson's orphanage.

However, this was just Dorothea's wishful thinking; fate did not intend for her to live such a peaceful life.

The tranquility was ruthlessly shattered.

Dorothea was arrested and imprisoned in an iron cell.

At this point, Dorothea did not possess any extraordinary combat power. Faced with the iron cage, she could do nothing but stare blankly at the outside of the cage.

Dorothea slammed her fist into the iron railing, but it didn't budge.

She was the only one locked up, and there wasn't even a guard.

The dim lighting made Dorothea feel quite depressed.

A group of Snowwind Fortress soldiers suddenly arrested him, and he had no idea what had happened to Heimson, who had been with him.

"Please don't let anything happen to you..." she murmured, subconsciously touching the ring on her hand.

While Dorothea was worried about Heimson, footsteps sounded outside the iron cage—the sound of high heels.

The light was dim, but Dorothea could still see very clearly.

Her eyes seemed to be several levels more acute than those of ordinary people.

Strength, speed, and endurance all contribute to this.

Despite having no combat experience, Dorothea was able to take on dozens of elite soldiers.

The soldiers paid a heavy price to capture Dorothea.

"Who are you?" Dorothea raised her eyelids and looked at the woman outside the iron cage.

The woman possessed an ethereal quality, as well as the aura of someone in a superior position.

"I am your mother, lovely little Dorothea." This woman is the current Empress of the White Court.

The magnificent robe she wore was not an imperial robe, because she did not want anyone to recognize her identity.

The empress came to see Dorothea in secret.

"My little Dorothea has grown into such a graceful young lady," the Elf Queen said to Dorothea with a smile.

“Mother? I’ve never seen a mother look at her daughter like that.” Dorothea met the Queen’s eyes.

The Empress was smiling kindly, but what was wrong with her eyes?

Those eyes, filled with manic joy, sent chills down Dorothea's spine.

Dorothea did not believe that this almost morbid ecstasy was the emotion a "mother" would feel when meeting her "daughter".

"It seems you've been away from home for too long and you're a little unfamiliar with me."

"But it's alright, you'll get used to me soon." The Queen smiled and waved to Dorothea.

"You are my most precious 'daughter'," the Elf Queen murmured softly.

Dorothea looked at the Queen indifferently, without offering any opinion.

Under Dorothea's watchful gaze, the Queen departed.

"Thump—" The outermost iron gate closed, locking Dorothea's possible escape route.

The Elf Queen had long forgotten about Dorothea's existence; this experimental subject who had escaped on her own was dispensable not long ago.

However, everything changed not long ago.

All of the Elf Queen's experiments failed; not a single one was "meaningful."

There wasn't even a single experimental subject capable of handling the "concept".

The Elf Queen possessed a sword, upon which remained a terrifying power—the power belonging to the Silver Species.

No one knows how the power within this sword was preserved.

The only certainty is that this is a cursed sword.

Both those seen by the sword and those who wield the sword will age rapidly.

Even the box containing the sword was already rotten and decayed.

This is not the power of magic, because magic that ages people is reversible, but the effect of this sword is irreversible.

All the experimental subjects that were cultivated failed, aging under the influence of the sword, and some even turned into skeletons.

Only then did the Elf Queen remember that there was one experimental subject who had escaped.

She found Dorothea without much effort.

If she really wants to find someone, it's quite easy.

After finding Dorothea, the first thing the Queen did was to lock her up.

This is the most precious experimental subject; it must be carefully preserved.

---

Dorothea has been locked up for several days, during which time people have been bringing her food intermittently.

Dorothea casually picked up a steamed bun from the wooden bowl and started eating it.

She doesn't plan to starve herself; survival is the most important thing.

Dorothea knew perfectly well that the Queen wouldn't kill her because she was an experimental subject.

After running away as a child, she realized her true identity—a mere experimental subject, not even a human being.

"Creak—" The heavy iron door was opened.

Dorothea jolted and looked sharply toward the door.

“Heimson?” Dorothea looked at the person who opened the door in disbelief.

"Shh—" Heimsen frowned and approached Dorothea's iron cage.

“I’ve got a whole bunch of keys.” Heimson grinned mischievously, then pointed to the bunch of keys in his hand.

"How did you get it?" Dorothea asked, somewhat puzzled.

"We ambushed the gatekeeper outside and then climbed over," Heimson said proudly.

"That simple?"

"Simple? I almost got caught, okay? If I had been caught, I would have been dead," Heimson said irritably.

"You were fine when I was arrested?"

“I slipped away without even showing them my face,” Heimsen said, shrugging.

He's a pretty clever guy; if his face had been seen back then, he would have been recognized and arrested.

It could even implicate the entire orphanage.

"crunch-"

"Let's get out of here," Heimsen said hastily after opening Dorothea's iron cage.

“Mmm.” Dorothea grasped Heimson’s hand.

“Are you scared? Coward.” Dorothea noticed that Heimson’s hands were trembling.

"How can I be considered a coward? To be fair, I snatched someone from prison."

"What do we do next?" Dorothea asked.

It's impossible for the two of them to go back to the orphanage, because that would put the entire orphanage at risk.

“They eloped and then got married somewhere,” Heimson blurted out.

"Pfft—" Dorothea couldn't help but laugh out loud.

"Keep your voice down, or we'll be caught." Heimsen made a shushing gesture.

“Then let’s elope and get married,” Dorothea said.

"I was just joking."

"I'm not joking."

"Let's slip away first." Dorothea gripped Heimson's hand tightly and then led him outside.

However, fairytale-like developments rarely happen in reality.

A giant, twice the height of a person, blocked the iron gate.

“I didn’t see this guy just now.” Heimson swallowed hard.

"Her Majesty the Queen said that you cannot step out of here." This giant was someone who would only move when Dorothea left the iron prison.

"You, go back," the giant said coldly. The giant was an opponent that Dorothea and Heimson could not defeat.

The battle was completely one-sided, and the entire process lasted less than three minutes.

In the end, Dorothea was defeated and captured again.

"Cough cough..." Dorothea coughed, now she was like a dead fish, being lifted up.

Heimsen, on the other hand, was being carried by the giant.

Fortunately, Heimson was not knocked unconscious and remained quite conscious.

Dorothea was suspended in a fairly spacious basement.

The numerous lights burning around the basement prevented it from feeling dark.

However, there was a small box in the basement, which exuded a dark and gloomy atmosphere.

Even the brightly lit basement felt chilling.

"My dear daughter, you must never run away on your own." The Elf Queen was wearing her royal robes this time.