“I didn’t expect you to be so tight-lipped,” Liana said to Count Ige with a cold smile. “But it doesn’t matter anymore. I know what I need to know, and anyway, you’ll never have the chance to speak again.”

Liana looked at Minoga, “I’ll leave the rest to you then?”

“Mm.” A crystal ball appeared in Minoga’s hand.

“When conducting a judgment, everything must be recorded so His Majesty the King and others can know about this matter. We must also have sufficient evidence, otherwise it would be an abuse of power,” Minoga explained.

“Eh, how troublesome.”

“This is a necessary procedure,” Minoga said, somewhat helplessly.

“Fine, fine, I’ll leave it to you then.” Liana waved her hand dismissively.

“After investigation, Count Ige, as an administrator, has privately abused your authority to amass wealth, and by withholding wages for extended periods, you have caused many people to starve, prevented them from receiving timely medical treatment, and even caused deaths,” Minoga began listing Count Ige’s crimes.

“You coerced and threatened commoners to cooperate with your objectives.

“You deliberately set traps to frame nobles, deliberately misled others to misunderstand nobles, and maliciously tarnished the image of an heir.

“Therefore, I sentence you to death.”

“Do you have any questions, or anything you wish to say before you go?” Minoga’s cold voice gave people a sense that could not be defied.

Count Ige’s face turned ashen. He knew very well that he would not see tomorrow’s sun.

“Very well.” A sword made of magical energy appeared in Minoga’s hand.

After all, for someone like Count Ige, using her own weapon to execute him would only dirty her weapon.

“As per Princess Liana’s request, you will be hung on the city wall as a warning to others,” Minoga said.

“...Wait.” Liana suddenly called out to Minoga, “Let’s forget about that.”

Count Ige: Could it be?

“Hanging him on the city wall would frighten others,” Liana glanced at the children playing and frolicking around. “If it scares those children and leaves shadows in their hearts, that wouldn’t be good.”

“Then what does Princess Liana suggest?”

“Follow your usual procedures, but I have only one requirement—this pig must die,” Liana said coldly.

“I understand.” Minoga snapped her fingers, and chains immediately bound Count Ige tightly.

“Someone will take him away shortly. Rest assured, Princess Liana, those who disgrace the royal family will certainly not be spared,” Minoga said.

“Mm.” Liana nodded. “Next, please announce this matter. If I were to do it... no one would care. After all, in others’ eyes, I have no credibility now,” Liana said.

“Mm, alright.” Minoga temporarily left the place.

“Sigh.” After Minoga left, Liana heaved a sigh.

“What’s wrong, Princess Liana?” Sephirena asked with concern.

Sephirena had originally thought there would be very troublesome matters, but with Minoga’s appearance, there was no opportunity for her to take action.

“Nothing, it’s just that doing this kind of thing really doesn’t suit me. I guess I’ve experienced what Mephilia and Erinna felt. It feels so tiring.

“When they were misunderstood, they probably felt this way too. Mephilia is fine now, since many people support her, but for Erinna, it must be very difficult. Many times, even when Erinna does things to help others, because of her identity, many people have prejudice against her.”

Liana felt somewhat helpless, there was nothing to be done about it. “But now, we can only believe, right? Erinna is very excellent, she is recognized by my parents, and I can also see that she cares very much about the duchy, much better than I am.

“If possible, I should try to help them as much as I can. With my identity as a bad person, I might be able to handle many troublesome matters,” Liana smiled.

While Liana was having her emotional moment, Minoga had already dealt with matters on the other side.

However, Minoga was also constantly paying attention to Liana here, worried that Liana might say something strange.

Minoga didn’t choose to actively end this broadcast either, as doing so might make others suspect that this was deliberately staged for Princess Liana to perform for them.

“Has everything been arranged?” Liana asked.

“Yes, someone has come to take Count Ige away. As for whether what he said is true, it will still require some time to investigate. The management of this area will be handled by Erinna as the acting lord,” Minoga said.

“That’s good.” Liana also breathed a sigh of relief. “By the way, I need to trouble you to protect Coco a bit. Although I’ve already told her not to speak well of me, she has still interacted with me, so there will definitely be people who view her with colored glasses.

“If there’s really no other way, we can only have her go to Venus Manor. Explain to Erinna what happened to Coco, she’ll know what to do.”

“Mm.” Minoga nodded, though it seemed unnecessary for her to inform Miss Erinna—Miss Erinna had probably already seen this matter herself.

“By the way, Princess Liana, regarding what just happened, I’ve recorded everything. Do you want to release the full course of events?” ➤ NоvеⅠight ➤ (Read more on our source) Minoga asked.

“No need, just stick with what Count Ige released. Releasing it now would only make people think I’m acting, there’s no need for that. Besides, I really dislike being the center of attention. Being transparent is just fine,” Liana waved her hand.

“I understand. So, what does Princess Liana plan to do now?”

“Leave this place. As long as I’m here, the people of this place won’t be able to feel at ease,” Liana shrugged helplessly.

“I understand.” Minoga clapped her hands, and a carriage stopped in front of Liana.

They boarded the carriage, and Minoga immediately relaxed. “I’m exhausted, having to maintain such a serious appearance outside.”

“Thank you for your hard work.” Liana understood very well that when Minoga was outside, she couldn’t lose the dignity of being a Judge.

Minoga reached out and pinched Liana’s cheek. “It’s fine, I’m used to it.”

Inside the carriage, they didn’t need to worry about the broadcast anymore, and the magic in the crystal would only last for about half an hour.

However, Minoga believed that within a few minutes, someone would interrupt this matter. After all, what had just happened was quite significant for the Lisat Kingdom, concerning Princess Mephilia and Crown Prince Hodwen.

And now that it was over, and the main characters had left the area, even if the broadcast continued, there was nothing worth watching. 𝑓𝑟ℯ𝘦𝓌𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝑐ℴ𝓂

“Let’s go. After dealing with the last matter, we can wait with peace of mind,” Liana said.

“Mm.”

Before coming to this place, Liana had already gone to Risade Square to inquire about Tari and Pecola, who were no longer at the Risade Square branch of the Saus Trading Company, and had apparently been recalled to headquarters.

This should normally be considered a good thing, as going to headquarters was definitely better than being at a branch. But given what had happened previously because of her, Liana felt that something wasn’t quite right. She would only know when she got there.

Liana looked at Sephirena, “You should go back to Venus Manor and wait for me.”

Since those at the Angus Commerce Guild knew that Sephirena was an elf, it would be troublesome if they detected Sephirena’s identity.

“But...”

“With Minoga by my side, I don’t need you to ensure my safety. Besides, this is my order, not your failure of duty,” Liana spoke first, cutting off Sephirena’s protest.

“Alright.” Sephirena nodded.

With someone of Minoga’s caliber accompanying her, there was naturally no need to worry about Princess Liana’s safety.

Since this place wasn’t very far from Angus Territory, they arrived at the familiar territory boundary in just a short while.

This time, when they saw that the visitor was Liana, they obediently let them pass.

“Princess Liana didn’t fall asleep this time,” Minoga laughed.

“You make it sound like I’m someone who passes out as soon as I get in a carriage,” Liana retorted irritably.

“The Angus Commerce Guild, huh? Getting someone out of there won’t be a simple matter,” Minoga reminded.

“I know, so this time, I plan to make a bigger scene and let them deal with the headache themselves,” Liana smiled.

Liana didn’t care what would happen after saying this. After all, she was going to “die” anyway.

By the time they reached near the Angus Commerce Guild, it was already around ten o’clock at night.

“Do you want to rest first, or go directly?” Minoga asked the same question as last time.

But this time, Liana gave a different answer, “Let’s rest first.”

After everything that had happened today, Liana was somewhat tired, mainly mentally exhausted. After all, this was the first time Liana had dealt with such matters, and the pressure was a bit much.

“Alright.” Minoga took out that membership card, and soon someone led the two of them to a luxurious room.

“The financial power of the Angus Commerce Guild is truly impressive,” Liana looked at the room’s layout, which was almost the same as a noble’s room.

“But how much of their income comes from legitimate sources?” Liana knew very well that many things Angus secretly sold were prohibited in the Lisat Kingdom.

But they had their own special methods to conceal this well.

And one thing they liked to do was to cut off the arm to save the body—once they discovered anything that could damage the Angus Commerce Guild’s reputation, they would choose to distance themselves immediately.

Liana laid on the soft bed, “Minoga, what kind of gift do you think Loraviel would like?”

“Huh?” Minoga was taken aback. What kind of deadly question was this?

“What are you ‘huh’-ing about? When meeting someone, you should bring a gift to apologize, right? Going empty-handed might seem impolite and like you don’t value the other person,” Liana said.

“That’s true, but why is Princess Liana asking me?” This was the key to Minoga’s confusion.

If she were to strategize for Princess Liana now, when Princess Mephilia found out about this later, Minoga had no idea how severe the consequences would be.

“Because you’re a wom—” No, she was a woman now too!

“Because you’ve taken care of Mephilia for a long time, and this was the teacher you found for Loraviel, right? So you should also have some understanding of Loraviel. Besides, I can’t ask Mephilia, can I?” Liana explained.

Wait, Princess Liana can’t ask Princess Mephilia, but she can ask me?

“Ahem... well, it’s been three months since you’ve seen each other, and Princess Liana has bullied Miss Loraviel before, so as for what gift to give...” Minoga herself wanted to know!

“Since it’s because of Princess Mephilia that she’s meeting Princess Liana, what gift doesn’t really matter. As long as it expresses Princess Liana’s sincerity, that should be enough.”

What a great non-answer. Liana could see that Minoga was trying her best to help her think of something.

“This place is the largest trade center in the Lisat Kingdom, so as long as you have money, you can buy whatever you want. So I want to take this opportunity to select some gifts for Loraviel to make up to her,” Liana said.

She continued, “It’s fine if you can’t think of anything. After all, she’s been by my side for several months, and even I can’t figure out what she likes,” Liana smiled, her expression looking somewhat remorseful.

Minoga actually knew what Miss Loraviel liked—the little cutie in front of her—but she couldn’t say it out loud.

Anyway, Miss Loraviel was probably like Princess Mephilia—as long as the gift came from Princess Liana, she would be overjoyed.

But since this was a reunion gift, a gift to clear up misunderstandings, it should indeed be more formal and carefully selected.

Minoga really did come up with a good gift, and it was something only Princess Liana could give.

“How about Princess Liana use her magic to create a special weapon for Loraviel? This would express Princess Liana’s sincerity and attitude,” Minoga suggested.

This was indeed a good suggestion. “But, you’ve seen it, right? I once casually gave Loraviel a gem dagger. Giving her this now, wouldn’t it be somewhat inappropriate?”

Minoga recalled some unpleasant memories. Because of this incident, Minoga had received the cold shoulder from Princess Liana, so she naturally remembered it very clearly.

“That was just something hastily carved with magic in a moment of panic, very crude, wasn’t it?” Minoga said.

“That’s indeed true.”

“So, be more serious, focus a bit, and express your sincerity,” Minoga said.

“Then let’s use the old method!” When in doubt, carve runes!

“Minoga, what’s needed to carve high-level runes? How much does it cost?” Liana asked.

“The cost isn’t particularly expensive, but Princess Liana should know very well that in the Lisat Kingdom, people who can carve high-level runes can be counted on one hand, and their temperaments are quite peculiar. Not everyone is easy to talk to, and their conditions are also quite strange,” Minoga said.

“You mean, connections are more important than money?”

“You could understand it that way.”

“Don’t you have connections? After all, you’re a Judge,” Liana looked at Minoga with some expectation.

“I do have... but it would mean owing someone a favor. I’ll try,” Minoga said somewhat helplessly.

“Eh, there’s no need for that.” Liana stopped Minoga. A favor was tens of times more valuable than money. “Let’s settle for something less then. Mid-level runes should be fine, right?”

“For that, you could probably find several people just by the roadside,” Minoga laughed. “But don’t worry, Princess Liana, I’ll negotiate a bit with them.

“Besides, I think Princess Liana should focus on the weapon you’re carving, not these external factors. Think about it from another angle—the ring Princess Liana gave to Princess Mephilia, even without runes carved on it, Princess Mephilia would still be very happy, right?

“Runes are just an extra, there’s no need to be so concerned about it. What Princess Liana needs is just to properly express what’s in your heart, isn’t it?”

“I’ve been lectured by you,” Liana calmed down after hearing Minoga’s words. She realized she was indeed too fixated on the runes, making it somewhat like putting the cart before the horse.

“Then for the weapon carving, I’ll trouble you to help, Minoga. After all, I really don’t have much understanding of this aspect.”

“No problem. Oh, right, Princess Liana, after what happened today, aren’t you going to tell Princess Mephilia?” Minoga reminded.

“I’ll tell her, of course,” Liana got up from the bed.

She had troubled Mephilia with some matters recently, so she should... give Mephilia some reward.

Liana’s little face was somewhat red, “I’m going to take a bath first.”

“Mm.” Minoga nodded. What she needed to do now was to prepare hot meals for when Liana came out.

Liana walked into the bathroom and used the communication crystal to call Mephilia.

About ten seconds passed, and Mephilia’s image appeared in the communication crystal.

“...”

“Liana!!!” Before Liana could even greet her, she was interrupted by Mephilia’s voice.

Liana didn’t know why Mephilia was suddenly so excited, “What’s wrong? Your eyes seem a bit swollen? Did something happen? Did you cry?”

But Liana quickly noticed Mephilia’s unusual state and hurriedly asked with concern, “What happened?”

“I’m just so happy!” Mephilia said excitedly.

“...Phew.” Liana breathed a sigh of relief. So they were tears of joy. Seeing Mephilia’s red and swollen eyes earlier had given Liana quite a scare.

“So, what made you so happy?” Liana didn’t know what could make Mephilia this happy.

This state of excitement was just like that day when she gave Mephilia the ring.

“Could it be that His Majesty the King knows about our relationship and has agreed?” This was the only answer Liana could think of now.

“What are you talking about, Liana?!”

Liana, the best mood killer, had instantly deflated Mephilia’s excited heart.

“What else could make you this happy?” Liana really didn’t know why. This was already the closest thing she could think of.

“Finally, there won’t be so many people misunderstanding you,” Mephilia said excitedly.

“No one will misunderstand me?” Liana had a question mark over her head.

Was it about Count Ige’s broadcast today?

“Shouldn’t more people misunderstand me?” According to Count Ige, her bad side had been fully displayed in front of others.

“The communication never ended. From when you saw Count Ige until you left, we were watching the whole time,” Mephilia said.

“Eh?” The crystal ball slipped from Liana’s hand, falling onto the smooth floor and rolling several turns. “Eh?!!!”

Liana directly pushed open the bathroom door and came outside, “Minoga!!!”

“What’s wrong, Princess Liana?” Minoga looked at Liana with some confusion.

“Count Ige’s matter! You definitely knew about it, right!” Liana said angrily.

Minoga looked at the crystal ball in Princess Liana’s hand, from which Princess Mephilia’s voice came, and immediately understood, “It seems Princess Mephilia has already explained everything to Princess Liana?”

“Answer me! Did you know about this all along? Why didn’t you tell me!” Liana was furious.

“I didn’t know.” At this point, she had to lie!

“Princess Liana must have seen that Count Ige specifically brought three high-level Executors to ensure this operation wouldn’t have any problems. Under the enhancement of the three high-level Executors’ formation, even I couldn’t avoid being detected by them, so I was initially watching Princess Liana from a very distant place,” Minoga reasoned.

Anyway, Princess Liana’s magical power wasn’t strong enough, and she wouldn’t know whether what Minoga said was true or false. By the time Princess Liana reached that level, she would probably have forgotten about this matter, and her anger would have subsided.

Besides, this was an order from her beloved Princess Mephilia. Minoga was just following orders.

“Besides, Princess Liana, you certainly wouldn’t have wanted me to warn you midway, right?” Minoga said.

“Of course I would want to be warned!!! Why didn’t you warn me? When did it start!” Liana’s mind was in chaos now.

“From when you first met Count Ige until you left.”

“So it was broadcasting from start to finish?! Ahhh!! Saying such embarrassing things in front of so many people, just kill me!” Liana was somewhat on the verge of collapse.

Minoga placed both hands on Liana’s shoulders, “Calm down, Princess Liana.”

“How can I calm down! Ouch!”

Minoga directly pinched Liana’s cheeks, “Princess Liana, you should be very clear that this matter was directed by Crown Prince Hodwen behind the scenes, and it also involved Princess Mephilia. If I had warned Princess Liana midway, what would others think?”

“They would think it was deliberately arranged by Princess Mephilia, just to put on a show in front of everyone to whitewash Princess Liana. This would throw Princess Mephilia into a storm of public opinion.”

With Minoga pinching her cheeks, Liana calmed down a bit.

Indeed, if she had known about this, she definitely wouldn’t have acted so naturally, and after knowing this, every word she said would become untrustworthy. Who would know whether it was said deliberately for the sake of acting?

So it was better for Liana to know nothing. Besides, Liana’s performance was excellent and didn’t disappoint anyone.

“Have you calmed down a bit?” Minoga said.

“Yes, thank you... like hell!” Even if Liana had known, so what!

“Ahhh, saying such embarrassing things in front of so many people!”

“Does Princess Liana really think the words you said were embarrassing?” Minoga said very seriously. “I don’t think it’s anything embarrassing. The words Princess Liana said were cool and responsible.”

“I know, but I just feel so embarrassed!” Liana certainly knew there was nothing wrong with what she said, but being told now that she had said those things in front of so many people, how could Liana not feel embarrassed?

“Ah, how will I face others in the future? What kind of attitude should I use to interact with them?” Liana felt like she had socially died.

“That’s indeed the case. Just be the same as before?”

“Hey, hey, hey!!!” Mephilia, who had been ignored all this time, voiced her extreme dissatisfaction. She was the first to arrive, right? Liana was the one who contacted her first, right? Why was she suddenly being ignored?

“Ah!” Liana only then realized that she seemed to have made a mistake, and quickly hugged the crystal ball. “Sorry, sorry!”

Then she ran back into the bathroom, “Minoga, you continue! I’m fine now.”