Were they about to go back? Loraviel was overjoyed, thinking she would finally have a chance to monopolize Lady Liana! (Not really.)

Liana thought that if she stayed here any longer, it would indeed be a bit inconvenient. Her presence would continue to weigh on Mepeilu’s mind, making her worry about whether anything would go wrong.

Moreover, these past few days, Mepeilu had rushed over right after hastily finishing her own matters.

Although Liana knew full well that Mepeilu could distinguish priorities and would definitely put her schoolwork first, even so, being this busy, clinging to her too tightly, was undeniably ➤ NоvеⅠight ➤ (Read more on our source) depriving Mepeilu of proper rest.

Every day, she went to bed late, got up early, hurried back and forth, and even after finishing her duties, used what little rest time she had left to accompany Liana.

A sly glint flickered in Liana’s eyes. She had come up with a plan—a way to leave Countess Ruth’s control openly and legitimately, and at the same time, to remain beside Mepeilu with rightful justification.

Right now, given "Liana’s" personality, it would certainly be the smart move to cling tightly to Mepeilu's thigh. Taking this opportunity to escape Ruth's control wasn't a bad idea.

After all, all these years, “Liana” had been striving to seize power for the privileges it would bring. Now, standing before her was someone who was not only genuinely kind to her but also held great potential and authority. And besides, considering the argument she had with Countess Ruth yesterday, wasn’t abandoning Ruth now the proper and reasonable course of action?

Moreover, wasn’t this exactly what Countess Ruth wanted? To have her get closer to Mepeilu, to deepen their relationship.

Liana held Mepeilu’s hand and said, “Well, that depends on how Sister Mepeilu wants to arrange things.”

“Is that so?”

Countess Ruth tilted her head and nodded. “If you’re not in a hurry, you can indeed stay in the Lisat Royal Capital a bit longer. However, during this period, Her Highness the Princess might be quite busy, and it may be difficult for her to take care of you. If we were to return first, and the princess became too busy, there might be no one to look after you.”

At this point, Countess Ruth still hadn’t noticed anything strange about Liana. She simply thought she was carrying out her own plan as usual.

“Don’t worry, Countess Ruth. I will take good care of Liana. And if Liana ever wishes to return, I’ll personally arrange for someone to escort her back safely. She will not be placed in any danger,” said Mepeilu.

Countess Ruth nodded. “Then I shall leave the two of you alone.”

Afterward, once they returned to Mepeilu’s residence, the two discussed the matter.

“The people from the Venus Territory are returning tomorrow?”

“Yes.

And most of them are probably already packed and ready to go,” Liana said.

The celebration wasn't something they had prepared for themselves. It was more like something set up for children, or for young couples to enjoy a date. The reason they had come here was simply to understand the purpose behind holding the festival.

For an event like this, the impatient types would have left on the very same day. The only reason they didn’t leave immediately was to save face for the royal family, avoiding any awkwardness between hosts and guests.

But two days were already enough. Any longer, and it would be considered rude.

“What about you, Liana? Are you also preparing to return?” Mepeilu asked.

Though Liana had told Countess Ruth she would leave it to Mepeilu to decide, Mepeilu knew perfectly well that Liana had only said that casually—entrusting the choice to her out of courtesy.

“More or less. But if you’d like me to stay and keep you company, I wouldn’t mind,” Liana said.

“Of course, that's what I would like to say!” Mepeilu laughed bitterly and shook her head. “But as you can see, even during the festival, I hardly have any time to spend with you.”

“For the next few days, it’ll likely be the same. And after a few more days, once the news spreads, even the Elven Forest—which normally shows no interest in human affairs—may end up sending an envoy.”

Mepeilu said.

“An event of this scale would indeed be enough to shake even the elves from their stubborn ways,” Liana said.

“And the Luska Kingdom?” Liana asked.

Mepeilu rolled her eyes at her.

“We won’t meet with them.”

“Our relationship with the Luska Kingdom is already worsening, almost to the point of complete severance. There’s no way we’ll disclose detailed information to them.”

“The reason we made this matter public at all is simply to make them more cautious. After all, when it comes to Creation Magic, if you create new, never-before-seen spells, there’s no way to keep it hidden. So why not just announce it directly?"

“Besides, openly revealing it forces them to wonder if we’re hiding even greater secrets behind the scenes.”

“Why would we go public with something this big? Is it because we’ve already discovered—or created—even more powerful magic? Are we concealing other hidden tricks? Have we been researching secretly for a long time?”

“All of this they’ll have to consider.”

“If the Luska Kingdom were to uncover evidence that we were secretly developing these things, they’d just assume that our research wasn’t complete yet. If they didn’t seize the opportunity to crush us now, it would only become even more dangerous for them later.”

“So by choosing to expose it ourselves, we make them wonder whether even worse secrets are lurking behind what we’ve revealed.”

“By giving an explanation involving the Phantom Spirit Race, we also force the internal schemers within the Lisat Kingdom to think twice before stirring up trouble.”

“Whether to stay behind or not—” Mepeilu left the thought hanging.

Absolute secrecy wasn’t realistic. Rather than letting others expose it, it was better to control the narrative from the start.

Liana didn’t really think that deeply about it. It seemed that she really wasn’t suited for such things. As a princess, Mepeilu had far too much to manage. It was better for Liana to just honestly enjoy the benefits others prepared for her.

“You’re amazing, Mepeilu,” Liana said, genuinely admiring her.

“You can praise me more, you know,” Mepeilu said happily with a big smile.

“I really do wish you could stay by my side more. That way, I could protect you better. But for now, I have to make some compromises,” Mepeilu continued, picking up the earlier conversation.

If Liana stayed at her side, she couldn’t completely hide her away.

Moreover, if Liana remained in the Lisat Royal Capital, Aust III likely wouldn’t leave her alone.

Although he probably wouldn’t dare do anything outright, his constant presence would be very annoying.

But if Liana returned to the Venus Territory, she would only be around Countess Ruth—much easier to handle.

Although it was painful to let her go, Mepeilu understood very well what needed to be done right now.

She was thinking about Liana’s future happiness. The current situation wasn’t enough.

The competition for succession was brutal. If she failed, she would be left with nothing.

For the sake of the future, they would have to endure a little longer—and right now was the best timing.

“Mm, I understand,” Liana said, fully aware of the situation.

She truly understood. Two years from now, the seals on the demons would start to weaken, and monsters would appear again, giving people warnings.

Rather than scrambling later to strengthen their soldiers, it was far better to start preparing now.

“Then, do you have time tomorrow?” Liana asked.

“Tomorrow...” Mepeilu began.

“Tomorrow morning, Her Highness will be free!” Minoja suddenly chimed in.

“So you were here all along...” Liana said, turning toward her.

“I’ve been here the whole time, Lady Liana,” Minoja said with a smile.

Liana glanced at Minoja, who was seated nearby. It seemed she had been sitting there from the very beginning, and yet Liana hadn’t noticed at all.

“But in the afternoon, she might have to attend to some matters,” Minoja added.

“That’s fine. Let’s go out and have some fun tomorrow. I haven’t had the chance to properly explore the Lisat Royal Capital yet—especially now, after the festival started,” Liana said, issuing an invitation.

“Okay!” Mepeilu said, a little excited.

“What should we wear tomorrow? Where should we go? What should we eat? Wait, wait!”

“Isn’t this... a date?”

“No, no!”

Liana quickly shook her head.

“She just wants me to relax a bit, that’s all. I mustn’t overthink it!”