Chapter Summaries

At Rock Junction Station, Anielo intervened when the Nirvana Branch detained Hughberlian and Mishura, declaring they had mistaken Hughberlian for the criminal Sigrid and ordering them released. The sisters reached the Imperial Army’s Platform Three and waited for their train, while Hughberlian remained puzzled by Anielo’s help and the sense that she had seen him before.

• Anielo arrived at the checkpoint with a handcuffed light-haired woman as the High Priest explained that he had detained Hughberlian and Mishura.
• Anielo ordered the High Priest to release the sisters, explaining that Hughberlian was his prey and the priests had the wrong person.
• Anielo told the High Priest to apologize to Hughberlian and Mishura and warned him not to jeopardize Lord Askesang’s election.
• Hughberlian and Mishura left the checkpoint and reached Platform Three, beyond the Nirvana Branch’s authority.
• Mishura asked why Anielo had helped them, while Hughberlian waited for the train and wondered why he seemed familiar.

Lanchi assigned the high priests a mission to support the injured Askesang in the Northern Border Province while warning them against betrayal. As Lanchi and Sid headed toward the train platform, Sid realized his hints could provoke the high priests into rebelling against Askesang.

• Lanchi told the high priest to return to the temple and prepare to go north, where Askesang needed support.
• Lanchi warned the high priest not to exploit Askesang's injuries or harbor treacherous intentions, then sent him away.
• Sid inferred that Lanchi's disclosures and criticisms would make the high priests suspect Askesang and potentially push them into rebellion.
• Sid whispered that talking with Lanchi helped her feel less guilty about doing bad things, and Lanchi pretended not to hear her as they continued toward the platform level.

Lanchi and Sid boarded a guarded train after their investigation across the northern Empire ended, discussing Sid’s recovery and their return to Helrom. As the train pulled away, Lanchi spotted Earl Milford’s eldest daughter waiting on the opposite platform.

• Lanchi escorted Sid, still handcuffed, into the train’s special rear carriage and explained that they had to keep up their prisoner-escort act until lunch.
• Lanchi and Sid reflected on their difficult journey, and Sid reminded him that she had done most of the fighting.
• Sid said she had recovered to around Tier 5 and believed breaking the Seal Power could make her stronger, but Lanchi told her not to break it.
• Sid warned Lanchi to run if he ever met a woman who could read minds, while Lanchi confidently claimed no one understood Demon Race Talent better than he did.
• The train began its journey toward Helrom, and Lanchi saw Earl Milford’s eldest daughter on the opposite platform.

Lanchi and Sigrid arrived in Helrom, where Lanchi prepared for a broadcasting interview and planned to leave Sigrid at Protos Royal Magic Academy. Meanwhile, Hughberlian suspected that the Nirvana Holy Son she had seen might have been Lanchi, and expected they would meet again in Helrom.

• Lanchi briefly watched the Earl Milford family's eldest daughter, while Sid teased him for staring at her.
• Hughberlian watched the Nirvana Holy Son's train depart and wondered whether he had really been Lanchi.
• The next day, Lanchi and Sigrid arrived at Helrom City South Station and made their way through the springtime city.
• Lanchi told Sigrid he had to go to the Helrom Broadcasting Company for an interview, and she asked him to take her to Gloria's House.
• Sigrid assured Lanchi that Gloria was trustworthy, but he silently wondered about Sigrid's age, making her walk ahead in exasperation.

Lanchi and Sigrid returned to Protos Royal Magic Academy and saw the new renovation designed by Lanchi, which was already drawing visitors. They reached Gloria’s residence in disguise, where Gloria recognized them, leaving their reunion just beginning.

• Lanchi and Sigrid traveled beside the Helrom River, avoiding the Old District and Helrom Zoo on their way to the academy.
• Lanchi and Sigrid admired the academy’s new gate and plaza, and Sigrid asked whether Lanchi had been a famous artist in his homeland.
• Lanchi told Sigrid he had made only one serious painting in the Southern Continent, so she decided his punishment would be to paint her portrait after their business was settled.
• Lanchi and Sigrid used their student identities to visit Gloria’s residence and rang her doorbell.
• Gloria opened the door, and Sigrid’s voice made her recognize the pair.

Sigrid and Lanchi returned to the Imperial capital and learned that Askesang had used their northern battles to frame the Ba Tian Branch for massacres, triggering widespread persecution. Lanchi calmed Sigrid and suggested Askesang’s confidence could work in their favor before the election, while Sigrid recognized that he did not know the Holy Son’s identity as Luo Qi McCarthy.

• Gloria welcomed Sigrid and Lanchi back and told them that southern Protos had been thrown into turmoil during their month away.
• Gloria showed Sigrid evidence and reports indicating that Askesang had blamed her and Ba Tian Sect for massacres in the north.
• Gloria explained that the Nirvana Branch and other factions had inflamed public opinion, attacked Ba Tian Branch priests, and caused the branch to lose comrades and support.
• Sigrid grew furious as she realized Askesang had distorted the truth and was trying to destroy the Ba Tian Branch.
• Lanchi reassured Sigrid and said Askesang’s belief that he held the advantage could benefit them.
• Sigrid noted that Askesang might avoid the election in the Imperial capital, unaware that the Ba Tian Holy Son was Luo Qi McCarthy.

Lanchi learned that Chloris had been confined on suspicion of treason, complicating his plans to coordinate with her and secure the Berenhard Family’s support. He revealed Chloris’s secret control of a puppet Duke Morodian to Sigrid and Gloria, leaving the group uncertain about the family’s votes in the upcoming Bishop Election.

• Lanchi told Sigrid and Gloria he planned to meet Chloris and discuss the empire’s unrest and delaying the war.
• Gloria warned Lanchi that Chloris had been confined for two weeks on suspicion of treason and could not meet anyone.
• Lanchi learned that Duke Morodian remained active despite Chloris’s confinement, raising questions about who was controlling him.
• Lanchi revealed that the real Duke Morodian had disappeared and that Chloris had controlled the public puppet version while cooperating with him to investigate the northern unrest.
• Sigrid realized Lanchi had secured the Berenhard Family’s potential support, but Lanchi worried that Chloris’s arrest might cost them its votes.

Lanchi prepared to confront Askesang while Sigrid remained weakened by her seal, and he decided to recruit powerful guest teachers ahead of schedule. Sigrid realized he meant to seek help from the three ancient Great Demon Race members imprisoned beneath Helrom Prison.

• Gloria told Lanchi and Sigrid that Associate Professor Sid had vanished about a week before Chloris was arrested.
• Lanchi told Sigrid to remain at Gloria's House and asked whether the Black Robed Man had used his full strength; Sigrid wondered whether Sid could be the man.
• Lanchi said Askesang was their only clear enemy and insisted they would kill him, while Sigrid explained that she could not regain her strength without breaking her seal.
• Lanchi announced that he would bring in three orthodox guest teachers early, and Sigrid realized he planned to approach the three Great Demon Race members imprisoned beneath Helrom Prison.

Hughberlian and Mishura traveled by train to Helrom, discussing a novel and the danger Hughberlian feared while keeping her mission secret. They arrived at the imperial capital and planned to visit the Commercial District before returning to Protos Royal Magic Academy.

• Hughberlian worried about the dangerous mission awaiting her in Helrom, while Mishura reassured her that the Rebirth Church was unlikely to threaten them at school.
• Hughberlian asked Mishura what she thought of the Holy War Romance, and the sisters discussed their favorite heroines.
• The train slowed as it approached Helrom station, ending the sisters' conversation.
• Mishura suggested that she and Hughberlian visit the Commercial District before returning to the academy.

Hughberlian and Mishura arrived in Helrom and began exploring the city, while Lanchi waited backstage at the Helrom Broadcasting Company for his late-night show appearance. Lanchi expected Hughberlian to find him, but Cat Boss feared she might actually return.

• Hughberlian and Mishura left the train and entered Helrom, where Mishura warned her about the city's dangerous districts and nighttime sights.
• Lanchi waited in the broadcasting tower dressing room with Cat Boss before appearing on the Helrom Late Night Show.
• Lanchi told Cat Boss he expected Hughberlian to find him because he was waiting somewhere conspicuous.
• Cat Boss silently wondered whether Hughberlian had meant a conspicuous place rather than Lanchi making himself conspicuous, and hoped she would stay away.

Sigrid watched Lanchi’s televised interview with Gloria, who worried about his plan to break three Great Demon Race members out of Helrom Prison. Sigrid trusted him to arrange the operation and focused on the show, while Gloria considered supporting a relationship between the Bishop and the Holy Son if Lanchi could defeat Askesang.

• Sigrid turned on the projection screen at Gloria's House to watch Luo Qi McCarthy's interview, and Gloria was astonished to learn he had become a provincial governor.
• Gloria questioned how Sigrid could trust Lanchi's plan to free prisoners from Helrom Prison, and Sigrid said she did not know how he would do it but believed he could succeed.
• Sigrid reasoned that she was the best candidate to enter the prison while Lanchi kept its warden occupied at the academy.
• Gloria objected that the mission was too dangerous and that the demons would not listen to Sigrid, but Sigrid said she would wait for Lanchi's arrangements.
• Sigrid turned her attention to the show as it began, and Gloria considered helping bring the Bishop and the Holy Son together if Lanchi could defeat Askesang.

Leola Franklin interviewed Luo Qi McCarthy on the Helrom Late Night Show about education, politics, and Protos’s relationships with its allies. Luo Qi criticized the Empire’s trade policies and proposed that allied nations pay more, leaving the audience to wonder whether he aspired to the Empire’s highest office.

• Leola Franklin introduced Luo Qi McCarthy as a prominent educator and Snowfield Province governor, and welcomed him onto the show.
• Leola asked Luo Qi about the Protos Royal Academy’s educational reforms and artistic philosophy, and he answered with confidence and seriousness.
• Luo Qi criticized Protos’s trade policies and its disadvantageous dealings with other nations.
• Leola asked how Protos could change the situation, and Luo Qi said the Empire should preserve peace and make its allies pay their fair share.
• The audience considered whether Luo Qi’s ambition might take him to the highest position in the Protos Empire.

During a televised interview, Lanchi said he had no plans to run for president but might consider it if the Protos Empire went in the wrong direction. In Helrom, Hughberlian and Mishura heard his interview broadcast across the commercial district, and Hughberlian froze when she saw him on the giant screens boasting about his chances of winning.

• Leola asked Lanchi whether he would run for president, and he said he loved his current work and had no intention of running, though he might reconsider if the country went astray.
• Mishura offered to use the Milford family's connections to help Hughberlian find Luo Qi while they were in Helrom.
• Hughberlian worried that Luo Qi might do something reckless if he was looking for her, while Mishura suspected he might be taking advantage of her.
• Hughberlian and Mishura heard a man's voice coming from the plaza and followed it to the commercial district's giant screens.
• Hughberlian saw Lanchi on the broadcast claim he had rarely failed and would have a very high chance of winning the presidency, then shouted in shock.

Hughberlian saw Lanchi, appearing as Luo Qi McCarthy, speak on a Helrom broadcast and hurried to find him. Mishura misunderstood their history and vowed to help Hughberlian marry him, while Hughberlian worried that he would not recognize her disguise.

• Hughberlian froze when she saw Lanchi on a screen speaking about peace and his students’ future in the Protos Empire.
• Hughberlian told Mishura she had to find him, and Mishura led her toward the Helrom Broadcasting Company.
• Mishura realized the man on the screen was Luo Qi McCarthy and excitedly asked whether he was Hughberlian’s beloved.
• Hughberlian denied that Luo Qi was Mishura’s brother-in-law and wondered how he had become so prominent and reckless.
• Hughberlian explained that her disguise might keep Luo Qi from recognizing her, and Mishura vowed to help them become husband and wife.

Hughberlian and Mishura waited outside the Helrom Broadcasting Company to see Luo Qi McCarthy, but a live interview turned Hughberlian’s hesitant opposition to his presidential run into a confrontation with his supporters. As the crowd identified the sisters as members of the Milford Family and treated them as McCarthy’s enemies, Hughberlian felt the same fear and loneliness she had experienced after her father disappeared.

• Mishura worried that the packed crowd would keep her and Hughberlian from seeing Luo Qi McCarthy when he left the broadcasting company.
• A Helrom Broadcasting Company reporter interviewed the sisters, and Mishura said she had no opinion of McCarthy.
• Hughberlian said McCarthy would be better off not running for president, and the crowd began booing and viewing the sisters with hostility.
• People recognized the sisters’ jewelry and Protos Royal Magic Academy uniforms, then speculated that the Milford Family opposed McCarthy.
• Hughberlian felt the crowd’s malice and remembered being alone and afraid after her father disappeared.

Lanchi stepped in to protect Hughberlian and Mishura from the angry crowd outside the Helrom Broadcasting Company, then calmly explained Hughberlian’s words to the cameras. Hughberlian recognized the familiar pattern of Lanchi saving her and wondered if meeting him had cost her all her luck.

• Hughberlian struggled to explain herself as Luo Qi McCarthy’s supporters accused her and Mishura of disrespecting him.
• Mishura moved to defend Hughberlian, but Hughberlian stopped her as the hostile crowd pressed closer.
• Lanchi left the Helrom Broadcasting Company and noticed the two girls surrounded by the agitated crowd.
• Lanchi asked the crowd to make way and reached the girls with help from his guards.
• Lanchi told the cameras that some students feared he would leave campus for politics, and Hughberlian recalled the many times he had protected her.

Lanchi resolved the crowd’s hostility and was about to leave when Hughberlian stopped him, and their exchanged glances revealed that they had known each other in the past. The chapter ended with Lanchi recognizing her and Hughberlian smiling in relief at their reunion in Helrom.

• Lanchi calmed the crowd around the Helrom Broadcasting Company building and urged the two Milford girls to return to school.
• Hughberlian grabbed Lanchi’s arm and struggled to convey her feelings while he asked what she wanted.
• As rain began to fall, Lanchi recognized Hughberlian as the person he had been searching for in the Imperial Capital.
• Hughberlian confirmed that she had finally been recognized, and Lanchi greeted her with familiar warmth.
• Mishura confirmed that she and Hughberlian had arrived in Helrom that day, prompting the reporter to infer that Lanchi and Hughberlian had been childhood acquaintances.

Lanchi reunited with Hughberlian after his public appearance in Helrom, and she scolded him for becoming entangled in imperial politics. He explained his journey and asked her to help with a prison-related plan, while Hughberlian resolved to investigate his Northern Continent friends.

• Lanchi left the rain-soaked crowd with Hughberlian and Mishura in a security-escorted vehicle.
• Hughberlian confronted Lanchi about appearing on a giant screen and discussing a presidential campaign.
• Lanchi recounted how he had survived at sea, been rescued by a southern lord, and traveled to Helrom with Cat Boss.
• Hughberlian suspected someone besides Cat Boss had encouraged Lanchi's recklessness and vowed to meet his Northern Continent friends.
• Lanchi asked Hughberlian to accompany him to discuss a plan involving the Ba Tian Branch and the Great Demon Race in Helrom Prison.
• Mishura misunderstood Lanchi's request to speak with Hughberlian privately, and Hughberlian asked why Lanchi was at Protos Royal Magic Academy.

Lanchi told Hughberlian how he became the de facto principal of Protos Royal Magic Academy, leaving her alarmed by the scale of his achievements and worried about the merit he had spent. Hughberlian focused on her plan to break someone out of Helrom Prison and considered asking Lanchi for help.

• Hughberlian asked Lanchi whether he had become a principal again, and Lanchi explained that everyone at Protos Royal Magic Academy called him principal despite his lack of the title.
• Lanchi recounted how he followed Miss Zestira to Helrom, became Associate Professor Sid's teaching assistant, founded Monthly Examination Day, and rose to power before proposing the McCarthy Reform.
• Mishura applauded Lanchi's story, while Hughberlian wept with fear after calculating how much merit his growing bounty had cost her.
• Lanchi assured Hughberlian that his actions in the Protos Empire had been open and honorable, and Mishura praised him while calling him her brother-in-law.
• Hughberlian decided to prioritize rescuing Aunt Talia's friend and considered asking Lanchi to help her infiltrate Helrom Prison.

Lanchi brought Hughberlian to Gloria’s residence after returning to Protos Royal Magic Academy, where they met Sigrid. Hughberlian was left wondering how Lanchi had become so close to the distinctive, light-haired woman.

• Lanchi escorted Hughberlian through the rain to Gloria’s House and accepted her claim that her journey had gone smoothly.
• Gloria greeted Lanchi respectfully and led him and Hughberlian inside.
• Hughberlian picked up Cat Boss, who emerged from Lanchi’s shadow, and decided the mansion seemed safe.
• Sigrid told Lanchi he had come back late, and Hughberlian wondered if the two had been living together.