“...Him.” Erinna pointed at Cain.

“Mm.” Liana nodded, though Erinna’s expression didn’t seem very surprised.

“Um... I got it.” Erinna wore a speechless expression.

Well, it seemed she wasn’t unaware, but rather hadn’t bothered to take Cain seriously at all.

“Acting lord, what should we do now?” A guard approached at this moment.

After all, he had just heard those words from Liana’s mouth—Cain hadn’t given up his position as heir, and he had Second Prince Oester helping him.

Cain’s status wasn’t something these guards could match, and from the looks of it, Liana had struck first.

But who would dare lay hands on Liana?

“Liana, why did you do this?” Erinna asked for formality’s sake, though inwardly she couldn’t agree more.

Erinna and Cain had studied together at Ibett Magic Academy, where Cain frequently used his status to threaten and oppress others.

But after Countess Rose was exposed, Cain never returned to Ibett Magic Academy.

“No reason, I just find him annoying. Besides, you’re the heir I chose. It would be embarrassing if you were outdone by this kind of trash.” Liana approached Cain.

She had initially wanted to step on him a couple of times, but feared he might enjoy it. “Doesn’t the Lisat Kingdom explicitly forbid the royal family from interfering in conflicts between nobles? Cain, you’ve crossed the line.”

“Stop standing there spouting this righteous bullshit! Don’t think I don’t know that Erinna’s guards were arranged by Princess Mephilia! Princess Mephilia did the same thing!” Cain snarled viciously. “If I reveal this, Princess Mephilia will be implicated too, and it’ll all be because of you!”

Liana paid no mind to Cain’s words. “It’s just protection for Erinna’s safety. When did a royalty ever interfere in Venus Dukedom affairs?”

“You’re confusing right and wrong!”

“No, no, no.” Liana shook her head. “Who told you this was Princess Mephilia’s doing? These two guards were simply following my orders to protect Erinna. It has nothing to do with Mephilia.”

“You? Don’t joke around!” Cain stood up, but glanced cautiously at Sephirena beside Liana.

There was a streak of crimson at the corner of his mouth. He had deeply experienced Sephirena’s terror, the gravity magic he was once proud of was worthless before her.

“I’m not joking. Erinna is my sister, and protecting her is what a big sister should do.” Liana smiled.

“Sister Liana...” Erinna looked at Liana, somewhat dazed.

“They’re royal knights, true, but isn’t Oliphia a royal knight too? What’s the problem? Oliphia can protect me but not Erinna? Besides, at that time, I hadn’t yet given up my position as heir.” Liana smiled.

“Hmph, an outsider needing outsiders for protection—how fitting for someone of Erinna’s status,” Cain said coldly.

“Shut him up,” Liana said.

“I understand, Princess Liana.” Sephirena raised her hand, and Cain’s face was embedded in the floor.

After hearing Cain’s few remarks, Sephirena roughly understood why Princess Liana despised this person called Cain so much.

“Outsider? Her abilities are plain for all to see, yet some people, greedy for power, use Erinna’s status to speak ill of her. There are no outsiders here—Erinna has always been my family, recognized by my parents. Or are you questioning my parents’ decision?” Liana said.

“If you don’t have the ability yourself, just quietly step aside. Don’t end up as someone’s puppet while smugly congratulating yourself.” This was one of the few truths and warnings Liana had ever given Cain.

But with Cain’s brain, saying more would be useless.

Liana raised her hand, but after waiting a while, there was no response.

The difference between Sephirena and Loraviel was quite obvious. Loraviel would already know what she wanted to do at this point.

“Give me a weapon,” Liana said.

“Yes, Princess Liana.” Sephirena knew that Liana wanted to conceal her ability to use magic.

A hammer fell into Liana’s hand, feeling somewhat heavy.

“Princess Liana...” Someone realized what Liana intended to do and moved forward to stop her. After all, regardless of everything, Cain was still an heir.

“Want to protect Cain? Fine.” Liana looked at him. “Take off your armor, don’t use magic to resist, or you’ll regret it.”

The man stepped back. With no protection, if that large hammer struck his head, he would likely pass out immediately. Risking his life for Cain wasn’t worth it.

Liana coldly smiled at him. “Fine then, from now on, you’re also kicked out of Venus Manor. You’re not welcome here.”

There was an insignia on the chest of the man’s armor, marking him as a squad captain. He was most likely Countess Rose’s vassal or Second Prince Oester’s puppet.

There was absolutely no need to keep someone like this at Venus Manor. Such people would only eat their food while plotting against them.

“Princess Liana, aren’t you going too far? Besides, you’re no longer an heir. You don’t have that authority,” the squad captain said.

“Tsk, tsk, tsk.” Liana wagged her index finger. “Heir? Do I need that title? Father has been gone too long, and you’ve forgotten who is the Duke of Venus still? I am the genuine daughter of the Venus Duke. I have this authority.

“Besides, he’s Countess Rose’s son. Countess Rose did such things to me—do you think he wouldn’t know? Now he’s colluding with Second Prince Oester. Do I need to explain the implications? And now you’re protecting Cain. I have reason to suspect you also have some unspeakable relationship with Second Prince Oester.”

“Princess Liana, even as Duke Venus’s daughter, you can’t make such baseless accusations. Everything requires evidence. Please stop slandering Second Prince Oester,” the squad captain said.

“It’s fine, this has nothing to do with Second Prince Oester. I just don’t like you right now.” Liana smiled. “Defense down, armor off, and talk to my hammer.”

“Hahaha!” The squad captain laughed a few times. “I was by Duke Venus’s side before you were even born, Liana! Now you’re lecturing me? Had I known it would come to this, I never should have come here, never should have devoted so much to Venus! Since Princess Liana is so unwelcoming, I’ll leave!”

Trying to guilt-trip Liana? Unfortunately, Liana didn’t fall for that.

Liana raised her hammer and swung it at the man’s face, but he was a genuine Executor. With Liana’s current strength, she couldn’t match him at all.

“You can try to resist me, but I don’t recommend it,” Liana’s voice sounded like that of a demon.

The squad captain saw someone suddenly appear beside Liana. He sensed an extremely dangerous aura from that person—he was definitely no match for them.

That person... was a Judge!

But Judges couldn’t casually attack others. However, if he resisted Liana, the Judge would have reason to strike him in order to protect her.

This was a losing game!

However, if he didn’t attack but just defended, this magic-incapable waste couldn’t harm him at all.

But in the next second, a dagger was at the squad captain’s throat. “Your years of devotion to Venus Manor? How interesting.”

Naibert’s tone was ice-cold. “I don’t deny you’ve contributed to Venus Dukedom, which is why Lady Erinna never exposed you. If you quietly left today, no one would say anything, and no one would know about the things you’ve done. But you just had to open your mouth.”

She removed the squad captain’s helmet. “Princess Liana, I hope you’ll use a bit less force. If you hit too hard, it would be troublesome if he becomes a fool.”

“I understand.” Liana swung the stone hammer and struck the squad captain’s head once.

However, Liana’s anger wasn’t dispelled, as the person who truly angered her was still lying on the ground.

Seeing the squad captain with a bleeding head, Cain had obediently shut his mouth. Liana really would take action.

But Liana had no intention of letting Cain off. If this guy weren’t still somewhat useful, she would have disposed of him directly.

“Whether someone is an outsider or not isn’t for you to decide, nor is it your place to determine who my family is,” Liana said coldly. “But today, you’ve definitely insulted my family.”

Liana placed the hammer on the ground. “Golf, have you heard of it?”

“What’s that?” Cain didn’t know what Liana was talking about.

“I mean, it was this mouth that said those things, right?” Liana swung the hammer, directly knocking out several of Cain’s teeth. Only then did Liana ⊛ Nоvеlιght ⊛ (Read the full story) feel somewhat relieved.

Liana released the hammer. “You’ve ruined my good mood today.”

But she had gained enough, and Liana was already satisfied.

“Princess Liana, you’ve completely declared war on Second Prince Oester,” Minoga sighed helplessly.

“It’s about time,” Liana said indifferently.

After all, she already had a backup plan, which was why she could act so recklessly.

Liana dusted off her hands, preparing to leave.

However, at this moment, Erinna suddenly grabbed Liana’s hand.

“Don’t misunderstand, I just...”

“Thank you, Sister Liana.”

“...I just did what I should.” Liana’s resistance wasn’t very strong. What could she do? Erinna called her sister!

This was the first time Liana had heard such an address, and besides! Little sisters were meant to be fiercely protected!

Even if this sister was already taller than her.

Erinna suddenly hugged Liana, leaving her at a loss. “Let go of me! What are you doing?”

“I’ll prove it to you, Sister Liana. I won’t disappoint your expectations,” Erinna whispered in Liana’s ear.

Everything Sister Liana was doing now was out of concern for her. She couldn’t let Sister Liana worry anymore.

“...” Liana didn’t speak.

Erinna released Liana. “Thank you.”

After saying this, Erinna walked toward the squad captain. “I originally planned to let you leave with some dignity, but you seem to truly consider yourself Venus’s benefactor.”

Erinna raised her hand, holding up one finger.

“First, you participated in Countess Rose’s various activities, including helping Countess Rose enter Madam Ambis’ room.”

“Second, you’ve repeatedly stolen poison from the armory.”

“Third, you’ve privately sold information to the Angus Commerce Guild.”

“Fourth... Fifth...”

Only then did the squad captain realize that what he had thought were flawless actions were completely transparent to others.

The squad captain didn’t understand. “Stop trying to fool me! If you really discovered all this earlier, why didn’t you stop me? Is this your scheme? To watch Countess Rose poison Liana so your biggest threat would disappear, allowing you to inherit the lord’s position without worry?!”

Erinna’s heart ached. “Yes, why didn’t I discover it sooner? If only I had discovered it earlier... instead of now trying to find the cause from the result.”

With Countess Rose’s actions exposed, the investigation became quite simple. Those previously puzzling pieces of evidence suddenly had corresponding suspects.

“Still acting at this point? You hypocrite!” The squad captain was already finished, so he might as well drag Erinna down with him.

“Lady Erinna was unaware of this matter. I told her,” Minoga spoke up at this point. “Since this isn’t a small issue, I did a little investigation.”

“I was originally planning to fish a bit more, but when you said those things, it seemed unnecessary.” Minoga raised her hand, pointing to several Venus Manor guards. “These are all participants.”

The squad captain could feel several gazes turning toward him, piercing and painful, as if those gazes alone wanted to kill him.

The squad captain’s expression was extremely unpleasant. The other person was a Judge, and a Judge’s words could almost pronounce his death sentence. “Fine, fine, fine, then let’s not talk about the first point. How do you explain the rest? If it’s as you say, and I’ve caused so much harm to Venus Manor, why didn’t you stop me? You just watched? Weren’t you disrespectful to me, your benefactor? Why do you now act respectful?”

“Why stop you? How pitiful, to be used without even knowing it.” Erinna sighed. “You should thank Countess Rose. She protected you too well.”

“Ask all the questions you want to ask,” Minoga said.

Just the things Erinna had mentioned were enough for the squad captain to die a thousand times.

“I understand, Lady Judge. After the interrogation is complete, I’ll send him to the Lisat Royal Capital,” Erinna said. “Of course, these fellows can’t be let off either.”

The people around quickly dispersed, as if deliberately leaving space for the two of them.

Erinna came before Liana.

Liana felt somewhat awkward now. What she had said earlier was already quite obvious. “Um... Erinna, what you did...”

“Shh.” Erinna placed her index finger over Liana’s lips. “I still have many immature aspects. When I truly become the Venus Duchess, Sister Liana, praise me properly then.”

“...Mm.” Liana nodded.

“But... I have one wish. I wonder if Sister Liana can fulfill it for me?”

“What wish?”

“Could you... give me a hug?”