The clamor and splendor of the celebration receded from Helos’s life like the ebbing tide.
The revelry and clinking glasses of that night felt like a fleeting, somewhat unreal dream.
Two more days passed, and that brief “vacation” came to an end.
Helos and Eleanor returned to the Royal Magic Academy as usual, resuming their respective school routines.
Eleanor remained the Saintess under the spotlight of the Divine Magic Academy, moving daily between the sacred cathedral and the library.
As for Helos, she returned to the Comprehensive Research Academy, back to her dormitory filled with the smell of gunpowder, medicinal herbs, and Agatha’s startled cries.
She had thought her life would immediately return to tranquility, at least allowing her to calmly digest the impact of that banquet and continue her delayed alchemy research.
But she had clearly underestimated some people’s “dedication.”
On the very afternoon of her return to the Academy, just as she finished a tedious session of [Ancient Rune Studies] and was about to slip back to the dormitory with Gavi, a figure she least wanted to see at that moment appeared on her path back to the dorm, as if pre-calculated.
Teacher Lilith.
She looked exactly as usual: no matter how many times you saw her, she wore a deep violet velvet dress and her immaculate long hair.
She stood under a tree, as if admiring the scenery, but those deep wine-red eyes locked onto Helos the moment she appeared.
“Miss Helos, good day.”
Lilith smiled and greeted her.
Her steps were light, carrying an elusive nimbleness.
“Seeing how you look, you must have rested well these past few days?”
“Thanks to you, Teacher.”
Helos immediately wiped off the lazy expression of “finally class is over” from her face, instinctively straightened her back, and returned a standard curtsey.
‘Why is this woman haunting me?’
Lilith seemed not to notice her stiffness, still using her gentle and pleasant voice to make small talk.
“The Imperial Banquet the day before yesterday was truly impressive. I haven’t seen such a grand occasion in a long time.”
She walked slowly alongside Helos on the tree-lined path, while Gavi followed silently behind the two.
“I saw you, Miss Helos.”
Lilith lowered her voice a bit, with admiration.
“You were absolutely radiant that night, almost capturing everyone’s attention. Even His Majesty the Emperor praised you highly.”
“You flatter me, Teacher. I was just doing my best not to disgrace my family.”
Helos answered humbly, but she felt that Lilith’s focus was not on this.
Sure enough, Lilith changed the subject. Her wine-red eyes scanned her imperceptibly, and her tone seemed casual.
“As your etiquette teacher, I am sincerely proud of you.”
“However… I’m curious, Miss Helos. After experiencing such a night in the spotlight, did you have any… hm, special feelings?”
She asked extremely naturally, like a teacher concerned about a student’s psychological changes after their first big social event.
Helos’ footsteps paused slightly.
Special feelings?
Lilith’s question, like a key, instantly opened the floodgates of memories she had deliberately avoided these past few days.
She pondered for a long time.
To be honest, she didn’t want to attend that banquet.
She hated that hypocritical flattery and despised those tedious rules.
But when she wore that midnight purple dress, took her sister’s arm, and stepped into that golden and magnificent hall, seeing the empire’s top nobles, talents, heiresses, and ladies, even the Emperor himself, all focusing their gazes on her—praise, flattery, envy, jealous looks surging towards her like a tide…
Helos had to admit that she indeed had an unprecedented special feeling.
Because whether in her previous life or this life, until that night’s banquet, she had never been praised and flattered like that.
In her previous life, she was just an ordinary college student, drowned in the crowd, inconspicuous.
In this life, she had carried the stigma of “Cursed Girl,” living like a ghost in the corner of Duke Olivia’s mansion for many years.
She was used to being ignored, used to being excluded, even used to hiding in the shadows, arming herself with complaints and research.
But that night was different.
She stood in the brightest center.
To be honest, anyone likes being praised by others, let alone this kind of adoration from the empire’s top echelons?
Helos found that she not only didn’t dislike that feeling, but even enjoyed it a little.
She admitted that at that moment, she felt a bit elated.
When she became the undisputed center of the entire venue, when everyone was amazed or captivated by her every smile and frown, she felt that at that moment, she could do anything, achieve anything.
She was no longer the “Cursed Girl” who had to hide behind her siblings, no longer the “odd genius” who only tinkered with bottles and jars in the workshop.
At that moment, she was Helos Olivia.
The focus, the center, the master of the stage.
This feeling made her intoxicated, even gave her a hint of—
“Hmm…”
Helos snapped back to reality.
She looked at Lilith’s expectant eyes and decided to tell part of the truth.
“If I have to say…”
She chose her words.
“It’s probably an unprecedented confidence.”
She tried to describe that subtle feeling.
“When everyone’s eyes were on me, I felt that at that moment, I could do anything.
It was as if the whole world revolved around me.”
At the end, she felt a bit embarrassed and added quietly.
“Perhaps this strong confidence—even arrogance—counts as a kind of ‘will’ you mentioned?”
Helos felt she had gained something.
She felt she had vaguely grasped something, but it wasn’t clear.
However, after hearing her answer, Lilith’s warm smile seemed to stiffen for a second.
Her brow furrowed very quickly.
Because this was not the answer she wanted.
Confidence? Arrogance?
No, that was just the surface, the most shallow “aftereffect” of that power.
What she wanted to hear was Helos’ perception of that “power” itself.
The “sign of awakening” where the soul is nourished and the will begins to distort reality when that “charm” converges!
This little one, she was clearly already standing at the gate of the [Phantom] mark, even had one foot inside, so why did she seem completely unaware?
Was the “stage” of the Imperial Banquet not grand enough?
Or were the “sacrifices” of those noble children not high quality?
No, that shouldn’t be…
Countless doubts flashed through Lilith’s mind, but the smile on her face remained unchanged.
“I see.”
She nodded with a smile, as if very gratified by Helos’ “understanding.”
“It’s wonderful that you have such feelings. Confidence is precisely a lady’s most powerful source of ‘charm.'”
But for now, Lilith knew she couldn’t continue digging deeper.
Pushing too hard might alert this little one.
After all, she still had plenty of time.
That “seed” had been planted, and the “nourishment” from the banquet had indeed strengthened the aura of [Phantom] by a lot.
Awakening was only a matter of time.
Lilith elegantly lifted her skirt, her wine-red eyes refilling with gentle smiles.
“Miss Helos, please continue to enjoy your pleasant academy life.”
“I have some matters to attend to, so I won’t disturb you.”