“As for the holy sword, I will keep it for Princess Liana for the time being.”

“Mm.” Liana nodded. This was her intention as well. With Sephirena holding the sword, she would receive special care in the Elf Forest and wouldn’t have to worry about danger.

Besides, if Nimeris wanted to make a move on her, she would have to consider the sword. If she accidentally exposed her connection to the demons, the consequences would be quite severe.

“Is it over now?” Liana looked at the people around them. “There’s no need to stop us now, is there?”

The elf guards made way for her.

“Follow me,” Liana said.

She led Sephirena to Mephilia and the others.

“Liana?”

“Your Highness Liana?”

They were completely unaware of what had just happened.

“Mephilia, help Sephirena treat her wounds first. We’ll talk about the specifics later,” Liana said, pointing to Sephirena’s bleeding fists.

“I understand.”

“I’m an elf. These are just some superficial wounds. I can absorb the mana in the air to slowly recover. Besides, we’re in the Elf Forest now. My recovery speed will only be faster,” Sephirena said.

“If I tell you to accept the treatment, then accept it properly. Why so much nonsense?” The moment Liana spoke, Sephirena quieted down and obediently accepted Mephilia’s treatment.

“There are too many people outside. It’s better to go into a room to talk,” Liana sighed helplessly. Some things could not be said outside.

Besides, she also wanted to know why Sephirena had done such an inexplicable thing.

Liana looked at Sephirena’s hands. The bleeding had stopped, and the wounds were slowly healing under Mephilia’s treatment.

“Let’s go back first,” Liana said.

“Your Highness Liana.” Avira called out to her at this moment.

Liana pointed to herself, as if a little unsure. At a time like this, you choose to call me instead of Sephirena?

“Yes, Your Highness. I am indeed looking for you,” Avira said.

“Wait for me a bit?” Liana said.

“Do you need me to follow, Your Highness?” Loraviel asked.

“...Come along.” Liana didn’t refuse.

She didn’t want any accidents to happen at such a crucial time.

As for Mephilia, she could continue treating Sephirena.

Liana followed behind Avira. They didn’t walk far, stopping in front of a small stream. There were no other elves around. It could be said that only the three of them were here.

“Princess Avira, is there something you wanted to say to me?” Liana asked.

She didn’t know what Avira wanted to do at this time. Was it to ask about the holy sword?

“I feel like there are many questions I want to ask you, Princess Liana, but I don’t know where to start. If I were to ask everything, this amount of time would not be enough,” Avira said with a bitter smile.

“Then pick some of the questions you want to know the most. But I will also tell you beforehand, I don’t know much about the holy sword. Perhaps I know even less than you all. As for why it chose me, I don’t know. But you can go and ask Sephirena. After all, the place where it first appeared was in her illusion,” Liana said, then continued,

“And she can also use illusions now. Perhaps the sword was looking for her from the beginning. It was just that she couldn’t keep her mouth shut and revealed the news, allowing someone with ill intentions to damage it, forcing it to hide. After that, the sword didn’t like her so much anymore?”

Liana also wanted Sephirena to help find the elf who had made a deal with the demons. Although she already knew who it was, in the current situation, if she were to say it...

It seemed that a portion of the people would believe her. After all, she was the chosen of the holy sword and had received the approval of the Tree of Life. Her words carried a lot of weight with the elves.

However, Nimeris had already held the sword and nothing happened. It seemed she was also prepared. If she were to say it directly like this, it might not be a good thing. Perhaps the other party would use this matter to turn the tables on her and also make her more vigilant.

“This matter, I will go and investigate,” Avira nodded.

“Go on. What do you want me to do? Or what do you want to ask? I will answer as much as possible. After all, we are allies,” Liana said, emphasizing the word “allies.”

“Mm.” Avira nodded. “What I want to know is not about the holy sword, but about Sephirena. The her of the past, although she was very mischievous, would absolutely not do such a thing. So something must have happened for it to be like this. And she took the initiative to offer to be your guardian knight. That’s why I was a little concerned. What on earth happened between you and her?” Avira asked.

“Not to mention you, even I don’t know why she suddenly said such a thing,” Liana said, frustrated.

She also wanted to know why Sephirena had said that.

“Then what exactly happened between you and her?” Avira asked.

What happened... is that something I can say!

However, there were some things that could be said. For example, the matter of Tarashil. Avira must also really want to know about her.

“Because of the Tree of Life’s sapling, I once entered Sephirena’s illusion magic. Her illusion was a colorless Elf Forest, a withered Elf Forest, an Elf Forest that had been invaded by the demons,” Liana said.

“Ah...” Avira had clearly never thought that Sephirena’s illusion was like this. 𝒻𝓇𝑒𝘦𝘸𝑒𝒷𝓃ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝒸ℴ𝘮

She had never entered her illusion, especially after Tarashil had passed away. Sephirena had become very withdrawn.

“Her illusion magic is actually like that... No wonder she has that kind of personality.” Avira knew too little about her.

“It has nothing to do with her personality. Do you think a person living in a dark world would have such a mischievous personality?” Liana asked in return. “It’s probably because something happened that made her illusion magic become like this.”

“It must be that Tarashil’s death was too great a shock for her,” Avira said. That was the only possibility she could think of.

“In her illusion, I saw the demonkind, I saw the holy sword, I saw the completely withered Tree of Life, and I also saw Tarashil,” Liana said.

The few things she mentioned, even just one of them, was enough to shock Avira. When all four were said together, Avira didn’t know where to begin.

Liana continued, “The withered Tree of Life was probably from a long, long time ago. The time point of her illusion was probably the last demon war. This may also be the reason why the Tree of Life has become like this now, because it was severely damaged in the last war.

“Then the demons are the reason why her illusion became like this. And the holy sword was protecting it. And I, with the help of the Tree of Life, entered the illusion. On the way to find her, I received some inexplicable guidance that made me pull out the holy sword.

“But I couldn’t use it. At that time, I didn’t even know it was the holy sword, until it came into Sephirena’s hands that it displayed its true use. She used the holy sword to eliminate the demons,” Liana said.

“Then what about Tarashil?” Avira knew very well that the meaning of the holy sword to Sephirena was far less than that of Tarashil. Only Tarashil could truly touch her.

“Tarashil didn’t say much. She just smiled and looked at Sephirena, and praised her well,” Liana said.

“...That’s enough.” Avira nodded. To be acknowledged by the one she looked up to was enough for Sephirena.

Although Liana had said it very casually, almost ignoring everything about herself, Avira knew very well that Liana had definitely done something very important. Otherwise, how could an elf with Sephirena’s temperament be willing to be the other’s guardian knight?

“Your Highness Liana, I wonder if the holy sword can help Mother Tree of Life? She is in great pain right now...” Avira said.

“I’m not too sure about that either. It’s also my first time getting the holy sword, but I can only be sure that it is very weak right now. I’m afraid it won’t be able to help.” Liana couldn’t do anything about this either. If she could, she would definitely want to help.

If the Tree of Life got better, the chances of winning against the demon race would be greatly increased.

She continued, “The Tree of Life became like this because it sealed the remnant demon race. And some ill-intentioned people wanted to let them out, which is why it became like this. That night, who on earth killed Princess Tarashil? If we can find this person, perhaps we can know the truth.”

“I understand.” Avira nodded. Everything had changed after that full moon night.

An elf who could do this probably had a high status in the Elf Forest, which also gave Avira a bit of a headache.

But there was no way around it. Even if it was a headache, she had to find them. The matter was of great importance.

“That’s all I wanted to know,” Avira said, standing up.

“You’re not going to ask about the holy sword?” Although Liana had said she didn’t know much about it, she hadn’t expected the other party not to even ask.

“Mother Tree of Life has already answered for us. She chose you, Your Highness, and the holy sword also chose you. Then what else is there for us to do? Right now, we just have to believe. As long as we can help you, that will be enough. If there is anything you need, just tell us. We will do our best to help you. Because only by solving the problem of the demon race can we save Mother Tree of Life, right?” Avira said.

“I understand.” Liana also stood up and patted the dust off her clothes. “If there’s a need, I will find you at any time... oh, actually, I need a small favor from you right now, Princess Avira.”

“Please speak, Your Highness,” Avira said.

“The Second Prince Oester, I don’t like him very much. And he has framed me before. The reason Princess Nimeris found the clue to the holy sword was also because of this guy. I have sufficient reason to suspect that he is up to some strange business. I am also very worried that she will be led astray by him,” Liana said.

“...I understand. The second prince will be leaving the Elf Forest soon. I promise you,” Avira said.

“That’s good.” Liana nodded with satisfaction.

To make Oester leave at this time was no different from killing him. Perhaps it would even make him and Princess Nimeris turn against each other because of this.

“Then I will go back first. Too many things have happened today. Mephilia and the others are still waiting for my news,” Liana said.

“Thank you for your hard work, Your Highness.”

Liana and Loraviel returned the way they came.

“A lot has happened between you and Princess Sephirena,” Loraviel said, following behind with her hands on her back.

“I suppose so. When we first found her, you were also with me. Can you imagine that the Sephirena from back then and the Sephirena of now are the same person?” Liana asked.

“Yes. I thought you were going to sell me back then. you scared me,” Loraviel said, recalling that time. She had been terrified.

“Such a cute maid, how could I bear to sell you?” Liana said with a laugh.

“Your Highness is really-!” Loraviel hugged her from behind. “I like you too much. I really want to find a place and deal with you on the spot right now,” she said very aggressively.

Liana rolled her eyes at her. “The way you’re talking now, how are you a qualified maid? I’ll have Naibert re-test you on your maid manual when we get back.”

“I don’t need the maid manual. What I need is only Princess Liana’s Observation Diary. I am only Your Highness’ maid. How other maids treat their masters has nothing to do with me. I only need to know how I should treat you,” Loraviel said with a laugh.

The observation diary...

Liana had glanced at it once before. The records about her in it were, one had to admit, very accurate.

She wondered if a few more entries /N_o_v_e_l_i_g_h_t/ had been added now.

“However, I’m really becoming more and more curious about you, Your Highness,” Loraviel said.

“Curious? About what?” Liana asked.

“Your Highness is like a goddess descended from the heavens. You’re able to know what to do next, with accurate judgments, and ways out in desperate situations. Altering spells, discovering the weaknesses of the demon race, being the wielder of the holy sword, the human blessed by the Tree of Life, each one seems impossible, yet you are able to connect them all perfectly,” Loraviel said.

Liana opened her mouth and bit the arm that was hugging her. “And now? Do you still think I’m fake?”

“I never said you were fake,” Loraviel said, a little aggrieved. “I just said you are very amazing. When did I say you were fake? I do know that you are very good at hugging me, though.”

“I’ll bite you to death!” Liana took a hard bite of Loraviel’s arm. What does she mean, good at hugging?!

Loraviel did not let go because of the pain. Instead, she hugged her even tighter. “No matter what you are like, Your Highness, in any case, I’m sticking to you. I won’t leave no matter what you say. I’m just going to stick to you.”

How did it suddenly turn into this? Liana let go and gently patted her hand. “Don’t worry. I still have some say in the Venus Dukedom. It’s a simple matter to raise a cute little maid.”

Loraviel thought, how can there be such a perfect and cute person like Princess Liana in the world? I am truly too happy.

After being lovey-dovey for a while, the two of them returned to Mephilia.

Mephilia looked at Loraviel. She looked a little strange, for some reason holding her own right arm with her left hand, but Mephilia didn’t ask much. After all, the person she cared about the most was still Liana.

“What did Princess Avira say?” Mephilia asked.

“Nothing much. Just asking some things. She also told me that as long as I need it, the Elf Forest will help me at any time,” Liana said. “Oh! And I also had her help me deal with that insignificant fellow Oester. He should be returning to the Lisat Kingdom before long.”

“I see.” Mephilia nodded. “After he comes back, we’ll think of a way. He has been quite honest recently.”

“No rush. We’ll let out a long line to catch a big fish,”1放长线,钓大鱼 (fàngchángxiàn, diàodàyú), using a long-term strategy to achieve a major goal. Liana said mysteriously.