Facing Liti, who hung her head like a child admitting fault, Fia felt a mix of emotions.
To be honest, Fia didn’t feel any dislike or resentment—instead, she sympathized with Liti’s situation.
If she were in Liti’s shoes, she’d also want to change her fate rather than be forced into some random marriage.
But for Liti, who had neither power nor influence, changing her fate through normal means was easier said than done.
If she ran away, she’d be caught; she didn’t have the means to rebel.
All she could do was try to cozy up to her sister, but her sister was as dense as a log and completely ignored her attempts at closeness.
Looking at it this way, it was honestly a bit too pitiful.
Even though there were a lot of things here that, if you thought about them too much, would be embarrassing or even outright unethical, those could be set aside for now—solving the main issue was more important.
Fia scratched her black hair and let out a helpless sigh.
“Lift your head.
I just need to know the reason.”
“…Sis, are you not mad?” Liti looked up timidly, her rose-colored eyes uncertain.
Fia deliberately turned her head away, not wanting Liti to see her slightly embarrassed expression.
“Do you want me to be mad, Liti?”
“No!” Liti answered without hesitation.
“Then that’s fine.
Just to check, you haven’t told anyone else about being a reincarnator, right?”
“Reincarnator…?”
“Like you said—you weren’t born in this world for the first time.”
“Ah… right, I only just told you, Sis.
I was worried that if I told anyone else, I’d be treated as a human, an unlucky elf, and Father would get rid of me, so I’ve always kept it to myself…”
And you still dared to tell me? Fia couldn’t help but feel Liti was a bit of an idiot.
—No, wait.
In Liti’s eyes, she was supposed to have amnesia.
Since she didn’t know her surroundings and acted like she liked Liti, even willing to help deal with the Elf King for Anastasia, Liti telling her the secret now was a way to win her favor and make sure the secret stayed safe.
Was she being manipulated? Strangely, she didn’t mind.
Liti’s secret didn’t seem fake, and she hadn’t told anyone else before—she’d chosen to trust her.
Being entrusted with Liti’s life like this actually felt pretty good to Fia.
Since Liti was still kneeling on the ground, looking like she was admitting fault, Fia had to change her own sitting position to look more serious—she faced Liti.
At first, she wanted to sit cross-legged, but realized that wasn’t very ladylike, so she switched to sitting with her legs tucked to the side.
Even though it felt a bit late for that, she couldn’t help but want to complain—sitting like this in front of someone else was kind of embarrassing.
Of course, these thoughts stayed in her head; Fia didn’t show any of it.
“You never thought about telling the old me?”
“The old you kind of scared me, so…”
“So what’s your plan now, Liti? Just so you know, I only see you as a little sister, nothing else.
Even if elves can use mana surges to, uh, do that kind of thing, I already have Claire.”
In short, Liti couldn’t escape her marriage fate by becoming the Elf Queen’s consort.
“Ugh…” The hope in Liti’s eyes faded, and she drooped her head, mumbling weakly, “Then… I’ll have to think of something else.
If it really doesn’t work, I’ll just run away to the Frozen Mountains or the Land of Fallen Dragons.
If I go there, Father definitely won’t find me.”
“What about the timing?” Fia’s eyes flashed with thought.
“What timing?” Liti looked completely lost.
“The time the Elf King and the Prime Minister agreed on.
Before the wedding, you have to get engaged, right?”
“Elves can only get engaged under the Holy Tree at their eightieth year.
The Prime Minister’s son is already over a hundred, but I’m only seventy-five, so we’re not engaged yet… B-but five years is nothing to elves—it’ll come in a flash.”
Hearing they weren’t engaged yet, Fia let out a long sigh of relief.
“Got it.”
Fia’s words left Liti confused, and she could only stare blankly at Fia, waiting for more.
Fia couldn’t help but find Liti’s dazed look funny.
Like a real big sister, she reached out and patted Liti’s head.
“I’ll go talk to Father and get him to take back what he said.
Since you’re not engaged yet, there’s way more room to negotiate than you think.
Don’t look so worried.
I’m already pleading for Anastasia—one more thing won’t make a difference.
And if it doesn’t work, there’s always your plan, right? I’ll hide you away, and once I inherit the Elf Queen’s position and have all the authority, I’ll bring you back out.”
At that, Fia’s ruby eyes suddenly lit up, as if she’d just thought of something.
“Oh! Having Liti take my place as king wouldn’t be bad either!” If Liti became Elf Queen, she wouldn’t have to marry anyone or depend on Fia.
Best of both worlds.
But even as she said it, Fia knew this idea was pretty much impossible.
To take the throne, you had to be a capable royal.
There were more than just her and Liti in the royal family—there was a brother she’d never met, uncles, aunts, and all their kids.
There had to be dozens of them.
Liti was smart, but she was too weak, and since she was born late, she didn’t have the advantage of time.
Not to mention, even if she did get the throne, no one would listen to her, and she’d probably die in the power struggle.
Fia could see that, and Liti probably could too.
Seeing Liti’s troubled expression, Fia smoothly changed the subject.
“Ahem, I was just saying.
If you don’t mind, Liti, I can give you the throne after I become Elf Queen.
You’d be my puppet, but as long as I’m backing you, no one would dare defy your orders or bully you for being weak.”
“T-that’s the throne! How can you just say you’ll give it to me like it’s nothing, Sis!” As if she’d heard something unbelievable, Liti pressed her hands to the ground, leaned forward, and stared wide-eyed.
Fia just shrugged.
“I’m not interested in the throne.
Well, anyway, that’s something to think about way, way in the future.
Before that, I’ll find a way to get Father to cancel the engagement, so you don’t have to worry about the future anymore.”
“But you still have to plead for Anastasia.
You’ll definitely argue with Father, and with me too, it’ll be even more—”
“You don’t need to worry about that part, Liti.
That’s my job—it’s what a big sister should do.”
Fia gave Liti a bright smile.
Liti had gotten one thing wrong.
The marriage wasn’t just the Elf King’s business—it was the Prime Minister’s too.
All Fia had to do was subtly let the Prime Minister know her intentions, and he’d back out on his own.
The only reason the Prime Minister wanted his son to marry Liti was to strengthen ties with the royal family.
But deals made for profit can always be changed with bigger benefits or bigger losses.
As long as Fia showed a tough stance on Liti’s issue, the Prime Minister would know what to do.
Offending someone who might become the next Elf Queen just to strengthen ties through marriage was laughable.
If this were ancient Earth, Fia’s actions would be incredibly stupid.
The Prime Minister was second only to the king, and offending his faction would make getting the throne much harder.
But this was another world, where one person could change the whole game.
Magic made individual power matter.
When someone was so strong that no faction could match them, and could wipe out a city of millions with a wave of their hand, the balance of power flipped.
Just like Liti feared the Prime Minister because of his faction, real power was what mattered—rules were built on violence.
“Then… thank you, Sis.”
Even though her biggest worry had been solved, Liti didn’t look as happy as Fia expected.
Under the moonlight, her delicate face looked especially conflicted.
Fia couldn’t help but ask with concern.
“Is there anything else? I’ll keep Liti’s secret.
The past is already behind us, so you don’t need to get hung up on your previous life.
Liti, you’re an elf now.
I won’t distance myself from you just because you used to be human.”
“No…” Liti became shy, not daring to look up at Fia, her hands tightly clasped in front of her, toes curling uneasily inside her white over-the-knee socks.
“Li… Liti can’t be your second queen after Claire, big sis…?”
Huh? She’s still thinking about that?
So Liti really has figured out what’s going on between me and Claire.
That’s a little embarrassing.
At first, Fia wanted to say, “You’re still so young, why are you thinking about this?” But then she remembered that Liti had lived a whole human life before, so her mental age was already an adult.
That made the comment not so appropriate.
Fia waved her hand helplessly.
“No way, absolutely not.”
“But Claire doesn’t even care! She even jokes about Anna!”
That so-called joke must be what happened before they left Aurora City, when Claire tried to cheer up Anastasia by joking that “Anastasia is the second queen.”
Fia’s brows furrowed in a cute way.
“Yeah, Claire did say that, but it was just a joke.
We’re full-blooded sisters, same father and mother, real siblings.”
“So what! It’s totally normal for blood relatives to get married! As the elf queen, it’s normal to have several wives and concubines.
Even my father has seventeen wives.”
Noticing that Fia wasn’t angry, Liti started to wiggle her legs closer, snuggling up to Fia like she was acting spoiled, wrapping her arms around Fia’s shoulders and swaying gently, looking up at her with pitiful eyes.
“Besides us elves, human and beastman royalty all marry close relatives.
Only dragons care about not marrying their kin.
In the Kingdom of Afreg, there’s even a king who married his own mother and grandmother!”
The elf princess’s father actually has seventeen wives… In an instant, the image of the elf king’s dignity in Fia’s mind took a hit.
“No means no.” Fia kept up a tough front, refusing to look at Liti clinging to her arm, and spoke in a stern, lecturing tone.
“Marriage isn’t just about one person.
It takes two.
Just because you like me doesn’t mean anything.
I’ve already told you, I only see you as my cute little sister.”
“Can’t I be your cute wife instead? I meant everything I said just now.
I like you, sis.
I just want to be with you.”
“No.”
Fia rejected her without hesitation.
—Even though, deep down, she was actually troubled by what Liti said.
She didn’t need Liti to spell it out; Fia could tell Liti was serious.
The way she spoke, her expression—everything made it clear.
Confessing face-to-face takes a lot of courage, and Fia knew that better than anyone after her own recent experience.
The fact that Liti kept clinging to her even after being rejected meant she really, really liked her.
That feeling was both troubling and a little flattering for Fia.
But, putting aside the fact that she already had someone she liked, and not even getting into whether Liti’s feelings were romantic, there was another problem right in front of Fia.
She raised her eyebrows, pretending not to care, and asked,
“I have a question.
Liti, do you like the old me, or the me now? If I didn’t have that quiet past, would your feelings fade?”
This question was really important.
Even though Fia had chosen to accept her role as the elf princess with Anastasia and Claire’s help, and wasn’t hung up on her identity anymore, she still couldn’t help but want to know the answer—anyone would care, really.
Not picking up on what Fia was getting at, Liti blinked in confusion and answered without hesitation.
“I like both.
But I like the you now a little more.
You’re smart, strong, you really care about me, and most importantly, you’re willing to talk to me! I bet you didn’t even notice, but the way you opened the cell door was super cool! Just like the person of my dreams!”
“……”
Liti’s answer was definitely sincere, but Fia was left speechless.
Is my little sister obsessed with her big sister or something?
She couldn’t help but sigh.
“Haah, forget I said anything.
That was a dumb question.”
Liti had started to fall for the elf princess while watching her before, and if it weren’t for the old, expressionless elf princess as a foundation, their relationship probably wouldn’t be this close now.
Liti saw her and the old elf princess as the same person, so she could answer so innocently that she liked the current her.
It was enough to give Fia a headache.
If it were the Fia who’d just arrived in this other world, she’d probably be repeating what she’d said to Anastasia before, like telling Liti, “I’m actually not the original elf princess.” But now, Fia’s perspective had changed a bit.
It wasn’t that Fia had lost her principles or become dishonest, but some facts made it impossible for her to be as certain as she was at first.
The unchanged mana flow, Anastasia saying her habits were just like the old elf princess, and her body having no reaction to the World Tree’s Key—all of it made Fia question who she really was.
Could she really be the elf princess with amnesia? But if that were true, what about all those memories that shouldn’t belong to the elf princess?
And so, the question just circled back to the beginning.
If she wasn’t the elf princess, she couldn’t explain the perfect mana flow, her body’s lack of reaction to the World Tree’s Key, or her habits being exactly the same as before.
Maybe she should consider Anastasia’s theory: that when the elf princess was struck by the Unsinkable Moon, something else got mixed into her soul.
If that was the case, it would explain her current behavior.
In other words, she really was the elf princess, just with some extra memories and amnesia, making her sense of self a little weird.
Of course, Fia knew this was a bit of self-comfort, and she didn’t really take it as the truth.
After all, the original elf princess was only seventh-tier, while she herself had a real 『Nanomachine Body』 and could casually cast tenth-tier magic.
It was more accurate to say she was both the elf princess and not the elf princess.
“Your face… are you thinking about something hard to understand?” Liti, who was shorter than Fia, peeked up at her and asked timidly.
Liti’s worried look made Fia smile.
“It is a bit hard to understand, but if it’s about you, Liti, maybe it’s not so hard.”
Fia told Liti about having memories that didn’t belong to the elf princess, shaking her head as if she couldn’t help it.
“…That’s why I’m not even sure who I am anymore.
That’s why I asked if you liked the old me or the me now.
Well, I said the same thing to Anastasia before.
It’s a secret only the four of us—me, you, Anastasia, and Claire—know.”
Since the whole crying-in-Anastasia’s-arms thing was too embarrassing, Fia skillfully skipped over it.
In Liti’s eyes, she was the mature big sister, so she couldn’t let her see her embarrassing black history.
“Eh? So I picked the right answer just now? I like the you now.”
“Shouldn’t the point be that I have extra memories?” “I don’t think it matters.
Anna was right, your habits are exactly the same as before, especially that stern, cold look you gave me just now—I thought the old you was back, and it scared me so much I thought my soul was going to leave my body, like I’d done something to make you hate me again.” Still hugging Fia’s arm with her right hand, Liti patted her chest with her left, looking like she’d just survived a scare.
“But now that I know what you’re thinking, I’m not scared at all.
The you now is definitely cuter, mm-hmm.”
At the end, Liti hummed a tune Fia had never heard before, resting her head on Fia’s shoulder, not caring at all that she’d just been rejected.
“Even Liti says I’m the same as before, huh…”
Now she had even more questions.
But thinking about it more wouldn’t help, so as if to let out all her worries, Fia took a deep breath, then switched back to a subtle expression, looking down at Liti, who was pressed up against her, wearing nothing but over-the-knee socks and underwear.
Even though it had only been less than an hour, she and Liti had gotten much closer.
She no longer felt that unexplainable distance, nor did she worry about her identity anymore.
As for Liti, she didn’t have to worry about being hated by her big sister, and could finally be honest.
All of this was thanks to the two of them sharing their secrets.
Realizing this, Fia frowned and asked,
“You… Even though I turned you down, you still look so happy.”
“Ah,” like a kitten who just got bopped on the head, Liti suddenly looked up, her lips pouting, her whole body radiating a stubborn energy, “I haven’t given up yet! As long as I keep trying, you’ll see how charming I am! One day, I’m going to make you fall for me and say, ‘Liti is my cutest wife!'”
That’s never going to happen.
That day will never come.
Fia replied in her heart.
Still, seeing Liti so full of energy was better than her being pale and heartbroken, not saying a word.
Thinking this, Fia glanced at the moon outside the window.
It was about time to switch shifts with Anastasia.
If she didn’t go find Anastasia herself, knowing how Anastasia was, she wouldn’t come wake Fia up to take over.
With that in mind, Fia was about to stand up, but just then, she noticed the carriage curtain had already been lifted from the outside.
Anastasia’s calm face appeared in Fia and Liti’s line of sight.
Maybe because she had just pulled back the curtain, Anastasia looked a bit stunned.
Then, in the next second, Anastasia’s expression froze, her movements stiffening, her gaze landing on Fia and Liti, who were kneeling close together on the floor.
Liti’s pretty face was still full of happiness.
Anyone could tell that the atmosphere around Liti wasn’t just normal sisterly affection.
Six eyes met.
The air was painfully quiet.
Fia was the first to react.
She immediately pushed Liti away, trying to get things back on track.
“Anastasia, I—”
“Sorry, Your Highness, I just came in to get the firestone.
Maybe… maybe I came at a bad time.” Living up to her reputation as the captain of the second squad of the Royal Guard, Anastasia quickly regained her composure, speaking in a serious tone as if she hadn’t seen anything, “Next time, I’ll knock before coming in.”
Then, Anastasia turned her gaze to the completely frozen Liti.
“Sorry, Lady Liti, please forgive my rudeness.
If you like, please continue, don’t mind me.”
What do you mean, please continue!
Anastasia definitely misunderstood what just happened as something romantic.
Two people not sleeping in the middle of the night, huddled together in the carriage, one with her arm around the other’s shoulder, looking blissful.
She probably even heard Liti say, “I’m going to make you fall for me and say, ‘Liti is my cutest wife!'”
Anastasia was definitely going to get the wrong idea.
She had to clear this up.
She didn’t have any feelings like that for Liti.
Since Anastasia had already let the curtain fall and turned away, awkward but still polite, Fia had no choice but to get up, take off her nightgown, quickly change into a black dress suitable for going outside, and head straight for the curtain.
Then, someone gently grabbed the hem of Fia’s dress.
Even though Liti’s face was red enough to boil water, she still tried her best to look up and stubbornly said,
“I mean… isn’t this kind of nice too, me and you being all lovey-dovey?”
“Lovey-dovey my ass.
I’ll deal with you later.”
Fia poked Liti’s forehead with her finger, annoyed, then lifted the curtain and jumped out of the carriage.
