“Because I am also an elf blessed by Mother Tree of Life, I can sense that you have received Mother’s blessing. And the timing isn’t too long ago; it must have been recent,” Avira continued.

“Meeting these conditions, and also having a good relationship with Princess Mephilia, I can only think of one person.”

“Your Highness Liana, you... you’re still alive, right?”

Sephirena had indeed said that ordinary elves wouldn’t be able to recognize her, but it was clear that Princess Avira was no ordinary elf.

However, Liana had never intended to hide her identity from Princess Avira in the first place.

This was one of the reasons for coming to the Elf Forest this time. To allow Princess Avira to cooperate with the Lisat Kingdom with peace of mind, she had to be given a reassurance pill.1定心丸 (dìxīnwán), a literal “reassurance pill”; a Chinese expression for something that relieves anxiety and provides reassurance.

“So I can be discovered after all? I thought it would be hard to be found out after learning some simple elf magic.” Liana took off her disguise. “Hello, Princess Avira.”

“Your Highness Liana, you really are still alive.” This allowed Avira to relax considerably. If Liana was fine, it proved that everything Mephilia had done before was an act. She hadn’t given up on competing to be the next Lisat monarch. Compared to those other fellows, Princess Mephilia was more reassuring.

“Of course, and in much better condition than before.” Liana looked at Avira, wanting to ask about Sephirena, but she didn’t know what Sephirena’s current situation was. Would it be inappropriate for her to bring it up herself?

“Indeed.” Avira was extremely sensitive to mana and could clearly sense the change in Liana.

“There isn’t a major problem with Your Highness’ disguise. Within the Elf Forest, there should be few who can detect that you are not an elf,” Avira said.

“Don’t try to comfort me. It’s not something to be sad about,” Liana said with a laugh.

“I am not comforting you. There are many elves who have been acknowledged by Mother Tree of Life, but those who have received her blessing are few and far between. As for humans blessed by Mother, there have likely been fewer than ten since the dawn of time,” Avira said very seriously.

“Blessed?” Liana looked at the palm of her hand. She didn’t really feel anything, but this so-called blessing probably referred to her ability to use elf magic, right?

“Then the previous human who received the Tree of Life’s blessing was...”

“Ambis Venus.”

As expected. Liana had a faint feeling it would be so. After all, her mother healed the Tree of Life; it was only normal for her to receive its blessing.

“It seems I’m basking in my mother’s glory.” That explains it, Liana thought. How could I have been pulled into the Tree of Life’s illusion for no reason when I hadn’t done anything?

The Tree of Life must have known about her relationship with Ambis.

But Avira shook her head. “That’s not the case. Every one of Mother Tree of Life’s choices is based purely on the individual. Otherwise, you wouldn’t have a situation where a descendant of the Elf Queen failed to receive Mother’s blessing.”

That’s beyond me. Liana didn’t know much about these elven matters.

“Your Highness Liana, you must have many things you want to ask me, right?” Avira said.

“I’m afraid Princess Avira also has many questions for me.” Liana shrugged. She didn’t want to be the first to bring up Sephirena.

Avira clapped her hands. “When I visited the Lisat Kingdom before, the king gifted me some tea leaves and pastries from the human world. They’re just right for receiving you two.”

Plant vines steeped the tea and poured it for the group.

Liana looked at the color of the tea and had a bad premonition.

Sure enough, after taking a small sip, a bitter taste spread through her mouth.

Liana should have known. What else could the tea gifted by the Lisat king be!

But she forced herself to endure it. After all, she couldn’t appear impolite in front of others.

“Shall we have a good chat?” Avira said.

“Then let’s begin with you, Miss Avira.”

“Alright.” Avira didn’t dawdle. “Why did Your Highness Liana deceive everyone and fake a death?”

“The reason is simple. If I stayed alive, it would have brought a lot of trouble for myself and Mephilia.”

“A struggle for power?” Avira quickly thought of this.

“Doesn’t your Elf Forest have this same trouble?” Liana spread her hands. For the sake of the throne, those people have abandoned their humanity.

Avira shook her head. “The Elf Queen is not chosen by us, but by the Mother Tree of Life.”

“Isn’t that the same thing?”

“Mother Tree of Life can see through your heart. It has nothing to do with your usual actions. There’s no need to put on a false front for others, because you can’t hide it from her.” It seemed Avira wasn’t completely ignorant of the human world.

“Then how do you know Mephilia isn’t acting?” Liana suddenly asked.

Avira turned to look at Mephilia. Originally, this should have been a conversation between her and Mephilia. After all, Mephilia was the princess of the Lisat Kingdom, while Liana was merely the daughter of a lord within a territory of the kingdom. Her status was certainly not comparable to Princess Mephilia’s.

But Liana had also said that between the two of them, Liana called the shots. And, compared to Mephilia, Liana held more appeal for her.

Mephilia certainly gave Liana enough face when they were out, staying silent if she could. Besides, Mephilia also believed that any suggestion Liana gave would be no worse than her own.

Of course, Liana certainly had to pay a small price. After all, if she had the right to speak outside, she definitely had no right to speak in bed.

“That would just mean Princess Mephilia’s acting skills are simply too good.” Avira smiled faintly. “Your Highness Liana, surely you don’t wish for us to conduct our talks on such a basis, do you?”

Avira didn’t have any better options right now. If the human princess was acting, she would have to accept it.

The demon race had awakened, and she was willing to trust the choice of a sacred mage such as Princess Mephilia.

“My apologies, it seems I overthought things,” Liana said with a smile.

She continued, “After all, this concerns two races and two kingdoms. It’s normal for ⊛ Nоvеlιght ⊛ (Read the full story) Your Highness to be cautious. I can understand.

“In terms of results, I’m quite satisfied with my fake death this time. It saved me a lot of trouble. Otherwise, I might not be able to stand here properly in front of you now, Princess Avira,” Liana said.

“Then is the matter of Princess Mephilia giving up her status as heir also fake?” Avira asked with some curiosity.

“True true false false false false true true.2真真假假假假真真 (zhēn zhēn jiǎ jiǎ jiǎ jiǎ zhēn zhēn), a phrase describing a complex situation where truth and falsehood are intertwined and difficult to distinguish. It’s not wrong to say it’s true, nor is it wrong to say it’s false,” Liana said mysteriously.

“Your Highness Liana, this isn’t the time to sell a story, is it?”3卖关子 (mài guānzi): Literally “to sell the pass” or “to sell the crucial point.” The phrase originated from old-fashioned Chinese storytelling, where a storyteller would stop at the most suspenseful part of a narrative (the 关子 or “crucial point”) to make the audience come back for the rest. It means to intentionally build suspense or speak evasively. Avira looked at Liana helplessly.

“Mephilia did indeed give up being the heir, but she has not given up on becoming the monarch of Lisat. She wants to prove something to others, which is why she made this decision.”

“Is that so?” Avira didn’t ask further. She knew very well what it meant for a princess, supported and watched by so many, to be able to make such a decision.

It must have taken immense resolve. To question her about it now would clearly be an insult to Mephilia.

“Therefore, I can assure you that the next ruler of Lisat will absolutely be Mephilia,” Liana said with great confidence.

Normally, Mephilia might say a word or two to Liana, but right now, Liana needed to state her position.

“The people will choose their own monarch. Clearly, this is a multiple-choice question with only one right answer.”

“Then I shall look forward to it,” Avira said with a smile.

In the Lisat Kingdom, there truly was no one more suitable than Mephilia to become the monarch, and Liana was also there.

As for why Avira trusted Liana so much, it was entirely because she trusted the choice of the Tree of Life.

In the eyes of the elves, the decision of the Tree of Life was far greater than anything else. They believed that the person their Mother favored could not be wrong.

“I heard from Mephilia that the Elf Forest has been a bit unstable recently? Why is that?” Liana asked.