The guests had left, so naturally, Hill Yu had no way to continue pressing the matter, nor would anyone suspect that the daughter of the Laiensi family had spent a whole day and night here.
Of course, unless Ofilia herself revealed it, or someone else saw it happen and recognized them.
But at this moment, seeing that Willis’s room was empty, Hill Yu finally breathed a sigh of relief.
“I’m really afraid you’d do something like that again, Willis. Your situation is dangerous right now, so you absolutely can’t provoke the Laiensi family anymore. Although they’re gradually declining, the thin camel is still bigger than the horse.”
Hill Yu’s words of concern were appreciated, and Willis nodded in response.
“I understand, Sister. By the way, you went to see the Imperial Younger Sister. Is everything alright there?”
Sitting on the edge of Willis’s bed, Hill Yu sighed as she recalled the situation.
“Chris seems to have caught a severe cold somewhere, now she’s got a headache, dizziness, runny nose, and tears. When I went to see her, her consciousness was already somewhat unclear.”
Hearing this, Willis was surprised.
“Hmm? That serious? Didn’t anyone call a Healer or a Priest for treatment?”
“We tried early on. Although it helped for a while, the symptoms kept recurring. The physicians said it would require herbal medicine for gradual recovery…”
Such bad timing for an illness.
Willis couldn’t help but silently lament.
If she were bedridden now, it wouldn’t be a time for rest in a safe place, but rather a time to face countless assassination attempts.
Why are people’s fates so different?
“Willis, you really didn’t do anything to her, right?”
Hill Yu suddenly asked again.
Willis forced a bitter smile.
“Absolutely not.”
Her expression was convincingly sincere, but inside, her thoughts were another matter.
Just slept for a bit… that shouldn’t count as anything, right?
Besides, a blossoming young girl like Ofilia, forced to sacrifice for her family by marrying someone she didn’t love—that’s one thing, but the other party was a man decades older than her…
Has the Laiensi family really fallen to this point…
Or do they have even bigger ambitions?
“Come to think of it, that Ofilia is quite a tragic figure…”
“When her mother came looking for her, from what she said, it seems they planned to marry her off to a powerful noble family or someone with high status…”
Hill Yu sighed in sympathy as well.
“Powerful noble families… I heard she’s not even seventeen yet. Oh, and she’s the little girl who caused trouble at your inauguration speech yesterday. Do you remember her?”
Willis naturally remembered her well and quite deeply. However, apart from Hill Yu, no one else knew about the secret relationship between Willis and Ofilia for now.
Hill Yu went on without waiting for an answer.
“It’s a pity. I heard her magical aptitude is quite high, but unfortunately, she was born into a noble family… Though their impatience is shameless to say the least.”
As they spoke, the atmosphere in the room grew quiet.
Hill Yu fell silent, and Willis didn’t know what to say either.
It wasn’t just that being born into a noble family meant one’s fate was beyond their control; for imperial princesses like them, the situation was even more helpless.
If one day the Empire’s interests demanded it, they could be married off far away to foreign countries.
Though that wasn’t the case now, who could say what the future held?
Even if not married abroad, princesses could be married off to appease ministers and nobles.
Currently, there were still at least a handful of princesses married out to aristocracy within the Empire.
Willis, is this the fate you want to escape? Hill Yu stared blankly at her younger sister.
Her red hair flowed and shimmered, her delicate features carrying an unconscious sadness.
Even after venting her frustration on Ofilia, making Willis seem even more charmingly melancholic…
But on those small shoulders still lay burdens no one her age should bear.
This was one of the reasons Hill Yu was so close to her.
Meanwhile, in a secret room unknown to others…
“Useless! Useless! A bunch of useless people!”
Crash, crash—the sound of precious vases and art pieces shattering on the floor echoed as their owner vented anger without restraint.
“Willis only holds the title of Evil Princess, but she herself poses no real threat. And you can’t even manage that!?”
“Y-yes, your servant—ah!!”
Before the trembling figure kneeling inside could finish speaking, a gleaming sword was plunged directly through his throat.
“Useless! You have no right to exist in this world!”
“If you fail again next time, I won’t need this broken tool anymore either!”
***
Inside the Toukui Imperial Palace…
It was still Willis who first broke the silence.
“Sister, are you free the day after tomorrow?”
Willis asked.
“The day after tomorrow?”
Hill Yu thought for a moment.
“I don’t have classes then, so yes, I’m free. What’s up?”
“I want to go to Ushi City for a while. I might be there for quite a long time.”
Willis lifted her gaze, eyes drifting toward the window.
“Until the Academy officially notifies me to start my work, I’ll probably be in Ushi City.”
Upon hearing this, Hill Yu nodded.
“Going to Ushi City is fine. It’s your territory. As long as you manage it well, it will be safe. You can also develop your own power base there.”
Hill Yu’s blunt words caught Willis slightly off guard. Such talk wasn’t usually allowed from an elder sister.
But since this was her room, a little private talk was fine.
“You want me to escort you there? I can do that…” Before Willis could decline, Hill Yu had already agreed.
“Your Royal Knight will be going with you, right?”
“Of course, she’ll be coming along.”
At that moment, a maid knocked and entered, carefully setting down steaming tea and snacks on the wooden table before quickly retreating.
Willis glanced at the steaming cup and smiled wryly.
“Right now, besides you, Sister, I feel like I have nothing at all.”
“Nonsense!”
Hill Yu shot her a glare.
But Willis’s words still brought a hint of pride to her face.
“Fine, I’ll go with you. Rest well. I’ll leave five hundred soldiers behind to guard every blade of grass and tree in this palace.”
With that, Hill Yu stood up and cut off Willis’s attempt to refuse.
“Don’t say no. I already told them to wait outside. I don’t care. You take care of their meals!”
Hill Yu strode out in a few quick steps. When Willis chased after her, just as Hill Yu said, five hundred soldiers were lined up outside the Toukui Imperial Palace.
Neatly arranged, awaiting orders.
Staring at these armored, disciplined soldiers, Willis could only lead them into her own palace.
Times were unstable, so Willis had rarely allowed male soldiers to patrol outside her residence; the only restriction was not to let them near her bedchamber.
As for their food, that was just more work for the kitchen. The princess’s provisions were supplied by the Empire—there was no need to worry.
“Let’s continue…”
Back inside the room, Willis resumed practicing controlling the Sakura-Killing Petal magic.
In this magnificent palace, only the empty courtyard was suitable for practicing magic, but Willis’s focus had now shifted entirely to this magical weapon.
Before long, a maid approached the door and reported.
“Your Highness, Inquisitor Rodmenlin is requesting an audience outside the palace.”
“Rhodomenlin? What is he doing here again?”
They had exchanged polite farewells outside the palace yesterday; if there was nothing then, could there be something he must discuss privately?
“Send him to the main hall. I’ll be there shortly,” Willis instructed.
“Yes!”
The maid responded and left immediately.