Lia walked away with an air of nonchalance, her earlier frustration completely swept away after teasing the maid like that.
It was strange—she originally came looking for Tina, so how did she end up chatting with an unfamiliar maid first?
She felt oddly guilty toward Tina, but this definitely wasn’t her fault; she wasn’t the kind of woman to fall for just anyone she met.
It had to be some trick the maid played on her. Tonight, she would make sure that maid came over so she could interrogate her thoroughly.
Not long after leaving the inn, Lia quickly ran into the two waiting to meet her.
The Great Sage was the first to report, “There’s no news of Tina at the Investigation Bureau. She’s not a resident here, and hasn’t caused any trouble worth recording. So, she simply doesn’t exist in their records.”
“Oh, then let’s not worry about it for now.” Lia wasn’t sure why her interest in the matter had suddenly faded. “We’ll stay here a few days and wait for the auction.”
“Ah?” Everett suspected Lia had been hit by some kind of emotional blow, but didn’t dare say it aloud.
“Aren’t we still searching? I remember before entering the city, you were desperate to dig up every corner to find her. Why stop now?”
“You’re right, but there’s no need to keep tying myself down to her. I should leave some room for myself, shouldn’t I?”
Lia’s words sounded like she had truly let go, though Everett immediately suspected that the Queen of Kailiwell had simply found a stand-in who looked a lot like Tina.
But a stand-in was just a stand-in; it couldn’t replace the image of the White Moonlight in Lia’s heart. Messing around like this would only cause more trouble for others.
The Great Sage decided to help the persecuted party in this matter alone. If he could meet that person, he would explain everything clearly to her and let her consider her next steps carefully.
“Let’s head back to the inn. It’s been a long day of travel, you’ve all worked hard.” Lia surprisingly took the initiative to call for rest.
In the past, no matter where she went, she would never just stay at the inn. She would be running around investigating public sentiment to govern more effectively.
Yet today, she had become strangely lazy. Everett felt there was definitely something going on beneath the surface.
The three approached the front desk to check into the rooms they had reserved in advance.
The clerk took their ID, gave a quick verification, and said, “Your rooms are on the second floor, two suites in total.”
“Huh, didn’t we book three?” Everett had just paid not long ago.
“Apologies, sir. One of your originally assigned rooms has a ceiling problem and needs urgent repairs. The other rooms are fully booked, so there are no extra rooms available. We will refund the cost for that room.”
At this point, it was no use making things difficult.
The only problem was how to allocate the rooms.
“You two can room together.” Everett, knowing the boundaries between men and women, decided to have Lia and Isa share a room.
But Isa felt too much pressure sharing a room with the Queen.
She tried to decline, “Your Majesty has been overworked lately; it’s better for you to rest alone. I’ll room with the Great Sage, so I won’t disturb you.”
Lia supported this—she still planned to bring that maid over, so having extra people in the room wouldn’t be ideal.
So, the two scheming women unexpectedly reached an agreement and outvoted Everett two to one.
“You’re making me look strange.” Everett rubbed his forehead and glared at Isa.
“Oh, I don’t really mind, but you’re still complaining? If you really dislike it, I should be the one disliking you.”
Lia said nothing and grabbed her bag, heading inside first. These two bickering daily as if their lives depended on it were a huge annoyance to her.
***
Meanwhile.
Tina finished her last order and was preparing to clock out.
The manager gave her a look, signaling her to come over—he wanted to say something.
“What is it? Anything wrong?” Tina asked, puzzled.
“That visitor who came looking for you—the Queen of Kailiwell, right? What did she want you to do at the inn?”
“How would I know? She paid me, so I went.”
Though agreeing to go to an inn just for money was shameful, it was practical. If it didn’t work, the pay simply wasn’t enough.
Tina thought of it as paying for extra company, not some strange financial transaction.
Besides, what could Lia really do to a stranger? It’s not like she’d completely devour her in the room.
“Don’t worry about me. I’ll come back safe tomorrow.”
Tina promised, then tapped her small leather boots as she left the café. She hadn’t even changed out of her maid outfit.
The inn wasn’t far from the café, just across the street, and a bit to the right.
She approached the front desk and asked, “Has a guest named Lia come here?”
“Yes. May I ask what your relationship is?”
“Uh… a good friend. Can you take me to her?”
“For customer privacy, I’ll call her down first. If you’re really friends, she can bring you up.”
The clerk kept things confidential, so Tina had to wait on the first floor.
While waiting, she saw a familiar figure come down—not Lia, but the Great Sage.
He immediately noticed her and frowned, sensing something was off.
Everett walked straight over and used the Soul Appraisal Spell to see through Tina’s disguise in an instant.
“You… you’re still alive? Why the different appearance?” He didn’t seem very surprised. “What the heck!”
“Shh! Don’t be so loud! I’m deliberately hiding so Lia won’t find out.”
“Why? Her Majesty has been looking for you for a long time. You disappeared for six years without a trace. You’re really cold-hearted.”
“I have my reasons. Anyway, things are fine as they are. Just pretend you don’t know.”
“It depends on the situation. If necessary, I’ll tell her.” Everett couldn’t just help one person alone—one was a queen, the other a friend. This was their private matter.
He could only do his best to maintain their relationship within his limits.
“Enough. Stop worrying about me and focus on yourself.” Tina’s gaze shifted toward Lia and Isa coming down the stairs.
“What do you mean?” Everett stopped and thought. “Could it be… the stand-in you mentioned is you?”
“Stand-in… I guess.”
Seeing Everett chatting back and forth with a maid she didn’t recognize, Isa suddenly rushed over and dragged him away, her face filled with suspicion as she stared at Tina. “Who are you?”
Tina scanned between the two of them for a moment.
When it came to protecting what’s theirs, there was no contest.
Everett whispered in the tiniest voice, quietly telling Isa who Tina really was, which startled her.
“Really?”
Tina nodded.
“Oh~ You don’t want Lia to find out either, huh?” Isa suddenly grinned mischievously.
“Hey, no, this is a new account—don’t mess with me.”
“Hahaha, just kidding. You handle your business yourselves.”
Isa led Everett away, pretending to know nothing.
Then there was Lia, expressionless, staring at her without blinking.
Uh oh, judging by that look, is she jealous?