Chapter 65: The Scent of the Purple-furred Cat

Sitting on the carriage, Lillian couldn’t help but stretch out a big, lazy yawn.

“Mm—”

【Fire Sigil Practice: Fire Circulation Method, Experience +5】

【Fire Lv.0 (25/100)】

【Completed one treatment, Healer Experience +2】

【9/100】

Closing the system panel, Lillian relaxed completely.

“Oh my.”

She hadn’t expected today’s treatment to turn out like this.

Both she and Ophelia had beautifully slept for nearly half the day.

Strangely enough, seeing Ophelia resting her head on her lap and falling into a deep sleep gave Lillian an inexplicable sense of satisfaction.

However, the conversation in the study with Ophelia earlier reminded Lillian of something.

Perhaps there was a business opportunity here?

Ophelia mentioned that the usual thing she used to stay alert was a magical potion, but it had significant side effects.

More than just keeping her awake, it felt like she was prematurely exhausting herself to achieve that ‘alert’ effect.

The key point was that this potion was magical and quite expensive.

Lillian stroked her chin.

If she could produce a potion that effectively refreshed the mind without using magical ingredients, maybe she could add another source of income each month.

That would bring her closer to the 300-gold coin goal.

She hadn’t considered sleep aids since the demand probably wasn’t that high.

Ophelia was an exception—her mental stress was truly high, though the reason was unknown.

That Sleep Aid Sachet only addressed the symptoms, not the root cause.

She’d ask Ophelia about the source of her stress next week.

Once she cured Ophelia, she would have an extra day free again.

That meant she’d have four days each week to act freely.

Lillian had so many things she wanted to do; three days a week just wasn’t enough.

“Whoa—”

With that sound, the coachman stopped the carriage, and the horses in front snorted.

Unknowingly, they had already arrived at the Earl’s manor.

The sun was nearly completely set.

Judging by the sky, it should already be dinner time.

Lillian jumped down from the carriage, said goodbye to the coachman, and headed inside the manor.

Eileen pushed open the front door and ran out to greet Lillian.

“Lillian, you finally made it! The young lady has been talking about you for so long.”

Lillian glanced behind Eileen and saw Elenora sneaking around at the doorway, unable to suppress a smile.

Following Eileen’s lead, she walked toward the small dining room.

On the way, Eileen curiously asked, “Lillian, did something happen between you and Her Royal Highness today?”

Something happen?

It was just a simple nap.

“Nothing happened, it was just a normal treatment,” Lillian explained. “Lia has been under a lot of stress and hasn’t been resting well lately, so I helped her relax a bit.”

Lia?

Eileen paused for a moment after hearing the name, then realized it was the princess’s given name.

Oh no, young lady!

Lillian actually called Her Royal Highness “Lia”—that was way too familiar!

Eileen still remembered that when the princess visited before, Lillian called her “Your Highness.”

A strange scene flashed through Eileen’s mind.

Lillian was pinned down by Her Royal Highness, who demanded Lillian call her Lia.

Lillian refused, and the princess acted like she did at the banquet—when Lillian wouldn’t comply, she kissed her forcibly until Lillian called her Lia…

Heh, heh heh…

Slap!

Eileen suddenly slapped her own cheek.

No!

Eileen clenched her fists over her chest, cheering herself on.

Young lady and Lillian were right, Her Royal Highness was wrong!

Lillian just looked at Eileen with some confusion, not quite understanding what she was rambling about.

Soon, the two arrived at the small dining room.

Elenora was already sitting in a chair; when she saw Lillian enter, her red eyes lit up momentarily but quickly averted her gaze to feign calm, then gently patted the seat beside her, signaling Lillian to come over.

Lillian obediently sat down.

Dinner was as usual, but the atmosphere felt off.

Based on last night and this morning’s events, Elenora would probably ask her what happened today.

But Elenora barely spoke, only occasionally glancing sideways at Lillian, her delicate nose twitching just slightly.

Finally, as if unable to bear it any longer, she furrowed her brows tightly.

“You smell…”

“Hmph,” Elenora snorted, “Why is there this annoying scent?”

Lillian’s heart jumped, and she immediately realized Elenora was talking about Ophelia’s fragrance.

They had been close for half a day, so it was normal to have some scent lingering.

But!

Why were girls always so sensitive to these strange things?

Elenora, are you a dog’s nose?

“Maybe it’s because I stayed in Her Royal Highness’s study for a while; there’s some incense scent, which should be normal…” Lillian tried to come up with a reasonable excuse to get by.

“Is that so?” Elenora picked up the dinner knife and sliced the bread on her plate, the blade scraping the plate bottom with a grating sound.

It was as if she were cutting something she despised into pieces.

Finally, she stopped; the bread on the plate was chopped into irregular bits.

“I’m going to see Ophelia tomorrow,” Elenora said, setting the knife aside.

“Huh?” Lillian was caught off guard.

Why was she going to see Ophelia?

“She must have forced you to do something again,” Elenora said with certainty.

Lillian was still too kind—she didn’t dare to speak up even if she was bullied.

But it didn’t matter; Elenora would handle it.

Elenora gave a dangerous smile.

“As expected, it should have been dealt with at the banquet…”

?

Huh?

No?

Lillian rubbed her temples and thought hard to catch up with Elenora’s train of thought.

This morning, she said that if Ophelia touched her inappropriately, she had to tell her immediately.

But Lillian didn’t say anything, and she still smelled like Ophelia.

That meant Ophelia must have forced her.

So she wanted to confront Ophelia.

As for how to confront?

Don’t ask.

Considering how harsh Elenora was to Ophelia at the banquet, Lillian felt it was necessary to clear up this misunderstanding for the sake of their little broken ship that bound the three of them.

“Ahem, Mistress, you might have misunderstood. Today we really just finished the treatment, nothing else happened.”

“Really?” Elenora looked skeptical. She leaned in, her eyes shining with cold light.

“If she really did something to you, just say it. I won’t let her off.”

Elenora emphasized “won’t let her off.”

Goodness, not letting off?

Lillian wiped a cold sweat for Ophelia—thank goodness it was just a nap with her head on her lap today.

“Really, and I have no reason to lie to you…”

“Good.” Elenora lifted her head, believing Lillian’s words. “Lillian, remember, if she bullies you, you must tell me.”

“Absolutely.”

“Yes, Mistress.”

Lillian breathed a sigh of relief.

She thought that for Ophelia’s safety, it was better to just endure some things for now.