Hilia had long known that Anarce’s parents were dead.

But she didn’t know how they died; Anarce never said, and no one else knew.

Perhaps the mentor knew, but he surely wouldn’t say.

Now, upon hearing Anarce reveal the cause of her parents’ death, Hilia paused and couldn’t help but ask, "You didn’t seek help from the Sheriff or the Divine Hall?"

Anarce chuckled softly twice, "Each time my father encountered them, he would seek help from the Sheriff and the Divine Hall, but at most, the ruffians who bullied our family were only scolded verbally."

"When they killed your parents, they were only verbally scolded too?"

"They were arrested, but... not even a month passed before I saw them again in the town. Later, I learned that the gang behind them had significant ties with the town’s Lord; they were all birds of a feather. Being imprisoned was just for show."

"At that time, I thought, how wonderful it would be if I had power. With power, I could protect my parents, no longer live in fear, and not be afraid to go home."

Hilia looked at her steadily, "You have power now. Have you gone back?"

Anarce shook her head, "No. I need to ensure I can kill them all."

She looked at Hilia, "Hilia, you are the Holy Court Saintess. Will you stop me from going back to kill those people?"

Hilia blinked, "What are you saying? I didn’t hear clearly, say it again."

Anarce smiled faintly for the first time in ages, "I said, I’ll visit home once, and when I return, I’ll repay you in Gold Coins."

Hilia said, "You can repay me whenever; if you’re going home, do you want me to go with you? If you get bullied, I’ll stand up for you."

"No need." Anarce shook her head, "I can go alone. From my parents’ death to entering the Divine Magic Academy, I’ve avoided their searches countless times. I can handle it."

Hilia nodded, not dwelling on the matter further, and asked another important question, "Later, how did you sign the Master-Follower Contract with Nosen?"

Anarce fell into reminiscence and slowly spoke, "After he saved me, he gave me his ring with a star mark, telling me to contact him if I got bullied again."

"Before my parents died, I never contacted him because he was a noble, just like the town’s Lord. I was afraid he’d only toy with me and sell me to the gang."

"After my parents died, I avoided the gang’s capture many times; the money I had dwindled, and with only 10 Copper Coins left, I used them to dial his number."

"He brought people, and after the gang discovered me again, he drove them away and rescued me, offering me two choices: continue to roam or become his follower."

Anarce gazed out the window at the rapidly retreating buildings.

"I’ve heard that many nobles like to ruin lives, forcing people to sign slave contracts and become their slaves."

"I don’t know if Nosen is like that, but I know if he had presented a slave contract or the lowest Master-Servant Contract, I would’ve stabbed him to death with the knife I had."

"But he gave me a Master-Follower Contract, and as a follower mage, meaning I could become a Mage with his support and then become his follower with the noble title of Mage. I agreed."

"He told me he wouldn’t personally help me avenge. If I wanted revenge, I should learn magic and do it myself."

Hilia quietly listened to her recounting her experiences over the years.

As she spoke, doubts crept into Hilia’s mind.

From Anarce’s account of her family being harassed by thugs to Nosen’s appearance, Nosen seemed suspicious.

Because indeed, many nobles enjoy ruining lives and then hypocritically offering a helping hand to get people to sign contracts, even slave contracts.

And such "voluntarily" signed contracts cannot be interfered with by the Holy Court, because the perpetrator surely wouldn’t act directly but would employ unrelated forces like other nobles or gangs.

A bunch of nobles playing such games among themselves is impossible to stop.

As for why they don’t punish the nobles who act directly...

Hilia didn’t know either.

She reasoned that nobles must behave appropriately on the surface, while the victims are long gone.

The young girl’s fist slowly clenched.

Nobles and such.

They all ought to be eliminated!

Then again, was Nosen truly just a coincidence?

Probably just a coincidence.

After all, no fool would choose to ruin someone’s life while selecting a follower mage, right?

A follower mage is not like a regular servant or slave; they require resources to cultivate, not merely abandoning them after a single statement.

Wait!

Since Anarce became a follower mage to Nosen, why does she usually seem so poor? 𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝐰𝚎𝕓𝐧𝚘𝘃𝗲𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝕞

And it’s almost the end of the term, yet she only managed to bring in a four-handed magic puppet.

After posing this doubt, Anarce said, "I don’t want to owe him too much, so I refused his money except for the monthly salary of a follower mage. I haven’t asked him for anything else."

"I see."

Hilia felt Anarce was a bit too strong-willed; having signed the contract, she should take full advantage.

However, a follower mage is essentially a lifelong employee, relatively free, with higher pay, and garners the respect and cultivation of nobles.

Meanwhile, servants only receive meager wages and endure beatings, expected to bear hard labor and grievances.

As for slaves, they’re not worth mentioning; they are considered assets of the Slave Master, subjected to whatever the Master desires.

Through Anarce’s words, Hilia discerned that Nosen was not stingy toward her.

"Could Nosen be a good person?" Hilia wondered.

It just doesn’t feel like it.

However, his brother Mier is indeed a fool, neither good nor thoroughly bad.

As Hilia was pondering this, suddenly, Rose’s voice interjected:

"Your friend withheld some information; she didn’t tell the whole story."

"What? What did she hide?" Hilia quickly asked.

"How would I know? I’m not the God of Fate."

"Huh? You don’t know? I thought Lord Rose was all-knowing and omnipotent..."

Rose rolled his eyes, remaining silent.

If I were all-knowing and omnipotent, would the Twelve Main Gods have sealed me?

I merely know a bit more and have higher combat power.

There are no almighty beings manipulating world lines in the Star Fall Worldview; the authority over time among the gods at most can pause or accelerate time, not reverse it.

And so-called time pause is just confining people, while acceleration doesn’t imply speeding up the whole world’s time but making the target’s time faster, leading to rapid aging and such, which isn’t exactly a time capability, as many gods can do this.

"But there’s one point that your speculation might be right about."

"Which speculation?"

"The real culprit behind Anarce’s family being ruined might actually be Nosen."