Alteraz wandered the palace while Zhangxuan remained occupied with the nobles, with Ansley following closely behind.
Her eyes soon landed on a table filled with delicacies. She scanned the spread of pastries before choosing one and taking a small bite, more to steady herself than from hunger. The surrounding nobles watched her, though their expressions were hard to read. Later, she reached for a drink.
As she turned back toward the hall, her heel slipped on the marble and she lost her balance. She collided with someone behind her, and the glass of red wine in her hand spilled across the person's white gown, staining it instantly.
"Oh… I'm sorry," she said quickly. The words were genuine, but her face remained completely flat, making the apology come across as almost detached. She had just said she wanted to avoid attention, and now this had happened.
The noblewoman's eyes moved from the stain to Alteraz before she spoke "You seem calm. Far too calm for someone who just ruined my dress. Do you even understand proper decorum?!"
A few nearby nobles leaned in, drawn by the sudden outburst.
Alteraz lowered her gaze as she tried to console the lady, careful not to add fuel to the fire, but it was clear her words weren't reaching her.
"Ugh, my dress is ruined! Do you have any idea how much this cost?!"
This time, the noblewoman deliberately raised her voice as she glanced toward nearby nobles, particularly a cluster bearing the crest of a rival faction of Alteraz's family. Their faint nods emboldened her.
"W-wait, I know you… You're Alteraz of House de Florencia," she said, voice sharpening as she stepped forward
"So, the Archmage takes in someone who cannot even behave at events…" she continued. "Truly a girl of low birth. How ridiculous!"
Alteraz had been willing to let the noblewoman vent until she was satisfied, but the moment she heard the words "low birth," something in her shifted. Not because it was untrue, but because it was unnecessary. She already knew what she was. It had followed her across both lives. There was no need for it to be repeated as if it were an insult she had never faced before.
"And here you are, standing among the nobility," the woman continued. "Do you think borrowed reputation hides where you came from?!"
The noblewoman leaned closer, refusing to ease her tone. "Do you think standing beside Archmage Zhangxuan shields you from consequence?"
At last, Alteraz met her gaze.
The noblewoman expected shame or anger, yet she remained unmoved. That indifference only fueled the noblewoman's rage more than any response could have. Her mana flared, sparks snapping against the marble floor.
"Will you answer me, or will your silence prove I am right?"
Alteraz smiled at the question. If the woman insisted on bringing up her past, she might as well lean into it.
"Uhm… if I'm lowborn, then what are you?" Alteraz finally spoke, a hint of confusion in her tone. "You know my name, but I don't even know yours."
"It's quite contradictory, you know. You call me lowborn, but everyone here knows who I am," she said, her gaze sweeping the crowd before returning to the noblewoman. "Meanwhile, no one seems to know you at all."
The sound of quiet chuckles spread through the crowd, pushing the woman past her limit.
Flames erupted from her palms as lightning tore across the marble floor and heat rippled through the air. The chandelier above swayed violently, its light warping beneath the rising pressure while servants and nearby nobles scrambled away in panic.
Now that was satisfying... Her moment of victory lasted all of two seconds before someone decided arson was the appropriate counterargument. Without further warning, she launched a relentless series of attacks at Alteraz.
Alteraz reacted instantly, ducking behind a column as a streak of lightning grazed her sleeve and tore through the fabric. Another wave of fire surged toward her. She flipped a silver tray at the last moment to deflect part of the blast, but the impact still jolted through her arms.
Her eyes darted around the hall. Ansley stood nearby, motionless, simply watching the scene unfold.
Oi oi oi, can't you see what is happening right now? She thought, still puzzled about why he wasn't helping. Every instinct she had screamed for her to summon magic, but she could not. The original Alteraz's abilities were locked, buried behind missing memory fragments. All she had were agility, and experience.
Across the hall, Zhangxuan remained comfortably seated, sipping tea as if nothing was happening. The nobles around him kept glancing between him and Alteraz, waiting to see how he would respond. To their surprise, he showed no intention of intervening.
Shit…
She scrambled across the marble as lightning struck where she had stood moments before. Another bolt followed almost immediately. She shoved a cart into its path, deflecting the strike before kicking it toward the noblewoman to disrupt her aim.
The woman screamed, "How dare you mock me like this in front of everyone!"
A final condensed strike of mana surged forward, compressed into a brutal spear of power. It tore through the air, leaving visible distortions in its wake as immense pressure swept across the hall.
Alteraz was finally cornered. There was no way she could avoid an attack of that scale. She remained still for a fraction of a second, just long enough to feel the crushing pressure bearing down on her, before her gaze shifted toward Zhangxuan.
Zhangxuan remained where he was, but this time, he was watching her.
Piece by piece, Alteraz realized it, an unsettling smile forming on her face. The lack of intervention was deliberate. He was testing her, waiting to see not only how she would respond, but what she might reveal without meaning to.
Master, testing me like this… aren't you afraid I might test you back?
The attack came near.
She calculated the distance, four heartbeats before impact, perhaps three if it accelerated.
She believed Zhangxuan would intervene at the last moment. Whatever his intention was, he would never allow his disciple to die before so many witnesses. At least, that was what she told herself as the attack closed in, she was gambling on his nature as much as his power.
At the edge, with no room left to escape, she did not move. She planted herself squarely in the path of the roaring energy, driven by what looked like a sudden, dangerous decision.
Well then, master, if I stay here, will you let me die?
The nobles around them gasped, convinced she had lost her mind. To them, it looked like madness. But beyond their shallow judgment, her action was far from it. It was a direct provocation.
Raw power swept past, close enough to sear her senses, leaving her untouched. Her chest heaved, vision blurred, but her eyes still found him across the hall. One question lingered in everyone's mind. Would he actually let her be killed?
As the devastating force bore down, many instinctively shut their eyes, unable to bear watching what came next. Then, out of nowhere, a sharp snap of fingers cut through the hall. Ansley, who had been restrained moments earlier, moved at the perfect moment, intercepting the spell before it could reach her.
Sparks scattered across the marble floor as the attack collapsed into harmless fragments. The noblewoman was restrained by the palace mages, her struggles fading as tension drained from the hall, replaced by uneasy whispers.
Alteraz staggered back, her body trembling from exhaustion. Her gaze met Zhangxuan's again.
"So, you care, huh," she whispered as darkness crept in at the edges of her vision.