Mephilia laid on the soft large bed, her chest rising and falling continuously, her heart beating rapidly.

She looked at Liana leaning against her chest, her face flushed and breathing heavily.

Liana was truly feeling vexed now. Were all female protagonists built with stamina like bulls, never running out of energy?

Liana didn’t dare imagine that if she hadn’t received training from Oliphia earlier, she probably wouldn’t have lasted long before fainting.

Liana’s breath fell on Mephilia’s chest, creating a ticklish sensation.

“Mephilia...” Liana raised her head, looking at Mephilia’s face—beautiful and gentle, but completely different from moments ago! “Why did you suddenly become like a different person?”

“Maybe it’s because you’re too adorable. I couldn’t help myself and wanted to tease you thoroughly,” Mephilia said, now having calmed down, possibly having entered the sage mode.

“You villain!” Liana opened her mouth and bit the cherry near her lips in revenge.

“...Liana, you’re not satisfied yet, are you?” Mephilia’s mouth curved into an arc.

“I’m sorry, I can’t go on...” Though embarrassing to admit, it couldn’t be helped. Her stamina simply couldn’t compare to Mephilia’s. “Besides, didn’t you say I needed to see Loraviel later? Please spare me, Mephilia.”

Mephilia merely kissed Liana’s forehead without continuing further.

“Liana, what do you think of Loraviel?” Mephilia asked at this moment.

“A very hardworking maid, very good, can’t really say she has any flaws.” Liana thought for a moment. “After some training, she might become an excellent royal knight, but I think she’s more likely to become your maid, Mephilia, since you’ve shown her kindness. With her current abilities, she’d probably choose to be your maid.”

“My maid?” Mephilia stared at the ceiling, then turned over, pinning Liana beneath her.

“Didn’t you say... you’d spare me?” Liana’s body still felt somewhat weak.

“Look into my eyes,” Mephilia said.

“What is it?” Liana looked into Mephilia’s eyes.

Eyes as dazzling as blue sapphires, so serene and gentle.

“What do you think of Loraviel?”

“Didn’t I just say?” Liana was confused.

“You should know what I mean. Setting everything aside, how do you view Loraviel?” Mephilia asked.

“...Setting everything aside?”

“Yes, apart from your guilt toward Loraviel, after spending this time together, how do you view her?” Mephilia asked.

“Apart from my guilt toward Loraviel?” Liana fell into thought.

She had considered this question before. What kind of relationship would she and Loraviel have if none of this had happened?

At that time, she thought they might become good friends?

After all, during their time together, Liana had observed Loraviel’s behavior—gentle, sensible, and although threatened by her, genuinely good to her, without any flaws to pick at.

At the critical moment between life and death, if Loraviel had just killed her, she could have safely left, freed from her constraints. At such times, even some old servants might abandon their masters to save themselves, let alone Loraviel who had been threatened by her. Yet Loraviel had done this after only three months together.

That was the first time Liana felt her life threatened, the first time she felt afraid. And at that moment, Loraviel had said: Protecting one’s master is a servant’s duty.

Despite having no real connection to her, she chose to say those words to challenge her opponent, to protect her.

At that moment, Liana did feel her heart stir briefly. But later, more than that flutter, she felt concern and guilt for Loraviel—it was she who had implicated her.

Thinking carefully about it now, it still moved her. After all, that was a threat of death, yet Loraviel had unhesitatingly stood before her as a shield.

Having read some of the original work, Liana naturally understood Loraviel’s appeal.

She also knew that Loraviel had something different from ordinary people. No, rather, all the heroines in the original work had something extraordinary about them. But they also shared several common traits.

They all possessed tremendous talent, showing superhuman abilities in various fields, and most crucially, they all possessed extremely strong possessiveness.

However, Liana hadn’t sensed this trait in any of them so far, neither in Loraviel nor in Mephilia.

If these events had happened earlier, perhaps Liana might indeed have fallen for Loraviel.

Unfortunately, now Liana already had Mephilia. (It’s a harem, don’t worry.)1This is the author’s note

“You’ve been thinking for a long time, Liana,” Mephilia’s voice brought Liana back to reality.

“She’s an excellent girl, and I’ve held her back. If she could enter Ibett Magic Academy, her life would probably be much better than now,” Liana said.

However, Liana also knew clearly that part of the reason Loraviel had grown so quickly was because of her.

This wasn’t Liana boasting. The reason Loraviel was trying so hard now was certainly partly to escape her control.

This was why Liana had never told Loraviel the truth. Letting her train and study with revenge in her heart gave her a goal, a driving force.

And since the target was someone of high status like herself, Loraviel had to work even harder to gain her freedom.

Without these factors, with Loraviel’s talent and effort, she could certainly improve her living conditions, but probably not with such remarkable progress as now.

“Is that all?” Mephilia asked.

“Really, that’s all. Why would you think there’s anything else, Mephilia?” Liana felt somewhat guilty.

“I believe you,” Mephilia lay beside Liana, extending her arms to embrace her, bringing Liana to face her.

“I am very selfish, you know,” Mephilia suddenly said.

“Hmm? What does that mean?” Liana didn’t quite understand.

Mephilia stuck out her tongue, licking Liana’s collarbone, making her feel ticklish. Then, Mephilia opened her mouth and bit down hard on Liana’s shoulder.

It hurt a little, leaving teeth marks on Liana’s shoulder, as if marking her territory.

“What’s gotten into you suddenly?” Liana was confused by Mephilia’s behavior.

“Don’t be too greedy, Liana. You already have me, or else I might really lock you up,” Mephilia said something completely out of character.

“Don’t worry, Mephilia. I like you very much too. I won’t run away,” Liana promised.

“Mm...” Mephilia buried her face in Liana’s chest, taking a deep breath.

“Regarding Erinna’s situation, I’ll help her more during this time,” Mephilia said.

“Now you remember that?” Liana laughed in mock criticism. “I was just about to discuss this with you earlier, but then you suddenly interrupted me.”

“That’s because I haven’t seen you for so long,” Mephilia gave Liana a sidelong glance. She had been so busy lately that sometimes she couldn’t even communicate with Liana in the evenings.

And just after arriving here, Loraviel had said she wanted to say farewell to Liana, which had led to Mephilia’s earlier actions.

“Erinna is very capable, but still too young. Many people are eyeing the position of Venus Dukedom. I believe in her abilities, but her power compared to those old foxes is still too weak,” Liana said.

Erinna’s current combat strength wasn’t impressive—only Naibert was noteworthy. Naibert was indeed formidable, but certainly far inferior to those old veterans.

“Rather than the affairs of Venus Manor, Erinna should prioritize ensuring her own safety,” Liana recalled what the assassin had said that day, as if deliberately telling her, warning her.

As an heir, first you must ensure your own survival, then consider the responsibilities of being an heir. After all, it’s the ugly power struggle among nobles.

Some perform perfectly and gain much support, but that doesn’t protect against sudden death, forcing the power to be handed to someone else.

“I’ll help with that too,” Mephilia certainly knew this point as well. Otherwise, the King of Lisat wouldn’t have specifically assigned a Judge to accompany the heir, precisely to prevent such things from happening.

“But isn’t the royal family not supposed to interfere in power struggles between nobles?” Liana asked.

“Power struggle? Where’s the power struggle?” Mephilia countered. “Hasn’t Erinna already become the acting lord? I’m simply helping the Venus Duchess. Where am I participating in any power struggle?”

Though Liana felt she might be exploiting a loophole, it wasn’t without reason. After all, the lord had already been selected, so what power struggle remained?

“By the way, has the meeting with the Elf Princess been scheduled?” Liana asked.

“I came this time partly to tell you about this. The time has been set for three days from now. It’s because of this matter that I could temporarily leave Ibett Magic Academy,” Mephilia said. Over the past month, she had spent so much time researching magic with those old professors at Ibett Magic Academy that it frightened her.

Those magic-obsessed lunatics researched magic day and night without rest. Fortunately, the process had gone smoothly, yielding several new spells, which had earned Mephilia considerable support.

Mephilia herself had gained much from these exchanges. Otherwise, no matter how gentle and kind Mephilia was, she wouldn’t engage in such thankless tasks.

“Three days from now? The timing seems tight,” Liana thought. During this period, Mephilia would be busy with Venus Dukedom affairs, likely leaving her little time to rest.

“Liana, can you come with me three days from now?” Mephilia asked.

“Why do you suddenly want me to go with you?”

“Since it concerns magical research, and you were the one who discovered this magic could be modified, I thought if you communicated with the elves, there might be new discoveries,” Mephilia said.

Liana thought for a moment, then nodded. “Alright.”

By then, Loraviel would be gone, and she wouldn’t need to keep up pretenses. Besides, she wanted to meet that princess.

After all, Sephirena’s situation was still difficult to resolve. Perhaps she could get some help and information from her sister.

Mephilia got up from the bed. It was getting late. Mephilia looked at Liana. “Will you sleep with me tonight?”

“Well... it depends on how things go with Loraviel,” Liana now had a clearer idea of how to face Loraviel.

Liana’s imagined scenario was this: Go back, take a bath, have Loraviel wait outside. After bathing, listen to what Loraviel had to say, get angry, scold her harshly until she runs away. Absolutely perfect.

“You mean you can resolve it quickly?” Mephilia said.

“...Is that an order?” It seemed Mephilia wasn’t giving her a second option.

“After all, if you don’t resolve it, doesn’t that mean you’ll stay in your own room to sleep? Doesn’t that suggest you’ll be sleeping with Loraviel?” Mephilia put one knee on the bed, one hand pressing on the mattress, the other lifting Liana’s chin.

“That’s not allowed, you know. Now that you have me, sleeping with another girl at this point is forbidden...

“I’m just kidding,” Mephilia then reverted to her usual self, a gentle smile appearing on her face. “I know Liana is a very gentle person and naturally wouldn’t do such a thing, right?”

Liana nodded. Well, she had to take back what she’d thought earlier. She had now witnessed the so-called strong possessiveness of a female protagonist.

However, she certainly wouldn’t do anything to betray Mephilia.

Of course, in this matter, what Liana wanted didn’t matter. This wasn’t something that could be resolved just by what she wanted or didn’t want.

Mephilia stretched lazily, exposing her magnificent chest fully to Liana. “I’m going to take a bath. Would Liana like to join me?”

Liana shook her head. There were no clothes of hers in the room. Though she could wear Mephilia’s clothes, she still had matters to discuss with Loraviel later. It would be better to go back to her own room, get prepared, and then return.

Liana picked up her clothes that Mephilia had unbuttoned earlier. The few outer garments hadn’t been much affected, just slightly wrinkled, but... on that white undergarment, one could clearly see a small damp spot.

To wear it or not?

Not wearing it would make Mephilia think she was a pervert!

But wearing it would certainly invite Mephilia’s teasing...

After a moment’s hesitation, Liana put it on. It felt somewhat cool, but fortunately, she wouldn’t need to wear it for long before changing.

And Mephilia didn’t tease her as Liana had imagined.

After all, Mephilia had caused this. If she left Liana with unpleasant memories, what would happen in the future?

After dressing, Liana still felt some weakness in her limbs. It seemed Mephilia had indeed been restraining herself for a long time and didn’t show any mercy.

Mephilia came before Liana, smoothed out the wrinkles on her clothes, and helped her fix her clothes and hair.

“I’ll wait for you in the room.”

“Mm.” Liana nodded. It shouldn’t take too much time.

“See you later.” Mephilia placed a gentle kiss on Liana’s lips.

Liana left the room, while Mephilia began tidying up the bed that she and Liana had left in disarray, as they would be sleeping together later.

After arranging everything and bathing, Mephilia called for Minoga.

“Princess,” Minoga said, helping Mephilia dry her hair.

“Has anything happened these past few days?” Mephilia asked.

“Apart from some chaos at Venus Manor, there’s nothing unusual,” Minoga said.

“Is that so?”

Mephilia looked at herself in the mirror. Her spirits were much better than before.

She glanced at the cosmetics on the table. Liana had thoughtfully placed two new makeup items there earlier.

“What I’m asking about is Loraviel. She hasn’t shown anything unusual lately, has she?” Mephilia asked.

“She’s the same as before, no significant difference. Though because of Princess Liana, she hasn’t been training much lately, generally spending time in her room. But nothing has happened between her and Princess Liana. Even when they sleep together at night, nothing occurs,” Minoga said.

Mephilia’s fingers tapped rhythmically on the dressing table.

“Minoga, you’ve been taking care of me and protecting me since I was little. And because of my relationship with Liana, you’ve also known her since childhood,” Mephilia suddenly spoke of the past, making Minoga sense something was amiss.

“I trust you wouldn’t do anything to harm Liana or me. But I still hope you’ll tell me the truth. I can see that Liana is deliberately keeping some distance from you now, and when Liana heard Loraviel’s voice, she quickly came out to check. You say nothing has happened during this time, but I don’t believe that.”

Minoga decided she wasn’t going to take the blame. She’d expose that troublemaker directly. If this continued, not only would Princess Liana dislike her, but Princess Mephilia would too.

This was getting unbearable.

Minoga explained the events of the past few days to Mephilia. Mephilia immediately stood up. “Why didn’t you stop her?!”

“Princess, I did everything I could to stop her,” Minoga was truly helpless. From any perspective, she had no right to interfere in this matter. It was someone else’s family affair, and the other person’s status was clearly higher than Minoga’s.

“Where is she?” Putting Liana in danger was undoubtedly dancing on Mephilia’s bottom line, instantly making her furious. Mephilia had to make her account for this.

“Princess, please calm down first,” Minoga said.

“I can understand her wanting to see if Loraviel has the talent and constitution to become an assassin, but why involve Liana? Today, she must give me an explanation, or I won’t let this matter rest,” Mephilia said. This was her bottom line, absolutely non-negotiable.

“Princess, her name is Orleya,” Minoga said.

“Orleya...?” Mephilia had heard this name. A legendary assassin, extremely mysterious and terrifying. Even the current top assassin of the Lisat Kingdom, Duke Venus, was her student. But almost no one had seen her existence. Most people believed she was just a legend, used to intimidate others, or that she was already dead.

“Even so, it’s not acceptable,” Mephilia’s attitude was resolute.

“Her full name is Orleya Venus.”

Hearing the surname, Mephilia wasn’t particularly surprised. After all, Venus Duchy was an assassin territory, and Duke Venus was her student, so being a member of the Venus Family was normal.

“She is Princess Liana’s grandmother, and also the mother of Duke Rayen Venus,” Minoga said.

“...” Mephilia was silent for a moment, then suddenly stood up. “What?!”

She had never heard her father mention this. She had no idea Liana had such a grandmother.

“So, Princess, you should give up. Her personality is very eccentric. We can’t persuade her,” Minoga said.

“No, I want to see her,” Mephilia said.

Whether now or in the future, this was inevitable. And Mephilia not only wanted to discuss today’s events with her but also to clarify why, when Liana was framed by Countess Rose before, she had merely watched.

Even if she was Liana’s grandmother, even if she was an important elder of the Lisat Kingdom, Mephilia would ask.

Seeing Mephilia’s attitude, Minoga knew that if she didn’t take Mephilia there, the princess would likely go directly to the King of Lisat.

“I understand,” Minoga yielded. “However, please don’t tell Princess Liana about this for now. It’s Lady Orleya’s request. As for why, you can ask her yourself later.”

“Alright, fine,” Mephilia nodded.

Just as they finished discussing this, there was a knock at the door.

Liana? Back so soon? It had been less than an hour, and Liana had gone back to bathe. It seemed too quick.

“Princess,” but it was Loraviel’s voice from outside.

“Loraviel?” Mephilia gestured for Minoga to open the door. “What’s wrong? Didn’t you have something to say to Liana?”

“I’ve... already said it,” Loraviel looked somewhat downcast. “Princess Liana scolded me harshly. I had hoped for a proper farewell, but this happened instead.”

“I see...” Mephilia nodded. “Regarding Liana, I’ll handle it later. So now, are you going to meet your teacher?”

“Yes,” Loraviel nodded. “It seems Princess Liana doesn’t want to see me anymore. It’s better if I leave sooner.”

“Alright.” This was a good opportunity to meet Liana’s grandmother. She had many questions to clarify.

The three of them left the room, heading toward a forest behind Venus Manor.

Earlier, when Liana walked out.

Liana felt cool between her legs after leaving Mephilia’s room, a bit uncomfortable.

She returned to her room and saw Loraviel sitting on the bed, looking around somewhat anxiously.

Seeing Liana return, Loraviel quickly stood up. “Princess Liana!”

“You’re not feeling unwell anywhere, are you?” Liana asked directly.

Such directness from Princess Liana surprised Loraviel. Then Liana added, “Don’t misunderstand. I’m not worried about you. But since you were injured because of me, I... I just don’t want to see someone die in my room—it would be unlucky. And as a maid, I’m satisfied with you. I just don’t want to find another maid, that’s all. If you’re feeling unwell anywhere, speak up.”

That’s right, this was Princess Liana.

Truly gentle, truly adorable.

And besides...

[Liana Observation Diary, Entry 12: When Princess Liana lies, her eyes unconsciously avoid others, and her right hand unconsciously pats her thigh lightly.] 𝓯𝓻𝓮𝙚𝙬𝓮𝙗𝒏𝙤𝒗𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝒐𝓶

“Thank you for your concern, Princess Liana. My body isn’t feeling unwell anywhere. Perhaps it’s because my body has some immunity to poison? Like the last time Princess Liana...”

“If you’re fine, then I’ll ❀ Nоvеlігht ❀ (Don’t copy, read here) take a bath first. I came back because Mephilia said you had something to tell me. If you have anything to say, wait until after my bath,” Liana interrupted Loraviel.

Hearing that Loraviel was fine, Liana sighed in relief. Now she could comfortably take a bath. After all, having just experienced such things, her body felt sticky and uncomfortable.

“You’ve already prepared hot water for me, right?” Liana asked.

“Of course, it’s ready for Princess Liana. You can go in anytime,” Loraviel said.

“Wait for me outside,” Liana went directly into the bathroom, locking the door.

A few minutes later, Loraviel approached the bathroom door. She could sense that Princess Liana’s expression was noticeably different, and the scent on Princess Liana’s body was much more distinct than before.

Not the sweat from training, but another kind of scent.