After finishing all this, Mephia’s gaze finally moved away from the dressing table as she shifted the conversation to a different topic.
“I’m relieved to see you’re alright. I actually came here today for another matter.”
Tia tilted her head. “What is it?”
“The daughter of a Marquis has left the Imperial Capital and is heading to Hela City.”
Tia blinked, her delicate face showing a hint of well-timed confusion.
“What does that have to do with me?”
Mephia explained, “Her reputation is terrible. Rumor has it that two or three sons of noble houses in the Imperial Capital lost their lives because of her. Beyond that, she has a penchant for beautiful women. If she sets her sights on someone, she’ll do whatever it takes to get her hands on them.”
Tia’s brow furrowed slightly.
From Mephia’s description, this Marquis’s daughter sounded like a spoiled brat—utterly self-centered.
If she were coming to Hela City, it was indeed bad news.
“The reason she left the Imperial Capital,” Mephia continued, “is that she offended the Imperial Royal Family. She’s coming here to lie low for a while until things settle down, then she’ll head back.”
“She offended the Imperial Royal Family? How can a matter like that just settle down?”
Mephia shook her head gently.
“Relations within the Imperial Royal Family are complicated. She has relatives in the family who will naturally step in to settle the matter for her. It’s precisely because of this that she acts so arrogantly and domineeringly.”
At this point, she looked at Tia.
“Besides, rather than worrying about that, you should worry about yourself.”
Tia’s fingers tightened slightly.
She understood what Mephia meant.
“Are you saying… she might set her sights on me?”
Mephia had said that the woman liked beautiful women, and since Tia was known as the most beautiful woman in Hela City, she might have already been targeted…
‘Sigh, being too famous really isn’t always a good thing.’
Mephia spoke with certainty.
“The probability is high. In my opinion, you’d better be careful. Not a single noble from the Imperial Capital is to be trifled with.”
Imperial Capital nobles.
Just hearing that title made Tia feel restless.
Anyone who could survive the whirlpool of struggle in the Imperial Capital had to be incredibly shrewd.
“I’ve said what I needed to say. I should go.”
It seemed Mephia really had come just to inform her of this.
She turned and walked toward the door.
The moment her hand touched the handle, she stopped.
“Take care of yourself.”
With that, the door opened and then clicked shut.
The slender figure vanished into the night outside.
Tia stood in place, staring at the closed door for a long time.
She pondered the matter of the Imperial Capital noble.
Less than 15 minutes after Mephia left, there was another knock at the door.
This time, the knock was much heavier than Mephia’s.
“Tia.”
It was Earl Harris’s voice.
Tia took a deep breath and went to open the door.
Earl Harris stood at the entrance, followed by Margaret, whose expression was complicated.
His brow was slightly furrowed, and his face was solemn.
“Father?” Tia called out softly.
“I’ve received news,” Earl Harris said.
“A noble from the Imperial Capital will be visiting Hela City for a few days.”
Tia’s heart skipped a beat.
She obviously knew who he was talking about.
“For the next few days,” Earl Harris commanded, “stay out of sight and keep a low profile. I’ll have those two maids of yours keep an eye on you.”
It seemed he had also investigated the Marquis’s daughter’s preferences.
But to maintain her image of being young and ignorant, Tia asked softly, “Do you… not want me to meet her?”
Earl Harris’s answer was decisive, without a hint of hesitation.
“Of course. She’s nothing but bad news.”
Tia remained silent for a moment.
“Would that be impolite?”
“Politeness? What does that matter in the face of trouble?”
He said nothing more, giving Tia a deep, meaningful look before turning to leave.
Margaret followed close behind him.
—
By nightfall, her bedroom had grown completely quiet.
Once she was sure no one else would enter, Tia finally breathed a sigh of relief and sat on the bed.
Then, she opened the bag Rose had given her.
Four items tumbled out: 3 Magic Crystals and a special crystal used for communicating with Rose.
She put the special crystal away.
After absorbing the 3 Magic Crystals, Tia found that the Magic Power in her body had finally moved past 2-star Bronze and entered the realm of 3-star Bronze.
Squeezing her fist gently, she felt that she was at least five or six times more powerful than before!
‘So satisfying!’
She now had a bit more ability to protect herself within Hela City.
However, she wouldn’t let it go to her head.
After seeing Silver Grade Monsters, the mysterious East Commander, and the Grand Witch, she felt that Copper Rank strength was basically at the bottom of the ladder in Hela City.
To truly keep herself alive in this whirlpool, she would likely need to reach Silver Grade at the very least.
And to reach Silver Grade, she needed a total of 12 Magic Crystals.
12 Magic Crystals…
Although she had become a Core Member of the Witch Council and earned a salary of 2 Magic Crystals per week, it would still take 6 weeks to reach Silver Grade.
That was too slow.
Hela City was currently in a state of upheaval, and no one knew what would happen in 6 weeks.
Therefore, she had to increase her strength as quickly as possible.
6 weeks was absolutely unacceptable!
After thinking it over, she took out the Communication Crystal the Witch Council had given her.
Since she was now a Core Member, she was entitled to access some of the council’s secrets.
At the same time, she could take on higher-level missions.
Scanning the Communication Crystal, she looked at the “Secret Lore” section and learned about the origins of witches—
Legend had it that in ancient times, an Imperial Princess was pursued by an enemy nation.
In her despair, she accidentally stepped into a strange temple.
The interior of the temple was empty, but it felt as though something was being nurtured there; an indescribable aura lingered around the temple at all times.
To survive, she offered her faith to the deity within the temple.
Afterward, she possessed an incredible, fantastical power.
Not only did she kill those pursuing her, but she also wiped out the enemy nation.
After her death, female infants with this fantastical power were born into the world.
As time passed, she became known to later generations as the Ancestor of Witches, and that deity was called the Goddess of Witches.
As for why witches later became stigmatized and why humans launched witch hunts, Tia’s current clearance still wasn’t high enough to find out.
She didn’t particularly mind, though.
For now, she was more concerned with her own strength.
Moving past the lore available to Core Members, she scanned the missions.
Compared to ordinary Officers, the missions for Core Members were much more numerous.
One mission’s reward, in particular, made her eyes light up—10 Magic Crystals!
If she could complete this mission, then including her weekly salary as a Core Member, she could reach Silver Grade within a single 1 week and possess true self-preservation power!