Shion Lan's argument was strong, and Celisia Joul was unable to respond. Before she could do anything else, Jina Joul immediately took control. Even so, she smiled at Shion, who had defeated Celisia for the second time.
"Very well then. If this wasn't Lady Jewel's fault, she should at least have sent a message of apology. But since we are now at a banquet to enjoy the achievement we've accomplished, we shouldn't spoil the atmosphere. Let us return to what we were doing."
The Second Princess spoke smoothly, and the mood quickly returned to normal. Pearl Jewel came to Shiun Lan's side and said, "Even though I was capable of defending myself, thank you."
'What kind of gratitude is that? Is it even sincere? In any case, it doesn't matter to me—she now owes me a favor.'
Shion moved forward toward the gathering and said, "We are merely classmates, and we've had some dealings before, so I thought I should help, even if only a little."
Pearl gave him a smile that could overturn a man's composure, but Shion—who had felt death within Shi Yun Lan's body and had seen beauty countless times—was unaffected. He nodded to her, left her behind, and went toward the nobles' gathering.
After a short while, he approached the Second Princess, Jina Joul, and Violet Night. He focused on Jina and said, "I hope I didn't affect Your Highness's mood."
Jina looked at him and replied, "Don't worry, I'm fine. But I'm curious—since when have you two been so close?"
"About two months ago, Your Highness, when we made our first deal. That girl is like a snake, so I deal with her cautiously."
"Then why did you defend her?"
"To teach her a lesson first, to make her grateful to me second, and to stop you when you're not being yourself third."
Jina looked at him in astonishment. Shion continued, "Since the duel, I've felt that sometimes you aren't quite yourself, Your Highness, and that you're not at ease either. So I hope you won't see my interference as an insult."
Jina blushed shyly and thought to herself, 'Is it possible that he's been observing my actions and knows so much about me?!'
But Shion decided not to give her time to think and said, "Your Highness! Please allow me to speak with you in private."
The two girls were shocked by Shion's words. Jina looked to Violet to intervene, and Violet said, "For Your Highness's safety, I must be with her, so I believe I should attend this meeting."
"I refuse! This is a matter that should not involve a third party," Shion said irritably.
It seemed the Second Princess could no longer think clearly, so she said in a calm voice, "What do you think of me hosting you in my residence?"
Shion Lan looked at her, as did Violet Night, both shocked by the suggestion. Jina Joul seemed to regain her senses, but before she could say anything, Shion spoke.
"Very well. That will make our meeting more confidential, so I believe I'll trouble Your Highness by accepting your hospitality after the banquet."
Shion left without saying another word.
"…"
The Second Princess couldn't find the right words to say. Violet thought for a moment and said, "I think Shiun intends to speak about something serious—otherwise he wouldn't have forbidden me from hearing anything."
She looked at the Second Princess seriously and said, "Don't irritably the maids, and don't think of anything strange, Your Highness!"
"…."
Jina could only nod in agreement.
The banquet continued until midnight. The Second Princess went to her residence and warned the servants, "A guest will arrive shortly. I want you to prepare the place as best as possible—as if His Majesty himself were coming!"
The maids were shocked and hurried into action. Jina changed her clothes once more and sat waiting until she heard a knock at the door. She moved as if pretending to be busy, then signaled the maids to open it.
Shion Lan entered in his usual elegant appearance. After he sat on the sofa, the maids went to inform the princess of his arrival. Jina moved slowly, but she overheard some whispers:
"Why is Her Highness acting this way?"
"Can't you see, you fool? That man is her beloved!"
"Really?! It doesn't even seem like he knows!"
"Well, maybe he doesn't, but didn't you see how tense Her Highness has been since she returned from the banquet? She's been waiting for him impatiently!"
"Well, in the end, he is handsome and beautiful."
Jina felt embarrassed but decided to ignore it and greeted Shion.
"Your Highness!"
Shion greeted her in return. Jina gestured for him to sit, and they talked about what had happened at the banquet and what the princess had done with Pearl Jewel, until Shion finally decided to speak.
"To be honest, Your Highness, I came here for a special reason."
Jina paid close attention. Shion continued, "There is a girl I want to ask about."
Jina's eyes widened in astonishment. Shion went on, "Have you heard of the young lady of the destroyed Neumann family?"
Jina was surprised by the question. "As far as I remember, she's dead. Why are you asking about her?"
"I have a mission in the Neumann family's region, so I hope Your Highness can provide me with some clues and information."
Jina Joul thought for a moment, then asked, "Tell me what you know, so I can help you."
Shion thought inwardly, 'It seems she's trying to gauge how much I know. That's fine.'
Then spoke, "Well, what I know about the Newman family as a whole is that they used spirits in both magic and combat. They had a deep history and were founded around the same time as the Six Great Families. They could almost be considered an independent force, like the Shadow Forces, though unofficial.
It's said that three years ago, one of the family members summoned an evil spirit to target the king, but the First Queen was the one who was afflicted. Because of that, the royal family decided to destroy them. However, there's a rumor that the young lady of the Neumann family sealed that evil spirit by sacrificing her life—but unfortunately, she only acted after the spirit had already killed. That's all I know."
Jina nodded, then said, "Imat Neumann. The one who summoned the evil spirit was Imat Neumann—Solan Neumann's uncle and the brother of the family head. We managed to capture him because the spirit didn't kill him, as he was its master. And since Solan sealed the spirit, he never regained his power and was easily captured.
After interrogating him, we learned he was the cause of this tragedy. He sacrificed his own brother to summon that spirit—because the closer the bond, the greater the value. He didn't stop there; he also implanted it into his brother's wife's body. No one expected Florid to be pregnant with a child who would terrify and destabilize the spirit to the point that it wanted to kill her."
Jina took a deep breath and continued, "Nevertheless, when Solan was born, her mother died and was buried. That man exhumed the body and placed remnants of the spirit within it. Over fifteen years, the spirit recovered. It wanted to kill Solan, but she cast a great spell that caused her own disappearance.
Suddenly, the monster moved to target my father, but my stepmother was the one who was afflicted. What's strange is that the spirit was at the eighth level while my father was still at the seventh—yet the spirit left him and retreated quickly. When it returned to its master, it was trapped by Solan's magic.
No one knew what truly happened, because we sensed forbidden magic and the First Queen was injured. As a result, the family was annihilated without mercy. Imat Newman was tortured even more after the truth was discovered, until he died last year in the most miserable state."
Shion absorbed this information and thought for a moment before thanking the Second Princess. He then greeted her and went to his room, thinking to himself, 'I think things will be chaotic tomorrow.'
He entered the spiritual veins.
"Shi Yun Lan!"
"What is it this time?"
That boy appeared, yawning. Shion Lan asked him directly, "If an eighth-level power appears, will you be able to handle it?"
"I don't know about the other veins, but as I said, no one in this world is qualified to kill me."
"Stop being arrogant for a few seconds! I'm not asking about your potential—I'm asking about your current ability."
Shi Yun Lan looked at him skeptically and said, "Do you intend to clash with someone?"
"No. I have a mission tomorrow. The evil spirits should be, at best, third level—but there are rumors of an eighth-level spirit. Can you handle it?"
"Then why do you have to go there in the first place?"
"Because of my friend. I want to protect her while she gets rid of her curse."
"Hmm? A curse?"
"Yes. So what do you say?"
Shi Yun Lan spoke with his usual confidence. "As I said before, no one in your world is qualified to fight me. But to reassure you, I'll put it differently: these are evil spirits—they no longer belong to the world of the living. That means they're on my playing field. So you can relax when facing an eighth level."
Shion needed that reassurance. He closed his eyes and fell asleep.
...
The next morning, Shion Lan prepared himself and waited at the academy gate, planning everything that would happen next. He hoped there would be no surprises and that things would go as Sol Hart had said.
As she approached, Shion Lan mocked, "Since when does a noble wait for a commoner?"
Sol lightly struck him on the head and said, "When that commoner is your boss."
Shion grabbed his head but said, "Alright, let's get out of here before some troublesome nobles see us."
They headed to a teleportation magic circle, which took them to the south of the kingdom. They then used another circle to travel to a province near their destination and arrived in Griffon Province.
...
With the academy insignia visible on their clothes, everyone immediately stepped aside. Some looked on with admiration and respect, others with resentment and anger, and others with envy and jealousy. All emotions gathered at once—but two things stood out: Shion Lan's handsome and his beautiful appearance, and Sol Heart's ominous aura.
The two moved toward the noble family that ruled the province—the Griffon family, a second-tier family. The head's son approached them with a smile.
"Welcome, heroes of Karath Academy. I am Enom Griffon. How may I serve you?"
Sol looked displeased and asked, "Where is the family head? I'm used to dealing with him."
Enom thought for a moment, then replied, "If my guess is correct, you are Lady Hart, aren't you?"
Sol nodded with a sigh. Enom said, "Don't worry, Lady Hart. My father went to take care of some business. He informed me of your arrival and told me to carry out whatever you need."
"Then I assume he told you which horse I should ride, didn't he?"
Enom smiled helplessly. "Unfortunately, there is only one horse capable of traveling through the Neumann family's region. There were supposed to be two, but the other one died, and—"
"And what?!" Sol snapped angrily.
Shion intervened to calm the situation. "It's fine, Sol. We can ride the same horse."
"The problem is that horses can barely endure the Neumann province as it is, and carrying another person is an even heavier burden!"
"Can't I sustain it with my aura?"
"Will you keep supplying it for several hours?!"
"Yes."
Shion was confident in his aura, which had endured Shi Yun Lan's aura of death. But Sol Hart frowned when she heard his answer.