Judgment's words struck Lorelei like a bolt, leaving her mind blank.
However, this blankness did not show on her face. From a young age, Lorelei had been taught to appear strong in front of others. Although her face was somewhat pale, she did not show excessive grief or despair. Instead, she asked in a hoarse voice:
"When did this happen?"
"Half a month ago."
"...," Lorelei was silent for a few seconds before saying word by word, "Chariot, Judgment, come with me. The rest of you continue training."
Half an hour later, Lorelei left the ancient castle.
An hour later, Lorelei headed to the Department of Policies.
An hour and a half later, the conference room of the Department of Policies was leveled to the ground. A certain candidate for the inheritance of the Magic Crest, who had once competed with Lorelei, was severely injured. Several officials present also suffered varying degrees of injury. In the end, it was Lord El-Melloi who arrived in time to stop Lorelei's wrath.
The attack on Chelon Canticle Brigade involved not only Dead Apostles and magus' families hostile to the Barthomeloi, but also internal family members who secretly fanned the flames. For example, the severely injured candidate used his authority to delay the Italian branch of the Mage's Association's rescue operations, hoping to weaken Lorelei's power in this way.
The affected officials also had varying degrees of dereliction of duty, which the soon-to-be-installed new lord seized upon.
After spending ten minutes in the adjacent Department of Mineralogy, Lorelei returned to the Barthomeloi main house.
That evening, Lorelei convened a meeting with the current lord and the officials of the Department of Policies to make personnel adjustments.
Three days later, the current lord of the Department of Policies stepped down, and Lorelei became the new Lord Barthomeloi, officially taking charge of the Department of Policies.
On her first day in office, the newly appointed lord, now able to directly use the name Barthomeloi, allied with El-Melloi and numerous magus families under the aristocratic faction and launched a fierce attack on the democratic faction led by Trambelio and Valualeta. The intensity of their methods exceeded everyone's expectations.
Meanwhile, the new lord of the Barthomeloi, ascending to the family head position, issued a series of retaliatory orders against the White Wing Lord and his affiliated forces. She even collaborated with their old rival, the Holy Church, to eliminate several Dead Apostle territories in one fell swoop. One of these territories was personally destroyed by Lorelei.
In response to Barthomeloi's provocation, the White Wing Lord uncharacteristically did not retaliate, behaving like a pacifist, not fighting back or retaliating with insults. This further boosted Lorelei's prestige.
For a time, Barthomeloi Lorelei's name became renowned, making her the most prominent figure in the mysterious world, even overshadowing Death who had battled the White Wing Lord for a night. Many people believed that the Barthomeloi were flourishing and that the White Wing Lord was doomed.
With the strong support of El-Melloi and Lorelei's growing reputation, Lorelei quickly dismantled the internal opposition within the family, firmly securing her position as lord, and making the name Lord Barthomeloi truly worthy.
Notably, Lorelei's fellow direct descendants and young magus from the Clock Tower rarely called her Lord Barthomeloi. They preferred to call her Her Majesty the Queen or Lady, with a particularly boisterous group of problem students from El-Melloi's classroom leading the charge.
According to some insider gossip, the classroom's head, Waver Velvet, had gained a few more wrinkles. Though barely in his twenties, he seemed to be aging towards thirty.
To prevent the new star teacher of the Clock Tower from prematurely aging and to stop the young people in the El-Melloi faction from following in Waver's footsteps, Lord El-Melloi half-persuaded, half-forced Waver to take a vacation. He even booked him a ticket to the Mediterranean for a holiday, urging him to take a break from teaching and relax.
While various magus families in the Mediterranean were jubilant, eager to take this opportunity to connect with El-Melloi, Waver did not board the plane to the Mediterranean. Instead, he quietly took another flight from the same airport, heading to the other side of the world, to the place that had changed his destiny.
Sitting opposite him was a woman wearing a sun hat and sunglasses, her entire body tightly wrapped. From the moment she boarded the plane, she had not removed her hat or sunglasses, whether eating or sleeping, causing the crew and other passengers to speculate if she might be a celebrity.
When the plane landed at F Airport, the two walked out of the airport one after the other and got into the same taxi. It was only then that the woman took off her sunglasses and sunhat, revealing the face she had hidden for nearly 20 hours — none other than Lorelei Barthomeloi, the undisputed rising star of the Clock Tower in recent times.
"Thank you, Mr. Velvet, for accompanying me to Japan. I am deeply grateful."
At this moment, Lorelei no longer had her usual air of superiority, nor the composure she displayed when facing other lords. Her eyes, which once shone with an unyielding light, now lacked clarity, showing a hint of confusion and unease.
Knowing the immense pressure Lorelei had endured during this time, Weber frowned, looking at her as he would his troublesome students. "You didn't have to do this."
"No, I did." Lorelei stubbornly shook her head. "I asked him to take over Chelon Canticle Brigade. I must be responsible for my actions and give his family an explanation."
"But he's only missing now; isn't this a bit—" Waver swallowed his words as he looked into the girl's dim eyes.
For so long, there had been no news, and divination magic had provided no clues. She thought he might really...The girl's eyes started to redden.
When she heard about his disappearance, she showed no emotion. When she took control of Barthomeloi and silenced the opposition, she showed no emotion. When she launched a counterattack against Ortenrosse, she still showed no emotion.
She thought she could forever bury her grief deep inside, but in this distant eastern land, in the place where he had lived, she could no longer suppress it.
Waver sighed gently, as if comforting her, and as if reaffirming his confidence. "No news is sometimes good news. I have a feeling that guy isn't so easy to kill. Maybe he's waiting for us at home right now."
"If that's the case, I will give him a good scolding." Lorelei instinctively gripped the whip in her hand, using the newfound strength she had acquired.
"Then shall we go to the Matou residence?" Waver asked.
"No, we'll go to the Tohsaka residence first. The Tohsaka family is the local managing family. Visiting magi should first obtain their permission. Moreover, the current head, Tohsaka Tokiomi, has submitted an inheritance and patent application to the Department of Policies. I brought it with me. Could I trouble Mr. Velvet to act as an emissary of the Clock Tower?"
PS: Waifu got angry!