Chapter 160: Everything is going according to plan.

Perletti brought Scarlet Night along, and the two quickly arrived at the holy city of Golia.

This city, praised as the “Crown of the World Tree,” was the elven settlement closest to that towering divine tree. The majestic elven royal palace was also located here.

The streets were paved with polished white jade stone, while the buildings on both sides elegantly merged with ancient trees. Vines and flowers decorated every corner, creating a perfect rhythm between nature and craftsmanship.

They had only just landed at the edge of a quiet plaza and had not even fully steadied themselves when Perletti’s gaze caught sight of an extremely familiar figure among the sparse crowd.

“Oh my, what a coincidence.”

Olivia’s voice carried the perfect amount of pleasant surprise. She walked lightly toward them, her emerald eyes brightening the instant they landed on Perletti, her smile warm and radiant.

“I was just wondering what kind of gift I should prepare for Titi when we met today. I didn’t expect you to arrive first instead.”

“Perfect timing. We can go shopping together. Whatever you like, I’ll consider it a belated meeting gift. How does that sound?”

As she spoke, she gracefully lifted a strand of golden hair that the breeze had blown across her face and tucked it behind her ear. The motion was elegant and natural.

Then she casually reached out, intending to hold Perletti’s hand.

However, another slightly cool little hand moved even faster, tightly gripping Perletti’s fingers first.

Scarlet Night frowned, openly displaying the displeasure and vigilance in her eyes as she glared at Olivia like a young beast guarding its food.

“Ah, Scarlet Night is here too.”

Only now did Olivia seem to notice her. An apologetic smile appeared on her face, her tone gentle.

“Sorry, sorry. I didn’t notice you just now. As compensation for my oversight…”

As she spoke, her wrist turned slightly, and as though performing a magic trick, she produced a small black sphere wrapped in dark purple leaves from within her sleeve.

Rather than handing it directly to Scarlet Night, she passed it over the girl’s head and gently placed it into Perletti’s open palm.

“This is…?” Perletti examined the small sphere, which emitted a faint bittersweet fragrance, suspicion quietly rising in her heart.

Something Olivia deliberately prepared specifically for Scarlet Night was definitely no ordinary object.

Judging from the situation, Olivia’s surface-level surprise at this “chance meeting” was probably an act. She had most likely already anticipated that Perletti would arrive early — and had even predicted Scarlet Night would come along as well.

Those earlier words were probably pure performance.

Perletti saw through the deliberate arrangement, and at the same time secretly felt alarmed by just how meticulous Olivia’s planning and understanding were.

If she and Qingcheng had only been ordinary friends, there was no way Olivia could understand her this thoroughly.

“This is a candy made from Night Dew Lake honey mixed with several specialties from the Shadow Forest,” Olivia explained softly, her gentle gaze sweeping across Scarlet Night’s tightly pursed lips.

“If I remember correctly… this used to be Scarlet Night’s favorite snack.”

Perletti looked toward Scarlet Night questioningly.

Scarlet Night’s expression became even more conflicted. She stared fixedly at the black candy as though fighting against some deeply ingrained instinct. After a long moment, she finally nodded extremely unwillingly, her voice barely louder than a mosquito’s hum.

“…Mm. I used to like it.”

“Used to” referred to the distant past before her relationship with Olivia had completely broken apart.

Back then, she truly had liked it.

But after Qingcheng’s corruption and her total fallout with Olivia, she had never touched it again.

Perletti immediately understood Olivia’s intentions.

She knew Scarlet Night would refuse if she offered it directly, so she had deliberately handed it to Perletti instead.

If Perletti was the one giving it to her, Scarlet Night would find it nearly impossible to reject even if she felt conflicted inside.

Olivia perhaps possessed a certain degree of possessiveness herself, but compared to Scarlet Night, hers was far more restrained and strategic, always controlled within a range that appeared harmless.

She clearly wanted to ease her relationship with Scarlet Night, or at the very least maintain superficial peace.

And that was exactly what Perletti hoped to see as well.

Watching Scarlet Night stubbornly trying to act tough despite obviously wanting it, Perletti’s heart softened slightly.

She picked up the small candy ball and personally brought it to Scarlet Night’s lips.

“Want to try it?”

Scarlet Night hesitated briefly before opening her mouth and accepting it.

A familiar flavor melted across her tongue — sweetness mixed with a uniquely refreshing bitterness — causing her eyes to narrow subconsciously in satisfaction.

But very quickly, she stiffened her expression again and pressed herself even closer against Perletti’s side, attributing the entire reward solely to her sister’s affection.

As for Olivia?

She absolutely refused to appreciate it.

Like a tiny guard dog, she vigilantly watched Olivia’s every movement.

Olivia acted as though she noticed none of the hostility. Her smile remained unchanged as she turned toward Perletti and extended another invitation.

“Titi, you probably haven’t seen elven pop-up books before, have you? Want to go take a look together? It’s not far ahead.”

“Pop-up books?”

Perletti was instantly intrigued, temporarily forgetting the subtle tension between the two girls.

“Are they like fairy tale books, but with special effects?”

She had never even heard the term before.

Or rather, countless things within the Elf Forest were entirely new experiences to her.

“Tch…”

Beside her, Scarlet Night puffed out her cheeks unhappily.

She understood perfectly well that Olivia had deliberately targeted exactly the sort of things her sister would enjoy.

Elves truly were terrible creatures skilled at using sweet words and novel curiosities to tempt people!

Olivia led them into a brightly lit bookstore filled with the faint scent of books and plants.

Rather than a bookstore, it felt more like an elegant cultural salon.

The spacious interior did not cram books densely onto shelves. Instead, they were arranged in tasteful displays, with comfortable tables and chairs nearby for reading. Warm sunlight streamed in through glass windows covered in climbing vines, creating a peaceful atmosphere.

Olivia removed an exquisitely bound book from a specially crafted shelf.

Its size and thickness far exceeded ordinary books.

She gently placed it onto the table before Perletti.

Curiously, Perletti opened the hard cover.

In the very next moment, her eyes widened slightly in surprise—

The words on the pages seemed to come alive.

The corresponding scenes were not static illustrations. Instead, they rose directly from the paper itself, delicately floating around the text and subtly shifting angles according to her line of sight.

They were vivid and intuitive while not interfering with reading in the slightest.

Whenever she looked away and turned to the next page, the previous three-dimensional image quietly dissolved as a new scene emerged.

“This… what kind of magic is this? It’s incredible!”

Perletti couldn’t help softly exclaiming in admiration as she lovingly flipped through the pages, completely captivated by this wondrous experience of turning imagination into reality.

In the past, while reading, she could only painstakingly construct scenes within her mind based on written descriptions.

But now, those images that should have existed only in imagination were vividly displayed before her eyes.

“The principle actually isn’t very complicated. You simply record specially prepared magical images into uniquely crafted page materials to achieve this effect.”

Olivia softly explained from beside her, her warm gaze resting upon Perletti’s delighted profile.

“So? Do you like it?”

“Mhm, I do.”

Perletti raised her head, openly expressing her fondness, her eyes sparkling brightly.

Seeing the interaction between the two drifting further in a direction she absolutely did not want, Scarlet Night’s little face completely darkened. A restless anxiety from being excluded slowly rose within her.

Suddenly, she tugged at Perletti’s sleeve and lifted her face with almost stubborn determination.

“Then… does Sister like Scarlet Night?”

“Of course.”

The moment she heard the question, Perletti immediately pulled herself away from the world of books and answered without hesitation.

At the same time, she wrapped an arm intimately around Scarlet Night’s waist and gently drew her into her embrace.

“Of course Scarlet Night is the one I like most.”

Scarlet Night immediately leaned into Perletti’s chest, pressing her cheek against the reassuring warmth.

At an angle Perletti could not see, she stuck out her tongue provocatively toward Olivia, her eyes filled with smug triumph.

See? Sister still cares about me the most.

Faced with the childish provocation, Olivia not only failed to become angry—

the smile on her face instead deepened slightly.

It was a calm, composed smile, while deep within her emerald eyes flickered an extremely faint trace of something almost resembling pity.

Scarlet Night…

really was an impatient little fool.

Right now, Perletti might unconditionally tolerate and indulge Scarlet Night’s dependence and possessiveness.

But patience was not infinite.

Deep down, Perletti disliked troublesome complications. Repeating the same things again and again would only make her increasingly irritated.

Once. Twice…

Ten times. A hundred times.

Olivia only needed to continue as she was now — slowly approaching without haste, displaying just the right amount of charm and consideration.

That alone would be enough to continuously provoke Scarlet Night, drawing out all those insecure, possessive reactions.

And as time passed, Perletti would eventually grow exhausted and weary of this emotionally draining cycle.

As for Olivia—

what she lacked least was time.

Ten years for an elf was nothing more than the blink of an eye.

But for Perletti, who had only recently become a witch, even three years was an unbearably long stretch of time.

All Olivia needed to do was wait patiently.

Wait for that inevitable breaking point to arrive.

At that time, she would only need to appear gently beside the slightly exhausted Perletti in the role of a “close confidante,” helping her sort through her thoughts… perhaps even comforting her into making the “necessary” choices.

Scarlet Night could continue acting like this if she wished.

But how long could Perletti’s patience truly last?

Olivia was certain of one thing.

In less than two years, Perletti would definitely grow tired of Scarlet Night.

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