Chapter 195

The silly smile… froze in place.

“Princess Livra?”

“Uuh… I nearly died… I thought I was going to die!”

Plop.

Clutching a white rabbit doll and dressed in pajamas, Livra’s legs gave out as the sword light faded, and she collapsed to her knees, unable to get back up.

The pallor on her face likely wasn’t just from fear; her symptoms of magic deficiency still hadn’t fully recovered.

But at least she could walk around aimlessly now, right?

Xiarette’s face showed a hint of apology. She reached out and pulled Livra up from the ground. Livra leaned against the windowsill just to barely steady herself.

“Uh… I’m sorry, Princess Livra. I didn’t know you’d suddenly come out in the middle of the night like a ghost and… well, sorry. That doll you’re holding is…?”

“Hoo… It’s fine, it’s fine. It’s also my fault. I just woke up and came out for a walk… and spoke a bit too suddenly. Hm? Lord Xiarette, are you talking about this doll? It’s called Rabbit. I brought it from the Aurus Castle. My mother gave it to me a long time ago. Without it by my side, I’m afraid I won’t be able to sleep in a new place.”

“Uh, no… I know it’s a rabbit doll. I meant its name is…?”

“Rabbit.”

“……”

Alright then. Rabbit it is.

When you see a cat in the wild, you still call it a cat.

“Sigh…”

Not in the mood to say much, Xiarette, after politely inquiring whether Livra’s condition had improved, turned her gaze back to the window in the ring-shaped stone wall.

From the direction where the wind blew, her golden hair fluttered as she stared into the distance, searching for something far beyond sight.

Livra stood at another section of the ring-shaped stone wall beside her.

Holding her rabbit doll tightly, she too looked out into the distance.

“Miss Shaya should be asleep by now, right?”

“You’re not allowed to say the word ‘sleep’.”

“Eh…? Alright then… Ah, I still don’t really know what happened. That mutation in the Wind Magic Dragonfish this afternoon… it was probably caused by me, right? Even though I’m not sure what exactly happened… but I’m sure I caused trouble for everyone…”

“You don’t need to feel pressured. It wasn’t like you did it on purpose. Honestly, if we’re talking about destruction, Sheffy blowing up the lake with magic every day is way more excessive than what you did, isn’t it?”

“Pfft…! That’s true when you put it like that! Oh right, which room is Miss Shaya staying in? I want to get up early and apologize to her tomorrow morning. Mm… even if it’s unrelated, I still ruined the fish she worked so hard to catch. Miss Shaya is definitely going to be furious.”

Which room?

If only I knew which room it was!

Since they were just waiting here anyway, explaining the current situation to Princess Livra might help ease her anxiety.

After hearing it all, Livra was utterly shocked!

“Miss Shaya went to the Forbidden Book Repository to look up documents for me?!”

“If we don’t consider other possibilities… then yes, that’s the case.”

Upon hearing that, a wave of warmth spread in Livra’s heart, and her emerald-like eyes sparkled with light.

Miss Shaya not only didn’t blame her… but was actually trying to help her make sense of this baffling ability?!

Livra might have seemed carefree on the surface, but having such an unknown power manifest in her… she was just as uneasy deep inside.

And knowing that Miss Shaya had always—

Even at this late hour, with nothing better to do, Miss Shaya was still researching for her in the Demon Clan’s Forbidden Book Repository. A powerful and distinct sense of relief surged through her.

A faint blush flashed across her cheeks.

But her chaotic thoughts were quickly interrupted by Xiarette’s concerned tone.

“Sheffy still hasn’t returned. I’m very… ahem, a little worried.”

“Yes… huh?! Wait, Lord Xiarette, I completely understand how you feel. I also hope Miss Shaya returns soon—but I really don’t think you need to worry?”

“Why?”

“Because Miss Shaya is amazing!” Livra set the rabbit doll on the circular window ledge, then bent her arm to show off muscles that clearly didn’t exist. “She could punch three bulls to death in a single blow! Hehe… anyway, Teacher Shaya is super strong, and this is the Demon Domain—it’s her turf. There’s no way she’d run into danger. Wait a minute… when it comes to how strong Miss Shaya is, Lord Xiarette, shouldn’t you be the one who knows best? Uh… what’s that look in your eyes?”

That look—Livra recognized it.

Lord Xiarette was looking at her like she was an idiot!

Did… did I say something wrong again?!

No, you didn’t say anything wrong.

You just hadn’t figured out what Xiarette was really worried about.

Wolves, tigers, leopards—none of those were frightening. Sheffy was strong, and Xiarette knew that very well.

But no matter how strong she was, she had no way to deal with her younger sister Belith, who was even more terrifying than any beast!

Of course, this wasn’t something Xiarette could say to Livra directly, so she could only hint at it, expressing her inner concern in a roundabout way.

“I’m not worried about her physical safety… I’m afraid of something else entirely.”

“Isn’t the Forbidden Book Repository just for reading? Such a cultured place—could anything else even go wrong there?”

“Sigh…”

The only response to silly Livra was Xiarette’s even sillier sigh.

By now, she’d lost count of how many times she had stood by the corridor window, gazing toward the distant lands beyond the Demon King’s Castle, and sighed.

Looking up, the two moons still hung in the sky. Tonight’s wind was calm and quiet.

Xiarette narrowed her eyes, doing her best to suppress the emotion in her heart known as possessiveness, while letting another feeling rise to counter it.

That other feeling—was called rational thought.

In truth, Xiarette… ever since the journey to the Demon King’s Castle—or rather, from the moment her younger sister Belith had gone to the Kingdom of Aurus to find Sheffy—had already considered a certain possibility.

That was: Sheffy and Belith crossing that line… might be something inevitable, something that couldn’t—and shouldn’t—be stopped.

In their previous life, she had been with Sheffy for twenty years. There had been regrets. Now, their bond continued in this life, and their mutual affection had only grown stronger.

In this life, Belith too had been with Sheffy for twenty years. They lived together day and night, supported each other as sisters.

When Sheffy spoke to Belith, her tone was naturally calm and gentle—perhaps even Sheffy herself hadn’t noticed it.

When it came to love for Sheffy, Xiarette was absolutely confident. From her standpoint, she could loudly declare that her love for Sheffy in this life was endless—the greatest in the world!

But that same declaration… Belith could make as well.

She had that same resolve.

There was no need to prove who loved Sheffy more.

Xiarette knew Sheffy’s personality.

All the affection directed toward her—was, in Sheffy’s eyes, a treasure she cherished deeply.

And precisely because she couldn’t let go… some things had become inevitable.

Though Xiarette’s heart struggled and grew anxious from that possessiveness, whenever she thought about how she might, out of that emotion, rob Sheffy of the bond she had in this life… that would be far too cruel—and simply wrong.

Besides, Xiarette knew—she would never do something like that.

After all… hadn’t Belith already made her stance clear in advance?

Every time Belith saw her, she was always fierce—but not once had she ever truly lost her temper and attacked without reason.

After learning about her relationship with Sheffy, Belith had exercised the utmost restraint, and with even deeper affection for Sheffy, she respected Sheffy’s own choice.

Belith surely must have thought this:

—If you have the ability to take some of Royal Sister’s love, then that’s your skill. But that doesn’t mean I’m going to back down. On the contrary, in the days to come, I’ll take back every bit of that love you stole.

Xiarette thought the same.

She could win it back.

But—she must never destroy Sheffy’s emotional foundation.

This was an unspoken understanding between Xiarette and Belith. Though never discussed, it was a shared principle—an unspoken, delicate balance even rivals in love could reach.

Ha… honestly, if you looked at it a certain way, Sheffy had lived in the Demon King’s Castle for the past twenty years, and it was only in these last few months that she slipped out, met me, and our reunion rekindled—

And deepened—our feelings.

This process… it almost felt like I’m the one who stole Royal Sister away from Belith, doesn’t it?

But Xiarette wasn’t about to dwell on that…

Mm.

No one should interfere with anyone. If you really have the ability, then let’s see who can win more of Sheffy’s heart.

Who said the battlefield was only for bloodshed?

The battlefield of emotions—required far more finesse than reckless violence!

Livra suddenly noticed that Lord Xiarette’s aura seemed to have shifted.

Just moments ago, she had looked weighed down with worry and hesitation.

But now—she seemed suddenly full of fighting spirit!!

Hm?! Did something just happen?!

So what exactly was Lord Xiarette so worried about?!

No idea.

But while Xiarette was silently making her internal wagers and declarations, another figure appeared in the corridor.

To be precise—a Fire Lizard.

And even more precisely—Timani, who had woken up in the middle of the night from hunger, come out to find a midnight snack, and was carrying a plate of pastries in her hands.

Half-asleep and nibbling on snacks as she made her way back to her room, she never expected to bump into a snack-hungry princess.

Livra couldn’t help herself—she reached out and grabbed a few pastries from the plate.

But when it came to food, Timani was not someone to mess with.

Noticing the plate in her hand suddenly felt lighter, Timani snapped open her sleepy eyes—only to spot Livra stuffing pastries into her mouth.

Timani was instantly enraged!

“Ohhh?! You actually dared to steal food?!”

St… steal?

That word landed like a ton of emotional damage on Xiarette’s current mental state!

But Livra wasn’t about to back down. She firmly believed that delicious food was meant to be shared!

“Mm… but Miss Timani, didn’t you also just take them on your own? I wouldn’t call it stealing. I took them fair and square. Besides, I only had one piece… there’s still so much left on the plate… I didn’t eat it all, did I?”

Stealing…?

Took it fair and square?

Didn’t eat it all?!

“You gluttonous, food-stealing princess—how dare you say that with a straight face! Don’t you know that in our Fire Dragon Clan, the rule is that finding your own food is a true skill? Trying to mooch off someone else’s hunt is a shameful act…!”

Gluttonous, food-stealing princess?!

“Ahhh, you two!! Can you please just stop talking for a moment?!”

“!” “?!”

At the sound of her outburst, Timani finally noticed Xiarette.

“Uh… Hero? You were here? Why so angry? Hungry? Want a pastry?”

“Not in the mood! Please, the best thing you can do for me right now is just stop talking—what are these words even supposed to mean?!”

“What words…? Aren’t these all just normal words? Uh… speaking of which…”

Timani paused her snacking, leaned forward, and gazed out the window.

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