Chapter 104 - 31: Stay Away From Me

Chapter 104: Chapter 31: Stay Away From Me

Lilia met Veronica’s exceptionally serious gaze.

Lilia nodded with equal seriousness.

"Oh."

Veronica: "..."

’Wait a minute...’

’What does she mean, "oh"?!’

"Did you not understand what I just said?!"

Veronica raised her voice. "Adrian is coming back. The war between the heirs to the throne could break out at any moment."

"Don’t you have anything to say about it?"

"Nope."

Lilia was utterly matter-of-fact.

Of course she had nothing to say. After all, she had never once considered vying for the throne.

"More importantly, Veronica,"

Lilia asked curiously, "did you come all this way to find me today because you need me to do something for you?"

Veronica: "..."

The Princess, long accustomed to the disingenuous pleasantries of nobles and ministers, was completely thrown by Lilia’s directness.

After Lilia asked her question, she remained silent for a long while.

It wasn’t until Lilia saw a faint blush on her face—one that could have been either shame or anger—that she finally couldn’t help but speak. "...Mr. Rockwell."

"Mr. Rockwell hasn’t shown up for a whole week."

Veronica took a breath, trying to appear calm. "High-level Mages like him are mostly aloof and arrogant. Very few are willing to get involved with the Royal Family."

"But Mr. Rockwell is different."

"I don’t know why he agreed to Father’s request to teach us, but compared to Adrian, who has yet to return to the Royal Capital, he is our natural advantage."

Veronica spoke with eloquence. "Adrian is about to return, and soon after, Mr. Rockwell will surely resign from his position at the Royal Court. His absence these past few days is the strongest proof."

"So, I want you to help me find out... what his plans are for the future."

Lilia understood.

But she had a question. "Why don’t you go yourself?"

From Veronica’s statement, it was clear that while she claimed people like Victor wouldn’t want to get involved with the Royal Family, she actually desperately hoped he would stay in Hillflan and even become her ally.

It would be better for the two of them to discuss something like this face-to-face. Veronica could directly state her request and offer her terms, which would be far more efficient than going through Lilia as a middleman.

Hearing her question, Veronica fell silent again.

"If I *could* see him..."

Veronica said, a hint of resentment in her voice, "I wouldn’t have had to come to you."

...

In fact, as early as yesterday morning, right after hearing from a friendly noble that Adrian was about to return, Veronica had already gone to see Victor.

She had waited there for a full two hours without even getting past the door. The sole manservant there just watched her standing at the entrance, not knowing whether to persuade her to leave or invite her in... The six-foot-tall man was pacing anxiously beside her.

In the end, Veronica gave up, turned, and left, asking the manservant to pass a message to Victor: she would visit again when he had time.

Lilia found this rather strange.

Veronica said Victor was the aloof and arrogant type, but Lilia didn’t think so.

Perhaps High-level Mages were indeed arrogant at heart, but on the surface, at least, it was impossible that he would be so rude as to refuse Veronica at the door.

What’s more, from the lessons these past few days, it was clear that regardless of his reasons for agreeing to teach them, Victor was training Veronica and the others as his own disciples. He held nothing back, imparting all his knowledge and principles.

Lilia couldn’t believe that such a person would intentionally leave Veronica waiting outside for over two hours.

Lilia rushed to Victor’s residence and met the only manservant there.

Faced with Lilia’s request, the manservant said apologetically, "My deepest apologies, Princess Lilia, but Mr. Rockwell has given orders that no one is to enter without his permission."

Lilia frowned slightly. "You haven’t even gone in to announce me. How do you know he doesn’t want to see me?"

"Well..."

The manservant hesitated. "Mr. Rockwell ordered that no one is to disturb him before he comes out. That includes me, of course."

Lilia: "..."

’He’s like an NPC.’

Veronica must have been politely stonewalled by him. She couldn’t get in, and she couldn’t reason with him.

She had no choice but to wait outside for two hours before finally leaving in frustration.

Lilia, however, had no intention of playing by the rules like Veronica.

She nodded lightly, feigning understanding. "Alright, I’ll be leaving then."

"Thank you for your understanding!"

The manservant’s relief was written all over his face.

He had been terrified of a repeat of yesterday’s situation, where a princess stood before him for a full two hours.

Two whole hours!

Watching such a noble person just stand there had him on pins and needles, a thorn in his side, a lump in his throat... The torment was so great it felt like his heart was being roasted over a fire.

’It’s wonderful that Princess Lilia is so reasonable!’

The manservant happily saw Lilia off.

Lilia rounded a corner, making sure she was out of the manservant’s sight.

She told a bewildered-looking Rebecca to leave, then doubled back down a small path and circled around to the back door of the residence.

Unlike the palaces of Veronica and the others, there were no servants here, and certainly no guards.

’Sneaking in will be a piece of cake.’

Lilia estimated the height of the surrounding wall, took a running start, and leaped.

Lifted by the Wind Element, the girl’s body was as light as a bird as she soared over the wall.

Landing smoothly on the tips of her toes, Lilia straightened her wind-tousled skirt and glanced around.

The place was much smaller than the others, with only a few rooms, so she could take it all in at a glance.

She walked straight toward the master bedroom. Just as she was about to raise her hand to knock, she suddenly sensed an unusual fluctuation of Magic Power from within.

’This is...’

She frowned slightly, concentrating on the sensation for a moment.

The Magic Power inside was immense and stable, yet it also felt incredibly familiar.

’This is clearly Victor’s handiwork.’

’He sealed the bedroom himself and has been locked inside for a whole week?’

No matter how she looked at it, this wasn’t normal.

Lilia first tried knocking on the door, but after a long wait, there was no response.

Her brow furrowed.

Even if he were engrossed in research, he wouldn’t be this oblivious to the outside world. With no sound for so long, Lilia could only think of one possibility.

’Something’s happened to him.’

At this thought, Lilia no longer hesitated and prepared to break down the door.

Elemental Particles in the air gathered rapidly.

With a tremendous BOOM, the door instantly splintered apart, engulfed by soaring crimson flames.

Lilia stepped inside, her eyes quickly searching for Victor.

Her gaze froze on the desk.

A young man in a white robe was slumped over the desk, one hand braced against his forehead. His fingers were clenched tightly in his long, platinum-blond hair, and the veins on the back of his hand bulged as if he were enduring unimaginable pain.

"Victor!"

Lilia took two steps forward but was stopped by the young man.

"Stop!"

His voice was hoarse. "Stay right there... Don’t take another step!"