Chương 16: Vionette's Biggest Fear

"At last, we can go by the teleportation circle." In a luxurious chamber washed in warm morning light, Noa reclined against a long velvet sofa. Lina sat comfortably right on his lap, her legs neatly tucked to one side as she popped Crystal Jellies into her mouth one after another. Each translucent cube caught the incoming sunbeams, gleaming like captive starlight. Vionette sat right beside them, sampling the exact same sweets with a deeply satisfied smile.

Across from them, on a second sofa upholstered in pale ivory silk, Mara and Isla sat close together, leaning in tightly as though conspiring over heavy state secrets.

"…Yes! Yes! The princess actually did that!"

"And then our Noa started to…" Their conversation flowed with a wave of suspicious enthusiasm, both of them nodding and gesturing like two proud mothers gossiping over afternoon tea. It was well worth noting that neither of them was actually speaking about their own biological child. Noa shifted slightly, resting his cheek against Lina's soft hair, his voice laced with amused disbelief.

"When did those two even get so close?" he asked, gesturing toward the pair. Vionette mirrored his movement, pressing her cheek gently against Lina's other side, her crimson eyes narrowing in mutual suspicion.

"…I know, right?" Lina pushed both of their faces away with her small palms, her expression completely unimpressed. She turned to face them flatly.

"They were acting like that in the carriage, too. You two just didn't notice."

"…"

"…"

"Of course you two wouldn't know." Looking down at the two adults who had suddenly been attacked without a shred of defense, Lina offered a knowing smile that didn't suit her young age.

"You were wrapped up in your own little world in the carriage… completely alone."

"Stop saying things like that." Vionette immediately began playfully grinding her knuckles against Lina's head in swift retaliation.

"You're not old enough yet."

"…I have a pretty good guess as to who taught her those," Noa muttered, casting a deadpan glance over toward Mara and Isla.

"Big bro, why didn't we just go by the teleportation circle in the first place?" Lina asked, casually licking the residual sugar from her fingertips.

"I don't know," Noa closed his eyes and pointed a finger directly at Vionette without looking.

"Ask your big sis." Vionette glared at him aggressively before shifting her gaze down toward Lina, who was looking back up at her with her head tilted curiously.

"W-well… you know… we're going to be incredibly busy later on. Y-yeah, that's why!" She quickly looked away from Lina, her face practically sweating buckets. I can't even lie to that cute face! Vionette thought, squeezing her eyes shut. She opened them again, her gaze drifting down toward Noa's lap. And… I kinda want to sit on his lap, too… Knock-knock-knock.

"May I enter, my lady?" Numael's voice carried cleanly through the heavy wooden door, having been sent ahead earlier to prepare the teleportation.

"Ah, Numael." Vionette's eyelids drooped in mild disappointment.

"You don't have to keep asking me, dude. Just enter." Creak. Numael stepped inside, his helmet removed for the first time. A cascade of wavy black hair framed a face carved with quiet, flawless symmetry. His dark eyes bore no arrogance and no eagerness—only a deep, unyielding steadiness.

"Are we finally ready to go?" Noa asked, standing up and gently setting Lina down on her feet.

"Yes. Please follow me."

They stepped into the heart of the heavily engraved platform, taking their places within the innermost ring while several attendants clad in ceremonial robes moved precisely to the outer edges. Teleportation circles function through networks of pre-established links. A single array can channel paths to multiple different locations, but those destinations must be anchored and connected to one another beforehand.

You cannot simply feed a set of loose coordinates into the glyphs and expect a jump; without an established, active tether recognizing a receiving anchor across impossible distances, this intricate array remains nothing more than beautifully decorated stone. Refined Aether shards are placed into the outer sockets to serve as the core power source, making the general usage of teleportation circles incredibly pricey and unsuitable for common folk.

The farther the destination and the more weight placed within the circle, the more fuel the array demands. And afterward, the massive stone mechanism goes completely dormant, cooling down like overheated iron. As the team waited patiently at the center of the magic circle, the carved symbols began to glow brightly, and the rhythmic chants of the mages rapidly increased in volume. Somewhere far across the lands in Crimvane, a circle violently awakened in answer.

The central glyph ignited into a brilliant flash, the physical world folded in on itself, and distance ceased to exist entirely. Swooosh!

"And here we are! Welcome to Crimvane!" Vionette announced proudly, extending both of her hands out to her sides. They were now standing within the royal teleportation chamber inside Crimvane's castle. Beyond the tall, arched glass windows rested a sweeping view of the capital city of Crimvane, alongside the winding roads leading to the distant estates of the aristocracy.

"Whoa…" Noa's voice carried a wave of genuine awe as he stared out through the glass.

"This shit doesn't seem any 'fallen' or 'cursed' to me at all." This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report. The castle rose like magnificently carved ivory directly from the rolling green hills. Vivid crimson banners—bearing a stylized crimson rose encircled by ivory rings and golden thorns—fluttered proudly atop the pristine white towers.

Vast, sprawling gardens embraced the entire fortress, with sculpted hedges curving through the grounds like deliberate brushstrokes, reflective ponds mirroring the sky, and elegant stone bridges weaving gracefully through patches of lilies. Marble statues draped in actual crimson cloaks stood sentinel along the paths, their silent forms perfectly echoing the banners waving above.

"C'mon, let's go. I'll arrange some rooms for all of you," Vionette said brightly, already stepping ahead of the group. Numael opened the doors for them once more. Exiting the teleportation room, they were led straight into wide, white marble halls that gleamed beneath towering vaulted ceilings. Massive crimson tapestries warmed the expansive space with an innate sense of authority, while the morning light pouring from the tall windows painted the polished floors in hues of soft white.

"ROSE!" Vionette called out loudly, her voice echoing down the corridor.

"Wow… It's so pretty," Lina breathed, her eyes sparkling like the pristine ponds outside.

"Mom, look!"

"Yeah," Mara agreed softly, looking around. It really is fucking huge and beautiful, Noa thought, his gaze drifting lazily upward toward the architecture. Responding to Vionette's call, Rose, the head maid, approached from afar, moving swiftly yet exceptionally gracefully. Her long, rose-colored hair was gathered into a low ponytail that extended past her waist, secured by a prominent black ribbon bow. She possessed sharp golden eyes that shone with an intense awareness.

Her maid uniform featured a sleeveless, pinstriped white shirt and a crisp black ribbon tie, all sharply cinched by a high-waisted corset with suspender straps. A red-trimmed black skirt flared out beautifully beneath a ruffled white apron and a matching headband, while detached black sleeves and thigh-high stockings with garter belts completed the intricate attire.

"Yes, my lady?" she asked, gracefully holding the edge of her skirt with one arm as she offered a flawless bow.

"Prepare three rooms for them." Pointing a thumb directly at the Ravel family, Vionette added, "Make sure they're the highest quality ones available or unavailable." Rose froze for the briefest fraction of a second, her gaze drifting over Vionette's shoulder to examine the family, confused as to where they had suddenly come from. A cute girl, a beautiful woman, and a good-looking man… She placed her fingers thoughtfully below her chin. Who are these people? Are they royals? They don't really seem like it…

then again, neither does Her Majesty half the time.

"I shall handle it immediately. Then, please excuse me." With a sharp bow, she turned to depart. As she began walking away toward the residential wing, she overheard their casual conversation:"Hey, where do I go around here to get a weapon made?" Noa asked Vionette.

"I'll show you the place." The princess herself is personally showing him around? Just who is this guy? Rose turned her eyes back slightly, examining him one last time before continuing down the hall.

"Let's go~" Vionette said eagerly, turning on her heel.

"I'll show you the best plac—" Grab! Suddenly, a soft, pale hand reached out from nowhere and grabbed Vionette's white hair from behind, causing her to halt mid-step.

"Hi there, my little sister~" Vionette's pupils dilated instantly, her face suddenly sweating buckets.

"S-Seliora… h-hi. Long time n-no see," Vionette forced out a rigid smile, her voice trembling visibly.

"What took you so long to use the teleportation circle?" Seliora asked, tilting her head to the side. She smiled sweetly, though her eyes were very much not smiling. Who is that? And she called her…' sister'? Noa observed carefully from the sidelines. Well… those eyes definitely say it all. Seliora possessed the exact same vivid crimson eyes as Vionette, but in stark contrast, her hair was a midnight jet-black that flowed past her shoulders in soft waves.

It was styled with long bangs that split slightly in the middle to frame her striking features. She wore an elegant, off-the-shoulder white gown featuring an embroidered sweetheart neckline, its waist cinched by a prominent black ribbon bow before cascading down in tiered, overlapping layers that beautifully resembled pristine swan feathers.

Floating, layered sheer sleeves draped loosely from her arms, complementing the white gloves on her hands—her right wrist distinctively wrapped in a coil of delicate silver chains. Against her pale skin, a teardrop-shaped red gemstone necklace rested perfectly against her collarbone, completing her look.

"Uhh… Listen, Seliora…" Vionette turned her head back slightly to look at her sister.

"I-it was… it was an incredibly hard task."

"Is that so~? Did you forget that you have work to do as a queen?" Seliora smiled, knowing her sister all too well.

"And where do you think you're going the moment you get back?!" Vionette's body instinctively flinched at the sudden shout, her eyes instantly shimmering with unshed tears.

"Y-you know… to show my partner a good blacksmith. Yeah! That's it!" Seliora paused, her grip loosening slightly.

"…Partner, you say?" She looked around the hall, her gaze finally landing squarely on Noa. Noa offered an awkward, silent wave of his hand, flashing a forced smile.

"Oh! You're him? Vionette talked to me about a 'partner' before." Seliora smiled warmly at him, just like his mother.

"I'm sorry, but I will be taking Vionette away for a moment."

"Huh?! No! I have to go show him—" Vionette tried to frantically explain.

"You're talking about Marnok, right? I'll just assign a maid to guide him. So you don't have to go yourself, my little princess."

"B-but…"

"No buts! Let's go!" Seliora dragged Vionette away by her hair with effortless composure.

"There are mountains of letters waiting from the aristocrats."

"NOOOO—!" Vionette's desperate scream echoed loudly through the grand marble halls, ringing clearly in Noa's and the others' ears. The nearby maids standing beside Noa simply shook their heads with knowing smiles, having witnessed this scene countless times before.

'We'll be busy' my ass. She just wanted to dodge working. Noa deadpanned internally. Then, his expression quickly shifted into a trace of genuine fear. Though… damn. Even I find her sister hard to deal with.

"Isla," Noa said, turning around to face her.

"Please look after these two while I go take care of my things." She nodded firmly, her posture straightening.

"Of course." Noa crouched down to Lina's eye level and gently patted her head.

"I'll be right back. Make sure to listen to them, okay?"

"Bleh! I'm not an idiot like you, you know?" Lina replied, crossing her arms with a thoroughly skeptical expression.

"I can look out for myself fine."

Crimvane's capital city—Arveth—was defined by its wide, spotless thoroughfares and pristine, grand architecture. Citizens moved comfortably through the wide open plazas, their lively chatter blending naturally with the steady, pulsing hum of the thriving markets. It lacked the suffocating, claustrophobic congestion of typical high-class kingdoms, carrying instead a clean, highly efficient energy that made the entire realm feel spacious yet thoroughly awake.

"Whoa… This place might be the same size as the U. S., if not bigger," Noa muttered under his breath as he exited the massive castle gates. Seliora had arranged a maid to accompany him on this trip, and of course, it turned out to be—"Are all the kingdoms around here this big, Rose?"

"It was way more populated before," Rose said softly, her golden eyes dimming for a brief moment as history weighed on her mind.

"Yet, now, it has come to this current state. The citizens are living without a problem for now, but it won't last long."

"Oh, don't worry about it~" Noa said casually, reaching over and lightly tapping her back.

"Vionette is here, so everything is going to be compleeeetely fine." Rose glanced at him sideways, partially in shock that he had just casually tapped her back, but mostly because of the amount of trust this complete stranger placed in Vionette.

"So, Rose," Noa continued, stretching his arms over his head.

"Where exactly are we going? To meet that Marnok guy, right?"

"No," Rose shook her head gently, her pupils moving upward as she recalled her specific instructions.

"Lady Vionette explicitly said: 'Don't let him go meet Marnok without good materials, or he'll turn him down even if it's my direct request. Go to the Blackmoor Dukedom first. There will be something interesting waiting for you there.'""Getting materials… and the Blackmoor Dukedom?"

"Yes."

'I'll give you entertainment.' Vionette's words from earlier echoed in his mind, and a slow, mischievous smirk curved across his lips.

"Heheh. Well then," he said, stepping confidently toward the waiting carriage, his eyes gleaming faintly with dark anticipation.

"Let's go to Blackmoor." And somewhere far beyond those ordered fields and disciplined banners— A new story waited to be pulled.