Stargaze Family.
On the contrary to Noel's resolve, Anna had just found the biggest problem in her life.
The atmosphere became gloomy, her expression darkened, and blue veins popped out on Anna's face.
"Uu…" Anna let out a depressing wail while clutching her head, muttering, "What did he do again? I didn't have many memories about him. All I knew was him trying to kill me all of a sudden."
Anna was still debating whether to eliminate Noel or not. On the one hand, Noel could become this country big shot and prevented the demons from taking over. On the other hand, she had gained the second chance. Her power should increase by leaps and bounds since she knew many things from her past life.
'Can his progress keep up with mine?'
Noel was the most talented person she had seen. If not because of her teacher and the kingdom pouring resources to her, she wouldn't be Noel's opponent.
Although they were betrayed by the people they trusted the most at the very end, Noel still saved most of the kingdom's innocent citizens from the great war. It was clear Noel had a significance importance to the kingdom and what had to come.
"I should see his progress first. If he can't keep up with me, I'll eliminate him to avoid future problems. If the speed of his progress is similar to mine, I'll try to resolve the situation between us."
Now that Anna had gathered her resolve and found her answer, the only thing she needed to do was to find out where Noel was exiled.
After all, Noel could overcome any problems in the past.
Anna kept her cold face and exited her room, heading straight to the person that had the answer to her question.
…
Sean Stargaze's Study Room.
Sean Stargaze, Anna's father, was a middle-aged man with sharp eyes. He managed to take on many opportunities to raise the family's status. And with his genius daughter, it wouldn't be that long until the royal family offered a marriage proposal.
Now that his biggest opponent, Viscount Ardagan, had died, nothing could stop him now.
"Even though he was only a viscount, his reputation had run deep in the citizens' hearts… Not only his own subjects, but other territories'. If we didn't eliminate him, there would be a chance of uprising." He mumbled in a low voice while staring at the garden outside.
*Knock!*
*Knock!*
"Father. It's me."
A series of knocks followed by his daughter's voice resounded across the room.
His serious expression disappeared, replaced by a small, gentle smile. He turned around while saying, "Come in."
Anna opened the door with a serious expression, walking to the front of her father's work desk.
"Anna… Do you need anything from me?"
Anna politely bowed her head while slightly raising her skirt, greeting her father. "Good morning, Father."
"Um." Sean nodded, observing her daughter's expression.
"Actually, I'd like to request Father's help."
"What is it? As long as it's within my means, I will do my best to help you."
"Then, I won't be polite." Anna paused for a moment before saying. "I wish to know Noel Ardagan's whereabouts."
No matter how absurd her wish was, it still wasn't special enough to surprise him. However, never in his wildest dream would this wish appear in his mind.
He couldn't contain his surprise in front of his daughter. Noel Ardagan was the child that Viscount Ardagan protected with his life. In fact, he traded his life as long as the royal family spared Noel's life.
So, her daughter asking Noel's whereabouts put a frown on his face.
"Why do you want to know it?" Sean asked, probing Anna's intention. He couldn't afford to have Noel harm Anna. Although her daughter was a genius, there were many methods that could kill a person stronger than you.
On the contrary, Anna also forgot to consider this question. In her father's perspective, they were enemies. They might have won not long ago, but the situation still lingered.
After pondering the answer for a few seconds, she replied with a calm tone. "Father always taught me not to spare my enemy…"
"!!!" Marquis Stargaze widened his eyes, amused by her respond. Curious, he looked into her eyes, finding no lies in it.
Of course, there was no lie. Anna indeed planned to kill him… but only if Noel was useless.
Although he had some few reasons to reject her, he could use this chance to train Anna. And he might spare his life, but if his genius daughter was the one to do it, no one would complain.
The hesitation remained for a few minutes before Sean revealed Noel's whereabouts. "The royal family exiled him to the Demon Banner Army."
"Banner Fort, Demon Banner Army…" Anna sucked a cold breath when she heard the 'Demon Banner Army.'
She lowered her head and said inwardly, 'In the past, there's a huge commotion in the Demon Banner Army because there was an Ancient Demon Tree sleeping not far from the forest. This Demon Tree was killed by an unknown person because its strength had yet to recover from the long slumber… Now that I think about it, that mysterious person kept racking more and more achievement there and suddenly disappeared as if he wasn't there to begin with.
'It was the time Noel's name started to resound in the cities and villages near the Banner Fort… Don't tell me, the mysterious guy was Noel all along?'
Anna started gathering those pieces of information and no matter how hard she tried to deny it, all the clues led to Noel being the mysterious person.
'As expected, this might be the reason why Noel could become strong. I should use this opportunity to go to the Demon Banner Army. I can either observe Noel's movement and confirm his identity or take Noel's opportunity from rising… This way, I can decide whether to kill him or not. But what should I say to my Father so that he allows me to go to a dangerous place like this?'
"Is there something wrong?" Sean was unaware of the wild thoughts in Anna's mind. He became a bit suspicious of her reaction since she kept lowering her head, making him unable to observe her expression.
"Father… Can you grant your daughter's wish?" She politely asked. "I wish to go to the Demon Banner Army and personally eliminate Noel."
Unbeknownst to her, the only reason why Noel would know there was an Ancient Demon Tree in the past was because he was forced to take actions by his system.
[Mission: Eliminate the weakened Ancient Demon Tree within 30 days.]
[Description: There's an Ancient Demon Tree sleeping underneath the Dark Demon Forest.]
[Reward: Demon Hunter Medal and 7 SP]
[Penalty: Lose your qualification to wield Ardagan.]