Since Liana had put it that way, Mephilia didn’t say anything more. Liana had considered everything thoroughly; whatever Mephilia could think of, Liana had surely already thought about.

Her relationship with Erinna at the academy was fairly good. After all, the Lisat Royal Capital and Venus Dukedom had always been closely connected—even before Lisat heirs became a monarch, the two were very good friends.

Even if Venus Territory had nothing special about it, to maintain the friendly relationship between the two families, Mephilia naturally had to stay close to the Venus Family.

And as Erinna outclassed the other two heirs, it was normal for Mephilia to have some interaction with her.

Although when they were young, Erinna always seemed to dislike her, as they grew up, that resistance disappeared. Instead, she seemed to actively approach Mephilia. She must have understood what she should be doing now, so she was no longer so resistant.

“Erinna should know about this very soon,” Mephilia said.

“Yes.” Liana felt Erinna would return to Venus Manor by tomorrow at the latest. “At that time, I’d trouble you to help Erinna a bit, Mephilia.”

“I understand.” Helping Erinna was equivalent to helping herself.

Although Mephilia had some supporters in various territories, she hadn’t received the public support of any lords. Or rather, the Venus Duke who supported Liana had disappeared.

As for the acting lord, Countess Rose, she had initially planned to choose between Mephilia and Second Prince Oester, but Mephilia always felt Countess Rose had no good intentions, so she remained vigilant. As a result, Countess Rose chose another path.

And after Liana became like this, Mephilia felt even more strongly that Countess Rose must have played a significant role, so she kept her distance.

The Darriss Territory had always been close to Crown Prince Hodwen, though they never showed it openly. But it was still better than Mephilia’s situation. Moreover, what Mephilia had done recently had greatly threatened the Darriss Territory.

The Lord of Darriss had directly threatened Mephilia, which made the relationship between them even more precarious.

Plus, with Crown Prince Hodwen’s extremist view of magic supremacy, the two of them were very likely to be together.

The Laurent Territory, for some reason, had become very close to Second Prince Oester. They probably had some sort of deal. It was unclear how Laurent Territory would react after today’s events—would they continue to support him or withdraw?

The Angus Territory was a trading territory. They never cared who became king; they only cared about making more money.

The Minagado Territory was also a neutral territory, but now they probably disliked Crown Prince Hodwen, especially since aligning with the territory that hated them the most would be like offering warmth only to be met with coldness.

As for Second Prince Oester, after today’s events, they would likely keep a certain distance from him as well. In other words, Minagado Territory was now most likely to choose Mephilia.

If Mephilia chose to help Erinna at this time, it would also add some leverage to her own candidacy later.

“I probably can’t help Erinna much for now,” Liana shrugged. Her abilities were limited. It could be said that almost all her /N_o_v_e_l_i_g_h_t/ power had been taken by Countess Rose. At most, she could only use her status to pressure others.

And after Countess Rose’s death, even that wouldn’t be as effective. Those eyeing the position of Venus Dukedom would certainly try everything to erode the power that originally belonged to Liana and Countess Rose, transferring it to themselves.

Those who had never accepted Erinna would probably start to become restless during this period. This time would be the greatest test for Erinna.

“Mephilia, when are you coming to Venus Manor?” Liana asked. “After something like this happens, won’t the Lisat Royal Capital intervene?”

“How should I put it? His Majesty the King doesn’t allow us to participate in power struggles between nobles. This is a test for the territory, and also a test for the heirs—cruel, but realistic.

“However, regarding Countess Rose’s matter, the Lisat Royal Capital will still manage it. After all, the person behind her hasn’t been caught yet, right?

“And I’ll definitely visit Venus Manor soon, because I must ensure your safety. Plus, Loraviel is about to leave, so I need to make an appearance,” Mephilia said.

“...” Liana fell silent.

“What’s wrong?” Mephilia was puzzled. Why did Liana seem troubled?

“Nothing.”

This was their first meeting since parting at the Lisat Royal Capital. Liana... was a bit shy.

“After this period passes, I should be able to relax a bit more and visit you more often,” Mephilia said. “Besides, I’ll try to get Erinna to help you too.”

“Moreover, she originally liked to stick to you. Once she knows you were framed, she’ll definitely help you more.”

For some reason, Liana suddenly recalled what Erinna had told her not long ago and shuddered. Impossible! Absolutely impossible!

After what she had said before, if she were to ask Erinna for help, who knows how Erinna would make things difficult for her.

“I don’t think I need Erinna’s help for now.” From any perspective, Liana wouldn’t ask Erinna for help at this time.

She should be relatively safe, after all, with Minoga by her side. Surely Minoga wouldn’t be up to something strange again.

“Yes.” Mephilia nodded. With Minoga around, Liana was temporarily safe. But Mephilia had another very important question to ask Liana.

“Liana, why did you once again throw all the credit for this onto me? I didn’t contribute anything,” Mephilia asked. “Whether it was the spellcrafting last time, or revealing Countess Rose’s plot this time, you’ve given all the credit to me.

“I’ve already taken your credit once. Why give it to me again? It’s completely unnecessary, isn’t it? Either of these achievements, if attributed to you, would provide you with some protection. These are contributions you’ve made to the Lisat Kingdom.

“First, from the beginning, and even in the future, I have no interest in the position of Venus Duchess. So no matter how much I accomplish, it doesn’t have much use for me. Instead, it would only plunge me into unnecessary trouble.

“Mephilia, you understand clearly that in the competition for power, there’s only support or opposition. At this moment, if you have the achievement of spellcrafting, and also have someone by your side who could endure acting for so many years, suffering years of abuse without showing any reaction, and finally caught Countess Rose, who had been harming Venus Territory for a long time, revealing her ugly face.

And even being able to expose the true culprit behind Countess Rose—I’m not boasting, but if there really was such a person, I think other people would be wary of her, especially when this person stands with you.

If someone wants to compete for the throne, such a person must be dealt with. And compared to you, Mephilia, I’m easier to handle. So, I’m passing this trouble to you now,” Liana smiled playfully.

But Mephilia understood clearly that Liana was doing this entirely to give her a greater advantage in the succession competition.

“Thank you.” At this point, these were the only words Mephilia could say.

After all, more words were less substantial than actions. Mephilia would use her actions to repay Liana’s help over all these years.

After chatting casually for a while, they ended the conversation. Outside, things had already started to become chaotic.

Because it was winter, it was already completely dark outside.

Despite the darkness, Venus Manor was now dozens of times more lively than before.

It even exceeded the time when they held a banquet at Venus Manor or the period of frantic magic research.

Today’s events were enough to completely change the current situation in Venus Territory. The outside was noisy and chaotic, completely unlike the mansion of a great lord.

Liana walked out of Mephilia’s room and could see the very chaotic corridor. Here were many nobles who had originally supported Countess Rose, and their expressions were extremely unpleasant.

When they saw Liana emerge, they hurriedly came to her side. “Princess Liana, are you alright?”

“We never expected that Countess Rose had been deceiving us all along, secretly framing Princess Liana.”

“We have truly been harmed by Countess Rose... no, that beast Rose!”

“Princess Liana, you know that I’ve always been your supporter. It’s just that Rose used methods I couldn’t resist, which is why things became like this.”

These nobles’ faces were completely different from before. Liana looked at the forced smiles on their faces and felt nauseated. Moreover, Liana knew clearly that these faces would probably revert to their previous state in just a few days.

Right now, they were just momentarily in panic. Soon, they would realize that Venus Dukedom now lacked a lord, and that this was their best opportunity.

“Get lost.”

“Yes, yes, yes, we’ll get lost right away.”

Not to mention that the current situation was already very disadvantageous for them—even without these factors, Minoga alone by Liana’s side was someone these people couldn’t resist. They very conscientiously made way for her.

“News spread quickly. I fear by tomorrow, everyone in the Lisat Kingdom will know about this,” Liana walked along the passageway.

“Well, it’s not like the past when you had to mail letters, which took a long time. Now, with the help of some magical tools, people can quickly know what happened here,” Minoga said.

That recording would likely be broadcast throughout the Lisat Kingdom. Everyone would know about Liana’s experiences over these years, what Countess Rose had done, and that there was someone directing Countess Rose from behind.

The Lisat Kingdom might also start to become turbulent.

But they had also seen the new hope of the Lisat Kingdom.

Princess Mephilia had not only discovered spellcrafting,  but also used Liana to uncover Countess Rose’s plot and that of the mysterious figure behind her.

“Princess Liana...” A familiar face appeared before Liana—it was Oliphia.

Strangely, Loraviel wasn’t by Oliphia’s side.

Oliphia’s gaze toward Liana had also undergone a complete change.

Had Princess Liana been helping Princess Mephilia during this time?

Moreover, Princess Liana was a victim. Then, her own disrespectful behavior toward Princess Liana during this period...

“Go ahead and apologize to me. The great Liana Venus will be magnanimous and forgive your previous disrespectful behavior,” Liana said loudly.

“...” Oliphia was somewhat speechless. Why did Princess Liana always do these strange things?

But regardless, what she had done before was disrespectful to Princess Liana—that was a fact. Due to some misunderstandings, she had harbored great malice toward Liana and hadn’t been able to see the truth. This was her dereliction of duty.

“I apologize, Princess Liana. I deeply regret my misunderstandings toward you during this period,” Oliphia knelt on one knee in front of so many people, her right hand covering her chest, bowing her head in apology.

This gesture, for a royal knight, was already the highest form of apology, especially in front of so many people.

This made Liana a bit embarrassed. “Hmph, I don’t need your apology. I did this only for myself.”

Oliphia also wanted to know some things—when did this start, and what kind of person was Princess Liana originally?

At this moment, Liana heard a concerned voice, a very familiar one.

“Princess Liana! Are you alright?” Loraviel came running over.

On her way back, she had seen the chaotic Venus Manor, though she didn’t know what had happened until she heard about the recent events from others.

She had been searching for Liana throughout Venus Manor, and when she couldn’t find her for a long time, she and Oliphia split up to search. Seeing that Liana wasn’t injured, she breathed a sigh of relief.

“Fool!” Liana reached out and knocked Loraviel on the head.

This reassured Loraviel even more—it seemed Princess Liana was truly fine and still lovely.

“LIANA!!!” A voice roared as someone rushed over. “What have you done!”

Cain held a magic wand in his hand. “Gravity Magic! Thousand-Pound Weight!”

But in the next second, the magic wand in his hand snapped in two.

They only saw Oliphia’s hand on her sword hilt, making a sheathing motion. Her speed was so fast that only a few people present saw Oliphia draw her sword. “Cain, as Countess Rose’s son, you are also under heavy suspicion. Please cooperate.”

Liana hadn’t expected Cain to return so quickly. Did this mean Erinna was also here?

Well, Liana looked around but didn’t see Erinna. It seemed Cain probably hadn’t returned from Ibett Magic Academy but had originally been somewhere near Venus Manor, which was why he came back so quickly.

“I apologize, Princess Liana. I have some matters to handle. Later, I will formally apologize to you again.” Since Oliphia was the only royal knight currently at Venus Manor, the Lisat Royal Capital, although it wouldn’t interfere in the internal power struggle...

But clearly, there was a bigger conspiracy behind Countess Rose. So, some people related to Countess Rose must be controlled for now.

“Liana! You bastard! What did you do?!” Cain couldn’t believe that his mother had died like this in Venus Manor. Not long ago, Countess Rose had been the mistress of Venus Manor!

Liana waved her hand—Oliphia could do whatever she wanted. After all, by her side now... there was only Loraviel.

Minoga had disappeared again.

“Princess Liana...” Loraviel wanted to say something but was interrupted by Liana.

“Follow me.”

Liana saw two familiar figures. It seemed they had also come to Venus Manor because of Countess Rose’s death.

After all, it had been more than two hours since Countess Rose’s death, and some nearby nobles had successively rushed here.

Liana also decided to give Loraviel a small gift before she left.

“Nair, and... Sharido.” Liana called out to the two people.

“Liana?” Nair’s expression was unpleasant. The last time she met Liana, the two had parted on very bad terms.

Afterward, when she wanted to retaliate against Liana by targeting Loraviel’s family, she was stopped by the royal knights, which made Nair even more upset. But now, Liana’s status has been further elevated.

Moreover, Liana had been framed by Countess Rose, and she had lost Countess Rose as a backer. No, now she had to distance herself from Countess Rose—she had no relationship with Countess Rose.

The current Liana was no longer someone she could provoke, though she never should have been.

“What is it, Princess Liana?” Nair tried her best to display a friendly expression.

But Liana was the same as before—without saying much, she directly slapped Nair across the face.

Due to her recent training, Liana’s slap was especially loud, causing a trace of blood to appear at the corner of Nair’s mouth.

Nair’s head buzzed, completely dazed by Liana’s slap. Liana herself was also a bit stunned—it seemed her training hadn’t been in vain.

However, this time’s protagonist was naturally not Liana. Liana looked at Loraviel. “Go, give her two slaps.”

Loraviel was stunned for a moment. She naturally knew about this matter. These two people had previously attempted to harm her mother. Princess Liana—did she want her to take revenge herself?