Taking off [Seraph], Elashia smiled and said to Catherine:
"There are still many things to handle in Elasia, and I can't go to the Holy Kingdom to help you myself. I hope you can help me bring some clothes and a ring to Ileina."
"These clothes are mine, and this ring was given to me by Ileina when she left. You shouldn't have any reluctance about bringing these to her, right?"
Catherine nodded in response:
"You helped us eliminate troublesome enemies, so we should naturally help resolve your concerns."
Elashia silently recited the incantation again and stored [Seraph] into the Jencas Ring.
"Then please deliver this ring to Ileina."
Catherine solemnly accepted the ring Elashia handed over and carefully placed it in the pocket inside her coat.
"I will definitely bring it to Holy Princess Ileina safely!"
Elashia smiled and nodded.
Previously, she had considered that Catherine would very likely be unwilling to accept her gifts, so when accepting the mission, Elashia had secretly used the Jencas Ring—which doesn't make any sound when storing items—to put away ten magic crossbows.
The magic crossbows she had stored and retrieved in front of Catherine earlier were actually models, used as decoys to cover for the real magic crossbows during wartime.
Using the Jencas Ring requires an incantation, and only Ileina and Elashia know how to use it, so even if Catherine wanted to see what was inside, she couldn't.
After finishing their discussion, Catherine stood up from the ground and said solemnly to Elashia:
"Then I won't stay here any longer. Holy Princess Ileina still needs me. I promise I will definitely deliver your things to Holy Princess Ileina!"
Elashia also stood up from the ground.
"Won't you stay a little longer?"
Catherine answered firmly:
"No need. The war situation in the Holy Kingdom doesn't allow me to be away for too long. I must hurry back."
Elashia nodded.
"Alright."
"However, could I ask you to bring a message to Ileina?"
Elashia asked with a smile.
Catherine replied:
"Of course."
After hearing Catherine's words, Elashia put on a very serious expression.
"Please tell Ileina that she must hold on. As long as you can hold out for one more year, I'll be able to bring the armies of Elasia and the Iron Empire together to liberate the Holy Kingdom."
"Uh... alright."
Seeing Catherine's expression of "you're really getting addicted to playing Empress," Elashia continued with a serious demeanor:
"You may not believe me, but please make sure to convey this message to her! As long as we can resolve the troubles at hand, we will definitely come to help you liberate the Holy Kingdom!"
"Fine."
Catherine nodded.
"I will relay everything that happened here and all our conversations to Holy Princess Ileina word for word, without omitting a single sentence."
Hearing Catherine's assurance, Elashia once again showed her usual gentle smile.
It didn't matter whether Catherine trusted her or not; as long as Ileina trusted her, that was enough.
As Holy Princess Ileina's beloved, Elashia had no reason to think that Ileina wouldn't trust her.
After all, in the storyline, even when "Elashia's" schemes to harm Ileina were so crude that any normal person could spot the problems with just a little scrutiny, Ileina would still believe Elashia.
The Holy Princess who had previously been very good at listening to others' advice became completely stubborn when faced with "Elashia's" schemes, ignoring all persuasion from those around her.
So as long as "Elashia" went down the undead path, Princess Ileina would almost certainly die from "Elashia's" schemes.
People say: "Lies can only deceive those who trust you."
The game has a "wisdom value" setting.
Even if Elashia's wisdom value were zero, the extremely clumsy lies she fabricated could still make Ileina believe them without doubt.
This shows just how much Ileina trusts Elashia.