“Tch.” Sephirena listened to Gardenia’s words. She denied her past self. No matter how much others praised her, she wouldn’t find anything to be happy about. “Enough, I don’t want to hear you explain these things anymore. They have no meaning for us. Just answer my question.”

“Yes, it was three years after Princess Tarashil’s death when Lady Ambis came to the Elf Forest,” Gardenia gave a definitive answer.

Sephirena now understood why she didn’t know about this. At that time, she was still standing at Tarashil’s grave, having become one with nature. Back then, her attention was solely on the tombstone before her, completely unaware of everything happening around her.

After that, she left the Elf Forest due to her contact with forbidden magic.

“I apologize. It was my fault,” Sephirena bowed her head. “I was too impulsive and questioned you without calm consideration.”

By this point, Sephirena had more or less come to believe what they were saying.

Gardenia didn’t mind much, as this was a secret for the Elf Race. The Tree of Life was such an important entity that it had never been given to others before. Being suspicious was perfectly normal behavior. If she hadn’t been suspicious, that would have been strange.

“However, five years ago, Lady Ambis left to deal with some important matters, and until now, there has been no information about her,” Gardenia said.

“You don’t know about my mother’s whereabouts either?” Liana had originally thought they would at least know some intelligence. But now it seemed that apart from the King of Lisat, no one knew where the two of them had gone.

Gardenia shook her head. “I’m sorry, ❖ Nоvеl𝚒ght ❖ (Exclusive on Nоvеl𝚒ght) Princess Liana. We also don’t know where Lady Ambis and Duke Rayen are currently.”

“I see, it’s alright.” Though Liana said this, there was still some disappointment in her eyes.

Although Liana knew her parents were likely not in any danger, she still wanted to see them as soon as possible.

“Well, let’s not talk about this anymore. Let’s continue discussing the Tree of Life. Why would the Elf Queen give something so important to my mother?” Liana asked.

“Because the abilities Lady Ambis demonstrated were no less than those of our previous four Elf Princesses. She could temporarily halt the withering of the Tree of Life, which proved that she might be able to find other ways to solve this problem. That’s why the Elf Queen made this unprecedented decision.

She let Lady Ambis bring such a branch to the human city for research, and I, for certain reasons, followed Lady Ambis here to care for this Tree of Life together with her.

But the Tree of Life had long been accustomed to everything in the Elf Forest. Suddenly moving to another place would certainly make it difficult to survive. At first, when the Tree of Life was just transplanted to the back garden, it almost withered away completely. However, due to Lady Ambis’ careful nurturing, it improved, becoming what it is now.

Lady Ambis also told me how to care for the Tree of Life, but she hasn’t yet found a way to repair the main Tree of Life,” Gardenia said.

Sephirena now understood why the Elf Queen had given the Tree of Life to Ambis.

It was to cultivate a branch of the Tree of Life and search for other ways to repair it.

Looking at the growth of the small sapling in the lake, it had completely adapted to this place, even appearing more vibrant than the main tree in the Elf Forest?

“I see,” Liana roughly understood the situation now.

It seemed that Princess Avira’s sudden desire to form an alliance with the Lisat Kingdom wasn’t as simple as she had previously stated. Although that was certainly part of the reason, it was probably because her mother had broken through this impasse, which made the elves want to understand more about the human world. Damn Avira, hiding such information.

“It seems Princess Liana has already met Princess Avira,” Gardenia suddenly said.

“Oh? Yes.” Liana quickly realized that the bracelet on her wrist had revealed this.

“After my mother left, have you made any progress?” Liana asked.

Gardenia shook her head. “I’m just a very ordinary elf, with only some understanding of the Tree of Life—how to protect it, how to care for it—all completely taught to me by Lady Ambis. Being able to ensure the safe growth of the Tree of Life is already the most I can do,” Gardenia said.

If she truly had this ability, she wouldn’t be staying here. At the very least, she would be a member of the high elves. Although with Lady Ambis’ help, Gardenia now had this ability, she could no longer return.

“What’s wrong?” Jasmine suddenly felt a force from her palm and looked at Gardenia, then smiled gently. “Missing home?”

“Haven’t I always been home?” Gardenia asked in return, staring back into Jasmine’s eyes.

Wait, this wasn’t what Liana came to see.

“During this time, it’s been you two taking care of this Tree of Life sapling, right?” Liana asked.

“Yes,” Gardenia nodded.

Liana looked at Sephirena. She had this experience and could more or less improve the Tree of Life, since the reason the Tree of Life began to wither was because someone had been polluting it with filthy things.

“Now, do you two have full authority over this back garden?” Liana asked.

But the two of them shook their heads.

“Then who else? Could it be Mephilia?” Liana was puzzled.

“It’s you, Princess Liana. When Lady Ambis left, she said that the back garden belongs to Princess Liana,” Jasmine said.

“It’s mine?” Liana looked around. This place was full of precious herbs and treasures. Each one would be priceless if taken out. If she hadn’t been concerned about Countess Rose’s matter earlier, she would have come here and taken all the antidote materials away.

But she also had to thank Countess Rose, who by coincidence allowed her to gain a deeper understanding of some matters relating to Mephilia.

“Yes, you have all the authority in this back garden. All materials are yours to take as you need,” Jasmine said.

Liana turned her gaze to the Tree of Life. If it truly was the Tree of Life, and if Sephirena truly had no issues, she should be able to help the Tree of Life grow more robustly.

“Then, let her take care of the Tree of Life,” Liana pointed at Sephirena. “She’s also an elf and knows how to care for the Tree of Life.”

“Uh...” Gardenia’s expression was clearly somewhat peculiar, but she still nodded. “Since it’s Princess Liana’s wish, we naturally have no objections.”

“What if it dies?” Liana asked.

Although it seemed now that if this Tree of Life withered, there wouldn’t be any major consequences. After all, it existed to research whether the main tree could be healed, and the elves in the Elf Forest probably already believed this small life had withered.

In any case, Ambis’ disappearance wasn’t something worth concealing, and the elves in the Elf Forest certainly knew about it. With a person missing for five years, one shouldn’t expect this small life to still be alive.

Of course, Liana wasn’t asking Sephirena to care for the Tree of Life just to let it die. She still hoped she would take good care of it.

“We will also be watching and will teach her what to do,” Jasmine said. “Besides, this is ultimately your property, Princess Liana. How to treat it is entirely your choice.”

“I thought you would scold me, considering this is a sacred object of your race,” Liana said.

Gardenia smiled lightly. “I’m no longer an elf. I’ve long been stripped of the right to return. And even if I could go back, I wouldn’t, unless Jasmine could come with me. Only then would I consider returning.”

I know you two are deeply in love!

Although Liana was sarcastic in her heart, her face showed a gentle smile. So shippable, love it, ship it more.

“And the most important point is, Princess Liana, you are Lady Ambis’ sacred treasure. What we need to do is protect Lady Ambis’ sacred treasure,” Gardenia said.

Liana nodded, then turned to look at Sephirena. “They won’t tell anyone that you are Sephirena. They will keep it a secret for you. Besides, Gardenia seems to like you.”

“...?” Gardenia looked at Liana with confusion. “Princess Liana, what did you just say?”

“Sephirena Tiael, the fourth princess of your Elf Forest,” Liana said.

Gardenia looked at Sephirena, examining her, then tilted her head. After a while, she seemed to accept this fact. “No wonder I had a familiar feeling when we first met.”

Sephirena’s expression didn’t change. After all, she now depended on Liana. As long as Liana didn’t send her back to the Elf Forest and would kill her when the time came, she would have no objections.

“A familiar feeling? Familiar where? If you truly knew me, you wouldn’t feel any familiarity, right?” Sephirena looked at Gardenia.

What she said was true. The past Sephirena and the current Sephirena were completely different people—in appearance, looks, and personality. At least, the personality she was currently pretending to have was completely different from before.

So Sephirena now believed that Gardenia’s words were just to improve their relationship.

“You resemble Princess Tarashil,” Gardenia said.

“...Tch.” Sephirena bit her lip, immediately exposed.

Her current appearance was indeed modeled after her sister Tarashil.

Seeing Sephirena’s expression, Gardenia decided not to mention this topic further.

Back then, Gardenia was still in the Elf Forest and naturally had heard about these matters. She also knew this was a painful spot for Sephirena.

“I’m very comfortable entrusting the Tree of Life to Princess Sephirena,” Gardenia said. “I look forward to seeing the Tree of Life bloom one day. I also want to see what such a Tree of Life looks like, as I’ve never seen it before.”

Sephirena didn’t speak, only looking at the lake surface, then at her palm. Could she still take good care of the Tree of Life?

“This is your task now,” Liana said. “From now on, you will live here, taking care of the Tree of Life. This should be a simple task for you, right?”

Liana wanted Sephirena to face this matter again, and eventually, she would realize that the forces of nature weren’t cursing her.

Actually, resolving Sephirena’s issue was quite simple—just pull her out of her emo state.

It was similar to how Naibert had treated Liana before. Due to stereotypical views about certain matters, whatever Liana did back then was considered wrongdoing. But when she learned the truth, she discovered that those actions, from another perspective, might have been good deeds.

The reason Sephirena felt that the forces of nature were cursing her was simply because she didn’t want to live. If she had been living a normal life like ordinary elves, she definitely wouldn’t have considered it a curse.

But trying to correct this now seemed somewhat difficult. Many kinds of major problems require a delicate, slow and gradual process in order to fully, or at least mostly solve. There was still a long way to go.

“...” Sephirena looked at Liana. “Princess Liana, may I refuse?”

“Why?” Liana asked, knowing full well.

Either you tell me clearly why, or you accept it obediently. This was the confidence brought by an information gap.

“I...” Sephirena’s lips paused.

Gardenia understood what Sephirena had experienced and roughly knew why she was showing such an expression.

“Princess Liana...” Gardenia wanted to say something.

But Sephirena nodded in agreement. “I understand, Princess Liana. I will complete the task you’ve assigned to me.”

Liana nodded with satisfaction. Although Sephirena’s condition wasn’t very stable now, at least she was obedient.

“If you need anything, feel free to ask Gardenia and Jasmine for help,” Liana looked at the two.

The two nodded. “Princess Sephirena, if there’s anything we can help with, please don’t hesitate to ask.”

Gardenia spoke very respectfully. She held some fondness for this youngest princess.

“Don’t call me princess. I’m no longer an elf of the Elf Forest.”