“As I thought…”
Camilla sat on the ornate toilet in the room adjacent to the VIP lounge, her chin resting in her hands as she let out a long sigh.
The soundproof walls blocked everything. Lilian likely had no idea that the mysterious ninth-rank expert in her eyes was actually her own “best friend.”
‘It’s no wonder she dared to make a deal with Cain. This makes perfect sense now,’ Camilla muttered to herself. Plot points from the Alchemist class storyline in the game involuntarily surfaced in her mind.
In the *Tarora Continent* webnovel game, after a player chose the Alchemist path and entered the Imperial Capital storyline, there was a high probability of being noticed by Lilian or Vivalana due to their exceptional talent. This would drag the player into the treacherous Imperial Throne Succession War.
Compared to the First Prince and Second Prince, who possessed massive power and deep-rooted foundations, Lilian—the Fourth Princess—seemed to have the weakest influence on the surface.
She lacked the support of powerful dukes within the military, had no assistance from established magical families, and her voice in the royal court was far quieter than those of her two older brothers.
However, she held a forbidden trump card capable of subverting the entire situation—Omega.
It was one of the ultimate products of a certain crazed and magnificent “God-Slaying Plan” from the end of the Super Magic Dynasty. Its purpose was to use pure alchemy and magic-engineering technology to create a weapon capable of rivaling or even slaying gods.
Its core drive was suspected to use a prototype or fragment of the Sage’s Stone, the legendary supreme crystal of alchemy.
Although Omega had not been fully repaired due to its age and damage, leaving it in a semi-dormant or malfunctioning state, its baseline combat power was still evaluated at the terrifying Ninth Order.
In the mid-game, the core of the Alchemist storyline involved repairing and awakening Omega, collecting rare materials that had long been extinct, deciphering ancient super-magic technology, and contending with the Eye of Truth. The latter was an organization that secretly supported the Second Prince and coveted the technology behind Omega and the Sage’s Stone.
Camilla still remembered how much time she had spent on material collection quests just to gather the components for Omega’s full repair, and how many fierce battles she had fought against those alchemist lunatics from the Eye of Truth.
‘No wonder the Eye of Truth suddenly tried to assassinate Lilian…’
Camilla rubbed her temples as her thoughts became clearer.
‘But what role does Shuang play in all this? She’s a mole for the Chaos Cult. While the Chaos Cult and the Eye of Truth are both evil organizations, their goals are completely different. There’s almost no basis for cooperation between them.’
There was still too little information.
Camilla shook her head, temporarily suppressing these chaotic thoughts.
She would cross that bridge when she came to it. During her years since transmigrating, she had gathered quite a few cards of her own. As long as she planned carefully, she might be able to protect herself in this increasingly complex whirlpool—and perhaps even reap some benefits.
However, just as she prepared to stand up…
“Camilla, do you need toilet paper?”
A calm, emotionless female voice suddenly drifted in from the direction of the restroom door.
“Pfft—!”
Camilla nearly jumped off the toilet in fright, her heart stopping for a split second.
She looked up sharply to find a dark purple head poking over the top of the restroom stall. Pure black eyes stared at her without blinking, her face wearing that same expressionless mask.
“Ludmila! What… what are you doing?! Ow! I—I’m using the bathroom!”
Camilla’s face flushed crimson instantly. She stammered incoherently, her hands scrambling to adjust her clothes even though they didn’t need adjusting.
“You were inside for a long time. I thought you had encountered trouble and needed help.”
Ludmila answered honestly. Her gaze even scanned every corner of the restroom to confirm it was safe before looking back at Camilla. Her tone carried a trace of nearly imperceptible… concern?
“Is there enough paper? If not, I will bring you some.”
“There’s enough! Plenty! More than enough! Ge—get out! Right now! Immediately!” Camilla pointed toward the exit, her voice cracking from embarrassment and indignation.
“… Understood.”
Ludmila seemed somewhat puzzled by Camilla’s extreme reaction, but she obediently retracted her head and considerately closed the door softly behind her.
A few minutes later, after composing herself, Camilla pushed open the restroom door and walked out as if nothing had happened.
Almost at the same time, the door to the adjacent room opened.
Lilian stepped out with a polite smile still on her face, but Camilla keenly noticed a flicker of excitement deep within her pale gold eyes that hadn’t been there before.
It seemed the conversation with “Cain” had yielded very satisfying results.
“Camilla, you’re here. Perfect.”
Lilian’s smile brightened when she saw Camilla, and she walked over naturally.
“Just now… you didn’t encounter anything strange again, did you?” She glanced pointedly at Ludmila, who had reappeared behind Camilla like a shadow.
“No, no! Everything was normal!”
Camilla shook her head quickly, forcing herself to ignore Ludmila’s nonchalant gaze.
“That’s good.”
Lilian nodded. Something amusing seemed to cross her mind, and her lips curled into a playful arc.
“By the way, weren’t you curious about what Cain looks like? I saw him, though I wouldn’t call it ‘truly’ seeing him.”
“Eh? Really? What does he look like? Is he an old man with a white beard like the rumors say? Or a mysterious person in a mask?”
Camilla immediately played the role of a curious student, her eyes wide with feigned wonder.
“Neither.”
Lilian shook her head slightly, her tone tinged with awe as she recalled the scene.
“I couldn’t see him clearly at all. There was only a blurred phantom shrouded in light. I couldn’t even tell if the voice belonged to a man or a woman, young or old. It felt… very mysterious and very oppressive. I suppose he truly is the master behind the Cain Trading Company.”
“I see… Then what did you talk about?”
Camilla continued to press with “curiosity,” trying her best to act like an ordinary girl fascinated by a mysterious powerhouse.
“Well…”
Lilian blinked and suddenly leaned closer to Camilla. She lowered her voice, speaking with a touch of pride and the intimacy of sharing a secret.
“I took the opportunity to apply a little leverage.”
“Leverage?”
“Mhm.”
Lilian pulled a palm-sized, flat object wrapped in deep purple velvet from her small handbag and held it out to Camilla.
She unwrapped the velvet to reveal a crystal-clear bottle. Inside was a viscous, translucent liquid that shimmered like liquid emerald.
“This is…”
Camilla’s eyes narrowed. She recognized it instantly.
“The Essence of the Fountain of Life, and of extremely high purity.” Lilian placed the crystal bottle gently into Camilla’s hand, her voice tender yet firm.
“A treasure I requested from Lord Cain. Well? Are you surprised?” She looked at Camilla, her pale gold eyes filled with sincerity.
“But Camilla, if not for you tonight, I might have died. This gift wasn’t so much given to me by Lord Cain as it was earned for me by you. Therefore, it should belong to you.”
“Th-this is too valuable! Your Highness, I cannot accept this!” Camilla hurriedly tried to decline, though she was inwardly sighing at the irony.
Camilla hadn’t given Lilian this item at all. Clearly, the princess had specifically selected this gift from her own inventory. Her purpose, naturally, was to further close the distance between them.
“I won’t take no for an answer.”
Lilian pretended to put on a stern face, but her eyes danced with miric.
“Then… I shall shamelessly accept it. Thank you, Your Highness.” Camilla carefully tucked the crystal bottle into her bag and thanked her sincerely.
“That’s more like it.”
Lilian smiled with satisfaction. Then, as if performing a magic trick, she pulled another item from her bag—the Deep Sea Star Tear Amulet she had won at the auction tonight.
“And this. Take this as well.”
“Huh? No! Absolutely not!”
Camilla was genuinely shocked this time, waving her hands frantically.
“This is a life-saving tool you spent 700,000 gold coins on! How can I possibly…”
“It is precisely because it is a life-saving tool that I must give it to you.”
Lilian didn’t allow for an argument. She took Camilla’s hand and pressed the warm amulet into her palm.
“With my status, I have guards like Shuang and Lei whenever I go out, and I have a degree of protection within the Academy. But Camilla, you are different.” Her expression turned serious.
“Even though Lady Ophelia is strong, she cannot be by your side at every moment. You saw what happened tonight. Those lunatics hiding in the shadows will stop at nothing to achieve their goals. You are sharp and intelligent, but your own strength… still needs time to grow. Until you have enough power to protect yourself, I will feel more at ease if you carry this.”
She tightened her grip on Camilla’s hand, which held the amulet. Her voice was soft but carried weight.
“Just do it for my peace of mind, all right? If you truly feel bad about it, then consider it a temporary loan. Once you become stronger than me, it won’t be too late to return it.”
Feeling the cool touch of the amulet and the warmth of Lilian’s palm, and seeing the undeniable concern and faint worry in her eyes, Camilla found herself unable to argue.
As expected of the Lilian who was jokingly nicknamed “Foster Mother” in the original game. Although the Alchemist storyline was quite a grind, she had managed to attract a large number of players to that path through her sheer generosity, all for the sake of unlocking certain intimate interaction scenes.
Camilla silently curled her fingers, gripping the priceless amulet. She looked up at Lilian and offered a complex but equally sincere smile.
“Thank you, Princess Lilian. I accept this gift and your kindness.”
Camilla felt like she could almost shout, “Loyalty!”
“Just call me Lilian.”
The young princess smiled so brightly her eyes curved into crescents, as if she hadn’t just given away a treasure worth 1,000,000 gold coins, but merely a simple snack.