But Liana herself had overlooked something; Erinna had the key to her room.

“Besides, even if the room layouts are the same, there’s nothing strange about it, right? After all, the rooms were designed this way from the beginning. I never specifically asked anyone to change the layout, so it’s quite normal for there to be similarities, isn’t it?” Erinna continued.

“Mm... that’s true.” Liana felt awkward now. She had been thinking in such a strange direction and had even said it to Erinna’s face. Would Erinna think of her as a weird person?

“If it makes Sister Liana uncomfortable, I’ll reorganize the room tomorrow,” Erinna said.

“No, no, no! That won’t be necessary!” Liana shook her head repeatedly. It wasn’t that serious. “This is fine. Besides, Erinna, you’re already used to this room layout, right? And it’s just an ordinary arrangement. There’s no need to trouble yourself.”

“Is that so? Then thank you, Sister Liana,” Erinna said.

It was Liana who had caused trouble for Erinna, yet somehow Erinna was thanking her.

She felt like such a scoundrel!

Liana smiled awkwardly. “Just do what suits your personal habits. More importantly, let’s contact Mephilia. She’ll definitely be happy. After all, she quite liked you when you were little.”

Hopefully that’s the case?

Erinna knew very well that what Mephilia felt wasn’t really “liking.” When they were young, Mephilia wanted to get along with her only because of Sister Liana, since she was nominally Liana’s sister.

To have fun with Liana, Mephilia naturally had to consider her.

And by then, the problem had become even more serious.

They had already experienced close contact, and their status and positions had changed. Before, she could say her relationship with Sister Liana wasn’t good, so there was no need to pay much attention to her.

Besides, as the Duchess of Venus, she was supposed to help the Lisat Kingdom, so there was no need to specifically build a good relationship with her.

But after what happened earlier, things were different. She had reconciled with Sister Liana, and if Princess Mephilia wanted to stay by Sister Liana’s side, she would have to build a good relationship with Erinna.

After all, Princess Mephilia certainly wouldn’t want to put Sister Liana in a difficult position, and neither would she.

Liana took out a small magic stone that began to grow larger as she infused it with magic.

“As I thought, Sister Liana, you can use magic now,” Erinna wasn’t particularly surprised about Liana’s ability to use magic.

“It’s still far from enough.” Liana knew very well that there was still a huge gap between her strength and these female protagonists.

“What is Sister Liana’s innate magic?” Erinna asked curiously. This was something she truly didn’t know. Before, Sister Liana had only used the most basic magic.

A gem appeared in Liana’s hand. “I call it gem magic.”

Erinna looked at the brilliant gem in Liana’s hand. “It seems somewhat similar to magic stones?”

“More or less.” Erinna wasn’t wrong.

Liana briefly explained to Erinna, she showed a somewhat surprised expression. “That’s a very powerful magic.”

“What about you, Erinna? What’s your innate magic?” Liana asked, though she already knew.

“Slash magic.”

She could perform various slashes according to her will. Theoretically, anything Erinna believed she could cut, she could cut.

Erinna raised her index finger and wrote the character for “一”1Chinese character for one in the air. A slash followed her intent, cutting off a single strand of her black hair.

Such a sharp slash cutting only one strand among so many hairs demonstrated an astonishing level of control.

“That’s amazing,” Liana praised.

“Thank you.”

Thud thud!

But during Erinna’s demonstration, a strange sound came from the crystal ball.

Then Liana saw the image spinning, accompanied by Mephilia’s voice. “Hey! Wait a second!”

The crystal ball stopped tumbling and flew into Mephilia’s hand. “Sorry, Liana. I accidentally dropped the communication crystal.”

After the crystal ball stabilized in her hand, Mephilia noticed that there seemed to be more people in Liana’s room?

Wait a moment. Mephilia quickly realized something was off. “Liana, whose room are you in right now?”

“It’s Erinna’s room. We have some things to discuss with you, so I came here,” Liana said.

“Erinna’s room...” Mephilia immediately noticed Erinna beside Liana.

“Good evening, Princess Mephilia,” Erinna greeted Mephilia very politely.

And judging by their relationship now, it didn’t seem like it was before. It was very likely that Liana had already explained her situation to Erinna.

“Why does Erinna’s room look so similar to yours?” Mephilia asked the same question as Liana.

This time, without Erinna having to explain specifically, Liana took the initiative to explain.

Mephilia frowned, not quite believing what Liana said. Wasn’t this a bit too coincidental?

Even if Liana didn’t specially decorate her room, wasn’t the placement of certain items a bit too coincidental?

“I’m sorry, I hadn’t realized they were so similar, causing this misunderstanding,” Erinna said proactively. “But it’s truly just a coincidence. I didn’t have the privilege of seeing Sister Liana’s room before.”

“I’ve only entered Sister Liana’s room recently, a few months ago, but during these months, my room hasn’t undergone any changes. This can be verified at Venus Manor.”

“Besides, forget about my room—doesn’t Princess Mephilia’s room also bear some resemblance to Sister Liana’s room?”

Erinna caught the ball and passed it back.

There was nothing wrong with what Erinna said. Her logic and reasoning were very clear, but Mephilia’s sixth sense told her something was off.

“Alright, alright, let’s not worry about the room issue anymore,” Liana interrupted their conversation. “Today we have good news to tell you, Mephilia.”

“Oh? What good news?” Mephilia felt an ominous premonition.

“You’ve probably already guessed that Erinna now knows about my situation, so we’re back to how we were before,” Liana smiled.

“Is that so? It’s great that the misunderstanding has been cleared up.” Although Mephilia smiled outwardly, she was a little worried inside.

“Don’t worry, Mephilia. Erinna has grown up now and won’t throw tantrums like before. She wants to get along well with you now,” Liana said.

“Is that so?” Mephilia wasn’t concerned that Erinna would use Liana to curry favor with her to gain her help.

When they were at Ibett Magic Academy, they had gotten to know each other again, and Mephilia already knew that Erinna was an exceptional girl.

Mephilia was only concerned about one thing: how to get along with Erinna?

This had been troubling Mephilia since before. Erinna was Liana’s sister, so she definitely couldn’t let their relationship deteriorate too much. But Erinna had always seemed to dislike her, or even hate her.

Although the situation had improved now, her relationship with Liana had also improved. Would it revert to how it was before?

But at this moment, Erinna took the initiative to speak. “I’m sorry, Princess Mephilia. I was a bit inconsiderate when I was young, which led to some unpleasantness between us.

“Now I’ve grown up and have become the acting lord of Venus Dukedom. I have responsibilities I should bear. I won’t throw childish tantrums like when I was little.

“I believe Princess Mephilia will definitely become an excellent monarch, just as Sister Liana believes I can become an excellent  duchess. I also believe in Princess Mephilia.

“Besides, Princess Mephilia is the person Sister Liana trusts and has chosen, isn’t she? I can see that Sister Liana shows a very natural, very happy expression when she’s with Princess Mephilia,” Erinna smiled.

Although Erinna’s words made Mephilia feel comfortable, the more she heard, the more she sensed danger. Had she accepted it so simply?

The Erinna from before had once said to her, “You bad person! Don’t steal my Sister Liana. I hate you.”

Had she let it go? But there’s something a bit off with the room arrangement, isn’t there?

Anyway, for now, she would trust Erinna, but Mephilia wouldn’t let her guard down.

Because Erinna was too clever.

“Thank you,” Mephilia nodded. “I noticed at the academy that you are a very capable, very excellent person. I’m not helping you just for Liana’s sake. After all, I have my own responsibilities. I recognize your abilities, which is why I’m doing this.”

“Then I can’t disappoint Princess Mephilia’s expectations,” Erinna smiled and asked the question she had been concerned about, though she already knew the answer in her heart. “I think Sister Liana and Princess Mephilia must no longer be ordinary friends, certainly not just ‘good friends,’ right?”

Erinna had phrased it quite subtly, but both of them understood what she meant.

“Ahem!” Liana coughed awkwardly a couple of times. “What kind of question is that!”

Seeing Sister Liana’s expression, Erinna already knew.

Princess Mephilia had indeed claimed Sister Liana.

But Erinna had no intention of giving up. Instead, she smiled. “With Princess Mephilia protecting Sister Liana, I’m very reassured. After all, Princess Mephilia has always been by Sister Liana’s side, from before until now, never giving up on Sister Liana.”

Strange, truly strange. Mephilia looked at Erinna. She didn’t seem to be lying, and this statement was even self-deprecating.

She had always protected Liana, so who had run away midway?

Could it be her own misconception? Was she being too sensitive? No, Liana was much more sensitive than her. No, no! Where was her mind wandering?

“No need to put yourself down like that. You’ve just been working hard to do what you should. Your choices weren’t wrong,” Liana naturally didn’t want to see Erinna like this.

“By the way, which of you took the initiative to clear this up? I remember it wasn’t like this before,” Mephilia had asked Liana before why she didn’t come clean with Erinna, but at that time, Liana had brushed it off with a casual excuse.

“This is also what I wanted to explain to Princess Mephilia today,” Erinna began.

She roughly explained the day’s events to Mephilia, who understood the sequence of events. “Oester again? He really hasn’t given up.”

Mephilia wasn’t too surprised, she continued, “I think it’s not just Oester. Hodwen probably won’t be idle recently either.”

“Do you have any information?” Erinna asked. Although Mephilia spent a lot of time at Ibett Magic Academy, she would still have some understanding of royal matters.

Mephilia shook her head. “I don’t know the specifics, but after the failure with the elvenkind last time, Hodwen seems to have had some contact with those from Darriss Territory.”

“Darriss, huh? They’re really preparing to make a move,” Liana nodded.

Darriss never had good intentions with them, especially since she had accelerated this matter.

But they were also exceptionally powerful. Crown Prince Hodwen must have seen this point, and his ideology highly aligned with that of Darriss Territory—they only cared about magic.

People who couldn’t use magic didn’t deserve resources. In severe cases, they would be directly expelled.

“I might have some leads,” Liana explained the situation with Count Ige to Mephilia.

“Indeed, without anyone backing him, doing such things at this time would be suicidal,” Mephilia nodded.

Now, as acting lord, Erinna was a very conspicuous figure. Dealing with such a character was the best way to enhance the acting lord’s prestige. Once Erinna resolved this issue, people in that area might not support her, but they would at least recognize her status as acting lord.

“By the process of elimination, if it’s not Second Prince Oester, then it can only be Crown Prince Hodwen, right?” Liana said.

But Mephilia shook her head. “There’s another option.”

Liana fell silent for a moment after hearing Mephilia’s words. “Could you be referring to the Luska Kingdom, Mephilia?”

“It’s possible, but the worst scenario would be that the Luska Kingdom not only interfered in this matter but also colluded with people from our Lisat Royal Capital. They did this together,” Mephilia said.

“I think I just heard something extraordinary,” Erinna’s expression changed slightly. She didn’t have the leisure to manage Luska Kingdom affairs, as this involved matters between two kingdoms. The affairs of Venus Territory alone were enough to give her a headache.

“This is something you should understand,” Liana said.

Erinna would be one of the main forces in the future, as well as the right hand of the Lisat Kingdom. Now that she had become the acting lord, she should be qualified to know these things.

“I’m well aware that within the Lisat royal family, there have always been people secretly contacting the Luska Kingdom, but exactly who it is can’t be investigated. However, this is enough to indicate one thing: this person is being protected by a Judge,” Mephilia said.

“A Judge?” Liana frowned. With such top-tier combat strength involved, things would become much more troublesome.

At the same time, the situation of Mephilia without Minoga’s protection would become very dangerous.

‘Has the plot progression already reached this stage?’

“Yes, because the person who investigated this matter initially was Minoga,” Mephilia said.

Liana looked at Minoga. Although she wasn’t the top Judge, she shouldn’t be easily contained by an Executor.

So there was only one answer: the other party had a Judge protecting them.

Since the current situation had deviated so much from the original plot, Liana couldn’t be sure if the person cooperating with the Luska Kingdom was still Crown Prince Hodwen. For now, she could only advise Mephilia to remain vigilant about him.

Liana warned, “As for Second Prince Oester, we already understand some of his methods. But Crown Prince Hodwen has never had similar rumors before, and on the surface, he seems to be a very excellent competitor. The more a person appears as such, the more ruthless their methods might be. Mephilia, you must be ★ 𝐍𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 ★ careful.”

“Mm, I know,” Mephilia nodded.

Mephilia was naturally incredibly wary of Hodwen. After all, as royal heirs, the people they could trust the least were other heirs, who would only find ways to drag them down. There was no real kinship to speak of.

And the big brother who had always seemed so righteous was now beginning to have twisted thoughts, which was much more threatening than Oester, who had always been somewhat shady.

“So, leave Count Ige’s matter to me.” Since this was related to Crown Prince Hodwen, Liana was even more determined to go—not just for Mephilia, but also for Erinna.

If Erinna were to take action against Count Ige now, she would definitely incur Crown Prince Hodwen’s hatred. Moreover, Crown Prince Hodwen hadn’t yet revealed his methods, which would put Erinna in danger.

“Sister Liana is truly a gentle and kind person,” Erinna looked at Liana, revealing a tender smile.

A bone!

Mephilia’s heart tightened, but Erinna’s next words surprised her. What was she trying to do?

“I’m a bit envious of Princess Mephilia. Sister Liana and Princess Mephilia really suit each other.”

She was completely trying to match them up, although they were already together without Erinna’s matchmaking.

Was she really giving up? Something didn’t seem right.

“I also need to work hard to become a sister who won’t worry Sister Liana. It’s a bit embarrassing to always make Sister Liana worry about me,” Erinna said.

“What are you saying! It sounds too distant! Protecting little sisters is a big sister’s duty!” Liana said.

“I know, but doesn’t Sister Liana have someone more important to protect now?” Erinna looked at Princess Mephilia.

“...Mm.” Liana nodded somewhat embarrassedly.

Erinna was completely supporting them!

Actually, Erinna was very clear that trying to catch up later, especially with Sister Liana’s gentle personality, was almost impossible.

So now she needed to make Sister Liana lower her guard, and the same for Princess Mephilia. Erinna could clearly sense Princess Mephilia’s wariness toward her.

Erinna was just changing from one form of deception to another, making Princess Mephilia less wary of her.

“If you need any help, feel free to contact me anytime,” Princess Mephilia said.

Erinna nodded. “Of course, for the sake of the Lisat Kingdom.”

And for Sister Liana.

After some more casual chatting, it was getting late, and Liana returned to her own room.

Even though Erinna had just explained it, when Liana saw her own room, that strange thought still emerged.

Except for the few pieces of furniture newly added for Loraviel, it was truly identical.

Liana looked at her large bed. Before, at this time, Loraviel would already be lying on the bed, warming it up.

“Minoga.”

“What is it, Princess Liana?” Minoga appeared beside Liana.

“How is Loraviel doing now?” Liana asked.

Things were progressing smoothly, but they still needed a bit more time.

During this period, Minoga had received instructions from Liana to visit Loraviel.

Loraviel’s mental state and physical condition were much better than when she was at Venus Manor, but the training methods were somewhat concerning—would they cause problems?

Dealing with deadly poisons day after day, even Minoga felt a chill.

It’s worth noting that being immune to deadly poison wasn’t the same as having no effects at all.

And the fact that Loraviel had persisted under Orleya for so long was already quite remarkable.

“Is that so?”

Liana laid on the bed, looking at the ceiling. In less than two months, she would see Loraviel again.

Liana wasn’t sure what she was feeling now. Anticipation? Or fear?

After all, after everything that had happened, if Loraviel hated her, she would deserve it.

Knock knock knock!

There was a knock at Liana’s door.

Minoga glanced at Liana, and after receiving her nod of approval, went to the door and opened it.

“Lady Minoga, Princess Liana,” Naibert held a bag in her hand.

“What is it? Is there a problem with Sephirena?” Liana asked.

Naibert shook her head. “Miss Sephirena is already resting. This bag contains letters addressed to Miss Loraviel. Since Miss Loraviel is no longer at Venus Manor, we’ve been keeping them. But now that Princess Liana has returned, I thought it would be better to give these letters to Princess Liana.”

“Ah?” Liana was stunned. Weren’t they supposed to stop sending letters? Why were there still letters?

“I... I understand.”

“Pardon the intrusion, Princess Liana.” After handing the bag to Minoga, Naibert left the room.

Liana looked at the dozen or so letters in the bag and felt a sense of unease. After not responding for so long, Loraviel’s mother might have come looking?

Just thinking about this made Liana’s head hurt.

Liana checked the information on the envelopes. Letters were sent roughly every three days, with the most recent one delivered just yesterday.

There might still be hope? After all, with such heavy snow, and her mother’s health not being good, plus the recently delivered letter, the elderly lady should still be at home, right?

With a nervous heart, Liana opened the most recent letter.

[Loraviel, how have you been lately? How are your exams going? Are they going smoothly?

Although you might not see this letter, since you’re busy now, aren’t you?

I just miss you and want to talk a bit, but don’t worry! I didn’t send it directly to the academy, but to Risade Square near the academy. This way, I won’t disturb you, but I can still talk. How about that? Aren’t I clever?

But don’t worry when you see this letter. I’m fine, just missing you a bit.

Don’t feel sad or blame yourself. You’ve finally entered the academy—you can’t embarrass me!

But I believe in you! Loraviel, you’ll definitely be fine! After all, you’re such a hardworking child!

And you have the help of a very gentle and kind young lady, so you’ll definitely succeed.

That’s all for my rambling this time. Remember to write back after your exams. Don’t overwork yourself.

Love, mother.]

“...” Liana slapped herself. She was such a beast!

What horrible things had she done?!!!

Seeing the contents of the letter, Liana felt a bit broken, and there were many more such letters.

Liana no longer had the courage to open the other letters. Her guilt toward Loraviel reached its peak.

“Princess Liana...” Minoga wanted to comfort Liana.

But Liana shook her head. “Let me be alone for a while, please?”

Liana sat on the bed, hugging her bent knees. Regardless of the outcome, she absolutely, absolutely had to give Loraviel an explanation.