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Chapter : 27
“May I see your invitation?”
After handing over the gold‑leaf invitation that had flown to the mansion not long ago, the prince and I followed a servant toward the garden where the banquet was being held.
Lillia had insisted—by her standards, at least—that she wanted her birthday celebration to be small, so instead of the grand ballroom, it was held outdoors in the ducal garden. I had worried that autumn weather would make it chilly, but that concern vanished immediately.
Lillia was, after all, quite a capable mage. It seemed she’d laid a wide‑range warming spell over the entire garden.
“…It’s beautiful.”
Flowers were long gone with the season, but small mana lamps glimmered here and there, and the young nobles chatting at the tables made it feel less like a stiff high‑society ball and more like a relaxed garden party.
“Your Highness, and Spirit Master—you’ve arrived.”
“Sister! I missed you!”
I ignored the curious glances being thrown our way and looked around leisurely at the surroundings—only for someone to suddenly fling themselves into my arms with a familiar voice.
Soft blonde hair adorned with ornaments fluttered.
“…Lillia.”
“Oh my goodness, Sister.”
Paying no mind to her father’s bewildered face nor the prince’s look of “Here we go again,” Lillia squeezed me tight, then stepped back and began circling me in awe.
“These are from Viscount Anez, right? I should bow a hundred times. Look at these gorgeous accessories! They’re perfect! I should bribe him to keep dressing you forever!”
Lillia and I had known each other for quite some time now, and by now she knew me far too well. She’d been shocked in the beginning—my clothing and accessories changed drastically depending on the day, since Sierra often dressed me not just for events but whenever she felt like it—yet now, whenever I appeared suddenly glamorous, she simply assumed Sierra had gotten her hands on me again.
“Happy birthday, Lillia.”
Smiling faintly, I pulled a small velvet case from my inner pocket.
Lillia’s eyes widened.
“Th‑This is for me?”
“Mhm.”
Staring at the case with sparkling eyes, she looked like pure innocence incarnate.
“May I open it…?”
I nodded. With trembling fingers, she lifted the lid.
“…Oh my.”
She carefully lifted the earrings—crafted from refined magic stones—and held them up to the light. Her cheeks flushed pink.
“You infused mana into these, didn’t you? They’re so beautiful…”
Her voice dropped into a reverent whisper, as if enchanted.
Around us, nobles pretending not to stare sucked in a sharp breath. Magic stones weren’t something ordinary people could easily obtain. Stones capable of holding mana—and even functioning as artifacts when engraved—were rare. Even the Mage Tower didn’t possess many; there was a reason the Emperor had offered them as prizes during the Hunt Festival.
But the Spirit Tower issued a few every six months as research supplies for spirit mages. I’d always passed mine along to Alec, not being interested in research, but for the first time, they’d found a use.
“You don’t need to wear them every day—but at least carry them with you.”
Inside the earrings, I had inscribed a simple defensive spell and a teleportation sigil leading to Sierra’s estate. The moment Lillia judged herself to be in danger, it would activate automatically. She might be a prodigy who entered the Tower at a young age, but as a duchess’s daughter—and with the crown prince lurking around—one never knew.
“Aahh… Sister’s mana… I love you… I’ll cherish this for life… And while we’re at it just marry me, please…”
In an instant, she yanked off the earrings she’d been wearing, replaced them with my gift, clung to me again, and melted into a puddle with a bizarre groan.
“There she goes again.”
The prince pried Lillia off me and tugged me to his side.
“There’s no need to indulge every antic of that unruly girl.”
“Heaven forbid. Did Your Highness just introduce yourself as an unruly brat?”
As always, the moment their faces met, Lillia and the prince began bickering. They insisted they loathed each other, but honestly—this was what friendship looked like. If they truly detested one another, they’d stay silent.
“…Lillia. Could you stay with His Highness and the other young ladies for a moment? I’d like to speak with the Spirit Master alone.”
At the duke’s words, the prince and I exchanged a glance, and though Lillia grumbled, she nodded.
I followed the duke to a secluded corner of the garden, away from watchful eyes.
“…Did you bring it?”
“Yes.”
“I did receive an extra bottle myself, but… I’ll take yours.”
Once certain no one was watching, I quietly slipped a small vial from my coat and handed it to the duke. He stared at it for a long moment with a conflicted expression, sighed, and tucked it away.
“I trust you’ll handle the aftermath.”
“…Of course.”
That was when I felt something was wrong.
Crack.
A tearing noise echoed behind us.
“Wh‑What is that…?”
Someone muttered in a trembling voice.
When I turned, the nobles—and Lillia and the prince—were staring at us with terrified faces.
I looked behind me.
“…You’ve got to be kidding.”
My mind went blank.
Right at our backs, the air warped and split open.
I knew I needed to run—if I at least reached the prince’s group, I might avoid being caught in the rupture—but my body refused to move. My feet were stuck as if glued to the ground. All the while, the crack widened.
Each second felt endless.
If I ran now, I’d be dragged in. But the duke—perhaps I could shove him toward safety.
I forced my body to move, reached for the duke—who was staring blankly at the crack just like I was—
“Oh my God—Lien!!!!!”
A piercing scream rang out—it was Alec, somehow here, though I had no idea when he’d arrived—
I saw the prince sprinting toward us—
And then the duke and I were swallowed by the rift.
“Wh‑What is that…?”
What just happened?
Rihar blinked, unable to believe his eyes.
“…Father…? Sister…?”
Just moments ago—of all places, in that quiet corner where Lien and the Duke of Shutrien had been standing—the space had warped open and swallowed them whole.
“Oh my God—Lien!!!!!”
Everyone had been so fixated on the bizarre sight that no one noticed the man who had burst into the garden. The rift was widening rapidly.
“Something just….”
“The duke and the spirit master…?”
“Damn it, MOVE! That’s a rift!! Monsters are going to pour out!!!”
While everyone was still frozen, staring, a man’s thunderous shout finally broke the trance, and screams erupted.
THUD!
THUD!
Before the man even finished speaking, a massive monster limb tore through and crushed the garden lawn.
“Kyaaaa!”
Where the creature stepped, the grass shriveled black. A hulking monster squeezed its way into the garden.
“R‑Run!!!!”
“AAAAAAAH!!!”
Chaos erupted across the Shutrien estate as everyone fled in terror.
“…Lien.”
Monsters spilled endlessly from the rift that had swallowed her. It still hadn’t closed. Rihar took several steps toward it and was about to sprint—
“Are you two INSANE?!”
Alec—the same man he’d seen investigating monsters after the Hunt Festival—grabbed him.
“Let go!!!!”
“Let go of me!”
Beside him, Lillia struggled wildly.
“If you go in there now, you’re just going to die! You’re a mage, right? Help stop these things first!”
“But Father and Sister!!”
“Even if they got pulled in, Lien is a spirit master. Believe she can survive! What can we do RIGHT NOW?! If we leave those monsters alone, do you have any idea what’ll happen?! If you’ve got strength to stand, use it to hold them back!”
