Olivia and the three female mages left the south tower and went straight to the main hall.
The chariot had been prepared and was waiting outside the main hall's entrance.
Upon reaching the main hall, Olivia stopped in her tracks after seeing a tall woman in golden armor standing at the bottom of the stairs. Seven female mages wearing the same cream-colored robe as the three mages with Olivia stood respectfully behind the woman.
"Lady Lauren," the three mages with Olivia also stopped and bowed respectfully at the woman.
On the other hand, Olivia did nothing and only looked at the woman indifferently.
The woman they called Lauren raised her head before pulling up the visor of her armor's helmet.
Beautiful light brown eyes met Olivia's green ones.
"It is the wee hours. Where are you heading to?" Lauren asked her. "Something big is happening in Meliora. It is best not to wander off alone at this time."
"I could ask and say the same to you. Where did you go that you have only returned now?" Olivia replied and sized up Lauren's full-body armor. "You're even geared for battle. I almost thought you went to Meliora to stir trouble."
Lauren shrugged, "I am the Head. It is only natural that I gear up when I leave because there is no telling when the assassins from other factions will come knocking on my door."
"For someone overly cautious about getting assassinated, you sure love to go out. Not to mention, stay out for a long time," Olivia replied with a smile that did not meet her eyes.
That said, Olivia resumed descending the stairs and ignored Lauren.
One of the seven female mages with Lauren spoke disapprovingly, "Lady Olivia. Please know your place."
Olivia stopped and looked a the mage, "Right back at you."
"That is enough," Lauren said with a sigh. Without looking at Olivia, she continued, "What happened to Master is not my fault. When will you ever believe me?"
Olivia only snorted in response before moving on. The three female mages looked at Lauren uneasily but ultimately followed Olivia.
Lauren heaved another sigh before saying out loud, "A letter requesting a meetup came this morning."
Olivia ignored her and kept walking.
"Initially, I want to ignore it. But included in the letter was a disc that appeared to have a similar feat to a memory orb," Lauren continued, even when the latter appeared uninterested. "Interestingly, the disc recorded an image of a medallion with the same design as our faction's old one."
Upon hearing the last part, Olivia finally showed some interest and stopped.
Sensing Olivia had stopped, Lauren turned around and looked at her, "I accepted the letter's request and agreed to meet that person, which is why I left."
Olivia frowned as she turned to look at her, "I don't care where you went—."
"The sender initially wanted to meet you."
Olivia's frown deepened after hearing that, and she growled, "You dared read a letter meant for me? Need I remind you that though I am not actively participating in the Aureole's affairs, I am still a Deputy Head? You may be the Head, but you have no right to poke your nose in my business."
"That medallion is similar to Master's keepsake. I can't ignore that person's origin—."
"I don't want to hear your excuses. Tell me what that person wants."
Lauren shook her head, "I don't know."
"Lauren—."
"Let me finish," Lauren hastily added when Olivia hissed at her angrily. Without waiting for the latter to calm down, she continued, "That person did not show up. We searched the vicinity but ultimately failed to find anyone."
"Where's the letter?" Olivia demanded.
Lauren looked at the mage who had spoken out to Olivia. The mage bowed respectfully before taking out a rolled-up parchment from a pouch tied around her waist. She went to Olivia and offered the parchment.
Olivia took the parchment before saying, "And the disc?"
The female mage hesitated and looked at Lauren.
"Give it to her," Lauren told the female mage.
The female mage reached inside her pouch and reluctantly took out the disc.
Olivia snatched the disc from the mage's hand without waiting for her to offer it. Then she glared at Lauren one last time before turning to leave.
The three mages with her followed suit.
Lauren let out a defeated sigh as she watched Olivia and the three mages walk out the door. She knew how much the latter blamed her for her mother's illness. But she really had nothing to do with it. All she could do was prove her innocence through action. Going after the letter's sender was something Lauren believed to be showing her sincerity because she guessed that the person who sent that letter was another one of those people who wanted to take advantage of Olivia's weakness.
Lauren believed that the person wanted to extort Olivia by offering a cure for her mother's illness. It had happened in the past. That was why Lauren wanted to protect Olivia from those types of people.
"Send some people after them. Report to me if something happens," Lauren ordered one of the female mages with her.
"Yes, Lady Lauren."
The mage left, and the other five followed her.
Only the female mage who had spoken out earlier remained. She bowed her head at Lauren and said, "Lady Lauren, what about that matter?"
Lauren furrowed her brows when she heard the mage. She shook her head and walked up the stairs.
"I've already given my reply. I will not meet her. Do not broach that matter again."
The female mage lowered her head further before replying, "Yes, Lady Lauren. Please forgive my lack of judgment."
Lauren waved her hand dismissively and left without saying a word.
Alas, if she had glanced back at the female mage, she might have seen the latter's piercing gaze.
Olivia left the castle with the three female mages. Now and then, she would gaze out the window of the chariot to look at the sky.
The Sovereign's Cradle was still there, and the booming crackling sounds continued as more and more fissures appeared.
Seeing the fissures made Olivia anxious. She leaned back and grasped the small disc in her hand. True to what Lauren had said, it showed an image of an old medallion. But unlike Lauren, who only thought it looked similar to her mother's keepsake, Olivia knew it was the same. After all, she left that medallion to her essence in the Tower of Tribulation.
Recalling the image of a young man punching the huge finger in the fissure from the memory orb sent by their people in Noser, then this letter, Olivia was starting to consider her initial guess that the fissures in Meliora and in Noser were related. And both incidents were related to the person her essence had met in the tower's special place.
Ever since she recovered her essence's memory of that young man, Olivia had been waiting for the latter's visit. Unfortunately, more than a month had passed, yet she had not heard from him.
Now that she had, it seemed something big was about to happen.
*
With more people witnessing the fissures in the sky, more factions had begun dispatching their members to investigate. Some medium-sized factions, who had people in Meliora, were already in the know about the army's reserves, leaving the main headquarters and heading west.
Those who knew about the fissure incident in Noser started to speculate that the army's movement and the fissures were related.
Soon, news came to the few factions around Meliora stating that Bo and Esme led the last batch of reserved soldiers. While they were surprised that two known figures in the army had personally led these soldiers, that was not the most crucial news. What got these factions reeling in excitement and, at the same time, in fear was the destination these soldiers went to.
Apparently, Bo and Esme had marched south of Meliora, not west.
This immediately made people believe that the army had received an update regarding Gray and was on its way to taking him into custody.
However, these factions received an anonymous report stating that Gray remained at large and the army was not dispatched because of him.
This made most factions scratch their heads trying to figure out the army's destination. To the more experienced leaders and veteran members of these factions, however, they soon figured that the army's destination was the Regis Estate.
With this in mind, they immediately organized a team to check if this was true.
Not long after these factions made their move, however, they received another anonymous report stating that the incident in Noser had escalated, and the army stepped in. What was even more surprising was that the one who led the army was none other than Grand Marshal Gael.
*
Somewhere in the west, a figure was floating above the sky.
The figure wore full-body armor, and on his hand was a trident that emitted a very oppressive aura.
This figure was none other than Tritus. And he was looking at the sky ahead, which was continuously riddled with fissures.
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