Chapter 84 - 11: When You Encounter Difficulties, Complain First

Chapter 84: Chapter 11: When You Encounter Difficulties, Complain First

’Threatening me?’

Lilia narrowed her eyes.

If there was one thing she hated, it was being threatened.

Just as Lilia was about to speak, the faint clinking of armor came from ahead.

The Knight on guard stood and saluted. "Princess Veronica! Prince Leo!"

Lilia and the steward looked over at the same time.

The steward’s reaction was incredibly swift.

’No matter what Veronica’s attitude toward Lilia is, I absolutely cannot let them meet right now!’

Princess Veronica was known for being gentle, kind, and devoted to her siblings. If Lilia revealed her identity, Veronica would have no choice but to make a show of her benevolence.

’And then I’ll probably be the one getting scolded.’

Having figured this out, the steward immediately turned and bowed. "Princess Veronica, Prince Leo, my sincerest apologies for letting you see such an unsightly scene..."

Veronica and Leo were in a hurry to find the mysterious illegitimate child. They had only been passing by and had no intention of getting involved, but the steward’s words drew their attention.

Veronica looked at the girl behind him and frowned. "Who is she?"

Seeing her expression, the steward was inwardly delighted. He said in a deeply annoyed tone, "She’s a new maid who doesn’t know the rules. I looked away for a second, and she ran off to a place she shouldn’t be."

"Your Highnesses, please don’t worry. I will be sure to punish her properly once I take her back!"

The steward finished speaking through gritted teeth and reached out to cover Lilia’s mouth and drag her away.

But there was no way Lilia would let him succeed.

She jumped right onto a chair, calling over the head of the steward—who stood less than 1.7 meters tall—to the man and woman ahead. "Sister Veronica! Brother Leo!"

Veronica’s brows furrowed even more tightly. "...Sister?"

Leo’s expression was even stranger. "Huh? Brother Leo?"

"It’s like this, Princess Veronica..."

The Knight standing nearby explained, "Mr. Wade said this is Princess Lilia."

As soon as the words were out.

Veronica and Leo froze, and the steward, who had been playing a game of cat-and-mouse with Lilia, was utterly stunned.

He scrambled to explain. "No! It’s not like that! This maid is mentally unstable—she has delusions! Yes, that’s it, she’s insane!"

"Princess Veronica, please don’t believe..."

"Shut up!"

Veronica cut him off sharply.

She strode forward in her dark brown boots, ignoring the panicked steward, her gaze fixed intently on Lilia’s face.

Her eyes raked over Lilia’s eyebrows, her facial contours, and her body—frail from long-term malnutrition. "What is your name?"

"Lilia."

Lilia said obediently, "Lilia Seville."

’No one would dare use the surname Seville lightly.’

’Besides, Harvey has always been meticulous. He would never say something like that if he wasn’t certain.’

’In other words... she’s Father’s illegitimate child, the one who was brought to the Royal Court ten years ago and never heard from again?’

Now that she had found her, Veronica was suddenly in no rush.

She asked for confirmation, "How old are you?"

The girl’s voice was bright and clear. "Sixteen."

’Sixteen... That does meet the requirements for learning Magic.’

Veronica asked, "Why are you here?"

The girl blinked her pretty eyes. "I came to find you, Sister Veronica."

"To find her?"

Leo walked over. "Why were you looking for her?"

"Yesterday, Steward Wade only gave me one meal, and it was spoiled. If the same thing happens today, I’ll probably starve to death."

The girl looked up at the two of them, a pitiful expression on her face. "I don’t want to starve to death. I just want some normal food..."

The moment she finished speaking.

Veronica’s brow tightened, while Leo shot daggers at Wade.

At that moment, a sense of fear washed over them.

’What if Lilia hadn’t come here today? What if, by the time we found her, she had already died from food poisoning, or simply starved to death...’

’Even if Victor didn’t resign from his post as their tutor, the Seville Royal Family’s image would be severely tarnished in his eyes!’

A Royal Princess being abused to death by a meddling steward—it was a scandal that would bring shame upon the entire Royal Family.

Nearby, Steward Wade was still trying to explain. "A misunderstanding... this is all a misunderstanding, Your Highnesses! Princess Lilia’s daily life is handled by the maids under me, I was completely unaware of this! If I had known beforehand, I would never have allowed this to happen!"

"Is that so?"

Veronica’s tone was deceptively light. "But I seem to recall you saying she was insane, that she suffered from delusions, and that you were about to drag her away right in front of us?"

Wade’s mouth fell open, and cold sweat instantly soaked his back.

"I... I..."

He tried to defend himself, but he couldn’t string together a coherent sentence.

Leo couldn’t be bothered to listen to any more of it. "Why are we wasting our breath on him? The Wade family is so arrogant. I’m sure they’ll manage to live just fine in Hillflan even without their noble title."

Wade’s eyes shot wide open.

’He... he means to strip the Wade family of their title!’

’Just for mistreating some girl?’

"No!"

Wade’s eyes were practically bulging from his head. "Prince Leo! You can’t do this!"

He had thought that even if the matter came to Veronica’s attention, the worst he could expect was a scolding and a fine of a few weeks’ pay. He never imagined Leo would be so ruthless as to rip out the very foundation of the Wade family!

How could he accept this?!

"Can’t?"

Leo sneered, "There’s nothing in this world I can’t do."

He waved his hand. "Harvey, what are you standing there for? Are we supposed to just let this trash offend our eyes?"

The Knight instinctively glanced at Veronica for her reaction.

Veronica was silent for a moment before giving a silent nod, acquiescing to Leo’s decision.

"As you command, Prince Leo!"

With his orders, the Knight no longer hesitated. He grabbed Wade by the arm, hauled him to his feet, and dragged him away.

’He couldn’t stand that guy anyway!’

’Abusing such an adorable little girl... getting kicked out of Hillflan serves him right!’

Wade’s cries and pleas for mercy faded down the path.

Outside the princess’s chambers, only Lilia, Veronica, and Leo were left.

The atmosphere fell silent.

Lilia’s gaze swept over the two people before her.

Neither Veronica nor Leo looked particularly friendly. Beyond the incident with Steward Wade, their impression of her was likely far from positive.

’That was only to be expected.’

’A sixteen-year-old illegitimate daughter who had nearly caused a major scandal. As much as they disliked what Wade had done, they wouldn’t like the person who brought the mess to their doorstep, either.’

But besides the reason Lilia guessed, there was another cause for Veronica and Leo’s hostility toward her: Victor’s attitude.

"...This is the person Mr. Rockwell insisted on waiting for?"

Leo crossed his arms, his eyes sweeping over Lilia from head to toe. The scrutiny and disdain in his tone were unconcealed. "I thought you’d be some kind of magical genius, but from the looks of it..."

He scoffed, leaving the sentence unfinished, but his meaning was perfectly clear.