When I returned to the academy, I was surprised that the one greeting me with a reproachful look wasn’t Adela, but Elizabeth. Her face told me that Adela had already vented to her; I really should start telling them not to monitor everything I do.

Elizabeth was about to say something, but I cut her off before she could speak.

"I don’t want a scene," I said coldly.

She looked at me in surprise, but my words didn’t make her back down. Her eyes flared with fury.

"Eleanor?! Eleanor?!" she exploded. "Adela and I want to believe you’re just playing with her, like you did with the Empress... because otherwise, I can’t explain it. That woman is the lowest trash that could possibly exist." Her eyes softened slightly. "She doesn’t even deserve to touch you, not even if—"

She cut herself off.

"It was just a one-time thing. I was curious to see how she would react," I excused myself.

Her eyes narrowed, clearly not buying my excuse.

"Since you’re here, let’s talk about other things," I changed the subject. "I won’t be in the capital for a while. I don’t think much will happen anyway; after all, most of the younger generation will be away, including Leonardo. But I’d like you to gather evidence against him."

I looked at her, knowing she understood exactly what I meant.

"Once I return, I plan to have Caelia herself deliver those proofs."

Elizabeth frowned, uncomfortable with the mention of that woman and showing some doubt.

"Do you really think she’ll do it? Sell out her own son?"

"She won’t have a choice. She’ll be the one begging for it," I smiled calmly.

"Master, about the legacy... do you think it could attract other races?"

"I don’t think so, Elizabeth. If they’ve stayed hidden for so long, I doubt they’ll suddenly take interest in something humans have monopolized for centuries."

"And what about Pradiles? Last time it seemed certain you were going to destroy the entire empire. Do you still intend to do it?"

"I don’t know. I wasn’t going to make everyone disappear anyway; destroying the capital should be enough. Besides, Astrid is there now."

The mention of Astrid didn’t seem to please her. She immediately gave me a look that said that woman shouldn’t matter anymore.

"Elizabeth, don’t you think it would be a bit inconsiderate of me to destroy the place right after I helped her find a home there? Either way, I’ll visit the capital once I return and the matters in Demor are settled."

"And Thalassa?" Elizabeth asked. "Weren’t you going to help her?"

"That can wait. With how long the corrosion has been in this world, I doubt they’re running out of time. They might not even need to attack the mermaids back."

Elizabeth didn’t fully agree with my reasoning, but she stayed silent. Just as I was about to dismiss her, someone knocked on the door. 𝐟𝗿𝐞𝚎𝚠𝐞𝚋𝕟𝐨𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝕔𝕠𝚖

Sensing who it was, I opened it without caring that Elizabeth was still there.

Morgana Valois entered with a confident, arrogant smile. She walked in without asking for permission. She quickly noticed Elizabeth and, instead of looking surprised, gave her a competitive smile.

I raised an eyebrow as I closed the door and turned to face both of them.

"I don’t remember telling you to come in."

Morgana smiled at me, ignoring my comment, and instead said:

"I prepared a special carriage to go to the border between Midvern and Lucratis. It has every comfort, and considering it will take us about three days to get there even with a mana-powered one..." She looked at me with confidence. "So, as you must be understanding, I’m inviting you to come with me."

I frowned and was about to reply, but she seemed to anticipate what I was going to say.

"I know you can probably find your own way there, and you’re probably wondering how I even knew you were going, but come on... I’m smarter than that. I’m inviting you, not forcing you."

"Don’t you realize I don’t know you at all?" I replied. "Besides, you should be here begging me not to kill you, instead of doing something like this."

"It’s too late for that. You didn’t do it when you should have, so now you’ll have to deal with the consequences." A smile, as if daring me to do something, filled her face.

For a moment I was tempted to do it—to teach her a lesson like I once did with Elara—but it seemed my time with Eleanor had temporarily taken away my interest in that sort of thing.

"Don’t you have a brother? What will he think if he sees us together? I don’t want you going around talking about me to everyone."

"We won’t be going together; in fact, he already left a few days ago. He tends to be quite anxious about these things and, even though his talent is quite good, he always pushes himself too hard. That’s why he’s cultivating both mana and aura so intensely. Besides, we’ve already been seen together. Everyone thinks you put some spell on me or something like that," she added with a touch of amusement.

I glanced at Elizabeth to see what she thought. She immediately intervened:

"Master, I can prepare a carriage a thousand times better. Besides, I thought you would go in a less direct way."

Her last sentence clearly referred to the fact that I could simply use the laws of space to get there in the blink of an eye.

"Mmm..." I looked at Morgana, who looked confused by Elizabeth’s words.

"Master? So it really is like that, huh? And a less direct way?" she murmured under her breath, processing the information.

"As you heard from Elizabeth, it seems I have to decline your ’invitation’."

She frowned, but quickly put on a confident smile, as if she had already expected this answer and found a way to counter it.

"I understand. But consider this: if you appear there out of nowhere, all eyes will be on you. On the other hand, if you arrive in a Valois carriage, you’ll just be another guest under my protection."

Seeing that her words still hadn’t convinced me, she added:

"I suppose you’re not going because you’re interested in the legacy itself, but because many of the people around you will be going too. If you go with me, you enter the legacy under my name, and that way it will be much more justifiable for everyone else why you’re there."

Her words made sense. Besides, I wasn’t in the mood to argue with her much longer.

Something in my face must have told her I had accepted, because the smile she had worn since the moment she walked in grew even wider.

"We leave tomorrow morning. You don’t need to come to me directly; I’ll come pick you up," she said, winking at me as she turned around and left the room with a triumphant stride.

I remained silent as the door closed.

Adela appeared from the shadows as soon as the other woman left. Before she could say anything, I grabbed her by the waist and threw her onto the bed.

Elizabeth looked at the interaction in surprise while I watched my maid with a fake smile and said:

"Well? It seems someone was too much of a coward to come complain herself and preferred to send Elizabeth to the front, don’t you think?" I leaned over her, enjoying her bewilderment. "If Eleanor bothered you so much, you should have come yourself to claim your punishment instead of hiding in the shadows."

Adela was left breathless, her face flushed. Elizabeth let out a snort, realizing once again that I had no intention of listening to either of them.