On one side of the reception hall, a staircase wound upward through pale-brown stone steps. Several nobles in formal attire were slowly descending, their sashes and hems swaying gently with each step.
As they proceeded, the low, rhythmic sound of their footsteps and their conversation drifted down as well. Although they were not speaking loudly, in the spacious hall, every word seemed to carry a special echo.
By comparison, the sofa area in the center of the hall was exceptionally quiet. The candles on the golden candelabras flickered, and apart from the crackling of firewood in the fireplace, the three people sitting on the sofas said nothing, merely waiting in silence, as though they had been separated into two different worlds.
"Protos Royal Magic Academy... Didn't they already get rid of vicious competition?"
Xia Ya whispered his confused question to Lanchi and Sid from the sofa in the first-floor hall.
Along the way, he had listened to the two upperclassmen chatting and learned that Protos Royal Magic Academy might have undergone major changes recently. Even its atmosphere was completely different now.
"This is a leader of Protos Royal Magic Academy. You must not be rude!"
On the distant steps, the lord of Boen City, Viscount Blake Boen, suddenly seemed to notice something. He turned sideways and shouted at the three young people seated on the sofas in the center of the hall.
"S-sorry."
Xia Ya flinched in fright and hurriedly lowered his head, his eyes darting away.
He had not expected his voice to be so keenly heard by the noble middle-aged man, Viscount Blake Boen. It was as though the man had already been paying attention to this side of the first floor.
Behind the two middle-aged viscounts, Lilith watched Xia Ya for a few moments longer on the