Anna Gibbernoon
This year's appointee to a royal administrative post, the lady of Viscount Gibbernoon's household. She was the former wife of Hughes Grant, eldest son of the Grant Merchant Group, and biologically Arina's mother.
"……"
As she listened to everything about Arina's relationship with her mother and the words her mother had once spoken, Marily's expression grew increasingly grim.
"I was in the way of Mother. I was probably afraid that if I stayed there, I'd only cause her more trouble."
Arina carefully voiced her feelings without noticing the shift in Marily's face. Marily swallowed a quiet sigh at the unexpectedly complicated circumstances.
'This fool is doing it again……'
Most of that sigh was filled with pity for Arina. How could she even try to understand the feelings of the mother who had abandoned her with such words? Of course, it wasn't incomprehensible. Marily herself was still young, so it might seem ridiculous for her to say such things, but she knew all too well how absolute parents were to a child. A single careless word from a parent could drastically alter a child's fate. If a child was directly denied their very existence while being resented, how deep would the wound run? Marily couldn't even begin to imagine that pain, let alone claim she fully understood what Arina was feeling right now. But that was that, and this was this. If Marily had been in that situation, she would have charged forward without caring about parents or anything else.
"Haa."
There was much she wanted to say, but she let it all out in a single sigh. This wasn't something Marily could interfere with. Moreover, it wasn't something she could secretly handle behind Arina's back for her sake. This was strictly a personal family matter, a problem Arina herself had to resolve. Therefore, if Arina chose to avoid it, Marily believed that choice should be respected.
'Besides, in the current situation, not meeting again seems like the best option anyway.'
Her mother, who had abandoned her, was at the Gibbernoon viscount's household. Just knowing that fact meant Arina would likely never have to meet her mother again for the rest of her life—unless something truly unexpected happened.
"So you have no intention of returning to the party hall?"
"Yeah."
"Good. Then let's head back to my room now."
"Sorry. You went to all that trouble for me."
"Didn't I tell you to stop apologizing? Besides, I'd much rather chat with you in the room than be surrounded by those greedy nobles at the party."
Marily smiled gently and wiped the tears welling in Arina's eyes with her sleeve. Though the dress had been custom-made by a renowned designer and was worth tens of millions of shillings, Marily paid it no mind as she patted Arina's back and helped her to her feet.
"Viscountess Gibbernoon……"
Jeon Raydel, who had been eavesdropping on their conversation by enhancing his hearing with mana, muttered quietly as he watched them.
"It might be unnecessary meddling, but I think it's best not to interfere."
Having sensed the ominous glint in Jeon Raydel's eyes, Lucian, who had remained silent until now, spoke up.
"Yes, I am aware of that as well."
Jeon Raydel glanced at Lucian and replied. 'The Royal Mage Corps?' Anyone assigned to protect Princess Marily had to be highly skilled. The royal family's overprotectiveness toward Marily was quite famous among the nobility. Even for minor events held by the palace, they would assign at least a 6-star mage or higher.
"I have no intention of doing anything to the Gibbernoon viscount's household because of this incident."
His thoughts aligned with Marily's. This was entirely Arina's personal family affair. Unless Arina herself complained about her suffering because of her mother, resented the mother who had abandoned her in childhood, or sought their help because of it, stepping in without her request would be nothing but meddlesome interference. Especially since, looking at Arina's face, it was clear she hadn't yet given up her affection for her biological mother.
'But it doesn't feel like this will end here.'
Jeon Raydel vaguely remembered something. The moment Arina had brushed past him, there had been a woman in the distance smiling meaningfully as she watched Arina's retreating figure. She hadn't looked flustered or confused like the others. If his guess was correct, that woman was likely the Viscountess Gibbernoon Arina had mentioned.
"……"
Marily seemed to share the same sentiment. As she helped Arina to her feet, her eyes had also sunk deeply. She could only hope that Viscountess Gibbernoon shared Arina's feelings and would never cross paths with her again. If the woman acted thoughtlessly and hurt Arina once more, Marily felt she would step in regardless of how Arina viewed her mother.
Crack.
Just as all the conversations were about to conclude, an unexpected spatial rift suddenly appeared above them. Fine cracks spread across the night sky like the shattered screen of a smartphone dropped on the ground. The cracks grew longer and longer until they became clearly visible to everyone.
"……!"
The first to react swiftly was Lucian Philodein. Grabbing Jeon Raydel, he dashed in an instant to where Marily and Arina were, positioning himself in front of them as if to shield the three. With eyes as cold as ice, Lucian confronted the anomaly that had appeared before them. The anomaly changed the moment Lucian drew up his mana and began deploying his spell.
Crash!
The night sky shattered. Emerging from within was a woman in a maid uniform torn to rags. The woman who appeared in the night sky immediately flared her skirt and swung her leg backward. Boom! The thunderous sound spread explosively in all directions like fireworks. Startled by the noise that echoed like thunder, the nobles who had been enjoying the party began turning their heads toward the windows.
"Damn it. I'm finally out."
At the center of the commotion, Jealousy ground his teeth and spat out a curse filled with relief. He had finally escaped that infuriating space. 'That damn Chrombell Legacy.' The man had stubbornly clung to someone who had no intention of fighting. Why would the head of the Royal Mage Corps personally intervene over a single petty thief? Of course, that thief had overwhelmed a 7-star mage, but still.
'But that's over now!'
He had finally broken free from that cursed Majoan's space. Now, nothing was restricting his escape. Except for an Absolute Being, no one in this world could catch him if he was determined to flee.
Whoosh!
A massive amount of imagery flooded in from beyond the broken space. It seemed the opponent had no intention of letting him go just like that. Even though the Majoan's space could no longer pinpoint him and everyone had noticed the commotion, Chrombell continued to cast magic toward him. What appeared before Jealousy's eyes was a spiral spear as black as pitch. Countless numbers of them materialized and all aimed at Jealousy at once. These were illusions visible only to Jealousy's eyes. Yet at the same time, they were reality given form by Chrombell Legacy's magic. Jealousy clearly perceived the invisible attacks that normally couldn't be seen with the naked eye and smirked at the opponent glaring at him from beyond.
'Farewell! You bastard who's even more annoying than Pride!'
A faint moonlight wrapped around Jealousy's body. The moonlight flowed gracefully between the incoming black spiral spears. Spreading in all directions like a spiderweb, it shredded the approaching spiral spears into pieces. The illusions were chopped into tiny fragments like vegetables ground in a blender. At the same time, Jealousy kicked off the air and leaped upward, spinning once as he wrapped himself in the darkness of night.
"……Did I miss him?"
Jealousy's presence had completely vanished. Chrombell Legacy, who had been pursuing him, emerged from beyond the broken space with a blank expression and shook his head slightly.
"Commander."
At his appearance, Lucian approached with a hardened face. Meeting the gaze that seemed to demand an explanation, Chrombell looked at him for a moment before speaking.
"An intruder."
Then, shifting his eyes, he glanced at the three people behind Lucian before continuing toward him.
"His skill level is 8-star. The confirmed disciplines are martial arts and spirit arts. His intrusion intent is unclear, but given that none of the knights sent to capture him suffered casualties, it seems he had no intention of fighting us."
It wasn't simply because his heart was soft and he hesitated to kill—there had been a thick killing intent in the aura he emitted. 'He probably escaped outside the palace, but……' It was always possible. As he spoke, Chrombell pulled out his smartphone from his pocket.
"From now on, I'll report this to His Majesty the King and begin handling the aftermath. Sir Philodein, please escort the Princess back to her room immediately and focus on guarding her."
"Yes!"
After passing him and approaching Marily with a bow, he said, "Please forgive me for offering such a light courtesy at a time like this."
When Marily nodded, Chrombell immediately made a call on his smartphone.
"The culprit has escaped. Check if anything is missing from the palace. And please explain things appropriately to the nobles. Is it possible to meet with His Majesty the King right now?"
Chrombell walked away briskly while taking control of the situation. As Arina stared blankly at his retreating figure, Lucian soon approached them and spoke.
"Let's return to the room. I will escort Young Master Jeon to the palace as well."
Jeon Raydel nodded at Lucian's words. Just as everyone began to move, Marily suddenly noticed Arina tilting her head with a puzzled expression.
"What's wrong?"
"No, it's nothing. It's just that the intruder from earlier… I feel like I've seen him somewhere before."
A strange sense of déjà vu lingered.
"You may have seen him in passing. I heard he infiltrated by disguising himself as a maid working in the palace."
"Is that so?"
It was Lucian Philodein, walking at the front, who answered. But even after his words, Arina's expression didn't look relieved. The déjà vu she felt was, strictly speaking, not from his appearance but from the atmosphere he exuded.
'Could it be……?'
Arina's perception far exceeded the ordinary. Knowing this fact, Marily instantly thought of someone. There was only one person among those she knew who was skilled enough at infiltration to get a job at Benedict Academy, which the Majoan had established under the pretext of protecting Arina, and whose abilities were also tremendous.
'Did this guy come all the way into the palace because he heard Arina was attending the party?'
Having reached the answer, Marily unconsciously smacked her forehead. It was hard to believe, but it was a highly plausible story.
'But 8-star, really?'
Since the head of the Royal Mage Corps had confirmed it himself, there was no falsehood. No, she had even witnessed it with her own eyes. The opponent had precisely countered Chrombell Legacy's invisible magic. Moreover, since spirit arts were the most representative discipline associated with Professor Clara at the academy, there was a commonality there as well. At this point, denying it was harder. At the same time, another question arose in Marily's mind. Just what was Arina's true identity that even an 8-star powerhouse would go so far as to infiltrate the palace unauthorized out of such protectiveness?
'This might really turn into something big.'
It wasn't a matter of whether she stepped in or not. Perhaps even if she didn't intervene, dark clouds would have descended upon the Gibbernoon viscount's household anyway. With that thought, Marily stared at Arina, who was still tilting her head in confusion as she walked.