Lillian’s eyes widened in the darkness.
The warmth emanating from Iana’s body, along with the faint, lingering fragrance, made her heart race.
She hadn’t expected Iana to sleep right beside her.
She had clearly intended for Iana to stay in another bedroom.
Bathed in a sliver of moonlight, Lillian studied Iana’s sleeping face.
Her silver-white hair flowed over the bed like a shimmering river.
The delicate, fair face and petite nose softly exhaled, making her look like an adorable, slumbering kitten.
Lillian’s heart pounded relentlessly.
She had never been this close to someone her own age before—especially not in bed.
She struggled to calm her restless emotions.
“Mm.” Iana shifted uncomfortably in her sleep, suddenly turning over and draping a warm arm over Lillian.
Lillian’s gaze landed on her lips, so close and inviting.
She involuntarily thought of the strawberries she had eaten once—soft and pink like those lips.
She wondered silently whose taste was better: Iana’s lips or the strawberries.
“What… what am I thinking?”
Lillian felt disappointed with herself.
She clearly liked Ethelrina, yet Iana’s appearance had stirred such inappropriate thoughts.
“Sleep. Yes, just sleep,” she kept urging herself silently, but it was of no use.
After a long time, utterly exhausted, Lillian finally fell asleep without realizing it.
***
The next morning, as a shaft of sunlight streamed into the bedroom, Iana woke up.
“Mm, I slept so well.”
She sat up and stretched lazily.
She had been extremely tired yesterday and was glad she could sleep in naturally today.
“Where am I?” Iana blinked groggily, looking around the unfamiliar room.
“It seems like Lillian let me stay at the villa last night.”
Seeing sunlight filling the room, Iana realized it was already late in the morning.
She intended to find Lillian, but when she turned her head, she found Lillian lying disheveled beside her.
A large patch of snow-white skin was exposed, and her cheeks were flushed red.
Iana was struck dumb, as if hit by a thunderbolt.
After a brief daze, she frantically jumped off the bed.
“Oh no, how did I end up in Lillian’s bed? I don’t think I did anything last night, right?”
“If Ethelrina sees this, she’ll definitely come down hard on me.” Iana recalled how ‘protective’ Ethelrina was in the original story.
Shaking her head, she tried to cast those thoughts aside.
Now was not the time to dwell on it—she had to pretend nothing had happened.
She hurried to the living room, grabbed the red and black off-shoulder mini dress she wore yesterday, and changed in the bathroom.
Her mind was a mess—worried about whether something had happened last night, and afraid of facing Ethelrina next time.
There was still much to do today: baking cakes and desserts, decorating the living room, sending the Invitation to Ethelrina for the birthday party, and more.
Even though Iana was distracted, she didn’t just sit blankly on the sofa.
Instead, she tied on an apron and went to the kitchen to prepare two breakfasts.
Yet even while cooking, the image of a disheveled Lillian by the bedside this morning, cheeks flushed, kept flashing through her mind.
“I have to ask about this later,” Iana muttered softly.
“Good morning, Iana.” Lillian’s voice was hoarse from just waking up, wearing the sleepwear from last night, golden hair tousled around her.
“You’re… awake. Are you feeling okay? No pain anywhere?”
“Pain? No, just a bit sleepy,” Lillian replied dazedly.
“Go wait at the table. I’ll bring some delicious food over soon.”
A little while later, Iana placed two bowls of golden fried rice on the dining table.
Since her mind was in turmoil, she chose the simplest dish for breakfast.
“Egg fried rice for breakfast, hope you don’t mind.”
“No, it’s fine. As long as there’s food. I usually don’t eat breakfast anyway,” Lillian answered.
“Well, um, nothing strange happened last night, right?” Iana asked awkwardly.
“Str… strange?” At first, Lillian didn’t recall anything, then blushed and stammered, “No… nothing. Just a normal sleep.”
Hearing that, Iana finally relaxed.
As long as it was just normal sleeping, Ethelrina wouldn’t have reason to retaliate.
“That’s good.” Iana exhaled deeply.
“After breakfast, you decorate the living room. I’ll take care of the cake and desserts, okay?”
Lillian nodded slightly, agreeing to Iana’s plan.
***
Time passed, and dusk had fallen.
Iana wiped the sweat from her brow, wearing an apron that made her look like the motherly loli character from her previous life’s anime.
“Done at last.”
With the Bloodstone’s power, Iana hadn’t stopped all day.
Her Bloodline Development progress had reached a peak of nine percent—just a step away from ten percent.
The energy left in the Bloodstone was almost gone.
According to Iana’s calculations, it contained just enough power for her Bloodline Development to break through the ten percent barrier.
She gazed at the three-tier cake tower she had made.
The top tier featured a cream painting of Ethelrina and Lillian together.
She believed this cake could express Lillian’s true feelings on her behalf, since Lillian was not good with words.
The rest of the spread included all sorts of desserts: macarons, strawberry pudding, donuts, pancakes, tiramisu, and more.
Anyone who saw these desserts would surely sigh, thinking, “Whoever marries Iana is truly lucky—such a perfect chef who’s elegant and homey.”
Unfortunately, Iana had no romantic intentions yet.
She planned to help foster the relationship between Lillian and Ethelrina, then quietly stay away with the rest of the female cast.
Romance was not something she had considered.
“Let’s see how Lillian’s doing.”
When Iana entered the living room, thanks to Lillian’s previous experience decorating a bedroom, she wasn’t too surprised—but she still had to admire Lillian’s talent.
The entire room was transformed into a fairy tale world.
Iana felt even a princess’s room wouldn’t be this dreamy.
Lillian was busy putting on the finishing touches nearby.
Seeing this, Iana felt reassured.
Soon, she would deliver the Invitation to Ethelrina, but first she wanted to absorb the Bloodstone’s last energy and push her Bloodline Development past ten percent.
Since the Trial Land’s challenges didn’t consume much time, and Iana was eager to see her mother, sending the Invitation was pushed down the list.
Feeling the Bloodstone’s continuous surge of energy, it wasn’t long before Iana sensed something inside her break free.
Power erupted like a fountain.
She felt as if some force was dragging her body into a vortex.
Meanwhile, Lillian was experiencing the same thing.
“What’s going on? The Trial Land only allows entry to those with Bloodline Development beyond ten percent, right?”
After a dizzy spell, Iana found herself in a strange space.
A commanding, majestic female voice, as if born to be a superior ruler, echoed in her ear.
“You have finally come, my child.”