Aunt Fiona was so overwhelmed by the two little ones' adorableness that she almost fainted. Then Auntie took out her specialty pastries and began treating the girl and her brother. After just one bite, the girl felt that Auntie's skills were absolutely amazing. Her praise made Auntie beam with joy. Raising a daughter really did feel completely different from raising a son.
Watching the two of them, brother was utterly exasperated. "So, Auntie, are desserts your main reason for visiting this time?"
Auntie's expression immediately turned serious when she heard this. "Actually, I came this time because I heard some strange rumours. You should know that the Grand Duke's daughter entered high society much earlier than expected, right?"
Brother dismissed this without concern. "So what? That woman isn't even worthy of my little sister's toenails."
The nursemaid fully agreed with that sentiment. That was all true. But not long ago, Miss Ruth had become her maid. And the reason Miss Ruth was willing to become her maid was because the Grand Duke's daughter supposedly possessed purification mana. As everyone knew, Miss Ruth had been struck by a petrification curse when she was a child.
The nursemaid found this utterly absurd. Family members with purification mana were extremely rare. The last princess in history who possessed purification mana had lived two hundred years ago.
Auntie said she also found it unbelievable, but everyone who attended that tea party had personally witnessed the Grand Duke's daughter slightly purify the petrification curse on Ruth.
The girl held nothing but contempt for the Grand Duke's daughter's actions. Choosing this exact moment to reveal that she possessed purification mana was obviously an attempt to latch onto the Principality of Nazca. Since that was the case, they might as well play along and use the chance to greatly amplify the situation.
Seeing how quick-witted and decisive the girl was, Auntie immediately grabbed her and smothered her with affectionate cuddles again. The girl almost couldn't breathe from how tightly Auntie was hugging her.
Auntie's little son also grinned widely, insisting on feeding the girl strawberries. The girl found him so adorable that she simply couldn't refuse. She immediately picked up one of her own cherries to give in return. The little one happily munched on the cherry the girl handed him. The four of them spent a delightful afternoon tea together.
On the other side, the Grand Duke's daughter ran home in excitement to show off her treasure to her parents. "Mother, father, I received a letter of plea from the Principality of Nazca."
The Grand Duke and his wife were thrilled when they saw the letter. After all, unless you were on the king's level, you would absolutely never receive such a letter. As expected, their precious daughter was truly amazing.
News that the Grand Duke's daughter had received a plea for help from the Principality of Nazca spread like wildfire. This made all the young ladies of noble houses look at her in a new light. After all, even the prince and princess hadn't received such a plea letter, because their mana wasn't sufficient. On top of that, the Grand Duke's daughter had won Miss Ruth's loyalty. With this, even if the Grand Duke's son had been driven out of the palace, the Grand Ducal family had nothing to worry about. And the Grand Duke's daughter herself also believed that the throne would sooner or later be hers.
However, the fact that she would soon help purify the curse on the heir of the Principality of Nazca made Ruth very uneasy. So that night, Ruth went to the Grand Duke's daughter to look for confirmation.
The Grand Duke's daughter was extremely impatient when she heard this. "Of course I'm going to agree to help. After all, they're desperately begging for my aid."
Ruth grew even more panicked at this and dropped to her knees with a thud. "My lady, please purify my curse a bit more as well."
The Grand Duke's daughter instantly felt displeased when she heard this. "What, are you afraid that once I use my purification power on the Principality of Nazca, I'll abandon you?"
Ruth spoke in a trembling voice. "It's not that. It's just that I'm in so much pain."
No sooner had she said this than the Grand Duke's daughter kicked her to the ground. "Then you're far too selfish, wanting to monopolize such precious purification power. I don't like people who are that selfish. If you keep this up, I can't guarantee you'll remain my maid."
Ruth watched the Grand Duke's daughter's departing back and silently shed tears. She knew that now the only way to lessen the pain of the curse was to rely on the Grand Duke's daughter. But just to keep her under control, the Grand Duke's daughter likely would never completely purify her curse for the rest of her life.
What Ruth didn't know was that this scene of her being bullied had been clearly seen through the girl's X-ray Eyes. Seeing Ruth's face, which was identical to Sister Ewaine's, the girl was utterly stunned.
As the only S-rank hunter with a dual class in her previous life, Sister Ewaine had played a crucial role in the war against the demon king. She had also looked after her and her brother quite a lot. The weapon Sister Ewaine had forged in their previous life had saved her and her brother at critical moments time and time again. So the girl had always looked forward to reuniting with Sister Ewaine in this life. But she never expected that arrogant Grand Duke's daughter to dare bully her like that. The girl was almost driven to death by anger.
Just then, the system issued a new quest. Ruin the Grand Duke's daughter's reputation, and purify the curse on the heir of the Principality of Nazca.
The girl knew that the Grand Duke's daughter intended to use her purification power to cement her position. But the thought of that guy waking up because of it really annoyed her.
Suddenly, it seemed the girl had thought of something. She rummaged through a pile of items and pulled out a bottle of D-rank curse purifying potion. Seeing this, she immediately came up with a good idea. She happily went off to look for daddy.
The next day, just as expected, the Grand Duke's daughter accepted the Principality of Nazca's request. And today, the king would personally arrange a meeting between her and the people of Nazca. The Grand Duke's daughter was, of course, overjoyed at this. After all, this meant that even the king acknowledged her healing powers.
She then changed into a sumptuous gown and entered the palace, and everyone was stunned when they saw her outfit. No one expected Miss Ruth to have gifted her this custom-made dress, and the ruby crown on the Grand Duke's daughter's head was even Ruth's family heirloom. It seemed Miss Ruth's entire family had completely submitted to the Grand Duke's daughter.
At this moment, the Grand Duke's daughter finally laid eyes on the demon king lying in the crystal coffin. Seeing that handsome face, the Grand Duke's daughter couldn't help but imagine a romantic love story in her mind. Just thinking that the demon king and Ruth would both be under her heel in the future, and that even the throne would be in her pocket, made her grin almost to the back of her ears.
Just then, daddy and the others happened to arrive. Seeing that the girl was no longer being treated like the centre of attention as before made the Grand Duke's daughter even more excited. To her, this meant she would soon be able to completely replace the girl's position.
With the Grand Duke's daughter about to purify the curse on the heir of Nazca in front of everyone, even the nobles who had always supported the girl began to waver. But strangely, the people of the Principality of Nazca still felt more favourably toward the girl than toward the Grand Duke's daughter. This made the elders suddenly realize something. From the looks of it, it might be that the prince's emotions were affecting them. As the range of that influence slowly spread, the nobles who had just been wavering once again showed their fondness for the girl.
This made the Grand Duke's daughter so angry that she bit her lip hard.
At this point, daddy called the Grand Duke's daughter over. He once again confirmed with her whether she truly possessed purification power. The Grand Duke's daughter declared with full confidence that she would definitely be able to purify the curse on the Prince of Nazca.