“That’s impossible.” Liana didn’t believe that a stubborn elf would fall in love with her.

“Hopefully not.” Mephilia sighed. It seemed Liana didn’t know where her charm lay at all; she was completely unaware of her own appeal.

“So should I go now?” Now that they had discussed it, if Liana couldn’t go find Sephirena, she would feel a bit restless.

“Go ahead, go ahead. I know you can’t control your curiosity.” Mephilia had anticipated this outcome long ago. “But before seven in the evening, I want to see you lying in bed, warming it up for me, understand?”

“Why can’t you warm it for me?” Liana countered.

“Then don’t go. You can go next time.” Look at you, Liana, you even wanted to reverse roles?

“I know, I know.” Liana nodded repeatedly. “Then I’ll be going now.” 𝚏𝕣𝐞𝗲𝐰𝕖𝐛𝐧𝕠𝕧𝚎𝚕.𝐜𝚘𝗺

Liana tactfully gave Mephilia a light kiss on the cheek.

Truth be told, Mephilia was still easy to coax.

Liana went outside and saw Sephirena on top of a tree, leaning against the trunk, absentmindedly playing with the branches. She looked somewhat distracted and hadn’t noticed Liana’s arrival.

“Sephirena.”

“Hmm?” Only after hearing Liana’s voice did Sephirena notice her presence. “What is it, Princess Liana?”

Sephirena remained in the tree, not coming down.

It was evident that there was a clear change between her current self and her previous self. She was now more relaxed, which better suited her original personality.

“I’d like to talk to you about some things.”

“Talk about some things?” Sephirena thought for a moment. It was probably about Sister Avira. Princess Mephilia must have told Princess Liana about this.

“I understand.” Sephirena waved her hand, and a large tree grew from beneath Liana’s feet, carrying her directly up to the treetop.

“Hey!” Liana quickly sat on the trunk, looking down, feeling her legs trembling.

Fear of heights was innate. Although Liana knew very well that falling from this height wouldn’t cause much harm, and she could use magic to fly if needed, this was a bodily instinct that Liana couldn’t resist.

“Princess Liana... are you afraid of heights?” Sephirena asked.

“N-no!” Liana’s voice was trembling, and her hands were tightly gripping the branch, not looking like someone who wasn’t afraid at all.

“Should we go down?” Sephirena suggested.

“No need, it’s quite nice up here.” Liana looked straight ahead. As long as she didn’t look down, she wouldn’t be afraid.

Even though she was scared inside, her mouth remained stubborn, right?

“Alright.” Sephirena also wanted to see how long Princess Liana could hold out. “What did Princess Liana want to tell me? Is it about Sister Avira?”

“So you did know.”

At that time, Sephirena was at Venus Manor. She couldn’t possibly not know about Avira’s visit.

“How should I put it? It was somewhat unexpected.” Sephirena sighed. This was also why her emotions had been somewhat unstable recently.

A very clumsy sister, of course, excluding Second Princess Nimeris.

“Did Princess Mephilia tell Princess Liana everything?” Sephirena asked.

“Mm.”

“What does Princess Liana think?” Sephirena asked.

Sephirena had changed a lot—her conflicted expression, and her willingness to talk about these things proactively.

As long as this step was done well, Sephirena’s matter should also be perfectly completed.

“You’re asking me?”

“Yes, I’d like to hear Princess Liana’s opinion.” Sephirena was a bit confused now. After all, the task with Princess Liana was basically completed. What should she do next?

No, it wasn’t that Sephirena was confused. She actually knew very clearly what she should do next; she just hoped someone would give her a push. She believed Princess Liana would do so.

Because Princess Liana was a person who very much liked to meddle in others’ affairs.

“I’m just an outsider. I can’t give you any good advice,” Liana said.

Liana still hoped that Sephirena would have her own thoughts.

“It’s nothing. I’m just listening. It’s not like I’ll follow Princess Liana’s method,” Sephirena said.

Is this how a guard speaks to her mistress?

“Since you put it that way, I suggest you return to the Elf Forest,” Liana said.

“Why?”

“After entering your illusion, I also gained some understanding of Princess Tarashil. I also learned about some of your affairs. And now, you’ve regained your elf magic, haven’t you? The forest is your home, you should return to that place,” Liana said.

“But in the direction of home, there’s no family.”

“Isn’t Princess Avira your family? You heard what she said, didn’t you? She just doesn’t know how to express her concern for you. She’s a very clumsy sister. Now she feels guilty for not comforting you back then. She still regrets it to this day and hasn’t given up on the idea of finding you,” Liana said.

“So, Princess Liana is suggesting that I go back, apologize to Sister Avira, let her forgive me, and return to the Elf Forest?” Sephirena said.

“I never said that,” Liana objected. “What you want to do is your freedom. Whether to stay in the Elf Forest is also your choice. If staying in the Elf Forest would make you suffer, then leave. If staying in the Elf Forest would make you feel at ease, then stay. It’s a simple principle, isn’t it?”

“Returning to the Elf Forest might be simple, but leaving again would be very difficult,” Sephirena said.

“That’s something for you to consider, not me. You only asked for my opinion, so naturally, I would choose the opinion that benefits me,” Liana said quite irresponsibly.

“Benefits Princess Liana?”

“Yes, if you go back, we /N_o_v_e_l_i_g_h_t/ can say that Mephilia found you. The Elf Forest’s opinion of Venus Manor might change a bit. At least in the short term, for the sake of face, they won’t cancel the alliance,” Liana said truthfully.

“I see.” Sephirena nodded. “Indeed, as Princess Liana said, it’s a good thing for both of our races.

“So, Princess Liana wants me to go back, to become a sacrifice, to promote the alliance between our two countries?”

“Isn’t that quite good? It’s a good thing for all of us,” Liana said.

“Indeed, as long as Princess Liana speaks, I will go back. After all, I now have to obey your orders,” Sephirena said.

“Huh?” Liana looked at Sephirena. “What does this have to do with me?”

“If I don’t obey Princess Liana’s orders, Princess Liana won’t kill me anymore,” Sephirena said, “There are still eight hundred and eighty-eight days left. I remember very clearly. I’ve already persevered for over a hundred days. I don’t want to give up like this.”

“But after you return to the Elf Forest, I won’t be able to, and won’t have the ability to kill you, right?” Liana said.

“Is this something Princess Liana needs to consider? No, isn’t this a good thing for Princess Liana? Being able to resolve the alliance issue between the two countries, and also get rid of me, this troublemaker. It’s the best of both worlds, isn’t it?” Sephirena looked at Liana, her blood-red eyes looking very intimidating, making Liana unsure where to look.

“Isn’t this the best outcome for Princess Liana? Why hesitate?” Sephirena asked.

“I’m not hesitating.” Liana was still being stubborn. “I just, uh, want to make maximum use of you, that’s right. There are still eight hundred and eighty-eight days. If I let you go now, wouldn’t I be at a loss?”