The Bennet Lady
Across the plazas of Tera, crystal orbs rose into the air and began to glow.
It was the signal that fresh news had arrived.
People halted mid-stride as if by long habit, turning from wherever they stood to face the floating spheres. From commoners to nobles, no one seemed willing to miss what came next.
The orbs trembled with light. Magic circles spun open, and a screen resolved into view — the logo of Mirage Times, and beneath it, a woman.
Serena Bennet. Heir apparent of House Bennet — the greatest sword lineage in all of Tera.
Whenever anyone spoke of a Bennet lady, a question always followed close behind.
The good one? Or the bad one?
The bad one was, of course, Yeon Bennet. Serena Bennet was the good one — the sole hope of a duchy widely believed to have fallen into corruption. The pitiful young lady whose father's love had been stolen by a wicked villainess.
At her appearance, a murmur rippled through the crowds. Then they saw her eyes, and the noise died.
Cold. Resolute. A perfect noble's face, stripped of every emotion.
And she spoke, in a voice that sounded as though it had been prepared for this exact moment.
"Hello. I am Serena Bennet."
The weight of those few words settled over every plaza like a held breath. Serena drew in a deep lungful of air, and her composed face carried across the crystal orbs to every corner of Tera.
"I stand before you today because there is something I must say — and I stake the name of my house upon every word."
Murmurs erupted across the squares. Serena pressed on, her voice unshaken.
"Yeon Bennet, second daughter of House Bennet and my younger sister, has committed countless evil deeds."
As she continued, countless people held their breath and waited for what would come next. Serena did not falter.
"But there is a greater sinner still."
She lifted her head, slow and deliberate.
"My father. Isaac Bennet."
The plazas went silent.
"Duke Isaac Bennet stood by and watched as Yeon Bennet committed her crimes — and worse, he shielded her."
Until now, criticizing Isaac Bennet had never been easy. The Duke of Bennet was powerful, and his influence ran deep. But here, now — his own blood daughter was condemning him to his face.
"As the heir of this house, I will not stand idle while House Bennet continues its descent into corruption."
Serena drew another deep breath. Then she bowed her head, slow and measured.
"In the name of House Bennet, I offer my deepest apologies to every soul in Tera for all that has been done."
Her flawless noble etiquette and bearing stole the air from every throat. The heir of House Bennet was apologizing to the entire realm. That alone was enormous news.
But the highlight was still to come.
Serena raised her head at once. Her voice rang out like a proclamation.
"And so, I hereby formally declare —"
She looked straight into the crystal orb, and spoke without a tremor.
The plazas erupted. Something no one had ever dared to say — Serena Bennet had said it herself, for all the world to hear.
Those quick enough to read the currents already understood: the greater part of the family's power had turned its back on the Duke and thrown its support behind Serena.
"From this day forward, House Bennet will no longer cover for her wickedness."
Beneath a glittering chandelier, a cascade of red hair swayed and caught the light.
Camilla Medici watched the screen with a face emptied of every feeling.
"—and as the rightful heir of House Bennet, I will no longer recognize Yeon Bennet as a member of—"
Beep.
A slender fingertip swept through the air. The crystal orb flickered once and went dark.
"Duke Bennet… more incompetent than I thought."
House Medici. The family that had been most aggressive in absorbing Bennet influence, using the duchy's protection of the villainess Yeon Bennet as its pretext.
"I didn't expect Sister Serena to come out like that."
To bare the family's shame in public and drive the blade in head-on — not just anyone could do it. But it was the surest method there was.
"My lady, what will you do?"
Camilla tapped a fingernail lightly against her glass. A clear note rang out into the air.
This was a warning — Serena's warning that attacking House Bennet under the banner of Yeon Bennet would no longer work.
"We'll pull back for now."
"…Pardon?"
"This can still be used to our advantage, in its own way."
Yeon Bennet. For a long time, she had been something of a treasure to Camilla. Those stupid, nauseating crimes of hers had brought House Bennet down from within, and handed the Medici family a golden opportunity to expand its power.
Trash, by every measure — the kind of person rumored to have tried selling her soul to the Evil God out of lust for strength — and yet, to Camilla, she had been precious in her own right.
Even now, Camilla did not doubt that Yeon would help House Medici climb to the highest seat once more.
The corner of Camilla's mouth curved, faint and cold. The smile was beautiful. It was also ice.
In the wake of Serena Bennet's bombshell declaration, Mirage Times kept pushing out fresh reports. But the public's attention was already spent.
The Bennet family's civil war. The scandals surrounding Yeon Bennet. Serena Bennet's open challenge. After shocks of that magnitude, what followed was the same dull fare the press always recycled.
The same story, every time. The Saintess has devoted herself to humanity once again. The Candidate Saintess has worked another miracle. Not a special event — more like an alarm that went off on schedule.
"That's our Saintess for you. Always someone to be grateful for."
"The Holy Kingdom ran relief operations again, I hear!"
"They say the Candidate Saintess is growing stronger by the day."
But few people were truly interested. It was like the news that Yeon Bennet did something terrible again today — expected, unchanging, so familiar it held nothing new at all.
A quiet chapel, lit by the wavering of a single candle. Soft light filtered through gold-stained glass and deepened the sacred hush.
Before the great holy statue at the center, a girl knelt in silent prayer. Pink hair shimmered with every ripple of candlelight. A clear, clean face. Lips touched by the faintest smile.
Candidate Saintess Rina.
"Grant us Your protection. That this land may not be stained by darkness… that the hearts of the people may not lose their goodness…"
Rina continued her prayer in a low voice. Faint light gathered at her fingertips. Tiny particles of holy power drifted gently through the air.
Then — the sound of news spilling from a crystal orb made her lashes tremble. Eyes still closed, she paused her prayer for the briefest moment.
"…Yeon Bennet."
She repeated the name, and a complicated expression crossed her face.
What the news always carried was the same story. The villainess Yeon Bennet's latest outrage. Yeon Bennet has caused trouble again.
Rina closed her eyes once more.
Honestly, none of it surprised her much. Yeon Bennet's list of sins was already endless. That she would face judgment was, in a way, inevitable.
"She brought it on herself, but…"
Rina felt a small, quiet pang of pity.
Long ago — before she had been chosen as a Candidate Saintess, when she was still an orphan living in the slums — there had been a connection between them. They had never been close. Yeon had always avoided her, always spoken sharply. But they had shared time all the same. The same space. The same sky.
And above all, there was one thing Rina could never forget.
Back then, before she had awakened either her holy power or her unique ability, Luck — that small back, shoving her clear of a monster's claws.
That was why Rina could not give up on Yeon. She had a duty to lead her onto the right path.
A grim silence filled the Headmistress's office.
Dorothy sat at her desk, staring at the interview being transmitted through a magical device. On the screen, a woman spoke with a cool, cutting smile.
Serena Bennet. Eldest daughter of Isaac Bennet. Yeon's adoptive older sister. And a politician who, having graduated not long ago, was steadily building influence among the allied nobility.
Dorothy's fingertips trembled.
"That crazy bitch."
She had endured and endured, but this had gone too far. She should never have granted that bastard's request.
Isaac, begging on his knees — I don't care what happens to me. Just leave the family a hole to crawl through at the end. Dorothy had hated every second of it, but they had done nothing wrong, so she had allowed it. On the condition that the house be kept under absolute control.
"What the hell was Isaac doing…!"
Dorothy shot to her feet, her voice rising. A magic circle flared into the air at once, calling a line to Isaac Bennet.
No response.
"Damn it."
Dorothy clenched her teeth and roughly erased the circle. Something was clearly going wrong.
"Emilla Gale."
She spoke quietly. A magic circle answered at once, opening another line in the air.
A moment later, a woman with sky-blue hair and long, narrow eyes twisted space open and stepped through.
"You called for me, Great Elder."
Health Professor. A member of the same Witch Clan as Dorothy. Emilla Gale.
"Something's wrong with House Bennet," Dorothy said flatly. "The witches we left in that region — check all of them. Connection lines, surveillance channels, everything."
Emilla bowed her head.
"I'll confirm at once."
Her eyes flashed, and new magical lines began to open through the surrounding space. But a short while later she turned back, brow furrowed.
"Every connection has been severed. The residual mana has been wiped clean — far too cleanly."
Dorothy closed her eyes.
That this would happen precisely when she had grown weak was a very bad sign. A traitor who had been holding their breath had finally stepped into the open. That much was certain.
"The link to Richard and that child is cut too, I take it."
"Yes. Every means of contacting that side has been severed."
"Then I'll go myself."
"What? But—!"
Dorothy had no choice but to walk into a trap this obvious. If anything happened to that damned Serena, her foolish disciple would only blame herself all over again.
"We leave in three days. Make thorough preparations so the Academy can run without me."
Richard Bennet. A Level 9 Swordsman. And the founder of House Bennet.
"But the Calamity-class monsters—!"
"I already killed one, so we should have some breathing room. Their house is about to collapse — I have to let them know."
Having already broken her Geas once, she was growing weaker by the moment. Whatever time remained had to be spent where it still meant something.
She could not let House Bennet fall. Not for her disciple's sake.