Part 1

'I wonder if the princess made it out safely.' Luke thought to himself as he walked down the hallway that led towards the bridge of the castle.

The sounds of battle reached his ears along with the sound of a man's loud laughter. An explosion boomed followed by a rumble.

"The duchess sure is powerful, huh."

One of the servants said in amazement.

"Huh? You can tell that's her?"

"Of course. All of us of the Berkley castle staff know how strong she is and what kind of spells she uses. She is known as the Flame Lotus by the academy students who she teaches. Her destructive magic earned her that title. I'm surprised that the opponent is still standing after being thrown with so many of her spells."

"O-Oh…" Luke's throat felt dry as their group approached the bridge.

He could vaguely make out someone's figure as she attacked her opponent with multiple spells at once.

'Miss Adrianna is the last one standing….'

Luke had heard that the first wife was a powerful magic caster and a professor of the academy in the empire but he didn't really know how strong she really was.

Luke's hand which held his sword trembled.

'She's fighting for her family without any fear or hesitation.'

Luke thought that he would have the same determination but that wasn't the case at all. He wanted to run away from the danger if possible.

But people's lives were on the line. Wouldn't it be selfish if he deserted everyone just to escape danger?

'I can't abandon everyone. There must be something I can do!'

Unbeknownst to Luke, the sword in his hand shone with a bright golden light.

"Miss Adrianna!" Luke's shout alerted both Adrianna and the large man she was fighting against, "Please fall back! We will heal your injuries and fight with you!"

"Luke!?" Adrianna cast a barrier in front of herself before turning around. Her hair was dishelmed and there were multiple bruises on her body. The chest area of her dress was nearly torn off and her chest was almost visible.

"Oh!? The new heir is here! I was looking for you kid!" The man who Adrianna was fighting didn't use the chance to attack. He seemed to have a lot of leeway to play with the people's lives.

He wasn't even injured at all. In his hands was a large war axe stained with the blood of the fallen who were corpses by now.

Luke's entire face twisted.

"You have to jump and escape!" Adrianna grabbed Luke's shoulders and yelled at him. "I know it's high but you must live at least! I'll cast a spell so you don't get injured—"

"No!"

Luke's shout startled both Adrianna and the enemy.

"No? Do you realize what we're up against!? My magic isn't even doing anything against this man! He's using cheap tricks to ward off my spells! My magic is not as potent as it originally is supposed to be!"

"Hey, hey. I'm only being careful. If I didn't have all these artifacts then I would've lost long ago."

Luke noticed that the man's body was full of artifacts.

'Ah!'

No wonder he could withstand the power of a 7th star mage. He was wearing numerous items that could give him an overall advantage when battling a mage.

It was playing dirty but one couldn't expect fair play from a bunch of scum like them. It was actually a smart move to come this prepared.

The golden wristband on his left arm could lower the mana output of a spell. The helmet that he wore could ward off all negative status effects. That meant that charm magic, fear attribute and confusion magic wouldn't work. The armour on his upper body was glowing with a faint glow. It was a magic item that could use the mana of the spell of the enemy against them to garden itself.

This man was definitely well-prepared to take down a mage. No matter how powerful.

"Tch. He's a bad match for me alone. If Sebastian were here then we might be able to win against this guy…" Adrianna was out of breath as she stood against the leader.

Luke could tell that she used most of her mana by the looks of the destruction.

The man was playfully grinning at them as if the group in front of him was nothing to worry about. The ones who couldn't fight against this man was sprawled on the ground, dead.

Luke bit his lips and stepped forward.

"Luke, what are you doing!?" Adrianna grabbed his arm.

"We're going to help you fight. We'll focus on tanking his attacks while you attack from behind."

"But that's…" Adrianna's voice alone told everyone that she was wavering whether this was the right thing to do. Her confidence was shattered after fighting with all her might only to have her spells be ineffective.

"Please let us handle this man, your grace." One of the knights stepped forward and stood next to Luke.

"Yes. We might not be strong but we can put up a fight with these magic items at least."

Another person stepped forward followed by another. Multiple people expressed their desire to fight with her. The bridge that led to the main castle was now filled with people determined to fight.

"Everyone…" Adrianna seemed like she was on the verge of crying. She shut her eyes before opening them again.

Her eyes were now glaring at their opponent with killing intent. She cast a flight magic spell and began casting numerous buff magic.

Luke felt his body being filled with unknown power.

'So this is what magic feels like.'

Luke felt infinitely more stronger than before but he knew that it wouldn't last long. An ordinary magic user couldn't buff and attack at the same time.

'Maybe with this we can—'

Luke heard the sound of flesh being ripped apart before he could finish his thought. Screams of agony soon followed.

Their opponent had appeared in the middle of their group before he noticed it.

'What!?'

The man did a full swing with his war axe stretched out. Multiple heads were sent flying.

"Guhahahah! Your resistance is futile! Taste the power of lord Nork of the Viking clan!" The giant of a man skewered even through the metal armour of the knights.

He used his bare fists to punch the air out of the armour-wearing knights.

Adrianna hurriedly sent an attack spell in the man's direction. He took out a bell and rang it. A force field surrounded his body which absorbed the magic spell.

"Everyone attack at once!" Adrianna didn't order them to retreat like Luke thought she would.

Hearing her orders, the group, including Luke, charged at the man.

"Haaaah!" The man's mini tornado was halted when his war axe hit Luke's sword.

'So strong!' Luke felt his arms creak but he didn't fall back. He pushed on.

A fist appeared within his vision which he hurriedly dodged by sidestepping. Using that momentum, he attempted to stab the man in his side.

Nork slaughtered the ones wo grabbed him and attacked him but he failed to notice Luke coming from his back.

'Can I do this?' He looked down at his sword as he ran towards Nork's flank. 'Huh? What's this?' The sword was glowing in a golden light that looked familiar.

It was just like that power.

Using the chance opened by the others, Luke pierced with all his might. The sword ignored any and all defences as it pierced through the man's armour. A radiance as bright as the sun was emitted from the sword. He suddenly felt a surge of power.

"Gyaaaaah!!!!!!" Besides being able to pierce right into the magic armour that Nork was wearing, the sword's overwhelming power destroyed a few of his magic items as well. His blood spurted into Luke's face.

"You little fucker!" Nork grabbed Luke and threw him over the bridge.

"Uwaaaah—!"

"Luke!" Adrianna tried to head towards him but he was too far out of her reach.

'Huh…?'

Luke turned his head and only realized then how high the height was that he was falling from.

'Ah…'

Luke noticed that the sword was still in his hand, emitting the same golden glow as before.

There was blood on the end of the tip.

He… had just felt the urge to kill for the first time.

'But… I don't feel guilty about this feeling of wanting to save them.'

Luke smiled despite the situation he found himself in.

'I…stood up to the enemy even though I am this powerless… Would things have been different if big brother were here…?'

He had a feeling that Arnold would've been able to handle this situation far better than him.

"Don't go accepting your death just yet, young master."

"Eh!?"

Luke opened his eyes and realized that he was floating in mid-air.

He looked behind him and noticed a familiar person floating with him.

"M-Miss Lauran?"

It was the girl with fiery red hair and ocean-blue eyes. She was wearing her usual maid uniform. But something was different.

She was far more powerful than the last time they met. Her entire body was covered in magic power.

"Please just call me Lauran. A master being formal with his servant would only make others think less of him." Lauran's smile emitted a brilliant radiance.

She seemed completely different compared to that cold person who never even looked into his eyes when they met.

"What are you…doing here?"

"I couldn't stay in the library all day after hearing about the commotion going on here. Besides, Victoria alone wouldn't be enough to save everyone."

"Ah! She went to save my mother! Is my mother—"

Lauran smiled in reassurance, "Both miss Claudia and young lady Grace are fine. They were thankfully with lady Anna when all of this unfolded."

Luke breathed a sigh of relief. His eyes snapped back to the bridge. He could make out the figure of Victoria pushing back the man named Nork with ease.

"S-She's so strong…"

"She is…" Lauran smiled bitterly this time, "I always used to fear her for some reason in the past and only spoke to her when necessary. Now I see why. She was a monster all along."

Victoria pushed the man back with physical strength alone. She swung her spear with zero emotion on her face. Meanwhile, Nork was barely holding on with a frustrated expression on his face.

His confident smirk was nowhere to be seen as he was pushed back.

Adrianna used that chance to cast a big spell while Victoria was keeping the man at bay.

"S-Shouldn't we go help?"

"No. They will be fine. Rather…" Lauran looked down at the castle grounds, "Let us go to the entrance of the castle."

"O-Okay."

After arriving back on the ground, Luke felt his legs lose strength. Lauran hurriedly hooked her arm under his and held him.

"Flying for the first time can make any person so wobbly, fufu."

'What's with this person? She's entirely different from before.' He decided not to question her cheerfulness.

She actually seemed better compared to how gloomy she was before. Perhaps he was imagining it but she seemed even more beautiful now that she was cheerful.

The two of them walked towards the entrance of the castle. Lauran chanted a spell just in case but that proved to be unnecessary because no one stood in their way.

"Sir Sebastian!"

In the light that was pouring through one of the windows stood a figure, his body and hair covered in blood.

He was hunched over so Lauran ran towards him.

"Ah? Lauran? Luke?" Sebastian turned his head. A surprised expression appeared on his face when he saw Lauran and Luke.

"Are you alright?" Lauran stretched out her hands to cast a healing spell but Sebastian stopped her with a wave of his hand.

"I am quite alright."

'So this isn't his blood.'

Luke thought it was crazy how one man was able to handle so many enemies. The great hall was filled with multiple dead bodies, some unrecognizable.

"Where is the dark elf man, Sebastian?" Luke noticed that Ziom wasn't here. Olivia had mentioned to him before that Adrianna split them up and sent Ziom to help Sebastian.

"Ah, that lad already left. You just missed the princess as well. She ran towards the gate a few minutes ago to go seek reinforcements but…" Sebastian looked over their heads, "That seems to be have been unnecessary."

A horn blew the second he said that.

Luke turned to the direction that sound was coming from. His eyes widened when he saw an entire brigade entering the castle grounds. Oliva was riding a horse with Anna at the front of said brigade.

A smile bloomed on Luke's face when he realized the danger was gone.

"What an exhausting day it has been." Sebastian patted the two of their heads as he said so.

Part 2

The man named Nork was able to escape using a teleportation scroll. Besides him, there were about ten enemies who were captured alive successfully. Those few who offered resistance were beaten severely until they gave their absolute obedience.

Some tried to explode themselves using the magic bombs on their bodies but Lauran and Adrianna was able to cut the mana supply of the bombs rather easily using their magic.

Elna managed to capture the antimagic users who were trying to break down the castle's defences. There were many other groups lying in wait to attack the castle when the odds didn't tip in their favour. In fact, the army was assaulted when they least expected it.

However, they were quickly captured with the help of the count's army. Count Gustavic offered to interrogate the prisoners since the attack left a heavy toll on the castle's residents.

He was considerate enough to take over the troublesome part of everything that happened so far. The man who the dark elf brought was taken into custody as well but he wasn't grouped together with the intruders. This was to see if their testimonies would differ.

Night went by and morning soon embraced the city. The morning was nothing like sunshine and rainbows.

Each of the citizens came to the castle to express their worry for what happened. Many even brought gifts while others offered to help repair the castle with no charge at all.

The children cleaned the rooms and the adults helped move the bodies of the deceased who were killed in the attack of the castle.

Adrianna had ordered Sebastian to contact the families of the deceased so that they could come and get their loved ones. She would have to spend a lot of money to cover reconciliation fees but that wasn't a problem since it was her responsibility.

Thus, the castle was lively with people but no laughter or happy conversations were heard.

"…."

The office was quiet as Adrianna recalled everything that happened so far.

Judith was found in one of the secret passages underneath the castle grounds. Flora was apparently 'forced' by Judith to act as her guard. The two were unharmed from what Adrianna heard.

Then there was the incident on the bridge.

'How could we not have noticed such an obvious trap?' It was suspicious how there weren't any intruders invading the castle from the west wing. Adrianna wasn't in the right mind to see such an obvious trap.

That cost many lives.

Though they were able to annihilate the majority of the intruders' forces, the leader still got away.

She was able to conclude something during their battle.

That man was not the mastermind behind everything that happened so far. Perhaps the reason he so bravely showed himself was because the real leader wanted to steer their attention towards Nork and not question who the leader really was.

"We can now rest easy." Adrianna leaned back in his chair.

She could confidently say that because whoever ordered this attack wouldn't do the same thing anytime soon. They knew that it was better to lie low because the duke would definitely be looking for their blood.

"I might as well contact Marcus and tell him what happened. Should I wait a day or two?"

She wasn't exactly sure when the banquet would be over since those usually lasted three days or longer. As Olivia said before, he would definitely visit some old friends or connections before returning home.

"My son is accused of attempted murder, then there is the attack on our castle… Marcus won't be happy when he hears of this."

For as long as she knew him he was always friendly and outgoing. He was the kind of person to show his emotions on the surface. He also never really cared about the political battles in the empire. He would only get involved if one of his connections were in danger. Adrianna was the complete opposite.

She was the kind of person to consider each possibility and outcome before she even thinks of fighting with another household. Many died the last time she actually took care of one of the enemy households.

She was curious how her husband will handle this.

'I'm not interested in fighting anymore… What's important is protecting the family. Should I upgrade our magic defences?'

A knock came from the door when she was deep in thought.

"Come in." Adrianna looked towards the door.

Being granted her permission, the person entered.

"I have come on your orders, your grace." Lauran bowed, her red hair falling over her shoulders.

Adrianna smiled.

'Lauran… A person with magic much more frightening than myself.'

What was frightening wasn't how much power she had but how fast she was able to get said power. It was completely unnatural how Lauran was able to attain such power.

Victoria was another case since Adrianna had no idea that she was that powerful. But she wasn't suspicious or fearful because she knew that Victoria must've had a good reason for hiding her power.

"Your grace?"

"Ah, I apologize. It is rude for my mind to wander. Please sit."

"Okay."

Lauran pulled out a chair and sat on it. She seemed nervous for some reason.

'She must think I'm angry because she came back even though I gave her the month off.'

"Do you remember the first time I called you to my office?"

"Yes. I remember."

"What did I talk to you about?"

"About the fact that lady duchess could sense that I had magic potential? I think… S-Sorry it was so long ago…"

"No. You're correct. But then you rejected my offer, didn't you?"

Lauran's face reddened.

"I-I…"

Adrianna put up her hand.

"There is no need to explain yourself. I know my son would've been mad if you joined my program."

Although Lauran was a servant of this family, she was still a slave at that time. That meant that she never had a will of her own. Arnold was the one who could choose for her.

Adrianna didn't pursue the matter any further because she thought that someone of the same talent of magic potential would eventually appear again.

However, she wasn't looking deep enough of how high Lauran's magic potential actually was.

Magic casters could tell who had mana and what kind of mage another person could be. However, this was more of a hunch than valid proof.

They could never discern how powerful someone could actually be. That was why Adrianna didn't think of Lauran as anything special besides having the potential to become a mage.

"Had I known your true potential beforehand then I would've pursued you more," Adrianna thought that it was better to get straight to the point instead, "That is why I am asking you—"

Adrianna looked straight into Lauran's eyes.

"Become my assistant as the Imperial Academy."