With only two days remaining before the unveiling party, the two of them moved through the underground tunnel at high speed before finally exiting back into the snowy forest surrounding Myrwick.

Cold wind brushed against their faces the moment they stepped outside.

The snow reached almost to Lucy’s ankles while the forest around them remained dark and quiet except for the sound of the wind pushing through the trees.

Neither of them slowed down.

Ezra moved ahead calmly while Lucy followed closely behind carefully despite the rough terrain.

Eventually...

After crossing the snowy forest of the town and reaching the train station at Mythros...

The two first stopped to buy clothes from one of the best clothing stores in the city before boarding one of the First-class trains heading directly toward the capital city of Metallica...

Lumithar.

The train itself looked more expensive even from the outside.

Silver lining, large reinforced windows, smooth black metal layered with glowing blue circuit lines.

Unlike the older First-class trains Ezra saw in the station, this one looked far more advanced.

And more importantly...

Fast enough to reach Lumithar within twenty-two hours.

"We should arrive before the party starts."

Lucy spoke while checking the watch around her wrist before glancing toward the announcement board displayed on the Linsta app on her phone.

Her eyes looked focused as she scrolled through the post.

While Ezra sat quietly beside the large window of the first-class senior cabin.

The massive lights of the passing cities reflected against his dull black eyes while he silently watched the outside scenery move by.

From ten-thousand gold coins...down to four-thousand.

He sighed inwardly.

Yet his face still remained calm and expressionless.

His thoughts slowly drifted back toward Myrwick.

The town looked completely rundown with weak lighting, poor water systems due to how cold the weather was, which froze most of the streams.

Almost no proper electric support.

Compared to the glowing cities he looked at through the train window...

The difference honestly felt bitter, since that was once his own life.

And now...

He was practically living more luxuriously than he ever did in his previous world.

The feeling did really taste bitter in his chest.

Because no matter how much Britannia bragged about technology and military advancement...

Places like Myrwick still suffered heavily from neglect and underdevelopment.

Why?

If this kingdom is already so advanced...why do towns like that still live like forgotten ruins?

Ezra quietly stared at the lights outside.

But eventually...

He stopped thinking about it further, because right now, his full attention remained completely fixed on the coming event.

The unveiling party.

The event that would finally allow him to sever the rotten fate connecting him to the people who betrayed him again and again...

Even in this life.

***

Lumithar.

The capital city of Metallica.

"This place is incredible, Father!"

Zara pressed himself slightly against the carriage window while staring outside with glittering eyes.

Bright lights illuminated the city streets endlessly.

Massive buildings towered above the roads.

Steam-powered signs glowed blue and gold across the night.

The steam carriage moved past numerous other luxurious steam vehicles of different designs and sizes.

Some carried noble crests, others displayed military symbols.

Not a single ordinary horse carriage could be seen anywhere and even transportation carts for coal or goods looked advanced and polished.

This city practically screamed wealth and nobility that even other big cities couldn’t think of having.

Beside him... 𝐟𝕣𝗲𝕖𝕨𝗲𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝗲𝚕.𝗰𝚘𝐦

Zavier adjusted the expensive coat resting around his shoulders.

"You mother couldn’t come because of her mental state."

His tone sounded disappointed and irritated at the same time.

"That woman really is mentally weak. Tsk. She couldn’t even comport herself for a big event like this."

He clicked his tongue while tapping his cane repeatedly against the carriage floor.

The sound echoed lightly inside the cabin.

Ahead of them...

Another carriage carrying their guards moved steadily through the city roads while father and son relaxed inside their own private carriage.

"Father, just leave Mother alone."

Zara sat back properly afterward.

"Once this problem gets settled and that trash finally dies...she’ll naturally return to normal."

A smug smile slowly appeared on his face.

Zavier turned toward him immediately.

"Still no confirmation of that trash’s death yet?"

He asked while impatiently tapping his polished black shoe against the floor, even his hat slightly shook from how restless he looked.

"Nothing yet." Zara replied confidently. "But trust me Father...The Wallace Gang isn’t ordinary. There are Alchemists among them. So that trash will definitely die."

"Okay."

Zavier adjusted his hat before finally relaxing slightly.

Outside...

Night completely settled over Lumithar.

And within the center of the capital...

The Castle Hall of Grandus shone brilliantly beneath countless lights.

That was where the Ashenlocke unveiling party was being held.

Rows of luxurious steam carriages lined neatly outside the massive hall with Nobles of different ranks continuously arriving one after another.

Barons, Low-Embers, High-Embers, Viscounts and even Counts from various families with no direct ties to the Ashenlocke’s appeared personally.

Everyone wanted to see the new generation that the Duke Family of Metallica praised so openly.

Still...

Despite the massive gathering...

None of the other Duke Families or their Mainline members personally attended.

Inside the grand hall...

Voices overlapped endlessly.

Greetings, laughter and conversations about politics, business, and future alliances.

While the Servants of Ash moved smoothly around the ballroom carrying trays filled with bubbling transparent wines while other servants guided arriving nobles through the entrance.

Outside...

Guards from Ash directed arriving steam carriages toward proper parking spaces while loudly announcing the names of important guests entering the hall.

It truly felt like a grand noble party.

The only things missing were the Royal Family and the attendance of the other Duke Houses. If they had shown themselves too, this unveiling ceremony would have easily rivaled a royal coming-of-age celebration.

Voices overlapped across the massive ballroom.

Nobles laughed while servants moved carefully between them carrying silver trays filled with more bubbling wines and glowing drinks of different light colors.

Bright chandeliers hung from the high ceiling, their light reflecting across polished marble floors and expensive jewelry worn by noblewomen.

The atmosphere itself carried pressure.

The kind that only existed when powerful people gathered together in one place.

On the upper floor where the families of the top ten Trial of Steel candidates gathered...

Felix and Gareth stood beside the balcony railing overlooking the hall below.

Both boys held glasses filled with fruit wine.

Unlike the alcohol served to adults, this drink was orange-colored and lightly gaseous, with tiny bubbles constantly rising to the surface.

"So..."

Gareth rested one arm against the railing while looking down at the guests below.

"The show is finally about to begin."

A smile slowly formed on his face.

"Yes."

Felix answered immediately.

A menacing smile stretched across his own lips afterward.

"Not only will that maggot realize his own family sent assassins to kill him... but the achievements he worked so hard to gain will also get stolen by the same people who threw him into the pit."

He lightly laughed beneath his breath.

"Ahhh..."

A twisted grin slowly appeared on his face.

"I can already imagine the look on his face when he realizes everything while dying."

Felix slowly sipped from his fruit wine with visible satisfaction in his eyes.

Gareth quietly glanced at him, impressed.

Ezra had humiliated Felix publicly during the trial, yet somehow Felix already looked completely recovered mentally.

Or maybe...

Not truly recovered.

Maybe he was simply turning the humiliation into revenge instead.

"But Felix..."

Gareth’s gaze shifted downward toward Veda below.

The new Young Lord currently greeted numerous nobles arriving with expensive gifts, while some families openly pushed their daughters toward him while introducing themselves proudly.

Several girls around Veda’s age looked at him shyly.

Others stared more boldly.

"Wouldn’t the Young Lord and Lady Vera eventually interfere?"

Gareth turned toward Felix again.

"And honestly...wouldn’t it have been easier to just erase the entire family? And your mother could’ve simply sent people from her division to handle everything quietly."

Felix only smirked after hearing that.

"You already know the answer yourself."

He calmly took another sip.

"Reckless actions can attract the attention of the State Alchemists and you already know Mother has been warned before because of those kinds of methods."

His voice sounded casual, but there was seriousness underneath it.

"If we openly move like that...the Royal Family could end up punishing both her and the family together."

Felix lazily waved his hand afterward.

"Sure. Nobody would truly care about some Baron family getting destroyed, but Britannia’s laws still matter a lot. And Mother doesn’t want people breathing down her neck over some Lowline trash."

He drank again before continuing.

"And as for the twins..."

Felix looked toward Gareth with a smug expression.

"Do you really think the elders would simply bend because of their words alone?"

He slowly spun the wine glass in his fingers.

The remaining drink rotated like a tiny vortex.

"At the end of the day...physical evidence matters and right now...words are all they have."

Felix stared quietly into the reflection inside his glass.

His own smiling face reflected back at him beneath the ballroom lights.

"As long as that Zara kid follows everything, I instructed him to do...even if his personality is different from the one, they...or even if his strength doesn’t match that maggot’s...everything will still move exactly the way I want."

A clear cold intent could be seen inside Felix’s eyes now as he vision a chess board with him moving the pieces like an expert.

Gareth quietly laughed under his breath.

"You really don’t intend to let either brothers or that family survive, do you?"

He raised his own glass slightly before taking another sip.

"What makes you think that?"

Felix tilted his head pretending to be confused, but the intent inside him was so obvious.

He wants Ezra to die through the greed of his own family while they desperately try protecting their lives and stealing his achievements.

But that entire idea sounds like complete nonsense.

Because I know you Felix and I know you already know that although the elders would definitely ask for clear evidence before making direct moves...

None of them are actual fools.

Especially since the Zara they saw in the trials is a Binder-rank Alchemist... and his twin brother... The real Zara is nowhere near that level.

The truth would practically reveal itself immediately.

Gareth silently stared at him while Felix remained lost in his own thoughts, clearly imagining how perfectly the entire event would unfold according to his plans.

At the end of the day...

The elders might indulge the situation briefly.

Maybe they would allow the Sterling family to speak, maybe they would pretend to listen calmly.

But afterward...

They would personally investigate the truth themselves.

And once they discovered what truly happened...

Punishment would immediately follow.

Especially after learning the family attempted killing someone who had already become one of Ashenlocke’s rising pillars.

At that point...

Execution would practically become guaranteed.

And Britannia’s law itself would support their deaths openly.

Hmm... this is clearly what he wants to happen, wiping out the whole family and Ezra in a single move.

"You really are a master at chess."

Gareth smiled while lightly moving his glass toward Felix.

Felix smirked proudly before raising his own glass too.

Clink.

The glasses lightly collided beneath the ballroom lights while the two boys silently cheered toward Felix’s carefully constructed plan.

But...

The moment Felix looked away toward the crowd below...

Gareth’s expression subtly changed.

Because although the plan looked well thought out...

Did Felix truly not realize there was another person involved in all this?

Gareth’s eyes slowly moved across the ballroom searching quietly.

Vera still hadn’t appeared anywhere inside the hall

Lady Vera is definitely involved somehow. I just don’t know how deeply involved she is.

He narrowed his eyes slightly.

I mean...

Isn’t she unusually close to that boy?

The memory of the airship boarding scene resurfaced inside Gareth’s mind.

Back then... From a distance...

He clearly saw the twins speaking with Ezra before departure.

Yet Gareth never mentioned it to Felix.

Not because he intentionally wanted to hide it...

But because both of them already knew about the little rumors spreading during the trials.

The strange interactions and the subtle familiarity, especially the famous stepping incident.

But still...

Neither Gareth nor Felix paid much attention to it back then.

And more importantly...

Gareth was never the type to bare his fangs while another person played the role of chess master.

No.

He preferred watching.

Observing quietly from the side while others moved the pieces across the board.

That was the role he enjoyed most.

The viewer.

And right now...

That was exactly what he intended to remain as.

This entire event is going to become far more interesting than it’s supposed to be.

A faint smirk slowly formed on Gareth’s face while he finished the remaining fruit wine inside his glass in one smooth gulp.