Chapter 3: What an Interesting Little One

When Lilia woke up, it was already afternoon.

The soreness in her body had faded a lot—at least enough for her to get out of bed and walk normally.

She changed into a relatively simple dress.

“Since I can’t escape for now, I’ll have to figure out the situation here first.”

She pushed open the door and walked into the corridor of the Evernight Palace.

At first glance, she was stunned.

The corridor was ridiculously wide, over a dozen meters across, with towering pillars on both sides.

The ceiling was so high she couldn’t see the top.

Countless glowing Magic Crystals floated above, illuminating the entire space brightly.

“Is this a palace or an airport?”

Lilia walked along the corridor, growing more uneasy with each step.

The internal space of this place completely defied common sense.

From the outside, the Evernight Palace was grand, but it definitely didn’t have such a vast interior.

“Spatial Magic? Or something else?”

She walked for over ten minutes before finally reaching a fork.

To the left was the Library, to the right the Garden, and straight ahead was the Alchemy Laboratory.

“Garden? Indoors?”

Lilia chose the right.

She pushed open the door to the Garden—and almost thought she’d gone to the wrong place.

This wasn’t a garden—it was a miniature ecosystem!

Above her was a blue sky with white clouds, and warm sunlight poured down.

All kinds of strange plants grew here.

What shocked her most was the fountain at the center.

What sprayed from the fountain wasn’t water, but flowing liquid mana.

The mana formed various shapes in the air, then slowly fell, nourishing the surrounding plants.

“So this is the power of the Demon Lord?”

Lilia walked to the fountain.

She reached out, wanting to touch the liquid mana.

“Miss, please do not touch it directly.”

Lilith appeared behind her at some unknown time.

“Why do you always appear out of nowhere?”

Lilia was startled.

“Occupational habit.”

Lilith walked to her side.

“This is Pure Abyssal Mana.”

“For those without magic power, direct contact is dangerous.”

“What would happen?”

“At best, mana poisoning. At worst, you’d be assimilated into a Magic Puppet.”

Lilia quickly withdrew her hand.

She continued wandering the Garden, seeing all kinds of wondrous plants.

Flowers that could sing.

Trees that bore gem-like fruit.

And some things she couldn’t even name.

“Where did all these plants come from?”

“All over the world.”

Lilith followed behind her.

“Your Majesty collected the rarest species in the entire Empire of Erya.”

“Even those that can move?”

Lilia pointed at a vine chasing a butterfly.

“That’s a Predatory Vine, from Low Whisper Forest.”

“It’s usually gentle, only eating small insects.”

After exploring the Garden, Lilia went to the Library.

The moment she pushed open the door, she was utterly stunned.

It was a spherical space.

Bookshelves extended layer by layer along the surface of the sphere, reaching up to an unseen top.

Countless books were neatly arranged, emitting faint magical glows.

“How many books are here?”

“About thirty million volumes.”

Lilith answered calmly.

“Containing all knowledge since the birth of the world.”

“Thirty million?!”

Lilia gasped.

This was bigger than any library she had ever seen in her previous life.

“Miss may read as she pleases, but please do not take books out of the Library.”

Lilia picked up a book at random.

Upon opening it, she saw it recorded some kind of advanced alchemy technique.

She picked up another—it was a theoretical study on Spatial Magic.

“Are all these readable?”

“Your Majesty said that knowledge is more important to you than power.”

Lilia’s heart skipped a beat.

What did Lucia mean by that?

Did she know where her strengths lay?

She wandered through the Library again, discovering the books were categorized with extreme detail.

Magic theory, alchemy, magitech engineering, history, geography, biology—everything imaginable.

There was even a special section storing Forbidden Knowledge.

“Is that section open?”

“Special permission from Your Majesty is required.”

After browsing the Library, Lilia’s stomach started to rumble.

“I’m hungry.”

She complained to the air.

No sooner had the words left her mouth than Lilith appeared.

“What would Miss like to eat?”

“You again? Is there surveillance everywhere here?”

“The Evernight Palace senses all of Miss’s needs.”

Lilith didn’t answer directly.

“What would you like to eat?”

Lilia’s eyes spun.

“I want swan meat.”

“Understood. Please wait a moment.”

To her surprise, Lilith agreed immediately and went to arrange it.

Half an hour later, a team of Magic Puppet Maids pushed in a dining cart.

On the cart sat a beautifully roasted swan, along with various side dishes and desserts.

“Is this really swan?”

“Yes, from the White Swan of Northern Ice Lake. The meat is most delicious.”

Lilia took a bite. It really was tasty.

After the meal, she made a few more unreasonable requests.

Tropical fruit from the south, pearls from the deep sea, Dwarf-Forged Tableware.

For each demand, Lilith agreed without hesitation and quickly made it happen.

“I want to go outside for a walk.”

Lilia tested.

“Miss is free to move within the Evernight Palace, but may not leave the palace for now.”

“Why?”

“By order of Your Majesty.”

Unwilling to give up, Lilia slipped toward the palace entrance while Lilith wasn’t paying attention.

However, when she reached the gate, an invisible Magic Shield blocked her path.

She reached out—a gentle yet irresistible force bounced her hand back.

“Miss, please don’t make things difficult for us.”

Two Magic Golem guards appeared before her.

Their voices were polite, but their stance unyielding.

“We are ordered to protect Miss’s safety. Please return inside the palace to rest.”

Lilia was “politely” escorted back.

She cursed Lucia a thousand times in her heart but obediently returned to her room on the surface.

At night, Lucia returned.

She pushed open the door and saw Lilia sulking on the bed.

“How was today’s adventure?”

“Boring to death.”

Lilia turned her face away.

“It’s just a fancy prison.”

“Is that so?”

Lucia walked to her side.

Without warning, she picked her up and placed her on her lap.

“Then let’s watch something interesting together.”

She waved her hand, and a massive magic projection appeared in the room.

A documentary began playing in the projection.

Lilia glanced at the title.

“What’s so good about this?”

“It’s very educational.”

Lucia’s hand began to stroke her thigh.

“You need to understand this world.”

The documentary was deadly boring, full of data and policy analysis.

Lilia struggled to stay awake, but Lucia’s hand kept getting bolder.

From her thigh to her waist, from her waist to her back—every touch made her tremble.

“Stop… Don’t touch…”

“Focus on the show.”

Lucia’s voice sounded in her ear.

Her warm breath made Lilia even more sensitive.

The documentary continued, but Lilia could no longer concentrate.

Her physical reactions grew stronger, her consciousness fuzzier.

Before she knew it, she fell asleep in Lucia’s arms.

Lucia gazed at the sleeping girl in her embrace, gently stroking her silver hair.

“What an interesting little thing.”