“No... nothing.” Liana’s expression was somewhat peculiar, mainly because she had just thought of something embarrassing.

For instance, having gained the approval of Loraviel’s mother, when they would meet in the future...

No, no! Why was she thinking in that strange direction again!!!

“It seems you also like this Miss Liana?” Liana asked.

“Yes, I suppose so. At least from my daughter’s words, her expressions, and her mental state, I could see that she was very fond of Princess Liana. Seeing her like that, I naturally felt happy for her from the bottom of my heart. It’s just... she must have been very sad when she received the news,” Anna said.

“I’m sorry, I don’t know how to comfort you.”

“It’s all right. If anything, I’ve troubled you,” Anna smiled. “I’ve gathered enough. Would miss elf like to return together?”

“Mm.” Liana nodded. Although she had already achieved her purpose, it would be better to accompany Anna back to ensure her safety.

Even though Liana knew there were royal knights protecting Anna, she would only be at ease after seeing her safe with her own eyes.

Anna walked in front, with Liana following behind.

Liana used magic to slightly lift the basket on Anna’s back, reducing her burden.

“It seems the elf race isn’t so difficult to get along with after all,” Anna said.

Miss Anna was truly too unguarded; this could be very dangerous.

“Not all elves are like this. Some elves are quite resistant to humans,” Liana reminded her.

Not to mention those elves in the Elf Forest who detested humans, even Sephirena, whom Liana had met, gave her quite a headache.

A definite problem child, though she had improved somewhat now, unlike before when she couldn’t properly talk to people at all.

“Well, at least miss elf standing before me now is a very kind and warm-hearted elf, right?” Anna turned to look at Liana. She could clearly feel that the basket on her back was much lighter than it had been at the beginning.

Though she hadn’t seen it, this was certainly miss elf’s help.

“What if I just want to get something from you?” Liana still wanted Anna to maintain some wariness toward elves. After all, Anna was just an ordinary person; it would be troublesome if she got involved.

“Is that so?” Anna didn’t believe that any elf would be interested in an ordinary human like her who couldn’t use magic.

Logically, elves should look down on ordinary people who couldn’t use mana, but miss elf before her was helping her.

“Anyway, don’t trust strangers too much,” Liana cautioned.

“Thank you for the reminder, miss elf.” The two soon returned to Gran Town.

“Miss Anna, we’ve already told you not to wander ❖ Nоvеl𝚒ght ❖ (Exclusive on Nоvеl𝚒ght) around alone. You’re still a patient. If you need anything, let us help you,” the royal knight grumbled with some frustration.

Liana looked at her; she was the royal knight she had encountered in the forest earlier. Now she was saying these things to put Anna’s mind at ease.

She cast a grateful look at Liana, thanking her for keeping her secret.

Once Liana had confirmed that Miss Anna was safe, there was no reason for her to stay.

After all, it was better for the current Liana to avoid going out as much as possible.

Now, she had achieved her purpose of seeing Miss Anna and taking a walk; it was time to go back.

“Miss elf.” Anna’s voice came again.

“What is it, Miss Anna?” Liana stopped.

“Thank you for your help during this short time. Here’s a small gift for you.” Anna held a bag in her hand. Liana remembered clearly that it was the bag from the dessert shop earlier.

“Inside are some puddings and sweets from the human world. I noticed miss elf seemed to like them, so I bought some more.” Anna handed the bag to Liana.

“Thank you.” Liana gladly accepted her goodwill. “See you next time.”

“Will we have a chance to meet again?” Anna watched as Liana left.

“We will.” Liana waved.

“Miss Anna, what did you just say to miss elf?” The royal knight approached at this moment.

She wasn’t quite clear about what had just happened, as staying too close would have revealed her presence.

“Nothing much, just chatting about some everyday matters,” Anna smiled, not revealing much about their conversation.

“Is that so?” The royal knight didn’t ask further.

“But I can confirm that this miss elf is very kind.”

“Mm.” The royal knight nodded.

Liana walked back, looking at the desserts in the bag.

No! She couldn’t eat any more; her daily intake couldn’t exceed too much!

She needed to maintain healthy eating habits!

But as Liana walked, she suddenly felt something very strange.

Very strange, extremely strange.

This bizarre feeling was something Liana couldn’t quite describe, but it gave a very uncomfortable sensation—somewhat nauseating and sickening. Something unpleasant was running toward Liana.

“What is this?!” Liana saw a giant wolf racing toward her, with a black crown on top of its head.

Liana could feel the mana within her body becoming somewhat stagnant.

She sensed a familiar aura, the dark and evil aura she had once detected on the Tree of Life itself.

[Spirit of life, bind this evil beast in place.]

Several thorny vines suddenly appeared beneath the giant wolf, entangling it.

But the giant wolf seemed to feel no pain, howling desperately. Even as its body was torn by the spikes and blood continuously gushed out, it showed no sign of stopping.

Only when its head was pierced by a rock did it finally stop, losing all signs of life.

Simultaneously, the crown on its head slowly disappeared.

A gem shield appeared in Liana’s hand, ready to respond.

“Princess Liana, are you all right?” Sephirena’s figure emerged from the forest. She had been following behind Liana all along to prevent such incidents.

“I’m fine, but what is this?” Liana looked at the giant wolf before her, a bloody mess. Its limbs had been almost severed by the vines, yet it had still charged forward desperately, unlike any living creature should behave.

Moreover, that ominous aura Liana had initially sensed, the aura that could make her heart tremble, what exactly was it...

Perhaps Liana already had the answer in her heart.

Sephirena frowned as if seeing an unpleasant memory. “I’ve seen the aura of that crown on the Tree of Life...”

“Hm?” Liana looked at Sephirena. Seen on the Tree of Life?

Wait! Could Sephirena be referring to the Tree of Life itself?

This was indeed as Liana had thought—this was the aura of the demons.

Liana knew clearly that the Tree of Life had been contaminated by the demonic energy, but now, few people knew about them, and even fewer could recognize their aura.

“Evil, withering, bringing the aura of death, I remember it clearly...” Sephirena looked at the wolf’s corpse. “Although the crown has disappeared and that horribly uncomfortable aura has vanished, for that brief moment, I still felt it. This aura belongs exclusively to the demons.”

So it was like that after all?

Liana’s face darkened. Has it already begun to revive?

But there was still more than a whole year until the start of the main storyline.

Could it be that because of her, the main storyline had advanced ahead of schedule?

This was certainly terrible news.

Now, not only did Liana think so, but Sephirena’s face also showed a hint of gloom.

After all, the demon race was the mortal enemy of the elves. How could she be in a good mood seeing a sign of the demons appear now?

“Has their arrival advanced?” Liana felt uneasy.

Having read the original story, Liana naturally knew the terrifying nature of the demons. When captured by the demonkind, the only thing you should think about is finding a way to die quickly.

“It shouldn’t have,” Sephirena said, thinking about the signs from how the Tree of Life was withering.