Date- 7 April 2321
Time- 04:26
Location- Southern Region, Southern Capital, Southern Royal Palace, Guest Palace
Colleen glanced at Aria who was kneeling in front of her begging for an opportunity to complete her mission, then she turned to look at Lorenzo and spiritually asked him, ‘Can I trust this one?’
In light of the possibility that someone like Luna Lorn could willingly betray them, Colleen found herself unable to place her unwavering trust in the people she used to trust her back to. But this also made her realize the real reason why the Southern Royal family was vulnerable with traitors and spies infiltrating their ranks, was because of the seed of distrust among the allies. If the Ruler cannot trust her people then how can they ward off the foreign enemy? She finally understood the crux reason why the Matron was able to defeat the Southern Royal family in Clown Mask’s future vision.
Realizing the mistake in her ways, before Lorenzo could respond to her, Colleen immediately corrected her mistake, ‘Forget I ever said that.’
pαndα,noνɐ1,сoМ
“Your Highness, I am aware. But I kneel to show my faith in my liege not to fulfill some age-old custom,” Aria answered with a strong resolve.
Listening to Aria’s response and unyielding spirit Colleen was impressed, though there were many means at her disposal to verify if Aria meant every word she spoke Colleen choose to not use them but instead decided to put her faith in those that put their faith in her, “Alright, child, you can follow me to see through your mission to the end.”
“It seems old man Art has done well nurturing his younger generation,” Lorenzo comment hearing Aria’s response, there seemed to be a hint of regret behind his voice. Even though he does not show it, Luna’s betrayal was eating away at him.
The only reason Lorenzo had arranged for Aria to be the boy’s bodyguard was that he knew he could trust her and the Art family behind her. Aria had the purest unparalleled bloodline after Anna in the younger generation making her highly resistant to Matron’s ability. The Art family was one of the most honorable families he knew that was why he let his daughter marry into the Art family. Their loyalty to the Heatsend Royal family was undeniable. According to Clown Mask the Art family was one of the first families to be destroyed by Matron when she came into power as they would not accept her as their ruler.
As for the motive, the boy needed some to help him adjust to his new life in the palace, and Aria was the right fit. They were of the same age and prodigies among their peers, in the best case scenario they would become friends in the worst case scenario they become rivals, each other’s whetstone to sharpen their blades.
Lorenzo had everything planned for the boy’s stay at the palace such that he would be able to slowly adjust to his new life in the palace without feeling bored or homesick, Aria was just the start. However, the boy was too stubborn in his ways.
“Your Highness before you leave, I have the information on Jill from Morningstar University. I think it’s best if you that her full name is Jill Norley,” As Colleen prepared to leave with Aria, Lorenzo suddenly implored Colleen as files on Jill Norley were just shared with his grimoire by subordinates.
“Jill Norley? Don’t tell me she related to that man from the capital,” Colleen said learning Jill’s full name.
“Yes, she is his daughter,” Lorenzo affirmed with an ugly expression.
Getting confirmation from Lorenzo, Colleen’s expression turned dignified. Only to hear Ann chime in, “Jill Norley, the Dr. Jill Norley? I heard all 10 of the top university had a bidding war to get her to join their university for her research work. She is one of the up-and-coming young researchers in the central academic region. If I am not wrong she was Luna’s rival. I heard that she too worked on the dungeon relocation project, so that is how she was able to give Wyatt all that data on how to operate and maintain the dungeon relocation apparatus. Not to mention she is quite a looker and has all her male co-workers wrapped around her fingers.”
With a grave tone, Collen inquired Lorenzo, “How did she come in contact with the boy?”
Colleen could not understand how a prominent figure in the central academic region came in contact with a high schooler from the third-rate city in the southern region, Lorenzo’s following explanation only added to her confusion.
“A week ago she applied and gained the permit to explore a few E-rank field dungeons next to the Sky Blossom city. We have strong reason to believe that the boy faked his death in Sun Blossom City, he must have run into Jill Norley on his way over to Sky Blossom City. It is suspicious how she left the southern region the very day the boy returned to the city,” Lorenzo narrated the results of the investigation.
“It was her, that slut,” Ann exclaimed listening to Lorenzo’s investigation report. Nobody was more informed of what the boy’s footprints in the last few weeks than Anna and Ann. However, there was an entire day unaccounted for when the boy faked his death and traveled from sun blossom city to sky blossom city by himself, on 4 April 2321.
When the boy returned to the city the next morning for the first time he showed his vulnerable side to Anna but just when they were getting along well things took an ugly turn when the boy revealed to Anna that he had slept with another woman the day before.
Now hearing Lorenzo’s investigation report Ann immediately pieced the information together and came to the conclusion that the harlot that slept with her young lover was no other than Jill Norley.
“How could he?” Ann mumbled to herself remembering that the boy claimed that the incident was a one-time thing and meant nothing. Anna and Ann chose to believe him. Therefore Ann felt a little betrayed learning that the boy was still in contact with Jill.
“…” Colleen, Lorenzo, and Aria were taken aback by Ann’s outburst. But before either of them could ask her about it Ann declared, “We have to do something about that woman. Her relationship with Wyatt is more ambiguous than you can think. I wonder if she is the reason he so desperately wants to join Morningstar University.”
