“Why?” Naibert asked, confused. “You just need to tell her, and Princess Liana has already explained this matter to me. Why can’t you clarify things with Lady Erinna?”

Liana felt dejected. What did she mean by ‘explained this matter to you’? Wasn’t it Naibert who noticed something was wrong and then threatened her with the Loraviel situation?

“Due to some special reasons, you should stop dwelling on this. When the time is right, I’ll take the initiative to tell her.” Liana said somewhat impatiently. How could she not understand this matter?

It was just that due to various reasons, the current situation was quite good. Having Erinna focus all her attention on Venus Territory was sufficient. Right now, she was perfectly content being invisible, which wasn’t so bad.

Liana stood up. The maid training was too boring, and besides, Liana had no use for it. There was no need to learn these skills—how could she possibly become someone else’s maid?

“You continue training Sephirena. As long as it doesn’t affect your ability to help Erinna, that’s fine. Your top priority now is to assist Erinna. As for Sephirena’s situation, there’s no rush,” Liana said.

“I’m very clear about what I should be doing right now,” Naibert replied, using her own rest time to conduct maid training. “But rest assured, Princess Liana, I will definitely train her to become an excellent maid just like Loraviel.”

“Don’t push yourself too hard,” Liana wasn’t expecting Naibert to achieve any particular level of success. “Don’t be too hard on her. Her situation is somewhat special. I don’t intend to treat her as a maid. She has her own talents, and she’s more suited to being a guard than a maid. I just didn’t want to find another maid.”

“I understand, Princess Liana.” The more Liana spoke this way, the more Naibert wanted to prove herself to Liana, as a small compensation for her previous misunderstanding of Liana.

“If possible, try to take her out more often, let her see the better side of this world perhaps?” Liana suggested after some thought. After all, Sephirena had already lost all hope in this world.

If they forced her to do things she didn’t like at this point, it would only intensify her negative feelings. It would be better to find ways to let her experience some enjoyment.

“I understand.” Although Naibert was somewhat confused, she nodded and agreed. After all, the current Princess Liana was not the same as before, so there must be a reason for this request.

Liana left and went to the back garden.

For the past three months, this place had been occupied by Liana for training. During the time Liana hadn’t been there, Oliphia had been doing the most basic training to maintain her condition.

“Princess Liana, it’s been quite a while since I’ve seen you,” Oliphia stopped what she was doing when she saw Liana arrive.

“I’ve just been temporarily busy,” Liana wasn’t deliberately avoiding Oliphia; she really didn’t have time. “Now, Venus Manor has temporarily stabilized, so I’ve come to see you.”

“Are we going to continue our previous training?” Oliphia asked.

“Yes, shall we start tomorrow?” The progress of the plan required Liana to improve herself a bit, ensuring she had sufficient self-defense capabilities in case something unexpected happened.

Ah, if only Sephirena could use illusion magic, things would go much more smoothly.

“I understand,” Oliphia nodded.

“Then, see you tomorrow.” Liana waved, preparing to leave.

But Oliphia stopped Liana, “Princess Liana, you were aware of Loraviel’s departure, weren’t you?”

“What’s the matter? Is there any point in asking about this now? She’s already gone anyway.” Liana shrugged.

“I’m just curious,” Oliphia looked at Liana.

“There’s nothing to be curious about. You just need to be prepared for my training method.” Liana didn’t want this matter to make Oliphia slack off in her training.

However, Oliphia seemed to have noticed Liana’s small concern. “Princess Liana, are you worried that if I knew about this, I might go easy on your training? Please rest assured about that. Even if it were Princess Mephilia in front of me, my training approach would be the same. I arrange training based on each person’s physical capabilities, not their status.

“Because you’re here to train, not to enjoy yourself. The training I arrange based on your physical condition is designed to push your body to its limits. Just like with magic power, by gradually pushing against your limits, you can slowly break through your upper boundaries.”

“Then why haven’t you broken through your magic power limit?” Liana instinctively asked, but the moment the words left her mouth, she realized she had said something wrong.

Although Oliphia was wearing armor, making it impossible to see her expression, Liana could still sense that Oliphia seemed a little angry now.

Well, now Liana didn’t have to worry about Oliphia going easy on her training. What she had to worry about was whether Oliphia might be too forceful.

Liana quickly said, “I do know about this matter. What’s wrong?”

“Loraviel wasn’t actually lying to me, was she?” Oliphia asked.

“Huh?” This was something Liana genuinely didn’t know. “I don’t know what Loraviel told you.”

“Loraviel said that Princess Liana never did anything too excessive to her. Now it seems that might be true?” Oliphia said.

But these words took on a different meaning in Liana’s ears.

“When did she start saying this?” This point was very important to Liana.

“Let me think.” Oliphia fell into deep thought, and soon she had an answer. “Loraviel seems to have been saying this from the very beginning.”

Liana sighed in relief. Thank goodness! If she had only started saying this midway, that would have been a big problem. It would very likely mean she had discovered something unusual midway. But saying it from the beginning was different—it was quite possible she said this out of fear that Oliphia might reveal her situation.

However, Oliphia’s next words plunged Liana back into a state of unease.

“But at the beginning, when Loraviel said this, she clearly didn’t trust me. Her eyes were evasive, obviously lying and afraid of Princess Liana,” Oliphia said.

“And later?” Liana sensed something wasn’t right. What did ‘at the beginning’ mean?

“About a month in, the fear in Loraviel’s eyes began to disappear, especially after the poisoning incident. After that, there was no more fear in Loraviel’s eyes,” Oliphia said. “However, shortly after that, this feeling returned, but it somehow felt strange.”

“I see.” Liana was somewhat relieved.

But soon, she noticed something odd. No fear in her eyes after the poisoning?

But after the poisoning, Loraviel quickly came to her room. With such a short interaction, she shouldn’t have said so much, right?

“After the poisoning? Was it during the time she was recovering?” Liana asked.

Please say yes!

This would explain why she suddenly showed fear again later, because the day after that, Liana had slightly threatened Loraviel.

Oliphia shook her head. “How could that be possible? At that time, she had just regained consciousness. Of course, she needed to rest properly. How could I ask such questions?” 𝚏𝐫𝚎𝗲𝕨𝐞𝐛𝕟𝚘𝐯𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝗺

It’s over.

This meant that after that incident, Loraviel not only wasn’t afraid of her, but had even developed a dependency on her?

But that’s impossible. If she wasn’t afraid anymore, why did she show fear later?

Liana didn’t understand.

And if she really knew the truth, why did she show such a fearful expression at that time, and even surrender herself to Liana?

Did she fall in love with Liana? That didn’t seem possible, right? Although Liana had done some things for her, overall, there was absolutely no need to go that far! Liana had also indeed harmed her.

Liana couldn’t explain this absurd situation no matter how she tried. She would have to find Loraviel and ask her about it properly.

But after what had happened, how could Liana bring herself to ask? And how would she ask?

Directly ask her, why did you grip me?

Wouldn’t that get her beaten to death for being a pervert?

And at this moment, Liana hadn’t realized that this was Loraviel’s possessiveness. As long as Princess Liana didn’t reveal herself, the gentle Princess Liana would belong to her alone.

“Princess Liana, what’s wrong?” Oliphia looked at Liana. “You look a bit unwell?”

“It’s nothing.” Liana’s face was far from looking good right now. What was going on with Loraviel?

She had to clarify this matter. She would have to ask Minoga to help arrange a meeting with Loraviel. Otherwise, Liana probably wouldn’t be able to sleep well for a while.

Liana took several deep breaths, trying her best to calm down. She had originally thought that Loraviel’s matter was resolved, despite some minor flaws. The ultimate goal had been achieved. But now it seemed that the problem was much bigger, far from being resolved.

“If Princess Liana doesn’t have any issues, shall we proceed with today’s training?” Oliphia was unaware of what Liana was thinking about.

“Hmm? Didn’t we say we’d start tomorrow?” Liana had already emerged from her earlier confusion. She knew very well that thinking too much wouldn’t help right now. It was better to simply accept the situation and take it one step at a time.

“After all, it’s been a while since we’ve trained. Princess Liana’s body may have already started to relax. What we need to do today is to help Princess Liana’s body readjust to the intensity of training, while observing where Princess Liana’s limits are,” Oliphia said.

“Besides, Princess Liana, didn’t you want me to be more rigorous with your training? Only this way can I better arrange your training regimen.”

“Alright.” Liana nodded in agreement.

[Create, Wood, Longsword]

A wooden sword appeared in Oliphia’s hand.

“Let’s switch to a stone sword. I’m different from before,” Liana said.

“Don’t say I didn’t warn you, Princess Liana. After a long period without training, suddenly engaging in high-intensity training might be too much to handle,” Oliphia cautioned.

“It hasn’t even been a month yet.” Liana gripped the stone sword in her hand. It was a bit heavy, but still acceptable.

Half an hour later, Liana was sitting exhausted under the pavilion. Now, a layer of white crystals had formed on the brim of Liana’s hat—snowflakes from training outside.

Liana was panting. It was true that she hadn’t trained for a while, and during this period, she had been quite relaxed. Her body had also relaxed, and she couldn’t immediately adapt to this intensity. She could only manage sixty swings before she started struggling.

“Let me rest for ten minutes, no, five minutes will do.” Liana wanted to continue.

But Oliphia shook her head. “No need. This is enough. Rather than forcing yourself to continue and risking a strain that would require a period of rest, it’s better to take it slow, persevering day by day.”

What Oliphia said made sense. If she injured herself again and had to rest in bed, that wouldn’t be good. Besides, Loraviel wasn’t around, and the current Sephirena was quite unreliable. She also didn’t want to keep troubling Minoga.

Oliphia looked at her. “Princess Liana, I lost.”

“Lost? What did you lose?” Liana asked.

“Didn’t Princess Liana make a bet with me before? If Princess Liana could persevere, I would take off this armor,” Oliphia said.

“Oh, that.” Liana did have some recollection. Now that everything was out in the open, there was no need to keep up the act. “At that time, I was just trying to provoke you, to make you increase my training intensity a bit, so that I couldn’t continue. You don’t need to mind these things.”

“A loss is a loss, and it’s not something I can’t accept.” Oliphia put her hands on her helmet and slowly took it off. Her light blue hair swayed in the cold wind.

Oliphia did look quite beautiful without that shabby armor, very pleasing to the eye.

“It’s a bit cold.”

“Well, it’s snowing now.”

Being a noble’s pavilion, it certainly had special features, especially in such a cold winter territory. At that moment, the magic stones on top of the pavilion began to emit warm heat, causing the snowflakes on the brim of Liana’s hat to start melting.

The icy water dripped onto Liana’s thigh, making her shiver slightly as she quickly took off her hat.

“By the way, why do you always wear armor?” Liana was a bit curious. After all, Oliphia wasn’t unattractive; she was quite pretty. Just that because of intensive training, the feel of her skin might be a bit inferior to someone pampered like Liana. But because of the armor, she hadn’t been tanned by the sun.

“It’s a habit, perhaps? Or a sense of security?” Oliphia looked at the helmet in her hand. “Because we are warriors, we will definitely experience battles. Armor can effectively prevent others from identifying us.”

Indeed, what Oliphia said was correct.

If Liana hadn’t seen what Oliphia looked like under the armor before, she would never have guessed that this gentle-looking girl was Oliphia.

“Indeed, it’s impossible to imagine that your current appearance would have any connection with the words ‘Valkyrie of the Battlefield’,” Liana said.

“It seems that Princess Liana’s mental state is quite good. Should I appropriately increase Princess Liana’s training intensity?” After removing her helmet, Liana could clearly see Oliphia’s angry expression.

“Let’s not...” Liana shrugged.

“By the way, do we really have to train in the snow?” From the beginning, Liana had been wanting to ask this question.

Liana looked at the heavy snow falling outside. The spot where they had been standing was now covered in snow.

Standing outside swinging a sword while it was snowing—to others, it might look like they were fools.

“This is perfectly normal behavior, Princess Liana. You can’t always fight in familiar places. If it suddenly starts snowing, unfamiliarity with an unusual environment can be fatal,” Oliphia explained. Not just in the snow, but even under the blazing sun or in pouring rain, they would still train outside.

What a military training.

“I get it.” Liana shrugged. Since she had chosen Oliphia, she should accept this.

After resting ◈ Nоvеlіgһт ◈ (Continue reading) for a while, Liana stood up. “Same time, same place tomorrow?”

“Yes.” Oliphia nodded. “Tomorrow, I’ll arrange a completely new training regimen specifically for Princess Liana. Princess Liana should look forward to it.”

To be honest, Liana wasn’t looking forward to it. Besides, getting up early in such cold weather was really difficult.

Liana returned to her room, shook off the snowflakes on her body, and took off her coat. Thankfully, the magic stones were heating the room, otherwise Liana wouldn’t know how to get through this cold winter.

“Princess Liana, you’ve worked hard with your training.” Minoga suddenly appeared from somewhere and handed Liana a cup of hot tea.

Liana held the hot tea with both hands, feeling warm all over. She took a small sip, exhaling hot air from her mouth, and felt every part of her body emit comfortable sensations.

“Have you been watching me all this time?” Liana naturally hadn’t missed the detail in Minoga’s words earlier.

“I’m now responsible for ensuring Princess Liana’s safety, after all. But rest assured, Princess Liana, I only follow you when you’re outside. As for what you discussed with Lady Erinna in your room, I’m not quite sure.” Minoga said, noting that she would respect basic privacy.

“If it weren’t for the fact that you shouldn’t appear in public view too often, I would have asked you to train me,” Liana said. The training methods of a Judge weren’t something ordinary people could learn.

“The training methods of a Judge might not be suitable for Princess Liana. Oliphia is quite appropriate,” Minoga said. It wasn’t that she didn’t want to teach.

It was best for Liana to start from the basics now; jumping too quickly wouldn’t be good. “After Princess Liana has trained to a certain level and has enough foundation, I’ll help you train then?”

“It’s a promise then.” Liana naturally wouldn’t miss this opportunity.

“Yes.” Minoga nodded.

Liana sat at her dressing table, slightly adjusting her hairstyle that had been messed up during the outdoor training.

In the past, Liana definitely wouldn’t have cared about hairstyles and such, but now, things were a bit different. She needed to pay a little attention to her appearance.

“Is Princess Liana going to communicate with Princess Mephilia?” Minoga immediately guessed Liana’s little thought.

“Hmm? How did you know?” Liana asked curiously.

It’s too obvious, Princess Liana.