Queen Calanthe was certain that Olivia's 'gentle' personality would never bring her anywhere in life. The only person who could succeed to the throne of the Kingdom of Cintra and rule over the Kingdom was her eldest grandchild – Cillira.

At first, Olivia began to receive a traditional standard of education together with Cirilla. However, such lessons did not benefit her. She had already learned much from Vilgefortz.

Therefore, she came up with an excuse of a 'frail const.i.tution' to skip on her cla.s.ses. In reality, she was reading from the magic books that Lydia had been left to her. She even started dabbling in Alchemy… If she had sufficient skill points, mastery was no problem.

To everyone, the little Princess Olivia who was originally a genius became completely useless after her parents' deaths. In stark contrast was Cirilla, who increasingly gave off the aura of an older sister.

If Cirilla did not have Olivia, the 'weak and delicate' younger sister, she might still have been the same as before; a brat, pampered by Queen Calanthe. Even if her parents' died, she could still grow up peacefully under her grandmother's wing.

Now, the 'weak and delicate' younger sister made Cirilla become mature than before. Everyone needed a reason to become stronger. Protecting your closed ones would be one of those reasons that were so awe-inspiring, righteous and incomparably great, glorious, and righteous.

The sisters became inseparable. When they were little, Cirilla had always set off Olivia with her mischief. Now Olivia was receiving the fruits of her efforts. She used her 'demure appearance' to bring out the best of Cirilla's strength.

Cirilla quickly rose up in ranks among the aristocratic children of her age. It was not her appearance that brought her there, which could not be compared to her sister's beauty.

Everyone knew that Cirilla, the strong Princess of Cintra had a very, very sore spot - her sister. If anyone ever remotely threw a slur at her sister's name, she would fly into rage. She would try her best to obtain anything her sister wanted, no matter how rare it was.

Many felt that Olivia, the younger sister, was too spoiled and pampered for her own good. In reality, Cirilla knew that her sister was putting up some sort of front.

In conclusion, as long as her sister was by her side, Cirilla felt unstoppable. Nothing would stand before them.

Perhaps this was what we call a 'sister complex.' In the past and present world and this boundless universe, who knows how many incredibly powerful people had a sister complex. They would destroy the world for their sister, or save the entire world for their sister. There was nothing odd about it - like eating and drinking.

Even though Olivia seemed pampered to other people, she drew in another form of attention. The potential-daughter-in-law-to-get-into-someone's-good-graces kind. Furthermore, if you add in Olivia's beauty and elegant aura, she formed the image of a perfect princess!

Luckily, her sister Cirilla was always around the corner. If not, some same-aged boys who definitely try to bully Olivia. That was the only way little boys knew how to express their emotions.

Six years went by in a flash, and Olivia was ten years old. The birthday that Queen Calanthe had held in honor of Cirilla's tenth year, anyone could see that she favored her more than anyone. It was as if Queen Calanthe had already set her eyes on Cirilla as the successor to the throne of the Kingdom of Cintra.

As Cirilla grew, her sister molded her into a sharp blade. No matter what world it was, no one should underestimate the manipulative abilities of Olivia (Lady Zhao).

If six years pa.s.sed by in the Source World, it would only be equivalent to three days in the real world. To, Zhao Youyue she was playing some cutting-edge VRRPG game. She was barely out of the game's first chapter. Her abilities as a child were limited. The curtains would unfurl as she approaches adolescence.

At ten-years-old, Olivia became drop-dead gorgeous. This was to be expected, as she carried the 'Pearl of the Northern Kingdoms' t.i.tle. The Princes of the Northern Kingdoms had their eyes set on this beautiful Princess of Cintra. Rumors had it that she was extremely gentle and courteous. Her only flaw would be her frail const.i.tution, which needed caring for...

Many Princes stepped up. They wanted to marry the 'Pearl of the Northern Kingdoms.'

They enthusiastically attended the tenth birthday banquet of the Princess Olivia. In this era where a 15-year-old could marry and have kids, ten-year-olds became legal romantic options.

Olivia was uninterested in the men of this era. There were many Princes out there, but they were not the perfect Princes from fairytales. They were far from handsome, let alone possessed extraordinary powers. The only man she felt remotely attractive until now was her first teacher – Vilgefortz.

He could maintain the perfect, das.h.i.+ng dilf-like appearance that remained at 35 years old for all eternity. He was abnormally handsome, and those so-called Princes could not even be compared to him. In reality, he was a supercentenarian.

Since her sister was there to cover for her, she slipped away from her own birthday banquet. She brought some drawing materials along and went to the Brokilon [1] to sketch. This was a huge ancient forest that was surrounded by the Cintra, Brugge [2], Sodden [3] and Verden [4]. It was inhabited by dryads, hamadryads, leprechauns, and pucks.

This were treacherous lands for humans, as dryads tended to fire arrows at them without warning. They treated the Scoia'ta [5] with far less hostility. They evevn allowed them to hide in Brokilon and tended to their wounded.

The Brokilon dryads were led by Queen Eithné [6], who lived in Duén Canell [7], at the center of the forest.

It was forbidden to bring in fire into the forest; axes or anything that could harm a tree. Furthermore, the Brokilon were also famous for their unique potions. For example, combining the roots of Conynhaela [8] and the symbiotic roots of the knitbone [9] enabled the rapid regeneration of damaged or broken bones.

Obviously, Olivia knew better than to stray into the depths of the forest. She remained at the edge of their borders, sketching away. She had been doing this for many years already. Cirilla would sometimes accompany her sister, admiring the figure that remained ever so still, lost in her craft. Olivia had drawn several paintings for her sister.

One of the most interesting paintings was one that depicted Cirilla who had been forced to wear the Princess' dress. She was fuming with rage, producing a visage that was both cute and ugly. Olivia had not let such an opportunity pa.s.s. This could be the 'darkest history' of Cirilla.

However, Cirilla was not here to accompany Olivia today. Her little sister had sold her out, and she had to deal with the n.o.bles at the birthday banquet.

Olivia did not expect to meet someone as she was sketching. This person had white hair and carried two swords on his back...

Translation note:

[1] "Brokilon" (布洛奇隆) also known among humans as the Forest of Death, is an ancient forest located between Verden, Cidaris, Brugge, and Temeria and is near Dol Adalatte.

[2] "Brugge" (布魯格) was a small kingdom, now va.s.sal state, on the Old Road. It is separated from its neighbors by the river Yaruga, its tributary Ribbon, and the river Trava. Brugge is surrounded by Sodden to the east, Cintra to the south, Verden to the west, and Brokilon to the north.

[3] "Sodden" (索登) was a former kingdom and is located around the Yaruga river between Cintra, Brugge, and Riverdell.

[4] "Verden" (維登) is one of the minor kingdoms in the North, located at the very mouth of the river Yaruga, with Kerack and Brokilon on its northern borders and Cintra in the south, just on the other side of the river.

[5] "Scoia'ta" (松鼠黨) are non-human guerillas also known as the Squirrels, due to the squirrel tails they wear on themselves.

[6] "Eithné" (艾思娜) known as the Silver-Eyed, is the queen of the dryads and ruler of Brokilon. She is famous for her wisdom and implacable stance towards humans.

[7] "Duén Canell" (杜恩·卡納爾) is as much the capital of Brokilon as a forest can have. It's the home of many dryads, including Eithné.

[8] "Conynhaela" (克寧海拉藤) is a type of climbing herb plant which grows in Brokilon and enables the rapid regeneration of bone tissue.

[9] "Knitbone" (接骨草) is a symbiotic root that only grows in Brokilon and is used by the dryads in conjunction with Conynhaela, a healing herb.