Selene frowned as she took the letter from Magnus.
When she saw the sender's name, she scoffed and tossed it onto the table without bothering to open it.
Magnus raised an eyebrow. "What's wrong? I thought you and Victoria were good friends."
Selene gave him a perplexed look.
"It's been almost three months since I awakened as a Dark Priestess, and not once has this so-called 'good friend' sent me a letter or come to visit. So why now?"
Magnus frowned. Alaric, however, spoke up.
"Maybe her parents forbade her from doing so."
Selene shook her head. "That's unlikely. The game Saintess Chronicles has three main story arcs:
Eri trying to fit in with noble students.
A cult trying to eliminate the Saintess.
The battle with the Demon General.
In the first arc, Victoria is a villainess in Lucien's route. And trust me, she's a very vile girl."
Magnus and Alaric exchanged glances.
Selene crossed her arms. "In that part of the game, whenever someone brings up Victoria and my supposed 'friendship,' Victoria always emphasizes that we were never friends."
Magnus looked puzzled. "But why? I thought you two were close."
Selene sighed. "Because Victoria has a crush on Lucien. And Damian and Luciend are childhood friends. So she befriended the sister of her crush's childhood friend."
Magnus's frown deepened. "But Lucien is the fiancé of Miranda, Victoria's twin sister."
Selene nodded. "That didn't stop her. Having a crush would be so bad compared to what she did to her sister."
Alaric, who had been silently listening, narrowed his eyes. "How bad are we talking?"
Selene's expression darkened.
"Very, Very Bad. So bad that she hires a group of bandits to hijack Miranda's carriage. They kidnap her, assault her, and then dump her unconscious body on the streets. It takes two days for her family to find her."
Both men stiffened.
Selene continued, voice cold. "Miranda doesn't survive. She contracts a disease from the attack and dies shortly after."
Alaric looked stunned, while Magnus's expression turned dangerously dark.
Without a word, Magnus reached for the letter, grabbed it firmly, and was about to tear it to shreds—
—when Selene grabbed his arm.
"Wait! Don't tear it! I want to see what it says."
Alaric nodded. "Me too."
Magnus hesitated but eventually sighed and unfolded the letter.
Selene and Alaric huddled up beside him as he began reading out loud:
Dear Selene,
I hope you have been well. It's been far too long since we last spoke, and I simply cannot allow this distance to continue any longer.
I am hosting a tea party on Saturday at 10 am, and I expect you to attend. However, I require you to arrive an hour early to greet the guests at the entrance.
As you are now a Dark Priestess, I understand that your parents might no longer buy you pretty dresses. To avoid embarrassment, please come dressed in a plain gown with no jewelry.
Additionally, your blue hair stands out too much, and I do not want you drawing attention away from me. Dye it black or brown before you arrive.
There will also be a special guest, and I must insist that you stay away from them.
While at the tea party, you will assist in serving, cleaning, and attending to me personally.
Break any of my rules and I will not talk to you for a long time. And since you have no other friends, you should be grateful that I am giving you this opportunity to socialize.
Furthermore, as a ducal lady, it is only appropriate that you bring me lavish gifts. I expect:
Several new dresses
Many collections of jewelry
Expensive makeups
Fine hair accessories
Beautiful dolls
All give should be worth more than 1 large gold coin. If you purchase everything on this list, I may consider calling you my friend again.
I look forward to your attendance.
Victoria
Magnus stopped reading, his fingers gripping the letter tightly.
It had no proper ending—just demands stacked on top of insults.
The room fell into silence.
Then—
Rip!
Magnus tore the letter in half.
Selene's right eye twitched.
Alaric, still stunned, muttered, "That little brat has a lot of guts."
Magnus, however, was furious. He turned to Selene and shouted, "You are not going to that tea party! If you even dare, you'll have to go over my dead body!"
Selene trembled but still replied, "I want to go."
Magnus ran a frustrated hand through his hair. "Why?"
"To save Miranda, of course."
Magnus, who had just been on the verge of losing his mind, paused. He exhaled deeply, forcing himself to calm down.
He knew that if he had knowledge of something like this, he wouldn't just stand by either.
Even so, he remained firm. "We made a deal, Selene. We agreed that we wouldn't do anything to affect the plot too much."
Selene nodded. "I know, but I can't just stand by and watch that poor girl go through something like that."
She clenched her fists. "Unlike me, Miranda has no one to support her."
Alaric frowned. "What do you mean?"
Selene glanced at him. "Don't you know? Miranda is a cursed child like me."
Magnus's eyes narrowed. "What class is she?"
Selene gave him a perplexed look. "You don't know?"
Magnus sighed. "Over 500,000 children awakened this year. Out of that, more than 30,000 are nobles. You expect me to remember every single one?"
Selene tilted her head. "That's fair, but considering Victoria and I were supposedly 'good friends,' you should have known what class both Victoria and Miranda awakened as."
Magnus groaned. "Forgive me for not inquiring, but after you awakened, I was too busy grieving the fact that my daughter's life had just been thrown into chaos. Then, just four days later, I find out that her life is in danger because of her class. And as if that wasn't bad enough, that same daughter kept unearthing corruption within my duchy! So yeah—I've been busy."
Selene, momentarily stunned, then muttered sheepishly, "It's not my fault your duchy has so many corrupt people…"
Magnus pinched the bridge of his nose. "Forget that. Just tell me—what class is Miranda?"
Selene took a deep breath.
"She's a Puppeteer."
Both Magnus and Alaric winced and sucked in a sharp breath.
Selene nodded. "In this world, Puppeteers are considered weak, just like Dark Priests and Priestesses."
She continued, voice somber, "Miranda and I are in the same boat, but unlike me, her parents don't care about her. To them, she's just a tool—a way to marry into a higher-ranking family."
Magnus's expression darkened.
Selene clenched her fists. "The worst part is that the disease Miranda contracts after the attack? It was curable. But her family neglected her. She had no more value to them after what happened, so they just let her die."
Alaric's hands curled into fists. Magnus's jaw tightened.
Selene continued, voice cold.
"And after her death? Victoria becomes Lucien's new fiancée."
A heavy silence filled the room.
Both men looked disgusted.
Selene took a deep breath. "I don't just want to prevent the attack. I want to take Miranda away from those people and help her train her Puppetry skills."
Magnus, still frowning, shook his head. "Simply taking her won't work. We need a valid excuse."
Alaric, arms crossed, looked at Selene. "So? What's your plan?"
Selene smiled slightly. "First, I need to attend the tea party. I need to see Miranda."
She hesitated, then added, "The party is in six days, but… I'm worried. Alaric, do you think your friend can make another one of the ear devices before then?"
Alaric sighed. "The ones we have now are just prototypes. My friend plans to modify them into a proper telecommunication device before mass-producing them."
He reached into his waist pouch and pulled out some papers, handing them to Selene.
She blinked. "What's this?"
"A partnership agreement."
Alaric smirked. "Once you sign it, it means my friend can start production. A portion of the profits will go to you."