V1: Chapter 26 Part 1: Investigation, the Beginning of the Adventure

"I don't know, she didn't tell me."

The light in Liang Lin's eyes dimmed, her smile waning.

"Then... if she comes, you must tell me."

Even if that person didn't know anything about Hilary, Liang Lin could still teach that woman a lesson on behalf of her sister—that woman who suddenly disappeared, abandoned her sister, and said such heartless things before leaving.

Liang Di nodded and held out her hand.

"Can you return the book to me now?"

Liang Lin was taken aback, then reluctantly placed the book in Liang Di's hands. Her voice trembled slightly.

"You...you must protect this fairy tale book."

Liang Di stuffed the book back into the drawer, giving Liang Lin a strange look.

"Of course I know, but...do you have any past with the owner of this fairy tale book?"

"Uh..."

Liang Lin really didn't know how to answer this question. After stammering for a while, she finally said, "The owner of this book and I...we used to be friends. Later, well, there was probably a misunderstanding, so I wanted to clarify things when we met again."

"..."

Friends?

Used to be friends?

Liang Di looked at Liang Lin, her pupils full of doubt, as if trying to guess the truth of the other's words, making Liang Lin feel uneasy.

So, Liang Lin quickly picked up the scroll, preparing to change the subject.

"Didn't you say you had something important to discuss with me? It's about the shops, right? Go ahead and tell me."

Liang Di withdrew her gaze, not pressing the matter, but she already had other plans in mind. However, right now, she needed to sort things out regarding the shops; other things could wait.

"If I explain it in too complicated a way, you probably won't understand, so I'll keep it brief. I've resolved most of the situation with the tailor shops. The commoner tailors are doing better and better, but the few that serve the nobles are still deserted and suffering heavy losses," Liang Di said, pointing to the names of several tailor shops.

“I haven’t been to those shops yet, so I’m not entirely sure about the specifics. I need you to come with me to inquire.”

“Do we really need to go ourselves?” Liang Lin asked, puzzled. “Besides, these shops are all located in relatively bustling areas of the city. There won’t be any danger. Even if you go with two maids, nothing will go wrong.”

Liang Di made a “stop” gesture.

“Wait, I haven’t finished.”

“You’ve forgotten something. These shops are all in Orlando City, which is our Langwendi family’s territory. Haven’t you heard? Things haven’t been peaceful there lately.”

Liang Lin hadn’t paid attention to this.

“So you mean…”

“Shh~ It's good as long you understand. That's enough.” Liang Di raised her index finger and touched Liang Lin’s lips.

Liang Lin dodged.

"I don't understand."

"..."

"Why do you always only say half of what you mean?"

"..."

"I wanted to ask you a question, but you shut me up."

"..."

It turns out, that "so you mean" wasn't because she understood, but because she wanted to know "so what exactly do you mean?"

In the end, Liang Di overestimated Liang Lin's intelligence in this area.

"Sigh..." Liang Di clutched her head, feeling the exhaustion like a divorced mother.

"Going to investigate the tailor shop was a pretext; investigating the reason for the unrest in Orlando City was the real reason."

Solving the unrest in Orlando City would be a bonus.

Liang Di's thoughts were still focused on the inheritance.

Hearing this, Liang Lin became interested.

"Unrest? What kind of unrest?"

"Civilians are going missing, mostly young and beautiful women and children. Hmm... some people say they found corpses in the jungle, the gruesome state of the corpses... it's hard to describe."

"Let's go, let's set off immediately."

Liang Lin didn't waste any more words; she touched the sword at her waist.

Before her rebirth, when her surname was "Kronin," she was tasked with protecting all those under the Kronin family's protection.

Now, her surname is "Langwendi," so her duty is to protect all the civilians within the Langwendi family's jurisdiction—this is why she learned swordsmanship.

Only love and dreams are indispensable; this is Liang Lin's sole standard.

Liang Lin loves her family, loves her sister, and her dream is to protect all those under Kronin's protection. Now, she has added another: to protect those under Langwendi's protection.

Liang Lin wants to inherit the Langwendi family headship, and besides revenge and finding her family, this is the only reason. The higher the power, the greater the ability to protect the weak.

Perhaps, this is exactly what Old Master Donald wanted in Liang Lin.

Before setting off, Liang Lin and Liang Di bumped into Miranda and Edwin, who were also heading out.

Upon seeing Liang Lin, Edwin instinctively tried to hide behind Miranda, probably terrified of being beaten.

Miranda glared at Edwin, shoving him forward.

"What are you afraid of? How many female heads of families are there in the Sotland Empire?" Miranda deliberately raised her voice.

Edwin seemed encouraged by this, straightening his back and resuming his arrogant and unruly demeanor.

Liang Lin, preoccupied with the affairs of Orlando City, had no intention of mocking the two as usual. She wanted to ignore them and walk away, but a seemingly light but weighty remark slipped out:

"But you forgot something. Edwin is an illegitimate child, and you rose to power through nepotism."

"..."

"Pfft~"

Liang Di was in a good mood. She didn't need to say anything; Liang Lin's words alone were enough to make others uncomfortable for a while.

The two girls sat in the carriage.

"By the way, can't you erase other people's memories? Then why don't you just attack someone and then erase the memories of any unrelated people who accidentally see it? Wouldn't that work?"

This was the question Liang Lin had been wanting to ask.

Liang Di shook her head.

"No, that's too dangerous. If done improperly, it can easily damage a person's brain, turning them into an idiot, or even causing death. There are too many people; erasing them one by one would definitely lead to bad consequences."

Liang Lin: "...So you used it on me back then?"

Liang Di chuckled dryly, feeling guilty, and looked away, seemingly trying to justify herself, "That's because you were the only one there, and there weren't many people, so..."

Ha, I don't believe you for a second.

Liang Lin rolled her eyes, scoffed, and hugged the sword tightly.

This trip to Orlando City gave her a bad feeling; her heart ached along the way, as if it were preventing her from going to Orlando.

"I haven't finished telling you yet. The deceased appears to have been drained of blood. The first body was discovered by the nuns in the church, under a tree in the woods. Here, this is a portrait the Knights brought me." Liang Di pulled a portrait from her pocket.

Liang Lin leaned closer to look and instantly gasped.