Chapter 47: The Invisible Intruder and Elena’s True Sight

“Ah, the scent of a little mouse.”

Hearing that feminine voice, Imeline’s heart instantly seized with alarm.

‘Had she been discovered?’

Imeline quickly glanced towards the main entrance, where a young woman with short, flowing golden hair, clad in a robe similar to Imeline’s over a uniform skirt, stood at the doorway.

The newcomer was none other than Elena, the second young miss of the Crimson Family. At this moment, her golden hair was not tied into twin pigtails, nor did her expression bear the same amiable warmth she showed Lovelenica. Instead, her eyes gleamed with a bright, pale violet magic circle—the mark of True Sight.

Imeline inwardly cursed, then swiftly bolted up the stairs towards the second floor.

Imeline, of course, recognized Elena. Elena was also a member of the Mage Association, and a year her senior. Within the association, she was one of the few peers Imeline found genuinely formidable.

The purple glow in Elena’s eyes was all too familiar to Imeline. It was True Sight, a common magic used by the Mage Association. This ability allowed the user to perceive hidden magic circles and traces of mana nearby, and even, to a certain extent, penetrate invisibility. This meant Elena had undoubtedly discovered her.

“Hmph, let’s see where you can run.”

Elena summoned her wand. Unlike Imeline’s massive staff, Elena’s was a small, exquisitely crafted wooden wand. It appeared delicate, yet possessed remarkable agility.

Elena raised her wand and casually pointed it towards the staircase. Instantly, several vines sprouted from the steps and banister, lashing out towards the invisible Imeline.

A crimson ring of fire materialized around Imeline, then rapidly expanded outwards, incinerating every vine that attempted to entangle her.

However, Elena’s assault did not cease. The vines on the railing exploded instantly, shattering the banister. Shards of wood and steel splinters from the broken railing flew, piercing towards the invisible Imeline.

Not only that, but behind Imeline, the vines reappeared even thicker and more robust, slamming towards her back.

Seeing this, Imeline had no choice but to gamble on a spatial magic teleportation.

She had not immediately drawn her wand to engage in combat. Doing so would undoubtedly nullify the effects of her Invisibility Cloak, exposing her true identity. If Elena caught her red-handed, the long-standing tensions between the Royal Family and the Crimson Family could easily reignite.

Moreover, without the amplification of her wand, Imeline’s spellcasting speed simply couldn’t match Elena’s, let alone protect her Invisibility Cloak from attack.

Therefore, Imeline could only attempt to escape directly using spatial magic.

“Buzz—”

“Boom—”

The vines crashed heavily onto the staircase, smashing a large hole through it, and stirring up a cloud of dust.

“Tch…”

Elena pursed her lips. She could sense that her opponent had used spatial magic to escape. Spatial magic was a rare art, mastered by very few; even Elena herself lacked the ability. Though the intruder had escaped, the mere fact that they possessed spatial magic already revealed a wealth of information.

“Buzz—”

“Cough, cough… that person…”

With a flash of silver light, Imeline appeared in the bathroom of Lovelenica’s room. She coughed violently, seemingly flustered by the recent confrontation.

“Imeline? What’s wrong?”

Hearing Imeline’s voice, Lucia rushed into the bathroom to check on her. Seeing Imeline looking somewhat disheveled, Lucia could easily deduce that the loud crash from outside was connected to her.

“What… did you do out there?”

“Nothing, cough, cough. I was just wandering around the corridor in my Invisibility Cloak, and their second daughter discovered me.”

“Are you hurt?”

Lucia quickly stepped forward, wanting to check on Imeline’s condition, but Imeline waved a hand, indicating she was fine.

“I’m alright, she just startled me with her sudden attack… Oh, right, remember to tell Lovelenica later that I didn’t go out, I was in the bathroom the whole time.”

“Alright.”

Lucia nodded. Though she was annoyed by Imeline’s wandering around, seemingly causing trouble, and then asking her to lie, Lucia still agreed. After all, Imeline was her childhood friend.

The two emerged from the bathroom. Lovelenica looked at Imeline with some confusion, as she hadn’t seen her for a while.

“Imeline, where have you been? We’ve almost finished the desserts that were brought earlier.”

Imeline glanced at the tray on the bedside table; the small cakes brought earlier were indeed nearly eaten by the two of them.

“Didn’t you agree to let Lucia help you wash? You wouldn’t want me to see your body, right? So I went into the bathroom to avoid it. Then my stomach felt a bit uncomfortable, so I stayed in the toilet a little longer.”

“I see… that must have been difficult for you.”

Upon hearing Imeline’s explanation, Lovelenica scratched her head awkwardly, surprised that Imeline had been in the bathroom for so long.

Lovelenica harbored no suspicion regarding Imeline’s explanation. She hadn’t seen Imeline leave the room; the last time she’d spotted her was when she entered the bathroom.

Although Lovelenica had seen Imeline’s Invisibility Cloak before, she didn’t recall its existence at that moment.

“Regardless, thank you for coming to visit me. I feel much better now, let me see you off.”

Lucia wanted to refuse, but Lovelenica insisted on seeing them off. Lucia had no choice but to accept. This, however, suited Imeline perfectly, as having Lovelenica escort them meant she could help explain if they encountered Elena or anyone else along the way.

And so, Lovelenica led the two out of the room.

Upon reaching the staircase, the three discovered several maids gathered at the landing. A closer look revealed a massive hole smashed into the stairs.

“What’s going on here?”

Lovelenica was completely bewildered. She remembered the staircase being perfectly normal last night.

“Was the staircase like this when you arrived?”

Lucia subtly glanced at Imeline, then explained to Lovelenica.

“No, the staircase was normal when we came.”

“How peculiar.”

Lovelenica grumbled, then prepared to lead the two to the other staircase. But just then, a short-haired golden-haired girl approached them.

“Miss Lovelenica.”

It was Elena. Although Elena didn’t have her hair tied into twin pigtails as before, her expression was completely different from earlier, much softer.

“It seems there was an invisible intruder here just now. To catch them, I accidentally damaged the staircase, but the intruder still escaped. My sincerest apologies.”

As Elena spoke, she subtly, almost imperceptibly, cast a glance towards Imeline, making Imeline’s skin crawl.

“Ah, an invisible intruder.”

‘An invisible intruder in the Crimson Family manor?’

‘Were the guards outside and that barrier completely useless?’

‘Wait, invisible?’

‘No… wasn’t there someone right next to her who could turn invisible?’

Lovelenica finally realized the truth at that moment: Imeline had been outside during her long disappearance.