“No one is perfect. If you say there’s someone in this world who has never done anything bad... perhaps there is, but most people can’t achieve this. Everyone has done something wrong to some extent.

“Some things can be forgiven, but some cannot. For those that can be forgiven, try your best to make amends to the other person.

“If they cannot forgive, then try your best to remedy it with your actions. What you can do is to be true to yourself.

“Of course, no matter how much you do, you cannot change the fact that you once did that thing, that you once made a mistake.

“Rather than continuously blaming yourself, you should keep it in your heart as a reminder. 𝐟𝐫𝕖𝗲𝘄𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝕧𝐞𝚕.𝕔𝕠𝐦

“Certainly, not everyone will think this way. Everyone makes different mistakes, and everyone’s experiences are definitely different.

“This approach may not apply to everyone. It’s just what I do.

“I once did very excessive things to Venus Territory, even to everyone in the Lisat Kingdom.

“I don’t expect everyone to forgive me. Being at peace with myself is enough.”

Liana watched the little girl holding the meat soup and eating bread, a gentle smile appearing on her face.

Sephirena listened to Liana’s words, feeling somewhat moved, but not much. It didn’t significantly change what she wanted to do.

The two of them had some similarities. The difference was probably that Liana had forgiven herself and made peace with herself, but Sephirena hadn’t done so.

However, her opinion of Liana had changed slightly again.

Liana was indeed a strange human, but her actions weren’t dislikable. She admired Liana. In comparison, she herself was a coward.

“Um...” The little girl suddenly looked over with some fear. “Princess Liana, may I... eat some more?”

Liana looked at her somewhat impatiently. “Didn’t you understand what I just said? Don’t disturb me, just eat on your own.”

“I’m... I’m sorry!” The little girl served herself another portion.

“In a while, you take her out of this forest, escort her home... Actually, let Oliphia do it. Your identity is somewhat special; it would be troublesome if you were discovered,” Liana said.

“Yes.” Sephirena nodded.

Liana calculated the time. A month had passed, and Mephilia would probably come to see her soon. The full moon night was approaching, and she hadn’t yet seen what the Tree of Life would be like on such a time.

It would be perfect to go see it with Mephilia.

“On the full moon night, the Tree of Life sapling will also undergo some changes, right?” Liana asked.

“Yes, every full moon night, it grows a little. It might be imperceptible to the naked eye, or it might be very obvious. These things are unknown,” Sephirena looked at Liana with some confusion. “What is it, Princess Liana?”

“I haven’t seen the Tree of Life on a full moon night yet,” Liana said.

“Weren’t there several opportunities to see it before?” This was what Sephirena didn’t understand.

“Because I wanted to wait until Mephilia came and see it together with her,” Liana said.

Wanting to share and appreciate things with someone she cares about?

Sephirena used to do this often too. When she saw beautiful flowers or interesting things, she would also share them with Sister Tarashil.

But now, she no longer had anyone to share with.

Liana stood up, patting her backside, and approached the little girl. Now, the little girl looked more colorful than before, seeming somewhat more energetic.

But upon seeing Liana, she still instinctively felt afraid.

“Thank you, Princess Liana. The food you made was delicious. This taste is something I’ve never experienced before. It’s really, really delicious! Thank you so much!”

When Liana heard these words, she felt quite happy inside. “This meal isn’t free. You should know what to do when you go back, right?”

“Yes... yes! I know!” The little girl nodded repeatedly. “I need to tell everyone that Princess Liana saved me, that Princess Liana is a very good person, and... Princess Liana is the most adorable!”

When Liana heard the last sentence, she almost couldn’t maintain her composure. Had her brain been kicked by a donkey? Why had she suddenly said such an embarrassing thing?

“Good.” Liana nodded with satisfaction.

Then she tossed the three wolf pelts to the little girl. “By the way, help me get rid of these things.”

The little girl looked at these precious wolf pelts just thrown on the ground and felt distressed. Although they were covered in blood, these were very precious furs with excellent insulation properties and not cheap.

But Princess Liana naturally wouldn’t value these things, only finding them cumbersome.

“I understand.” The little girl quickly collected the furs.

However, Liana noticed something strange about the way the girl walked, as if she was uncomfortable. Could she be injured?

But Sephirena had just examined her; there shouldn’t be such an unexpected situation.

“?!”

But in the next second, Liana seemed to sense a strange vibration, as if something was approaching.

“Roar!!!”

A huge roar broke the momentary silence. Snow fell from the branches onto the ground. Even through the thick snow, Liana could feel the vibrations coming from the ground.

What’s wrong?!

Liana stepped forward, grabbing the little girl’s hand and pulling her into her arms.

“Princess Liana!” Sephirena stood in front of Liana.

Liana could see clearly now. It was a snow wolf, with a body size larger than the previous three combined.

And strangely, this snow wolf’s eyes were bloodshot, and what flowed from its mouth wasn’t saliva but blood. It howled frantically, its massive paw about to strike at Liana.

However, in the next second, a sharp sword energy pierced directly through this small part of the forest, carving out a circular clearing in this area.

Then, Liana heard a massive sound as a giant beast fell onto the snow.

It raised a flurry of snowflakes.

Before Liana could react, a golden figure flew toward her.

“Liana!”

The light golden figure stopped in front of Liana. “Liana, are you alright?”

The blonde woman standing before her was, of course, Princess Mephilia. She looked at the little girl in Liana’s arms and immediately understood what had just happened. “Liana, you were protecting this little girl, right?”

“Mephilia?” Upon seeing her, Liana’s face couldn’t help but break into a smile. They hadn’t seen each other for a month.

Mephilia crouched down, rubbing the little girl’s head. “It was Liana who saved you. You should thank Liana properly.”

The little girl’s eyes, now looking at Liana, no longer held the previous fear. But soon, she discovered another serious matter.

The meat soup she had hidden earlier had accidentally spilled during what just happened, and it had spilled onto Princess Liana.

This made her body start to tremble, her voice shaking as she apologized to Liana.

“I’m sorry, Princess Liana!” The little girl apologized repeatedly.

“Didn’t I say you could eat slowly, and take more if you weren’t full?” Liana was somewhat exasperated.

“I’m sorry! I’m sorry! I just... wanted to take some back for my mother to eat...” The little girl was at a loss. “I’ve never eaten anything so delicious, and I came out to find food, so I thought I’d take some back for my mother...”

How could Liana be angry? She then looked toward Mephilia for help, as if saying this was her moment to step in.

However, Mephilia was quite mischievous and just watched, even urging, “Liana, she’s apologizing to you. Don’t you have something to say?”

What a villain.

Liana looked at the little girl and sighed. “Get up. I’m not angry. It’s just a piece of clothing. I’m glad you’re alright.”

Such a gentle Liana was somewhat unfamiliar to the little girl, but she didn’t dislike this feeling. Princess Liana could have completely abandoned her, not putting herself in danger, but Princess Liana had saved her.

“Thank you, Princess Liana... I’ll remember everything that happened today!” The little girl said.

“Today! It was Princess Liana who saved me! It was Princess Liana who gave me warm clothes! It was Princess Liana who gave me food to eat! These furs were also given to me by Princess Liana!” The little girl said loudly.

“Lastly! And most importantly! Princess Liana! Is the most adorable!”

Wait?

Mephilia was already struggling to hold back her laughter. She whispered in Liana’s ear, “Liana... is indeed the most adorable person in the world.”

Liana felt like she was about to die of embarrassment.

“Oliphia!”

“What is it, Princess Liana?” Oliphia, sensing the abnormality, had rushed over, but as soon as she arrived at the scene, Princess Liana called out to her.

“Take her home.” Then Liana whispered to her, “If there are any other issues at her home, you can help a bit.”

“I understand, Princess Liana.” Oliphia led a carriage to the little girl. “Where is your home? I’ll take you back.”

“Thank you, big sister...”

“Take this too. It’s of no use anyway,” Liana pointed to the iron pot. It was something Sephirena had conjured, and it still contained a large pot of meat soup.

“Really?” The little girl’s eyes sparkled as she looked at Liana.

“Next time, if you want to take something back, just say so directly. Don’t hide it,” Liana pointed to the butchered meat. “Take this too. I don’t eat meat that isn’t fresh.”

“Yes... thank you, Princess Liana, and I’m sorry!” From Liana’s earlier action of pulling her close to protect her, she could see that perhaps Princess Liana was different from the rumors.

And clearly, the meat and furs had been specially processed. If Princess Liana truly wanted to discard them, she wouldn’t have gone to such trouble, right?

“Hurry up, hurry up.” Liana waved her hand, speaking somewhat impatiently.

“I’m sorry, Liana.”

Mephilia looked at Liana, her eyes filled with happiness for her.

The ‘I’m sorry’ that the little girl said to Liana now had a completely different meaning from before.

But Liana didn’t mind. Now, what concerned Liana more was the giant snow wolf before her.

Minoga was standing in front of the snow wolf, looking at the massive beast with some confusion. This kind of snow wolf shouldn’t normally grow so large.

“Have you ever seen a snow wolf this big before?” Liana asked curiously. The size of this wolf was clearly abnormal.

Mephilia shook her head. “This size is at least twice as large as the largest snow wolf we’ve discovered. And this snow wolf is much stronger than others. Such a powerful snow wolf, is something I’m seeing for the first time. It’s somewhat abnormal.”

Minoga carefully examined the wolf’s corpse. Its snow-white mane was now stained red with blood. This wasn’t due to blood flowing from wounds but was seeping from under its skin.

“Trying to use a beast to kill Princess Liana?” Minoga roughly understood why this snow wolf was so frenzied.

“I fear that little girl was also a trap, deliberately luring Princess Liana to this place, then using a special drug to enhance the snow wolf, making it angry, irrational, more frenzied, and bloodthirsty,” Minoga looked at the wolf’s blood, which had already stained a large area of snow red.

“Even if I hadn’t intervened, this wolf would have died on its own in ten minutes. That’s the side effect of this drug.”

“It seems they really want to deal with me, even using a little girl as bait. These bastards!” Liana looked at the huge corpse. Even during the time Minoga went to pick up Mephilia, they weren’t planning to stay quiet.

However, at just this level, Oliphia and Sephirena could still protect her. This approach seemed more like a test.

“These beasts.”

This was the first time Liana had heard Mephilia curse. It seemed Mephilia was truly angry.

“Mephilia, I’m not hurt.”

“Mm.” If Liana had truly been injured, Mephilia wouldn’t have simply been angry.

“Princess Sephirena, thank you for protecting Liana,” Mephilia looked at Sephirena standing to the side.

Before they had appeared, Sephirena had been standing in front of Liana.

“Princess Mephilia?” Sephirena, having lived in the Lisat Kingdom for a while, would certainly recognize a celebrity like Mephilia.

However, Sephirena now looked somewhat displeased at Liana. How many people had she told her true identity to?

And the other person was Princess Mephilia, who definitely knew about the alliance. If she handed her over to the Elf Forest, the alliance would proceed much more smoothly.

“Don’t worry, Mephilia listens to me. I call the shots!” Liana hooked her arm around Mephilia’s waist. “She won’t tell the elves or even the King of Lisat about your situation.”

“...” It didn’t seem like Princess Liana called the shots, did it? Sephirena felt it wasn’t like that, but it didn’t matter anymore.

“Don’t call me princess anymore. Since Princess Liana has told you about my situation, you should be very clear that I’m no longer a princess of my race, not even an elf. I’m now just a guard for Princess Liana,” Sephirena said.

“It’s fine. Princess Sephirena being a guard is your business. Me calling you Princess Sephirena is my business,” Mephilia smiled.

These two, one seemed to listen less than the other.

“Then, whatever makes Princess Mephilia happy. Just to ensure Princess Mephilia doesn’t slip up in front of others, please be a bit careful and don’t develop strange habits,” Sephirena reminded.

“That’s true.” If she accidentally mentioned “Princess Sephirena” in front of others, it could become a serious issue.

“Phew.” Liana exhaled a cloud of white mist. “Let’s not chat in the snow?”

Although Liana could now use magic to increase her body temperature for warmth, standing in the snow continuously wasn’t ideal. “Shall we go back to my place?”

“Yes.” Mephilia nodded.

“Sephirena, please bring those things along.” Liana pointed to a small package, which naturally contained the meat from their recent hunt.

Liana wasn’t entirely lying earlier. Even if she could freeze it with magic, it wasn’t convenient to store, as there was no refrigerator or similar item here. However, with the magic Liana now possessed, it didn’t seem impossible to craft a simple refrigerator.

She would just need to infuse ice magic into a magic stone, then create a container. It wasn’t particularly complex.

But since Liana wouldn’t be staying in this place for too long, she hadn’t tinkered with this. Moreover, it was so cold now that Liana didn’t want to touch such a thing. Perhaps she’d consider it in summer.

“Alright.” Sephirena nodded.

Mephilia came to Liana’s side. “Is this how you usually command Princess Sephirena?”

“What else? I bought her to be my guard and maid, not to take care of her,” Liana shrugged.

“That’s true...”

As they walked back, Mephilia recalled what the little girl had said earlier.

“It seems that little girl really liked that meat soup,” Mephilia said.

“It was okay. I just processed it simply without adding any special seasonings. She was probably just too hungry,” Liana said.

“Eh? Liana, you’re talking as if you made it yourself,” Mephilia rebutted.

“Hmm?” Liana looked at Mephilia.

“Hmm?” Mephilia looked at Liana.

The two exchanged glances.

“Hmm?!” Liana suddenly realized that she indeed had never cooked in front of Mephilia, nor had she let her taste her cooking!

“Liana, what kind of expression is that?” Mephilia was somewhat confused. “Could it really have been made by you?”

“Yes... yes.” Liana’s expression was somewhat peculiar. Oh no! It seemed she had never cooked for Mephilia!

“Don’t tell me...” Mephilia looked around at the others. “I’m the only one who doesn’t know about this, the only one who hasn’t tasted your cooking?”

“How could that be!” Liana quickly refuted. “I’ve been specifically learning this recently, just to show off to you!”

Mephilia had an expression of complete disbelief. This silly Liana, she couldn’t even lie properly. But her mouth was truly sweet, and truly soft.

Seeing that Mephilia didn’t plan to pursue the matter, Liana also breathed a sigh of relief.

The two continued walking on their way back.

“Liana, are you cold?” Mephilia asked.

“It’s okay. I’m wearing warm clothes, and now I can use magic to resist the cold. I don’t need to endure it like before,” Liana said.

“Is that so?”

The two walked side by side, occasionally touching hands.

Mephilia could still feel that Liana’s hand was a bit cold.

As they walked, their pinkies somehow hooked together. The two exchanged glances and laughed, as if they were of one mind.

Their hands clasped together, and Mephilia said with some heartache, “You say you’re not cold, but your hands are so icy. Don’t you have gloves?”

“That’s because I was just handling those food items,” Liana said.

After processing the food, that incident occurred, and her gloves had flown who knows where. But since they were heading back now, she didn’t mind.

“What about you? Aren’t you also not wearing gloves?” Liana asked in return.

“With gloves, I couldn’t hold your hand and feel your warmth,” Mephilia smiled.

Tsk! She’s so smooth.

Mephilia gripped Liana’s hand tightly, silently using magic to warm her.

“...Ah.” Minoga beside them could only sigh helplessly. You two, please be a bit more mindful! There are others around!

Minoga came to Sephirena’s side. “Princess Sephirena, are you adapting to life here?”

“It’s alright, much better than my previous wandering life,” Sephirena maintained a certain reverence toward Minoga.

After all, she was a genuine Judge. Although it wasn’t apparent in daily life, Sephirena hadn’t expected Minoga to be so unpretentious.

This was different from her imagined strong figure, though she hadn’t met many strong individuals.

One thing she was clear about was that those old folks in the Elf Forest would rely on their age daily, knowing many magic spells to act superior due to their seniority.

“You might find Princess Liana’s various actions puzzling. Don’t be surprised; we feel the same way. But it’s precisely because of this that I find Princess Liana adorable.”

“...” To be honest, it was somewhat inexplicable. Sephirena didn’t know what Minoga wanted to express.

“Princess Liana is a very magical person. Many times, she won’t share her thoughts with others, silently taking action. Even if others misunderstand her, Princess Liana doesn’t seem to care. But does she truly not care?

“It must be difficult. Sometimes, Princess Liana will also be hurt by others’ words. This is a very normal thing.”

“...Yes.” On this point, Sephirena deeply agreed.

Just now, when Princess Liana was misunderstood by that little girl, was she also hurt?

No... why should she care about this? She and Princess Liana were just in a cooperative relationship.

“What I want to say is simple. I don’t expect you to become the [N O V E L I G H T] person who comforts Princess Liana. I just hope you won’t do anything to hurt her. Since Princess Liana has chosen you, she will definitely treat you well. Believe this point. In this past month, you’ve more or less felt this, haven’t you?” Minoga said.

“You all really like Princess Liana,” Whether it was the two in the back garden, or Minoga and Oliphia, or Princess Mephilia who was now holding Princess Liana’s hand, it was very obvious that they cared for, or rather, doted on Princess Liana.

“Because Princess Liana, she is worth it,” Minoga smiled.

“...” Sephirena looked up, watching Liana and Mephilia chatting happily.

Her mindset seemed to be gradually changing. Was it because of the Tree of Life? Or because of this strange human?

“Whew! Finally arrived,” Liana walked into the house.

The warmth inside the room made Liana’s entire being more energetic.

Liana undid her warm clothing, took the meat they had hunted, and walked into the kitchen.

“Mephilia, please sit down for now.”

“Oh.” Mephilia nodded, sitting on the chair and waiting patiently.

Minoga found it strange: why was Princess Mephilia suddenly so well-behaved? Previously, she would definitely have followed to take a look, right?

But in the next second, Minoga understood why.

Mephilia waved to Minoga, beckoning her over.

“What is it, Princess Mephilia?” Minoga came to Mephilia.

“Liana seems so proficient. Could it be that usually, it’s Liana who cooks?”

“...”

Was it time for this to come?

Why is it that when you two are in love, it’s always her who gets hurt?

“What’s the matter? This shouldn’t be a question that can’t be answered, right?” Mephilia frowned.

“Yes, usually, it’s Princess Liana who cooks. I wanted to help, but Princess Liana seemed to really enjoy it, so she refused me,” Minoga said. “However, for breakfast, I do help out.”

Princess Liana, good luck! Although Minoga didn’t know what issue there was with this question.

“And then, when Liana is training, she hasn’t been injured or anything, right?”

“Why doesn’t the Princess ask her directly?”

“As if she would tell me if I asked.”

Forget it. Tonight, Mephilia would see for herself. She would confirm this matter with her own hands.