“Princess Liana, don’t worry, she’ll be fine,” Minoga reassured her.

“I hope so.” The dagger not piercing Loraviel’s heart was already the best outcome.

Liana remained silent for a long time. She didn’t speak, only watched Loraviel.

About half an hour passed. Liana hadn’t said a word the entire time, and Minoga stood quietly by her side.

Liana thought about many things and eventually reached a conclusion.

“You were in on it, weren’t you?” Liana looked at Minoga.

For the first time, Minoga saw anger in Liana’s green eyes.

Neither before nor during these three months had Minoga ever seen Liana angry. No, that’s not right—she had never seen Liana truly angry.

Although Liana’s tone was very calm now, from her eyes alone, one could tell she was merely suppressing her inner rage.

Minoga couldn’t possibly not be involved. She hadn’t left Venus Territory as the assassin had claimed.

She had been staying in Venus Dukedom the whole time, because Mephilia would never take Minoga away without informing Liana, especially not in such a dangerous situation—that was impossible.

And an Executor, even a high-level one, couldn’t possibly enter her room without Minoga noticing.

Not to mention, her room was protected by the barrier her mother had set up. It was impossible for such a person to exist.

This proved one thing: that assassin was most likely let in by Minoga, or brought in by Minoga. Even if not, Minoga was definitely aware of what was happening.

Of course, if someone were to say that an Executor could break through the barrier her mother had set up to protect her without a Judge noticing, then Liana truly wouldn’t have anything to say.

Liana looked at Minoga. She needed to understand one thing: why did Minoga do this?

“Princess Liana is truly impressive. You’ve been silent all this time to calm yourself down and think, haven’t you?” Minoga said.

“Answer my question, Minoga.”

“Yes, I was aware of it,” Minoga nodded.

“Why did you do this?” Liana had genuinely felt her life in danger; that person really wanted to kill her.

“This was a test from Loraviel’s teacher, testing whether she was qualified to become an assassin,” Minoga said.

“A test? What kind of test is this? If I hadn’t intervened, that dagger would have pierced Loraviel’s heart directly. You call this a test? Having an Executor-level assassin bully a young girl who has only recently been exposed to magic?” Liana’s anger was now written on her face.

“If we hadn’t both been concealing some abilities, we would have died under that person’s dagger long ago. I know you wanted to test Loraviel’s abilities, but couldn’t you choose a more suitable opponent? Did you have to use someone with such a vast disparity to test her?” Liana now felt completely uneasy about letting Loraviel go with such a person.

Minoga had a headache. She couldn’t reveal that person’s identity, and she had already warned her many times not to use such extreme methods, as it would cause Princess Liana’s aversion.

“Do you have some difficulty? Is the other person’s identity special?” Liana also noticed Minoga’s unusual behavior.

“I apologize, Princess Liana. Regarding the other person’s identity, I cannot disclose it to you at the moment, but I can assure you that they absolutely won’t harm Princess Liana or Loraviel.

“Princess Liana, you may not trust that person, but you should trust me, right?” Minoga directly used herself as a guarantee.

“Tsk.” Liana was clearly very unhappy today, but since Minoga had spoken this way, she naturally had to give her some face. Besides, Minoga had no reason to harm her or Loraviel.

“So? Why do this? Give me a reason. I know she’s very skilled, but isn’t testing her with an assassin a bit unreasonable? It’s no different from an adult bullying a newborn child,” Liana asked.

Minoga hesitated for a moment, then decided to sell out that person. Otherwise, she would definitely be disliked by Princess Liana.

“How should I put this, Princess Liana... You should be well aware that Loraviel has exceptional /N_o_v_e_l_i_g_h_t/ talent as an assassin. In the entire Lisat Kingdom, Venus Duchy is most proficient in matters concerning assassins. And Loraviel’s teacher, like her, has the same constitution—the same immunity to poisons,” Minoga said.

“But that’s not the answer I want. What does this have to do with you bringing in an Executor?”

“This Executor isn’t human, but rather her magic—shadow magic,” Minoga explained. “In other words, everything that just happened was within her plan.”

“Huh?” Liana became even angrier. “What do you mean by ‘within her plan’? Are you saying she wanted to kill Loraviel?”

“...” Liana would definitely need to settle accounts with that person when she returned. “She just wanted to test Loraviel’s level of loyalty.”

“What do you mean?” Liana frowned.

“What this constitution and talent represent, Princess Liana should understand clearly. She certainly wouldn’t easily entrust these things to just anyone; it must be someone she trusts,” Minoga said.

“Besides, throughout the process, didn’t she tell Loraviel what an assassin should and shouldn’t do? If it were a real assassin, they wouldn’t waste so much time talking to you; they would take your lives directly. No matter how great the gap between you, they wouldn’t chat with you.”

Liana had indeed sensed something, but since this was her first encounter with an assassin, and since each assassin might have different personalities and habits, she hadn’t been too suspicious.

“Then if I hadn’t intervened, would Loraviel have really died at her hands?” Liana asked. At that moment, it didn’t seem like she was going to hold back.

“...For this, if Princess Liana has the chance to meet her in the future, you can ask her directly,” Minoga had no idea what that person was thinking. “But she probably would have stopped. After all, people with this constitution have only appeared twice—her and Loraviel.”

“Besides, she was very satisfied with Loraviel’s previous answer, so she definitely wouldn’t endanger Loraviel’s life. Perhaps she just wanted to see if you had any other trump cards.”

Minoga tried her best to speak well of her.

But Liana’s expression still showed no improvement.

Liana hated the feeling of having no trump cards in her hand. It made her feel very insecure.

“She’s very satisfied with Loraviel’s perfect answer. In the future, she will do her best to pass on all her abilities to her,” Minoga said.

“Besides, isn’t Loraviel’s answer a good thing for Princess Liana?” Minoga asked.

“For me?”

“Loraviel is willing to sacrifice even her own life to protect Princess Liana’s safety,” Minoga said.

“You should have heard our earlier conversation. If I really died, she wouldn’t fare well either.”

“That’s true, but what if Loraviel knew certain things?” Minoga asked.

“...” Liana fell silent for a moment, carefully recalling these three months.

Loraviel had been by her side almost the entire time, with no chance to be alone. Although Liana hadn’t done anything inappropriate to her during these three months, based on just this, it seemed unlikely that Loraviel would be willing to sacrifice her life for her.

Was it because her mother had received treatment from the royal knights?

But that matter would at most only increase Mephilia’s goodwill; it had nothing to do with her.

And this was something she had only mentioned when she was alone with Mephilia. Loraviel couldn’t possibly know about it.

So, the only possibility was that she did this to repay Mephilia’s kindness?

However, her plan had already been leaked by someone, though it wouldn’t have made much difference anyway.

“Impossible,” Liana denied.

But she wasn’t entirely confident. As a heroine, it wasn’t impossible for Loraviel to have such insight.

Loraviel did have some personal space, like yesterday morning when she went to Risade Square with Oliphia.

One should always prepare for the worst. If Loraviel really knew about this...

Then Liana wouldn’t be polite.

Liana would use her own hands to...

Tightly hug Loraviel’s legs!

To beg for her forgiveness! And then persuade her to help Mephilia!

This wasn’t something to be embarrassed about. The other person was a heroine!

However, things hadn’t reached that stage yet. Whether Loraviel knew or not could only be determined after she woke up.

“Have you told Mephilia about this?” Liana asked.

“Princess Liana, please keep this from Princess Mephilia,” Minoga said.

“I understand.” Liana sighed. She hadn’t planned to tell Mephilia about this either.

After all, this was a time when her life had been threatened. Given Mephilia’s personality, she would definitely rush over out of concern.

She shouldn’t do anything to disrupt Mephilia’s current situation. Taking it slow was the best approach.

Besides, it wasn’t that big of an issue. At least, the outcome wasn’t too problematic. Plus, during this time, Liana wanted to spend some time caring for Loraviel.

No matter what, Loraviel was injured because of her, and she had to take responsibility.

“What did that person tell you? How potent is this poison? How long did it take her to recover?” Liana asked.

If Loraviel hadn’t regained consciousness by that time, Liana would do whatever it took to meet that person. Even if she had to ask for His Majesty the King’s help, she would meet that bastard!

“I think it was five days? About the time she leaves. This also saves Princess Liana the trouble of pretending these few days, doesn’t it? After all, Princess Liana’s reputation has started to improve. If it were noticed, it wouldn’t be good,” Minoga said.

“Improved?” Liana reclined in her chair. “I doubt it.”

Fixed impressions are hard to change, but for Liana, it didn’t matter anymore.

What Minoga said was true. Today, Loraviel had wanted to ask her some questions. Originally, Liana was considering how to muddle through tomorrow, but this had actually helped her a bit.

“Come to think of it... the room is really a mess,” Liana looked around.

On the walls, the table, the bed, the floor—there were traces of daggers and corrosion from poison everywhere.

The entire room was in disarray, and she couldn’t ask others to clean it. If this matter got out now, the already chaotic Venus Manor would become even more chaotic, and Mephilia would definitely find out.

“Looks like I’ll have to clean it myself,” Liana sighed. So many things had happened during this period.

She had thought she could relax a bit, but then this happened.

“Leave it to me, Princess Liana. I am, after all, half a maid to Princess Mephilia. I’m quite good at this sort of thing,” Minoga said.

“Then I’ll trouble you.” Originally, Liana had said she didn’t feel physical fatigue, but after this commotion, not only had her mental exhaustion increased, but she also felt physically tired.

But now wasn’t the time to rest. Liana stood up. “Minoga, please go outside. Oh, and please stop monitoring this room. After today’s incident, I don’t feel like staying in this room anymore.”

“Rest assured, Princess Liana, this won’t happen again,” Minoga said.

“I was only able to enter Princess Liana’s room without triggering the barrier because of what Lady Ambis left behind. The same goes for monitoring. Princess Liana’s room is absolutely safe. Please trust this.”

Liana wanted to believe these words, but Minoga’s actions made it hard for her to trust. Forget about monitoring—the way she mysteriously appeared in her room every day, like a public bus that anyone could board, made it difficult for Liana not to suspect.

After Minoga left, Liana went to bed. Loraviel’s brows were furrowed, and she appeared to be in great pain.

The previous poison only required one day to recover from, but this time, it would take a full five days. This represented the severity of the poison.

Loraviel could not immunize against the pain of the poison; she had to experience the pain firsthand to use the deadly poison. It was hard to imagine what kind of suffering five days would bring.

“Heave-ho!” Liana lifted Loraviel.

Loraviel wasn’t heavy, but the previous Liana, who hadn’t exercised at all, could never have lifted her.

Liana temporarily placed Loraviel on the floor, then removed the bedding stained with blood and damaged by the poisoned dagger, replacing it with a completely new set.

She took out a new set of pajamas from Loraviel’s wardrobe.

Liana approached Loraviel and reached out to undo the buttons on her chest.

One.

Two.

As the buttons were undone, Loraviel’s full breasts appeared before Liana.

So big...

Liana couldn’t help but look down at her own slightly protruding small chest, feeling somewhat inferior.

Surely, she would still grow!

Liana removed the blood-stained nightgown from Loraviel. Her impressive breasts seemed to sway challengingly in front of Liana.

The pink atop those hills was particularly vibrant.

Liana felt her face getting hot. Strangely, she hadn’t felt this embarrassment when Loraviel was awake.

Why did she feel shy when changing Loraviel’s pajamas while she was asleep?

No, no!

Liana shook her head, casting away these jumbled thoughts.

Her gaze fell on the wound on Loraviel’s shoulder. Although Minoga had previously provided emergency treatment, the blood around the wound hadn’t been wiped away.

“This person really intended to kill Loraviel!” Liana couldn’t help but curse again when she saw this. “What kind of test is this?!”

Liana gently wiped around the wound with a wet wipe.

Whether due to feeling pain or not, Loraviel’s half-open mouth emitted a faint gasping sound.

“It’ll be over soon. It doesn’t hurt. It’ll be fine soon.” Though Liana knew Loraviel couldn’t hear her words, she still spoke them, more like reassuring herself.

After cleaning the wound, Liana applied some medicine to it. It would be a shame for such a pretty girl to have scars.

However, given the magic in this world, it was unlikely that scars would remain unless she specifically wanted to keep them. Otherwise, they could easily be removed.

Afterward, Liana did some simple bandaging and then dressed Loraviel.

When putting on the clothes, there were inevitably some collisions, making Liana extremely embarrassed.

So soft, so big.

After placing Loraviel on her bed...

“Minoga,” Liana called out.

“What is it, Princess Liana?” Minoga’s figure appeared in the room once more.

“I’ll leave the rest to you.” Liana was truly exhausted now.

“If anyone looks for me tomorrow, tell them I’m not feeling well and need to rest in my room,” Liana said.

“I understand,” Minoga nodded.

After saying these words, Liana sat on the sofa and fell asleep.

“Truly a beautiful and kind-hearted lady,” Minoga took a blanket and covered Loraviel. “You’ll catch a cold like this, Princess Liana.”

“I wonder how Loraviel would feel if she saw everything that just happened? What a pity.” Minoga fastened her apron and began cleaning the room.

The next day, when Liana opened her eyes, the sun was already shining through the window onto her fair ankles, but the sunlight no longer felt warm.

Liana looked at the blanket covering her, instinctively thinking Loraviel had done it.

“Loraviel,” Liana called out Loraviel’s name.

“Princess Liana, are you treating yesterday’s events as a dream?” Minoga asked.

This made Liana a bit more awake. She looked around and found that all traces of yesterday’s battle had been cleaned up. It was as if nothing had happened.

“How about it, Princess Liana? Is my technique good?” Minoga asked.

“Mmm...” Liana stood up from the sofa. Her bare feet touched the cold floor, feeling a bit chilly.

Minoga raised her hand, and a pair of slippers appeared in front of Liana.

“Thank you.” Liana put on the shoes but didn’t go to wash up. Instead, she went to Loraviel and reached out to touch her hand.

So hot...

Loraviel’s body had become very hot, and her expression was more pained than it had been at dawn.

“Is she really alright?” Liana asked.

“Don’t worry, Princess Liana. I can now confirm that Loraviel indeed has the same constitution as that person,” Minoga said.

“Why do you suddenly say that?” Liana was puzzled.

“Because if she didn’t have this constitution, given the deadly poison she used, Loraviel would now be a puddle of blood,” Minoga said.

“Hey!” Liana immediately stood up. “Is there something wrong with that person’s brain?”

Liana couldn’t contain herself anymore and started cursing loudly.

At the very least, shouldn’t there be a gradual progression? What did she mean by using this level of poison right from the start?

“She must have her considerations. Princess Liana, it’s better not to be too angry. Besides, given the other person’s special identity, Princess Liana, you’d better not...”

“So what if her identity is special? I’ll curse her for doing this! It doesn’t matter who comes; even if it’s Lisat... mmph!” Just as Liana began to speak, Minoga covered her mouth.

“Alright, Princess Liana. I know you’re very angry, but please calm down a bit,” Minoga said.

“...Sorry.” Liana also realized that she had almost said something outrageous.

“Go wash up and then have some breakfast? Oh, no, it’s lunchtime now,” Minoga said.

Liana looked at the time—it was already two in the afternoon. Really? She had slept for so long?

Time passed, and today was the second day of Loraviel’s unconsciousness, the third-to-last day before Loraviel’s departure.

“Does the lunch suit Princess Liana’s taste?” Minoga asked.

“Yes, it’s good.” Liana nodded, though she didn’t eat much. Her gaze was fixed on Loraviel, her eyes full of concern. Loraviel’s condition had worsened compared to before, showing no signs of improvement.

“Why don’t you ask that person to come and see Loraviel, Minoga? I know her identity is special. I can temporarily hide outside,” Liana said.

“Princess Liana truly cares for Loraviel,” Minoga said. “If Princess Mephilia knew, she might be jealous.”

“What’s there to be jealous about?” Liana pouted. “Loraviel is like this because of me.”

“Don’t worry. I’ve already asked her. This is a normal sign. She’ll start improving tomorrow,” Minoga said.

“I hope so.” Liana held Loraviel’s hand, which was very hot. “Get better soon, Loraviel.”

“By the way, Princess Liana, Miss Erinna seems to have something to discuss with you.”

“Tell her I’ve helped her enough. Don’t bother me during this time. Besides, those nobles probably have opinions about me too. I don’t want to see them right now,” Liana said.

“I understand,” Minoga nodded.

The third day of Loraviel’s unconsciousness, the second-to-last day before her departure.

Soon, Loraviel would leave. Though she looked much better, and her temperature had decreased significantly, she still showed no signs of waking up.

Minoga wasn’t in the room because Liana was changing Loraviel’s clothes.

These past few days, Liana had been doing this task. After all, they couldn’t let others see Loraviel’s body.

Though it might not be good for Liana to see it either, since she had seen it before, seeing it a few more times didn’t matter.

Liana gently changed Loraviel’s bandages.

“I’m sorry for letting you have such a wound. But don’t worry, there are many skilled priestesses in the Lisat Royal Capital. These kinds of scars will easily disappear. Beautiful girls shouldn’t have such scars.

“Minoga said you should wake up tomorrow, but if you don’t wake up tomorrow, I’ll go settle accounts with that person.

“But I hate trouble, and you’re my maid, right? As a maid, you shouldn’t cause trouble for your master. So, wake up soon. I hate troublesome things.”

Only when no one was around did Liana speak her heart to Loraviel. Firstly, due to her persona, and secondly, because these words were truly embarrassing. If someone were watching, she could never say such mushy things.

Liana put the bandages and clothes in a basket.

“Come to think of it, Mephilia is coming today...” Liana had a headache. “If she sees you injured, it’ll be troublesome if she starts asking questions.”

“Forget it. When the time comes, I’ll just suddenly want to sleep in her room. She’ll definitely be happy. Besides, given our current relationship, sleeping together is a very normal thing...” As Liana said these words, her face reddened.

As Liana left the room, Loraviel’s finger moved slightly. She had actually woken up today, but had been keeping her eyes closed, pretending to be unconscious, just to hear if Princess Liana would say anything strange.

She was happy that Princess Liana was concerned about her, even if it was out of guilt. For Loraviel, that was enough.

Moreover, Loraviel had just heard some incredible news.