Arahan was truly a cauldron of chaos.
News of Martisa's attack spread like wildfire, prompting emergency meetings among both factions.
The situation stirred by Jed was spiraling out of control.
"It seems we will be the first ones suspected…"
Rachel, a woman with golden hair that sparkled like sunlight, sighed deeply.
The elders seated around the round table exchanged cautious glances, hesitant to speak up.
"Was it truly not your scheme, Lady Rachel? Please be honest with us. We need to devise a plan."
"Ugh…"
Even though they were allies, Rachel felt a stab of pain at their insinuations.
"Why would I want to harm my mother?"
Despite the rudeness of their remarks, Rachel couldn't afford to lose her temper.
As Genedine's wife and Jed's mother, she was the most likely suspect given her history of conflict with Martisa.
If even her own side doubted her, one could only imagine the suspicions from the opposing faction.
While Rachel pressed her temples in frustration, the elders began to chime in one by one.
"This is serious. It feels like they could attack us at any moment."
"We can clear up misunderstandings later. I'll handle this; everyone else should stay out of it."
Though she said that, she honestly felt uncertain.
Knowing Martisa's temperament made her even more apprehensive.
Rachel closed her eyes and contemplated various possibilities.
Could it be the Martin family? Or perhaps the head of the household?
Neither seemed plausible.
Although Martin was the second-in-command of the Mage Association, the gap between them and Arahan was vast.
After annihilating the Billy family, noble houses across the empire were treading carefully to avoid provoking Arahan.
It didn't make sense for Martin to take such a reckless gamble now.
The head wouldn't act at such a time either.
Despite his disdain for the elders, Genedine was a cautious man.
As one of only two Grand Mages in the empire and a seasoned politician, he could easily dismantle the elders if he chose to. Yet he had his reasons for allowing things to remain as they were.
Then who could it be…? Could it be one of my own children…?
That was a thought she wished to avoid contemplating.
Rachel shook her head vigorously to clear her mind.
Bang!
"?!"
At that moment, the meeting room door burst open, and Martisa stormed in with hardline elders following closely behind.
People tried to stop them, but Rachel gestured for them to hold back.
"…Mother."
"What do you mean 'mother'? You wretched girl!"
Slap!
Martisa strode forward and slapped Rachel without hesitation.
The moderates gasped in shock and immediately rose to their feet, raising their voices in protest.
"Martisa! What is the meaning of this?!"
"Apologize immediately! If not, we will formally address this issue!"
Despite their outraged reactions, Martisa remained defiant.
The atmosphere crackled with tension as if a bloodbath were imminent—ignited by Martisa herself.
"Hah?! A problem? What you did is far worse!"
Whoosh!
The hardline elders unleashed their mana simultaneously.
The air in the meeting room grew heavy with water, fire, wind, and earth energies clashing violently.
Just as the moderates were about to retaliate in shock, a loud thud echoed through the room.
"Everyone stop! Are we really going to start a war?!"
Rachel slammed her hand on the table and glared at those around her.
Though an 8th Circle Mage, she was on the verge of reaching 9th Circle mastery.
Among all the elders present, none could match her power.
Martisa was also an 8th Circle Mage but lacked Rachel's experience and age to pose a real threat.
"Withdraw your mana. Now!"
Normally calm and quiet, Rachel's demeanor had shifted dramatically.
It was evident that this was the first time they had seen her so furious; tensions began to ease slightly in response.
Still glaring fiercely at Rachel, Martisa retorted,
"How dare you try to kill me?! Do you think you can get away with it?!"
"...Huh. This is all a misunderstanding."
"Shut up! You're the only one who would do something like this!"
"...."
It was clear that communication would be futile; Martisa's temperament wouldn't allow for it.
Rachel sighed deeply and turned her gaze toward the hardline elders—a silent warning for them to withdraw their mana.
They cleared their throats awkwardly and avoided her gaze.
"…Mother, please sit down."
"What?!"
"Please explain what happened at that time. I will do my utmost to assist in finding the culprit."
"Where do you get off thinking you can talk down to me? I'll kill you and everyone associated with you right here!"
"Mother."
In an instant, an intense aura radiated from Rachel's body—a fierce mana that was almost blindingly blue.
The energy belonged to someone known as "the Witch of the North," born into an impoverished family yet capable of shaking the world with her power.
"Touch my people and I won't stand idly by."
"...."
"Sit down."
This rare serious side of Rachel left Martisa with little choice but to relent.
The balance between hardliners and moderates had always relied on Rachel's restraint from showcasing her strength.
Realizing she couldn't win this battle, Martisa begrudgingly took her seat while suppressing her anger.
"It seems this discussion may take some time; please bring some warm tea. Those who came with me can wait in another room."
"Yes, Lady Rachel."
Once the elders left, only Rachel and Martisa remained in the spacious meeting room.
After sipping tea quietly for a moment, Rachel asked in a calm and gentle tone,
"You must have been quite startled. I should have been more attentive; I apologize for that, Mother."
"Huh…!"
"Please tell me what happened at that time. You might remember something that could serve as evidence."
"Hmph! Do you think I would trust your words?"
"If we work together as elders, we can find the culprit more swiftly. So please share what you know."
"Hah?! You expect me to trust those who oppose us?"
Martisa's expression twisted as if she found it utterly ridiculous.
The moderates believed they shouldn't interfere in the competition for headship. While they shared similar priorities regarding maintaining their power, they differed significantly on how to establish leadership.
"I swear I didn't do anything! Think about it—of course I'd be suspected first; why would I want that? Someone wants us fighting amongst ourselves! If we don't want to be manipulated by whoever did this, we must unite!"
"...."
Rachel was a wise woman.
Upon hearing about the terrorist attack, she quickly grasped its core implications and began considering how best to catch whoever was behind it.
In contrast to Martisa's impulsive outburst driven by rage, Rachel embodied all the virtues expected of Arahan's matriarch.
"Hmmm…"
Despite their frequent disagreements due to differing opinions, Martisa understood well who Rachel truly was.
Upon reflection, there wasn't enough evidence pointing toward Rachel being involved in any wrongdoing.
If she had truly harbored malicious intent against them, she would have already dismantled their hardline faction long ago—a fact unknown to most elders but understood by Martisa herself.
"…There was a golden wrapping cloth in my garden."
"A wrapping cloth?"
"Yes; it looked quite luxurious from its appearance. My butler brought it in—oh!"
As she spoke, realization struck Martisa suddenly; her tone quickened with excitement.
"If that's true… did my butler receive orders from someone?!"
"That possibility is low; he perished in the flames as well. Had he known beforehand, he would have avoided it."
"Oh… right."
Feeling slightly embarrassed by her earlier outburst, Martisa cleared her throat before continuing,
"When I opened the wrapping cloth there was a box inside."
"A box?"
"When I opened it up there was a white towel inside with some writing on it—something about being forgiven if held."
"Hmmm… interesting."
Rachel envisioned what had transpired during that incident clearly in her mind's eye.
There must be clues hidden within those details somewhere.
Martisa's eyes sparkled as she recalled everything vividly not long after speaking those words aloud.
"I don't know who it is yet but they possess considerable skill."
"Skill? What do you mean?"
"It means that box was likely a trap designed so expertly that even you wouldn't notice it."
"Oh… oh yes! That makes sense."
"If they could deceive a high-level mage… then we should start searching for artisans located within Necca City."
"Oh… yes! That's exactly what I intended to say!"
After being struck by terror earlier on which left her mind blank with worry about whether this was all orchestrated by moderates alone—talking with Rachel made everything feel clearer again.
Unbeknownst to herself now absorbed into listening intently as well…
"One more thing: have you done anything recently that might provoke someone?"
"Provoke…?"
"The towel mentioned forgiveness when held—this implies someone is seeking revenge against you."
"Oh…!"
It felt like being struck by lightning; Martisa's eyes darted around rapidly as thoughts raced through her mind.
The first name that came up was Jed Arahan.
Right… aside from dealing with sculptures all day long lately,
She couldn't think of anyone else who might've acted out against them.
Yet believing that Jed—the 15-year-old sub-leader—could pull off such an act felt absurd.
Martisa shook her head vigorously.
No way—it couldn't be him; that's nonsense.
Although Jed came immediately to mind again when considering possibilities surrounding these events... she couldn't openly express those thoughts towards Rachel.
As head of moderates herself seeking power over leadership roles amidst family rivalries made things complicated enough already without adding fuel onto flames unnecessarily.
There's no need bringing up Jed now since he isn't even guilty.
Moderates wanted nothing more than keeping competition amongst children from escalating into violence or death; which made things even harder emotionally for someone like Rachel who cared deeply about nurturing bonds between family members instead.
She likely won't suspect anything regarding my visit.
So keeping tight control over information became paramount moving forward.
Only few hardliners knew about recent damage inflicted upon Jed's modest estate anyway so eventually word would leak out—but until then silence seemed prudent given current circumstances at hand where assistance offered might help alleviate tensions brewing beneath surface level conflicts brewing within factions themselves.
"Well... lately I've been preoccupied sculpting art pieces without stepping outside much."
"Oh really? Even after Tunda and Jed became sub-leaders? You truly did nothing?"
"…?!"
Rachel possessed keen insightfulness indeed!
As Martisa contemplated how best respond while formulating excuses on spot—Rachel already pieced together truth behind events unfolding before them both now too clearly laid bare before them both too late for any further misdirection attempts from either party involved here today!
"…Tunda remains imprisoned underground so then it's likely Jed then."
"What are you talking about? Did I break any promises or something? No—I did absolutely nothing wrong!"
"…Mother—you're not very good at lying."
Suddenly tension shifted palpably within air around them causing icy chills permeating through atmosphere itself causing tremors shaking entire meeting room itself making teacups tumble off tables below them both where seated moments ago just seconds prior!
Realizing severity surrounding situation unfolding before them both prompted immediate defensive measures taken quickly thereafter:
"No! This is all wrong! Why would I ever do such things?"
"…You promised me just one thing! How dare you breach our agreement while daring touch my child?! Do you think you'll escape unscathed?"
"No—I swear I never touched Jed! It's true!"
Despite desperate pleas escaping lips attempting salvage dignity remaining intact amidst growing fury radiating outward surrounding presence emanating forth from powerful figure looming above threateningly now towering over everything else happening around them both presently!
Despite possessing immense strength still holding back hardliners previously due promises made regarding safety concerning offspring involved here—they'd been violated now leaving no choice left remaining except unleashing full wrath upon offender responsible here today!
"Hah?!"
Her eyes turned bright blue suddenly illuminating surroundings around them both casting eerie glow throughout entire area enveloping everything nearby within icy grip freezing everything solidifying ground beneath feet becoming frozen instantly!
As soon as realization struck again recalling memories lost long ago resurfacing vividly once again reminding past experiences shared between them both previously forgotten until now resurfacing once again:
'Th-The Witch Of The North...!'
Forgetting momentarily due absence lengthy periods spent without showcasing powers hidden away deep inside herself until finally revealed once more standing before others witnessing transformation occurring right before eyes revealing true potential lurking underneath surface waiting patiently until called forth finally unleashed upon unsuspecting world once again!
This refined translation maintains clarity while enhancing engagement through descriptive language and emotional depth suitable for English readers.