Should she write back to Ms. Anna?

Perhaps not? If she wrote back now, she would be exposed, and besides, she didn’t know what to reply.

Ms. Anna had indeed changed the delivery address, but she didn’t know that the messenger knew them, and the messenger misunderstood their situation. Upon seeing that Loraviel was the recipient, feeling guilt for letting her letters get tampered before, the messenger had brought the letters over.

Liana’s hand slid across each envelope, her fingers involuntarily starting to tremble. ‘I’m sorry... I’m sorry...’

Perhaps the only good news now was that Liana had sent Royal Knights to help Ms. Anna’s village, and Ms. Anna’s illness should have been cured by now.

But these things alone were far from enough to make up for what she owed Loraviel.

Liana needed to do better, to be clear in her own heart before she could stand before Loraviel and explain everything.

Liana clenched her fist. Perhaps she hadn’t realized yet that she would need a lifetime to make up for what she had done to Loraviel over these three months.

And that Liana herself would be quite happy about it.

At four in the morning the next day, Liana was already up.

After seeing those letters, she had found it difficult to sleep. Even when she did sleep, it was extremely light—the slightest sound of wind and snow hitting the window was enough to wake her.

Liana went to the window. She reached out and touched it. Even with magic stones heating the room, when Liana touched the window, she could clearly feel the cold from outside.

The weather outside seemed to be getting worse again.

She wondered how Ms. Anna was doing.

“Minoga.”

“Princess Liana, I’m here.” Minoga appeared instantly by Liana’s side.

“Do you never need to sleep at all?” Liana had always been curious about how whenever she called Minoga’s name, even softly, she would immediately appear.

“After reaching the level of Judge, rest is no longer necessary. We can rest through magical power synchronization, which is why we are assigned to protect important individuals,” Minoga said.

What an innate 24/7 holy constitution.

“Have the royal knights in Gran Town provide more assistance to Ms. Anna, and ask Mephilia to give Ms. Anna some coins and goods. Tell her it’s a reward for Loraviel’s excellent performance at Ibett Magic Academy. I’ll cover these expenses,” Liana said.

Thanks to her cosmetics, Liana had some money, and as a noble young lady, this amount wasn’t beyond her means.

However, knowing Mephilia’s personality, she probably wouldn’t accept Liana’s money.

But Liana wasn’t the type to let others help for free. Liana knew very well what Mephilia would definitely accept—herself.

Worst case, she’d wear some clothes that increased Mephilia’s attack speed when she visited her. Liana didn’t believe Mephilia would refuse that gift.

“Alright, I understand,” Minoga nodded.

Liana patted her cheeks. Thinking about these things now, no matter how much she dwelled on them, wouldn’t help. It would only add to her worries. Better to focus and do the best she could with what was within her power.

“What a horrible person,” Liana murmured, looking at the flying snow outside.

“Princess Liana...” Minoga thought Princess Liana was still blaming herself for yesterday’s letters.

Should she tell Princess Liana the truth?

“Count Ige, the things he’s done, truly deserve death.”

It seemed her worries were unnecessary. This was Princess Liana, after all.

Liana pondered about what happened back then In such a cold winter, if that little girl hadn’t met her, she would probably have died in the snow. And how heartbroken would her mother be upon hearing the news?

Not to mention, her mother was seriously ill and hadn’t received effective treatment due to the delay of her wage. If she lost her daughter’s care now, she probably wouldn’t survive the winter.

Liana couldn’t believe that a count couldn’t afford to pay a tailor’s wages.

He simply didn’t want to pay. This amount meant nothing to him, but for an ordinary family, it was life-saving money that would help them through the severe winter.

The more Liana thought about it, the angrier she became. Such a person should be hanged from a lamp post—no, this world didn’t have lamp posts. Then hang him on the city wall.

“Notify Sephirena that we’re preparing to depart.” Perfect, Liana had someone to vent her anger on.

“Understood.” Minoga nodded.

Soon, they gathered at the main gate of Venus Manor.

“Sister Liana, are you leaving so early?” Erinna asked, somewhat reluctant.

“Yes, I still have some matters to handle, so I won’t stay here,” Liana said.

“Can I come visit you at your training place sometime?”

“Mm... I think it’s better not to?” After all, Liana would be leaving soon, and if Erinna came looking for her, it would cause some trouble. “Let’s keep our relationship as it was before. Otherwise, if others learn of our close relationship, they might target you.”

Erinna was already under pressure. If she had to deal with pressure from another direction, it would be too much for her to bear.

“Alright.” Erinna didn’t ask further. “I’ll listen to whatever Sister Liana says.”

“It doesn’t have to be everything I say,” Liana smiled. “As a ruler, you should have more ideas of your own.”

“Mm, I understand.” Erinna nodded.

Erinna watched as Liana left. After Liana was gone, Erinna breathed a sigh of relief.

“Lady Erinna.”

“Do you think I have a chance?” Erinna asked.

Having been by Erinna’s side for so long, Naibert naturally knew what Erinna was talking about.

Regarding matters of lordship, there was no need to ask—Erinna would definitely secure it. There was nothing to worry about on that front.

So there was only one thing Lady Erinna could be referring to.

Naibert looked up at the carriage disappearing into the heavy snow in the distance.

Clearly, Lady Erinna was talking about Princess Liana.

Having been by Lady Erinna’s side for so long, Naibert was well aware of Lady Erinna’s thoughts.

Lady Erinna was an excellent person, which was why she had actively chosen to follow her. But her opponent was equally excellent, and most importantly, they were heading toward each other.

Lady Erinna’s current behavior might not be entirely appropriate, but as Erinna’s servant, she could only support her master’s actions.

“You will win.”

“How much longer will it take?” Liana asked.

“About half an hour more, Princess Liana. If you’re feeling tired, you can take a nap,” Minoga said.

“Alright, I understand.” There was indeed fatigue on Liana’s face.

Seeing Liana’s weary expression, Sephirena seemed to want to say something but hesitated.

“What is it?” Liana noticed Sephirena’s strange behavior.

“Nothing.” Sephirena shook her head. She had wanted to ask why Liana looked so tired, but would that be too presumptuous?

“Is that so? Feel free to ask me anything anytime.” Liana looked out the window. Due to winter, it was dark, and the sun hadn’t risen yet, leaving everything pitch black.

But sometimes she could see blue eyes opening in the darkness, only to close forever the next moment.

“Something’s strange,” Minoga’s voice came from outside.

“What is it?”

“Snow wolves didn’t appear this frequently before. Besides, I’ve sprayed some repellent on the carriage that should be irritating to snow wolves. By rights, they shouldn’t be targeting us,” Minoga said.

“Are those people still using such third-rate methods?”

Minoga shook her head. “Not at all. This probably isn’t their doing. They know very well that doing this would be meaningless and would waste their time.”

“Then it’s...” If it wasn’t human interference, the problem was more serious.

“I just checked. These snow wolves haven’t been influenced by humans, but they’re more ferocious than before, and the magical aura within them has become very unstable.”

“Could it be... the demons?” Liana uttered a terrifying term.

But Minoga, who was driving the carriage, fell into a brief silence. “That’s not impossible.”

With about a year and a half until the main storyline began, strange occurrences were starting to appear in this world.

“Demonkind...” Sephirena murmured these words softly.

“A filthy race, without any emotions, without any logic. They live only for magic, pursuing only magic. The demon race cannot be trusted—they’re pure evil. Don’t pity them. The moment you see them, it’s destined that only one of you can survive,” Liana said.

“I didn’t expect Princess Liana to know so much.”

“I just read some records in my mother’s study. They might disguise themselves as pitiful to lower our guard. It could be ten days, a month, maybe a year, but their objective never changes—to kill you and obtain your magical power. The demons are utterly demonic. Don’t think they can change,” Liana said very seriously.

The demon race especially favored those with strong magical power. The stronger the opponent, the more they wanted to hunt them. “Did you hear that, Minoga?”

“...So Princess Liana is worried about me.” Minoga was somewhat touched. Princess Liana had said all this specifically for her.

“They’re clever and cunning. They might disguise themselves as the most important person in your heart, making you lower your guard. But they have a fatal flaw—their magical aura is extremely foul and ominous. So if you notice this, please don’t hesitate. Kill the person in front of you immediately, no matter who they are,” Liana said.

“What if it’s Princess Liana or Princess Mephilia?”

“Show no mercy, or you’ll be the one to die, even though you’re a Judge,” Liana said very seriously.

Minoga naturally understood Liana’s tone. “I understand, Princess Liana. Thank you for the reminder.”

“But Princess Liana doesn’t need to worry so much about the demon race yet. According to Princess Avira, we still have at least five years... though it feels like it’s coming faster.” Minoga sighed.

Five years matched the original timeline, but Liana was worried that something unexpected might accelerate this progress.

“Five years...” For a moment, # Nоvеlight # both fell silent. 𝒻𝘳ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝒷𝘯ℴ𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝑐ℴ𝑚

With five years still to go, the impact on this world was already so great—the Tree of Life, and now the snow wolves.

What would happen as the time drew nearer?

Liana became a bit anxious.

“Don’t worry, Princess Liana. It might be my misconception. Besides, these snow wolves might not necessarily be influenced by the demon race. There could be other reasons. Perhaps they’ve just had cubs and are feeling more aggressive,” Minoga comforted Liana.

“Mm.” Liana nodded.

“Princess Liana, you seem to know a lot about the demon race?” Sephirena looked at Liana.

“I only know the basics.” But Liana’s expression wasn’t so relaxed; her eyes were filled with fear.

After all, Liana had witnessed the demon race’s atrocities firsthand. Just thinking about it made her extremely uncomfortable. If you fell into the hands of the demon race, don’t hesitate—choosing suicide immediately would be the best release.

But the next moment, Sephirena saw Liana return to her previous state. “Sephirena, the Tree of Life became like this due to their foul doing. The demon race caused your mother’s suffering. Don’t you want to avenge your mother?”

“...” So that was her intention. But what Princess Liana said wasn’t wrong.

Indeed, and... if the Tree of Life hadn’t encountered this accident, they wouldn’t have specifically gone to repair it, and Sister Tarashil wouldn’t have had an accident.

“You said the reason you wanted to die was because you couldn’t find a purpose to live for, right?” Liana continued.

Sephirena nodded.

“Well, now you have a purpose to live for, don’t you? Avenge the Tree of Life. Besides, aren’t you and the demonkind sworn enemies?”

“I’m sorry.” Liana suddenly stopped. She realized that what she had just said was exactly the type of thing she hated most.

Forcibly imposing her own wishes on others, putting tremendous pressure on them—in simple terms, moral coercion.

“I was too hasty. I said I respect your choices and won’t force you to do anything, nor will I judge you from some moral high ground. I do want you to live, but not like this. I want you to embrace this world again,” Liana apologized to Sephirena.

Liana knew very well that if she brought up Tarashil at this point, Sephirena would definitely agree to her request.

But Liana didn’t want that. It felt too despicable, too shameless.

Besides, she herself hated when others did this to her. The pressure from others’ expectations was the heaviest.

“Anyway, I’m very sorry. Just pretend I didn’t say anything. If necessary, reduce the days by ten, okay? Sorry, sorry, I spoke without thinking,” Liana apologized repeatedly. “I myself hate when others treat me this way, yet I said such things.”

“...” Sephirena knew very well that she was an elf who disliked humans. But Princess Liana was truly a very, very special person. Somewhat strange, but not at all dislikable.