Lilith gazed at the pink short-haired girl standing before her—Susia, the Ninth Princess of the West Wind Empire and Vivienne’s younger sister, born from the same womb.
Lilith hesitated for a moment, turned her head slightly, and whispered with trembling lips, “You can just call me Lilith…”
“Oh? That really is a cute and fitting name.”
Susia’s pink eyes were full of curiosity as she sized up the small girl in front of her. She could not resist reaching out to ruffle that crimson hair.
Lilith dodged.
“Princess, what are you doing?”
Lilith furrowed her brows. Her translucent, watery eyes narrowed, and her slit-like pupils dilated slightly—a physical sign of her inner displeasure.
Seeing Lilith’s resistance and how she tilted her head away to avoid the touch, Susia did not give up. She reached out again.
Lilith’s delicate eyebrows knit even deeper. Her eyes flared with irritation as she glared at Susia, but the princess remained completely unmoved. She even extended both hands and pressed them onto Lilith’s head.
“Ah!”
Lilith let out a cry, but the sound only made Susia more excited.
‘You won’t let me touch? Then I’m going to touch even more!’
Susia’s hands were pale and delicate, her fingers slender and well-proportioned. Despite Lilith’s reluctance, she forcibly messed up the long crimson hair that had been so neatly maintained.
Lilith wanted to run, but she was bound by a spell cast by Susia.
She looked down at the Golden Light Chains wrapped several times around her waist.
She knew that with her current physical condition, it was impossible to break free.
Still, Lilith could not simply let the Princess have her way and touch her wherever she pleased.
She was truly afraid—afraid that this princess might be one of those girls who looked sweet but was dark on the inside!
Lilith could see the intense curiosity in Susia’s eyes. That curiosity was so strong it might lead her to do something terrible.
She was a rare Blood Elf, after all. What if Susia wanted to study her physiological structure and took her apart?
“Ugh, what are you going to do to me?”
Lilith’s face flushed red, her heart filled with immense frustration.
Ever since she had turned into this form, her sister in the castle was not the only one who loved to tease her; even the maids had started to find her irresistible.
It could be said that Lilith had gained none of the benefits of being a Blood Elf, while suffering countless drawbacks. Yet, Lilith could not bring herself to regret it.
If she had a choice, she would rather…
Thinking of this, Lilith hesitated again. If she went back to being Henna, she might never be able to step into the Seventh Tier or any realm higher than that.
Though she was currently under someone else’s control…
When considering the future, being Lilith definitely held more potential than continuing as Henna. Plus, she could use this identity to get closer to Madam Phil.
While Lilith was lost in these thoughts, Susia reached out and pinched her long ears.
“Eek!?”
The moment her ear was pinched, Lilith’s body stiffened.
That spot was incredibly sensitive.
She immediately reached for her collar, intending to take out the potion hanging from her neck and drink it.
However, Susia suddenly stopped her and released the light chains binding Lilith’s body. Even Susia herself did not understand why she had done it; it was as if she were being influenced by something.
“Oh? How strange…”
Susia frowned slightly and looked around.
Finally, she turned her gaze back to Lilith, who was tidying her hair, and said with a smile, “Lilith, you can call me Sister Susia or just Sister. Either is fine; I can handle it.”
“…”
Although Lilith found it odd that Susia had suddenly let her go, she did not ask. She did not want the Princess to try something like that again.
She inconspicuously let go of the small bottle she had been gripping and pretended to straighten her skirt while complaining about Susia in her head.
‘Sister? You want me to call you Sister?’
‘How old even are you, little girl?’
In terms of actual age, Lilith was definitely older.
Although her body was currently small, as long as she drank the potion, she could grow to 1.8 meters in 3 seconds, and her physical stats would completely crush the girl in front of her!
Unfortunately, that potion was extremely precious.
Lilith did not need to waste such a valuable opportunity to restore her strength over such a trivial matter.
Seeing that Lilith had finished tidying her messy hair and skirt, Susia crouched down and held her face in her hands.
“Let me tell you, I actually sneaked here in secret. Those people will find out soon, but I still hope to keep it hidden a little longer.”
“As for why I came here…”
Susia grinned.
She stood up and continued, “I mostly wanted to see what the place my sister visited looks like now. It’s a pleasure to meet you, Lilith.”
Having said her piece, Susia reached out toward Lilith, intending to shake her hand.
Lilith hesitated for a moment but eventually raised her hand and shook it.
Fortunately, Susia did not do anything extra this time.
Lilith breathed a sigh of relief.
She looked up at the girl who shared a seventy-percent resemblance to Vivienne but had a completely different personality.
She let out a shallow breath and said, “Miss Susia, hello…”
“Tsk, why won’t you call me Sister?”
Susia pouted and grumbled, but Lilith ignored her.
After the large hand and the small hand shook for a moment, the smaller one was the first to withdraw, leaving the larger one hanging in place for a beat.
Susia glanced at her own hand and slowly pulled it back. She took a deep breath and asked Lilith a question.
“Ever since I arrived in Red Pine City, I’ve felt that something is strange. The distribution of magic power in the space here is very even, and the flow follows a specific pattern. Is there some kind of large-scale Magic Array covering the territory?”
“……”
Lilith turned her head to look into the distance. Naturally, she could not give Susia an answer, nor did she know what to say. Lilith did not know exactly who had done it, though she suspected it was the work of “Ms. Moth.”
But since Vivienne had been here before and had done nothing, it suggested that Ms. Moth might have some connection to Vivienne. Perhaps there were some secret contracts between them.
As someone responsible for being a chess piece, how could she know so much? Even now, Lilith was still a little toy in Ms. Moth’s hands.
She could not disobey any order she was given.
‘This suffocating collar… I wonder when I’ll ever be able to break free!’
Lilith slowly lowered her eyes, a look of disappointment crossing her face.
Susia blinked, finding it very strange. The question she had asked was not exactly sharp; it was just a verbal probe.
The Blood Elf loli’s sigh was incredibly cute to look at.
Susia wanted to reach out and rub Lilith’s head again, but some kind of power seemed to erase her desire to lift her hand the moment the thought surfaced.
“A blessing?” Susia muttered to herself.
Lilith’s ears were sharp in more ways than one, and she overheard Susia’s murmur. She asked in confusion, “What blessing?”
“Ah, nothing, nothing.”
Susia narrowed her eyes and gave Lilith a beaming smile.
“I’ve only just arrived, and I happened to get lost and meet you. Lilith, why don’t you show me around?”
“You…”
Lilith was reluctant, but Susia immediately grabbed her hands.
“Lilith, why do you have a potion hanging from your chest? This thing must be very important to you, right?”
Susia had a warm and kind smile on her face, but her words were dangerous.
Combined with the girl’s exquisite and beautiful face, she was truly a beautiful and dangerous rose—a wolf in sheep’s clothing just like her sister!
“Gulp… Okay, fine…”
Sweat beaded on Lilith’s forehead. She suddenly felt like she was facing Vivienne.
That seemingly delicate Princess did not make threats as bluntly as Susia, yet she could make one feel an even more tangible chill.
Seeing that Lilith had agreed, the smile on Susia’s face turned brilliant.
She let go of Lilith’s hands and opened her arms, pulling the small Blood Elf loli into a hug.
“It’s so comfortable to hold you. Sister Enya really likes this sort of thing.”
“Ugh…”
When Lilith heard that Enya liked her current size, she felt the dilemma of choosing between being “Lilith” or “Henna” lean a bit more toward Lilith.
‘No, that’s not right!’
‘You’ve already decided to be completely devoted to Madam Phil. How can you still think about Lady Enya?’
Lilith shook her head, trying to shake off these strange thoughts. Just then, Susia lifted her off the ground.
“What—what are you doing?!”
As soon as her feet left the ground, Lilith began to panic.
Being held like a child was far too humiliating.
Especially since Susia seemed to have some strange feelings toward Enya as well. In that case, the two of them were once rivals in love.
Since they were rivals, how could they be hugging like this?
Lilith immediately started shouting, “Let go of me! Let go of me right now!”
“Aw, what’s the big deal? A hug won’t kill you,” Susia said cheerfully.
Crimson Academy, Main Gate.
A group of teachers from the Crimson Academy, led by the old Headmaster, came forward to greet the purple-haired girl and her party.
The old Headmaster stroked his gray beard, a peaceful smile on his aged face.
He did not seem to mind the girl’s late arrival at all.
“Miss Ishumir, please excuse our lack of a proper welcome.”
“Not at all. I only hope you won’t blame this young lady for being a bit late,” Ishumir said with a light smile.
She swept her gaze over the people behind the Headmaster before looking back at the man himself.
The old Headmaster shook his head and said, “Ladies have more to consider regarding their attire and makeup than gentlemen. I believe everyone can understand spending a bit more time on that.”
These words were meant for the people behind him—to tell them to hide their emotions.
Even if they had waited at the gate for 1 hour, they could not show any resentment when greeting a distinguished guest from the West Wind Empire.
Behind the old Headmaster, the men and women who had been showing some dissatisfaction toward Ishumir quickly lowered their heads.
“Hehehe.”
Ishumir covered her mouth and laughed.
Once she had her fill of laughter, she said, “By the way, where is your Lord? Is she not coming to greet us?”
These words instantly sparked indignation among the teachers behind the Headmaster.
Most of them had served at the City School for a long time and remained after the reforms.
They were people who took pride in their profession and felt a strong sense of belonging to the academy and Red Pine City.
But at this moment, they could only suppress the anger in their hearts, keeping their heads down and remaining silent.
Miss Ishumir was the representative of several academies from Moonview City on the West Wind border.
She was also the eldest daughter of a Count’s family—a future Countess who would one day inherit the title.
Just then, a vibrant streak of crimson stepped out from among the members of the Crimson Academy.
That was… Yeponna…
She walked slowly to the old Headmaster’s side and looked at the smiling Ishumir.