However, on that particular day, falling into a trap orchestrated by Carlien, she was forced to lose her entire life’s savings at Carlien’s hands.

Though, What stirred controversy among the readers was that these pills went undetected by someone who could see the future— Thalia’s mother possessed ability to foresee future.

Numerous theories emerged, leaving readers confused until an official statement was released by the author, explaining that Cassandra’s ability was disrupted by something at that time, promising further revelations in the future.

As the story moved forward and that future never arrived, no one probed further into the matter—a swift resolution often employed by authors to address plot holes instantly.

Yet, for Zeph, he comprehended the reason behind Thalia consuming that pill.

Its ability to level up an awakened ability caused her intuition to overlook its negligible side effects in favor of the gains.

The end result was Thalia’s altered behavior. Rising slowly from his place, Zeph glanced at Estelle before taking Thalia into his embrace, lifting her up. "Should we move to your room?"

Hearing Zeph’s words, Estelle stared at him blankly for a moment before sighing and exiting the room, following behind Zeph calmly.

"So, why were you guys here?" Suppressing her anger over being made to run, she calmly tried to see through his lies, waiting for an opening that could potentially expose him.

Her plan was simple: to make him admit that he was aware of future events, giving her leverage or a means to blackmail him whenever she needed his assistance.

Zeph, carrying Thalia through the long corridor while listening to Estelle’s words, understood the sudden inquiry.

Knowing her personality, he found it suspicious for her not to confront him directly.

"You won’t understand, Estelle." He shook his head, indicating how challenging the situation was for even Estelle to comprehend. His intention was to catch her off guard.

Halting in her tracks, Estelle turned towards Zeph with cold eyes, firmly stating, "Tell me, Zeph."

"So, listen, Estelle." In the same tone, he added an air of mystery to the whole situation.

Ignoring his playful demeanor, she waited for his explanation. He continued, "What do a man and woman do inside an empty room?"

’Is this some sort of riddle?’ Estelle felt confused about the potential activities two people might engage in. ’Are they searching for something?’

Observing her narrowed eyes and deep contemplation, a knowing smile formed on Zeph’s face.

Watching her tap her forehead, occasionally rubbing it as she pondered something obvious to most, Zeph intentionally mentioned something outside her typical thought process.

Being a virgin all her life and coming from an overprotective family that shielded her from any physical intimacy, and with her aloof personality keeping everyone at bay in the academy, she remained oblivious to desires of the world.

Confusing as it might seem, such elements were normative in the novel.

Many heroines remained unmarried until their lives ended, often before they turned 28.

So, Zeph wasn’t too surprised to discover Estelle’s lack of awareness.

"See, I told you, you wouldn’t understand." Saying this, Zeph moved on while carrying Thalia, leaving behind a confused Estelle, her mouth twitching as she stared after him.

"Stop there, Zeph." Looking downward, she halted Zeph in his tracks. Meeting her gaze, he waited for her response. She continued, "You wanted something from Thallasar, didn’t you?"

GULP

"And why do you think so?" Swallowing the tension rising in his mind, he calmly awaited her revelation about how she came to know what he sought in that room.

"It’s obvious from how you hurried toward Thallasar in that dome," Estelle folded her hands, stating it as if she had caught Zeph.

He kept a blank expression before a smile crept onto his face, nodding in acknowledgment. "Truly, nothing escapes your senses, Estelle."

’Was she really that oblivious?’ Contemplating her traits, different from her usual personality mentioned in novel, he calmed himself.

’Caught you.’ Estelle, observing him, felt content that her tactic to make him drop his guard had worked flawlessly.

Until now, she intentionally acted as though she didn’t understand Zeph’s hints about two people in a room.

Estelle’s true motive was to gain an advantage over Zeph.

However, seeing how he was aware of things she assumed he wouldn’t know, she was certain that this guy standing before her was well-informed.

While Zeph believed Estelle wouldn’t understand due to her characteristics in the novel, unbeknownst to him, she had already lived through countless lives.

The mere curiosity to observe his reaction motivated her to mention his potential reason for entering Thallasar,’With this, my goal is crystal clear’

Relaxing her hands and folding them behind her, she gradually moved past Zeph, who, unfazed by it, followed her.

.

.

.

.

.

Inside the Academy’s main building, a woman’s figure became visible from afar as she looked out of the window.

’!?’

Deventhia’s eyes widened upon realizing that her illusion had been penetrated by Zeph.

Although she deliberately made it so, the issue lay with that specific room.

Out of all the available options, she couldn’t fathom why Zeph had chosen that particular room.

Despite knowing about his soul being different from the original Zephyr Liander’s and that it belonged to Adriannel’s son, she remained puzzled.

Unknown to others, including Thalia, who only knew him as someone from another world, they were unaware of Zeph’s knowledge of future events or the fact that this world was based on a novel.

"What’s wrong, Deventhia?"

A manly voice interrupted her thoughts. Turning towards the voice, she met the gaze of a man with silver hair gleaming in the moonlight, his crimson eyes fixed on her.

"Nothing. Did you find something?" Avoiding Adriannel’s awareness of her doubts, she shifted the conversation.

She knew well that if she mentioned her thinking about seeing inside Zeph’s mind, it would infuriate him.

Certainly, she had no intention of doing so, considering the imprint left by Evangeline on the person in question.

The meaning of being imprinted depended on the individual whose print was left; challenging or touching the one imprinted was seen as a direct challenge to their authority.

Deventhia had no plans to intrude upon Zeph’s memories.

She didn’t concern herself too much with that, as she believed she would eventually have him in her hands.

Considering this, she thought about her niece, who had returned from her office a few hours ago.

So many things had happened today that she lost track of time. ’I have to talk with Vale.’ 𝑓𝘳𝘦𝑒𝑤𝑒𝘣𝘯ℴ𝘷𝘦𝓁.𝑐𝑜𝑚

"If not for Evangeline, I would have stormed into the Valley and torn that bastard’s head off his body," Adriannel’s anger surged as he realized the reason behind Chrintain Valley’s sudden attack on Zeph.

"Woah, woah, Comrade, calm yourself. Aren’t you acting out of character now?" Deventhia stepped forward, trying to soothe Adriannel, who had lost his usual calm and collected demeanor in a fit of anger.

"I am in control, Deventhia." He gazed at the woman, her actions triggering memories of their group’s adventures.

Many had ventured into that place, led by him alone, but in the end, only Deventhia had been brought back.

She had cast an illusion to keep the others safe.

As long as Deventhia was alive, those within that dimensional crack would remain alive as well.

"So, why were they after Zeph like that?"

Deventhia’s question brought Adriannel back from his thoughts. He turned to her and explained, "You must have already heard them calling Zeph an anomaly, right?"

Seeing her nod, he continued, "The thing is, someone from Chrintain Valley is using «Foresight»."

"W-what!?" Deventhia’s eyes widened, recognizing the name of an ability that was very familiar to her. "But isn’t Cassandra’s ability unique?"

Adriannel directed his gaze toward the elf’s body, now resembling a dry twig devoid of life, completely drained of any remaining energy.

It was the soul gauge technique, extracting memories from every single cell of the body.

In simple terms, just as human DNA stored hereditary information, a soul retained some information even after death. They didn’t contain every piece of knowledge but held vital snippets from their last moments.

Adriannel had extracted even that last bit of information, essentially eradicating the soul from existence—no chance of reincarnation or anything.

Looking at Deventhia, who appeared surprised, he glanced out the window. "They are aiding the elves."

"No, that’s impossible." Deventhia felt the situation intensify, realizing the people Adriannel referred to were closely linked to Demi Humans.

’Now I understand,’ she realized it was orchestrated by Demi Humans.

It wasn’t difficult for them to notice Adriannel’s inclination toward a specific student, especially given their ability of mana sensitivity, detecting Evangeline’s imprint on Zeph.

"So, those people aimed to eliminate Zeph by labeling him an anomaly while making elves think that they possessed that future seeing ability," Understanding everything about how Demi-Humans cheated Elves on name of an Ability that not even belonged to them to accomplish their desire, Gritting her teeth, Deventhia felt anger rising within her.

Recollecting a woman, referred as Demi-Queen, who desired to flee from her responsibilities only fueled her frustration.

"If only Celestia hadn’t used you as a scapegoat, perhaps our relations with demi-humans wouldn’t have been so strained." Deventhia gazed at Adriannel, whose calm eyes were fixed on the view outside the window.

’sigh’, Knowing this man better than most, Deventhia couldn’t help but feel pity for him, understanding the immense burden he bore.

He was labeled a traitor by some and abhorred by many.

"What?" Adriannel, noticing Deventhia’s pitying gaze directed at him, felt puzzled.

"You know, Adriannel, considering the heavy burdens you carry, a thought occurred to me," Deventhia waited for his response, speaking her mind.

From her perspective, a man who shouldered the weight of the world and had sacrificed himself numerous times without anyone else knowing, was simply...

"You’re an idiot, Adriannel Riantain, a very big one"