Noble, elegant, enchanting, beautiful.

As Sephirena’s sister, Avira had more maturity and less youthfulness compared to Sephirena, though that might be because Sephirena had been confined previously.

Her gaze swept around, finally stopping on Mephilia. “You must be Princess Mephilia? I’ve heard it was you who discovered that incantations could be modified and magic created. I didn’t expect you to be so young.”

“I just happened to receive help from others. It’s nothing worth boasting about,” Mephilia said, looking at Avira with curiosity. She hadn’t seen many elves, so she was somewhat curious.

The distinctive elongated ears, marked with runes, were just one of many such features that characterized elves.

On their ears, in their pupils, and even more remarkably, on their bodies, these magical runes were inscribed. This represented their close affinity with magic particles. Even having runes written on their bodies didn’t produce any side effects, and they could be preserved for a long time.

This was something humans couldn’t achieve. The limit for humans was maintaining runes on their bodies for three days. After three days, the runes would disappear, and they would need to be reapplied. Moreover, some people had adverse reactions to runes, with serious side effects.

Furthermore, humans would, at most, dare to inscribe runes on their limbs. They wouldn’t, like elves, inscribe runes in their pupils. Now, the inscription of runes had been moved to clothing.

Inscribing runes on the body was now completely a characteristic of the elfkind. Oh, and the long gone demonkind were the same.

“Princess Mephilia is being modest,” Avira smiled, believing this was just Mephilia’s humility.

It was indeed rare to be so humble after achieving such accomplishments.

Mephilia didn’t want to dwell on this subject and quickly invited Avira to be seated.

Liana looked at them with curiosity. Avira had brought several elves with her this time.

From their hair color, she could roughly guess their identities.

The red-haired one should be a fire elf, the blue-haired one a water elf, and the green-haired one a nature elf.

They sat beside Avira, watching the humans with some vigilance.

“Now, I’ll leave it to you young people. I won’t intrude on matters between young folks. Oh, no, to the elves, I’m the young one,” King Lisat laughed heartily.

The elfkind was very long-lived, perhaps several times or even ten times the lifespan of humans.

The Grand Princess Avira before them looked very young, but she was actually around two hundred years old. Converted to human years, that would be about twenty years old. By elf standards, she was indeed very young. She had probably even met Liana’s great-grandmother.

“Not at all. King Lisat is still very young, in his prime. The last time I came to a human town, this place wasn’t called the Lisat Kingdom yet. Along the way, I saw many smiles and relaxed expressions on the faces of Lisat Kingdom residents, which I couldn’t see at all during my previous visit. You are an excellent king,” Avira said.

“Hahaha.” King Lisat laughed heartily, then waved his hand. “I’m already old. I’ll leave it to you all.”

After King Lisat left, the three heirs of the Lisat Kingdom naturally took over.

“Lady Avira, I am one of the heirs to the Lisat Kingdom, and the eldest among the three heirs, named Hodwen Lisat,” Hodwen stood up and introduced himself to Avira.

He then talked at length about his governing style, his recent actions, and his attitudes toward magic.

The elf race was naturally favored by magic. They didn’t need to worry about not being able to use magic. Magic, for them, was as simple as breathing, something they could use from birth.

Liana yawned. Though she had slept enough on the journey, this meeting was truly boring.

To put it bluntly, this was a competition of acting skills. After all, the other party certainly wouldn’t make things too awkward. When asked about some private matters, they would find excuses to brush them off.

The people here weren’t stupid either. If the other party didn’t want to answer, the meaning was clear enough. Continuing to pursue it would only worsen one’s impression in the other party’s eyes.

Liana wasn’t very interested in these people at the moment. Her gaze turned to Second Prince Oester.

His expression had been poor recently. It seemed that what Liana had done earlier had greatly affected him, and many people had left his side.

They had probably become cautious of Second Prince Oester after learning about that matter. Or had they already given up on Second Prince Oester and gone to seek other heirs?

However, there was still a loyal supporter by his side. Liana didn’t know what kind of relationship Second Prince Oester had with the Laurent Family.

Moreover, Liana also saw an old acquaintance, the one who had almost become her fiancé, Karen Laurent.

Cain’s expression also seemed somewhat poor at this time.

Liana recalled that in the original work, he had married Countess Rose. Could it be they were already involved at this point? Is that why his expression was so poor after learning of Countess Rose’s death?

After that, Liana’s gaze met Second Prince Oester’s, and he clearly displayed a highly aggressive look, though it disappeared a second later.

Now, she and Second Prince Oester had become complete enemies. Because of the Countess Rose incident, he would definitely hold a grudge against her for life. Now, he had completely lost his qualification to compete.

Liana didn’t care. After all, this was something that would inevitably happen in the future. If not now, it would definitely happen later.

An earlier confrontation would bring Liana some trouble, but for Mephilia, it would be somewhat easier, as there was one less competitor. Now, she only needed to guard against First Prince Hodwen.

The meeting was long and tedious. Liana, with nothing to do, pinched her thigh through her pantyhose, trying to stay somewhat alert and avoid falling asleep here.

They talked ✪ Nоvеlіgһt ✪ (Official version) at length, but most of it was inconsequential. When it came to critical aspects of magic, Avira would find excuses to brush it off. It seemed that getting information about elf magic from her would be difficult.

Moreover, Mephilia didn’t actively engage Avira in conversation. Apart from the initial simple greetings, she mostly answered questions.

Meanwhile, her small hand was under the table, squeezing Liana’s fingers.

She wasn’t in a hurry, and the other party didn’t seem to be either. After all, elf magic was a very important matter to them, and they would be staying in the Lisat Royal Capital for some time. If they wanted to discuss magic, they could talk properly in private, with those they wanted to converse with.

Now, they were just getting to know each other, seeing if there was a reason to continue the conversation. After several exchanges, progress was decent. At least there was no impression of dislike.

In the room, almost everyone had chatted with Avira or other elves, but only one person hadn’t said a word from beginning to end.

“What’s wrong? Miss, are you feeling unwell?” Avira came before Liana and asked. “I notice you haven’t spoken a word to us from start to finish. Or do you have other views or opinions about our elfkind?”

“Of course I do,” Liana looked at Avira. “Your elf race...”

Everyone held their breath. If Liana said something strange now, making the elfkind uncomfortable, they might never have another chance to connect with the elfkind.

“...is very beautiful,” Liana said seriously.

Avira was taken aback, seemingly not expecting Liana to say such an odd thing. “Thank you for your compliment.”

“I am the representative of Venus Dukedom, and the daughter of Duke Venus. Liana, Liana Venus,” Liana said, feeling a slight pain in her thigh after saying this.

Mephilia pinched Liana’s thigh with some displeasure. What did she mean by telling another woman she looked good in front of her?

However, Mephilia knew this was just Liana’s pleasantry, so she made her move after Liana had finished speaking, and also gently caressed Liana’s thigh afterward.

“Liana? A lovely name,” Avira smiled. She could tell that Liana’s relationship with Mephilia was special. Since Mephilia was the one who discovered spellcrafting, and would be someone to engage with these days, she naturally wanted to be kind to those close to Mephilia.

Besides, what Liana had just said was interesting. Someone by Mephilia’s side was likely not an ordinary person.

“Thank you. I like this name too,” Liana smiled. “And welcome to our Lisat Kingdom from so far away. I believe you’ll have a pleasant time in the Lisat Kingdom. Our Lisat Kingdom has more to offer than just spellcrafting.”

“It seems Miss Liana is a very easy person to get along with. Would you be willing to show me around when you have the chance?” Avira invited.

This wasn’t because Avira valued Liana highly, but entirely because she had seen Mephilia’s gentle gaze toward Liana, and their hands seemed to have been held together all along.

This was enough to indicate that their relationship was definitely not just that of ordinary friends. Now, inviting Liana would likely mean Princess Mephilia would join as well.

Moreover, for Princess Mephilia to have such achievements at her age, and to be so humble—rather than trying to win over Princess Mephilia, this person before her seemed easier to handle.

“Well...” Liana didn’t even know what was interesting in the Lisat Royal Capital!

Last time, she had just been led around by Mephilia. However, Liana also understood the reason for Avira’s visit. She couldn’t have come just to tour the Lisat Royal Capital. She had probably noticed that Liana had been sitting close to Mephilia from the beginning, and realized their relationship was unusual.

Inviting her was also an invitation to Mephilia, right? This was perfect, as she also wanted to find out some information from her. “Of course.”

“I look forward to it,” Avira smiled gently.

“Finally over,” Liana complained as she and Mephilia walked out of the reception room. “So boring. I should have just waited in the room.”

“That wouldn’t do. You’re representing Venus Dukedom, Liana. Besides, you seem quite popular? Grand Princess Avira has invited you to go out together,” Mephilia teased.

Liana gave Mephilia a sidelong glance. “Anyone can see she invited me because of you, since I seem easier to manipulate.”

“Is that so?” Mephilia feigned ignorance.

“Don’t tell me you’re not coming,” Liana glared at Mephilia.

“I know, I’ll be there soon. But now, I need to find King Lisat. I have some matters to resolve,” Mephilia said. “You can wander around the royal capital first. I’ll come find you soon.”

“Oh,” Liana nodded.

Liana was naturally more of a homebody, and with the cold wind blowing outside, she was too lazy to go out. She planned to wait for Mephilia at her residence.

However, a familiar figure appeared before Liana.

“Long time no see, Liana,” Karen stood before her.

“I’m sorry, but no matter how much you like me or intend to pursue me, I will still refuse you, just like before,” Liana rejected him before he could even speak.

Yet Karen’s face still wore a smile, not moved by Liana’s words. “I didn’t expect that in just three months, you would change so much, Liana.”

Liana chose to ignore him. Before, Karen may have just disliked her but wouldn’t have done anything to her. But after all that had happened, Karen’s attitude toward her should now be one of hostility.

Why was he so committed? Liana felt that the Laurent family must have known about the forbidden drug, but she wasn’t clear on the specific reasons. Anyway, she had nothing to say to Karen.

“Don’t be in such a hurry to leave, Liana,” Karen blocked Liana’s path.

“What is it? Did your master send you?” Liana said bluntly.

Since Countess Rose had practically named Oester, Liana naturally wouldn’t show any kindness to Oester or his supporters.

“Second Prince Oester has nothing to do with this.”

“So you admit that Second Prince Oester is your master? And I didn’t say anything,” Liana shrugged.

“You!” Karen’s expression turned unpleasant. “Liana, show some respect to the heir of the Lisat Kingdom!”

“There are guests present now. Don’t make a scene and let others think that all people of the Lisat Kingdom are reckless. Can you bear such consequences?” Liana said.

“I...” Karen was quite angered by Liana, and he couldn’t refute her.

Now, with elves present, if things escalated, let alone being the heir to Laurent Territory, even if the Laurent Lord came, they would still be severely reprimanded.

“Step aside. Grand Princess Avira has asked me to take her around. You wouldn’t want Grand Princess Avira to wait for me because of you, would you?” Liana said. “Or, Karen, do you think you’re more important than Grand Princess Avira? If so, I wouldn’t mind chatting with you.”

“Oh, right, guards, you heard all this, right? If I end up making Grand Princess Avira wait, remember to speak up for me,” Liana looked at the guards nearby.

The guards had indeed heard everything, and then...

“Mr. Karen, if you continue to make trouble, don’t blame us for being discourteous. Please, now, immediately, make way and apologize to Princess Liana,” the guard quickly said.

“...” Karen’s mouth twitched, his face almost turning green. It seemed Liana had truly changed a lot. He clenched his fists. “I apologize, Liana, for disturbing you.”

“An apology alone isn’t enough. When your master displeased me before, he compensated me with a rune-inscribed garment,” Liana said. “If you don’t offer something of interest to me, then I... won’t leave.”

Now, Oester was probably thinking about how to deal with her. He no longer cared if he could succeed; now, just dragging Mephilia down would count as a victory.

Because of Liana, Oester had lost too much, and he wouldn’t let Mephilia continue to progress so smoothly.

So Liana wouldn’t show them any courtesy now, though she hadn’t been particularly courteous to begin with.

Karen regretted his actions deeply. Why did he have to suffer like this?

Liana leaned against a pillar, feeling the cold wind on her body. “It’s so cold now. With each passing minute, my expectations for the item increase.”

Liana didn’t want to suffer outside. She wanted him to quickly produce the item so she could return to Mephilia’s room and warm up.

Karen took out a scroll from his pocket. “This is an intermediate-level magic scroll from our Laurent Territory.”

Before Karen could finish, Liana snatched the scroll. “Not bad. At least you’re somewhat useful.”

Liana was quite curious about the magic of a Knightly Territory. They generally had magic that could enhance one’s physical attributes.

“Next time, if you’re looking for me, remember to bring a gift first. Don’t make me ask,” Liana said.

Karen felt that if this continued, he might truly lose control.

Liana couldn’t care less about him. After getting what she wanted, she headed toward Mephilia’s room.

However, when she turned the corner, she encountered Avira and her group.

“Miss Liana, what a coincidence,” Avira said.

“Yes... what a coincidence...” Oh no, Liana’s social anxiety was kicking in. Usually, Loraviel would be by her side, but now, she was alone.

“Grand Princess Avira, are you planning to tour the Lisat Royal Capital?” At this moment, Minoga appeared beside Liana.

She had been there all along, but to avoid unnecessary trouble, she had been watching from the shadows.

If Karen had dared to show any disrespect to Princess Liana earlier, she would have intervened. But Her Highness had perfectly resolved the matter herself and even secured a benefit.

“A Judge...” Avira looked at Minoga. The elves’ sensitivity to magic was greater than anyone else’s, second only to the demonkind. So as soon as Minoga appeared, she recognized her strength.

It seemed Avira wasn’t wrong. The young girl before her wasn’t as simple as she appeared, having a Judge for protection.

“...” Avira thought of what Mephilia had said earlier. Could it be that Mephilia hadn’t been modest?

But the magical fluctuations around Liana were too weak to seem like it.

“Shall we find a place to sit?” Avira suggested.

“Minoga...” Liana looked at Minoga with a pleading gaze.

“I know a good dessert shop. Its decorative style is very suitable for elves—it’s a shop modeled after elves,” Minoga said.

“That sounds good,” Avira nodded. She was somewhat curious about what an elf-inspired style would look like.

“Miss Liana, are you cold?” Avira noticed Liana was constantly breathing on her palms.

“I suppose so. After all, the temperature has dropped,” Liana said.

“Then why not use magic?” Avira asked. 𝓯𝓻𝓮𝙚𝙬𝓮𝙗𝒏𝙤𝒗𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝒐𝓶

“I apologize. Despite being a noble, I cannot use magic. I must seem quite amusing to you,” Liana shrugged helplessly.

“Oh?” Liana’s words further piqued Avira’s curiosity. Unable to use magic?

How could that be? With Avira’s sensitivity to magic, she could clearly detect that Liana’s magic particles were definitely up to standard.

It seemed she was deliberately concealing something?

Interesting.

Avira became increasingly interested in Liana.

“Eve, help Miss Liana,” Avira said.

“Yes,” The red-haired woman walked to Liana and took her hand.

Soon, Liana felt warmth throughout her body, and even the coldness at her fingertips was completely dispelled.

“How amazing...”

“This is just a type of magic, a very ordinary and common thing,” Avira said. “Miss Liana will surely be able to use it in the future.”

“I hope so.”

Minoga led the group to the elf-style dessert shop...?

A tree?

Liana looked at the large tree before her. “Are you sure this is the place?”

“It is indeed an elf-style dessert shop,” Avira said. “Perhaps the owner of this shop is also an elf.”

Avira waved her hand, and a door appeared in the middle of the tree trunk.

“Welcome... Princess Avira?” The initially smiling elf owner’s face suddenly froze.

As an elf, how could she not recognize Grand Princess Avira?

“Princess Avira... have you come to take me back?” The elf owner’s eyes showed fear.

Avira waved her hand. “Don’t be nervous. I just happen to have some matters to attend to.”

“Princess Avira, do you know her?” After being seated, Liana asked.

Avira shook her head. “Many elves have left the Elf Forest recently. How could I possibly know them all?”

“By ‘recently,’ you mean?”

“In the past hundred years.”

Quite the definition of “recently.”

“From what she just said, the Elf Forest seems unfriendly to elves who leave?” Liana asked tentatively.

“It depends on the reason. If they leave voluntarily and don’t do anything detrimental to our Elf Forest afterward, we won’t do anything,” Avira said.

“Such as?”

“Revealing our elf magic to other races. Once discovered, the only outcome is death.”

“I see,” Liana nodded, continuing to listen to Avira.

“If they fled the Elf Forest due to some errors they committed, or if they were expelled from the Elf Forest, and we encounter them, it’s hard to say what might happen.”

Sephirena seemed to fall into the latter category...

“I understand,” Liana looked at the pale green liquid in her cup.

“This is one of our elves’ favorite beverages, called ‘Dawn’s Tears.’ It’s made from early morning dew mixed with ancient tree sap,” Avira explained.

This was Liana’s first encounter with such a unique beverage. She curiously tasted it. The flavor was cool and slightly sweet, quite pleasant.

“By the way, Your Highness, as you’ve seen, King Lisat has three children. I’m curious, how many do you have in the Elf Forest? Of course, if this question is inconvenient, you don’t need to answer,” Liana asked.

Avira’s face did show a moment of hesitation, but she quickly replied, “There are three in total.”

Three? How could that be? Weren’t there four?

Oh, if one didn’t count the deceased one, there would indeed be only three.

“Avira Tiael, that’s me, the eldest of the three. Then there’s my second sister, Nimeris Tiael, and then... my deceased third sister, Tarashil Tiael,” Avira said.

Huh? Wait? Is this right? What about Sephirena? Wasn’t she the Fourth Princess? Where did she go?

“I’m sorry.”

“There’s nothing to apologize for. Just the ordinary cycle of life, death, illness, and passing,” Avira seemed to have moved on.

“I thought there would be more, considering the elfkind lives much longer than us humans,” Liana wasn’t ready to give up on this.

“We are children of nature. Who knows, maybe tomorrow the Tree of Life will nurture a fourth sister?” Avira joked.

However, Liana still detected that Avira’s smile was somewhat forced. She was definitely hiding something.

She had to hide something! Otherwise, what would Liana do?

“You two seem to be getting along quite well,” Mephilia’s voice came from behind Liana. She reached out and placed her hand on Liana’s cheek.

“Eek!” Liana let out an adorable cry. “Why is your hand so cold? Don’t you know how to use magic?”

“It’s because your body temperature is too high,” Mephilia joked as she sat beside Liana.

“Princess Mephilia, have you handled all your matters?” Avira asked.

“Yes,” Mephilia nodded. “Now, shall we tour around, or go straight to the main topic?”

“Although I’d like to tour around the Lisat Royal Capital, we’re eager to learn about spellcrafting. I believe you, Princess Mephilia, must also be curious about our elf magic?” Avira said.

“Alright,” Mephilia nodded. “However, for what we’re about to discuss...”

Avira waved her hand, and several elf ladies nodded and left. It wasn’t clear if they were going to tour the Lisat Royal Capital or rest in their rooms.

“Since this is a very important conversation, what about Miss Liana?” Avira asked. After Mephilia appeared, Minoga had already left.

“Liana staying here will definitely give Lady Avira some surprises,” Mephilia said. “Besides, what Liana says largely represents what I would say.”

“Is that so? It seems Miss Liana is indeed not as simple as she appears,” Avira nodded. “Is there any issue with us being here?”

“We don’t mind, as the matter of spellcrafting is already common knowledge. However, not many people understand elven magic,” Mephilia said. “If Lady Avira is concerned that our conversation might leak out, you’re welcome to choose the location.”

“No need. This place is quite suitable,” Avira shook her head, then raised her hand, indicating that no more customers should be allowed in. This place needed to remain quiet for some time.