Only when she stepped back into the Twilight Forest, breathing in the fresh scent of damp earth and tender grass, did Ophelia finally relax. Leaning back against the carriage seat, she closed her eyes, and the weariness that had clung to her body seemed to drift away on the gentle breeze, replaced by a sense of lightness and ease.
"Would you care for a cup of tea, Lady Ophelia?" Charlotte asked softly.
"Thank you, Charlotte," Ophelia replied, taking the flower tea from her maid's hand and rubbing her temples gently. As she had anticipated, after the martial tournament, the nobles who had once kept their distance now flocked to curry favor with her. For the next few days, she was bombarded with endless visits and tedious pleasantries. Though the nobles were careful not to overstep their bounds—avoiding grand banquets to honor her—their daily calls were still a chore. They all repeated the same empty phrases, such as "May our two houses maintain friendly relations and strive toward a brighter future together." Hearing the same words over and over again was enough to make anyone weary.
Fortunately, Ophelia was well accustomed to such noble etiquette and handled their advances with effortless grace. Her efforts over those two days yielded rich rewards: she forged closer ties with two or three respected clans within the Byrd family and received numerous gifts from the nobles eager to win her favor—and that of the two high-ranked swordsman sisters. The nobles spared no expense on these presents, ranging from cute dolls to exquisite crystal necklaces. Even Charlotte benefited, receiving several pieces of jewelry from the nobles. She accepted them all without hesitation; after all, there was no reason to refuse gifts freely offered.
Naturally, the greatest gain was the finalization of the Twilight Forest's territorial boundaries. With Wen's full cooperation, the two sides resolved the issue in just one morning. Ophelia claimed the prime trade route at the forest's entrance and two adjacent towns as part of the Twilight Forest's domain. However, she refrained from monopolizing the entire trade route. Following Blake's instructions, they already had a stake in the Zach family's share of the Golden Trade Route. Combined, these two portions generated more than enough revenue to cover the Twilight Forest's expenses. Greed, she knew, only led to ruin. Even with their formidable military might, seizing complete control of the trade route would surely breed resentment within the Byrd family, even if they said nothing publicly. As neighbors, maintaining amicable relations was crucial for future cooperation. Thus, Ophelia even volunteered to give up a section of the Golden Trade Route that technically belonged to the Twilight Forest. The profits from the portion they retained already offset the value of the rest—after all, it was only fair to let others profit when one had already secured the lion's share.
Wen was clearly delighted with Ophelia's decision. Despite his allegiance to the Twilight Forest, he remained a member of the Byrd family at heart. To watch a trade route the Byrd family had nurtured for a century fall into foreign hands without a fight would have been deeply regrettable, and he would have struggled to explain it to his clansmen. Ophelia's willingness to compromise was a welcome relief. Yet he did not push his luck. Through his observations, Wen had realized that this beautiful young lady, like her eccentric young lord, was no fool. Overreaching would only lead to his own downfall. The two sides quickly reached an agreement, signing a series of pacts regarding the distribution of the Golden Trade Route throughout Byrd family territory and vowing not to establish new checkpoints without mutual consent. With that, the territorial dispute was settled amicably.
With the signed treaty and revised maps in hand, Ophelia's mission was complete. She wasted no time in departing, setting out for the Twilight Forest the very next day.
What puzzled Ophelia, however, was that before her departure, Wen had presented her with a Byrd family crest, claiming it was a gift from the old patriarch. He explained that the crest granted her the right to demand one favor from the Byrd family—any favor at all. This gesture left Ophelia confused. From the moment she had arrived in Byrd territory, she had been prepared to negotiate directly with the patriarch. Yet to her surprise, the Byrd family's leader had avoided meeting her entirely. Whether it was due to political considerations, concerns for the continent's stability, or sheer desperation, the old patriarch had ultimately agreed to the Holy Mana Church's demands, sending the strongest, most intelligent, and most beautiful young lady in his retinue to the church to be ordained as the Holy Mana's Chosen One.
But the girls' arrival at the Holy Mana Church brought an unexpected horror. Instead of being greeted by the church's clergy, they were trapped the moment they stepped inside by a massive, impenetrable barrier. Then, the church's most revered bishop appeared, delivering a cruel proclamation: the girls were to fight to the death within the church walls. Only the last survivor would be deemed worthy of becoming the Holy Mana's Child. Failure to comply would result in eternal imprisonment, with death as their only escape.
The girls were stunned by this barbaric decree. They had never imagined that the Holy Mana Church, which had once saved their kingdoms and families from chaos and destruction, would transform into such a bloodthirsty monster. Yet they had no other choice but to obey.
At first, the girls tried to work together to escape, but their efforts proved futile. As despair spread, dark and malevolent thoughts took root in their hearts. Their sanity frayed day by day, and eventually, in the church's shadowy halls, they turned their weapons on the very friends and companions they had once cherished.
A brutal, unending slaughter began.
Charlotte had been one of those girls, sent to the church as a representative of the Alchemists' Guild. Though she lacked the raw power of warriors like Judy, she possessed a unique fighting style—poison.
As an alchemist, Charlotte was intimately familiar with the properties of countless toxins. When the bloodbath began, she had no choice but to use her knowledge to kill in order to survive. The poisons she crafted could easily penetrate even a knight's defensive aura, claiming lives silently and without warning. Thanks to this, Charlotte was one of the few girls who managed to survive until the end. But even survival came at a terrible cost. After accidentally killing her dearest friend, Charlotte swallowed a vial of her own poison, hoping to find release in death.
What none of them knew was that beneath the entire church lay a powerful necromantic ritual circle. Instead of returning to the embrace of Mana after death, their souls were trapped by the dark magic, bound to the church forever. This had been the bishop's true plan all along. Decades earlier, he had secretly transformed into a fearsome necromancer. To conquer the land, he needed powerful, youthful, and pure souls—and so he had set this trap, luring the girls to his lair under the pretense of the Holy Mana Church, hoping to bind their souls to this world forever, turning them into his most loyal, powerful, and terrifying servants.
Fate, however, had other plans. Before the ritual could be completed, the bishop was killed. And the man who had ended his reign of terror would later return to this cursed land, striking a pact with the tormented souls trapped there.
In truth, Charlotte had discovered long ago that beneath the church lay a device designed to channel the power of the Wellspring, which had sustained both the barrier and the ritual circle. Though she had wanted to destroy the device, she knew her personal feelings were irrelevant now. In ancient times, the Wellspring had been harnessed far more advanced than it was today. In fact, the method Blake used to split and extract the Wellspring's power had been passed down to him by Charlotte.
Thus, when Blake had announced his intention to retrieve the Wellspring, Charlotte had informed him of the device. Despite her distaste for it, she understood that this was no time to act on personal preferences.
Looking at Charlotte's sorrowful expression, Blake merely shrugged his shoulders and said nothing. He rose from his seat, walked over to her, and gently stroked her hair.
"Then let's get to work," he said.