“Yes. If Princess Mephilia left, I could have Her Highness Liana all to myself.” Loraviel wrapped her legs around Liana’s waist, holding her close.

“But that would make you sad, Your Highness. And if you’re sad, I naturally couldn’t be happy,” Loraviel’s fingers toyed with a strand of Liana’s hair.

“You really worry about others too easily, Princess Liana. The demon race is about to revive, these things are unavoidable. Whether it’s Princess Mephilia or me, it’s very likely we will encounter this kind of situation in the future. That time will be dozens of times more dangerous than what she is facing now. Are you going to keep worrying forever?” Loraviel asked.

“Of course I’ll worry, but it won’t be like this. In the end, things are still a bit too idle right now. Coupled with the pressure of a crisis, it’s easy to overthink when you have nothing to do,” Liana said, frustrated, leaning against Loraviel.

It was true that people tended to let their minds wander when they were idle. She had to find something to distract herself.

“You really can’t stay idle, can you, Your Highness?” What Loraviel had to do now was chat with Liana to distract her.

“I want to be idle too. To lie in bed and do nothing, to sleep for a whole day, to open my eyes only to eat. When I {N•o•v•e•l•i•g•h•t} get tired of lying down, I’ll go out for a walk with you all, and have fun. But clearly, that’s not possible right now. I am working hard towards that goal. I want that kind of future,” Liana said.

“I know, I want that too,” Loraviel said gently. “So, we should be working even harder now, shouldn’t we?”

Loraviel, who wanted Liana to rest more than anyone, was now encouraging her to work harder.

“Don’t let unnecessary worries disrupt your steps. Even in the worst-case scenario where Princess Mephilia can’t stay at the Ibett Magic Academy, wasn’t it like this between you two before? Distance was never a problem between you.

“Not to mention, she won’t have any problems. How could my rival for your affection be so simple?”

One had to admit, Loraviel really knew how to talk. She had already made Liana relax a lot, and when she heard the last sentence, she laughed out loud.

To comfort her, Loraviel was even starting to praise her own rival.

“Mm, I know.” Liana also knew very well in her heart what the top priority was. “Perhaps, I just suddenly wanted to be pampered a little.”

“Of course you can. You are always welcome, Princess Liana. And I hope you can rely on me a little more.” Loraviel loosened her grip on Liana slightly.

She let Liana turn around, hug her, and bury her face in her ample chest. “Mm.”

Loraviel gently stroked Liana’s head. “Goodnight, Your Highness Liana.”

The next day, just as Loraviel opened her eyes, Liana also opened hers. The two of them were sleeping in a strange position. Liana was being held completely by Loraviel like a body pillow.

“Don’t worry... no, that sounds a bit strange.”

“Idiot,” Liana chided with a laugh.

Liana got up from Loraviel’s embrace. “Time to get ready to welcome Mephilia.”

“Your Highness should go wash up first. Leave the room and breakfast to me,” Loraviel said.

“Okay.”

Liana went to the bathroom, changed from her nightgown into regular clothes, and then sat at the door waiting for Mephilia.

Of course, she wasn’t just sitting there. She held a book in her hands, reading its contents while she waited.

After about four hours, Liana closed the book.

This book recorded some of the history of the Ibett Magic Academy.

It also confirmed for Liana that the reason they could conduct training against the demon race was because of their previous alliance with the elf race.

Of course, this wasn’t explicitly stated. It only said that the founding of the academy was initiated by the human side seeking help from the elf side, which was why many elf-related structures remained in the academy.

This illusion was probably one of them, established for the purpose of finding the demons’ weaknesses.

“Princess Mephilia isn’t back yet...”

“She will definitely be back.” At this point, Liana was surprisingly not so worried. “Calculating the time, it should be over by... now”

Knock, knock, knock!

A knock came from the door.

Liana shot up and opened it.

Mephilia, who was standing at the door, was stunned for a moment. “Liana?”

“Welcome home.” Liana hugged Mephilia.

“Her Highness has been waiting for you for a long time,” Loraviel said.

“You’re making a big fuss over nothing, Liana,” Mephilia comforted her. “It was just an illusion. It wasn’t dangerous.”

“No, it’s just not dangerous for now,” Liana said very seriously. “Anything involving the demon race is dangerous.”

Liana reached out and touched Mephilia’s face. She had a rare look of extreme fatigue, and Liana could also feel that her mana was excessively depleted.

“But right now, you need to go and rest properly.” Liana pulled Mephilia towards her room.

As they passed through the living room, Liana suddenly stopped again. “Do you want to eat something first? Loraviel knew you’d be hungry after such a long battle.”

“Okay.” To be honest, Mephilia was starving. “But can I take a bath first?”

“Okay.”

“Do you want to help me scrub my back? I’m so tired today,” Mephilia said.

Before Liana could even open her mouth, Mephilia interrupted her. “I’ll be back soon. You don’t have to wait for me.”

She just thought that there’s no need to provoke Loraviel to her face. Mephilia had said she would get along well with her, and to say such a thing at this moment was simply putting Liana in a difficult position.

“Mm.” Liana nodded.

At this point, Liana could very clearly feel that Mephilia was being considerate of her feelings, not intending to bring anything up on her own, nor to provoke Loraviel.

Before, Liana had still been wondering, did she really deserve these two people who loved her so deeply?

But now, she would only tell herself: I do. Why wouldn’t I? I’ve earned this through my own efforts and emotions. Why don’t I deserve it?

What she needed to do was to find a way for Mephilia to properly accept Loraviel.

Being indecisive would only break both their hearts. She had to prove it with her actions.

After about twenty minutes, Mephilia came out of the bathroom.

After bathing, she looked much more refreshed, her long golden hair draped over her back.

Although she looked much more spirited, her movements still seemed a bit tired.

She sat down next to Liana.

“I’ve already had some. You can eat as much as you want, Mephilia,” Liana said.

It was only at this moment that Liana discovered something. Mephilia... seemed to be a really big eater.

“It seems you really like Loraviel’s cooking, Mephilia.” Liana watched as the large pile of things on the table was mostly eaten by Mephilia.

“It is my failure. Please wait a moment, I will go and prepare some more food for you.” Loraviel hadn’t expected Mephilia to eat so much either.

Usually, she only ate a little bit, her appetite didn’t seem very large. Why was it that today, when she had prepared a four-person portion, and which Her Highness Liana had only eaten a little, the remaining three portions were all finished by Princess Mephilia alone?

“There’s no need...” Mephilia was also a little embarrassed now, but it couldn’t be helped. This was a side effect of her excessive mana consumption. She would become very, very hungry.

“It’s alright. If you’re hungry, you should eat more.” Liana speared a piece of apple and fed it to Mephilia.

Mephilia ate it in one bite, then opened her mouth.

“More.”

“Okay.” Liana dotingly continued to feed Mephilia bite by bite.

“Is this because you overused your mana?” Liana vaguely sensed this.

“Yes, this is a side effect of overusing my mana,” Mephilia nodded.

That explained it. Liana had been wondering why Mephilia, who usually looked full after two bites, had suddenly become such a glutton.

“Was the consumption that great?” Liana hadn’t consumed much mana that day. It was just her first time fighting the demon race head-on, and she had overexerted herself a little, which led to the side effect.

Mephilia shouldn’t make such a low-level mistake. That meant the intensity she had faced was much higher than what they had encountered.

“I was constantly consuming mana. And, to replicate a battle with the demon race, we could hardly recover mana from the air. We could only recover it through some special means,” Mephilia said.

“There was a constant stream of demons attacking the city walls. Even if we knew their weaknesses, knew how to deal with them, there was always one thing we were inferior to them in, and that is, life.”

“The demons dare to attack without regard for the cost, but we are different. Although we wouldn’t really die, we would have to leave the Ibett Magic Academy. No one wants to take that risk, so we were a bit hesitant.”

“On top of that, there might be some minor conflicts between us usually, and everyone was thinking of getting rid of their opponents at this time, so it became very troublesome.”

“So, this time, even some students with powerful mana unfortunately had to leave the academy under various circumstances,” Mephilia said.

“That’s to be expected. And, one thing is very important. In the illusion, you can actually die,” Liana said.

“I know, the headmaster said so.” Mephilia nodded, thinking Liana was too worried about her and was emphasizing it again. “It’s temporarily safe now. I won’t die.”

“No one can be sure if it’s safe. And no one can guarantee that no one died in this demon race assessment,” Liana said very seriously.

“...” Seeing Liana’s serious look, Mephilia also straightened her back.

“This is something that was left behind a long time ago. No one knows if it’s damaged. And, the number of people who have gotten lost and died in elven illusions is not small.”