Chapter 187
The Saint White Silver Vine Arena, Second Floor

Inside the office area, the executive director's office.

"We'll talk to Countess Rosalinda about extracting the paintings we made, then we'll go find Nigel."

Lan Qi held the doorknob and said to Talia beside him.

"No problem."

Talia replied, holding the little black cat.

She was quite satisfied with the gains today, and unexpectedly became a platinum-level card maker. Now, even if Hugh brags outside, he can boast that her aunt is a powerful and successful person.

He opened the door.

This was a spacious office of about 100 square meters. The floor was made of oak trees that were hundreds of years old, inlaid with a pattern in the style of Borson. The focus on the right side was a mahogany desk about two meters in diameter. On the large sandalwood table was an antique oil lamp made of pure brass, but besides a few parchment documents waiting to be signed, no one was sitting there.

"Lan Qi, Tata, you're here."

Rosalinda waved to them from the sofa in the office rest area, gesturing for them to come and sit down.

"I've prepared some cheese coconut crisps!"

Next to a floor reading lamp with a lampshade made of colored glass, two very different women were sitting on the sofa.

Rosalinda was still wearing her well-tailored burgundy work suit.

The woman who seemed to be talking to her was younger, with silver-white hair reaching her waist, cascading down her sides like a waterfall.

"Who is this?"

Lan Qi walked over with Tata and sat down, asking Rosalinda.

"This is my friend, Aitio. She also came to see the final round of the platinum card maker exam today. As a former champion of the Saint White Silver Vine Arena, she also has some nominal positions in this arena. For example, I directly ask her for some venue coordination work."

Rosalinda introduced.

"Miss Aitio..."

Talia immediately recalled who she was.

In the popular Borson Kingdom project, the Capital Saint Grail Familiar Arena Competition, Duke Michaia had won the championship as an employer and then returned freedom to the champion messenger after the victory.

This woman named Aitio was a demon discovered by Duke Michaia’s discerning eyes, who taught her many skills and techniques, allowing her to quickly grow and become exceptionally powerful, regaining her freedom and even becoming a demon lord in District 9.

And Duke Michaia participated just to make Iphatia happy. Iphatia liked to watch the competitions, and sometimes she just liked to lie down and watch the fun.

Presumably, both Rosalinda and Aitio should be very familiar with Duke Michaia and his wife.

"Lan Qi, Tata, I'm sorry, there's been a lot of turmoil in the Borson Demon Realm recently, otherwise I would definitely entertain you."

Aitio said to them.

Although she didn't seem to have any expression, her voice was very gentle.

Her eyes were a faint ice blue, clear and transparent like crystal, and you could vaguely see the flowing brilliance within. She wore a pure white lace dress, the skirt loosely draped on her side, as thin as butterfly wings. Her only jewelry was a simple silver necklace, and the skin on her neck was almost as white as snow.

"No, no, it's a pleasure to meet you."

Lan Qi shook his head and replied.

The Borson Demon Realm is now under the control of several demon lords, who are almost the highest decision-makers in the Borson Demon Realm, directly interfacing with the Borson Kingdom's Council of Elders.

Tonight is Lord Perlman of District 10's banquet, and Aitio, the lord of District 9, might also attend. Lan Qi originally thought they would meet later today, but he didn't expect to meet her here ahead of time.

However, tonight at the banquet, his identity will be Lodge McCarthy, and Aitio probably won't recognize him.

The lord of District 9, Aitio, and the lord of District 10, Perlman, are both among the strongest in the Borson Kingdom.

There is also an eighth-order human assassin general, but he has already gone to the southern border of Aquitaine. It seems that the movements of the Creatia Empire are becoming more and more mysterious, so the south has to station a strongest person to prevent a military god of bishop-level from launching an attack at any time.

"Hyperion didn't come with you, it seems I'll only have a chance to see her again in the Kingdom of Hutton."

Aitio muttered to herself with a slightly regretful look in her eyes.

Although her expression didn't change, the slightly moved look in her eyes seemed to be thinking of a lovely person.

"Has Miss Aitio met her?"

Lan Qi asked curiously.

If there were people who already knew each other, chatting for a few words at first sight would make them feel like they had known each other for a long time.

Meanwhile, Talia had already silently started eating the cheese coconut crisp gift box that Countess Rosalinda had pushed towards her. Besides the layers of crispy skin and the melt-in-your-mouth cheese, when you bit into it, there was a sweet coconut filling paired with crystal-red, sweet and sour hawthorn cake.

"I've met her a few times, and I got along quite well with her."

Aitio told Lan Qi with some nostalgia.

Hearing this, Talia immediately became alert, her eyes shifting from the coconut crisps to Aitio. She rarely heard Hyperion willing to accept the care of women other than her.

Her special status seemed to be challenged.

Lan Qi glanced at Talia, signaling her not to panic yet.

"How do you see Hyperion?"

Lan Qi asked Aitio.

Listening to Lan Qi, Talia was almost asking the gossip question, "Do you want to be Hyperion's stepmother?"

But he did ask it very tactfully and politely.

"I really want to give her some motherly care..."

Aitio said bluntly.

Talia's eyes became half complicated.

"It's a pity that although she's a little close to me, it's not much, and I don't understand why."

Aitio said again.

At this point, Talia suddenly breathed a sigh of relief and continued to eat her dessert.

Sure enough, she was Hyperion's most ideal mother.

Lan Qi seemed to have known this answer from the beginning, and didn't comfort Talia at all, just looked at Aitio, the crystal-clear demon, with a trace of regret.

He knew the answer.

But he couldn't say it.

Because to become Hyperion's ideal mother, three hard conditions had to be met, and Aitio only met two of them.

Talia's hand trembled. She was too embarrassed to do anything in front of the two of them.

This damn Lan Qi didn't say a word to offend her, but a simple look almost offended her completely!

Talia, suppressing her anger, could only think of the good things.

No matter what Lan Qi thought, Hyperion still only liked her. It could only be said that Hyperion had better taste than Lan Qi.

Then.

Talia couldn't help but look at Countess Rosalinda and then at Aitio.

Although it was a bit impolite to think so, she inexplicably felt that Rosalinda and Aitio had a sense of camaraderie as defeated dogs.

They might have just been holding an Iphatia bashing session.

"You may have misunderstood. I don't have those kinds of thoughts about Michaia and Iphatia. They are purely my teachers and friends. I just want to take care of their child."

Aitio said suddenly.

Both Lan Qi and Talia were startled.

"Can you see what the two of us are thinking?"

Talia hesitated for a moment and asked her.

She could tell that what Aitio said was true. Aitio really didn't have any special feelings for Duke Michaia and his wife.

"Michaia and Iphatia always communicated with each other like that. After watching for a long time, I can probably guess."

Aitio explained.

Just saying this seemed to cause Countess Rosalinda to be critically hit. Countess Rosalinda could only pick up her goblet and drink the bitter wine, her heart aching.

Lan Qi and Talia didn't know what to say.

On the one hand, they were a little embarrassed that their little thoughts had been seen through, and on the other hand, they had inadvertently hurt Countess Rosalinda.

So there was only one defeated dog.

This was the cruelest thing.

"Are you two thinking about something very impolite?"

Rosalinda felt that Lan Qi and Tata's eyes were particularly synchronized at this moment.

Every time these two communicated with their eyes and made some small movements, they treated others as blind, but it was actually very obvious, okay?

"No, no."

The two shook their heads.

They were clearly using encrypted communication, why could they always be seen through?

"By the way, do you know anything about Iphatia? We've been trying to help Hyperion find her mother."

Lan Qi asked Aitio and Rosalinda as if he suddenly remembered something important.

He had originally thought about contacting people in the Borson Kingdom who were familiar with Michaia and Iphatia, hoping to get some clues that he couldn't get in Hutton.

And since the other party knew that he and Tata were both Hyperion's friends, they wouldn't find such a question strange.

Rosalinda pursed her lips and shook her head. She had more contact with Michaia.

Whenever she saw Iphatia, Rosalinda only wanted to hold back her tears and run away.

For her, it was a success if she could see them kissing without pulling thread.

Her eyes were getting redder now.

"Uh..."

But Aitio's mouth opened slightly when she heard this, and she sat up straighter.

She seemed to have thought of something.

"Miss Aitio, do you know something?"

More concerned than Lan Qi, Talia stared at Aitio and asked.

"Sister Iphatia... she once told me that she wanted to go to the ruins of the Creatia Empire to find an ancient potential secret medicine. It's said that using that secret medicine can shorten one's lifespan to stimulate potential, and the shortening of lifespan is proportional. If demons use it in a fixed amount, they will become almost like humans. I guess she wanted to grow old with Michaia and couldn't accept watching Michaia grow old alone..."

Aitio murmured.

"Then why didn't she go when she told you?"

Lan Qi asked in confusion.

"Because Iphatia has procrastination, even if she has an idea, she won't necessarily put it into practice immediately."

Or Michaia's care for Iphatia completely prevented her from taking action.

It wasn't until Iphatia disappeared out of thin air after an argument with Michaia.

Now that Aitio thought about it, she felt that according to Iphatia's personality, it was possible that she left Michaia to achieve this goal.

Lan Qi slowly turned his head and glanced at Talia.

You demons are really weird.

It seemed that Iphatia's departure more than ten years ago was most likely a runaway from home.

Sure enough, you can't just casually find a pure-blooded demon wife.

Marry a demon wife, enjoy a single life.

Talia sneered when she heard Lan Qi's inner voice.

You want to marry but there's nowhere to marry.

Except for her occasional gentleness to Lan Qi and Hyperion always accommodating Lan Qi, no other girl could stand this guy.

He won't be able to get married.

"But a human's life is very short compared to a demon. Is it really worth it for her to spend more than ten years looking for medicine?"

Lan Qi asked Aitio again.

These past ten years have been an irredeemably long time for both Michaia and Hyperion.

Although he could understand Iphatia's thoughts, he was not a long-lived species nor was he Iphatia. He had not experienced Iphatia's life and could not empathize with Iphatia's feelings at that time.

"Shouldn't this kind of medicine be poison for demons?"

Talia didn't understand why her sister would spend so much to find a potion that would accelerate her own death.

If it were her, she wouldn't choose to drink it even if she was given this kind of medicine.

"I don't understand either, but I believe Sister Iphatia had thought it through."

Aitio shook her head and said.

Lan Qi didn't know whether it was good or bad from the outcome.

If Iphatia couldn't find this kind of medicine, Hyperion could only have the beginning of a complete family but not the end.

And regardless of whether she could find it or not, she had never had her mother's companionship since she was a child.

However, he and Tata did get a useful piece of information.

Iphatia was very likely in the Creatia Empire.

On the way to find Michaia, they might be able to find Iphatia first.

The people in the office chatted.

The sky was covered with dark clouds, and a different kind of sunset could be vaguely seen through the huge floor-to-ceiling glass window.

Dark gray clouds shrouded the entire city, completely covering the original sky.

It was like a glow covered by a heavy gray veil, and a few strands of rich dark red threads could be vaguely seen wandering around. Occasionally, it broke through the clouds and drew a gap in the gray sky.

"By the way, Senior Sister Rosalinda, do we have any means of mailing or shipping our paintings?"

Lan Qi looked at the sky, estimating the time to meet up with Nigel, and asked Countess Rosalinda.

The ownership of the works completed in the exam belonged to the candidates themselves after paying the material fee.

"Regarding that painting, there is currently no good way to send it back to the Kingdom of Hutton. Now, facing a possible wartime situation, the risk is much higher than before, and cross-border transportation companies are unwilling to sign high-value insurance policies. You have to bring it back yourselves."

Rosalinda said to them.

"Can we trouble Senior Sister Rosalinda to keep it for us for a while during this time?"

Seeing Tata focusing on eating pastries, Lan Qi made the decision for the two of them himself.

"It's possible, but I would suggest putting it in Paliue's official institutions. It would be better than putting it in the Asturia's Earl's Mansion."

Rosalinda nodded hesitantly,

"When are you going back to Hutton?"

She asked again.

"Maybe two or three days, maybe a week?"

Lan Qi replied uncertainly.

Regarding the rare materials needed for him and Talia to reconcile Caliera's Shadow Weave Record, Countess Rosalinda and the Battisti family had almost completed the purchase for them. Among them, there were several pink sacred-level items.

However, their collaborative card making was still inconsistent. There was always a hurdle they couldn't overcome. They originally planned to rent a card making workshop in Paliue to complete the card making. Now, they might have to go back to the Kingdom of Hutton first and consider it in the long term.

In the temples of the Flower Capital Paliue, there is an epic-level statue of the God of Will and Love, which can be used to obtain a time-limited spiritual blessing through prayer, which also has a small probability of achieving some success rate increase for the production of spiritual magic cards.

So their initial plan was to be able to complete the card making by the end of August.

Now it seemed impossible.

It would be a blessing if the two of them didn't start arguing during card making.

"Then I suggest putting this painting on display for a limited time in the Platinum Sen Palace during your stay in Borson? And there will also be some fee income. I can help you arrange everything with the Platinum Sen Palace."

Rosalinda suggested.

The Platinum Sen Palace itself is the best security location for precious works of art, much safer than the Earl's Mansion.

There has always been a saying in the Flower Capital Paliue, even if the Council of Elders is breached, the Platinum Sen Palace will still be impregnable.

Of course, no one is crazy enough to really attack the Council of Elders.

"No problem."

Lan Qi answered simply.

Putting this thing in Countess Rosalinda's house would also cause her trouble. It would be better to freeload the Platinum Sen Palace, without paying storage fees and still getting exhibition fees.

"Speaking of which, is there anything else about Iphatia that you can tell us about?"

Talia picked up another cheese coconut crisp and asked.

She and Lan Qi could sit here and chat for a while longer.

On the one hand, she wanted to learn about intelligence, and on the other hand, she really missed her sister too much. Just hearing about her sister's life trivia from those years made her very satisfied.

"If there is anything perfect in the world, it must be Sister Iphatia."

Aitio seemed to have found a confidant, and leaned forward slightly.

Talia was stunned by Aitio's sudden enthusiasm.

Aitio, who originally looked a bit aloof, now had eyes full of longing.

"Putting aside how good-looking Sister Iphatia is, her Sleeping Beauty appearance not only has dreamlike gentleness, but also fascinating intelligence and loveliness. It's completely unimaginable that an eighth-order demon would be like her. It feels like she should be far away in the sky, but she is indeed by my side accompanying me. She's so lazy and comfortable, as if reminding the world that true beauty doesn't need to be deliberately flaunted, and her restrained talent can always easily solve all problems, and she's also a bit playful and cute. She's really a princess!"

Aitio was rarely a bit excited and clenched her fists when she spoke.

However, she soon realized that she had been a bit too expressive and coughed lightly twice.

Seeing Countess Rosalinda on the opposite side drinking with her head tilted in despair, Lan Qi only felt that it was too cruel for her.

Rosalinda used to hysterically complain to them a few times, but now she was only silently shedding tears.

So Aitio was a little fan of Iphatia.

It was understandable. Aitio was just a demon who could not see the great demon king in the Kingdom of Borson when she did not have her freedom, so it was normal for Aitio to be admired.

"However, Sister Iphatia said that she has another sister who is her ideal perfect princess. She has been clinging to her sister since she was a child, but it's a pity that she can't become a demon princess like her sister."

Aitio suddenly thought of something and told the two of them,

"I simply can't imagine what kind of existence the more perfect Princess Talia that Sister Iphatia talks about is."

Lan Qi and Talia looked at each other again when they heard this.

The sister that Iphatia was talking about, wasn't that Talia?

"Can you tell me in detail?"

Lan Qi asked full of curiosity.

Talia also cared about how Iphatia had evaluated her back then.

"Sister Iphatia said that Sister Talia is very powerful, much stronger than her. A hundred years have passed, and she is probably unimaginably strong. She won't be as lazy as her, standing still."

Aitio said.

"Pfft..."

Lan Qi couldn't hold it in for a moment. Before he could say anything, he coughed twice as if he was being stopped, and then stopped talking.

Aitio looked confusedly at Lan Qi on the opposite side, who had a hard time holding back his expression, and at Tata, who was staring at him, not knowing what was wrong.

"No, don't mind us."

Lan Qi took a deep breath and said.

"And it's said that that Princess Talia is quite disciplined. She refrains from eating sweets, and when she has a rare opportunity to enjoy desserts, she only allows herself to eat the highest-grade ones, and she won't indulge herself like a fallen demon. Her sister, with such a firm will, will definitely carry out the wish to restore the country and will not easily forget the demon's long-cherished wish."

Aitio nodded and continued to tell the two of them.

The pastry that Talia was half-biting in her right hand stopped.

She felt that she couldn't finish eating it now, and she couldn't put it down either. Her heart was particularly struggling and tormenting.

Lan Qi on the side was already desperately lowering his head, his shoulders shaking non-stop.

He seemed to be in great pain from holding back his laughter.

Talia became more and more angry.

If she was holding the coconut crisp, she wouldn't be able to hit Lan Qi.

If she put down the coconut crisp, she wouldn't be able to forgive Lan Qi.

Finally, Talia couldn't bear it any longer. She chose to finish eating the coconut crisp and then reached out and pinched Lan Qi. She wasn't that shy at first, but because of Lan Qi's laughter, she felt that her face might be a little red.

"Sister Iphatia also said that Princess Talia is like a queen who never relies on any other demons. As a princess, she is dignified and reserved, and she will only allow the demons she likes the most to get close to her, such as Iphatia."

Talia immediately retracted the hand that pinched Lan Qi's lower back, and listened to Aitio's words as if she was sitting on pins and needles.

She now felt that she couldn't reveal her identity in front of Aitio even if she died.

Otherwise, she would really lose a lot of face.

"Lan Qi, I heard that you've been to the North Continent. Have you heard of Talia?"

Aitio roughly finished talking about Princess Talia and looked at Lan Qi and asked.

She had heard from Rosalinda that Lan Qi had once gone to the North Continent to do a project at the Ikrilite Academy.

And in the North Continent, there might still be information about Talia, because besides the things Iphatia told her, Aitio could only see the name of that Sister Talia-sama in the history books circulated from the North Continent.

"I have indeed heard of that fairy sister."

Lan Qi tried his best to maintain his expression.

Holding back his laughter just now almost turned his ears red.

"What kind of person did you hear she was?"

Aitio asked Lan Qi with great interest.

As soon as Lan Qi opened his mouth, he felt a gaze staring at him.

It seemed that Talia was warning him not to talk nonsense.

Lan Qi suddenly felt choked.

He couldn't say the eight-character mantra now, and he couldn't lie either.

"She is gorgeous, rational, and moving. She is the most evil, the most wicked, and the most insane demon. The harm she causes to the world is even greater than her talent, but she can control her own heart and desires. Compared to solving problems with force, she is better at breaking through the enemy's heart and giving the enemy the most cruel curse and torment!"

Lan Qi directly recited the words of his student Zestira back then word for word.

The little dragon student he met when he first went to the North Continent and was still working as a tutor was Talia's number one fan.

"As expected of Sister's Older Sister-sama."

Aitio immediately clasped her hands together, her eyes full of reverence.

Talia felt like she was going crazy.

Why did even the students in the North Continent think that way?

Because it was the truth.

This showed that someone on the North Continent did think so!

And Talia wasn't sure if Lan Qi had tarnished her reputation on the North Continent!

After all, Atanas had almost mistaken Lan Qi for her husband.

"It's getting late, we'll take our leave first, thank you for your hospitality!"

Talia grabbed the back of Lan Qi's collar, stood up herself, and took Lan Qi up with her, bidding farewell to Rosalinda and Aitio on the opposite side of the sofa.

She knew that Aitio was a white character, but Lan Qi was a mix character. If they continued to chat, Aitio might be taken by Lan Qi to become a super anti-character hater!

(End of this chapter)