“Alright.” Liana knew the other had a stubborn temperament, and since this was what she had agreed to, Liana couldn’t refuse. Besides, having her by her side wasn’t a big problem. As long as she covered her ears, there shouldn’t be any issues.

“You can come with me, but you can’t neglect caring for the Tree of Life. You are a princess of elvenkind. Your understanding of this matter exceeds anyone else’s. The Tree of Life cannot encounter any accidents. This is very important. I don’t expect it to grow much better than before, but it absolutely cannot get worse. Understand?” Liana said.

“I understand.” Sephirena nodded. Elves had a special connection to the Tree of Life. Even if you didn’t tell her, Sephirena would naturally take care of it when she saw the Tree of Life.

After all, for elves, the Tree of Life was like their mother. No matter Sephirena’s current state, she wouldn’t ignore it.

“Good.” Liana looked into the distance.

The sky was gradually darkening, and a carriage slowly approached from afar, leaving a track in the snow.

“It seems everyone has arrived,” Minoga appeared in front of Liana, instinctively reaching out to pinch Liana’s cheek, but stopped midway.

“I need to wash my hands first. I can’t dirty Princess Liana,” Minoga said.

“What were you doing just now?” Liana asked curiously.

After they had come out, Minoga said she had some matters to attend to and disappeared. About ten minutes had passed before she returned.

“Nothing much, just giving some warnings,” Minoga said nonchalantly.

Liana roughly knew what Minoga had been doing, and also understood the reason behind her earlier words.

Was the hand-washing because she had just dealt with those who were observing or attempting to assassinate her?

This again confirmed Liana’s previous decision.

Although the people from Ibett Magic Academy would protect Mephilia, without Minoga, it was still too dangerous. Not to mention that even with Minoga by her side, there were still people monitoring her.

“Shall we go? Shall we return now?” Minoga asked.

“Yes.” Liana nodded.

But at this moment, Gardenia stepped forward and pulled Liana’s hand.

Liana looked at Gardenia, roughly knowing what she wanted to do. “Do you have something to tell me?”

Gardenia nodded.

Liana looked at everyone. “Wait for me a moment.”

Liana followed Gardenia to a corner.

“Aren’t you bringing Jasmine along?” Liana asked with some confusion.

“No need.” Gardenia slowly opened her mouth. “If she comes along, I’d be a bit embarrassed.”

“So, what is it?” Liana was puzzled that Gardenia had something she was embarrassed to say in front of Jasmine.

“Elf ears have a very special meaning for elves,” Gardenia said.

Liana had heard some rumors about this, but she wasn’t very familiar with the specifics.

“In the past, for elves, only very important people could touch an elf’s ears. But for some reason, in the last few decades, it has evolved into a strange phenomenon where only one’s lover can touch an elf’s ears,” Gardenia said.

“Only lovers can touch? Then you two just now...” Liana was about to mention that Jasmine had been playing with Gardenia’s ears earlier.

Gardenia quickly stepped forward and covered Liana’s mouth. “Shh! Don’t let Jasmine hear!”

“You haven’t told her about this?” Liana was puzzled. This didn’t seem like something worth concealing, and it didn’t seem easy to hide either.

“It’s precisely because I’ve mentioned it that I can’t talk about it in front of her, or she’ll tease me again,” Gardenia said.

That made sense. Having just had her ears touched, she would naturally be a bit embarrassed.

Ah, the intimate games of a couple—Liana couldn’t understand.

“The reason I wanted to tell Princess Liana about this is because Princess Liana will be living with Princess Sephirena, so I wanted Princess Liana to be a bit careful. If you accidentally touch an elf’s ears, there could be unnecessary trouble,” Gardenia said.

“I understand.” Liana nodded. This explained why Sephirena had almost hissed at her that day.

In the future, she would need to be more careful. Accidentally touching them would be a serious problem.

“Thank you for telling me this,” Liana said gratefully.

“Princess Liana has really changed a lot compared to before,” Gardenia said like an older sister who was pleased to see her younger sister’s growth.

“I do grow up a little, you know,” Liana smiled gently as she returned to the main group.

“Then, should we be heading back now? Thank you, Sister Gardenia and Sister Jasmine, for guarding the garden,” Liana said very politely.

Her sweet voice nearly melted Gardenia and Jasmine’s hearts. What a little angel.

Everyone boarded the carriage and headed toward Liana’s current residence, which would take about ten minutes.

“Princess Liana...” Oliphia looked at Liana, finding it hard to imagine that those words had just come from Liana’s mouth.

Liana glared at Oliphia, naturally knowing what she wanted to say, telling her to be quiet and not to ask!

Oliphia didn’t say anything more. After spending this time together, she had somewhat adapted to these changes.

She should start adapting to these things, adapting to this, the true Princess Liana.

After arriving at their destination, Minoga used magic to light up the small cabin.

“This is your first time coming to this place, right?” Liana asked Sephirena beside her.

“Yes.” Sephirena looked around curiously. The setup here was somewhat rudimentary, certainly not what she imagined a noble young lady would have. It was too simple—just an ordinary forest cabin.

Outside, there was some simple exercise equipment. Was this also something Princess Liana used?

Since this was just a temporary residence, and it would likely be destroyed after a while, Liana hadn’t prepared much.

Liana pushed open the door. “The upstairs rooms are all taken. You’ll stay downstairs. That shouldn’t be a problem, right?”

“No.”

Liana went upstairs and brought down some sheets and bedding.

Sephirena stood frozen in place. Was this something a young lady should be doing?

“You’ll use these, right? Don’t tell me you’ve been in the human world for so long and still don’t know how to use these?” Seeing Sephirena’s expression, Liana thought she didn’t know how to arrange them.

“I somewhat know how.” Sephirena was puzzled about why Liana, as a noble young lady, would personally handle this. “Couldn’t I have gone upstairs to get these things? Why trouble Princess Liana?”

“It’s just a small matter. Don’t think too much about it,” Liana no longer needed to deliberately disguise herself. It might even be counterproductive. The current Liana was just Liana.

“Do you have any dietary restrictions?” Liana asked.

“Food?” This put another question mark over Sephirena’s head. “Elves don’t need to eat. We can obtain energy from nature to maintain our energy requirements.”

“Eating isn’t necessarily just to satisfy energy needs. Enjoying various delicious foods is also a pleasure,” Liana said.

“...” Sephirena didn’t quite understand this. If elves really wanted to eat something, they would probably pick some fruits from trees.

“So, do you have any dietary restrictions?” Liana asked again.

“Apart from not eating meat, I can accept everything else,” Sephirena thought for a moment. Rather than continuing the questions, it was better to just say it outright to avoid future trouble.

“I understand.” Liana said, as she began to take off her outer coat, rolled up her sleeves, and went to the kitchen.

“Princess Liana, you’re not...” Seeing Liana’s actions, Sephirena wondered if she was going to cook by herself.

“Hmm? Cooking.” Liana tied up her hair, which had grown a bit long, to avoid any accidents while cooking.

“Princess Liana, you’re going to cook?” It wasn’t that Sephirena cared about Liana; it was just that Liana had initially said she would be a maid and guard.

If Liana did this, wouldn’t it mean she had breached their agreement?

“What’s wrong? Do you want to try?” Liana looked at Sephirena with curiosity. What would elven cooking be like?

She was curious, but more than curiosity, Liana was concerned. Liana didn’t really believe Sephirena could make anything delicious. This seemed too difficult for her.

She could barely grasp the basics of being a maid, let alone this advanced skill. And as an elf, she probably rarely engaged in this kind of activity.

“This...” Sephirena was troubled. This was something she truly didn’t know how to do.

Liana could see that Sephirena looked like she wanted to say something but was hesitating. “So, what did you want to say? It’s better to just say it directly. I can’t read people’s thoughts from their faces.”

“Because when Princess Liana purchased me, you intended to use me as a maid and guard. But now, for guarding, you have others by your side, and as for being a maid... I really can’t learn it.”

Since coming to Liana’s side, Sephirena could clearly feel she was being specially cared for. She didn’t need this. Doing this only made Sephirena feel like she was failing to do what she should.

She was bought to take care of others, but now she was being taken care of. Moreover, this way, she wasn’t fulfilling Liana’s tasks, which would give her reason to refuse Sephirena.

“I see. If you feel uneasy not doing anything, then go loosen the soil around those flowers on the window. For elves, this should be a very simple task, right?” Liana pointed to the potted plants by the window.

This was one of the few decorations in the forest cabin. It was due to the monotony that Liana had specially brought them.

“I understand.” Sephirena nodded.

“I know what you’re concerned about. You don’t need to worry about me breaking our agreement. What I’ve promised you is promised, and I won’t go back on it. You just need to obey my orders,” Liana said. “Of course, if you have any doubts about my orders, you can raise them. If you have sufficient reasons, I might accept your suggestions.”

Sephirena looked at Liana. She was completely different from the person in the rumors—like night and day. But this didn’t matter to Sephirena.

Perhaps it would just make her remaining time a bit more comfortable? As long as Liana fulfilled their agreement, that was enough.

About half an hour later, Liana brought out a pot from the kitchen.

“Princess Liana, what cuisine is it today?” Minoga appeared in the room at this time.

They seemed to have gotten used to this life, which Sephirena found hard to understand.

She could somewhat understand the Judge, as she was practically half a monarch. But what about Oliphia?

Given Liana’s status, cooking for Oliphia seemed a bit off, didn’t it?

“Half-and-half hot pot. One side has stewed meat, the other is completely vegetarian,” Liana had specially modified the pot to accommodate Sephirena.

Sephirena had never seen such a thing and was curious.

However, the other two were already preparing to eat. They had long gotten used to this lifestyle.

Liana handed Sephirena a small plate with some dipping sauce. “Don’t worry, these were prepared separately. There’s no meat inside.”

“Thank you.”

Sephirena curiously used a fork to pick up a vegetable, dipped it in the sauce on the plate. She had initially planned to just eat a little, but as soon as she put it in her mouth, she tasted a deliciousness she had never experienced before.

It wasn’t that she hadn’t tasted food from the human world. Due to her elf identity, she had received some special treatment in the human world. But such delicious food was something Sephirena had never tasted before.

“If you like it, eat more,” Liana smiled.

“...” Sephirena looked at Liana.

Strange human. This wasn’t about buying her to take care of Liana; it was clearly Liana taking care of her.

After dinner, Liana quickly tidied up and then went upstairs.

She activated the magic stone to communicate with Mephilia, while Minoga came to Liana’s side at this time to report the day’s findings.

“Liana?” Mephilia’s voice came from the other end of the magic stone. “Good evening.”

When Mephilia saw Liana, her face couldn’t help but break into a smile.

“Mm.” Liana looked carefully at Mephilia.

“What’s this about?” Even through the magic stone, Mephilia could feel Liana’s intense gaze.

“You haven’t encountered any unexpected situations, have you?” Liana asked with concern.

Now it was Mephilia’s turn to carefully observe Liana. Since Liana had said this, it definitely meant that Liana must have encountered some unexpected situation.

“Minoga, has something happened?” Mephilia asked Minoga directly.

Minoga felt it was somewhat inappropriate for her to be here. Couldn’t Princess Liana just answer Princess Mephilia directly?

Fortunately, this wasn’t something too awkward to say.

“Recently, the number of people following Princess Liana has increased. Today, I dealt with some of them. For a period, they should behave more quietly,” Minoga said.

So this was why Liana was observing her?

“Don’t worry, Liana. I’m very safe. In Ibett Magic Academy, no one would make a move against me,” Mephilia said.

But Mephilia had also noticed that, although no one would move against her, since Minoga had left her side, there had been more strange people watching her.

“We absolutely cannot be careless about those two. They no longer have the capital to compete with you, Mephilia, so they can only consider using some underhanded methods,” Liana said.

Mephilia understood this point most clearly. To prevent another incident like Countess Rose, she had Minoga follow Liana.

“Minoga can’t be in two places at once, unable to protect both of us simultaneously. This warning that Minoga gave them might make them temporarily give up on me and turn to you instead,” Liana said.

Then, Liana lowered her voice. “By the way, given all the contributions you’ve made, couldn’t the King of Lisat send another Judge to protect you?”

“Well... that’s definitely not possible,” Mephilia shook her head. “Judges all have their own missions, and if I stay in Ibett Magic Academy, I should be very safe.”

Indeed, there were only a few Judges, and they certainly couldn’t be casually reassigned from their original positions.

“That’s exactly why I came up with this idea. And by the way, I have something to tell you: Lady Gardenia is actually an elf,” Liana said.

“An elf?” Mephilia, who often played {N•o•v•e•l•i•g•h•t} with Liana when they were young, naturally knew who Gardenia was. But she truly had no idea that Lady Gardenia was an elf.

“Yes, and through some special methods, she can use illusion magic. This means that the person who gets assassinated doesn’t necessarily have to be me. I can secretly switch places during the fake death created by illusion magic,” Liana said. “This can greatly reduce the danger I might face. It’s very safe.”

Although Mephilia had more or less agreed to this, Liana still wanted to give Mephilia enough reassurance.

“I understand,” Mephilia sighed. “I agree, okay?”

“But I didn’t expect Lady Gardenia to be an elf,” Mephilia hadn’t noticed this at all before. It wasn’t that they hadn’t thought about it; it was that Lady Ambis was truly tight-lipped.

She didn’t even tell us about this!

But thinking about it carefully, she indeed shouldn’t have told them. They were still young then and wouldn’t have understood much. Perhaps as soon as she told them, they would have told others, and that would have been a serious problem.

Liana also explained to Mephilia about Ambis and the Tree of Life.

Seeing Mephilia’s shocked expression, she clearly didn’t know about this either. Not just Mephilia, even Minoga didn’t have much understanding of this matter.

“Sister Ambis is truly amazing,” Mephilia was very excited. This also explained why the King of Lisat didn’t show much surprise when Princess Avira wanted to come to the Lisat Kingdom.

“Mm-hmm, I won’t easily put myself in danger now,” Liana smiled. “After all, I have you, Mephilia. When you become the monarch, won’t I be the queen? I want to enjoy a good life.”

“What are you saying!” Mephilia glared at Liana, somewhat embarrassed. “Although part of my desire to rule is to protect you, Liana, after claiming the throne, I must still be responsible for the citizens.”

“I know that, of course. If you didn’t think that way, you wouldn’t have come this far,” Liana was very clear about how much effort Mephilia had put in.

“But, if that situation does arise, then I won’t be...” Mephilia said.

“Shh!” Liana knew exactly what Mephilia was about to say, so she quickly stopped her.

Liana certainly knew what Mephilia wanted to do, but such things were better kept in the heart. There was no need to say them out loud. Some words didn’t need to be spoken for Liana to understand clearly.

“I’ll definitely put in some effort too. It can’t just be you working hard. Now, Mephilia just needs to focus on the Lisat Kingdom,” Liana said.

“You don’t need to tell me that; I already know,” Mephilia rolled her eyes at Liana. “Besides, Liana, you’ve already worked hard enough.”

Seeing the two being so affectionate, Minoga felt a bit out of place.

She didn’t disturb the two much, as they both had their own matters to attend to. Although Liana could take the initiative to find Mephilia, Liana’s personality usually wouldn’t allow her to do so.

Minoga wouldn’t disturb their rare evening meeting too much.

However, important matters still needed to be discussed, as this was a very significant issue.

But this matter was a bit awkward to discuss in front of Princess Mephilia. After they finished their communication, as Liana opened the wardrobe, preparing to bathe, Minoga called out to her.

“Princess Liana, I have something I’d like to discuss with you,” Minoga said.

“Is it about Loraviel?” Liana looked at Minoga.

Part of the reason for returning to Venus Manor today was for this. And the fact that Minoga had specifically waited until after the communication to tell her about this probably meant she didn’t want Mephilia to know.

If it were about Loraviel’s teacher, there would be no need for such discretion. Since it wasn’t, it could only be about Loraviel herself.

“Yes,” Minoga nodded. “It’s about Miss Loraviel.”

“How is it?” Liana’s heartbeat slightly quickened, as she still had the letter from Loraviel’s mother in her hand. Throughout the day, Liana hadn’t had time to open this letter.