Elrianthe''s proposal was absurd. Her goal was to bribe Cornelie by arranging a meeting with the person who sat across from her in exchange for the surrender of a member of her gang.


    “Deal,” Cornelie replied instantly as if the future of her immediate family depended on it.


    “I haven''t said what it''s about yet,” replied a surprised Elrianthe.


    Cornelie bowed, folding her hands as if to pray, and swore: “Please. I will do whatever you wish.”


    ''I guess the desire to meet the elf was stronger, though,'' Elrianthe thought, smiling triumphantly.


    “Even if it involves betraying your group?”


    “If by doing so I benefit the royal family, I won''t hesitate,” Cornelie confirmed.


    Elrianthe wrinkled her eyebrows. Although most of her reaction was hidden by illusions, the surprise caused by Cornelie''s words about the royal family made her face uncorrected.


    Cornelie noticed her reaction and immediately added: “I''m sorry. I shouldn''t mention it in a place like this.”


    Elrianthe, however, was too thoughtful.


    ''Does this name really belong to some elven family of rulers? I need to find out. Just how? I can''t just ask her. What will happen if they discover that I''m not a real elf? I have to confirm it on another occasion,'' she wondered.


    She looked at Cornelie and noticed her questioning gaze.


    “Forgive me, I was thinking for a moment. I am sure you will be useful to us in the long run. The elven woman is looking for talents who are ready to serve her, and I think you would be suitable. But first, we have a problem to solve,” Elrianthe finally replied after a moment''s thought.


    The vision of serving under what was probably the last legitimate elven ruler filled Cornelie with new energy. “Tell me what to do,” she asked.


    “You will help me catch the spy,” Elrianthe replied.


    “Catch? I don''t understand,” she said confused.


    Elrianthe wondered if she should tell her, but she had no choice if she wanted Cornelie to trust her.


    She sighed after a moment, “Eh. I made a mess with a local gang and now I have their leader on my back. She forced me to catch a spy from your group and bring him to her as compensation. However... I didn''t think I would end up with a half-elf. I''d rather avoid giving you into her hands,” she added reluctantly.


    “No problem. I''m tough!” replied Cornelie, flexing her biceps, which looked funny in contrast to her skinny arms.


    Elrianthe smiled. “We can give her someone else. You don''t seem to have much attachment to these people, do you?”


    Cornelie thought for a moment, “That''s true, but I don''t think I''ll be able to point out the other spy operating here beside me.”


    “What about the man who talked to you?” asked Elrianthe.


    “He''s just a runner. He passes information between me and the gang. Besides, we won''t be able to catch him,” replied Cornelie.


    “Not good. If you knew him, it would be easier. I don''t have that much time to look for him all over the city.”


    “Sorry. We are kept in the dark so that if caught, we won''t give away the rest,” Cornelie replied, and Elrianthe, reading her thoughts at the time, confirmed the truth of these words.


    “I don''t know if Alice will be happy about this,” burbled Elrianthe under her breath.


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    “Don''t worry. You can safely hand me over to this Alice. We are secured for such an eventuality,” assured Cornelie with a smile.


    Elrianthe wondered what provided the half-elf with such confidence. Courage, recklessness, or perhaps the insurance she mentioned was so effective?


    “You have to survive,” Elrianthe pointed out, dreading the ‘cyanide capsule’ security measure.


    “Relax, I''ll survive," Cornelie replied.


    “Alice won''t be nice to you,” Elrianthe added.


    “Like everyone else in this city. I think it''s worth it anyway.”


    “Are you sure you want to go there?” asked Elrianthe again.


    Cornelie pounded her fist vigorously against her chest. “I''m sure!”


    “Okay. We''ll have to split up later, so before we leave here...” Elrianthe put her finger on the tabletop, and the mist began to form something like a sheet of paper. She created an image that showed a brunette man with short, standing hair and a beard. The delicate use of color helped her faithfully render his appearance. “This is Gaz. Find him tomorrow night at Roland''s inn.”


    Cornelie jumped up with excitement. “Wow! It''s amazing. How did you do that?”


    Elrianthe looked at her with slight embarrassment, ''I swear he''s acting more and more like a kid.''


    “A secret,” she replied with a forced smile.


    Moments later, Elrianthe was leading Cornelie toward the agreed interception site. She couldn''t say she was happy about it, but at least she had one trouble settled.


    As they entered the alley, they were surrounded by Alice''s thugs, and Cornelie was momentarily grabbed and tied up.


    “Great job,” Alice congratulated her.


    “It was not an easy task. I hope we''re all square,” replied Elrianthe.


    “Of course. It was certainly a challenge. I didn''t expect them to hire a fucking elf,” she added and spat at Cornelie, who was bound on the ground.


    Elrianthe instinctively wanted to clench her fist out of anger but refrained at the last moment.


    ''Would she have treated me exactly the same way if she had known? Let''s just hope Cornelie isn''t mad at me for this,'' Elrianthe thought.


    “Something wrong?” asked Alice, noticing the doubt on her face.


    “No. Since we''ve got it sorted out, I''m going back to Gaz,” she said, heading toward the road.


    “Wait. There''s one more thing,” Alice stopped her.


    Elrianthe turned around angrily. “I did everything you wanted, after all.”


    Alice laughed, seeing her reaction. “Ha ha, take it easy, girl. I can see that you did great, that''s why I would like you to come with me.”


    “What for?”


    “We have a spy to question,” replied Alice.


    “Then good luck.”


    “Don''t try to dispose of me. I want to see how you handle getting information out,” Alice replied. “I might even offer you the chance to join the gang. How about that?”


    “Will you take no for an answer?”


    “Not likely. You are much more useful than your stupid little brother. It would be ridiculous to let such a promising talent go.”


    Elrianthe really wanted to leave there, but even then she would have to go back with Alice to get Gaz, who stayed at the inn. They wouldn''t let him go without the gang leader''s permission.


    “Fine. But I''m in a hurry, so let''s do what needs to be done and I''m going back to my place,” Elrianthe replied.


    ''At least I''ll make sure Cornelie doesn''t get beaten to death.''


    Half an hour later...


    Alice and Elrianthe stood facing Cornelie, who was sitting in a chair in the middle of the room. She was tied up with strong ropes, and all her belongings were put aside. Only a thin undershirt and worn pants covered her body.


    There were no windows in the room, and a reinforced door led inside. Thick walls blocked the sound from getting out. The only piece of furniture besides a chair was a table, on which an entire arsenal of torture tools was spread out.


    “Well, get started. On the table, you have everything you need. In ten minutes I want to hear her confess even the slightest wrongdoing,” Alice said, then walked to the door and leaned against the wall next to it.


    Elrianthe walked over to the table and looked around at the available devices for loosening a tongue. She stood there for a long moment, thinking about whether she would end up in a similar situation to Cornelie if she revealed her identity. The thought that someone would take pleasure in inflicting monstrous pain on her made her furious.


    She did not consider herself a saint, recalling how much harm she had done to others. However, she justified it as punishment for the harm done to her and a higher necessity.


    However, Cornelie did absolutely nothing wrong to her. The whole situation was Alice''s sick game, which Elrianthe did not want to take part in.


    She finally approached the half-elf. Took nothing with her. Looking at the woman, she noticed that Cornelie was avoiding her gaze, which didn''t surprise her at all.


    ''Where''s that security thing of yours...'' thought Elrianthe.


    "Will you get down to it today? You didn''t take any tools,” burbled Alice.


    Elrianthe took a deep breath. “I have my methods,” she said, starting to release large amounts of pheromones.