Damian struggled desperately, his legs flailing in the air, his face reddening, and finally, extreme fear appeared in his eyes. He could feel a domineering surge of cyan mana wildly rushing into his body.
“Weren’t you just bullying my family with magic? Since you like this power so much, I’ll grant your wish.”
Charlotte remained cold and silent, her eyes as icy as if looking at a dead thing.
With a dull cracking sound, the magic circuits inside Damian’s body snapped inch by inch under Charlotte’s terrifying mana impact.
Damian let out a pig-like scream, then rolled his eyes and completely passed out.
With his magic circuits destroyed, he would never be able to gather mana again for the rest of his life. He had become a complete waste.
Charlotte released her grip like she was throwing away trash, letting Damian collapse onto the arena floor like a pile of mud.
The whole event happened in a flash.
Gasps of cold air rippled through the crowd. The Weir family members and the lackeys who had been following Damian all stared at the blonde-haired girl on the stage as if she were a monster.
“Th-this… how is this possible? One blow? A single blow crippled a High-level Mage?!”
“Gulp…” The lackeys swallowed hard, scrambled onto the arena in panic, carried the unconscious Damian away, and fled without even leaving a threatening word.
Charlotte ignored those fleeing insects. She jumped off the arena and walked straight to the Great Elder, bowing slightly. “Great Elder, I’m back. Sorry for bringing shame to the family.”
“Good… good! It’s good that you’re back! It’s good!” The Great Elder was so moved that tears streamed down his aged face. He grabbed Charlotte’s hand and said, “Your mana… has it recovered?!”
“Mm, it’s a long story. Let’s go inside.”
Inside the Weir Family Hall, the atmosphere was solemn and dignified.
Charlotte concealed the extremely dangerous and painful details about Annabell and the mutual destruction with the Great Demon God. She simply recounted how, by chance, she had obtained the elven king legacy and thus rebuilt her magic circuits.
Even so, it was enough to leave the elders present utterly stunned.
“Elven king legacy… Heaven blesses our Weir family! Heaven blesses our Weir family!” The Great Elder’s beard trembled with excitement. “Charlotte, as long as you’re here, our family’s return to its peak is within reach!”
Seeing the elders’ relieved smiles, Charlotte’s heart felt heavy.
“Great Elder, how is Father’s health?” Charlotte asked.
“The Family Head’s condition is stable for now. But…” The Great Elder’s face showed difficulty, hesitating.
“But what?” Charlotte frowned, keenly sensing something amiss. “Has something else happened in the family?”
The Great Elder sighed, pulled a gold-embossed letter from his sleeve, and handed it to Charlotte.
“In the days you were away, Sky College sent this.”
Charlotte took it and saw the emblem of the Sky Academy Student Council on the envelope.
“What is this?”
“An annulment letter.” The Great Elder gritted his teeth, his voice full of humiliation. “Tomorrow, the current Student Council President of Sky College will come in person to officially terminate the engagement between you and Miss Annabell.”
“What?!”
Charlotte stood abruptly, the envelope in her hand crumpling under her grip. “Annulment?! On behalf of Annabell?! Who gave them the nerve?!” A fire of uncontrollable rage ignited in Charlotte’s heart.
Didn’t others know? She knew perfectly well!
Annabell had clearly declared ‘no annulment’ in front of everyone by the campfire in the Secret Realm! She had even risked her own life to protect Charlotte!
Now Annabell was missing, her fate unknown. Those bastards at Sky College actually dared to jump out at this time and annul the engagement in her name?!
“I heard it was Principal Sylvia’s idea. Miss Annabell hasn’t returned for a long time. The academy seems to think she’s met with an accident, or perhaps they simply want to use this time when you’ve ‘lost your mana’ to completely sever this mismatched engagement.”
The Great Elder said bitterly, “Charlotte, even though you’ve recovered your strength, Sky College has deep resources, and that Student Council President has connections that reach the heavens… I’m afraid we…”
“Afraid of what?” Charlotte’s voice was as cold as ice. “They want to annul it just like that? Use Annabella’s name to stomp on us? Dream on!”
Charlotte tightly gripped the letter, a paranoid, crazed gleam shining in her eyes.
‘Anna… I won’t let anyone destroy the engagement you fought so hard to protect!’
Charlotte knew that although she had obtained the elven king legacy, the power she could currently unleash was far from its peak.
Sky College was full of experts, and the Student Council President was a top-tier High-level Mage.
She had to fully integrate the medicine god soulfire within her as quickly as possible, pushing her strength to its true limit! Only then would she be qualified to go to Sky College, demand an explanation, and search for Annabell!
The scene shifted to the edge of the Royal Capital, the hidden and quiet Church Stronghold.
In the dim underground alchemy lab, the aroma of magic herbs was so thick it almost turned solid.
Rosalind released her grip on the stirring rod, utterly exhausted. Her once snow-white face now showed a sickly pallor, with dark circles beneath her eyes.
To refine this bottle of “perfect-class life water,” she had gone two days and two nights without sleep.
She had even forcibly extracted the holy light source from her heart, risking her own mental exhaustion, just to boost the potion’s effectiveness by even the slightest margin.
Shadow.
Looking at the liquid in the crystal bottle, which swirled with brilliant golden light, a weak but supremely satisfied smile curled at the corner of Rosalind’s mouth.
“Once she drinks this, Annabell-sama will be completely healed, right…”
She carefully held the crystal bottle, walked upstairs with unsteady steps, and pushed open the door to Annabell’s room.
The room was quiet, with sunlight filtering through the gaps in the curtains, casting light onto the soft bed.
Annabell lay in deep sleep. Her silver-white hair spread across the pillow like silk, her long lashes casting faint shadows under her eyelids.
Gone was the haughty, sharp-edged arrogance she displayed when awake. Sleeping, she was peaceful, like a defenseless porcelain doll.
Rosalind tiptoed to the bedside and sat down slowly.
She stared at Annabell’s sleeping face, as if she could never look enough.
‘What kind of person are you, really?’ Rosalind murmured in her mind.
On the arena, she had been arrogant and abusive, calling Rosalind trash. In the Secret Realm, she had cruelly splashed a potion in her face.
Yet, at the final moment facing the Demon God, she had stood in front of everyone, leaving the path of life to Rosalind.
That power that surpassed everything, that ultimate gentleness hidden beneath extreme cruelty, was like a deadliest poison, making Rosalind completely addicted, deeply sinking into it, unable to extricate herself.
“Annabell-sama…”
Rosalind’s breathing grew rapid. Under the intertwining of extreme fatigue and the sick frenzy in her heart, her reason began to waver.
She couldn’t help but lean forward, slowly moving closer to the breathtakingly beautiful face so near.
She could feel the other’s steady breathing, smell the faint, cool fragrance on her.
Just once… stealing a touch, surely it wouldn’t be noticed, right?