After the Illusion Space shattered, Mephia’s consciousness returned to reality.
In the Old Library of the real world, only a dozen seconds had passed since she had dragged Celeste into the Illusion.
Before the Inquisitors behind her could react, the Magic near the library walls stopped rotating.
Nightingale, dressed in her black gown, collapsed to the ground like a puppet that had lost its strings, eventually dissolving into motes of Magic Power.
This was merely a fake body that Celeste had manifested using Magic Power.
Without a consciousness to control it, it naturally reverted to Magic and merged back into the space.
Gazing at the spot where she had vanished, Mephia let out a cold snort, her fair face flushing slightly.
Her fingertips curled almost imperceptibly, as if she were savoring a fleeting sensation.
She immediately suppressed the feeling.
The Inquisitors looked at each other, unable to guess what the two had experienced within the Illusion.
***
On the top floor of the Library, the battle between Raymond and the Grey Cat continued.
The Grey Cat’s attacks were exceptionally sharp, and Raymond was being completely overwhelmed.
However, the Grey Cat was focused on leaving and had no intention of killing Raymond.
Even though Raymond was no match for her, he managed to stall her progress and prevent her escape.
While they fought, no one noticed that in a corner of the top floor, Tia, the daughter of a Count who had mysteriously fallen into a deep sleep, was waking up.
Mephia’s Magic had pulled her consciousness into an Illusion, causing her physical body to lose control.
Fortunately, she was in a secluded enough spot that no one had noticed.
Otherwise, it would have been difficult for her to play it off.
Scrambling up from the floor in a disheveled state, Tia found her legs shaking violently.
Not only that, but the lingering sensation of a certain event still hovered in her soul, causing her cheeks to turn red instantly.
‘The sensations from the Illusion can actually carry over to reality?!’
“Damn it, damn it!”
After complaining in a low voice, Tia quickly grabbed onto a bookshelf, forcing her legs to stop shaking.
Unfortunately, the moment she tried to walk, they would start trembling uncontrollably again.
But this was only temporary. It would pass in a moment, just a moment…
“Meow—!”
Right then, a pathetic feline shriek echoed through the top floor of the Library.
The girl-like Grey Cat fell clumsily to the ground, the back of her neck tightly gripped by a pair of cold, white hands.
She struggled to get up, but invisible Magic Shackles firmly bound her wrists and ankles, leaving her unable to move.
The person who had captured her was Mephia, who had rushed up from the first floor.
Seeing this, Tia quickly hid behind a bookshelf.
Nearby, Raymond climbed out from the wreckage of a bookshelf.
His face was flushed with frustration as he glared at the Grey Cat.
“Give—give me another half a minute, and I definitely could have taken her down!”
He cracked his knuckles, clearly brooding over his failure.
Mephia did not even turn to look at him.
She merely swept her gaze toward him indifferently.
That cold look made Raymond freeze, feeling as if a bucket of ice water had been poured over him.
His indignation was instantly extinguished.
He lowered his head, avoiding her gaze.
“Damn it!” the Grey Cat spat, her breath hitched with dust and blood. She struggled to lift her head, her eyes sweeping the surroundings fiercely. “Where is Nightingale?!”
Mephia paced slowly, stopping in front of the Grey Cat.
“Instead of worrying about her, you should worry about yourself.”
The Grey Cat pulled her lips back into a mocking grin.
“Kill me or torture me, do whatever you want! I’ve had no attachment to this world since the day I was born anyway!”
Raymond could not help but take another step forward, his tone threatening.
“Tell us Nightingale’s whereabouts, and we might let you die a bit more comfortably!”
“…Which means, you didn’t catch Nightingale?!”
The Grey Cat was stunned for a moment before laughing as if she had heard the world’s greatest joke.
“I should have known! You people thought you could catch Nightingale? Hmph! If I hadn’t let my temper get the better of me and had just listened to Nightingale’s orders, you wouldn’t have even caught me!”
Unconsciously, her voice carried a hint of admiration whenever she mentioned Nightingale.
Although she had been captured by the Inquisition, it was only because she had disobeyed Nightingale.
If she had been more obedient, perhaps none of this would have happened.
Nightingale’s wisdom was far superior to that of the Inquisition!
“You!”
Provoked by her attitude, Raymond took a large stride forward and delivered a harsh kick to the Grey Cat’s side.
She let out a muffled groan and curled her body up, glaring death at Raymond.
“Speak! Where is Nightingale?!”
The Grey Cat caught her breath and sneered, turning her head away.
“Tch, what’s the point in asking me? I don’t know anything except that her codename is Nightingale. Believe it or not.”
“You brat…”
“Enough.”
Veins pulsed on Raymond’s forehead.
Just as he was about to move again, Mephia called out to stop him.
Mephia stopped looking at the Grey Cat.
She scanned the top floor, which had been ruined by the battle, and ordered, “Someone take her back. The rest of you, clean up this Library.”
“Yes, Lady Mephia.”
Several Inquisitors stepped forward and forcibly hauled the Grey Cat off the floor.
Raymond took a deep breath, turned around, and disappeared down the stairs with them.
Mephia turned and walked toward Tia, who had been standing quietly in the shadows not far away.
As she approached, the cold aura around her body softened slightly.
“Are you all right?”
Tia seemed as if she had not yet recovered from the assassination attempt.
She looked up dazed, her fair face covered in a sickly, strange flush.
“I—I’m fine.”
She answered softly, trying to force a reassuring smile, but the expression was stiff.
Mephia’s gaze drifted downward, falling below the hem of Tia’s stained dress.
The girl’s slender calves were trembling uncontrollably.
“Why are your legs shaking?”
Tia’s body stiffened as if she had been caught doing something wrong.
She subconsciously pressed her legs together, trying to stop the embarrassing tremors.
“I… I’m just…”
She opened her mouth, seemingly unable to find a suitable excuse.
Finally, she gritted her teeth and met Mephia’s gaze, whispering with a hint of shame:
“I… I will be strong.”
Mephia gazed at her.
The girl’s attempt to stay calm, her pale fingertips clutching her skirt, and her back held straight despite the shaking…
That was right.
No matter how mature Celestia, the daughter of the Count, tried to act, she was still a kind, innocent girl as pure as a blank sheet of paper.
After experiencing an assassination and chaos at such close range, hovering at the gates of life and death, anyone would be terrified—especially a girl like her.
She had expected too much from her.
The icy scrutiny deep within Mephia’s eyes melted away, replaced by a faint softness.
She reached out her hand toward Tia and said softly: “Let’s go. Leave the rest to them. I’ll take you back.”