That night, White Stone Manor was brightly lit.
The silver moonlight and glowing gas lamps added a touch of vibrant color to the red iris flowers in the garden. An exquisite marble fountain sat in the center of the backyard, and the surrounding flowerbeds were filled to the brim with the rare, crimson flora.
Lady Alsha sat silently on a wicker swing chair. She gazed at the blooming flowers with a hint of bewilderment in her deep emerald eyes. A gentle breeze stirred the fabric of her light evening gown, making it sway slightly in the cool air.
Relaxing in the garden was a small post-dinner habit of hers. Whenever she wasn't overwhelmed with official paperwork, she liked to retreat to this quiet space.
Alsha loved red iris flowers. They were incredibly beautiful but possessed a tragically short lifespan. The buds only opened at dusk and withered away by the very next morning.
In many ways, she felt a kinship with the flowers. Her beauty was a natural, heaven-bestowed gift, and she had leveraged it flawlessly.
By navigating the upper echelons of wizarding nobility with her looks and sharp social skills, she had secured her current title, status, and resources. It had even allowed her to finally pass her assessment and become a Formal Wizard, despite her remarkably poor magical aptitude.
Yet, she knew all too well that her youth would eventually fade, just like the red iris flower's short-lived bloom. Even though a wizard's naturally long lifespan delayed the aging process, she still harbored a deep, desperate fear of losing her beauty.
She had simply sacrificed too much to maintain it.
Suddenly, her emerald eyes flickered. A shift in the shadows caught her attention.
Snapping back to reality, Alsha stepped down from the swing, adjusted her gown, and waved a hand to dismiss her nearby attendant.
Once they were alone, Alsha frowned. She stared intently at a dark, unlit corner of the courtyard. A figure stood perfectly still in the shadows, their face obscured.
A look of pure shock overtook Alsha's delicate face. "Viktor?!"
"It's me, Lady Alsha," the figure said, stepping slowly into the lamplight. "I hear you are already a Formal Wizard."
It was Viktor Hansen, a man who was supposed to be dead!
Alsha's expression instantly turned cold. "Viktor Hansen is dead. Who are you, really?"
The man smiled faintly. "I felt the call of the Lord. The great Lord led me into his Divine Kingdom, allowing me to escape the clutches of death!"
He spread his hands, his eyes shining with fanatical devotion. "This time, I entered the Lord's Divine Kingdom without even needing the Moon Candle Dream Entry Ritual!"
Alsha hesitated, suddenly uncertain. The man before her actually knew the highly classified secrets of the society. Was this really Viktor Hansen? Had he truly survived? Had he actually gained the favor of the Lord of the Moon Candle?
She watched closely as Viktor slowly approached her. She couldn't detect a single trace of illusion magic or active charms. The man before her was incredibly real, with no obvious signs of magical disguise.
Viktor smiled warmly. "Lady Alsha, I haven't congratulated you on your breakthrough yet. Coincidentally, I collected some beautiful flowers during my time in the Winter Forest. They suit you perfectly."
He produced a breathtaking bouquet of exotic flora. Every petal was exceptionally vibrant. Some were a dazzling, fiery red, while others carried the warm, gentle hue of winter sunlight. They weren't just thrown together; they were meticulously arranged, full, and distinctly layered.
Alsha was slightly startled, but the gesture was all too familiar. She looked at the bouquet—a masterpiece meticulously sculpted by nature—and instinctively reached out.
Her hands, clad in black lace gloves, accepted the flowers.
The very next second, a bone-chilling cold violently spread through her body. Her heart began to pound frantically. She immediately realized there was something horribly wrong with the man standing in front of her!
Countless thoughts flashed through Alsha's mind. She desperately tried to activate the defensive amulets hidden beneath her dress and throw herself backward to create distance.
Nothing happened. Her body completely refused to obey her commands.
Alsha was frozen perfectly in place, her lace-gloved hands still holding the gesture of receiving the bouquet.
Horrified, she watched as the colorful cloud grass in the center of the bouquet began to rapidly wither. Its colorful petals scattered like dust in the breeze, revealing a cold, yellow bead hidden inside the arrangement.
A Snake Pupil?! Alsha screamed inwardly, realizing her vocal cords were entirely paralyzed.
The fake Viktor smiled brightly. "Lady Alsha, the moonlight is beautiful tonight. I would like to invite you to a private place to enjoy it together."
He pressed the bouquet firmly into Alsha's palms, his hands covering hers. Even through the black lace, he could feel her smooth, delicate skin trembling.
A violent spatial distortion warped the air.
With a loud crack, tranquility returned to the courtyard. The empty wicker swing chair swayed gently in the breeze.
Miles away, deep within the canyons of the Winter Forest, the space violently distorted. Two figures materialized in a sparsely wooded clearing: Lady Alsha and 'Viktor Hansen'.
'Viktor' was, of course, Damian in disguise. After killing the real Viktor in the forest, Damian had purposefully harvested some of his hair to brew a batch of disguise potion for future contingencies.
After receiving word from Link that Lady Alsha had officially advanced to a Formal Wizard that morning, Damian knew he had to strike first.
A Formal Wizard holding a high-ranking Court Wizard position—one who had already planted Quartermaster Al in their expedition to kill them—was simply too great of a threat to ignore.
Damian had already accumulated enough contribution points to apply for his official Court Wizard assessments. As the highest-ranking Court Wizard official in White Stone Town, Lady Alsha would undoubtedly be assigned to oversee his exams. That would give her the perfect opportunity to arrange another fatal 'accident' for him.
Damian still didn't know Alsha's true motives for targeting the expedition team. He didn't know if she wanted him dead specifically, or if he was just caught in the crossfire. Frankly, he didn't care. He wasn't about to sit idly by and wait to be murdered.
Right after a wizard advances to Formal Wizard status, their sea of spirit is extremely restless and difficult to control. It takes time for the body to stabilize the turbulent energy before new spell matrices can be safely inscribed.
This was Damian's absolute best window of opportunity. If he missed this chance, he would inevitably have to face a fully powered, stabilized master wizard in the future.
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