Her predecessor Velis’s emotions would occasionally surface and influence her current judgment, but over these past days, Velis had managed to suppress them quite well.
Of course, it might also be because she had already begun to fuse with her predecessor Velis’s personality.
“Annie Donald?” Xi’eryou examined Annie with a scrutinizing gaze.
“You’re that Bree Donald’s granddaughter? But I’ve never heard of him having a granddaughter…”
As Velis’s teacher, and since Xi’eryou was also close to Velis, she did know that old man.
But from then until now, she had never heard Bree Donald mention having a granddaughter.
“Perhaps Grandfather thought it best not to draw attention… Please forgive me, Your Highness.”
Annie Donald replied respectfully, and only then did Xi’eryou snap back to reality.
She had forgotten about Velis’s presence.
With a granddaughter this beautiful, if Velis found out, it would be trouble.
But… why was she now appearing in front of Velis willingly?
“Elder Sister, stop staring at her like that. She admires your swordsmanship, so she asked me to introduce her.”
Velis said, “If you keep looking at her like that…”
“Oh oh, sorry, haha…” Xi’eryou scratched her head awkwardly. “But admiring swordsmanship and all…”
“If you want to learn from me, given Bree Donald’s status, getting you into the Royal Academy shouldn’t be too difficult, right?”
“Just come to my swordsmanship classes then… I don’t mind mages observing and learning.”
“Elder Sister!” Velis poked her in the side, while Annie Donald across from them had already shyly buried her head into her chest.
Velis whispered softly into Xi’eryou’s ear, “Admiring swordsmanship is only half of it. Admiring you is what matters most. Didn’t you catch that?”
This time, it was Xi’eryou’s turn to be embarrassed.
Her cheeks flushing slightly, Xi’eryou immediately shut her mouth upon hearing this, her thoughts unreadable.
As the Grand Princess, Xi’eryou usually had plenty of women admire her, and she had even received veiled confessions to her face, but she had never responded to any of them.
But this time…
This brown-haired young lady had actually gotten Velis to play matchmaker for her, and for a moment, Xi’eryou didn’t know how to handle it.
Meanwhile, Ophelia hadn’t said a word the entire time. Her eyes darted back and forth between the three, though most of her time was spent glaring at Velis.
After breakfast, Annie Donald, her face red, bid farewell to the two princesses and returned to her room.
The moment she stepped inside, her expression shifted completely. Instead, with resentment and a hint of petulance, she slammed her fist hard against the wooden door.
Bang!
“Velis, you idiot!”
To be fair, this situation was something she herself had orchestrated, but trying to reason with a woman—especially a beautiful young lady—was simply not going to work.
Over on Ophelia’s side, after finishing her meal, she stood beside Velis in her maid’s attire, feeling extremely uncomfortable all over.
She made an excuse to leave, and Velis didn’t force her to stay, waving her hand to let her go.
“Don’t go beyond ten meters from my room. If I come back and don’t see you, you know what will happen…”
“Understood…”
“Hm?”
“Un… understood, Mistress…”
Only after everyone else had left did Xi’eryou relax, stretching without any regard for her image.
“Ah~ that was so stifling!” Xi’eryou let out a long sigh. “Velis, were you being serious just now?”
“How could I be joking?” Velis picked up her teacup and took a sip. “Elder Sister, you’re not planning to reject her, are you?”
“Scram!” Xi’eryou shot her a glare. “I don’t like women. What I mean is, a romantic relationship is out of the question!”
“I know that, but I already promised her, so Elder Sister, just bear with it.”
Velis flashed a mischievous grin.
Xi’eryou caught on, her eyes looking at Velis with a strange expression. “This isn’t like you, Velis. Pushing a beauty like that away.”
“She likes you, Elder Sister. As your younger sister, I have to protect what’s yours no matter what.”
“Cut the crap!” Xi’eryou scoffed.
“Are you thinking that after I reject her, you’ll swoop in and take her for yourself? Is that why you agreed to Annie Donald and kept her by your side?”
“Elder Sister, you’re misunderstanding me this time. I truly didn’t think that.” Velis said with a sincere expression.
“Annie Donald has the aptitude of a mage, and she’s my teacher’s granddaughter. First, by keeping her around, I’m indirectly repaying my teacher’s kindness…”
“Second, I’m finding you a great asset.”
Velis continued.
“If Elder Sister can accept her, your strength will increase by another measure, which indirectly benefits me as well.”
But Xi’eryou didn’t believe Velis’s explanation at all. She stared at her for a long while, yet Velis remained perfectly still, not a single flaw exposed.
After a long moment, she sighed.
“Even if that’s the case, I won’t accept her. Let me tell you again—I… don’t want a romantic relationship with a woman!”
“No! I should say that right now, my heart only has room for the sword. There’s no place for love!” Xi’eryou emphasized with conviction.
“Fine!” Velis shrugged, acting indifferent.
If it were someone who loved power and influence, they might have vaguely agreed to Annie Donald’s proposal, even if insincerely, just to keep her close.
But Xi’eryou had never been that kind of person, as far as Velis had known her.
“What’s the deal with that Ophelia Lyons?” Xi’eryou asked again.
“As you can see, the Lyons Family needs one of my mineral mines to survive, and Ophelia is the bargaining chip.”
Before Xi’eryou could scold her for taking advantage of someone’s misfortune, Velis voluntarily explained.
“If I hadn’t taken her in, Rathar Lyons was planning to sell her off to that old General Taber.”
“Tsk tsk tsk, a genius mage, traded away for a few small mines. Elder Sister, tell me—am I not doing a good deed?”
Upon hearing this, Xi’eryou’s expression shifted continuously—shock, regret, and helplessness.
“I never imagined the Lyons Family had fallen this far. If that child could grow up, there would still be hope of revitalizing the family in the future.”
“But the Lyons Family can’t wait that long…” Velis reminded her.
After a long silence, Xi’eryou sighed. “Very well, treat her well then. It’s better than marrying that old ox.”
Xi’eryou’s face was melancholy, and Velis could see it—she was probably relating to Ophelia’s situation, thinking of her own status as a princess.
If she couldn’t ascend to the imperial throne, a princess would typically still be married off as a political tool, just like Ophelia.
The two situations had no fundamental difference.
“By the way, what about Weiduoliya? Why haven’t I seen her these past few visits?” Xi’eryou asked with a frown. “As your Guardian Knight, she’s being far too negligent!”
Velis quickly defended Weiduoliya.
“You’re wronging her, Elder Sister. Just before dawn today, the Meckler Family sent intelligence, and I had her handle some matters.”
Xi’eryou asked curiously, “The Meckler Family? Intelligence? What kind of intelligence?”
“After all, last time’s attack on the academy road implicated the Meckler Family, so they have to give the Empire and me some kind of explanation or compensation…”
Velis’s smile turned cold.
“Speaking of which, the Inquisition Office and the City Guard should be making moves too. I thought you would have noticed, Elder Sister.”
“How could I… So, you’re not planning to leave today?”
“I am. Just in the afternoon.”
Just then, a servant came to announce that the Zhengsi from the Inquisition Office was requesting an audience.
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