Richard left the palace, escorted all the way to the gate by the head butler.

The latter had begun treating him as if he were his ultimate superior.

After leaving the palace, Richard immediately flew into the sky.

He flew using his own power, without summoning his flying ark.

There was no way Sister Lisa had not been informed about this. After all, she was the one who raised him, and she was also Lilith's close friend.

Even though she already knew about their engagement, Richard knew this would still come as a huge shock to her.

Actually, Richard also wanted to inform Mrs. Wilson, but he was not confident about going to the Moonshadow Clan.

He continued flying. In the past, the capital had been incredibly far away to him. But now, when he truly chose to fly at his own speed—even though flight was not his strongest suit—reaching Purple Rose Village from the capital did not take long at all.

In the end, he returned to that village, the place where everything had begun.

However, it had not been long since he last left the village, so returning did not feel especially extraordinary.

Since it was only noon, the village looked rather quiet. Some of the orphanage children or villagers seemed to be taking their afternoon naps.

To Richard's surprise, Sister Lisa was not at the orphanage.

She was on the terrace of her private house, sitting alone while examining a sword and sipping warm green tea.

She looked as though she was enjoying her freedom.

Richard found it strange. He appeared directly in front of her, startling the woman so much that she instinctively stood up, nearly pointing her sword forward—only stopping when she realized it was Richard.

Of course, seeing him only made her even more surprised.

"Richard, why are you back?" she asked, her expression curious yet clearly pleased.

Sister Lisa was confused because it had not been long since Richard resumed his journey outside.

"Sister Lisa, why aren't you at the orphanage?" Richard did not answer directly and instead asked her back.

"I've retired," Sister Lisa replied.

"Really?" Richard could not have been more shocked upon hearing that.

"There are already many new caretakers, so it's fine for me to retire… Besides, I've gotten a new job," Sister Lisa said.

"A new job?" Richard was even more surprised.

"Lilith recruited me to be a mentor in the Sky Armor Legion in the capital. After all, I've trained for a long time and have plenty of experience. Right now, the kingdom is severely lacking forces in remote regions and along the borders, so it needs to expand the Sky Armor Legion as quickly as possible," Sister Lisa explained.

Richard had not expected Lilith to have already noticed Sister Lisa, but in the end, it was not strange at all given that they had been friends since childhood.

During the war, Lilith had not recruited Sister Lisa, clearly because she did not want to place her in danger. Now that peace had returned, being a mentor in the Sky Armor Legion could be considered an easy yet honorable position.

"When will you start working, Sister?" Richard asked again.

"I don't know yet. I'm still waiting for Lilith to send someone to pick me up," Sister Lisa replied. "But Richard, you wouldn't come back without a reason, would you?"

She once again questioned the reason for Richard's return.

Even though he had come precisely to inform her, Richard found it somewhat difficult to say it out loud.

This was practically something far too shocking for Sister Lisa.

She might have even regarded Lilith's past desire to marry Richard as nothing more than a joke.

But that joke was about to become reality.

"Ehmm…" Richard cleared his throat lightly, covering his mouth with his hand.

No matter what, he still had to tell Sister Lisa.

"Sister, this is about me and Lilith," he said.

"You and Lilith?" Hearing that, Sister Lisa was only confused, tilting her head.

Richard closed his eyes for a moment before forcing the words out.

"We're getting married tomorrow night."

With just those words, Sister Lisa froze, her mouth still slightly open.

Her eyes blinked repeatedly.

"Ehmm…" Richard cleared his throat again, feeling uncomfortable seeing that expression on her face.

"Are you serious?" the woman finally spoke.

Richard nodded in response.

Sister Lisa then rolled her eyes.

She sat back down on her chair, looking thoughtful.

"Sister, what are you thinking?" Richard asked, confused.

"I don't think I can comment," Sister Lisa replied.

This time, it was Richard who rolled his eyes.

"Sister, you're going to the capital, right?" Richard asked.

Fortunately, the woman nodded.

"I will. But honestly, I still find it hard to believe that you and Lilith are getting married," she said.

Richard smiled faintly when he heard that, satisfied with his decision.

"By the way, Sister, could you help me inform Mrs. Wilson?" Richard asked.

"Shouldn't you be the one telling her yourself?" Sister Lisa asked, frowning.

"Mm, it's a bit difficult for me to go to Night Valley City," Richard replied.

Sister Lisa looked at Richard suspiciously after hearing that.

Even though Richard tried to hide his expression, she could tell there was something more to it.

"Alright…" Sister Lisa nodded, not trying to probe further.

"In that case, I won't go to the capital with you. I'll go to Night Valley City on my own, visit my aunt, and then go to the capital with her. But I can't guarantee she'll come. After all, it's not easy for her to ask for leave for personal matters."

"As long as Mrs. Wilson knows," Richard replied.

"If the one you're marrying is Lilith, everyone in the kingdom will naturally know even if you don't tell them," Sister Lisa said.

Richard simply smiled at that.

It was true—but for those close to him, he needed to tell them first.

The proper thing to do was to inform them personally.

"Sister, I'm heading to the forest first," Richard said after a moment, planning to meet the Fire Spirit Queen.

He also wanted to see whether his ancestor had returned.

With his current strength, reaching the cabin deep within the forest took only a single step.

He soon saw the cabin, which looked exactly the same as before.

As usual, the Fire Spirit Queen was on the balcony. This time, she was concocting something.

Richard did not know what she was brewing. He only saw her place several leaves he had never seen before into a pot of water and use her flames to boil it.

The water in the pot boiled endlessly without evaporating, turning dark green as it merged with the leaves.

The Fire Spirit Queen had naturally already sensed Richard's arrival. She could feel his presence even when he had just entered the province.

"Queen, what is this?" Richard asked as he landed in front of her.

He did not see his ancestor at all. There were no traces that suggested he had returned, so Richard felt there was no point in bringing it up.

"Want to try it?" the Fire Spirit Queen said with a smile.

This slightly surprised Richard—he felt this was the first time he had ever seen her smile.

Was it something dangerous? However, the Fire Spirit Queen would not harm him, even if it were only a minor accident.

As Richard frowned, the Fire Spirit Queen used a wooden cup to scoop up a cup of the liquid from the pot.

She then handed it to Richard, who instinctively accepted it.

Although confident in its safety, Richard waited for her explanation first.

"This is a potion I made myself, a mixture of various rare leaves. It tastes rather bad, but its effects are extraordinary."

"And what are the effects?"

"It will force your body to push its limits. You should be at your limit in absorbing Aether now, right? This can also help you overcome that problem."

"Oh? Then why did you make it?" Richard could not help but ask.

It was useful to him, but was it useful to the Fire Spirit Queen?

"Even for me, it can increase my strength if I'm lucky," the Fire Spirit Queen replied.

After saying that, she picked up another wooden cup, scooped a cup of the potion, and drank it directly.

Richard did not see any change in her expression, so he assumed the taste was not that bad.

He then tried to drink it himself—but the moment a small amount entered his mouth, his eyes widened.

"So bitter!" he exclaimed, immediately spraying it out and spitting several times.

A few drops still entered his stomach.

Although his mouth tasted awful, Richard immediately felt a comfortable sensation.

His body seemed to receive some kind of new nutrition that pointed toward evolution.

However, it was far too little to trigger evolution.

Because the effect was real, Richard could not scold the Fire Spirit Queen.

Still, even after feeling the effect, he remained hesitant.

His mouth still tasted extremely bitter.

"Why, boy? Are you scared just because it's bitter?" the Fire Spirit Queen suddenly provoked him, looking at him mockingly.

At the same time, she drank again, still looking as though she tasted nothing unpleasant.

Richard felt uncomfortable just watching her drink it.

His cheeks twitched slightly. He wanted to force himself to drink it, but hesitated again.

After thinking for a moment, he said, "Queen, save one bottle for me. I'll drink it later."

He returned the wooden cup to her.

Unable to refuse his request, the Fire Spirit Queen immediately prepared a wooden bottle and poured the potion into it.

"Don't mix it with anything else, or the effect will disappear. Also, you must heat it up before drinking," she said, handing the wooden bottle to Richard.

"By the way, Queen, I'm getting married tomorrow night. You should also come to the capital and make sure the wedding goes smoothly," Richard said before leaving.

He needed her on standby, in case any chaos might occur.

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