novelraw Chapter 98.2: One White Face, One Red Face (2)
Chapter 98.2: One White Face, One Red Face (2)
There was still one thing Sybil wasn’t sure about: how Liana had managed to survive after taking forbidden drugs for so long.
"Everyone, please give me a moment," Sybil said.
"Mhm, no rush. Take your time," Liana replied, though even she was feeling nervous. Could it really be something serious...?
"I’ll be quick. I won’t take up too much of your time," Sybil assured them.
Then she turned and went back into the room she had used earlier.
"...Minoga, why did you still have that bottle on you?" Liana asked, slightly surprised.
She had assumed Minoga would have destroyed it immediately. After all, carrying such a thing was dangerous if anyone found out...
But then again, given Minoga’s status as a Judicator, no one would dare question her.
"Don’t worry, Lady Liana," Minoga said. "I reported it properly to His Majesty the King. There’s nothing to worry about."
"Tch." Liana clicked her tongue. "With your identity, even if you carried it openly, no one would dare say a thing."
"Oh? Is Lady Liana concerned about me?" Minoga teased, appearing behind Liana and reaching both hands around to pinch her cheeks.
"Don't pinch me! It's sticky, sticky!" Liana protested, her voice turning odd from the way her cheeks were being squeezed.
Mepeilu reached out and patted Minoga’s hands. Now wasn’t the time to be teasing Liana!
"I understand, Your Highness," Minoga said with a small bow.
"Liana, does it hurt?" Mepeilu gently rubbed Liana’s cheeks.
The sensation was addictive—it felt so nice and soft. No, no—this was serious business! Focus!
Still, for now, they could only wait for Sybil. Among everyone in the Lisat Royal Capital, Sybil was the best choice to research forbidden drugs.
From behind the closed room, strange noises and flashes of light occasionally leaked out.
No one knew what was happening inside.
Nearly an hour passed before Sybil finally emerged.
Meanwhile, poor Liana had been ruthlessly tormented by Mepeilu to pass the time—her hair braided, styled into all sorts of shapes. But because of her natural beauty, every hairstyle looked adorable on her.
"Cough, cough!" Sybil cleared her throat as she stepped out.
She was disheveled, her once-beautiful purple hair covered in dust—a disastrous sight for any girl with long hair.
Yet her face was lit up with pure joy.
"Lady Anbis truly succeeded!" Sybil said excitedly. "She successfully improved the forbidden drug!"
"Improved?" Liana blinked in confusion.
She wasn’t very knowledgeable about these matters. Priestesses were born and trained from childhood for this kind of work.
And forbidden drugs... Liana had always thought of them as utterly destructive substances. To imagine that three years of consumption could leave no serious side effects sounded impossible.
"Mhm! Truly, Lady Anbis was a genius among geniuses," Sybil said with genuine reverence.
She had managed to adjust the forbidden drug so that bodily damage was minimized. The side effects were drastically reduced.
It was thanks to this that Liana had survived. Otherwise, with Liana’s fragile constitution, she would’ve been dead within a month.
"Lady Liana, as long as you’ve taken the antidote, there will be no further problems. This discovery will drastically reduce the risk and difficulty of future treatments!" Sybil said, her voice trembling with excitement.
She grabbed Minoga’s hands tightly. "Thank you so much, Lady Minoga!"
"This has nothing to do with me," Minoga said coolly, pulling her hand free. "If you want to thank someone, thank Liana—and thank Lady Anbis."
Then, without hesitation, she reached out and pinched Liana’s cheek again.
"So, Lady Liana isn’t in any danger now?" Minoga asked.
"That’s right," Sybil said firmly. "I’ve thoroughly checked. There’s nothing wrong at all."
"And the princess?" Minoga pressed. "Will the forbidden drug she took earlier have any side effects?"
"At that time, Her Highness only had it in her system for an hour," Sybil explained. "Even without improvements, there would be no lasting harm."
Her hands still trembled from the sheer relief of today’s discoveries.
"From today on," she said, "this forbidden drug might no longer be called forbidden. It could become a legitimate medicine to treat certain rare diseases."
"If the side effects can be properly managed, the worst it would cause is a temporary inability to use magic."
"...That will be difficult," Minoga said.
Even if the risk was minor, the mere idea of temporarily losing magic would make it impossible for the drug to be widely accepted. Besides, if someone secretly slipped it into food, the consequences could be severe.
"Sorry, I got carried away," Sybil said, calming herself. She realized she had been overly optimistic.
Suddenly, Liana’s voice cut in.
"I hope," she said seriously, "that you’ll treat everything that happened today... as if it never happened."
"Rest assured, Lady Liana," Sybil said immediately. "Today, you came to see me for a check-up. I couldn’t find the cause, and you left angry—that’s the story I’ll tell."
"Wow! Talking with a smart person really is easy. No need to explain anything at all," Liana said with a grin.
"Now," she thought, "I really have no choice but to trust her."
"Lady Liana," Sybil added, "you’re so different from the rumors."
"And now... more and more people are finding out my secrets," Liana thought bitterly.
"But it’s fine. As long as the few truly important people remain unaware, there’s no real problem."
"Meaning... Loraviel," she muttered.
"And Prince Aust. And Ruthlen. But well, they’re not that important. If worst comes to worst, just crush them before they become a problem."
As long as Loraviel doesn’t find out, it’s fine.
"You’re so mean," Mepeilu teased, gently squeezing Liana’s hand.
"Please keep this a secret," Mepeilu said to Sybil.
"She has her own reasons for doing this."
"Relax," Sybil smiled. "Even after today, I’ll continue to help. After all, Lady Liana is Lady Anbis’s daughter."
Sybil was gradually sensing that things were not so simple.
"No wonder," she muttered, "every time I tried to approach Liana before, Prince Aust always had some 'urgent task' to send me away."
Liana hadn’t expected Sybil to speak so openly. But it made sense. Given today's events and her relationship with Aust, suspicion was inevitable.
"I didn’t say anything," Liana said with a mischievous tilt of her mouth.
Some things are better left unspoken. If exposed recklessly, even Sybil’s high status might not protect her.
For her safety, it’s better this way.
"I didn’t intend to reveal so much," Liana thought. "But since you found out, I had no choice."
"We still have no evidence about who used the drug on me."
"Today..." Liana smiled slightly, "thanks for picking up on my hints."
If Sybil had carelessly revealed that Liana could already use magic, things would have gotten very complicated.
"This shows Lady Liana trusts me," Sybil said warmly. "And if anything else happens, feel free to come to me."
"No—" She pulled a small jade token from her pocket.
"If there’s trouble, use this to contact me directly."
It was similar to the communication stone Mepeilu had once given Liana—only now smaller and more convenient.
"Thank you," Liana said, accepting it.
She stood up and stretched with a lazy yawn.
"Today was so satisfying," she said cheerfully. "Got a jade stone, extorted Aust a bit... small revenge feels so good."
After chatting a little longer, they left Sybil’s residence.
"Mepeilu," Liana asked as they walked, "did you finish your work?"
"Sort of," Mepeilu shrugged. "I rushed over the moment I heard Aust wanted to meet you."
"But even if I hadn't come," she smiled, "I think you would have handled everything just fine."
"Want to stroll around a bit?" Mepeilu suggested. "Ah—but your hand probably still hurts. Better rest and recover first."
"You’re only realizing that now?" Liana teased. "But don't worry. Sybil already healed it."
"Did it hurt a lot?" Mepeilu asked gently.
"..."
Liana blushed, remembering her embarrassing scene from earlier.
From now on... she'd better not overdo it again.
"No. It didn’t hurt," she muttered stubbornly.
Mepeilu chuckled inwardly. She knew Liana’s pride too well and didn’t push further. Instead, she simply moved a little closer.
As they walked back, they spotted Countess Ruth approaching.
Relations between them were still relatively polite, so Liana greeted her.
"Countess Ruth."
"Your Highness. What a coincidence," Ruth said, smiling. "Liana, I was just looking for you."
"For me?" Liana asked, raising an eyebrow. "What’s the matter?"
"It’s about the celebration," Ruth said. "The Venus estate staff will be returning tomorrow. I wanted to ask: will you ⊛ Nоvеlιght ⊛ (Read the full story) stay here in the Royal Capital to accompany the princess, or will you return with us?"