"Ah..."
As Leticia's gasp interrupted Andreas's thoughts, the arcane-powered small sedan, which had been moving at a steady pace, suddenly came to a halt.
Andreas peered out the window. At some point, two rows of fully armed Highborne guards had lined up along the wide road of the noble district.
"I didn't expect to encounter Her Majesty the Queen's procession."
Leticia hurriedly adjusted her appearance. Leaving Andreas alone in the sedan, she stood cautiously beside it, lowering her head in respectful welcome as she waited for the Queen to pass.
Queen Azshara?
Andreas had long heard various legends about the "Light of Lights." In the original game, due to limitations in artistic assets, it was impossible to perfectly convey the Queen's peerless elegance. This time, he intended to observe carefully and see just how captivating this woman, who had enchanted the entire Night Empire, truly was.
Curiously looking through the small window, he saw that the Highborne, who had been leisurely strolling through the streets of the noble district, were now all honestly facing the main road with their heads bowed.
About half a minute later, in the suddenly silenced thoroughfare, Andreas first heard a faint sound of footsteps. It wasn't the crisp sound of leather or cloth shoes making contact with the ground; it was a more solid, heavy sound, as if the walker were rooted to the earth itself.
That sound... could it be that Queen Azshara isn't wearing shoes?
To avoid raising Leticia's suspicion, Andreas did not move to the other window to stick his head out. He waited patiently until the footsteps slowly passed Leticia's sedan and gradually entered his field of vision.
The first thing to enter his sight was a slender, lavender-toned calf. Following that, a dignified, moon-white gown swayed with the owner's steps, slowly covering the exposed skin.
From Andreas' angle, he couldn't see the full view of Azshara; he could only catch glimpses of the left side of her body and her cheek. Yet, even this partial glimpse left Andreas—a man from the internet era who considered himself well-acquainted with beauty—in a state of dazed silence.
Under the bright moonlight, Azshara's flawless, exquisite face wore a confident and leisurely faint smile. Her delicate, bare feet stepped rhythmically onto the clean ground, partially hidden by her long gown. The form-fitting dress perfectly accentuated her elegantly proportioned and curvaceous figure without reservation.
Her long, brilliant silver hair—the same color as Andreas'—was unstyled and draped casually over her back. From a side profile, he could vaguely see a small crown adorned with multiple arcane jewels resting upon the Queen's head.
As Andreas watched Queen Azshara slowly walk past the sedan, he couldn't help but marvel inwardly. The Light of Lights... she truly lives up to the name. That transcendent aura and stunning beauty—it's incredibly easy to develop an instinctive fondness for her.
Just as Andreas thought Azshara would continue walking away, her swaying, graceful steps suddenly stopped. The handmaidens following behind her immediately halted in perfect unison.
Before Andreas could even process his confusion, a pair of brilliant golden eyes turned toward him. The majestic pressure contained within that gaze caused his heart to skip a beat instinctively.
Crap!
Though he didn't know why Azshara had turned her gaze toward him, it was clearly too late to look away now; doing so would only invite more suspicion. A spark of inspiration hit him. Andreas maintained a clear, innocent gaze as he met Azshara's eyes, tilting his crow head in feigned confusion.
"Caw?"
The sudden crow's cry startled Leticia, who had been bowing her head while observing Azshara through her peripheral vision. Keeping her head down, she tilted her neck slightly toward Andreas.
"Blackie! Be quiet!"
Azshara did not mind the impudence of the bold crow. She scrutinized Andreas for several seconds, her gaze gradually becoming intriguing.
"Heh~ Interesting."
A beautiful handmaiden behind the Queen stepped forward and asked in a low voice, "Your Majesty, is something amiss?"
"No."
Azshara offered a meaningful, sweet smile toward the "clueless" Andreas. That soul-stirring smile, which seemed capable of outshining the bright moon, caused Andreas to lose focus for a split second.
Noticing the subtle change in the crow's eyes, a light flickered in Azshara's gaze before she turned her head back as if nothing had happened.
"Let us continue, Vashj. I simply remembered a small matter."
"Yes, Your Majesty."
"By the way." Azshara glanced back once more at the arcane sedan where the peculiar crow resided. "Who is the owner of that sedan?"
Vashj followed Azshara's gaze. She paid no mind to the seemingly ordinary crow, noticing first the respectfully bowing Leticia beside the sedan.
"To answer Your Majesty, that is Leticia Moonsong, the only daughter of Advisor Liander Moonsong."
"Oh?"
Azshara nodded noncommittally and asked Vashj no further questions, leisurely continuing her spontaneous inspection tour outside the palace.
...
"Whew~"
As they watched Azshara gradually recede into the distance, Andreas and Leticia both breathed a sigh of relief simultaneously. Once the Queen's guard had dispersed, the quiet street returned to its usual state, with Highborne whispering to one another about the Queen.
Leticia returned to her sedan and lightly tapped Andreas' avian head with her finger in mild complaint.
"Blackie, what were you crying out for? If you had drawn Her Majesty's ire, even I wouldn't have been able to protect you."
Andreas let out a meaningless, feigned sound. "Caw~"
Fortunately, Leticia did not dwell on this minor issue. Having kept her head bowed, she hadn't noticed Queen Azshara's playful gaze. However, Andreas, who had maintained eye contact with Azshara the entire time, certainly did.
While he couldn't be certain what the "Light of Lights"—who embodied both majesty and allure—was thinking, his reason and instinct told him that the Queen had likely recognized him as a transformed Druid. He just didn't know why she hadn't exposed him.
As Andreas remained silent, deep in thought, the rest of the journey went smoothly. The arcane sedan eventually stopped in front of a mansion slightly smaller than the Moonsong estate. The color scheme of this mansion seemed somewhat out of place compared to the surrounding buildings; while grey and white tones were common, this building utilized a vibrant, bright yellow.
When Leticia arrived at the mansion gates with Andreas perched on her shoulder, several stewards and valets were already waiting. One purple-haired steward, whose age was hard to tell but who possessed a steady presence, bowed politely to Leticia.
"Miss Moonsong, welcome. Our lady has already prepared the gathering area. Please follow me."
As he followed the steward through the gates, Andreas turned his gaze toward the nameplate hanging on the courtyard wall. After a long period of cramming information from Shandris, Andreas had mastered most of the commonly used Night Elf script.
After a moment of reflection, he successfully identified the family name on the plate.
Sun... Strid... er... Wait! Sunstrider?!