“Is that so? I thought you were avoiding me on purpose.”
Evelyn’s seemingly casual remark sent a chill down Erica’s neck. Having a guilty conscience, she really had been avoiding the Queen of the Callista family on purpose.
Evelyn was both the head of the Callista family and the current Queen of Noel. This was an established fact that would not change regardless of Erica’s feelings.
As a descendant of the fallen former dynasty, her existence was fundamentally incompatible with Evelyn’s—though Erica had never actually considered overthrowing the Callistas to restore the Noels or trying to become a queen herself.
For now, she was mostly worried that the Queen would notice the shift in her distance and mindset. She intended to maintain this avoidance until she could thoroughly sort out her thoughts.
As expected, things rarely went as planned.
Silently, the Queen’s eyes, dark as an abyss devouring all light, bored into Erica’s bright red eyes. Her gaze felt as though it could pierce through the girl’s soul and truth, forcing Erica to endure the goosebumps rising all over her skin.
‘Should I use **[Eye]** on her to check the enemy’s details?’ No, she didn’t have the courage to do that face-to-face.
Whenever she stared at someone’s status information, even Emil and the much weaker Ciercier could vaguely sense something. As a Seventh-tier Archmage, Evelyn would definitely notice such an abnormal prying sensation even faster.
She might even trace it back to the caster… and that would be a disaster.
“Hmm?”
While she was dazed, Evelyn’s hand enlarged in her vision, reaching straight toward her—
‘Wait, wait, wait! What happened? Did she notice my hidden thoughts?’
Just as Erica was about to shrink back in fear, Evelyn plucked a tiny object from the girl’s hair and held it in her palm. “Oh, it’s just a little spider.”
It was a spider about the size of a fingernail, likely blown onto her head by the wind on a strand of silk.
“My sister used to say that finding a little spider is a good omen. Well then, it’s just about time to prepare for our departure.”
Under Evelyn’s command, the attendants moved in an orderly fashion. Soon, piles of luggage were stacked onto the ancient magic circle in a corner of the palace.
Complex runes, including hexagrams and pentagrams, were etched haphazardly onto the stone magic circle. The area of the array was roughly the size of one basketball court.
Emil stepped onto the magic circle with her hands behind her head, narrowing her long eyes. “Can we really reach the Holy Kingdom within half a day just by standing here? What a wondrous magic. I wonder how it works?”
Evelyn leaned down, her slender, pale fingers lightly brushing over the magic circle. She answered, “I don’t know the specific principles either. After all, it was the masterpiece of that King. However, even after so much time, it seems to be well-preserved and functioning perfectly.”
The magic circle began to emit a strange humming sound, releasing spots of eerie blue light.
“The light will be quite blinding; it’s best to keep your eyes closed during the process. Once they open the barrier on the other side and allow entry, you’ll find yourself in a completely different place when you open your eyes again.”
Evelyn cast one last look over the palace where she was born and raised. Before her, the people who had gathered to see the Queen off on her studies were scattering colorful petals and cheering loudly.
‘What is Evelyn thinking right now?’
Erica was also feeling a bit nervous. She gripped the hem of her dress with both hands, tilting her head slightly to look at the expressionless Evelyn.
“Long live Her Majesty!”
“Long live the Kingdom of Noel…”
The voices of the people echoed through the light…
*Snap!* With a sound like tearing film, a blinding beam of light, as if a supernova had exploded, swallowed everything.
—
An unfamiliar ceiling…
Wait, she wasn’t indoors.
When Erica opened her eyes again, what she saw were buildings painted in white. Those novel-style buildings had broad red roofs, and most of the walls were covered in white pigment.
This was completely different from the architecture of Monarch City in the Kingdom of Noel, which featured soaring, tower-like spires. Thus, she immediately realized where they were.
“Is this the Holy Kingdom? We really arrived in another place in the blink of an eye!” Emil’s mouth hung open, seemingly unable to believe the magical journey she had just experienced.
Even for Emil, a noble lady who was a resident of this magical world, such teleportation magic was beyond common sense.
Being a modern person who had seen such things in fiction, Erica had nothing more to say besides offering a quiet word of praise.
“Welcome.” Several people dressed in white robes seemed to have been waiting for them. From a distance, they spread their arms to greet the group. “Welcome, distinguished guests from Noel. The Holy Kingdom has been looking forward to your arrival. Please, come this way.”
The delegation from the Holy Kingdom, who claimed they were expecting them, seemed to have been waiting at the magic circle for over several hours.
“Please allow us to host you properly. Please leave your luggage to us. Will the rest of your belongings be arriving on a subsequent carriage?”
Erica nodded at the white-robed old man’s question. “I believe another group will arrive here in about one week.”
“I understand. Then please follow me.” They were led toward a cluster of buildings that resembled a palace. However, rather than a palace, it looked more like a grand cathedral decorated with a vast amount of stained glass.
It was indeed a sanctuary, for this was the city that worshiped the God of Light and Fire.
Lifting her head toward the sky, she saw a massive, hemispherical object at the edge of her vision. It was a magnificent structure towering into the clouds—a truly gargantuan semi-spherical entity.
Its silver shell looked as if it were encased in metal, resembling an art museum or a football stadium… No, Erica quickly corrected her thought.
That was the Ark.
The Ark, a facility of the Holy Order, was exactly where “Heroes” were cultivated and educated. She had actually managed to bring Emil and Evelyn here.
From this point on, the story had diverged completely from the plot of the original novel. Thus, the girl felt both a thrill for the unknown and an inevitable sense of nervousness.
But now, Erica knew exactly what she had to do—avoid her pursuers and revive the Noel family.
‘Maybe there will be many answers and solutions there?’
‘Perhaps I can find a way to resolve this sudden plot mess. I hope it aligns with the “Happy Ending Plan” I’ve been working on.’
‘But what exactly does reviving a family mean? If I think about it straightforwardly, it seems like making the family name shine in the world again…’
‘But isn’t that like Li Yuan taking over the Sui Dynasty, and then someone jumping out to say, “My surname is Yang! Yes, exactly the Yang you’re thinking of! Come on, hit me!”? Isn’t that just painting a target on my back?’
‘Sigh, it’s a long and difficult road,’ the girl sighed helplessly.
‘But looking at it another way, family revival also means spreading the branches and leaves, ensuring the prosperity of the bloodline… So, I still can’t escape the fate of finding a man to marry?’
‘Since I’m the sole survivor of the family, does it mean I have to get married and give birth to many children who will inherit the Noel name?’
‘How can one person have that many kids?!’
**[Calm situational judgment! You have found a seemingly viable path! Experience points gained through the talent ‘Calm Thinking.’]**
**[All job experience + 50]**
**[The class ‘Half-Elf’ has reached Level 3!]**
**[Lv. 2 → Lv. 3]**
**[You can now act more like a little elf!]**
‘I see… like hell I do!’
‘I don’t want to find such a weird path!’
‘Waaaaah…’