"Hm?"
Seeing Erica walk in and immediately take control of the conversation, Karen couldn't help frowning.
She hadn't figured out Erica's exact purpose yet, but she had a strong feeling that Erica was up to something.
However, considering that Erica clearly knew more than she did, Karen decided to wait and see until Erica revealed her intentions.
"Lily, you were just talking about how Akuto has done deep research on 'fate,' right? Actually, Akuto and I discussed the topic of fate quite extensively before."
"What I'm about to say might sound surprising, but you must believe me."
Erica looked at Liliana with absolute seriousness.
"Of course, if you don't believe me, that's fine too. You can verify everything I say directly with Akuto."
"Alright, Erica. Go ahead. I trust you."
Liliana nodded. Since Erica had put it that way, there was no reason not to hear her out.
"Alright then, I'll say it."
"Lily, the truth is that even before Akuto met us, he already knew about us."
"What?"
Liliana's lips parted in surprise.
She had expected Erica to say something shocking like Akuto being from another world or something like that.
But saying he knew about them before meeting them?
Did that mean Akuto had investigated them beforehand?
If that counted, then she could also say she had known about Akuto before meeting him.
…
Over the next few minutes, Erica explained things in greater detail.
By the end of it, Liliana's understanding of both Akuto and Erica had deepened considerably.
Only then did she realize that Erica's meaning of "knowing in advance" was completely different from what she had assumed.
What Erica meant was that before meeting them, Akuto had already learned about their world and about them through special means.
"I see… So you and Akuto made a promise like that?"
Liliana nodded thoughtfully.
"If it were me, after learning the truth about the world, I would probably try to break free from the original fate as well."
Now she finally understood why the proud Erica had set aside her arrogance so easily.
In a sense, Erica's situation now resembled her own situation from the past.
"So Lily… will you join me in resisting fate?"
As she said that, Erica extended her hand toward Liliana, her eyes filled with expectation.
"Ah… yes. I will."
Liliana smiled gently.
"If I were in your position, Erica, I would definitely make the same decision."
And so, right in front of Karen, the three hands clasped together tightly.
If this were a scene in an anime or manga, a dazzling light would surely have burst from where their hands met.
But strangely enough, despite how positive the situation looked, Karen frowned slightly.
…
After that, Erica talked about various other things.
Her words eased much of Liliana's uncertainty about the future and also increased Liliana's goodwill toward Akuto.
Karen's earlier comments and Erica's explanations reinforced each other, giving Liliana a deeper understanding of him.
"Well then, Liliana, it's getting late tonight. You should get some rest. We still have work to do tomorrow."
Having achieved her goal, Erica smiled and prepared to leave.
"Yes, let's leave it at that."
Liliana responded gently.
"You should rest early too, Erica. Take good care of yourself. Now that the Italian magical societies are united, you'll have even more responsibilities in the future."
After their conversation and Erica's willingness to share information, Liliana realized she might have misunderstood Erica before.
Yes, Erica could be infuriating when she teased people.
But as a teammate, she would undoubtedly be the most reliable kind of ally.
Wasn't that exactly what had just happened?
Now that they had both acknowledged they would eventually belong to Akuto, Erica had openly shared extremely confidential information and even made an important pact with her.
That was already the limit of what a good friend could do.
Because of that, Liliana's attitude toward Erica softened considerably.
She even directly acknowledged Erica's future leadership among the Italian magical societies.
"Lady Erica, don't forget your belongings."
Before Erica left, Karen deliberately handed the listening device back to her.
Erica didn't comment on it.
She simply took the device naturally and walked out of Liliana's room with light steps.
"Hmph."
The moment Erica left, Karen's expression shifted instantly from cheerful to vigilant.
Right in front of Liliana, she reached into her storage space using a retrieval spell and pulled out a black handheld device.
"Beep. Beep-beep. Beep-beep-beep-beep."
The continuous beeping immediately caught Liliana's attention.
"Karen… is that… a metal detector?"
"Aren't you still just an apprentice mage? Your storage space should be very limited. Why would you keep something like a metal detector in there?"
Liliana looked slightly overwhelmed.
"Lady Liliana, to be honest, I've already become an intermediate mage. My storage capacity has expanded quite a bit."
"As for why I carry a metal detector… I think the real question is why I took it out."
"Beep-beep-beep!"
"Beep-beep-beep!"
After scanning the entire room for several minutes, Karen discovered two additional miniature listening devices.
Crunch. Crunch.
With two firm squeezes, she crushed them into powder.
"Lady Liliana, you're far too careless."
Karen spoke slowly.
"If Lady Erica could plant one listening device here, why wouldn't she plant more?"
"So it really was Erica…"
Liliana clicked her tongue in annoyance.
"That fox."
Still, because Erica had just left her with a relatively good impression, Liliana didn't complain further.
Karen sighed quietly.
After receiving Akuto's guidance and realizing he disapproved of the way she used to manipulate outsiders to trouble Liliana, Karen had already made up her mind.
She would become a maid who protected Liliana.
A little teasing was fine.
But if anyone else tried to take advantage of Liliana, Karen would point it out immediately.
And just now, Liliana had indeed been tricked once by Erica.
"Lady Liliana, do you realize something?"
Karen said tiredly.
"You've fallen into Lady Erica's trap."
"What? A trap?"
Liliana looked confused.
"But Erica shared a lot of information with me openly."
"That's true. Lady Erica did share a lot of information."
Karen nodded.
"And that's exactly why she appeared so friendly."
"Even I didn't see her intentions at first."
"But now I can say with certainty that Lady Erica's motives were not pure."
"Why did she walk in precisely when our conversation reached a crucial point?"
"If she only wanted to listen in, wouldn't it have been better to keep listening without revealing herself?"
"In other words, Lady Erica had something she absolutely needed to do in person."
"What… what was it?" Liliana swallowed nervously.
"To stop you from forming a physical and spiritual union with Lord Akuto."
"A… physical and spiritual union?!"
Liliana's face instantly turned bright pink.
She hadn't expected Karen to say something so bold at such a young age.
"Lady Liliana, have you ever wondered why Lady Erica made that agreement with you about witnessing everything together?"
"Why?"
Karen nearly coughed up blood.
She had explained things so clearly already, yet Liliana still didn't understand.
"Lady Liliana, when you made that agreement with Lady Erica, what was the first thing you thought of?"
"I… I thought that Erica and I would observe Akuto together and see whether only those chosen by fate could become Godslayers."
"Exactly. That's the key point."
Karen raised her finger.
"Once that thought entered your mind, where did forming an intimate relationship with Akuto fall in your priorities?"
"After… after the experiment was finished."
"Exactly!"
Karen pointed dramatically.
"That's Lady Erica's goal. She intends to delay the moment when you and Lord Akuto form that relationship until after that!"
Liliana gasped.
Only after Karen pointed it out did the realization dawn on her.
After several seconds, she looked at Karen awkwardly.
"But… I never planned to form that kind of relationship with Akuto so quickly anyway."
Thud!
Before she finished speaking, Karen smacked the crushed metal detector onto her head.
Liliana was simply too soft.
How could someone that soft win in a ruthless battle for a man?
Clearly, Liliana needed Karen's help.
The kind that required a whip-level intervention.
Karen took several deep breaths before finally calming herself.
Then she looked at Liliana again, her eyes filled with determination.
"Lady Liliana, even if you fall behind Lady Erica because of your inefficiency…"
"Do you really intend to fall far behind me as well?"
Liliana blinked.
"…Huh?"
After a moment, she finally processed what Karen had said.
"Karen… are you saying you like Akuto too?"
"No."
Karen shook her head calmly.
"What I mean is that I've already formed the closest possible relationship with Lord Akuto."
"And Lord Akuto likes me very much."
"He stayed inside me the entire night and didn't want to leave."
In frustration at Liliana's helplessness, Karen dropped a bombshell.
…
Liliana: ???!!!
"K-Karen… y-you… what did you just say?!"
The shock was so overwhelming that Liliana's mind went completely blank.
(End of Chapter)
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