The Villain Princess survived the Imperial Riot

But Hestia stopped here.

Firstly, the price demanded from such an existence cannot be quantified, and one may not get what one wants in the end, just as a cat hands a dead mouse to its hostess, but may get beaten with a stick instead of dried fish in return.

Secondly, in the notebook of the little witch named Heli, if one wants to use the help of the "Great Witch" to awaken the soul, one must at least sacrifice a strong soul that has won the battle to prove that he has the potential to become great.

The Witch's Book can absorb souls, but those weak souls will be directly ground into nothingness, turning into pure spirituality. The only elf mechanic who erected a monument left behind a soul that had lost itself, but Hestia couldn't say whether it met the conditions for "winning the battle".

After confirming that the experiment was effective and had no obvious risks, Hestia cleaned the prayer room and "invited" the statue of the God-Emperor back.

Just as she was about to close the Witch's Book, her eyes suddenly looked at the "barrier" with a small hole punctured in it.

Konghou is Qiu Su's territory, which is now filled with roars of anger, unwillingness and despair.

The reason Hestia can enter that area at any time is that Qiu Su used benzoin and the Six-phase Ritual to connect her spirit with Xiangnu, while also making Xiangnu practice the Path of the Worm.

She can be considered as Xiangnu's master, and Xiangnu is also her protector, but because of their relationship of hatred, the bond between master and slave is separated.

It felt like she was taking a walk with a dog on a leash, and the dog on the other end of the leash was falling off a cliff under the heavy pull, trying to drag her down with it.

However, the scheme of revenge and suspicion is doomed to be in vain, because Hesperides is not the tyrant with bad temper as described in history, and the Witch's Book and the witch's soul are also a safety valve to block external temptation.

"After dealing with my enemies, I still have to find and deal with Xiangnu." Hestia said to herself, "This negative emotion is a bit too much. Although it won't be transmitted to me, it will still affect my appetite if I feel it too much."

Because of the spiritual connection, Hestia could always feel the anger and distorted mental state. Without thinking too much, she knew that Qiu Su was using Xiang Nu to influence her.

If she were an ordinary secret practitioner, without the double buffs of the Witch and the Witch's Book, her mind would probably be distorted imperceptibly.

Since Clara had to go to the military to carry out her order, Hestia changed into casual clothes and left the inner courtyard of the villa alone, heading to the library, intending to consult Madam Aynive for further historical materials related to witches.

As I passed by the lake, I saw an unappetizing shadow.

The rigid black dress made her look like she was at a funeral. Her long, yellowish-beige hair was tied up behind her head. Her petite body was as frail as a willow in the wind. She had a scabbard slung around her waist and walked with an air of pride.

Matildahl Miller.

Hestia opened the Witch's Book and saw that the traces of the golden worms were even thicker, and she immediately showed disgust.

If she didn't want to alert the real big fish and let it escape, she would have sent this little bug to the stake for purification.

She was allowed to move around in the villa, and was mostly kept under the surveillance of Iyana and the Iron Guards.

During this period, every time Matildahl went to the military camp, it was recorded. It was obvious that the big bug and the small bug were in collusion and plotting something behind the scenes.

"Your Highness!"

Matildahl's eyes were red, and her expression was gloomy and ferocious, but as soon as she saw the princess, her non-existent tail immediately turned into a propeller, and all her unhappiness turned into a cheerful smile.

Although he was not favored by the princess, as long as he could still see her beautiful hair that looked like silver frost, Matildaal's heart was filled with happiness, as if he had not really been abandoned.

If His Highness really didn't want her, why would he let her stay in the villa?

"Why are you here?" Hestia asked expressionlessly.

"I, I want to help His Highness inspect the territory..." Matildahl hid his hands behind his back, suppressing the severe pain with a smile. "Matildahl knows that he doesn't do many things well, so he can only do small things like this to fulfill his duty as a puppy."

"Tsk, have you always been so hypocritical?" Hestia curled her lips.

"Uh?"

"I don't need a useless dog like you, get lost."

After saying that, Hestia walked towards the library.

"Wait, Your Highness... uh!" Matilda rushed to the princess's arm. Her fingers were too weak, so she could only hold it tightly in her arms.

But as she approached, the princess had already grabbed her neck.

The decomposition marks flowed through the cortex, and as long as the little insect made any unusual movements, it would be dissected into the most complete specimen in an instant.

"You want to assassinate me?" Hestia asked sinisterly.

She inherited the princess's memories, the most profound of which was when she was nearly strangled to death on the bed by the puppy maid.

And now there was a disloyal puppy, which reminded Hestia of a shadow she had never experienced.

"I didn't! Your Highness! I'm your little dog. How could I, how could I do anything bad to you?!" Matildaal was shocked and anxious. He quickly knelt down to explain, "Your Highness, I, I just want to ask you to spend a little time. I have a lot to tell you."

Hestia sneered, knowing it was just some jargon used by insects to deceive people, so she jokingly said, "Then let me hear what you have to say."

"Your Highness, Matildahl has been practicing his sword skills very hard lately." Matildahl's eyes were filled with anxiety, and an ingratiating smile hung on his face. "Just now, I was able to defeat two polar tundra wolves. If Your Highness wants to see a gladiatorial show, I'm available anytime!"

Only then did Hestia notice Matildaal's stiff arms and sneered, "Two little wolves bit you like this?"

Sensing the princess's contemptuous smile, Matildahl's face flushed red, and he quickly argued, "No, Your Highness, it was that damned breeder who didn't keep an eye on the griffin, which led to me being attacked! Otherwise, both he and the griffin would have died under my sword!"

"It's really useless."

"Your Highness, I will work harder..." Matildahl stammered. He did not refute, but just repeated, "Matildahl will work harder to fulfill his duties as a puppy..."

"Then let's wait until it's done. Since you said the griffin is no match for you, I'll give you half a month to recover. Then I'll choose it to perform with you. Go for it, and I won't regret it if it dies."

I don't know what the princess was talking about. It's not a pity to die. When he thought of the griffin's sharp front claws and eagle beak, Matilda's face turned pale.

Even in melee combat, she could hardly hold off the griffin for two rounds. Furthermore, the griffin was a demonic beast, the embodiment of wind and speed. Two years ago, Matildahl had witnessed it unleash its iron feathers at incredible speed, piercing ten lizardmen warriors into a sieve.

She was just being stubborn and trying to appear unyielding in front of the princess, but she could still tell the difference between the big and small princes.

Hestia smiled and said, "Why, no?"

"I will try my best to prove myself..." Matildahl said tremblingly, raised his little face, and looked at the princess with pleading eyes, "Your Highness, I am still your puppy, right?"

She no longer expected to be favored like she once was, but she still hoped to stay by the princess's side, even if it was just to bark a few times while guarding the door, so that the princess would feel that she was not so useless.

Between flowers and dogs, she chooses claws and barking, even if she will be torn to pieces in the end.

However, she hoped that the princess would still show a genuine smile towards her loyalty, rather than the contempt and distance she showed now.

She wanted to see the princess smile at her, even just once.

"I told you I don't want a useless dog."

Matildahl was even more desperate. She was sweating all over in the heavy snow, but she was shivering with cold.

"Your Highness, I know this is greedy, but I still want you to praise me like you did in the past, to smile at me, just once. I will try my best..." Matildaal trembled, tears falling, "to prove myself to you."

"You truly disappoint me, Miss Miller." Hestia's cold voice drifted through the snow. "No reward for no merit, and you're the daughter of a lieutenant colonel."

She remembered that Matildaal's father was a viscount. Although his fiefdom was remote and far less valuable than that of the local nobles, he was still a powerful and murderous person.

It seems that this little bug has been spoiled by its parents and has not inherited any ambition.

"..."

Matildahl knelt on the ground without making a sound, as if he was buried in the snow.

She seemed frozen, and did not move at all until the princess left.

A woman appeared beside him at some point, and her seductive voice was like a parasite drilling into his skull, causing him to tremble violently.

"How pitiful, you've been abandoned," the woman said, "Tenryuus never have any feelings, let alone a princess?"

"No, Your Highness has simply been alienated!" Matildahl's consciousness was frantic, "Because of those two bitches! I will confront her, I want to prove to Your Highness—"

She got up from the ground and walked out of the villa with an expressionless face. Her broken arm was wriggling with long blood-red lines, and her fingers were beating rhythmically with excited nerves.

She wanted to prove to His Highness how ugly those two bitches were.

……

"So, how did Your Highness extricate yourself from Xiangnu's misguided path?"

In the library's document room, the elderly Lady Aynive served tea and biscuits to the princess, and after listening to the half-true, half-false story, she raised her doubts.

"Generally speaking, every step a slave takes is directed by their master. The master will choose a safe path based on their condition, which is why they are called guardians. Your Highness didn't pull the slave ropes tight, but instead let them control you. Logically, you should have taken a step astray... After all, Your Highness became a secret cultivator through that path."

Mrs. Ainiwei looked calm, but her heart was filled with confusion.

If the princess had only recently become a secret practitioner, how had she previously fought the witch Echo and opened the secret door?

The arcane circuit of the secret door fell apart, and the wall structure completely collapsed, with the effect of a high knight breaking the magic with one punch.

But now it seems that there is another hidden story.

"Have you underestimated the Imperial Princess?" Hestia raised the corners of her lips and said lightly.

"I'm sorry for being so presumptuous." Lady Ainiwei quickly ended the topic and looked at the princess with a higher regard again.

The Celestial Dragons have endless ways of using new methods, they are truly terrifying!

"So this time, besides asking about the history of witches and the ritual of the Unholy Birth, I also want to learn about countermeasures."

"The worms cannot shake His Highness's resolve. What countermeasures are needed?" Lady Ainiwei was speechless.

"If the worm is pushed to the limit, it will always come after me personally through Xiangnu," Hestia said, her expression gradually becoming serious. "It's locked onto me, but I can't lock it down. This is not good."

"I cannot help Your Highness break this connection. If what Your Highness says is true, then you are now on the path to the worm. You must either tear apart the illusion it has created and return to your dream's origins, or resolve the connection with Xiangnu to stop the worm's temptation."

"My men can take care of that bug directly, but I'm not 100% sure," Hestia said gravely. "What if it survives and instead surprises me? If I have multiple guards, it certainly won't dare come. But if it thinks I'm neglecting my defenses..."

"Your Highness, are you planning to set another trap?" Lady Aynive said, understanding. "I can indeed provide some secret tools, including a spirit puppet... It can be imbued with your aura and lead the worms in the wrong direction."

"very good."

"Is this a deal, Your Highness?" asked the old woman.

"I saved your life!" Hestia raised her eyebrows. "You can't even bear to give me this little interest?"

Interest……

If it weren't for Mrs. Ainiwei's self-cultivation, she would probably have been so angry that she would have died.

The old woman said calmly, "I heard that Your Highness built a temple to help the poor. This is a great act of kindness."

"There's no point in flattering me. No matter how much I take, you'll end up paying it back with interest," Hestia said nonchalantly. "It's your good fortune that I'm using you! You're almost dead, so stop being so petty. One day I'll go to the palace treasury and give you some longevity pills. That's a deal!"

Although she didn't know what the elixir was, Mrs. Ainiwei could still understand the word "longevity".

She could only sigh and said helplessly: "As Your Highness wishes, I will thank you for your blessing in advance."

……

PS: