The atmosphere in the dining room was heavy, weighed down by the tension that lingered after Prince Carlos's bold announcement. No one dared to question Elisa's uncharacteristic behavior and unfitting etiquette at the dinner table. Sensing the need for intervention, Elaina, her closest personal maid, discreetly stepped forward and whispered into Elisa's ear.

"Please, m'lady, everyone's eyes are upon you," Elaina implored, her voice filled with concern.

Elisa turned around, her mouth still full of food, and attempted to speak with a gibberish voice, as if trying to mask her true emotions. Elaina signaled to the other servants to give them space and gently wiped away the food from Elisa's cheeks with a soft napkin.

"Gosh, you act like a child," Elaina remarked softly, a hint of exasperation in her tone. But beneath her words, there was a genuine understanding of the pain and turmoil that Elisa was going through.

Once she had tidied up Elisa's appearance, Elaina look at her lady with a questioning gaze. It pained her to see how much her lady had changed in such a short time. The weight of a broken heart seemed to have transformed Elisa's very essence. She had vanished for a while, seeking solace away from prying eyes, and upon her return, she carried herself with an almost childlike demeanor. It was a stark contrast to the composed and poised young woman she had known before. While Elaina had anticipated the challenges of guiding Elisa through her failed engagement, this new facet of her personality was unexpected.

(Well, at least her lady will be easier to manage than before) Elaina thought. She had received an instruction from the duke to keep her lady in place while he sent someone to deal with the engagement problem. It would be an impossible task before but now, she felt that it couldn’t be any easier. Just need to keep her lady from public eyes and…

“Elaina, I want to go to the Academy.” Elisa's sweet voice rang within the dining room.

Elaina’s peaceful dream was shattered immediately.

“My lady, You don’t have to go to the Academy for a while. The duke had given you permission to rest well until this whole ordeal is blown over.” Elaina tried to reason with her lady.

“But I want to” Maria said it again.

“Why? I thought you hate the Academy?” Elaina was confused.

“I want to read some books. The Academy is a place where I can do that.” Maria replied.

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Elaina let out a sigh of relief. If her lady wanted to read some books, then it was not a big problem.

“My lady, if you want to find books, then you have to visit the Palace of Knowledge, not the Academy. The Academy only handles teaching and training for students.” Elaina explained.

“Oh, I see.” Maria nodded.

“My lady, can I ask why the sudden interested in books?”Elaina couldn't help but ask.

“Erm? Isn’t it normal for a student to read books?”

Maria was flustered inside but her face was unchanging thanks to her nature-born poker face.

“I guess it is for a normal student but… Oh, very well, I will prepare a carriage immediately.”

Elaina decided not to question her lady any further. Either way, it was a good thing that her lady finally took her first interest in study instead of love drama which only ended up with more headaches.

An hour later, Maria and Elaina took a carriage and arrived at the front gate of the Palace of Knowledge. From Elaina, Maria learned that The Palace of Knowledge was created long before the Academy existed. No one knew how long it had existed and many secrets lay within the massive barriers projected by special mechanisms within the building. The barriers are divided by level, and they will only open when you reach the satisfaction grade or above to enter. No one knew who run this place and no one had ever reached the final floor. Legend had it that at the highest level, you will be able to access the secret of the world as well as knowledge to become a god.

“My lady, since you have never come to this place before, you will have to take a test by going through this tunnel. If you passed the test, you can enter based on the level of test you had passed. The first test is for one person only so you will have to go in alone. I will wait for you at the entrance.” Elaina explained.

“Wait, you seem to be familiar with this place, have you been here before?” Maria asked.

“Yes, it was mandatory for a servant of the duke to have a test score of 5 and above. Good luck, my lady.” - (And please do not disgrace the Duke household) – Elaina whispered silently as she saw Maria slowly engulf by the darkness of the tunnel.

After partway from Elaina, Ami’s voice began to ring inside Maria's head again.

“Whoa, it's been a while since I have visited this place.”

“You have visited this place before?” Maria asked.

“Yes, but it was a long time ago. During my expedition, I snuck in to test myself. My test score level was 499.” Ami reminisced about her good old day.

“Whoa, you are smart.” Maria was surprised.

Ami was embarrassed "Haha, well, I think you are mistaken this for a writing test. It isn't. You will see."

“What with the mystery?” Maria asked.

“Ey sorry, no spoiler, I am going to sleep. Wake me up when it's over, bye..."

As Ami bid good luck to Maria, the little light inside the pendant slowly snuffed out until it was completely black.

"Wait, what? you,,," Seeing the light snuffed out, Maria sigh silently (,,,are not coming with me?) Maria continued while holding the pendant close to her chest. She moved forward slowly until she saw a light. However, before she approached the light, the Advisor’s voice rang inside her head.

“Detecting powerful attack incoming, emergency switch activated.”

Just as Maria wondered what the Advisor meant; her vision changed to third eyes view. She saw her body act on its own and put up the arm to protect the head. Then as if being pushed like a rag doll, the body flew violently toward another light that suddenly appeared behind her body.