In a certain office, a woman sat.
Her snow-white hair cascaded over her shoulders like a waterfall of pure silk, while her crimson eyes scanned a paper in her left hand.
At the same time, the faint sound of a spoon tapping against a glass plate echoed softly as her other hand moved, bringing a spoonful of cake toward her mouth.
The sweet taste spread across her tongue, and she let out a faint hum.
She moved her hand again to take another bite, but this time the spoon struck an empty plate.
Alicia stared at the plate before her, then sighed in disappointment and placed the spoon down, where it vanished in the next moment.
With that, she redirected her attention to the paper.
This time, it wasn’t just one of the usual routine matters, but something else—a report submitted by her servants at the estate.
It contained some important news on a global scale.
The two squads sent to the Cradle of Shards by the Luminar and Auerlion Empires had detected the movement of the Falling Star Shard four days ago.
It hadn’t done much, merely wandered aimlessly within the Cradle of Shards, but that alone caused both squads to withdraw from the area and abandon the ruins for the time being.
After all, they couldn’t risk encountering that entity.
But what caught Alicia’s interest wasn’t the awakening of a being that hadn’t appeared in decades—it was the timing of its awakening.
Four days ago. The same time Zen had said he lost his sister’s vital signals.
Alicia’s mind couldn’t stop linking the two events together.
But perhaps it was merely a coincidence. After all, what could a mere squad of students possibly do to awaken a Rank 7 being?
That was ignoring the question of how they would even reach the Cradle of Shards on the other side of the continent.
Alicia placed the paper on the desk, losing interest in the matter.
Because it didn’t really matter. As long as that thing wasn’t heading directly here, she wouldn’t concern herself with what was happening.
She leaned back against the comfortable chair, her eyes drifting around the office.
It had been very quiet over the past two weeks, after the absence of her annoying assistant who used to disrupt that silence.
True, he had been irritating at times with the way he spoke and how he bothered the other employees, but honestly, he had added some life to this gray office.
Alicia stared at the empty sofa. "Very boring."
That was how the previous days had been—boring and monotonous without any change.
But today was slightly special for Alicia.
She looked at the clock on her desk.
When she saw that it was almost two, she rose from her seat and headed out.
After nearly a week had passed since the students’ disappearance, and with no progress in finding them, it had only been a matter of time before the news reached their parents.
And it seemed that had already happened.
Today, four noble parents were here to inquire about their children’s condition.
Under normal circumstances, the headmaster would be the one to meet them.
But since he was responsible for the search operation—along with dealing with Prince Zen Asterval and handling the imperial family—she ended up doing it instead.
Alicia walked down the corridor calmly and without haste, as though the meeting didn’t matter to her in the slightest.
...
In a luxurious reception room, four people were seated apart.
On an elegant sofa sat a beautiful woman with blue hair and clear blue eyes—Lyra Starlin, Leona’s mother.
Lyra calmly observed the other woman seated across from her. With fiery red hair and orange eyes, she was like a glimpse of what Izel might become in the future—which was understandable, as she was her mother, Claire Ashvil.
Both were noble ladies of the rank of Marchioness, and more than that, old friends.
Claire folded her arms, an irritated expression on her beautiful face that hadn’t lost its charm even after surpassing forty.
"How long is that headmaster going to keep us waiting?" she muttered angrily, though her tone carried a hint of tension.
After losing contact with her daughter Izel, this mother could only fear for her condition, only to later discover she was missing along with several other students.
The room was very quiet except for Claire’s occasional muttering, until a man with blond hair and gray eyes raised his hand and looked at the clock while seated on one of the single sofas.
"There are only five minutes left until the appointed time, so the headmaster will be here at any moment, Lady Claire." The man’s deep voice spread through the room.
This was Count Elias Winters, Talia’s father.
Claire clicked her tongue. "Our children disappear under his nose, he hides it from us until we discover it ourselves, then he makes us wait on top of that. Even if he were a king, that would be too much... perhaps I should—"
"Alright, you can stop here, Claire," Lyra intervened before her friend lost control.
Claire clicked her tongue again before falling silent, while Lyra exhaled. ’Just be safe, Leona’ she prayed inwardly.
At the same time, the last person in the room, who had been standing near the window overlooking the outside, moved toward the sofas and sat down.
With light brown hair and clear blue eyes, Duke Sivrax sat there, staring at the door that opened in the next moment.
All eyes turned toward the one who entered the room. Instead of Rogan Dirstone, the massive king they had expected to meet,
a woman with white hair and crimson eyes walked inside, her steps echoing against the floor as her loose white dress swayed with her movements.
Alicia Astra Nova reached where the four were seated, her eye observing them calmly without a trace of hesitation.
Duke Sivrax raised an eyebrow as he watched the woman sit on one of the single sofas placed opposite them all. "A pleasure to see you, Lady Astra Nova, but weren’t we supposed to meet Rogan now?"
It was the question on everyone’s mind, so they looked at the woman who calmly placed her hands over one another.
Her lips moved, and her beautiful voice filled the room. "First, I welcome you, esteemed lords, to the Axis... as for the headmaster, he is occupied with searching for your missing children, along with handling other matters."
She was the youngest in the room, yet the calmest.
And she didn’t even bother to hide the fact of the disappearance or attempt to twist her words.
Claire looked at Alicia, her eyes faintly blazing. "Then what is your explanation for what happened to our children?" Her tone was angry and carried no respect, despite knowing this woman was stronger and of higher standing.
But Alicia didn’t care.
She spoke in the same flat tone, as though it didn’t concern her. "Ten days ago, your four children, along with the princess and two others, were sent on a mission to Helen to assist the city’s security in investigating the disappearance of residents." She didn’t try to conceal anything.
"But after three days, the seven vanished at the same time without a trace."
With those words, Alicia fell silent for a while, giving them time to think.
"So, you’re saying you sent our children on a mission without even knowing how dangerous it was?" Claire spoke, and Alicia replied:
"Yes, you could say that." She didn’t bother explaining that it had been a miscalculation.
Claire clenched her teeth, dissatisfied with that answer. "Then what has happened to our children now? Where is Izel?"
"We don’t know yet."
"But Lady Alicia, how can you lose students like this? Isn’t the Axis the finest academy in the Empire?" Lyra spoke, while the other two men remained silent.
Alicia didn’t respond, until Duke Sivrax sighed. "At least tell us the results of the investigation so far."
Alicia answered again in the same monotone voice. "Nothing... any evidence leading to the truth of what happened has been erased."
With those words, Claire lost her patience and rose from the sofa. "So, everyone in this institution is a group of failures, contrary to what you boast about."
Alicia and Claire locked eyes—one filled with anger, the other like a calm crimson lake.
Alicia’s lips moved as she spoke in a colder voice than ever, sending a shiver through the four of them. "You do not understand."
"Did you send your children here because you thought this place was safe?"
She tilted her head slightly as she looked at them one by one. "Then you are simply fools."
She spoke frankly and without retreat. "The possibility of death was clearly stated in the contracts that were signed... so it is obvious that you are the ones at fault here for not taking that into consideration."
One of them opened his mouth to speak, but Alicia raised her hand and cut him off.
"But... I can tell you that your children will return."
"When?... I don’t know."
"Will they all return safe and sound?... I don’t know that either."
"But they will return in the end."