“Mom! This is for you!”
Inside, the entire grand hall was magnificently decorated, and the table was covered with numerous invitation cards sealed with red wax.
With stars shining in her eyes, Lillian handed a completed invitation to the elegant, mature woman beside her.
“Oh my, did you write this yourself? I wonder which lucky guest will receive a special invitation from our little birthday girl.”
Her mother patted Lillian's little head. Lillian smiled, thoroughly enjoying the praise.
“I—I can write a few more!”
Lillian was full of enthusiasm, but her mother shook her head and said,
“Write the rest next time. Go find your father first and tell him that almost all the guests in the garden have arrived.”
“Okay!”
Lillian straightened her white dress and ran toward the guest rooms on her little legs.
After wandering around the first-floor guest rooms for a while, Lillian finally heard a familiar voice coming from the second-floor study.
It was Father!
Seeing that the door was left slightly ajar, Lillian wanted to push it open, but a sudden, angry roar stopped her in her tracks.
“Every single route? Are you out of your mind?!”
Lillian had never seen her father so angry before.
Peering through the crack in the door, Lillian saw an unfamiliar figure.
“Raymond, your trade concession is about to expire. I will stamp the red seal of approval for your renewal, and in exchange, you will hand over the northern trade routes to me.”
“You keep your title, and I make a little money. We both win.”
Seeing Raymond remain silent, the figure continued,
“I hear your political rivals have been very active lately. If the concession isn't renewed, your supporters in the north might choose a different side.”
“When that time comes, will you still be in a position to negotiate with me like this?”
He flicked his cigar, letting the gray ash fall onto the polished marble floor, and then held out an agreement.
“Sign it, and you will remain that highly respected Marquis.”
Seeing her father's hesitation, Lillian's heart clenched with anxiety.
She didn't understand what the adults were talking about, but she felt that the stranger must be a very bad man.
A moment later, after her father said a few more words, the stranger's demeanor suddenly changed, and he glared at her father with a distorted, ferocious expression.
After arguing for over ten minutes, Lillian's father shoved the stranger. In response, the stranger grabbed a wall ornament, pointing its sharp tip toward her father as if he were about to strike him with it.
“No!”
Lillian threw open the door, her mind completely blank.
By the time she snapped out of it, she found magic circuits coiling around her hands. The room was in complete ruin, and the stranger lay unconscious on the floor.
“Raymond! My dear, what happened?!”
“No, I don't know...”
“We can't—we can't let the guests in the garden see this!”
“But they heard the noise! They're already coming up!”
“This is bad! How could a diplomat be injured in my estate?!”
Lillian had no idea what her parents were talking about.
Soon after, she saw a crowd of people in formal wear appearing at the doorway. Her mother picked up the blunt object scattered on the floor and pointed it at her.
“It's her! She is the incarnation of a demon!”
“She is the one who harmed my husband and the envoy!”
Lillian stared blankly at her mother. The harsh accusations ringing in her ears sounded as if they came from another world. From beginning to end, she felt like an outsider, utterly bewildered and lost amidst everything happening before her eyes.
The blunt object struck Lillian's chest, and an indescribable wave of emotion seemed to gush out like blood.
In the next instant, Lillian woke up with a start on her hospital bed. Clutching her chest, she panted heavily.
To this day, she still didn't understand whether what had gushed from her chest that day was blood, or something else entirely.
“By the way, why is even a professor from Hermetica joining in on the fun?”
“Who knows? Maybe brewing potions all day gets too boring.”
Whispers drifted in from outside the door. A few seconds later, the door was pushed open, and Erylin walked in carrying some fruit.
“Are you feeling alright?”
“Much better after a nap. By the way, what time is it?”
“It's almost midnight.”
“Oh? Is it that late already?”
Erylin closed the door behind her, placed the fruit on the side table, and sat on the edge of Lillian's bed.
“Ain won, you know. He beat that Tier 4 Mage.”
“He beat a Tier 4? I had no idea he was so strong!”
Erylin let out a soft chuckle, seeming happy for Ain.
“Belinda's guilt has been proven too. This unjust trial is finally behind us.”
Erylin vividly described everything that had happened on the combat platform. Just like usual, the two of them shared their daily updates.
“So, Belinda is going to be expelled, and Sevis will be disciplined too?”
“Yes. The internal investigation of the Titan Prosecution Office has confirmed that Belinda possessed some banned potion ingredients. They will likely find that banned potion soon.”
Like an older sister, Erylin patted Lillian's head.
“She's definitely getting expelled, and she'll probably face a lot of other punishments too.”
Speaking up to defend Lillian, Erylin continued,
“Even if the Titan Prosecution Office hadn't found solid evidence this time, as a member of the Typhon Chain, I would have pursued it to the end.”
“I will make sure to completely eliminate any existence that threatens the academy.”
“Completely eliminate...?”
Lillian lowered her head, the painful memories of her past making her feel slightly dizzy.
“What's wrong?”
Meeting Erylin's concerned gaze, Lillian slowly looked up and offered a faint smile.
“In the future, will you eliminate me too?”
Erylin instinctively stood up, a look of panic on her face. “What? No, how could I...”
Meeting Lillian's gaze, Erylin sensed the faint trace of unease hidden deep within her eyes.
“Ah, I was just kidding~”
“Why did you react so strongly, Erylin?”
Lillian giggled.
Erylin sat back down, picked up the small knife, and began peeling the fruit bit by bit.
Represent the Typhon Chain, monitor Lillian's physical condition at all times, and immediately suppress her if anything goes wrong.
This was the order Erylin had received even before she met Lillian for the first time.
She even had the authority to execute her at any moment.
Erylin bit her lip, momentarily at a loss for words.
How could she ever harm her most precious friend!
Erylin handed the peeled fruit to Lillian, but she didn't realize that her hand was still holding the knife.
Even though the handle was pointed toward Lillian,
in Lillian's eyes, that knife handle looked just like the blunt object her mother had thrown at her when she was a child. It magnified endlessly in her vision, drawing closer and closer.
Her mother's terror, the rebukes of others—countless voices flooded Lillian's mind.
It was as if Lillian had returned to that birthday party. In her eyes, Erylin had transformed into her mother from that day.
And she was stepping closer and closer, holding a blunt weapon.
“Lillian, I...”
Erylin wanted to say something, but Lillian shoved her away.
“Don't come near me!”
“I'll die on my own...”
“I will! I definitely will!”
“Please, just leave me alone!”
She squeezed her eyes shut, pulling her chin down to her collarbone as she curled her body inward as tightly as possible. A violent tremor spread from her fingertips to her entire body, making her slender shoulder blades shudder.
Erylin recalled what Loretta had cautioned her about.
“I've given Lillian some potions to purge the toxins from her body, but the side effects can cause her emotions to spiral out of control from time to time.”
“When necessary, it's best not to interact with her too much.”
Erylin sighed, picked up the fallen fruit and the knife from the floor, and left.
It took a long while before Lillian managed to pull herself back from the chaotic vortex of emotions.
She realized what she had just done.
“I'm sorry, I'm sorry...”
However, Erylin was no longer there to hear her apology.
“Why are you apologizing to me?”
A male voice echoed in the room.
“Eh?”
Lillian looked up, tears staining her face, and stared blankly at Ain sitting beside her.
Rate on N.U.
