Chapter 157: Forced Companion

An unprecedented incident where the Count’s house of Niflheim was directly attacked by Mysticism.
Because of this, the Niflheim household was thrown into chaos.

It was so serious that even Count Niflheim, who had gone out on business, rushed back in a hurry.

Amid the confusion, Xenia found herself in a very troublesome situation.

More precisely, her entire body was tense with nervousness.

And that was only natural.
Standing before her was one of the most powerful figures in the Empire.

White hair cascaded over the face resting on a hand.
Every single movement exuded an odd, overwhelming pressure.

The White Wood Duke.
Laxid Anavesia.

Known as the Empire’s greatest hero.
Facing her, Xenia involuntarily trembled.

No matter how talented she was, even Xenia couldn’t raise her head proudly in front of the White Wood Duke.
She was a living piece of the Empire’s history, after all.

The White Wood Duke looked on with interest at the slightly intimidated girl.

“Is this really the girl who’s said to be Zeryon’s reincarnation?”
“Yes, that is correct.”

The White Wood Duke turned and asked the attendant beside her.
Xenia’s eyes flicked briefly toward the man.

He was the one who had introduced himself as Ryu.

To be honest, Xenia still felt uneasy about this entire situation.

That she might be the reincarnation of Zeryon.
Sure, Xenia had used Zeryon’s Divine Magic.

It was considered a miracle within the magical community.
Divine Magic was outrageously difficult.

Essentially, it was magic that only Zeryon had ever been able to interpret.
So the fact that Xenia could use it made her talent nothing short of astonishing.

It even sparked a popular theory within the Niflheim household.

The Transcendent Sage Zeryon never officially had a child.
However, there were rumors that he once had a lover.

Due to the Great War, Zeryon had to leave for the front lines, and the relationship faded.

But some have speculated.
What if a child had been born from that union?

The Empire had long led the world in magic.
And because of that, all the noble magical families competed to recruit anyone with talent.

So people couldn’t help but think—

If it were Zeryon’s bloodline, surely that person would have shown remarkable magical ability.
And if someone like that had appeared, would the magic-obsessed noble houses have left them alone?

No one could say for sure if the person was truly Zeryon’s child.
But it was nearly certain that his bloodline had found its way into some magical lineage.

Now, for the first time since Zeryon, a girl capable of using Divine Magic had appeared.
Because of this, there were growing suspicions in the academy that the blood of Zeryon had merged into the Niflheim family.

The Niflheim house leaned into this idea strongly.
Recently, the count had frequently been away from the estate—this was the reason.

To be associated with the Transcendent Sage Zeryon’s bloodline…
That single title could vastly elevate the family’s prestige.

And with the case of Xenia Niflheim before them, even the academy couldn’t deny it outright.
So the Niflheim house pushed the theory forward aggressively.

But ultimately, it was still just a theory.
No one knew the actual truth.

Whether Zeryon had even left behind a bloodline was uncertain.

Yet in the midst of all this, Xenia was suddenly labeled the reincarnation of Zeryon.
Of course she was confused.

“Hmph.”

Amid her confusion, the White Wood Duke pressed a hand to her chin and stared quietly at Xenia.
Under that gaze, Xenia instinctively shrank back.

“Zeryon’s reincarnation, huh.”

The White Wood Duke looked at Xenia, then turned her gaze to Ryu.

“…More importantly, that appearance…”

She mumbled to herself, tilted her head with a hand still to her chin.
Then she shook her head and turned her attention back to Xenia.

“Well, it’s true no one besides Zeryon has ever used Divine Magic.”

The White Wood Duke didn’t speak further on that point.
Instead, she began explaining why she had come to meet with Xenia one-on-one.

“The Niflheim brat hasn’t arrived yet, but I’ll say this in advance.”

Calling the Count of Niflheim a ‘brat’?
Surely, only the White Wood Duke could refer to a count of the Empire like that.

“Just like you were attacked this time, the Mysticism group will continue to target you because you’re Zeryon’s reincarnation.”
“Ah, y-yes, ma’am.”

Xenia responded in a tense voice.

“So, I’ll make you one proposal. I’m planning to go crush Mysticism myself.”

The White Wood Duke was going to move in person.
For a duke of the Empire to take personal action would cause a massive stir across the nation.

But she didn’t care. She was fully intent on striking Mysticism herself.

“That being the case, I propose you come with me—since you’ll be targeted again anyway.”

Xenia’s eyes widened in shock.
If Mysticism was going to target her again, she might as well be brought along?
What kind of ridiculous logic was that?

“To be honest, this idea came from that guy.”

The White Wood Duke gestured toward Ryu with her chin.
She didn’t seem particularly fond of the idea herself.

Ryu’s abilities were well-proven.

But Xenia was still a fledgling.
A genius who had only just hatched from her egg.

Even if she really was Zeryon’s reincarnation, she still had a long way to go.
There was a high probability she’d just end up in danger.

“Your Grace, I understand your concerns.”

At that, Ryu finally spoke.

“However, since we haven’t yet identified all of Mysticism’s members, I believe it’s better to utilize Miss Xenia’s talents rather than leave her vulnerable.”

He spoke smoothly and confidently, not missing a beat.

“Miss Xenia’s Divine Magic will create synergy beyond expectations. Please trust me and take her in.”

Xenia felt completely blindsided.
Her opinion hadn’t even been considered—it was already decided she’d be joining.

“Hmph.”

But she had her pride.
If the White Wood Duke was hesitating to take her in, it must be because she felt Xenia wasn’t good enough.

As someone who would one day lead the Niflheim family, she couldn’t show weakness here.

She was a perfectionist.
And in her pursuit of perfection, Niflheim was part of the package.

“I’ll do it. I’ll go!”

Xenia declared her resolve.
It was really Ryu who had forced her into it, but she had no other option.

If she backed down now, it would make the Niflheim family look weak.

She was acting as a representative of the Niflheim house.
The heir of a magical noble family renowned throughout the Hyserion Empire.

She would see it through to the end—flawlessly.

“My goodness, why are young people so hot-blooded these days? Why don’t we just bring the whole lot of them while we’re at it?”
“Well, that’s exactly what you’ve already done, isn’t it?”
“If we all get wiped out, the world’s going to lose its mind.”
“Yes, and I fully believe Your Grace will take responsibility and utterly destroy everything in our path.”

Xenia’s mouth hung open in disbelief.

Even if he was an attendant, how could he speak so casually with the White Wood Duke?
She had no idea what kind of man this ‘Ryu’ really was.

The White Wood Duke clicked her tongue and stood from her seat.

“I’ll give word to that Niflheim brat. Since you’ve made your decision, start packing.”
“Y-Yes, ma’am.”

Just like that, Xenia had become part of a strike force aiming to destroy Mysticism, and she could only cry internally.

She had been studying magic every day—and now this catastrophe.

She couldn’t help but feel resentful toward Ryu for pushing her into this, but she knew he meant well.
So Xenia swallowed her tears and chose to face it head-on.

* * *

After Xenia joined the group, I returned to the carriage.
I wanted to get everything in order before she boarded.

‘It doesn’t look like my identity’s been exposed.’

If it got out that I was Vikarmern, things would get messy.
For now, I’d have to keep going as ‘Ryu’.

As I neared the carriage, I saw a familiar face tied to some bad memories.
Though he had disguised himself, his towering height made it easy to identify him.

“You’ve been working hard.”
“Likewise.”

It was Cardinal Centriol.
Feeling responsible for what happened in Acrede, he had willingly come along for this operation as well.

And understandably so—Acrede was currently inside the carriage.

If the Holy Kingdom found out, it would cause a total upheaval.
But we couldn’t just leave Acrede exposed while Mysticism was clearly targeting her.

‘Besides, we need Acrede’s help to find Vulcan.’

Half of Acrede’s soul was currently drawn toward Vulcan.
In fact, that might be the very key we needed to locate Mysticism’s headquarters.

The gravekeeper of heroes, the reincarnation of Aquiline.
Musica.
She intended to borrow Vinesha’s body to track Narea’s soul through Acrede.
Which meant—we needed Acrede in order to find Mysticism.

The same applied when using the artifact Soul Tracker.

The scenario had changed quite a bit, but the process itself was still the same.

“What would happen if the Holy Kingdom found out Lord Acrede is here right now?”
“They’d lose their minds.”

When I asked casually, Centriol responded politely.
No one knew that Acrede was here at the moment.

Officially, Acrede was on a tour of Zeryon Academy.
In a month, she was scheduled to return safely to the Kingdom of Lium.

If discovered, the Holy Kingdom might demand accountability.
But Acrede was that desperate to find Narea’s soul.

To her, Narea was like her other half.
It was only natural she would give it everything she had.

‘This scenario’s gotten seriously tangled.’

It was a bit of a mess, but the decision was already made.
Vulcan was moving quickly—he even attacked the Niflheim house directly.

It was better to confront the issue than to let it fester.

‘Only the order of events has changed. The scenario itself is still following canon.’

In the original version, Lucas also fought Mysticism alongside the Saintess and Xenia.
So in a sense, things were still going according to plan.

‘Come to think of it, isn’t this around the time of the academy mock battles?’

Hanon would probably take my place in the matches.
I wasn’t sure if things would go smoothly.
And once again, I’d unintentionally miss a chance to face off against Van.

Aside from that, there shouldn’t be any major issues.

‘At the very least, I told him to avoid Lady Iris at all costs.’

The real Hanon still thought I was Zeryon.
That meant he would definitely do his best—for my sake.

I’d decided to trust him.

Besides, Eve was now helping Iris with her nightmares using Azure Flame.
So there was no need for me to personally intervene anymore.

Things would take care of themselves even while I was away.

“You’re back?”

At that moment, the carriage door opened, and Isabel greeted me warmly.
No matter what form I took, she always recognized me right away.

I still had no idea how she managed that.

No time for sentimentality.
Everything was progressing smoothly.
I’d finish this mission and return safely to Zeryon Academy.

As I stepped into the carriage, familiar faces came into view.
Musica, Acrede, and Isabel.

“Oh, you’re—”

Just as Musica began to greet me—

She abruptly stopped mid-sentence.

Blinking, she narrowed her eyes slightly and furrowed her brows.

“What the heck is that look?”

Musica’s reaction was completely unexpected.