The Villain Princess survived the Imperial Riot

"Worm?" Clara was startled, but she nodded sullenly, unsuspecting. "She's truly hopeless. Since Lady Iyana told you, she must be over 90% certain... Your Highness, do you want me to deal with her?"

"No, wait a little longer, until the worms lay their eggs and the cockroaches show up."

Hestia didn't think that Matildahl Miller could cause her any harm. The Protoss in the Perfect Illumination Realm kept her distracted and on the lookout around the clock, leaving her no chance to plot anything.

Walking to the library, a pure white building supported by a cross arch stood majestically. Two Iron Army guards were guarding the gate. Upon seeing the princess coming, they immediately raised their sabers to their chests and saluted deeply.

"Clara, how long have you been the librarian here?"

"I'm not sure, but I heard it's an old man who has been around since the Governor's Office."

Nodding slightly, Hestia asked the tall knight to guard the door, and walked alone up the stone steps that seemed to be spliced ​​together by books, and entered the library.

The gorgeous murals tell secret histories, the curved walls are made of mosaics, the colored glazed tiles are collaged, the light shines down from the dome skylight, and a glorious road stretches from the door to the end, like a huge book with open arms, with stacked bookshelves, and the wisdom accumulated over hundreds of years is hidden between the lines that no one cares about.

There is a sign on the huge marble pillar at the entrance saying "Please Do Not Make Noise".

This used to be the private library of the Duke of Yunling. After it became the Governor's residence, many materials such as county chronicles and documents were added. I wonder how many taboos and secrets are hidden in it. The foundation is deeper than that of the Academy of Law.

As soon as she entered the hall, Hestia saw two people who surprised her.

Iyana, Viola.

The elf was hanging in front of rows of bookshelves, sifting through historical materials, while the maid was immersed in the ocean of wisdom, carefully chewing on every word.

"Stupid dog! Shouldn't you be in the castle on standby waiting for me to come back at a time like this? How dare you come to the library without permission!"

Hestia didn't care about the noise or not. Now the entire villa was the royal property. Even if she wanted to set fire to hundreds of thousands of books as fireworks, no one would dare to say anything.

"Your Highness!" The maid was so engrossed in watching that she jumped up from her chair at the sudden scolding. "You, you're not going to the upper city to attend the award ceremony. I thought you wouldn't be back until tonight..."

"Your Highness, I was the one who told Miss Lilan that she could study here." Iyana appeared in front of the princess in the blink of an eye and pleaded gently, "She does her job very well and abides by the rules."

"That's fine, I didn't assign her any work. When did you learn to lie?" Hestia rolled her eyes at the elf and admonished her. "And why are you in the library too?"

Iyana said respectfully, "I'd like to ask Lady Aynive for some information on the history of worms... She's a renowned arcane scholar."

"Mrs. Aynive?"

"Princess of the Empire, no noise is allowed in the library. As the maintainer of order, shouldn't you first abide by the laws of the rules themselves?"

An old, gentle voice sounded, and Hestia immediately looked up, and was shocked to see an old woman sitting on a high chair piled with messy books, reading a current affairs newspaper.

Her face was gray and her hair was white. She was thin and frail, her skin wrinkled like layers of ravines, and her skinny hands showed little fat or muscle. She looked like she was on her deathbed, but her purple eyes were bright and lively.

Hestia's eyes were sharp. "Haha, an arcane scholar? Not the one hiding in the library?"

The old woman glanced at the princess in surprise and asked in astonishment, "Ms. Iyana wouldn't talk about this with you. How did you know?"

The existence of secret practitioners is no secret to senior arcane scholars. Logically speaking, the princess has no reason to directly accuse her of being a "hidden practitioner."

"What kind of bugs are hiding in the villa that I, as the owner, shouldn't know about?"

"Your Highness..." Iyana carefully tugged at Hestia's sleeve and softly reminded her, "Although Lady Aynive is not a devotee of the God-Emperor, she is one of the few secret practitioners willing to cooperate with us."

really……

Hestia stared at the old woman and pressed her, "I don't like being told what to do. So what if I make a fuss?"

The old woman, provoked by the princess, showed no sign of anger. She put away her newspaper, clapped her hands and chuckled softly, "I've long heard that the imperial princess is arrogant and domineering. Today, I see that her reputation is well-deserved."

Hestia's face darkened. "How dare you say that? Do you really think I won't have the dogs of the Inquisition take you to jail?"

"I can escape." Lady Aynive grinned, revealing only a few sparse teeth, and spoke modestly in the Old Imperial language. "But the princess isn't truly angry, and she's clearly not here to arrest me, is she? Otherwise, the High Knights and Inquisitors would have surrounded this place."

Seeing Wu's fearless and ruthless mood, she pulled out a chair and sat down, saying, "Iyana, Viola, you two go out first. I want to talk to this old man."

"Your Highness..." Iyana looked at the princess worriedly, but she couldn't resist the sharp golden eyes in the end, so she had to ask Viola to leave together.

After clearing the room, Hestia tapped on the quaint desk, the rhythmic beat echoing in the empty hall. She stared at the old woman without saying a word.

Ainiwei returned the same look, trying to see through the imperial princess.

"Are we playing a game where whoever speaks first loses?" Finally, Aynive broke the silence with a joke.

Hestia paused her finger and asked, "Do you know Iyana?"

"Not really. In our line of work, we always have to interact with people. Before today, we only had a few exchanges at Mengsu."

"Your line of work..." Hestia smiled as she searched for information in her mind. "You're both cultivators and deal with people, so you're information dealers? The Dusk Conclave, or the Palace of Wisdom?"

Aynive remained silent, saying meaningfully, "It seems the Imperial Princess has more information than we do."

"So, you are well-informed?"

"Somewhat familiar."

"Then why don't you guess why I came here?"

Aynive looked at the princess calmly, then said after a moment, "Ms. Iyana knows the customs of the Empire, but she is a secret cultivator of the Midnight Crescent and is not essentially affiliated with the Empire. I believe she will not tell you my true background."

Hestia nodded, not denying it.

As long as this old woman didn't rebel or show obvious hostility towards the princess, Iyana didn't need to disclose her background. If the demonic princess got too carried away with judging heretics, wouldn't that just cause more trouble?

Aynive further analyzed, "Your Excellency has long known of my existence, yet kept it a secret. It seems the rumored Sixth Princess isn't worthy of her reputation. You..." She extended her slender pinky finger and tapped the princess, "You're more scheming than outsiders appear. You must have sought me out today to learn secrets from me. Otherwise, it wouldn't be Your Excellency who came to me, but a High Knight or an Inquisitor."

"Interesting, keep going."

Hestia herself didn't think too much about it, and let the old woman do all the talking.

She was a Tibetan cultivator who knew that the villa was hiding the path to wisdom through the spiritual symbols displayed in the Witch's Book. In addition to looking up information about the witch, she also wanted to confirm it when she came to the library.

But she only questioned the old woman half a sentence and she almost made her confess everything.

Ainiwei gave the princess a deep look and then said, "I think I've finished what I've said. Why don't you tell me your purpose for coming to me yourself?"

Looking for you? I just came here to read a book, who knew you three would get together.

Hestia continued to pound on the table, saying nothing.

"Thump, thump, thump."

"Thump, thump, thump."

"Sir," Aynive was almost losing her composure. She warned calmly, "If you continue to act so mysterious, I might really run away."

Although the Imperial Lady did not go to the siege, who could really guarantee that the Imperial Eight Eagles would not be hiding in the Dark Territory?

"You didn't run away after all, which means this is what you want."

"..."

Seeing the old woman's reaction, Hestia knew she had guessed right.

Hestia had been working as a librarian here since the Governor's Office, and she didn't think the old man had lived enough and was planning to live out the rest of his life in peace.

Even if those who practice secret cultivation do not expect eternal life, it is impossible for them to live out their days in peace.

This path is what one pursues throughout one's life and what one strives for throughout one's life. Those who practice secret cultivation will only die on the road of pursuit rather than stopping to appreciate the unchanging scenery.

"Witch, demon maggot, chaos, Styx."

The princess opened her red lips slightly and spoke of the four great natural disasters of the future.

Aynive's posture remained normal, but her shrunken pupils betrayed her mood.

"You...believe in that prophecy?"

prophecy?

Hestia's face was expressionless, but her heart was confused.

What prophecy? Didn’t the game script mention it?

Judging from the old woman’s reaction, it seems that I shouldn’t believe it?

"It doesn't matter whether you believe it or not," Hestia said in a cold voice. "What matters is how I do it."

Hearing this, Aynive finally showed a hint of hesitation. She said carefully, "What you want to know, even I don't know the whole picture..."

"Just tell me what you know. I won't stop you from getting anything you want from this library." Hestia thought for a moment, then added, "Let's start with witches and sorcerers. I heard they feed on mystics... Is that true?"

Hestia originally came here to look up information, but the old woman in front of her was so eager, how could she live up to the reputation of this group of Tibetan cultivators as a walking dictionary?

This is much better than flipping through a book!

Volume 18: Dreamers: . Bewitching

Aynaeve looked at Hestia, trying to discern some of her feelings from her calm gaze.

These questions were a bit sharp for the Imperial Princess, and she had no way of judging what the other party's attitude was.

"Witch..."

She thought for a moment, her voice old but steady.

"They are a very secretive group. It's difficult for ordinary esoteric practitioners to come into contact with witches. You may have heard some rumors about witches hunting esoteric practitioners. Such things do exist, but they are not entirely true.

"Forty years ago, I had the privilege of communicating with a witch. Rather than being hunted by the mystics, she preferred to stay away rather than be hunted by them... Since you know about worms, you should know that we mystics don't always remain steadfast in our pursuit of our paths in the Dream Realm. Even the most determined can be led astray by blindness.

"Suspicion, desire, and a restless heart often lead to temptation. They are always hidden behind one door after another, and you can never guess what form they will take to visit your mind. And the manifestations they present are what we call 'worms'."

Hestia listened quietly. Even though the other party did not start directly with the story of the witch, such valuable information could not be missed.

She knew that the secret cultivators would face bewitching, but to the players, it was just a series of insignificant debuffs. Only when they were in the situation themselves, would they understand the horrifying horror behind each bewitching.

"But witches are different. They won't be bewitched... No, that's not entirely correct. They do have bewitches, and that bewitching feeling is called 'witch.' This is related to the structure of their souls. While they don't breed worms, witches have a natural predatory nature towards all spiritual things in the world. A cluster of fire, a little light, a changing thunderstorm, and the four seasons, they will all be taken as part of themselves."

"You mean, witches don't need to hunt for secrets to obtain extraordinary powers from the outside world?" Hestia interrupted her.

"You could say that. But in reality, witches are naturally masters of the rules, while sorcerers are not. Endlessly seizing power will cause a witch to lose control, and all misery and grief will in turn become the source of their power. They will transform into disaster and negativity themselves, ultimately being dissolved by the uncontrollable power. Imagine the feeling of powerlessness when your anger and pain can also be transformed into miracles, but you are unable to control them. And your powerlessness and self-blame will breed new, uncontrollable miracles."

Aynive sighed, feeling somewhat emotional. "Their souls are like a dark star filled with gravity. When they lose control, you can easily feel their spirits gradually shattered under the tearing force."

Hestia pondered for a moment and then asked, "How did the witch embark on this path?"

"Rather than saying witches embark on this path, it's better to say they're chosen by the witch. Ancient witches, hidden secrets, the root cause of the Void Light's fall... Haha, this is exactly the joy of my research." Aynive's face curved into a kind smile as she spoke of her hobby. "Like the worms bewitched by the demonic maggots, witches are nothing more than victims chosen by the witch. If they want to harness their own power, they must leave beacons in the Dream House, using the Dream House to accommodate those 'miracles'."

"Won't Meng Su be 'eaten' by them?" Hestia frowned.

"That's why witches are rejected by the Dream House." Aynive nodded. "Perhaps the existence of some witches is insignificant to the Dream House, but if witches continue to be passed down and replace the position of secret practitioners, it will be a disaster for the Dream House. The same is true for the worms, demons, and undead who rely on the Dream House. Precisely because of this rejection, some witches have developed rituals to replace the secret practice path, using this method to conceal themselves and avoid the surveillance of the Dream House."