"I want to go see Papa! I want to go see Papa! I haven't seen Papa in so long!"
In the Gospel Country, inside the Yisu Imperial Palace, Diya watched the noisy Little Witch Lisi throwing a tantrum in the mirror, exchanging a helpless glance with her sisters—the White Queen, the Black Butler, the Red Apostle, and the others.
Having been unable to log into the Void Realm for a full month and a half, not only Lisi, but Diya and the rest were in low spirits. Going so long without replenishing their Yaxiu energy left them drained of motivation even to handle state affairs. During the worst few days, she had spent entire days playing with building blocks to stave off boredom, only for the play to remind her of how Yaxiu used to play blocks with her, making her more and more irritable the longer she played.
Ordinarily, bringing Lisi into the Void Realm wasn't out of the question; after all, they had done so many times before. However, times had changed. Over this month and a half, a great deal had happened: for instance, the massive outbreak of Empty Door sorcery spirits, Annan beginning to adjust the parameters of the Gospel system, and the "Overcoming the Superior" miracle yielding its initial results.
Although Diya still couldn't control the Gospel god, using "Overcoming the Superior" as a medium allowed her to disperse the mental influence of the Gospel god across all citizens of the empire, rendering her almost immune to the negative side effects of divine possession.
To put it simply, she no longer needed to hide that the Witch was Lisdia. She could confess the entire truth to Yaxiu.
Yet Diya hesitated.
She kept wondering: was there really any need to alter their current, stable relationship just to stack more bargaining chips on her side to pull Yaxiu back?
Diya was actually very content with how things were. They were still teammates, still able to explore the Void Realm together every day. She didn't have as many desires as Sword Princess, perhaps because she had already received so much from Yaxiu, or perhaps because she couldn't bear to see him upset.
And truth be told, it might also be that she was a little afraid of Sword Princess.
Even though she was technically slightly older than Sword Princess, and her social status was certainly higher, whenever she saw that flash of red hair, Diya would subconsciously back down and meekly acknowledge Sword Princess's absolute supremacy.
Besides, when she thought about it carefully, what would she gain by confessing that the Witch was Lisdia? Make Yaxiu return to the Gospel Country? But even without telling him, he would already return for Lisi's sake anyway.
Make Yaxiu love her more? Frankly, Diya would rather preserve the relatively pure romance they currently shared than taint it with a trace of familial affection. That was her greatest worry. If Yaxiu couldn't overcome that psychological hurdle and couldn't accept falling in love with his daughter's sister, Diya really would have to hold Sword Princess in awe for the rest of her life—the awe one held for a stepmother.
On the contrary, keeping up the secret would maintain the status quo. Even if she had to come clean, she could wait until Yaxiu returned to the Gospel Country; by then, he wouldn't be able to run away even if he wanted to.
This was why Lisi gave Diya such a headache. Lisi already knew that "Overcoming the Superior" was working. If she were allowed into the Void Realm, she might brazenly throw her arms around Yaxiu and shout "Papa," turning the Void Realm into an unpredictable stage of destiny and throwing the future of their relationship into utter confusion.
As for asking Lisi not to blow their cover, that would be completely pointless. Lisi would nod and say, "Okay, okay, okay," only to immediately plot whether to rub her cheek against Yaxiu first or bury her face in his chest. She was, after all, the Little Witch personality Diya herself had created: selfish, willful, and reckless to the core. As for holding back out of consideration for her elder sisters and abandoning her core desires—sorry, such a hindrance to survival was something she had never possessed from the start.
Yet refusing to bring Lisi along wasn't an option either. Leaving her behind today was one thing, but what about tomorrow? The day after? In the future? If they kept barring her and never let her see Yaxiu, they would have to brace themselves for an early rebellious phase from Lisi. If all her older sisters could go see Papa while she was excluded, Lisi—who hated such unfair treatment more than anything—would inevitably hold a grudge against Diya and the others.
So after weighing it over and over, Diya exchanged a look with the White Queen and the others and said solemnly, "Lisi, from now on, I won't bring you into the Void Realm to see Yaxiu anymore."
Lisi froze, then rubbed her eyes and burst into loud wails.
"However, I will continue to keep this young body," Diya added. "The one Yaxiu loves is the little girl Lisi; he doesn't know the grown-up Lisdia. Once Yaxiu returns to the Gospel Country, we'll yield the body to you and let you be Lisi for a whole month. You can act spoiled, play to your heart's content, and fully enjoy your time with Yaxiu."
"Only after you've spent a month with Yaxiu will we restore our adult body. How does that sound?"
Lisi immediately held up three fingers. "Three years!"
The White Queen marched over and socked Lisi on the head. "Your counteroffer is ridiculous!"
"A month and a half!"
"One year!"
"One and three-quarter months..."
After a round of tense negotiations, "Lisi Time" was finally set at three months. If Yaxiu returned to the Gospel Country, the body would be turned over to Lisi, and only after three months could Diya activate Reverse Year to return to her normal body from a year prior.
Having finally appeased Lisi, Diya breathed a sigh of relief. Seeing that it was almost time, she lay down on the bed and waited to connect to the Void Realm. At that moment, Annan walked in wearing a purple silk nightgown, humming a tune as she applied skincare lotion, before climbing onto the bed and hugging Diya.
"Did something good happen? Why are you in such a great mood?" Diya asked.
"Banjie called me Mother today," Annan said with a giggle. "Hehehe, once he gets his memory back in the future, I can tease him about this for ages."
"Huh?!" Diya asked in surprise. "Then will he call me Elder Sister?"
"He could, but you'd have to call him Elder Sister a few hundred times first." Annan shrugged. "I don't mind either way. He took care of me while raising me since I was little anyway, so calling him Mother a few hundred times carries zero psychological burden—in fact, I've wanted to call him that for a long time."
"I think of Banjie as an older sister too!" Diya said. "Did you spend the whole day happy just over that?"
"Not entirely," Annan replied. "It's just... well, let's put it this way. I have a friend, A. She likes B, but A and B aren't together. Recently, A found out that B has a C by his side, and B and C are very close."
"According to B, C was supposed to be a man, but after A met C, she discovered C is actually a woman! Not only that, A and C will have to live together for a long time going forward. Your Majesty, can you guess what happens next?"
Diya guessed, "An argument?"
Annan took Diya's little hand and rubbed hand cream into the back of it. "An argument is too mild. I think 'war' would be much more fitting. You have no idea what that scene was like the first night they met—it was simply magnificent... In short, an absolute spectacle."
Diya nodded without fully grasping it. After thinking for a moment, she asked, "Annan, I recently saw a story in a picture book. There were two women and one man, and their situation went like this..."
"...Do you think the princess should confess, or keep hiding it?"
"Keep hiding it," Annan said. "Relationships are like sawing wood. Sometimes it moves forward for the better, sometimes it pulls backward for the worse. There are bound to be arguments and conflicts, as well as tenderness and comfort, but overall it deepens over time. The longer you saw, the closer you become."
"Confessing another identity, on the other hand, is like using two saws at once. It might increase efficiency, but they might also collide and damage each other."
"Since the princess already has a firm hold on him, why complicate things unnecessarily?"
Diya nodded vigorously. "Annan is right."
"So how did the story end?" Annan asked curiously. "Did she confess, or keep it hidden?"
Just as Diya was about to answer, her soul was suddenly tugged. "I'll tell you tomorrow, I'm going to sleep."
Her soul connected to the Void Realm, her consciousness sinking into Ruby Mountain. The Witch slowly opened her eyes, and blood-red ruby peaks met her gaze.
*Smack.*
Diya turned her head and saw that flash of red hair throw itself into Yaxiu's arms.
Yaxiu was nearly knocked over by Sword Princess's tackle. Catching her in his arms, he spun her around several times. The two looked into each other's eyes, then embraced tightly, holding each other so hard it seemed they wanted to meld into one another, desperately seeking warmth that didn't even exist here.
"I'm ready," Sonia whispered in his ear. "You can come find me in Stars anytime."
Yaxiu paused, startled. "What are you ready for?"
"Ready for you to stay with me," Sonia said seriously, "or for me to leave with you temporarily."
"But your studies, your career, and your—"
"That's why I said I'm ready." Sonia let out a breath. "Until you arrive, I'll keep preparing, ready at any moment. But we won't be leaving forever. Once we stand at the pinnacle of sorcery, we can go wherever we want."
Blinking, Yaxiu—who was well aware of Decree No. 51—naturally understood the immense resolve Sword Princess had summoned. A wave of bittersweet ache and warmth swelled in his chest. Pursing his lips, he took a deep breath and began, "I—"
"Wait, wait, wait, wait!"
Diya walked over, pushed the two of them apart, then looked at Yaxiu and said solemnly, "Yaxiu, I'm actually Lisdia."
Chapter 763