HPDBC Chapter 314: Liana’s Mother
Chapter 314: Liana’s Mother
The Lady of Minagado glanced at Loraviel. She didn’t know her, nor her status. But she had, after all, been brought by Princess Mephilia. Since the Princess permitted it, she didn’t ask any questions.
But they were about to enter the forbidden zone of the Minagado Territory. This was a matter concerning the territory itself, and it wasn’t good to let a stranger know about it.
“Don’t worry, she is Liana’s maid. I can guarantee she will not speak of what she sees today. Besides, Liana absolutely trusts her. You don’t need to worry about the Minagado Territory’s secrets being leaked,” Mephilia said, seeing her concern.
“If Princess Mephilia says so.” Although she didn’t quite trust Loraviel, she trusted Princess Mephilia and Princess Liana.
They arrived at the core of the furnace. Upon arriving, the surrounding temperature rose sharply, becoming even more scorching than when they first entered.
“Be careful. These aren’t illusions, they are real. You’ll be burned if you’re careless,” the Lady warned.
“Then why are we here? There shouldn’t be a path this way, right?” Loraviel asked curiously.
“This is why I didn’t want to bring you here in the first place, Miss Loraviel.” She raised her hand and slit her own palm with a dagger.
Blood dripped into the scalding magma. After a moment, Loraviel felt the entire furnace begin to tremble.
The Lady took out a specially made gem and handed one to each of them. “Hold on to this gem tightly. Otherwise, it will be very dangerous.”
“Mn.” Loraviel nodded, and then watched as the Lady of Minagado took a leap and jumped into the magma.
“?” A question mark appeared over Loraviel’s head.
“Follow me. Just jump in. As long as you hold the gem, you won’t be in danger,” Mephilia said, and she too leaped into the magma.
What a strange territory.
Loraviel followed them and jumped. Even if it was real magma, with magic protecting her, she wouldn’t be hurt.
It looked like a red, boiling liquid, but upon actual contact, there was nothing special about it. It wasn’t even like water.
Loraviel passed through the magma sea, heading straight for the earth’s core.
Strangely, not long after, she surfaced. The ceiling? No, Mephilia is standing on the ground. Am I in the ceiling?
Loraviel exited the magma sea. After leaving it, gravity pulled her down. She used magic to land steadily.
“This is the hideout Lord Venus helped build back then. If it weren’t for hi., we wouldn’t have survived to this day,” Nataya explained.
Loraviel nodded, but her mind wasn’t on that. She looked around, and her gaze finally settled on a woman.
She had long golden hair and bore a striking resemblance to Princess Liana. Most importantly, Princess Mephilia was currently having her head patted by her.
The only one who could do such a thing... must be Princess Liana’s mother, Lady Ambis, right?
“Sister Ambis, it’s been so long!” After appearing, Mephilia completely ignored Oester. She ran straight for Ambis and flew into her arms.
“We haven’t seen each other in so many years. Why are you still like a child?” Ambis rubbed Mephilia’s head, speaking gently.
“Sister Ambis, you don’t know... after you left, so many things happened. Liana suffered so many grievances, and all of it was...” Mephilia wanted to say something.
But Ambis just smiled gently. “I know everything.”
Ambis’s smile was kind, but Mephilia could feel the ice-cold chill beneath it.
Sister Ambis is the fiercest in protecting one’s calf1护犊子 (hù dúzi), like a cow protecting its calf, protective of one’s own. person. After finding out what Liana went through, it’s impossible she would let Oester come here so calmly. Is Sister Ambis planning something?
“How has Liana been? It’s been so long... I wonder if she hates me. Leaving without a word, and then having something like this happen.” Ambis’s voice was full of self-blame.
“Liana definitely misses you very much. She’s much stronger than we imagine. She will understand you,” Mephilia said.
“Is that so...” Ambis was actually a little afraid to see Liana now.
Ambis thought that to Liana, she must be the worst mother imaginable. She left her when she was young, and she misjudged someone, entrusting her to a hypocrite, causing Liana to suffer all these years.
Loraviel stepped forward and said. “Um... about that, I can also assure you. Princess Liana misses you terribly. She often sits alone in a chair, just staring blankly. Sometimes Princess Liana shows a very envious look at families. Many times, she inadvertently reveals an expression of longing for you, Lady Ambis
“Princess Liana has always hoped that one day, when she returns to the Venus Dukedom, she will see her parents waiting for her at home.”
“You are...” Ambis looked at Loraviel.
“Ah... I’m sorry, I was being presumptuous, blurting all that out.” Loraviel quickly stepped back. Why did she suddenly say those things, and to Princess Liana’s mother, no less? A stranger suddenly saying these things... Princess Liana’s mother’s first impression of her must be terrible, right?
“Loraviel, right?” Ambis reached out and took Loraviel’s hand.
The warmth that suddenly came from her hand made Loraviel freeze for a moment. “You... know me?”
“Liana’s little maid, right?” Ambis smiled.
“Mn...”
“Dearest Mother has already told me about you. She’s very satisfied with you. I rarely see her give someone such a high evaluation.” Ambis habitually reached out and rubbed Loraviel’s head.
In terms of status, she did indeed have this right.
So she heard from Teacher Orleya... That made sense. They were family. They would definitely share important news like this.
“Your words put me somewhat at ease.” Ambis looked Loraviel over carefully, and finally nodded with a grin. “Very good.”
“...Thank you for your praise.” Although Loraviel was a bit baffled, did this count as getting Lady Ambis’s approval? In any case, the first impression didn’t seem too bad. This was a great success.
“Ahem.” Oester, who had been left standing aside for a long time, coughed lightly.
“Oh, so you’re still here.” Mephilia didn’t spare Oester a pleasant look.
“I know you have a strong opinion of me, but right now, we have a common enemy, don’t we?” Oester said. “Acting like this will make you seem petty. It wouldn’t be good if everyone saw.”
“Second Prince Oester, I believe I spoke to you about the special nature of this place, did I not? What is the meaning of this?” the Lady of Minagado said, extremely displeased.
“This is merely to protect the Second Prince’s safety. The Second Prince is now a wielder of the holy sword. It is only right that everyone knows.” An old man stepped out from beside Oester. He was Oester’s guardian knight, and also one of the ten Judges of the Lisat Kingdom, Rulunas.
A holy sword indeed appeared in Oester’s hand. It emitted the same aura as the one Liana held, and its luster and color were even better than Liana’s.
“But here...”
Ambis raised her hand, stopping the Lady of Minagado.
“There is one, there are two, perhaps there is even a third holy sword. Right now, we shouldn’t be focusing on our internal conflicts.” Oester said, full of righteous indignation. “Since you have some misunderstandings about me, I am willing to concede. The matter with demonkind is already severe. Rather than continue this conflict, it’s better if I take a step back. No matter what, we all have a common enemy, don’t we?”
Mephilia didn’t lose her reason. There were many people watching, and this matter affects whether she can smoothly become the next ruler. She has to handle this perfectly.
“How did you find this holy sword?” Mephilia asked symbolically. She knew he would just weave a symbolic story anyway; he’d never tell the real reason.
“Because I was guided by the holy sword. It guided me here. That’s why I was able to pick it up,” Oester said.
“Is that so.” Mephilia narrowed her eyes. Only a ghost would believe that. Guided by the holy sword? What a joke. Guided by a demon iwas more like it. If Augula could tell Liana the holy sword was here, he could have told others. Or, more extremely, maybe Augula deliberately set up this meeting to build up Oester’s image, and we’ve fallen into his trap.
“Perhaps my feeling before wasn’t wrong. There really is a holy sword in that ocean in the Elf Forest,” Oester added.
Is he trying to provoke the elves, too? To make the elves, who had already decided to help Liana, waver?
“But we can’t blame Liana. At the time, no one knew there could be multiple holy swords. Liana was just trying to help us, to save us from wasting time. It was just an intelligence error. After all, history has only ever recorded one holy sword. There’s no record of multiple appearing at once.” Oester thoughtfully gave Liana steps to get down from.2台阶下 (táijiē xià), an ‘out’ or a way to gracefully back down from an awkward situation.
“Right now, the holy sword is in an unstable state. It needs a period of repair. Perhaps my holy sword and Liana’s holy sword are one and the same, just... damaged in the war against demonkind.” Oester struck first to gain the upper hand, placing himself in a favorable position.
“Oester, you have a point. I’ve also checked the relevant books. There really is only one holy sword.” Mephilia nodded, acknowledging Oester’s claim.
“I possess sacred magic. Perhaps I can help. I tried Liana’s holy sword before. It didn’t have any resistant reaction to me, and I could use it,” Mephilia said.
“That’s right. Sacred magic and the holy sword are both banes of demonkind. Come to think of it, you and the holy sword have that in common, Mephilia.” Oester nodded and generously handed the holy sword to Mephilia. “Maybe you really do have a way to improve its condition.”
Mephilia narrowed her eyes, looking at him warily. Oester handed over the holy sword so easily. This was incredibly suspicious. He definitely did something to it.
Mephilia glanced at Ambis. Ambis just maintained a faint smile, Mephilia couldn’t read her thoughts. “Go ahead, Mephilia. I trust you.”
“Mn.” Mephilia nodded. This is something she has to face.
Mephilia reached out and took the holy sword from Oester. The instant she touched it, she felt something wrong. It was really heavy...
And the feeling was completely different from Liana’s holy sword. Liana’s sword felt peaceful and serene.
This one felt heavy, as if it placed her in the middle of a battlefield. It was a very uncomfortable feeling.
More importantly, this holy sword seemed to be resisting her sacred magic. Or rather, something on the holy sword was resisting her sacred magic.