“Um, sorry for suddenly ignoring you,” Liana said.

On the other side of the crystal ball, Mephilia was pouting, clearly upset.

“I’m sorry, I really didn’t mean it. After something like this happened, it would be strange if I had no reaction, right?” Liana said.

“Pfft.” Seeing how Liana was embarrassed about the matter but still patiently trying to explain herself, Mephilia burst into laughter.

“Liana, you’ve forgotten again. As long as you don’t do anything to harm yourself, I won’t be angry... Well, I might be a little upset if I’m ignored,” Mephilia said.

“So, you all saw everything, right?” Liana asked, feeling gloomy.

“Mm-hmm, we saw everything clearly. I remember all those cool things you said,” Mephilia smiled.

“What’s cool about it? It was so embarrassing.” If she had known people were watching, Liana would have just said a few casual words.

“But there’s one thing I’m not satisfied with. Why did you attribute the credit for this to me again?” Mephilia asked.

“Don’t you already know?” Liana spread her hands. Since Mephilia had witnessed everything, she must know why Liana did it.

“That’s exactly why I’m asking! Why do you always put yourself in such a low position, letting others gradually change their opinion of you bit by bit? Isn’t that good? I’ll always be by your side, supporting you,” Mephilia said.

“Because there’s no need. I can only ‘live’ for two more months at most now, right? There’s no need to have those people focus their attention on me,” Liana said.

“Liana!” This was what Mephilia hated most about Liana.

Seeing that Mephilia was still sulking, Liana made a promise, “Alright, let’s not dwell on this anymore. I promise you, if one day I ‘come back to life,’ I’ll do as you ask, okay?”

“That’s more like it.” Mephilia was somewhat satisfied with Liana’s answer.

“But what do we do now?!” Liana sat on the ground. “Not many people should know about this, right?”

“Probably...” Mephilia wasn’t entirely sure herself. “This was likely deliberately arranged by Crown Prince Hodwen, but the scale definitely can’t compare to last time. I think only some important nobles and venues would be able to see these video segments.”

“That’s still quite a few.” Liana sighed, and she estimated it wouldn’t take long for the news to spread.

“It’s okay, Liana. You can pretend you don’t know.”

“...Are you serious?” Pretending to ⊛ Nоvеlιght ⊛ (Read the full story) be someone else in front of people who already knew what she was like was as good as killing Liana. It was too embarrassing.

“Do you have any better ideas?” Mephilia spread her hands.

“...I guess you’re right.” There really wasn’t a good solution to this problem. “This is all we can do...”

Anyway, Liana was about to disappear from public view. After today’s events, she’d return to the forest, so as long as nothing unexpected happened in these few days, there would be no problem.

“That’s great.” Mephilia was quite happy about this. “At least you won’t be misunderstood by so many people anymore.”

“...Mm.”

“But Liana, you’re in the bathroom, right? Why aren’t you lying in your room while talking to me?” Mephilia asked, somewhat confused.

“Mephilia, are you living alone right now?” Liana asked.

“Of course! And this is my room. Even servants can’t enter casually! Don’t worry, Liana! You’re the only one in my heart!” Mephilia thought Liana was worried about her and quickly responded.

“That’s not what I meant...” Liana wouldn’t doubt Mephilia. “I trust you completely. You definitely wouldn’t do such things. I just wanted to confirm if there was anyone else around you.”

“No one’s here. What’s up? Are you coming to live with me? I always have a place for you,” Mephilia smiled.

“No one’s there, huh.” Liana placed the crystal ball on the table.

Then she took off her thick, warm coat.

“Liana?”

“This is a little gift for you, Mephilia. After all, I’ve been troubling you lately, and we can’t meet in person.” It was evident that Liana was very embarrassed, a blush spreading across her skin.

Perfect!

Mephilia watched as Liana slowly unbuttoned her clothes and unzipped one side of her dress, gradually revealing her blushing skin.

Finally, only a piece of intimate clothing remained.

Mephilia thought to herself that this wasn’t good. It seemed she would need to take a bath soon as well.

As Liana gently lifted herself, her cute peaches appeared before Mephilia.

Liana then immersed herself in the pool, with only half of her head visible.

“Thanks for the treat.” Mephilia now wanted to pinch this cute little Liana to death.

However, Mephilia just smiled, “Liana, you don’t need to force yourself. Besides, while helping you, I’m basically the one benefiting. It’s actually you who’s been helping me all along.”

Glug glug

Bubbles continuously surfaced in the water.

“But what happened today, in Crown Prince Hodwen’s eyes, is almost like declaring war on him,” Mephilia said with some concern.

Although Liana’s actions had significantly affected Crown Prince Hodwen’s reputation, correspondingly, Crown Prince Hodwen would certainly hold a grudge against her.

Not to mention that in Crown Prince Hodwen’s eyes, Liana wasn’t even considered a person.

This wasn’t because Crown Prince Hodwen had any dissatisfaction with Liana’s previous actions; he simply equally despised all useless incompetents, especially those without magical ability.

“Liana, you could say that you’ve provoked both of the other heirs,” Mephilia said.

Liana herself was certainly aware of this. If she had behaved properly and stayed quiet at this time, perhaps these two heirs wouldn’t have paid much attention to her, and might even have been happy that she could affect Mephilia’s reputation.

But after today’s incident, that was no longer possible. Mephilia’s weakness had completely disappeared.

Now, to achieve victory, they could only resort to some underhanded tactics.

“It’s fine. Soon I’ll be ‘dead,’ and then no matter how angry they are, they can’t do anything to me,” Liana laughed.

“You’re so bad, Liana.” So Liana had already thought that far ahead?

Did she decide to fake her death before doing these things, or did she decide to fake her death because of these actions? Mephilia wasn’t sure.

“Don’t worry, Mephilia. The people I’m going to provoke, the trouble I’m going to cause them, isn’t just this simple.” What was about to happen was the most important part.

Everything before could be considered minor skirmishes, but the matter with the Angus Commerce Guild would be enough to end the competition.

“Please be careful,” Mephilia said with concern.

“Mephilia, you’ve said it yourself, I don’t value myself much. Many things I do are for you, so to avoid making you sad, I definitely won’t do anything dangerous,” Liana smiled.

Liana was always like this, suddenly saying such heart-stirring words.

“Mm.”

“In about a month, you won’t have to stay at Ibett Academy anymore.” After today’s events, Liana clearly realized that her previous concerns weren’t unfounded.

“To think a Judge would appear in such a remote place because of this kind of incident.”

“Well, that’s because he’s the instigator of this matter. He’s well aware of what the outcome would be if he didn’t make a timely statement, so he sent Mr. Artivens here,” Mephilia said.

“Artivens? He gives off an unpleasant feeling, like a barbarian, flaunting his magical power without restraint,” Liana frowned.

“I don’t know much about other Judges. Besides, with their strength, they naturally enjoy certain privileges and rights. Each has their own personality, so it’s not surprising that they do strange things,” Mephilia said.

“But as a Judge, he can’t possibly be unaware of what Crown Prince Hodwen has done, right?” Liana said.

“Mm.” Mephilia nodded. “That’s why Mr. Artivens is very dangerous.”

“More than that, I’m concerned whether he might suddenly leave.” After all, he had appeared here today. If he suddenly appeared when she was faking her death and exposed the truth, it would be troublesome.

“Generally, guardians won’t stray too far from the people they’re protecting, unless the person stays in a relatively safe place, like me.”

“So, we just need to ensure that Crown Prince Hodwen and Second Prince Oester aren’t in a safe place when we act?” Surely these two don’t have some special privilege that allows a second Judge to help them.

After all, even Mephilia, who had broken the pre-established notions of this world with her magical revolution, didn’t have this qualification, so they definitely couldn’t have this right.

“Mm.” Mephilia nodded. “Don’t worry, Liana. Leave this to me. I won’t let anyone disturb you.”

“Good.” With Mephilia’s words, Liana felt incredibly reassured.

As long as no Judge was involved, Liana could guarantee the absolute safety and success rate of the plan.

“By the way, you’re not in your room right now, are you?” Mephilia asked. The layout of the room and bathroom was different from Liana’s home at Venus Manor.

It was also completely different from where Liana was currently living.

“Yes, I’m at the Angus Commerce Guild now,” Liana said.

“Is it Sephirena’s issue?”

“No.” Liana shook her head. “It’s about Tari.”

“Tari?” Mephilia still had some impression of this name. “Is she in trouble?”

“I’m not sure if she’s in trouble or not, so I’ve come to verify this and give her a hand.”

“Do you want her to join the Venus Commerce Guild?” Mephilia naturally knew what Tari was helping Liana with, and also knew that Liana had several products that could affect the Angus Commerce Guild.

“After all, the Angus Commerce Guild is quite unreliable, and they’re also conducting some gray-area transactions in secret. Naturally, we can’t let them be so comfortable.”

However, Liana herself was well aware that relying solely on these two cosmetic products, the impact on them would still be relatively small.

For merchants, reputation is the most important thing. Once your reputation is tarnished, even if you have excellent goods, others will keep their distance.

But now, the scales were slowly tipping in Liana’s favor.

“The methods of the guild won’t be inferior to those of the heirs, and it’s a territory that’s been around for a long time. There might be many unexpected troubles,” Mephilia reminded.

“Mm, I know. But this time, they really made the first move.”

“Hm? They made the first move? Don’t we still not know about Tari’s situation?” Mephilia was a bit confused.

“You’ll know tomorrow,” Liana teased.

“Oh.” Mephilia rolled her eyes at Liana, but she could probably guess that Liana was planning something big. “Liana, just ensure your safety and everything will be fine.”

“Of course.”

“By the way, Mephilia, there’s one more thing I need to trouble you with,” Liana remembered Loraviel’s matter.

“Feel free to tell me any requests.”

“Regarding Loraviel’s mother, I hope you can find a way to give her some help, like forging a bonus or something. The general idea is that Loraviel performed excellently at Ibett Magic Academy, so she’s being rewarded,” Liana said.

“Oh...” Mephilia was obviously a bit displeased; Liana was mentioning another woman in front of her again.

“After all, I did some terrible things to her, and I also separated mother and daughter for a long time, with no chance to meet.” Liana’s tone was full of remorse.

“...” Mephilia sensed something was wrong. “Did something happen?”

Liana didn’t hide anything from Mephilia and directly told her about the letter incident.

This moved Mephilia deeply. “Leave it to me, Liana. I’ll definitely handle this matter well.”

Gran Town, which hadn’t received timely help due to certain reasons, could now use this opportunity to make some improvements and provide compensation to Loraviel and her mother.

“Mm.” Liana naturally felt reassured when Mephilia handled matters.

“Liana, don’t blame yourself too much. Look at it from another angle. This matter should spread soon, after all, you’re quite a celebrity now. Once Loraviel and her mother know about this, they’ll definitely change their opinion of you. Besides, you didn’t really do anything to Loraviel,” Mephilia said.

“...” Liana froze, she had almost forgotten about this.

But the problem was, she had indeed done some strange things to Loraviel!

Liana knew very well that people who had made mistakes, even if they sincerely apologized, would find it hard to gain forgiveness from others. After all, they had genuinely hurt others.

And her harm to Loraviel seemed greater than to others. She had taken Loraviel’s body and ruined her purity...

“What’s wrong, Liana? You look pale.”

“Ahem, maybe I’ve been soaking for too long,” Liana said.

“I see.”

“Mm.”

The two looked at each other for a few minutes. “Anything else you want to say?”

“I have a lot to say, but if you soak any longer, won’t there be problems?” Mephilia said.

“So I’ll end the call?”

“Didn’t you need to bathe, Liana?” Mephilia asked.

“That’s why I’m ending the call, because I need to bathe!” Was Mephilia this perverted?

Liana had no idea who had made Mephilia like this, but it was none other than herself—the tempting little cake.

“We’ve even bathed together before, so it’s fine if I watch you bathe, right?” Mephilia was acting like a hooligan.

“Give me back the dignified and composed Mephilia that others see!”

“What, what, it’s tiring to always be like that!” Mephilia only showed this relaxed side to Liana.

“Anyway! I won’t let you see! Give up!”

“Eh~ But it’ll be more than half a month before I can see you.” Mephilia looked pitiful.

“But, I can give you a little... gift.” Liana held the crystal ball with one hand, then aimed it at the right angle.

On Mephilia’s side, she saw a strange scene, only the water surface and Liana’s somewhat blurred delicate body.

Just as Mephilia was a bit confused, the water surface began to ripple, and the view slowly shifted to near Liana’s chest.

Mephilia could see the water gently lapping at Liana’s skin, the waves making the cherries in the water partially visible. It was this partially visible feeling that made it more tempting, more delicious.

A very good spellcasting material, making Mephilia’s stars rise.

“Alright, that’s it!”

“Okay.” Although Mephilia was somewhat reluctant, she nodded.

Besides, Mephilia now had some matters to attend to, which weren’t appropriate to do in front of Liana.

Mephilia took off the ring on her left hand, but this was also for Liana’s sake, just as practice for their next meeting.

After all, the techniques she practiced now would be used on Liana in the future.

The next day, Liana slept until noon, which was a rare good sleep for her.

However, when Liana woke up, she was a bit dazed, sitting on the bed, looking out the window, somewhat blank.

“Good afternoon, Princess Liana.” Minoga brought Liana hot water and a towel so she could wash her face properly.

“Afternoon?” Liana obviously hadn’t come to her senses yet.

“Yes, it’s already noon. I called Princess Liana several times, but you showed no signs of waking up. Besides, Princess Liana isn’t in a hurry, right? After all, the commerce guild is most lively at night,” Minoga said.

After washing her face with hot water, Liana felt much more energetic.

Liana went to the window. The room they were staying in was on the third floor. Although there were still quite a few pedestrians on the street now, it was much less compared to the evening.

“Let’s go.”

Liana wasn’t in a hurry, but she still tried not to delay for too long.

While not many people knew about her situation, she wanted to resolve the matter quickly.

“Alright.” Minoga took out warm clothes and a mask.

“The mask won’t be necessary.”

The code name “Jacaranda” was no longer needed. From now on, Liana would appear before the world using her own name.

“Okay.”

Liana headed towards the Angus Commerce Guild headquarters.

“Princess Liana, what brings you to our Angus Commerce Guild today?” A sales associate approached Liana.

“Where’s Felicia?”

The person who came wasn’t Felicia, who had received Liana last time.

“Isn’t this Princess Liana’s first visit to the Angus Commerce Guild? How do you know Lady Felicia?” The sales associate was confused.

“What does that have to do with you? Just call her over,” Liana said.

“I’m sorry, Princess Liana, but Lady Felicia is currently discussing some matters and can’t get away at the moment. However, I will relay your message to Lady Felicia,” the sales associate said respectfully.

Liana reached out her hand and took the gold card from Minoga. “I know your rules, so stop wasting time. I’m telling you to call her over.”

“...I understand.” The sales associate nodded.

The gold-level member was already the highest level membership outsiders could obtain, so she naturally didn’t dare to slack off.

She quickly ushered Liana into the reception room, asking her to wait a moment.

About five minutes passed, and there was some commotion outside the door. However, Liana felt like she had heard this voice somewhere before.

“Didn’t we agree that ten thousand gold coins would be enough?! Why!”

“Let go! Someone! Take her away. Mere beast folk, making such a fuss. Do you know that a gold-level Member has come to see me now? If they’re displeased, can you bear the consequences?” This voice was louder, and Liana recognized it as Felicia’s voice.

Liana sensed something was wrong and stood up to walk outside.

“Give them back to me! I’ll give you all the money! Give my family back to me!”

After going out, Liana saw Tari hugging Felicia’s leg, refusing to let go despite Felicia’s punches and kicks.

“Want to see your family? Fine, tell me the name of that Jacaranda,” Felicia said.

She hated Jacaranda to the extreme. If it weren’t for her, she would be living much more comfortably now. The cost and favor for that high-level rune carving had come out of her own pocket. All her hard-earned money was spent at once. How could Felicia not be angry? 𝗳𝚛𝚎𝚎𝘄𝕖𝕓𝕟𝕠𝚟𝚎𝕝.𝗰𝕠𝐦

“Princess Liana?” Tari raised her head and saw Liana.

“Princess Liana? Don’t joke around. She’s Jacaranda? Does she have that ability?” Not everyone had seen that video, so Felicia’s perception of Liana was still that of the little beast from before.

Even if others heard it, it wouldn’t have any impact, because it was the truth.

“You dare to trick me? Guards, take this person away, someone who brings shame to our Angus Commerce Guild,” Felicia said coldly.

She was originally a member of the family, and she had handled things well recently. Even if Tari was a branch store manager, she was not someone Tari could compete with. Moreover, Tari was a beast folk, a minority, so naturally, she had no status to speak of.

“Tari?” Liana didn’t care what Felicia said, as she had heard such words many times and was already immune to them.

What Liana cared about now was what Tari had just said. “Ten thousand gold coins? And what about family?”

“Princess Liana?!” Felicia hadn’t expected Liana to actually come here. “Princess Liana, what are you doing here?”

Liana directly raised her hand, about to slap Felicia.

But Felicia could also use magic, and without using magic, Liana wouldn’t be able to hit her.

But Minoga was by Liana’s side now. Minoga just glanced at Felicia, and Felicia felt her body freeze. Her defensive posture suddenly stopped.

She took Liana’s slap full-on.

“Is this how the Angus Commerce Guild treats its customers? How peculiar indeed,” Liana said with a cold face.