novelraw Chapter 96: You’re Actually Pretty Nice?
Chapter 96: You’re Actually Pretty Nice?
"Prince Aust III? He has a way to restore my magic? What kind of trick is this guy trying to pull now?"
"Yes, that's what he told me. I wonder what you think, Lady Liana?" Vivian asked.
"What could I possibly think? The fact that he said it so openly clearly means he just wants to meet me, so he came up with a reason I couldn’t easily refuse."
"Fine then, let’s go see him." Liana also wanted to know what kind of scheme he was planning.
"Wait a moment while I change clothes."
Liana was still wearing her pajamas.
"...Sigh."
"Loraviel, come in."
"Yes."
"Lock the door."
"Alright."
Loraviel entered the room, stepping into Mepeilu’s quarters. It was her first time properly observing Mepeilu’s room.
The layout of the room wasn't particularly special; it was quite similar to Lady Liana’s own room.
"Go get me some clothes from the wardrobe—never mind, I’ll do it myself."
Liana remembered there was a doll resembling herself inside; she couldn’t let Loraviel see that.
"Clack clack clack—"
She noticed the medicine was starting to take effect. The pain in her arm was gradually easing. Although it still hurt, it had reached a tolerable level.
Liana placed the clothes she needed on the bed. "Help me change. This is also part of your training."
"...Alright."
Loraviel stood before Liana. This wasn’t the first time she had helped Lady Liana change, but this time, Liana was fully conscious, and her arm couldn’t move properly.
That meant the process had to be more careful and closer than the previous times, when the clothes were just lazily thrown on. Loraviel reached out and slowly unbuttoned Liana’s blouse.
Liana’s soft, pink skin gradually came into view. Wrapped in pink lace was a small, delicate bundle.
Loraviel could also sense that Lady Liana’s breathing had grown slightly hurried. She must have been a little nervous too, though knowing Liana’s personality, she would never admit it.
Loraviel moved behind Liana and carefully slipped the clothes off without jostling her injured arm.
She picked up a white blouse and helped Liana into it, then draped a jacket over her shoulders.
Kneeling, she held up a small skirt. "Lady Liana, please lift your leg—"
Liana raised her slender, delicate foot and stepped in. Loraviel pulled the skirt up to her hips and zipped the side.
The weather was a bit hot during the day and a bit chilly at night, so today—no stockings! Bare feet!
She would wear sandals!
Liana stood in front of the mirror and checked her appearance. No major problems.
Loraviel handed Liana a white sunhat.
Once she wore it, she looked even more like an innocent, harmless little sister from next door—someone you'd want to snatch up and take home.
At the entrance, Loraviel retrieved a pair of sandals from the shoe cabinet, knelt down, and gently cradled Liana’s bare feet in her hands to put them on.
As she looked at Liana’s tender, pink feet—those delicious little lollipops—an irresistible urge welled up inside her.
Feeling the warmth between her toes, she wanted to pry apart the gap between those lollipops and rub her fingers between them.
"...Loraviel?" Liana looked down at Loraviel, who was holding her legs without moving, and asked.
Startled, Loraviel hurriedly slipped the sandals onto her feet. ❖ Nоvеl𝚒ght ❖ (Exclusive on Nоvеl𝚒ght) Liana stood up, lightly tapped the toes against the floor, and, feeling no discomfort, instructed Loraviel to open the door.
Loraviel opened the sunshade as she stood at the door.
"Liana." Aust’s expression was a bit dark.
She had made him wait outside for so long.
But the moment he saw Liana step out, a smile bloomed across his face.
"So what’s this method you have to restore my magic?" Liana asked directly.
"For instance, why don’t we sit down somewhere and talk slowly?" Aust suggested.
"Fine, let’s go to the café where we met yesterday," Liana said.
That was a good chance to have a private conversation.
Aust’s eye twitched slightly. He had to be cautious with what he said in public, and Mepeilu would surely notice as well.
Besides, Mepeilu probably already knew about the forbidden drug. In the current situation, unless Liana was an idiot, she would stick close to Mepeilu. If so, Mepeilu might soon realize what was going on.
Therefore, Aust's priority was to hand over the antidote before Mepeilu could act, to earn some favor from Liana and clear himself while he still could.
Facing Mepeilu was no longer viable.
Meiserin’s rise was already unstoppable.
All he could do now was work through Liana.
"What we’re about to discuss concerns Lyon. It wouldn’t be good if outsiders overheard, right?" Aust said.
"That’s your concern, not mine," Liana replied indifferently. "I can’t use magic anymore, and honestly, it’s no longer that important to me. Mepeilu becoming the next king is practically a sure thing. I don't need to care about anything else. I just need to stay on Mepeilu’s good side. Whatever I want, won’t she give it to me?"
Aust instinctively reached for his sword hilt but restrained himself.
Was that really human speech coming from Liana just now?
While Olivia was clearly displeased with Liana’s words, Aust couldn’t help but smile.
Wonderful. Liana was still the same—sunny, optimistic, positive—not a pitiful beggar.
At the same time, though, he was deeply annoyed.
What did she mean, Mepeilu becoming the next king was already set in stone?
Wasn’t there still Liana herself?
"Fine." Aust agreed to Liana’s proposal. If she couldn’t keep up while walking, he would just carry her. Anyway, anyone who saw them together would first see Liana.
"Olivia, come with me," Liana said to Olivia.
She wasn’t about to go alone.
With a Royal Knight high-ranking executor by her side, her safety would be much higher.
Although right now, Olivia looked a little displeased, probably because of Liana’s earlier remarks.
"I still have to guard Princess Mepeilu’s residence," Olivia said.
"I’m enough here. Lady Olivia should go protect Lady Liana," Vivian interjected.
Then she whispered into Olivia’s ear, "In this situation, it’s better to ensure Lady Liana’s safety. Even if something happens, we must make sure Lady Liana doesn’t get hurt."
"I understand." Olivia sighed reluctantly and nodded.
Though annoyed, she would still properly protect Liana.
Because of the soreness in her arm, Liana’s posture while walking looked a little awkward, almost like a child.
Still, she didn’t want this fragile image appearing at Mepeilu’s residence.
Outside, where there were more people, Aust wouldn’t dare act rashly.
So she could endure for now.
Training her endurance wasn’t a bad thing—it might come in handy someday.
Maybe.
They arrived at yesterday’s café.
Knowing Liana would come here, Aust had booked the entire place.
"Loraviel, bring over a table," Liana said.
"Oh, alright."
Although Loraviel didn’t understand why, she still obeyed and moved a table over, combining it with the one already there.
"Lady Liana, what’s the meaning of this?" Aust frowned.
"No special meaning. You know I don't like men. It's better to keep some distance between us," Liana said coldly.
She had no fondness for this bastard who had harmed her.
If she weren’t afraid of exposing herself, she would have stormed off already.
Aust gritted his teeth but endured it.
The more distant Liana acted, the more it suited his plan.
His top priority now was to clear himself completely.
As for using Liana against Mepeilu, he would have to take it step by step.
"Of course, I understand. I respect Lady Liana’s preferences. I even heard you refused someone’s marriage proposal in public. Compared to that, I’m not so bad," Aust said with a faint smile, still trying to make himself look good.
"So tell me, what’s this method you mentioned to help me use magic again?" Liana asked.
"It’s just my own speculation. Would you mind extending your hand so I can examine it?" Aust said.
"Sorry, you’re not my type," Liana said sharply.
She didn’t want to be touched by anyone she didn’t trust.
She didn’t want to risk anything unexpected happening.
Although you couldn't judge by sight alone whether someone could use magic, there were special methods that could detect it.
Liana wasn’t about to embarrass herself over such a thing.
A vein pulsed on Aust’s forehead.
Clearly, he was quite pissed off.
Even though he was the least favored among the three successors, he hadn’t gotten this far by being weak.
He wasn’t about to underestimate someone like Liana.
He took a deep breath. "Alright. I’ll call a priest to examine you. How about that?"
Seemed he was willing to pay a hefty price.
After all, this involved forbidden drugs.
"Not many people know about the forbidden drug. Even if you call an ordinary priest, they won’t detect anything."
"In Lisat Kingdom, priests who know about forbidden drugs are very rare. Inviting one out requires a heavy price."
"Sounds great."
Just the thought of squeezing Aust for a fortune made Liana extremely happy.
"I’ll leave it to you, Prince Aust."
Aust had already guessed it would come to this, but it still hurt.
And in Lisat Kingdom, there were very few priests capable of detecting forbidden drugs—and most of them knew Liana’s mother.
If necessary, he could just find an excuse to switch.
So—
"Prince Aust, what can I help you with?" A priest approached.
Luck was on his side. The very first priest was someone Liana knew: Sybil, a student of Anbis, her mother’s old acquaintance.
"Miss Sybil, Lady Liana has been unable to use magic recently. I’d like you to examine her," Aust said.
If Sybil had checked earlier, maybe he wouldn’t have ended up being the scapegoat.
But since forbidden drugs were involved, whoever administered them was clearly well-prepared.
"And this is Miss Sybil, one of the finest priests of Lisat Royal Capital, and a student of Miss Anbis," Aust introduced.
It wasn’t that he deliberately picked someone close to Liana.
It was simply that nobody else wanted to take the job.
Everyone who heard it was about Liana immediately showed disgust.
They felt that even if Liana’s magic could be restored, her vile personality wasn’t something they wanted to deal with.
Only Sybil, a student of Anbis, had agreed.
"Hello, Lady Liana."
When Lady Liana had lost her magic previously, Sybil hadn’t been in the capital.
Actually, it had been Aust who timed his move for when Sybil was away.
Later, Sybil tried to contact Liana, but by then Liana had been brainwashed by Countess Ruth into believing Sybil was an enemy and refused to meet.
"I heard you can find out why I can’t use magic." Liana held out her hand.
"I’ll try."
Sybil reached out and held Liana’s soft hand.
"How can this be..."
Sybil could feel the presence of magic inside Lady Liana.
Her expression shifted slightly.
Had Liana herself not realized?
Or...
Sybil looked at her.
"What’s wrong? Even my mother’s student can’t figure out why I can’t use magic?"
Liana deliberately emphasized those words.
Mother’s student...
"I really can’t use magic anymore, right?"
Liana spoke with a trace of sadness, lightly rubbing Sybil’s palm.
Sybil hesitated, then understood Liana’s intentions.
She wanted her to cover it up.
"I’m sorry, Prince Aust. I can’t determine why Lady Liana can’t use magic," Sybil said.
Although she had just checked, and although she could sense the pulled muscle in Liana’s arm, she said nothing else.
The holy light illuminated Liana’s arm, slowly easing the pain.
"What a joke?! Aust knew perfectly well. She definitely knows about the forbidden drug.
After all, she treated Mepeilu before!"
"...Aust tried to lie, but now I can only swallow the humiliation."
"I understand. Thank you, Miss Sybil. Even if the problem isn’t solved, I’ll make sure my men deliver your payment."
"Thank you, Prince Aust. Didn't expect you to be quite considerate,"
Liana said with a smile.