Liana herself also wanted to know where her mother had obtained this thing.

“What’s wrong?” Liana looked at the small tree, which was now emitting an aura of life.

“If the elvenkind discovers that you’ve stolen from the Tree of Life, forget about an alliance—you’ll become absolute enemies,” Sephirena said very seriously.

The elf race’s reverence for the Tree of Life was something they couldn’t understand. It was something even more important than an elf’s life.

Liana raised her hand, asking Minoga to call Jasmine over. Soon, a light yellow figure appeared.

Jasmine and Gardenia had been by her mother’s side for longer than her own age, so they might understand some things.

“What is it, Princess Liana?” Jasmine asked very respectfully, with her hands placed in front of her.

Liana trusted these two guards completely. They were extremely loyal to her mother and had helped her multiple times in the original story. Although they ultimately couldn’t escape death, without them, she would have died long ago.

They had received only two orders: one was to guard Ambis’ back garden, and the other was to protect Ambis’ precious daughter.

Due to the first order, they could only remain in this place, but they had told Liana that if she needed anything, she could come to them anytime.

But clearly, the Liana in the original story hadn’t done so.

“Do you know the origin of this Tree of Life?” Liana asked.

“The Tree of Life?” Jasmine looked up. “I don’t know much about this matter, but what I can confirm is that it was a gift to Lady Ambis from a friend. For more details about this, you should ask Gardenia?”

“A friend? That’s impossible!” Sephirena immediately refuted this point. “You have no idea what the Tree of Life means to the elf race. It’s absolutely impossible for it to be given away!”

Sephirena had never heard of this. Given to Liana’s mother?

When she was in the Elf Forest, she would have certainly known about this. But after she left, the Tree of Life began to wither again, making it even less likely to be given to someone else.

“Why do you think I don’t know what the Tree of Life means to the Elf Forest?” Jasmine looked at Sephirena. “Anyone with a bit of common sense would know this, not to mention with Gardenia here.”

“You!” Sephirena wanted to say more but was stopped by Liana.

“What are you arguing about?” Liana frowned. “Don’t forget your current status.”

“Tch.” Sephirena was somewhat displeased. Or rather, the current Sephirena finally showed a bit of what should originally be her character.

“Can Gardenia come over?” Liana asked softly.

“She can, but she’s a bit shy, and due to some special reasons, she can’t speak. I can only convey what she wants to express,” Jasmine said.

Liana recalled the few meetings they had. Except for greetings—no, even during greetings, it was Jasmine who spoke, with Gardenia just bowing behind her.

Indeed, Liana seemed to have never heard Gardenia speak.

“So can she come over?” Liana asked.

“Well, since someone needs to watch the entrance, one of us needs to stay there. But Gardenia alone can’t communicate well,” Jasmine said. “How about Princess Liana come with me to the exit for a moment?”

“Alright.” Liana didn’t mind this matter much; it was just a matter of walking a few more steps.

“Then may I guard the gate?” Minoga said.

“How could we trouble Lady Judge...”

“It’s fine, call Gardenia over,” Liana said.

This made Minoga somewhat displeased as she pinched Liana’s cheek, saying with annoyance, “Princess Liana really doesn’t hold back when ordering me around.”

Minoga clapped her hands. “So it’s decided. I have no problem with this, but you should answer Princess Liana’s questions well.”

“I understand.”

Minoga went to the entrance to replace Gardenia.

Gardenia came to stand behind Jasmine, reaching out to hold Jasmine’s hand. Their hands were intertwined, appearing very intimate.

“Princess Liana, you want to know about the small sapling in the center of the lake, right?” Jasmine asked.

“Yes.” Liana kept watching Gardenia, but Gardenia maintained a slight smile on her lips.

Jasmine held Gardenia’s hand tightly. After about a few minutes, Jasmine spoke, “This is a branch from the Tree of Life in the Elf Forest, a gift from the Elf Queen, Saedrella Tiael, to Lady Ambis. It’s a symbol of friendship. Lady Ambis is a friend of the elf race.”

“You must be joking!” Sephirena denied Jasmine’s words. She had never heard of this. Throughout the many years of Elf Forest history, this had never happened. Let alone a branch of the Tree of Life, not even a single leaf would be given to outsiders.

“What you’re doing will destroy the relationship between the Elf Forest and the Lisat Kingdom!” Sephirena didn’t want this to happen. “While there’s still time, return the branch of the Tree of Life. Perhaps there’s still a chance to salvage the situation.”

“Why are you so concerned about this Tree of Life?” Jasmine asked with confusion.

But Liana noticed that it was Gardenia who cast a puzzled look at Sephirena. She seemed to be very concerned about the Tree of Life and matters relating to elves.

“I just don’t want you to go to war with the elf race,” Sephirena said.

“Why do you act like you know so much about elves?” Jasmine asked.

Gardenia tilted her head in confusion, as if trying to discern something from Sephirena.

Whether she could see through or not, Liana wasn’t sure, but Liana could clearly see that the reason they were holding hands was partly due to their close relationship, and partly because Gardenia might be using this to convey what she wanted to say.

“Because she is an elf,” Liana spoke up.

“An elf?” Jasmine uttered in confusion.

This was probably her own voice, after all, as a High Executor, she should be able to recognize an elf.

But the young woman before them showed no sign of having any of the unique magical power characteristic of the elf race.

The magical power emanating from her was completely that of a human.

Sephirena was confused. Didn’t you tell me to hide my identity? Why did you suddenly expose me?

But since Liana had already said this much, Sephirena took off her hat and untied the hair wrapped around her ears, revealing them.

Those long ears were the exclusive proof of the elf race. Her crimson eyes looked at Jasmine and Gardenia, as if saying, she had proven she was an elf, and now it was their turn—how would they prove that what they said was true?

Gardenia frowned. Indeed, Sephirena’s appearance was that of an elf, but all other characteristics of the elf race were completely absent.

At this moment, Gardenia released Jasmine’s hand.

“Gardenia?” Even Jasmine uttered a confused sound.

Gardenia slowly opened her mouth, “Who are you?”

So you can speak after all.

“Why are you questioning me?” Sephirena looked at Gardenia in confusion. “Let me advise you one last time: while the Tree of Life hasn’t withered yet, return it to the Elf Forest. Perhaps you can still salvage your relationship.”

“I asked, who are you?” Gardenia also revealed her long ears, which bore marks inscribed with red runes, clearly showing that she too was an elf.

“...” Well, this was something Liana truly didn’t know. The original story didn’t have much description of these two, only briefly mentioning that they had once protected Liana.

Although Gardenia had already revealed her identity, Sephirena still expressed confusion, “As an elf, you should be more aware of what consequences this would bring to the relationship between the two countries, right?”

“So, you still don’t believe that this is a gift from the Elf Queen to Lady Ambis?”

“Yes.” Sephirena had never heard of this. Moreover, the current Elf Queen had been in deep sleep for a while. The last time she awoke seemed to be thirty years ago.

“After maintaining itself for a period, the Tree of Life withered again. You should be very clear about this, right?” Gardenia asked.

Sephirena was directly involved, so how could she not know? She nodded.

“After the Tree of Life withered, Lady Ambis came to the Elf Forest. Perhaps, as an elf, you may not understand Lady Ambis’ identity and abilities, but I can confidently assure you that Lady Ambis’ healing magic is unparalleled in this world.

So, naturally, she was invited by our elf race to the Elf Forest to observe why the Tree of Life was withering.

It was during that period that Lady Ambis indeed demonstrated some healing methods unique to her, which temporarily alleviated the withering of the Tree of Life. As an elf, you can’t possibly not understand what this means, right?” Gardenia said.

“...” Sephirena fell silent. This was indeed a very significant matter for /N_o_v_e_l_i_g_h_t/ elves, but why had she never heard of it?

“When did this happen?” Sephirena asked.

Gardenia thought for a moment, calculating the time. “Probably around thirty years ago? I don’t remember clearly. At that time, Lady Ambis was still young, before Princess Liana, but the person by her side was the current Duke of Venus, Rayen Venus.”

Thirty years ago...

Sephirena also fell into a moment of reminiscence. Thirty years ago, she hadn’t left the Elf Forest yet; she was still an Elf Princess. But at that time...

Sephirena’s lips trembled slightly, “By that time, had Princess Tarashil passed away?”

“You...” Gardenia looked at Sephirena. For some reason, she seemed somewhat similar to Princess Tarashil in her memory, but the fact was that Princess Tarashil had already passed away.

But after mentioning this name, Gardenia remembered another name, “Sephirena.”

An elf who couldn’t use elf magic.

“Don’t mention that coward’s name,” Sephirena said with disgust. “Just answer my question.”

“Princess Sephirena is no coward in my eyes,” Gardenia said. “I deeply respect Princess Sephirena. Although Princess Sephirena might not have a good reputation outside, being called ‘the child abandoned by nature,’ I understand what Princess Sephirena did.”

Sephirena’s gaze wavered slightly, believing that the other had certainly recognized her and was just saying kind words. “Saying such things in the Elf Forest would make you an outcast.”

“Am I not already behaving like an outcast?” Gardenia stared, while holding Jasmine’s hand. “An elf who came to the human world, hiding her elven characteristics, serving humans, and finally, falling in love with a human.

I may not understand Princess Sephirena very well, but I know what she did and why she did it. She is very brave, and I’m grateful to her, because if it weren’t for her, I wouldn’t have taken this step.”