She also made a request of daddy. The head attendant felt that her arrogant behaviour was somewhat offensive, but the Grand Duchess was utterly unconcerned. After all, her daughter was a once in a century purification ability user. It was worth remembering that the last purification ability user before this had defeated five brothers to ascend to the throne. So she hoped her daughter would receive the treatment she deserved.
At this, everyone understood the Grand Duchess's ambition. She clearly wanted to use this chance to push the Grand Duke's daughter into the position of princess.
The Grand Duke's daughter, however, had yet to successfully complete the purification. So daddy decided to let her attempt this purification as a royal ability trial. If the Grand Duke's daughter failed the trial, she would lose her right of succession to the throne. A few years ago, the Grand Duke's son, who had been soundly defeated by her brother, had his right of succession stripped in exactly this way.
The Grand Duchess was immediately flustered when she heard this. But this wasn't a mana duel between members of the royal family.
The girl immediately countered when she heard that. "But wouldn't proving your purification ability be even more meaningful as proof than a duel between royals?"
In the end, this round of purification by the Grand Duke's daughter was officially recognized as a royal ability trial. If she succeeded in purifying the curse, she would become a princess without a hitch. If she failed, she would be stripped of both her right of succession and her ownership of the gold mine. And ever since the Grand Duke's son's gold mine had been reclaimed last time, the gold mine in the Grand Duke's daughter's hands was probably the Grand Ducal family's only remaining gold mine.
Spurred on by her competitive streak, the Grand Duke's daughter gritted her teeth and accepted the challenge. She was absolutely determined to use this opportunity to replace the girl and drive her out of the palace.
Then, at daddy's command, the Grand Duke's daughter began purifying the prince of Nazca. But even though she exhausted all her mana, the prince still showed no sign of waking. The Grand Duke's daughter's face gradually twisted.
What she didn't know was that the prince actually wasn't under any curse at all. Rather, there seemed to be a hole inside him that absorbed mana, and mana was essentially life force. That was why he had remained in a coma all this time.
Just then, the system once again began frantically urging the girl to kill the prince. It seemed that if this hidden danger were left alone, the tragedy might repeat itself.
Because the prince still wasn't waking up, murmurs of doubt slowly began to spread through the crowd. With her nerves stretched to the breaking point, the Grand Duke's daughter finally snapped. She rushed up and began pounding on the crystal coffin in a frenzy.
"Wake up this instant. I clearly purified you already."
The people of the Principality of Nazca immediately dragged her away from the crystal coffin when they saw this. Then they unceremoniously shoved her to the ground.
The Grand Duke's daughter was utterly aggrieved. She immediately called on daddy to stand up for her. To her surprise, she was met only with the girl's merciless mockery. It was only then that the Grand Duke's daughter realized she had been tricked. She pointed at the girl and began swearing at her.
Her crazed behaviour scared everyone present. It turned out that the words the girl had just spoken were only audible to the Grand Duke's daughter. So now, in everyone else's eyes, she was nothing more than an unreasonable madwoman making a scene. The elder of the Principality of Nazca also concluded that the Grand Duke's daughter had deceived them.
Hearing this, the Grand Duke's daughter grew frantic and hurriedly asked Miss Ruth to prove her claims. But in the very next second, Miss Ruth suddenly collapsed to the ground.
The girl, alarmed, rushed forward, and the moment she touched Miss Ruth, the sunstone suddenly burst forth with a dazzling light. Shrouded in the light, the girl quickly fed Miss Ruth the purification potion. The instant Ruth swallowed it, the system prompted her. Miss Ruth's petrification curse has been lifted.
The girl then gave her a stamina supplement as well. Once she finished all this, the surrounding light slowly faded away. The Grand Duke's daughter stared in disbelief and demanded to know what the girl had just done. The girl merely pulled a face at her.
At that moment, Miss Ruth's father, Marquess Iris, rushed over in a panic. He anxiously scooped Ruth into his arms, calling her name over and over.
Seeing that familiar face, the girl fell into her memories. He was Sister Ewaine's father. She had seen him once at Sister Ewaine's funeral. Even though she had failed to protect Sister Ewaine, that kind-hearted uncle had not blamed her. Instead, he had thanked her. She never imagined she would have a chance to meet him again in this life. This time, she absolutely would not let father and daughter be separated again.
Right then, Marquess Iris also noticed his daughter's perfectly restored legs. The girl had actually managed to completely lift Ruth's curse. This meant she also possessed powerful purification abilities. Realizing this, Marquess Iris immediately bowed deeply to the girl. He declared that the Iris family would never forget this kindness.
The girl was just about to tell him not to worry about it so much when the crystal coffin behind her suddenly exploded. Then, to everyone's shock, the prince of Nazca slowly stood up.
Seeing this, the Grand Duke's daughter hastily picked up her fallen crown and put it back on. Then she turned to daddy to claim the credit. After that, she did not forget to order the people of the Principality of Nazca, who had treated her roughly before, to kneel and apologize.
Just as she was basking in the joy of her supposed success, the prince suddenly stopped the elder who was about to apologize. He announced that he wished to personally thank his benefactor.
In front of everyone, he walked right past the Grand Duke's daughter. Then he knelt on one knee before the girl with a devout expression, while the girl could only stare blankly at the scene before her.
The Grand Duke's daughter completely lost it. "What nonsense are you talking about? This is outrageous. Clearly, the one who purified your curse was me. You must still be groggy from just waking up and got confused, right?"
As she spoke, she clamped down hard on the prince's shoulders, but he slapped her hands away with force. Then the prince looked at her with a dark expression.
"Even though I just woke up, I was conscious the whole time I was in a coma, so there's no way I would mistake my benefactor."
As he said this, the prince gazed at the girl with deep emotion. He then reverently kissed the back of the girl's hand. The girl was left frozen on the spot.
In the next second, daddy hoisted the girl up over his shoulder. Daddy and brother then instantly went on high alert.
"Sweetheart, let daddy wipe your hand for you right now."
"You actually dared to kiss my little sister's hand. Believe it or not, we'll stuff you right back into that coffin."
Seeing these two suddenly going crazy, the girl quickly clapped her hands. "With that, the ability proof test is over. The Grand Duke's daughter failed to complete the purification. So I've won the wager."
Even though she wasn't the one who woke the prince, she'd be a fool not to take advantage of the situation. Upon hearing this, everyone began praising her. The Grand Duke and his wife, on the other hand, looked ashen. The Grand Duke's daughter was so humiliated that she burst into tears.
That very evening, the Grand Duke's estate was stripped bare by a large crowd when the head attendant arrived to collect the gold mine deed from the Grand Duke's daughter on the girl's behalf.