Chapter: 59. Is This Necessary!
Walking along the lakeshore, Princess Xue Fei noticed that there were particularly many water birds flying over the lake today.
They all had snow-white feathers, gliding close to the water surface under the gentle morning sunlight, resonating with a soft sparkle, like pure heavenly messengers.
But they were not messengers; they were just birds.
Hmm… Were there so many birds here before?
Probably not; if there are now, it might be because they followed Livra here.
After all, every time she saw the Third Princess of the Kingdom, there were always flocks of birds flying around her head, as if they were some kind of guardians.
Watching the swirling flock of birds over the lake, Xue Fei couldn’t help but feel a bit nostalgic.
Haha… I can hardly remember many things from my past life, but some particularly cherished memories are still vivid.
For instance, there was a time when I took Xiya to play by the lake at the park when we were young, and there were just as many birds back then. In an attempt to show my “manly” prowess, I mimicked those dashing figures from ancient times who shot large eagles with bows, picked up small stones, and threw them at the water birds!
But who knows, the water birds would retaliate against naughty kids.
They circled around that boy who threw the stones, and in a daze, Xue Fei actually fell into the lake. Fortunately, Xiya had learned swimming; she jumped in and rescued this “man” who almost drowned, and then gave me a stern lecture.
Thinking back… it was quite an entertaining experience, even if it was a bit of a dark history.
Since then, Xue Fei haven’t liked flying birds much.
That feeling lingered into this life.
Although she was the one who threw the stones first… that didn’t stop her from being unreasonable!
And now, Xue Fei had matured.
No longer that naughty kid.
Looking at the flock of water birds circling the lake now…
Xue Fei felt absolutely no waves in her heart, just one thought remained.
She smiled, bending her still aching waist.
Slowly, she picked up something.
Upon closer inspection.
It was a stone.
Striking a pose, just a second ago Xue Fei was chuckling, and the next second she threw the stone in her hand towards the flock of birds, creating a whooshing sound in the air!
Even more frightening than the sound of the wind was the furious warning of the Witch!
“Get lost…! Stupid birds! Who told you to come here to catch fish! Do you know that the fish in this lake are already scarce?! Do you even realize you’re invading as an outsider?!”
The small stone, with Xue Fei’s unimaginable strength, created waves over ten meters high in the water, almost splitting the lake in half, scaring those flying birds away.
Xue Fei wiped nonexistent sweat from her forehead, placed her hands on her hips, and felt quite mature.
Well, I’m not hitting them out of resentment; it’s because the big fish in the lake are limited.
They’re stealing the fish; every fish they catch decreases my chances of catching one. That would be terrible.
Seeing that there were still some oblivious water birds that even wanted to counterattack…
Xue Fei prepared to pick up another stone.
A Witch and a flock of water birds engaged in a fierce confrontation over the fish in the lake.
But this time…
It seemed the stone couldn’t be thrown out.
“Ahhh…! Miss Shaya! Please spare them! They just want to eat fish; they won’t stick around here!”
“Eating fish is a capital offense!”
“Why?!”
Hearing Livra’s voice coming from afar trying to dissuade her, Xue Fei could only reluctantly drop the stone from her hand.
But that ungrateful water bird that flew over still pecked at her head!
“Hey…! My bad temper…! Livra, did you see that? Being kind to these guys is being cruel to myself!”
“Wuwu… No worries, I’ll make them leave now.”
“Ha?”
It was rare to see Livra not in formal attire.
Because Xue Fei usually saw her in formal occasions, whether it was a banquet or the Gladiatorial Arena, she was always with her most solemn appearance.
But this time, it was considered a private meeting they agreed on, as friends rather than partners.
Wearing a simple aquamarine skirt, cinched with a finely crafted crystal blue belt, Livra’s well-proportioned figure looked elegant. The brown long boots added a touch of vintage charm.
Silently giving Livra’s daily outfit a high score in her mind, Xue Fei was quite curious how she planned to make these flying birds leave.
After all, those birds were still watching her closely, preparing to attack!
Livra stood by the lakeside.
Her dark long hair blended into the beautiful scenery, appearing like ink splashed onto a landscape painting.
Facing the lake, she lightly and naturally raised both hands.
The water birds that were circling around Xue Fei ready to attack seemed to have heard a call and flew near Livra, forming a tornado of white feathers.
Livra looked up and smiled at them, as if she said something, but Xue Fei didn’t hear anything.
She gestured with one hand toward the lake, her delicate fingers pointing the direction.
That tornado made of white feathers flew away in an orderly manner toward the forest on the opposite shore of the lake.
The sound of birdsong faded away, gradually stopping.
Livra gently sighed, lowered her arms, clasped her hands in front of her, and turned back to Xue Fei with a smile.
“Alright, Miss Shaya, the birds have gone to seek new lakes.”
“Oh… gone to harm other big fish… well, okay. Wait, can you talk to birds?”
“Not exactly talking…”
This wasn’t much of a secret; Livra didn’t disclose it, just that no one paid attention to this trivial skill of hers.
“I don’t know why, but when I calm down, I hear the birds’ chirping, and I seem to be able to understand what they’re thinking. I don’t understand their language, but I can grasp their meanings… Umm, sorry, is this a bit hard to understand?”
“It’s okay; I already understand.”
“As expected of Miss Shaya!”
Right, right… as expected of me, not understanding your expression, but I still insist that I understood.
One could say everyone has their own specialties, and Livra’s special skill was just a bit peculiar, that’s all.
With the water birds gone, the big fish that had been lurking beneath the lake resurfaced. After figuring out who was standing by the lake, they submerged again, disappearing from sight.
Xue Fei sat on a large stone by the lakeside.
It wasn’t to rest but for her young but battered waist.
But in Livra’s eyes, this posture of sitting down to talk seemed very mature and cool!
“So, did you come early in the morning to tell me something?”
“This… uh, I apologize, Miss Shaya, I hope it’s not too intrusive… may I sit here?”
“Feel free.”
The surface of the big stone was spacious enough, and Livra sat at the other end.
Her elegant posture contrasted starkly with the casually dressed Xue Fei in her pajamas.
Not much time passed in silence.
Livra withdrew her gaze from the sparkling water surface and turned her eyes, capturing all the light available to direct it at Princess Xue Fei nearby.
“Miss Shaya, I actually… wanted to thank you in person.”
“Oh, oh, it must be about yesterday? Didn’t I say it was nothing? My original purpose wasn’t to quell your rebellion; it was because those two wanted to attack Princess Belis, so I just evaporated them without thinking.”
“Hmm… I, of course, appreciate this matter, but Miss Shaya, what I want to say today is not that.”
“Is there more?”
“There is.”
Livra stood up from the stone.
She rummaged through her pocket and took out two black feathers engraved with defense magic.
Those were the protective talismans Xue Fei gave her.
Seeing her take out the two feathers, Xue Fei raised an eyebrow.
She probably… wanted to thank me for the defense magic I used to block the attack of the Magic Cannon yesterday?
But…
When Xue Fei looked up to meet Livra’s emerald-like sparkling eyes.
She found that within them flowed an emotion more pure than “gratitude.”
There were no words to describe it, but it transcended time and was not limited to recent encounters.
“I want to say… thank you for saving me back then.”
“Uh… back then? You mean… are you talking about that incident…? Are we talking about the same thing?”
“Absolutely, Miss Shaya, no… Princess Xue Fei, you were the girl who saved me back then, right? The caravan of the kingdom at the border of the Demon Race and the Human Race, the mudslides on a rainy day, and the fierce mountain bandits!”
“……”
I must say… Livra’s memory is quite exceptional.
If it weren’t for Mother Queen’s reminder, Xue Fei would have completely forgotten about that incident, yet Livra managed to recall it herself.
Actually, it wasn’t about memory.
It’s just that the same event holds different meanings for both sides.
For Xue Fei, it was just a casual act of helping someone in trouble.
But for Livra…
What could it possibly mean?
What it meant was something only Livra knew.
There was no need to hide it from her; Xue Fei never intended to be an unnamed hero.
So, she nodded.
This nod was an acknowledgment that she was indeed the girl who saved Livra from the mountain bandits.
“That’s right, it was me. And all these years you still remember… huh?”
Suddenly, her vision spun!
Along with that, her sight darkened.
—It seemed like some kind of pleasant softness touched her face, and she could still hear her accelerating heartbeat.
In the last moment of Xue Fei’s sight, it appeared as though…
Livra opened her eyes wide, tears welling up, almost instinctively hugging her tightly!
No way…
Is this really necessary?!
