Volume 8, Chapter 63 – Changes in Silvar

Autumn mornings are always exceptionally cool, especially at the moment when the sea breeze sweeps over the city and the leaves of the Holy Tree slowly fall. The slight chill of the cool wind brushing against the earlobes, and the soft rustling sounds of the garden’s flowers and plants, all make one want to find a patch of grass and lie down for a nap—the translucent Holy Tree doesn’t completely block the sunlight; on the contrary, the sunlight filtering through its branches is gentler and warmer, as if the whole world is tenderly watching over this land.

In the garden of the Twilight Palace, Fia was sitting in the stone pavilion, reviewing major events occurring in Silvar and the surrounding countries. The only round table in the stone pavilion, made of white marble, was covered with various documents and letters. Although not piled as high as a mountain, there were so many that there was barely any space left to write, to the point where Anastasia, standing by, had to hold a portion of the documents in her arms to prevent them from obstructing Fia’s view.

It was worth mentioning that now that Anastasia’s status as a fiancée had been recognized, Fia felt Anastasia no longer needed to do the work of a servant; other maids in the hall could take over. However, Anastasia was accustomed to this work and felt that letting other maids do it would make her seem useless. Moreover, helping Fia with official business was itself a happy thing—even if it was just one person handling affairs while the other stood there, the peaceful time spent with a loved one was satisfying. So Anastasia still took on the responsibility of helping with official business as the head maid.

Fia was unaware of these psychological activities.

“It’s not the first time I’ve seen Sister handling official business, but I can’t help but ask: have you really read through all the reports? It always feels like you just glance at them and toss them to Sister Anna.”

Liti, sitting beside Fia, widened her rose-purple eyes, her face full of curiosity as she tilted her head to look at the documents in Fia’s hand. Because Anastasia stood behind Fia, Claire, Liti, and Milu could each sit in the remaining three seats.

Fia moved her gaze away from the documents and couldn’t help but find Milu’s wide-eyed, blinking expression quite adorable. She smiled sweetly.

“If Liti doesn’t believe me, you can test me.”

As she spoke, Fia handed the report she had just finished reading to Liti, who took it without ceremony.

“Then I won’t hold back, okay?”

Liti first spent a few minutes understanding the general content of the document, then said bluntly.

“Repeat the contents of the above, Sister.”

“I asked you to test me, not to check if I’ve memorized it.”

“If you can’t memorize it, isn’t it meaningless? Useful clues are often hidden in inconspicuous corners. Sister can’t just focus on the highlighted parts.”

After saying this, Liti shook her pointed elf ears quite proudly. Set off by her light purple hair and the floral crown ornament on her head, she appeared quite ethereal and playful.

Since there was nothing else to do anyway, she might as well play with Liti for a while.

Fia sighed helplessly, then repeated the contents she had read verbatim.

This was a report compiled by Colita on the recent collaboration between the Witch Sanctuary and the magic casters of the Elf Tower. Railroads and magic locomotives had been test-run during this period, connecting the royal capital Blossom with the important southern city of Koninia. Koninia City was the transportation hub from Blossom to the south. In the past, when Anastasia drove a carriage to bring Fia back to the country, they had passed through this city.

It should be mentioned that laying a railroad was originally a project that would take a massive amount of time. The reason it was completed so quickly was mainly due to two factors.

First, the distance between Blossom and Koninia City was very short, only a few dozen kilometers. At the same time, the area between the two cities was open, flat plains, without mountains or rivers to obstruct construction, making it relatively easy to build. Second, with the assistance of magic, all the materials needed for railroad construction could be produced on-site by magic casters, saving the trouble of transportation.

Interestingly, regarding the materials, the Witch Sanctuary and the Elf Tower had a huge divergence. After intense debates among Laplace, the Knowledge-Seeking Demon General, and the scholars of the Elf Tower, both sides compromised on a middle-ground solution.

In Laplace’s view, railroad construction should strive for perfection, saving a lot of investment in later maintenance and avoiding the trouble of sabotage by those with ill intentions. That is, the materials needed to be sufficiently tough. As a result, the most suitable material was something called [Force Magic Steel].

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However, if Force Magic Steel were used, an unavoidable problem would arise: no magic caster could locally produce ore of the Force Magic Steel grade on-site.

Magic casters didn’t create materials from nothing; they condensed elements from the earth, slowly forming them. Earth magic casters could freely summon rocks. Even for rarer minerals, they could still produce them if they carried relevant magic gems. But once the mineral grade reached the mithril level, it became absolutely impossible to condense. Force Magic Steel was a mithril-grade anti-magic mineral. Inputting it into the mass production of railroad tracks was too extravagant and costly.

Thus, the two sides argued, finally concluding to use an alloy mixed with Force Magic Steel, with properties close to steel but more resilient, for the tracks.

As it turned out, in terms of cost control, the magic casters of the Elf Tower were superior. The magic locomotive had been in trial operation for half a month with no safety issues in terms of hardware. Countless elves daily spent two silver coins on fare just to see this new vehicle, advertised as “like riding on a steel dragon.”

If there were no problems after a month of trial operation, more funds could be allocated to lay railroads all the way from Blossom to the southern border—interestingly, some nobles opposed this, arguing that if the entire country were connected, rebels could use the railroads to drive straight to the capital in the event of an uprising, making Fia lament that history always repeats itself in surprising ways.

After Fia finished reciting this report, Liti, holding a stack of papers, was completely stunned. The way she looked at Fia shifted from initial admiration to a rude, almost monster-like stare.

“N… not a single word is wrong, even the pauses are in the same places. Even your memory is this abnormal… Sister, are you really an elf?”

Whether I was an elf or not, you could find out by trying [Mana Surge].

Although she wanted to roll her eyes and answer Liti like that, Liti was still her little sister. Fia hadn’t reached the point of making such jokes with her own sister.

She took the document back from Liti and handed it to Anastasia behind her.

“This is a talent I was born with. More importantly, Anastasia, what’s with these letters?”

Fia pointed to the thickest, largest stack of papers on the table. She was the Kingdom’s Eldest Princess, not the king. Truly important government affairs wouldn’t pass through her hands, so she didn’t have endless work. Moreover, the envelopes of these letters hadn’t been opened. There was only one possibility for such a situation: they were all love confessions.

“Didn’t I say to send letters like these back? I’m not interested in nobles.”

“So they’re love letters? There are this many? My Little Fia really is popular.”

Claire teased. Anastasia, who had been called by name, responded with a stiff expression.

“Or… originally, I followed your orders and turned the letters away. But these weren’t accepted by me; they were… sent earlier by Queen Yulisha. The Queen specially instructed me that these were carefully selected candidates, all noblewomen interested in you. Not only are their ages very suitable for you, but their personalities are also very gentle. The Queen said she wouldn’t stop you liking women, but at least you should look at more girls from within the country. She also said…”

“Also said?”

Anastasia’s expression had already shifted from stiffness to embarrassment. She forcefully hugged the documents in her arms, her gaze darting away, her voice as quiet as a mosquito’s, as if being bullied by someone.

“She also said… also said that compared to women of other races, elves have easier childbirth. You should marry more maturely developed women so that future children will be more outstanding…”

In fact, Yulisha’s original words weren’t exactly like that. Her original words were that she should find more elves who looked like they had abundant milk, like Anastasia, to compensate for Fia’s developmental regression. But this statement was too blunt; Anastasia couldn’t say it. Although Anastasia knew Queen Yulisha meant no harm—this was even an elven tradition—the way Yulisha stared at Anastasia’s chest and hips when saying it still made Anastasia uneasy, feeling she had been thoroughly scrutinized.

As soon as Anastasia said this, Claire couldn’t help but cover her mouth and chuckle softly. Liti and Milu each lowered their heads and glanced at their own chests. In terms of figure, Milu could be said to have a promising future. Although her chest, like Liti’s, still needed development, she was much perkier than Liti in another area. In the foreseeable future, she would surely become a beautiful girl not inferior to Claire. In comparison, Liti, due to genetics and lack of exercise, seemed less charming.

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“Guh.”

Hearing the dissatisfaction in Liti’s voice, Fia, who had originally felt embarrassed by Anastasia’s statement, immediately couldn’t help but smile. Liti instantly became embarrassed and angry, saying, “Sister isn’t much better either,” and pounced on Fia, finally burrowing onto Fia’s lap and sitting down.

“Hmph, Sister just likes bullying me. If you’ve got the guts, go bully Sister Anna and Sister Claire.”

“How does Liti know I haven’t bullied them?”

“Huh?” As if realizing something, Liti, who had been sitting sideways on Fia’s leg in a huff, suddenly stiffened. Her face rapidly reddened. The way she timidly looked up was reminiscent of a startled rabbit. “Co… could it be that Sister has already done it with Sister Anna…”

“Not at all!”

Before Fia could answer, Anastasia behind her shouted, her face red. However, this was a case of protesting too much; the denial itself was a form of affirmation.

“Even Sister Anna has… Damn it, why can’t I?! I want to be Sister’s fiancée too! I want it, I want it! I’m going to throw a tantrum! I’m going to cry!”

Not satisfied with just sitting on Fia’s lap, Liti climbed onto Fia’s body, kneeling and facing Fia. If Fia hadn’t avoided quickly, Liti would have pounced on her, hugging her neck and kissing her fiercely.

This girl was too rowdy .

Although the feeling of being held by a cute little sister was satisfying—Liti’s skin was very warm, and the milky sweetness emanating from her clothes made one curious about its origin—considering Liti’s unseriousness, Fia found it hard to coax her by gently patting her head like she did with Tilulu.

Wait, if gentleness didn’t work, maybe try something drastic?

A flash of inspiration crossed her mind. Fia glanced at Claire and Milu beside her, and an idea arose. Her expression turned serious. She placed her hands on Liti’s shoulders, pushing her away from herself.

This distancing action made Liti, who had been clinging to Fia like an octopus, feel something was terribly wrong. She thought she might have gone too far and wanted to slip away quickly, but because Fia was holding her shoulders, she couldn’t even look away from Fia’s face.

Oh no.

Sister is angry.

Liti thought, her body stiffening.

However, Fia’s solemn words shocked Liti greatly, stirring up a storm in her mind.

“Since Liti wants so much to be my fiancée, I’ll agree to it. Liti has seen the engagement ceremony and should know what to do. Are you mentally prepared?”

“Eng… engagement ceremony…?”

Liti’s eyes flew wide open. The scene of Fia’s engagement ceremony with Anastasia and Nola in the stone pavilion flashed through her mind. Her already stiff, petite body became even more rigid. Feelings of excitement, anxiety, and even fear surged within her. The timid way she looked up at Fia was no different from a small animal trembling as it was about to be thrown to the wolves.

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Fia maintained her stern expression.

“This is necessary to become a fiancée, right? Or has Liti just been joking all along, without putting any true feelings into it?”

“Of course not!”

Liti answered loudly, then quickly lowered her head again, looking timid. Fia was too sudden; she wasn’t mentally prepared.

“Then let’s begin. Close your eyes.”

“Ugh…”

Intimidated by Fia’s commanding tone, Liti strenuously swallowed, tremblingly closed her eyes. She lifted her swan-like white neck, offering her naive red lips to meet Fia’s. However, her eyelashes trembled desperately, reminiscent of a miserable slave forced to obey orders.

Until the moment her lips touched Fia’s—Liti’s whole body shook as if electrocuted. She began to regret being too hasty and opened her eyes with a depressed and sad expression.

Then she froze.

What Liti felt touching her lips were just Fia’s extended index and middle fingers. Fia herself was looking down at her with a gracious expression.

She had been fooled.

Liti immediately realized her situation. Her delicate, seemingly breakable face visibly reddened.

“You… Sister tricked me! You went back on your word! How can you trick a child!”

“Oh? Liti looked very scared just now. Now that I’m complying with Liti’s wishes and giving you a chance to back out, how am I tricking you? Liti can take a look at what she looked like just now.”

As she spoke, Fia shook the recording crystal in her hand. To prevent Liti from snatching it, she immediately tossed it to Milu across the table. Milu, whose mouth had formed an ‘ω’ shape, caught it steadily.

“I saw it. Coward Liti.”

“Wh… what? It’s clearly Sister’s fault for not creating the right atmosphere. If Sister treated me like she treated Sister Anna and Nola, I would have responded bravely too! Besides, wouldn’t Milu be just as bad?!”

“I’m very brave. I wouldn’t miss an opportunity.”

As she spoke, Milu infused magic into the recording crystal. The image of Liti closing her eyes with a scared expression, from Fia’s perspective just moments ago, appeared in the center of the stone pavilion. Liti, who had just been gnashing her teeth, instantly got goosebumps all over and charged madly at Milu, trying to snatch the recording crystal. However, with both of them already at the Fourth Tier, Liti, as a magic caster, was no match for Milu in terms of physical strength. Milu easily pinned Liti face-down on the table with just a few moves, pressing Liti’s face intimately against the surface, squashing it into a funny shape.

“Wuu…”

“Ahem. Milu, don’t bully her too much.”

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Seeing Liti was aggrieved to the point of almost crying, Fia quickly stopped Milu, then patted her legs, covered by her black dress, signaling Liti to come over.

Although her eyes were already red-rimmed, Liti still obeyed her heart, moving inch by inch until she aggrievedly sat back down on Fia’s lap.

Correspondingly, the white wings on Milu’s ears completely opened, an unhappy expression on her face.

“Fia is the one who bullied her the most.”

“Well… ahaha…”

Fia smiled wryly. She had administered the drastic medicine to make Liti realize she wasn’t mentally prepared yet, and to make her calm down for a while.

Although she wasn’t interested in children, having Liti constantly hovering in front of her in pure white knee-high socks and thin nightgowns was still quite troubling, not to mention when Liti was so informal as to put her legs up on hers.

After the play, Fia continued handling the next piece of government business with Liti in her lap. As for the letters sent by her mother Yulisha, Fia symbolically opened one to glance at before handing it to Anastasia for safekeeping. Refusing the nobles’ letters was fine, but since they were sent by Mother Yulisha, she should at least remember the names and family backgrounds; otherwise, if asked about them next time and knowing nothing, it would be impolite.

While Fia was reviewing, Claire suddenly asked.

“Little Fia hasn’t been to the Netherworld for several days. Did you have a falling out with Lucitine?”

“Well… a little incident occurred.”

Keeping her reviewing action unchanged, Fia even maintained a serious expression, afraid Claire might notice something. Two days had passed since her conflict with Lucitine. During this time, she hadn’t told her companions about her experiences. The main reason, of course, was unwillingness to talk about it. The plan’s exposure was like losing a fight; speaking of it was embarrassing.

“But it’ll get better in a while.”

Fia added.

However, such a small trick couldn’t fool Claire. The latter raised an eyebrow.

“Did something unpleasant happen? Ah—”

Just as Claire finished speaking, she and Fia simultaneously looked towards a certain spot in the garden. Both sensed a powerful presence appear. When they saw the person standing in the garden, their expressions shifted to surprise and tension respectively.

The newcomer was Lucitine, who had flown all the way from the Netherworld to Blossom. Now, her pink hair and black high-slit dress were covered in dust. Her travel-worn, wretched appearance showed not a trace of queenly disposition. The only thing special were her eyes—they were eyes full of determination and vigor. More importantly, they reflected only Fia’s figure.

She walked quickly to Fia, accompanied by a deep intake of breath. The determination in her eyes rapidly softened. She seemed to be thinking about something, and finally lowered her head, her expression turning bitter and unspeakable.

“I’m sorry, Fia. I was wrong…”