“You can come back at any time. This is your house.”
“Yes, Duke. I will come to play often.”
After their brief hug, Elena left the estate.
“Lady! Always take care of yourself!”
“You must come and play!”
The servants who were close to her even shed tears.
Elena waved toward them before getting into the carriage.
Jeremy was already inside the Halos family’s carriage, to escort her to the tower.
“Elena. Come on.”
“Yes, teacher.”
The carriage proceeded smoothly; Elena couldn’t take her eyes off the window.
“I am very sorry.”
Jeremy said with a sly smile.
Elena nodded.
“I would be lying if I said I wasn’t feeling sorry.”
From the first time she opened her eyes to this world to the time she became an adult.
The Halos manor had become her sanctuary for several years.
Initially, it was a fictional place to her, but now, it was a significant place to her that she could not forget even if she left.
Until the carriage had completely left the mansion, Elena continued to stare at the landscape as if she were engraving it in her memory.
****
7 years later.
The western end of the continent.
Above the wasteland at sunset, there was a man-made mountain.
Upon close inspection, it was a pile of monsters with three arms and legs.
And a man was sitting on that monster pile.
Seven years ago, a seemingly inexperienced young man in the territorial war conquered the continent with overwhelming power.
Soleth’s Noble Sword.
His short hair fluttered in the wind.
The man held the red gem hanging around his neck.
Seven years passed, but the sphere did not lose its brilliance.
He stared at it for a long time.
The soldiers who had gone to dispose of the remains returned.
Then the man rose from where he sat.
The soldiers cheered when he uttered from his lips:
“Let’s return.”
Lexion glanced in passing to the ecstatic soldiers before he kissed the magic stone briefly.
‘Finally, I can meet you.’
****
Everyone has a day like that.
A day full of misfortune from the moment they woke up.
And for Elena, today was that day.
As soon as she woke up, she fell out of the bed.
She also banged her head on the shelf, causing her to feel sore as she drank water and feel sluggish when she ate her bread for breakfast.
It was fine up to that point.
However, the pain worsened over time.
It gradually intensified, but it didn’t hinder her.
But it was just there.
Unfortunately, what happened next finally triggered Elena’s wrath.
The scene before her eyes made her stomach simmer and her hands tremble.
Elena’s vision blurred and her eyes moistened.
“My—my three months….”
She flopped to the floor, staring at the messy lab table.
Anger was boiling over, but her energy was depleted. She has no energy left to be angry.
So, in a nutshell.
An experimental drug that had been sold out day and night for three months had been dumped on the floor by someone.
Only empty flasks were lying on the test table.
‘Clearly, there is a double barrier in the laboratory, but who broke through and how?’
Tears of anger and frustration started to flow from her eyes.
‘I studied really hard on that for three months.’
It was the most enjoyable time for her since she entered the tower, and in those three months, her dedication to that research was evident.
Even the experimental data and prototypes she arranged methodically were gone.
Elena looked at the table in vain and wiped her tears.
It was no time to sit and cry.
First, she has to find the culprit.
Perhaps the culprit has the data files and prototypes.
‘It’s possible that they have infiltrated my lab because they’re jealous about my research.’
It would take some time, but with that, Elena could once again start her research.
Elena jumped from her seat. She approached one side of the room where a wide-ranged bookshelf was situated.
In the third column from the top of the middle bookshelf, there was something Elena had set up just in case.
A green translucent sphere she made a few months ago.
It was a video sphere.
It was the first thing she created as soon as she got her own laboratory, and it was an upgraded version of the video sphere she made while staying at Duke Halos’ residence.
It recorded everything that happened in the lab, and its recording duration was longer compared to its predecessor.
Moreover, because the appearance was completely different from the video sphere sold in the Magic Tower, most wizards did not think of this sphere as a video recorder.
Elena immediately powered the video sphere with magic and played last night’s video.
A black-and-white image was projected on the video sphere.
Elena appeared first.
After finishing the experiment, she cleaned up and left the laboratory.
Then the door closed and time passed.
Finally, Elena saw someone coming through the wall and into the lab.