Chapter Summaries

After treating Yulia, Iver concluded that the Paradox Flame Butterfly’s power was dangerous to him and decided to prepare a Blank Card in case her condition worsened. He petitioned Candle Holder for guidance and drew three Tarot Cards, leaving their meaning unresolved.

• Iver confirmed that the power swelling in his arms came from the Paradox Flame Butterfly and began to dissipate as Yulia slept.
• Iver reconsidered whether James’s departure from Avalon had contributed to Yulia’s premature loss of control, but concluded the crisis was probably a coincidence.
• Iver decided to prepare Blank Cards early and stored four points of mana in a Tarot Card as a prototype.
• Iver used a blood ritual to petition Candle Holder and ask about the essence of the phantom demon’s power in his blood.
• Iver drew the Lovers reversed, the Hanged Man upright, and the Sun reversed as Candle Holder’s three answers.

After an apostle of the Candle Holder answered Iver’s questions and healed him, Iver interpreted the Tarot reading to determine how to seal the Paradox Flame Butterfly inside Yulia. He crafted a warm pendant from the recommended cards and materials, planning to have Yulia wear it as a probationary period for the Phantom Demon.

• Iver ended the prayer ritual, burned the bloodstained cards, and thanked the apostle of the Candle Holder, who healed his hands and cleared the mana clogging his arms.
• Iver arranged the Lovers, the Hanged Man, and the Sun into a Holy Triangle spread and interpreted them as hints about Yulia and the Paradox Flame Butterfly’s past, present, and future.
• Iver chose the Sun as the base card to empower the Paradox Flame Butterfly and the Hanged Man as the signifier card to seal and suppress it through the Dedication Path.
• Iver mixed Yulia’s True Fire Essence with his blood, mana, cinnabar, and ruby, then prepared the Tarot Card inside a charcoal-filled red pouch as a warm pendant.
• Iver planned to give the pendant to Yulia the next day so she could wear it close to her body and help the Paradox Flame Butterfly adapt to being sealed.

Iver arrived at Royal Law University with Lily and Edward, learned that Princess Isabel had given him a villa until graduation, and received a pistol from Edward because the school’s atmosphere seemed suspicious. Edward left Iver in the care of Hai Na, who began showing him around.

• Yulia woke feeling better, and Iver gave her the unfinished Sun card as a warm talisman.
• Iver, Yulia, and Lily traveled to the university district with Edward’s red-haired manservant carrying their luggage.
• Edward told Iver that Princess Isabel had given him a villa on Ronin Street until he graduated.
• Edward secretly returned Lady’s Grip to Iver and warned him to keep it, saying the university’s atmosphere felt wrong.
• Edward introduced Hai Na as Iver’s upperclassman and told her to look after him.
• Hai Na arrived after rushing to change, and Iver greeted her warmly as she prepared to show him around.

Aiden dozed through Professor Bard’s history lecture while thinking about Dracula and the popular Hai Na Dane. When Hai Na passed the hall with a handsome boy in a wheelchair, Aiden recognized him as Iver.

• Aiden recalled the book Dracula and wondered whether its account of the Narcissus Duke and Stibium Kingdom reflected hidden history.
• Aiden noticed Hai Na Dane passing outside the lecture hall and reflected on her popularity, athletic skill, and the rumors about her.
• Aiden saw Hai Na watching a platinum-blond boy in a wheelchair with unusual concern as they exchanged smiles.
• Aiden recognized the boy as Iver and blurted out his name.

Iver Moriarty returned to the theology department in a wheelchair after recuperating at home, drawing the attention of his classmates and Professor Bard. Professor Bard invited him to introduce himself and teach a lesson about the founding of the Stibium Kingdom, and Iver accepted.

• Aiden recognized Iver as his former middle-school classmate and recalled Iver’s charm, reputation, and mysterious disappearance from university.
• Hai Na introduced Iver to Professor Bard, explaining that Iver had been ill and studying at home before returning as a transfer student.
• Professor Bard asked Iver whether he knew the four kingdoms that emerged after the Herasul Empire split, and Iver confidently said he did.
• Professor Bard handed Iver the lesson materials and asked him to introduce himself and teach about the founding of the Stibium Kingdom.
• Iver agreed to teach, while Hai Na stayed nearby, concerned about how the students might treat him.

Iver introduced himself to his classmates and turned a history lesson on the founding of the Stibium Kingdom into an account of conflicts between supernatural Paths and the secrets surrounding Avalon’s founders. He left the class buzzing with excitement, while Professor Bard silently approved of his knowledge.

• Lily wheeled Iver to the lectern, where he introduced himself and explained that she helped him get around.
• Iver asked about the fall of the Herasul Empire, then argued that conflicts between Paths were its fundamental cause.
• Iver described how different Paths clashed and linked those rivalries to the Nine Pillar Gods and their apostles.
• Iver recounted Merlin’s origins and death, the Lady of the Lake’s later role as Lancelot I’s foster mother, and the apostles’ continued rivalry in the Dream Realm.
• The students excitedly discussed Iver’s revelations, while Professor Bard praised his fluent explanation and left him to continue.

Iver taught Professor Bard’s history class about the Herasul Empire’s fall, impressing the professor with his knowledge and skill. The class ended with Professor Bard deciding to make Iver his teaching assistant, while Hai Na wondered about Iver’s late-night dinner with Princess Isabel.

• Iver explained how conflict between the Alchemy Association and the Art Association, the rise of the Twelve Keys, and the arrival of the Children of the Moon weakened the Demon Scholars.
• Aiden realized that the vampiric creatures described in Iver’s lecture matched the events in Dracula, while Professor Bard listened without correcting him.
• Professor Bard confirmed an important passage from the textbook and let Iver continue teaching, impressed by his command of the class.
• Professor Bard decided to hire Iver as his teaching assistant despite the usual rules for selecting assistants.
• Professor Bard told Hai Na that Princess Isabel had invited Iver to a private dinner, and Hai Na wondered what had happened during his late return.

Iver used a history lecture to captivate his classmates with the origins of the Stibium Kingdom and its alchemical philosophy. Their enthusiastic response convinced him he had earned their trust and could bypass the initial trust quests he remembered from the game.

• Iver arrived late to Professor Bard's history class, where the students eagerly listened as he explained how the Narcissus Duke sealed the Children of the Moon and how the postwar kingdoms formed.
• Iver described how Valentine I founded the Stibium Kingdom with alchemists, Demon Scholars, and necromancers, and how its practical alchemy helped it grow powerful enough to annex its rivals.
• Iver explained Valentine I's belief that mortals could become gods by refining their animal nature through stibium, and the hourglass bell rang as his lecture ended.
• The students urged Iver to continue, and he recognized their warm reaction as evidence that his performance had earned their trust and would help him skip the game's initial trust quests.

After impressing Professor Bard and winning over the students, Iver decided Bard would be an ideal mentor and asked whether he had room for another student. Lily was warmly accepted by her classmates, while Iver reconnected with Aiden and left him to entertain the crowd.

• Professor Bard joked with the students and promised to bring a larger hourglass next time, leading Iver to decide he would make a suitable mentor.
• The students crowded around Iver with invitations and questions, while Professor Bard and Hai Na waited nearby.
• Iver introduced Lily as his personal maid, and the students welcomed her without judgment.
• Aiden approached Iver, and Iver asked him to keep the students company while he spoke with Professor Bard.
• Iver asked Professor Bard whether he had room for another student.

Iver tried to persuade Professor Bard to take him as a student, impressing him with his views on the Stibium Kingdom and Avalon. Professor Bard initially refused because his archaeological work kept him away from campus, but Iver saw that arrangement as an opportunity to travel and explore ancient ruins.

• Iver explained why he did not want Professor Moriarty as his mentor and asked Professor Bard to take him instead.
• Iver and Professor Bard discussed Stibium’s practical alchemy and the political dangers facing Avalon.
• Professor Bard admitted that Avalon had fallen too far behind, then explained that his archaeological work took him abroad with graduate students every third semester.
• Professor Bard declined to mentor Iver, saying his absences would leave Iver without proper supervision.
• Iver was delighted by the prospect of enjoying more freedom and possibly joining Professor Bard’s archaeological expeditions.

Iver persuaded Professor Bard to take him on as a teaching assistant and bring him on future archaeological expeditions, with Lily also accepted as Bard’s student. The chapter ended with Princess Isabel arriving at Iver’s classroom and inviting him to lunch, leaving the watching students stunned.

• Iver demonstrated his right-handed Illumination Spell and explained that he had begun studying Sacred Art after a dangerous encounter.
• Professor Bard agreed to take Iver and Lily as students, then hired Iver as his teaching assistant and offered him generous academic support.
• Professor Bard described how friends and students had died on archaeological expeditions because they lacked timely treatment.
• Iver and Lily left the classroom and found Princess Isabel waiting outside among a crowd of students.
• Isabel greeted Iver by name and asked whether anyone had lunch plans with him, prompting John and the others to wonder if they were secretly dating.

Iver decided to accept John Aiden’s invitation to the White Shoes Club and planned to bring Isabel along, hoping she could make friends there. He asked Aiden whether two more people could join them after afternoon classes.

• Isabel told Iver that Yanis had helped her find him at Royal Law University, where she had missed his lecture.
• Isabel asked Iver to visit the house she had given him, and Iver turned to John Aiden, who had come looking for him.
• Aiden invited Iver to a fun place, and Iver recognized it as the White Shoes Club, where he could investigate the minister’s secret.
• Iver agreed to go with Aiden after afternoon classes and asked whether he could bring two more people, while Isabel watched expectantly.

Iver brought Princess Isabel into the White Shoes Club and encouraged her to pursue friendship on her own terms. Isabel asked to paint his portrait for her life-drawing exam, while both of them felt a growing connection to their respective Paths and Isabel wondered whether Iver was Mr. Fox.

• Iver arranged for Princess Isabel to join the White Shoes Club, and the students eagerly accepted her membership.
• Isabel told Iver that her teacher had arranged to have the precious painting preserved before it was sent to him, and Iver agreed to wait.
• Isabel admitted she had left the dining hall before because she felt uncomfortable around strangers, and Iver reassured her that she did not need to settle for unwanted friendships.
• Isabel asked to attend Iver's class and paint his portrait for her life-drawing exam, and Iver asked to keep the finished painting as his first portrait.
• Isabel felt a resonance with the Path of Beauty as she prepared to paint Iver, while Iver felt a new understanding of the Path of Dedication and Isabel suspected he might be Mr. Fox.

Isabel worried that students would crowd her, but Iver helped her see that she could set boundaries and decide how to treat people. She chose to trust him despite his warning that he lied, then returned with him and Lily to her villa, where she and Lily toured the house while Iver fell asleep listening to music.

• Isabel found that few students noticed her and none approached her or Iver in the cafeteria.
• Iver advised Isabel to judge others by their intentions, set boundaries, and become more willful as a princess.
• Isabel decided to trust Iver because she believed his motives and actions were kind, while keeping their secrets private.
• Isabel used her spare key to open the villa and joked that she might check whether Iver and Lily had dirtied her bed.
• Isabel played music for Iver, then showed Lily around the villa while Iver rested in his wheelchair and fell asleep.

Isabel learned that Minister Charles Drost had sent his illegitimate daughter Lily away to serve as a personal maid, and she grew angry with him. After attending class, Iver met Isabel at the White Shoes Club and realized that her social difficulties came from inexperience and pressure rather than social anxiety, leaving her true feelings about being a princess in doubt.

• Isabel learned Lily was Charles Drost’s illegitimate daughter and silently condemned Drost for sending her away as a personal maid.
• Isabel left Iver’s villa when Hai Na arrived to take him to class, and Lily accompanied him to his Elven Language lesson.
• Iver noticed that his memory and physical endurance had improved after entering the supernatural realm and following the Dedication Path.
• Iver walked with Aiden and the others to the White Shoes Club, where Isabel waited and spoke more comfortably with an upperclassman.
• Iver concluded that Isabel lacked social experience and had withdrawn under pressure because she did not truly want to be the Princess of Avalon.

Isabel arrived at the White Shoes Club with Iver and the other new members, where club president Arun Carter welcomed her and Iver. Iver recognized Arun from his memories of the coming Stibnite invasion and recalled that Arun would later sacrifice himself to protect others.

• Isabel waited outside the White Shoes Club, and Angela confirmed that she had invited the Princess.
• Iver arrived with Isabel, Lily, Aiden, and several club members, and Xi Si Teng let the group inside.
• Isabel looked around the club while the group made their way to Arun Carter, the club president.
• Arun welcomed Isabel and greeted Iver, who recognized him from the game and remembered his brave but futile stand during the Cruel Autumn incident.

Iver, Lily, and Isabel joined the White Shoes Club, where they prepared to help Aiden with his romantic troubles. Their plans were interrupted when a middle-aged man fell from the second floor and died from a dark-gold dagger wound, an event Iver did not remember from his previous life.

• Arun recognized Iver and Lily from the royal banquet, and Isabel identified him as the Minister of Justice's son.
• Arun gave Iver, Lily, and Isabel membership badges and arranged to complete their club documents later.
• Aiden asked Iver to help him speak to a woman on the second floor, and Isabel stayed behind while Iver agreed to go with him.
• A middle-aged man fell from the second-floor railing, convulsed, and died with a dark-gold dagger lodged behind his heart.
• Iver saw no suspicious figures upstairs and wondered what he had changed to cause the murder to occur.

Arun secured the White Shoes Club after a man was killed and summoned the Bureau of Supervision, whose director arrived to protect Princess Isabel and oversee the investigation. The victim was identified as Sir Raff, Lord Drost’s chief private secretary, startling Lily.

• Arun sealed off the club and called his father to report the suspected assassination, emphasizing that Princess Isabel was present.
• More than five minutes later, inspectors and supervision officers arrived, followed by the Old Knight Gordon, who saluted Isabel and promised to protect her.
• Gordon told Isabel that Inspector General Edward was on his way and the First Sky Knight Brigade had surrounded the building.
• An inspector identified the dead man as Sir Raff, Lord Drost’s chief private secretary, and Lily reacted with shock.

After Secretary Raff was murdered at the White Shoes Club, Iver connected his death to stolen intelligence, Minister Drost, and the Iris assassin group Eagle Eye. He guided the investigation without revealing what he knew, while suspecting that Aiden’s elegant upperclasswoman was tied to the case.

• Director Gordon learned that Raff had been killed by a poisoned or cursed dagger rather than the fall and ordered a search of the club’s second floor and its guests.
• Iver suggested that Raff had been handling documents and asked the inspectors to look for anyone carrying papers or document bags.
• Iver remembered that Raff was the mysterious author of coded messages and that Minister Drost was secretly passing intelligence to the Stibium Kingdom through the Noble Red Society.
• Iver recognized the dagger as the signature weapon of Eagle Eye, an Iris assassin organization, and connected its politics to the elegant upperclasswoman Aiden had mentioned.
• Iver urged Gordon to search books as well as bags for hidden documents, and Gordon went upstairs to inspect the scene himself.

Iver suspected Minister Drost was a mole while Chloe watched the investigation into Secretary Raff’s death and realized Iver had deduced that she stole documents. As Director Gordon approached, Chloe used her Path Trait to melt into shadow and prepare to escape.

• Iver reconsidered Minister Drost’s seemingly perfect qualities and suspected that he was a mole, possibly one of Moriarty’s pawns.
• Director Gordon and inspectors searched the White Shoes Club for missing documents while Chloe secretly observed them.
• Chloe reviewed her mission to disrupt the Stibium Kingdom’s plot, expose the Minister of Trade, and keep Avalon and Stibium hostile but out of war.
• Chloe wondered how Iver had guessed that she hid some of Raff’s documents in a book, then realized his suggestion had brought Gordon close to her.
• As Gordon approached, Chloe used her Path Trait, Shadow Affinity, to vanish into a mass of shadow.