Gavi’s last solemn words echoed like a tolling bell in Eleanor’s mind.
The proposal ignited a glimmer of hope in Eleanor’s heart—to go see her current research with her own eyes. But it also brought a greater difficulty.
After all, the underground workshop of the Alchemy Association wasn’t easy to enter.
Eleanor walked out of Helos’s dormitory building, her mind quickly calculating.
‘She isn’t a member of the Association. She isn’t even a student of the Comprehensive Research Academy. That place is a completely unfamiliar territory to her.’
‘Although she could use her status as a student from the secondary campus or the duke’s daughter of the Olivias family to apply for a “visit,” she was almost certain that absolutely wouldn’t allow her to see what she wanted.’
‘If Professor Graham really has a problem, how could he possibly expose the “dangerous research” he was guiding Helos to conduct in a “public visit” situation?’
‘He would probably just fob her off with the most routine and safe experiments.’
‘No. She can’t alert the enemy.’
‘She needs a more secretive, foolproof method.’
After thinking, Eleanor clenched her fist.
‘She knows who the only person who can help her and has the ability to help her is.’
‘She decided to tell Christ about this immediately.’
Eleanor took the last rest time of the afternoon, almost jogging out of the Royal Magic Academy, and took a carriage back to the family mansion in the Imperial Capital.
She grabbed the steward and asked urgently. However, she found no one there.
“Isn’t my brother here?”
The old steward replied respectfully: “Reporting, young lady. The young master received a message a few hours ago. It seems there’s urgent work at the ‘Tower of Truth’ that needs his attention. He’s already departed.”
“Tower of Truth…?”
Eleanor’s heart sank.
Having no choice, she told the coachman to turn the carriage around, and rode with her across most of the Imperial Capital to a towering spire that seemed to pierce the sky, standing in the center of the capital.
The Tower of Truth.
This was the holy land of all mages in the empire.
Security was tight here. A visible magic barrier surrounded the tower, making it impossible for ordinary people to approach.
Eleanor showed her family crest and stated she was there to see her older brother Christ.
The tower guardian mage seemed to recognize her. Amid their respectful bows, the young girl quickly walked into the tower.
She found Christ in a meditation room filled with starlight and countless floating scrolls.
“Brother!”
“Eleanor?”
Christ looked up from a complex spell model, surprised to see his sister’s anxious expression: “What happened? You actually came here to find me.”
Eleanor, too breathless to rest, stepped forward quickly and told him everything that had happened in the past few days—from Helos’s coldness at the café, to what she saw when she snuck into the dormitory, to Gavi’s bizarre and unbelievable “evolution,” and finally Gavi’s pained expression after being “gagged” and the clue she left behind.
As Eleanor spoke, the calm expression on Christ’s face gradually disappeared.
By the time Eleanor finished her last word, his azure eyes had turned icy cold.
He frowned deeply and fell into a long silence.
During this time, he had indeed neglected his sister’s situation.
Ever since he had the steward investigate Lilith and transfer her away, he thought the greatest unstable factor around Helos had been removed.
He naively believed that with that “honest and simple” Master Alchemist Graham around, Helos’s research wouldn’t have any major issues.
He was busy with his work at the Tower of Truth and handling family affairs, so he didn’t even notice such a huge change in Helos in time.
Gavi turned into a “person”? Helos fainted? And she was placed under a gag order?
All of this hit Christ’s heart like a heavy hammer.
This was his failure, so he had to find a way to make up for it.
“I understand.”
He said slowly, his voice a bit hoarse.
“I’ll handle the workshop.”
For Christ, it wasn’t difficult to see what Helos was really researching.
“Brother, what are you going to do? Should we…”
Eleanor was about to ask whether to force their way in, but Christ interrupted her, a trace of the confidence belonging to a genius mage returning to his face.
“No need for that trouble.”
He casually waved his hand, and the mana elements in the air instantly gathered in his palm.
Several “spiders” the size of a pinky fingernail appeared out of thin air.
They were made entirely of pure arcane mana, with a translucent black texture. Eight slender limbs moved nimbly, and they even looked somewhat cute.
“These are…”
Eleanor subconsciously took half a step back.
Christ’s tone carried a rare hint of interest. He seemed quite happy to introduce these familiars created by his mana to his sister.
“They are the materialized creations of the ‘Arcane Eye,’ my latest research achievement.”
As he spoke, he took out a crystal ball the size of a human head, with swirling nebula-like patterns inside, from a nearby workbench.
“These little things are the best scouts.”
Christ handed the crystal ball to Eleanor: “Everything they see and hear will be displayed on this crystal ball in real time.”
“They are made of pure mana, can ignore most physical barriers, and are almost undetectable by any anti-detection spells. They are perfect for infiltrating an underground workshop full of alchemists.”
As he said this, he lifted the hand holding the small spiders to Eleanor, and while talking, placed those cold, wriggling little things onto her fair palm.
“Eleanor, do me a favor.”
He didn’t notice at all that Eleanor’s already worried face turned several shades paler at the sight of these multi-legged arthropods.
She had been quite afraid of these furry, many-legged creatures since childhood!
Eleanor felt her hair stand on end.
She originally didn’t want to take these small spiders. She even wanted to shake them off immediately.
But thinking of Helos’s cold lavender eyes and Gavi’s helpless expression, Eleanor steeled herself and let those cold little things crawl onto her palm.
She could feel the sensation of their tiny limbs crawling on her skin, which gave her goosebumps all over.
“After you return to the Academy,”
Christ continued giving instructions without stopping, completely unaware of his sister’s discomfort. “Find a way to go to the Smelting Center. You don’t need to enter the workshop. Just release them nearby.”
Eleanor held stiffly the few “watchers” that were still crawling on her palm.
“They will find Helos’s aura on their own.”
She took a deep breath, forcing down the scream that was almost bursting from her throat.
She nodded vigorously, but her voice trembled with tension:
“I understand, brother.”
“I will take these… watchers…”
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