“Princess Liana?” Loraviel appeared somewhat confused.

Nair frantically spoke, “Princess Liana, please don’t be too excessive. I admit that I was somewhat disrespectful to you before. I apologize. That was truly me being ignorant. I didn’t understand Countess Rose’s true face, which is why I was deceived by her and did such things.

“Besides, a big reason I acted that way was because your acting was too good! No one could tell you were acting, so I was deceived. Liana, your acting was really amazing.”

Nair was clever, shifting all blame to Countess Rose while repeatedly emphasizing that Liana’s acting was too good, which had deceived her. Not only did she portray herself as a victim, but she also kept praising Liana’s behavior.

But all of this was futile in front of Liana. Liana knew clearly that Nair was rotten to the core, and it was impossible to forgive such a bastard.

“I’m sorry, but I wasn’t acting,” Liana looked at Nair. “Besides, the kind of person I hate most is someone like you.”

Liana truly despised people like Nair. It was also Nair who had almost caused her serious trouble. Liana didn’t know how she could have compensated Loraviel if something had happened to her mother.

“I told you to slap her. Don’t you understand?” Liana looked at Loraviel. “This person was very close to Countess Rose before. Who knows if she had other dealings with Countess Rose?”

“Now is a good opportunity. Plus, considering her previous disrespect towards me, this is just teaching her a small lesson. After the lesson, hand her over to Oliphia for questioning. If something can be extracted from her, the credit could be attributed to me. We can both vent frustration and earn merit—why not?”

“Or are you planning to disobey my orders?” Liana looked at Loraviel. “Have I been too kind to you recently? Have you become a bit lax?”

Liana reached out and tilted Loraviel’s chin up.

Liana still hoped that Loraviel would study with hatred and a desire for revenge. As those were the fuel that turned her powerful in the original story. This way, she would have a clearer goal to grow quickly.

Without this, Loraviel would lose a certain drive. After all, Liana couldn’t think of any other way besides revenge that would make Loraviel study diligently.

She certainly couldn’t be working hard just to be her maid—that wasn’t realistic. Liana wasn’t narcissistic enough to think there was anything about herself that could attract others.

“Since it’s Princess Liana’s order...” Loraviel folded her hands. “I apologize, Miss Nair.”

“I’m a noble. You’re just a maid. How dare you raise a hand against me?” Nair recalled the previous time when Loraviel had held a dagger to her throat. This maid was strong.

“Miss Nair, I apologize. This is Princess Liana’s order. Also...” Loraviel placed both hands on Nair’s shoulders.

“What are you trying to do?!” Nair tried to break free from Loraviel, gripping her magic wand.

[Water Element...]

But for some reason, Loraviel seemed to accelerate in her eyes. The spell she was trying to cast seemed like rusty gears jamming. The spell was cast very, very slowly, but she didn’t notice this herself—she only felt that Loraviel was extremely fast.

[Speed, Deceleration.]

“And, this is my small, small revenge...” Loraviel’s knee directly struck Nair’s stomach, causing her to feel a tearing pain.

This bastard had actually planned to harm her mother, who had no special abilities whatsoever. If it weren’t for Princess Liana’s intervention, her mother would probably have already met with misfortune.

Even this was letting her off easily. If the circumstances weren’t so special, and if her actions didn’t reflect on Princess Liana to some extent, perhaps it wouldn’t have been her knee but something sharper.

Nair didn’t hear clearly what Loraviel had just said; she only felt intense pain in her stomach.

Clang!

The magic wand in her hand fell to the ground.

“I almost forgot about you, Miss Sharido.” Loraviel looked at Sharido with a smile.

Sharido saw Nair’s miserable state. “You don’t need to be so vengeful...”

“I don’t care what you did to me before, but you should be very clear about what you’ve done recently, right?” Loraviel whispered in Sharido’s ear.

These words absolutely could not be discovered by Princess Liana, or she would realize that Loraviel had discovered the truth.

Then, she wouldn’t be able to see Princess Liana’s cute side anymore. With Princess Liana’s character, she would probably have to leave. This was something Loraviel didn’t want to see.

So, Sharido would have to suffer a bit. Let her have a little amnesia.

“...” Liana looked at the miserable state of the two. Damn, Loraviel was ruthless.

Was she intimidating her? Liana was a bit scared, afraid that one day she might be the one lying on the ground without any response.

Fortunately, in five days, Loraviel would leave, and she wouldn’t have to worry about this anymore.

“Guards, take these two to Oliphia.” Liana waved her hand.

“Yes...” The guards were clearly also frightened by this Loraviel. A seemingly demure girl could act so clean and decisively.

“...Well done.” Liana subconsciously didn’t dare to get too close to Loraviel.

The protagonist’s abilities were too overpowered. This was just the result of two months of training by Oliphia, that muscle idiot.

Liana didn’t dare imagine how formidable Loraviel would become after being trained by the teacher that Minoga, a Judge, had found.

“Thank you for your praise, Your Highness.”

“Princess Liana.” At this moment, Naibert, who had dealt with Countess Rose and the maid’s bodies, came over.

“What is it?” Liana looked at her. She seemed to have many questions for her.

“Princess Liana, please prepare yourself. In one hour, there will be a meeting in Venus Manor’s conference room that requires your participation. This meeting is very important, concerning the future of Venus Dukedom. We hope Your Highness can attend.” Naibert looked at Liana very seriously.

The conference room...

Liana only remembered going there once with her mother when she was young. At that time, she sat on her mother’s lap, swaying back and forth, not knowing what kind of place it was.

But at that time, everyone attending the meeting seemed relaxed, without any burden. But now, it might be different.

“I understand.” Liana nodded. “What about Erinna? For such an important meeting, she should participate as well, right?”

“Of course, Lady Erinna is already on her way back.” Naibert said.

“I see. Then I’ll see you in an hour.” Liana said.

“Your Highness, would you come with me for a moment? I have something I want to tell you.” Naibert said.

She was a witness to today’s events. She was at the scene and saw everything that happened.

Liana thought for a moment, then nodded. She then turned to Loraviel, “Go wait for me in the room. I might return late, but I hope that when I return, I’ll see the bath water ready and the bed warmed. Understand?”

Outside was too chaotic now. Liana was worried that if Loraviel wandered around outside, she might encounter some danger.

“I understand, Princess Liana.” Loraviel nodded.

“Let’s go.” Liana looked at Naibert beside her, not knowing what she would say, though it was probably some sort of apology.

“Where are we going?” Liana asked.

Naturally, they couldn’t go to her room or Mephilia’s room now, but outside wasn’t convenient for discussing what came next.

“Let’s disturb Lady Ambis’ room a bit.” Naibert said.

There was no need to explain for Liana—as Ambis’ daughter, she could naturally enter [N O V E L I G H T] her room freely. And Naibert, as the servant who usually tidied Ambis’ room, also had the qualification to enter.

Liana hesitated for a moment but eventually nodded. “Alright, I hope you really do have something to discuss with me.”

They arrived at Ambis’s door, where two guards were still keeping watch outside.

After what had happened, regardless of any major event, someone had to guard this place.

Moreover, after this incident, more people knew how terrifying Ambis’ wisdom truly was.

Naibert took out a key, opened the door, and went inside.

The room remained largely unchanged from before. Even when Naibert came in to clean, she would put everything back in its original place.

“So, what...”

Before Liana could finish, Naibert knelt before her. “I deeply apologize, Princess Liana. After this incident, I’ve profoundly realized my own incompetence.

“I won’t make excuses about being deceived. As Princess Liana said earlier, regardless of the reason, what I did ultimately hurt Princess Liana. Whatever punishment you wish to give, I will accept.”

This was similar to Oliphia.

They weren’t the type to shirk responsibility for their actions. They wouldn’t make excuses like Nair.

If they made a mistake, they acknowledged it. They didn’t deny their errors but thought about how to make amends.

“Don’t tell me you’re also going to say my acting was good? Don’t get emotional. I didn’t do anything special. Mephilia wanted me to do this, so I did. Everything I did before was just my instinct,” Liana said.

“I sincerely apologize, Princess Liana. I’ve always viewed you as a villain, which is why I had many opinions about you,” Naibert said. “But if I look at Princess Liana from a different perspective, the situation becomes completely different.”

“I said, stop getting emotional and saying strange things here.” Liana frowned.

Naibert continued, “Having Loraviel return to the room was to prevent her from hearing our conversation and to ensure her safety, right, Princess Liana?

“In actuality, Loraviel never lied when she said Your Highness didn’t do anything from the beginning. But due to certain circumstances, no one was willing to believe her. Or rather, no one was willing to believe Princess Liana.

“Princess Liana, you’ve never actually harmed Loraviel, right? I can confirm this by simply asking Loraviel.”

Liana’s expression became somewhat peculiar, and Naibert continued.

“The reason Princess Liana acted this way was most likely to hide something from Loraviel. I can assure you that I will never tell Loraviel about our conversation today. Otherwise, I would have to discuss this matter with Loraviel. I think, Princess Liana, that’s something you’d least want to happen, right?” Naibert said.

Liana smiled wryly. “Why have you suddenly become so clever?”

“...” Although Naibert was scolded by Princess Liana, she had no rebuttals. What Her Highness said was indeed true.

“Because I was prejudiced. I thought Princess Liana was a bad person who would never do good deeds. So I interpreted everything you did in a negative light. But after today’s events, if I view you as a good person... well, some things still don’t make perfect sense.

“But compared to before, many things are more reasonable. Plus, Loraviel had always emphasized that Princess Liana never did anything to her, so I became suspicious.”

“...Ah.” Liana sighed.

Actually, speaking out wasn’t a big deal. After all, once Loraviel left, her task would be considered complete. And what she needed to do afterward was to try not to make people dislike her and make amends to Loraviel.

Let her return after completing her studies, and then let Mephilia manage her tightly! This way, it wouldn’t have much to do with her.

“You’re not allowed to tell Loraviel, and you’re not allowed to tell Erinna. Actually, don’t tell anyone.” Liana said.

“Understood.”

Liana briefly explained to Naibert what had happened recently.

Naibert nodded, her expression changing from confusion to shock, and finally to sympathy.

“Do you understand now? If you do, then pretend today’s conversation never happened.” Liana waved her hand. “Besides, Erinna is about to return. It would be troublesome if she noticed.”

Naibert thought about Lady Erinna’s previous behavior. Had she really not noticed?

Lady Erinna had been acting a bit strange and had said odd things. Perhaps she had already suspected something.

“Princess Liana, why don’t you want Lady Erinna to know?” Naibert asked.

This question was something Liana hadn’t really considered. She had just been doing this and maintained it.

“I don’t want Erinna to be distracted while competing for the position of Venus Duchess. You should know very well that Erinna used to like sticking close to me,” Liana said.

“I see... But rest assured, Princess Liana. Lady Erinna is very rational and won’t change her decisions because of this,” Naibert said.

“It’s better to have one less issue than one more. When the results comes out, everything will be over” Liana said.

“I understand.” Naibert nodded. “Princess Liana successfully exposed Countess Rose’s plot. This indeed gives you a significant advantage in the competition. But we won’t easily yield. Lady Erinna is also considering the future of Venus Manor. We won’t give up!”

“...” Naibert seemed to consider her a competitor?

But she had never even considered becoming the Venus Duchess. After becoming a duchess, many things she wanted to do would become impossible due to her status. It would become very troublesome.

And what Naibert said was correct.  Her judgment was good. IIfshe could continue to support Erinna, that would be a great help.

“I understand.” Liana waved her hand. “It’s about time. I’ll go to the conference room to wait for you all.”

Regarding the matter of heirs, Liana would make it clear when they were in the conference room later.

“Yes.” Naibert nodded. She now needed to go outside to welcome the mistress she would serve.

“Conference room... conference room.” Liana walked outside. Few people came to this place. After all, it was forbidden to most people. Without sufficient status, one had no right to come here.

“Isn’t this Princess Liana? I heard Princess Liana played a crucial role in this incident. That’s really impressive. You haven’t dishonored the name of Duke Venus.” A bald old man approached.

“You... who are you again?” Liana didn’t remember knowing such an old man, but from his attire, she could guess his identity somewhat—a marquis of Venus Dukedom, second only to her father in status. It seemed he was also interested in the position of Venus Dukedom.

“It seems Princess Liana’s memory isn’t very good.”

Liana disliked this person and chose to ignore him, walking towards the conference room. “Unimportant people don’t need to be remembered. My eyes and brain only need to remember the people I care about.”

The marquis’s mouth twitched. What an arrogant person.

Soon, many people successively entered the conference room. Most of them were marquises and such, with even counts becoming quite rare.

There were too many people interested in the position of Venus Dukedom, and now was the best opportunity. They all wanted to seize this chance.

Liana watched the people entering through the door, waiting for a long time before seeing Erinna’s figure.

She wore the uniform of Ibett Magic Academy, looking pure and cute, but her impressive chest spoke of her extraordinary nature.

She looked around, seemingly also searching for something, and finally fixed her gaze on Liana.