Chapter 152: A Word in Passing (Bonus 10 of 55)

"Huh?"

Valentina blinked rapidly, staring at the girl who had instantly calmed down after that outburst of rage.

Did she… just swear?

Not only was Valentina stunned, but any outsider who had witnessed this scene would have been even more confused.

No one would have imagined that the Princess, universally regarded in the Frost Crystal Kingdom as flawless, would have been so enraged as to spit out profanity.

Philia had cracked.

But not because Herbert had been taken by Valentina.

She admitted that when they were young, she had indeed cared for Herbert and felt fondness for him.

But wasn't that perfectly normal?

They had known each other since childhood, grown up together as childhood friends—some affection between them was entirely reasonable.

But such feelings were not unchanging.

As they grew older and spent more time together, that feeling might shift at some point.

Some turned that emotion into love; others transformed it into familial affection.

And Philia belonged to the latter.

Especially after the revival of her Ice Witch bloodline, her human emotions had grown increasingly faint; that former fondness gradually shifted until it became nothing more than the habitual closeness between family.

To her, Herbert was more like a brother without blood ties.

They could joke, wrestle, and talk about anything—but he was not suited to be a partner—and she had no desire for a partner at all.

Rather than waste her limited life on the boring matter of romantic love, Philia preferred to devote more energy to studying and exploring magic.

So when Valentina repeatedly provoked her over this, she genuinely suffered.

Especially after confirming she couldn't defeat Valentina, that suffering doubled.

She couldn't dodge it, and she couldn't fight it.

She gave up.

Valentina, shaken by the surge of energy Philia unleashed in her breakdown, hunched her shoulders and lowered her eyes, asking: "B-but back then… you really weren't there…"

"Sigh!"

Speaking of that, Philia's expression turned utterly exasperated. She sighed: "At that time, I truly wasn't in Frost Crystal City—I was at my mother's mage tower. By the time I found out, he was already at the monastery."

"As for what came after…"

Philia shook her head. Seeing Valentina's bewildered face, she sighed again and continued: "Terence and Cordy were the masterminds, but behind them was another force targeting my mother."

"That person wanted to use Herbert to provoke me, to make me beg my mother for help, thereby forcing my mother to act—to achieve his goal."

Valentina blinked hard, suddenly beginning to understand. She asked: "So…"

"So, the more I acted indifferent, the less likely that person would strike. Herbert would suffer, but at least he wouldn't die."

"He's a weakling! A powerless weakling! A weakling who only knows how to appreciate art! My reason told me that was the best solution… His thoughts, his feelings—compared to staying alive, they didn't matter!"

Philia released Valentina's collar and rubbed her hair, voice hollow:

"Yes, I did let him suffer back then—but I've tried to make amends. The Ring of Suffering you're wearing around your neck? I was the one who helped him find it."

I helped him!

Don't you think about it—Lord Silverwing is a knight. Even if he's rich, how could he possibly find a perfect magical artifact like that so easily…?

Philia had truly been holding this in for a long time.

He did suffer because of me, but I made amends afterward—he's fine now. Isn't that enough?

I didn't even kill my brother and his brother for him—I've already gone beyond what's owed… What more do you want?

And Philia didn't escape unscathed either. After Herbert returned, she felt his growing distance from her.

He didn't irrationally label her an enemy too, but their relationship had sunk from "best friend" to barely above "stranger."

Philia felt regret, but she understood—he had suffered because of her. Resentment was natural.

But it was only regret. If she had to choose again, she'd make the same decision—not for him, but for herself.

After hearing Philia's explanation, Valentina's head sank lower, her entire dragon form shrinking.

It felt… maybe… perhaps… she'd misunderstood her?

She'd picked the wrong opponent.

But the problem is—I already ate him.

What now?

Should I just run away!?

Valentina hunched her head, preparing to sneak off—but just before stepping forward, she glanced at Philia's weary profile and froze.

She blinked, then suddenly asked: "Do you regret… the outcome now?"

Philia, who had been angrily defending herself, suddenly went still, staring at Valentina.

After a moment, she calmly shook her head, saying nothing.

But at that moment, as moonlight fell upon the girl's cold face, Valentina fell silent too.

In that instant, the hungry dragoness who had just spent a month attending Herbert's tutoring session suddenly remembered a word she'd learned recently.

Bitterness.

"Oh, sorry to keep you waiting—Your Majesty's been unusually clingy lately."

When Herbert arrived at the palace garden for their meeting, only Philia remained.

"Mm."

Philia nodded to Herbert, her gaze lingering on his face for an instant before quickly looking away.

Because of that gossipy dragon nun, her inner state was far from calm on the surface.

And what made her most uncomfortable... was that her Ice Snow mind could not activate no matter what at this moment.

Herbert did not notice Philia's emotions, and stood shoulder to shoulder with her gazing at the blooming frost crystal flowers, saying softly:

"Now, all the problems have been resolved, Your Majesty has already agreed to my proposal, and with the help of the Church of the Gods in suppressing things, after waiting for that batch of nobles to die off, the kingdom will quickly return to peace."

"Now, can you tell me the identity of the one behind the scenes?"

Philia was silent, then shook her head and said: "Do you really want to know? Herbert, you are not being noticed by him right now, and knowing his name will do you no good."

"Philia, I'm the type who holds grudges. If I don't take revenge on every one of my enemies, I won't feel at ease."

Herbert turned his head to look at her cool, aloof profile, and said with a smile:

"You don't want me to know so badly, which means his identity is definitely not simple, and he can even make your mother wary of him, so there's a high probability he's also a powerful figure who came from the Witch Society."

"Which Grand Mage is it?"

Philia fell even more silent.

"You don't have to keep it so hidden, don't worry on my behalf. I'm not so stupid as to go cause him trouble right now, but... someday, after all."

"I can't exactly be about to take revenge, only to not even know who my enemy is, right?"

After Herbert had spoken for quite a while, Philia finally sighed, shook her head and said: "Since you insist, then don't blame me later."

"The current second seat of the Witch Society's Twelve Chiefs, the master of the two Mage Towers of Winter Spirits and Cold Beasts — 【Spirit Summoner · Fein】."

"He is the leader of the male wizards in the current Witch Society, and also one of only two Epic-tier powerhouses openly in the entire Witch Society."

As expected, a Grand Mage of the Witch Society.

Herbert silently committed this name to memory, preparing to wait for a future opportunity to properly repay his generous attention.

And after saying this, the two fell into silence once more; the once inseparable close friends ultimately could not return to the past.

After quite a while, Herbert gave a light cough, broke the silence, and said with a teasing smile: "So, a Grand Mage like him targeting you like this — is he coveting your beauty and bloodline?"

Some perverted old man?

I've seen this kind of plot plenty of times.

Who would have known, after hearing these words Philia shook her head, her expression growing even more melancholy, and she sighed:

"No."

"You're wrong, his target has never been me."

Philia turned her head, gazed at the moon overhead, her tone extremely strange, and said in a low, eerie voice:

"It's..."

"My mother."

???

Herbert's eyes went wide, his expression management completely lost control.

Holy crap!

So he's a Cao thief!!!

(The plot isn't over yet, wait for me a moment.)

Begging for monthly tickets! Family, the new book's monthly ticket rankings are in danger! Hurry back!

The big shots behind are charging up and about to overtake me!

I want to stay in the top six, please save this child—

Also, after passing 5000 monthly tickets, the bonus chapters will change to one extra chapter per 50 tickets, a grand opening sale you could say... more tickets, more chapters!

Leave some comments, I'll read them all!

Also, afterwards I'll change the five updates a day to three, or even two, the word count won't change, but the reading experience will be a bit better.

Bonus chapter progress (10/90), one-ninth of the way there!

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(End of this chapter)