The eldest daughter of the Berkley family was a tycoon in the business world. She pulled deals left and right and always received excellent reviews from her clients.
She had been in business for only four years after graduating the academy yet she was seen as equal to many other business magnets.
This naturally made Anna become famous across the continent of Diacree. She had received a lot of proposals from foreign princes as well which just goes to show how valuable her talents were.
She was the target of envy and admiration alike.
..
This morning, Anna had yet again finished a contract with a very important client and saw the man off in his carriage. Disaster struck almost immediately after.
Multiple beams of magic spells shot towards her building that was located in the central district near the Plaza. The problem wasn't where they dared to attack, but actually at what time they attacked.
Anna had welcomed some guests just minutes after her meeting had concluded.
Grace and Claudia had decided to drop by to say hello and bring Anna lunch.
*
Four hours after the attack.
The hallway was quiet unlike the bombardments that came outside from enemies attacking the building. There were many customers before all the chaos happened but now everyone had left this place in a hurry.
Anna's heels tapped on the floor as she quickly headed somewhere.
She noticed a lone worker standing in the hallway. The person attempted to run away after seeing her but she was faster to catch up.
"What's the situation outside?" Anna grabbed that worker and cornered them.
"U-Um, we barricaded ourselves using the last line of the defensive magic spells. B-But it's not going to hold up for long…"
"What about our supplies?"
"W-We are running out…"
"What!? But what about the food in the storage—"
"Those are…" The worker didn't even have to finish their sentence. Their expression alone was enough to Anna.
"Tch."
Anna shoved the worker aside and headed towards her office which was her original destination. She had returned from an emergency meeting with her shareholders who were in the building today.
Needless to say, they were complete wrecks.
'Useless pieces of trash… I'm so pissed right now…!' Anna bit her nail off and spat it aside. Before entering the office, she breathed deeply to get her nerves under control.
'I shouldn't show anyone I'm scared. I shouldn't show anyone I'm scared. I…'
Anna repeated the same phrase over and over. She was known to everyone as a cold and intelligent businesswoman who stayed calm under all situations. At least that was how she wanted everyone to see her.
Humans believed more in people who appear confident and who are charismatic. It was like deception of the good kind that appeared selfish on the surface.
It was selfish because Anna used that to make others trust her more and rely on her. Thereby raising her reputation even further.
If she allowed herself to crack then it was all over. Her empire she built and the things she worked so hard to build would crumble.
"Ah, miss Anna!" When she opened the door, Anna was greeted by Claudia who was pacing back and forth in the room. Her expression was gloomy before it brightened up once Anna came back.
"How did everything go?" Grace stood up from the couch and asked.
"Terrible. The shareholders have no idea what to do about this situation. The only thing keeping us alive are the magic defenses around my company." Anna smiled wryly and heaved a sigh.
"What of the nobles of the city? Have they not sent help yet?"
"Grace, it is not easy to assemble knights in a short period of time so we can only wait. Thank goodness the messaging magic item was working."
They were able to send a notice to Count Lewan about the attack an hour ago but the magic power of the item suddenly disappeared. There was only one explanation.
Antimagic items.
"What about the citizens? If we don't stop those people then many can get hurt…" Claudia voiced her concerns.
'I don't have the leeway to care for commoners right now…' But Claudia's worries were reasonable.
Surely this commotion had reached the entire city by now. Yet why hadn't any of the guards come yet? Even the patrol knights were nowhere to be seen.
'Bastards must've already thought of a way to get rid of them.' Anna bit her thumbnail. She noticed that Grace was intently staring at her as if she wanted to say something.
Claudia also seemed to notice the same thing so she stood up.
"I will prepare some tea for the three of us. Even if we can't think of an explanation right now, the least it can do is calm our nerves."
"Thank you very much, miss Claudia." Anna smiled in relief.
Claudia left the room soon after and closed the door. Grace was the first to break the silence.
"Chances are the castle is also under attack."
"Mm."
"The fact that they specifically targeted you when you were at work made me arrive at this conclusion."
'Well, she's not wrong.' Anna was already aware that their family had enemies so it was inevitable for them to be attacked like this.
"You've memorized the faces and personalities of a lot of people close to the Berkley family… Do you know anyone ballsy enough to actually attack upfront like this? Or has anyone showed some ire for the duke?"
"No."
"What about nobles houses outside of the empire?"
"…."
Anna frowned. She couldn't come to an answer even as Grace questioned her.
"I guess it's fine if you don't know. Whichever noble it was seems to be a very sneaky bastard. They used the chance when your father was outside the city. Judging by the power those intruders have, the person who ordered the attack isn't ordinary."
'Even my guards—who were experienced knights from the Imperial Order—were defeated. It's obvious that these people are not regular back ally scum.'
With no information to rely on they could only make educated guesses. There were many incidents like this in the empire where a noble family was targeted.
One thing was clear: The enemy had a goal.
"What were you doing outside anyway? I thought you would stay in the castle to hide your face after what happened with Jurius?"
Everyone knew that Grace was Jurius' fiancé. There was a possibility that Jurius' actions would change the opinion others had of her.
"I was getting bored so I wanted to go shopping. Young master's Luke's mother happened to have the same idea so we accompanied each other."
"Hmm…"
'It's a good thing, actually. The castle is definitely also under attack. Perhaps it is even more dangerous there then it is here,' Anna looked at Grace, 'These two are non-combatants like me. They would only have died earlier if they stayed at the castle. At least the count didn't lose his daughter today.'
But.
There was a small voice that told Anna that maybe… just maybe Grace knew about the attack and decided not to risk it by staying at the castle.
'Maybe I'm just over thinking it. My habit of being suspicious of every little thing is troubling sometimes.'
Still, Grace was a little too calm in this situation. No, maybe Grace just had a hunch that something like this would happen anyway so she wasn't surprised.
Anna sighed, 'I'm so tired…'
"We should have to hold out until help eventually arrives,"
At that moment.
The building rumbled even stronger than before. Even Anna was startled this time when she sensed a torrent of mana surge into the building.
The magic defenses were so easily lifted that she questioned whether the magic items used to manifest them were authentic.
'What's going on!?'
Fear not…
A voice suddenly came into Anna's head. No, it seemed that Grace heard it too since she was looking up at the ceiling.
We have come to save you…
"Who is that? Doesn't it sound familiar?" Anna headed towards the door. Before she could leave the room, a huge wave of mana rushed down the hallway of the first floor.
Anna fell onto her butt in surprise.
"What the… Such an incredible amount of mana…" Grace helped Anna stand up. Her expression was one of pure shock, "Don't tell me this is…"
Anna couldn't quite hear the name since the voice boomed again.
Everyone who is still alive come to the front reception! I will assume you are enemies if you do not!
"This is definitely Lauran's voice…" Anna could recognize it anywhere because the owner of this voice had lived with them for two years.
"Ah…"
"We need to go to the front hall right away!" Anna grabbed Grace's hand and rushed down the hallway which was covered in ice.
'My god… Did Lauran really cause all of this?'
The amount of mana that was sent down the hallway was extraordinary.
'But how is Lauran able to use such fierce magic? I've heard from my mother that she can use magic but not on this scale…'
The two of them arrived at the front hall and could see multiple people there as well. All of them were looking around in anxiousness.
"Isn't that Victoria…?" Grace pointed at a specific direction.
Anna was momentarily surprised by seeing Victoria here. She should've been back at the castle and carrying out her duties.
'Did she and Lauran do this?'
"Lady Anna! Lady Grace!" A girl's voice called out to the two of them. Everyone looked up at the hole in the ceiling.
A girl wearing a maid uniform descended to the ground using mana alone.
Anna's mouth gaped. There were no magic circles keeping Lauran afloat. It was pure mana. Not just that; Lauran's entire body was oozing with power.
"What is this…"
'How is she this powerful…?'
After landing on the ground, Lauran checked to see if the two of them were injured. She sighed in relief.
"Lauran, is that really you…?"
"Yes, lady Anna. It is me."
"But how are you…"
"I know you are confused but we don't have time to have this discussion. We have to go to the castle as soon as possible."
Lauran pointed at Victoria who was speaking with the other people.
"I ran into Victoria when she was in the shopping district. She says that the castle has been invaded by unknown assailants."
Anna looked at Grace.
'Her hunch was right.'
"We managed to get rid of the ones who attacked this building but more are bound to come so we need to leave. Knights from the Lewan household are already on the move. We should meet up with them as soon as possible."
"But what about these people?" Grace asked as she looked around.
"They are not the targets so they can leave if they want to."
"I guess you're right. Then we should get going, Anna."
"R-Right. But how are we going to get to the castle?" Anna wasn't positive that they would be able to find any horses of carriages.
But what Lauran did next shocked both her and the onlookers.
"We will go there using this. 7th rank magic—[Dimensional Gate]."
A black portal manifested in front of them. The blackness faded and a new scenery revealed itself beyond the portal. The castle could be seen in the distance.
"Shall we go?"
Anna noticed that Grace wasn't as shocked as she was.
"S-Sure."
"Alright then. Miss Victoria!" Victoria looked in their direction, "We are ready to leave!"
"Got it!"
"Let us go." Lauran pushed the two through the portal.
◇
◇
They landed in the middle of the street which was completely devoid of any people besides the brigade that was in the distance.
One of the people on horseback came towards them and took off his helmet.
"Lady Anna! I am glad to see you are safe!" Gustavic bowed deeply after jumping from his horse.
"…Yes. It is thanks to these two." Anna looked at Victoria and Lauran.
'What kind of weapon is that!?' she couldn't help but notice the ominous spear in Victoria's hand.
"I see. Please forgive me for not being able to respond to your distress call in time. I will gladly accept any punishment."
"No. No one would have been able to do anything different," Anna patted his shoulder, "I am just glad you were able to gather this many men."
"Though they only number one hundred, I am confident in their skills as my army. Those intruders will taste the consequences of attacking the family residence of a Great Noble."
"Are you ready to head out immediately?"
"Of course, lady Anna. We will go and slay them as soon as possible."
An explosion erupted from the castle.
'Was that on the bridge that connected one of the towers to the castle? That should be my mother's magic judging by the scale. Who could she be fighting?'
"It seems time for talking comes later. Please head to a nearby safe house while we go to the castle."
"No, count Lewan. I'm coming as well."
Gustavic smiled helplessly.
"As you wish, lady Anna."
Gustavic left soon after to relay orders to his men.
"Lauran and I will go ahead," said Victoria, "If the battle at the castle is still ongoing then I fear that there is an opponent even sir Sebastian can't handle."
"You can go. We'll catch up."
Victoria and Lauran nodded. Lauran began chanting an incantation.
Mana twirled around the two of them and lifted them in the air. They shot out towards the castle's direction at incredible speeds.
"Where the hell has she been keeping that much power…"
Anna muttered in disbelief.