"You better not be lying to me, or I’ll freeze you into an ice sculpture."

On the way to find Anarce with Mier, Hilia warned harshly again.

After being unable to make contact, she decided to follow Mier to see what was going on.

Though she hadn’t had the chance to update the magic of her puppet since advancing to Tier Two, Hilia could still wield at least twice the power with her existing magic system.

This was the confidence her return from the Deep Divine Realm had given her.

"Why would I lie to you? She’s really in trouble now, and only you can save her."

As Mier spoke, sweat dripped down his face.

For some reason, he always felt immense pressure around Hilia, completely different from before.

Is it because they hadn’t been in contact for a long time?

Hilia was entirely different in front of others compared to Rose, with her behavior varying with friends, strangers, and people she disliked. She didn’t release any tier pressure, but her confidence from advancement alone made Mier feel a chill down his spine, overwhelming him with pressure.

After another failed attempt to contact Anarce’s bracelet, Hilia stopped trying and followed Mier out of the academy, boarding a carriage that traveled for a long while before stopping at the gate of an estate.

"This is my family’s estate. Anarce is inside. She encountered an accident during our adventure together, which led her to seal her consciousness. I’ve called a caregiving priest to treat her, who said that her friends need to assist in awakening her, and I thought of you."

Hilia said nothing, following Mier into the estate.

Mier kept observing Hilia’s expression, but noticed her indifference towards the luxurious estate, her head slightly lowered, deep in thought.

"What do you think of this estate? It’s just one of my family’s ten estates. If you want to see, I’ll take you to the others."

Hilia didn’t answer and instead urged, "Stop with the nonsense, take me to see Anarce quickly."

"Alright." A brief flash of dissatisfaction crossed Mier’s face, but he soon became attentive again.

They walked through the corridor of the estate and arrived at a house. The door opened, and Hilia saw Anarce inside.

Mier wasn’t lying, and the girl’s attitude softened slightly.

At this moment, Rose’s voice suddenly chuckled in her mind, "Interesting."

"What’s interesting?" Hilia quickly asked.

"You’ll find out soon." Rose did not answer, only chuckled without a word.

Suppressing her curiosity, Hilia walked into the house and looked at Anarce lying on the bed.

Anarce was lying there with her eyes closed, expression indifferent, breathing steady, looking as if she were merely asleep.

Beside her stood three people, two men and a woman. Two seemed to be caregiving priests, and the other younger one resembled Mier, possibly his brother.

As soon as they entered, Mier shouted, "She’s here, Hilia’s here, step aside and let Hilia through!"

Everyone in the room looked up, and the young man who seemed to be Mier’s brother looked at Hilia and smiled, "You’re the Miss Xilia Mier often talks about, right? I’m his brother, Nosen Deville. I’ve always heard about you from Mier, and now that I see you in person, I can understand why, even I’m a bit taken by your beauty."

Mier yelled, "No way, Hilia can only be mine, Nosen, you better not try to take her."

No sooner had the words left his mouth, Mier felt a chill run down his back. He turned to see Hilia’s angry expression.

"We’re not that familiar; speaking recklessly only makes people feel disgusted. Thank you."

With that said, Hilia bypassed Mier and approached Anarce, looking towards the two caregiving priests.

"Hello, priests. I’m a close friend of Anarce. How is she doing?"

"Her external injuries have healed, but she suffered a severe spiritual attack, triggering her self-protection and sealing herself in her spiritual space. We don’t dare wake her easily for fear of destroying her spiritual space," the male priest explained.

The female priest nodded, "Yes, so we need her friends or relatives to help. By inputting spiritual power into her spiritual space, we can call to her and wake her."

Upon hearing this, Hilia raised her hand, preparing to summon her magic puppet, but paused and glanced at Mier and Nosen before saying to the two priests, "Please wait a moment, I’ll go out and bring my magic puppet inside."

The male priest asked in confusion, "What do you need a magic puppet for?"

Mier immediately added, "When did you bring a magic puppet over? How come I didn’t know? Our estate forbids magic puppets. Don’t call it in."

Hilia paused, then approached the two priests and said, "I’m sorry to trouble you both, but this place is quite inconvenient. I’ll take my friend back to the academy first for further treatment."

The two priests, completely unaware of what was happening, exchanged a puzzled look full of curiosity.

They didn’t stop Hilia, but someone else did.

"Anarce is safe here; you can’t take her away."

It was Nosen.

As Hilia was about to pick up Anarce, he stepped closer to the bed, attempting to intervene.

Hilia raised her head, "Are you trying to imprison a student of the Divine Magic Academy?"

"Imprison? Hilia, don’t speak recklessly, quickly apologize to Nosen," Mier’s voice came from beside her, "You might not know, but Anarce has long been my brother’s."

Hilia frowned, "Are you sure?"

Mier replied, "Of course I’m sure; Nosen even has her contract."

Nosen smiled slightly, "Yes, Anarce and I formally signed a master-servant contract under the witness of the Gods. Upon graduation, she’ll become my follower mage."

As he spoke, he took out a contract, with Anarce and Nosen’s names clearly written on it.

The contract emitted a faint magic power, proving it was witnessed by the Gods and must not be violated.

Hilia was momentarily stunned by this scene.

In her heart, she murmured, "Lord Rose, you knew about this all along, didn’t you?"

Rose let out a soft "hmm," "I knew before you participated in the flying competition."

Thinking back to the flying competition, Hilia found it made sense.

So it was Mier who instructed Anarce to get her to participate in the flying competition, then secretly report her, to ruin her reputation.

Hilia thought she might have wronged Doris; perhaps she wasn’t involved in this.

But...

Why do this?

Would my becoming the Holy Daughter cause the Deville Clan any losses?

Hilia was filled with confusion.

But now wasn’t the time to think about this.

What she needed to understand now was whether the master-servant contract between Anarce and Nosen was signed before or after she became friends with her, and also—

"Since you’ve signed a follower contract with Anarce, why can’t you enter her spiritual space to awaken her? Or do you not want to? Or is it..."

Hilia looked towards Anarce.

"Because it’s dangerous?"