Weapon seller in the world of magic

Kiara leaned back slightly before glancing at her with narrowed eyes.

”Sometimes,” she replied dryly, ”I genuinely wonder whether you came here to complete your punishment or simply spy on me all day.”

The response caught Serestia slightly off guard, though she quickly recovered. ”It is not as though you were speaking secretly,” she defended herself calmly. ”And I did not wish to embarrass you by suddenly revealing myself when it was obvious you preferred that I stay uninvolved.”

This time, Kiara genuinely looked surprised.

Because Serestia had accurately guessed her thoughts.

Letting out a tired sigh, Kiara rubbed lightly against the kitten’s fur before finally speaking.

”I already defeated Wester Silver twice,” she said quietly. ”If we clash a third time, he will probably die.”

The calmness in her voice somehow made the sentence feel heavier.

”And neither Arceus Silver nor your father would appreciate that outcome.”

A brief silence followed.

”It is one thing if I act for self-defense or revenge,” Kiara continued, ”But this matter is different.”

Then she lifted her eyes toward Serestia.

”What would you do if you were in my place?”

Honestly, Kiara expected hesitation.

Expected confusion.

Perhaps even silence.

But Serestia answered almost instantly.

”I do not act so people will praise me,” she said firmly. ”I act because I believe something is right. Only then will I think about the consequences.”

Her voice remained steady, carrying a quiet conviction that resembled cold flowing water cutting through stone.

”And I already decided I will help Brother Lucian however I can.”

Kiara stared at her silently for several seconds. ”But according to Imperial Law,” Kiara said afterward, ”even the Emperor may only interfere with a marriage if either the bride or groom publicly objects. And if Young Lord Lucian’s words are true, then Arceus Silver is currently under house arrest.”

Her gaze sharpened slightly.

”So what exactly are you planning to do? Convince Wester Silver personally?”

Serestia immediately shook her head.

”No.”

Her expression dimmed slightly afterward.

”I never intended to seek Father’s help, nor convince Minister Silver.”

There was bitterness hidden beneath her calmness now.

”To Minister Silver, I am still only a child. And Father...” She paused briefly before continuing more quietly. ”Father will prioritize the stability of the Empire above personal justice.”

Although Serestia no longer hated Kiara after learning the truth about their relationship, a small trace of resentment toward Emperor Alexander Phoenix still remained inside her heart. Back then, after Kristof Drake’s incident, she believed the Emperor should have delivered proper justice instead of quietly preserving relations with House Drake.

Kiara tilted her head slightly.

”Then?”

A small smile slowly appeared upon Serestia’s lips.

”Did you not hear what Brother Lucian said earlier?” she asked. ”Minister Silver still fears his ancestor.”

Kiara immediately understood. ”So you plan to bring back the old ancestor?”

Serestia nodded faintly.

”In many families,” she said softly, ”children fear their fathers, fathers fear their ancestors, and ancestors fear only the judgment of history itself. So, if I convince Ancestor Silver, then I can solve this issue without spilling a drop of blood.”

Kiara listened quietly before eventually shrugging.

”Do whatever you want,” she replied. ”I’ll handle matters my own way.”

Truthfully, she had no interest in relying upon elderly nobles to solve this issue. In her experience, old aristocrats usually valued family prestige and political gain far above the happiness of younger generations.

There was no guarantee Arceus Silver’s great-grandfather would actually help him.

Time slowly continued passing after that.

As the afternoon settled across the Imperial City, a few more customers finally entered Nexus Store, and their expressions became wonderfully strange the moment they recognized Serestia Phoenix sitting casually inside the building.

Some stared awkwardly.

Some lowered their heads immediately.

Others nearly tripped over themselves trying to bow properly while secretly wondering why the Imperial Princess spent so much time inside a weapon shop beside Lady Kiara.

Unfortunately for them, neither girl offered any explanation.

By five in the evening, Serestia’s assigned punishment shift officially ended.

However, instead of returning directly to the Imperial Palace, she quietly left to meet Lucian Storm personally and support his efforts regarding Arceus Silver.

Meanwhile, Kiara simply continued operating the store as though nothing unusual had happened.

Hours passed.

The city outside gradually darkened.

The lively sounds of merchants faded into silence while cold moonlight slowly swallowed the streets of the Carlo District.

Only after midnight finally arrived did Kiara make her move.

The Holywell District was one of those places that stood between luxury and restraint, like a noble wearing plain robes while secretly carrying gold beneath the sleeves, because although it could not compare to Brighton District where the original Silver Manor stood with its towering estates and glittering spirit formations, it was still a land where branch families of major houses lived with dignity, status, and enough wealth to make ordinary citizens stare in envy from afar.

Wide stone roads stretched beneath rows of spirit lamps.

Elegant residences stood behind iron gates.

The fragrance of night-blooming flowers drifted through the quiet streets while distant guards occasionally walked past with metal armor softly clinking beneath moonlight.

This was where Wester Silver temporarily lived.

Once, he possessed a grand mansion worthy of the Lord of House Silver.

Now, only rubble remained because Kiara had reduced that residence into dust within minutes.

Destroying was always quicker than rebuilding.

A single spark could burn a forest by nightfall, yet planting trees required decades.

The same principle applied to pride.

So even though construction of the original mansion had already begun, Wester Silver still refused to purchase another estate in the Brighton District because, in his eyes, abandoning his ruined residence entirely would feel like publicly admitting defeat.

As a result, he settled temporarily within this guest residence at Holywell District.

And because of recent incidents, security had become suffocatingly tight.

Around thirty guards patrolled the estate continuously.

Even the weakest among them stood at the four-star rank.

Three experts belonged to the six-star rank.

And among them, the newly appointed security captain had already reached peak six-star cultivation.

Yet none of it mattered.

Not tonight.

Because Noah moved through darkness like flowing water.

The Sun and Moon Brooch concealed his presence completely while the faint crescent moon above showed barely one-thirteenth of its full form, causing shadows to stretch deep and thick between corridors and rooftops.

The only lights came from fire lanterns hanging along hallways and torches burning against walls.

As long as he avoided direct illumination, he remained nearly impossible to detect.

Still, the mission faced two problems.

First: He did not know which room belonged to Arceus Silver.

Second: Wester Silver himself was a seven-star expert.

If awake, he could sense disturbances.

So Noah silently moved through shadows while internally calculating probabilities.

His entire mission depended upon one simple hope.

That Wester Silver was asleep.

Fortunately, luck favored him tonight.

No alarm bells rang.

No guards sensed anything unusual.

No spirit energy fluctuations spread through the residence.

After bypassing patrol routes, Noah climbed onto a balcony with mechanical precision, his fingers gripping stone edges without producing even the slightest scrape, before slipping soundlessly into the mansion.

Inside, the residence remained quiet except for distant breathing and the soft crackling of lantern flames.

The mansion contained nine rooms in total.

Five upstairs.

Four below.

Noah closed his eyes briefly and scanned the structure carefully.

Almost immediately, spiritual signatures appeared within his senses.

Four spirit warriors slept inside.

One 7-star expert.

One 5-star expert.

One 1-star rank Spirit Warrior.

One 2-star rank Spirit Warrior.

Additionally, several ordinary maids slept upstairs.

No cultivation.

No danger.

Noah processed the information instantly.

”The seven-star expert is likely Wester Silver,” he concluded internally. ”The 1-star rank beside him should be his wife. The 5-star presence sleeping alone downstairs is probably a steward or bodyguard.”

Which left the remaining 2-star signature upstairs.

That had to be Arceus Silver.

Noah walked silently toward the locked room.

The door was secured from the inside.

For a brief moment, he considered breaking it.

But even silent destruction could leave traces.

And traces created investigations.

Investigations created complications.

Complications annoyed Kiara.

That alone was enough reason to avoid unnecessary evidence.

Closing his eyes again, he rescanned the room.

Then suddenly, he smiled faintly.

”There is an opening.”

Without hesitation, he retreated toward the balcony and climbed onto the roof.

His movements were frighteningly smooth.

Not a single roof tile shifted loudly beneath his weight.

Not a single breath escaped unevenly.

He crossed the slanted rooftop like a shadow sliding beneath moonlight before arriving above the opposite side of the room.

There was no balcony here.

But the window remained slightly open.

Noah tilted his head slightly.

”Perhaps he left it open because the room was hot.”

Usually, wealthy people would either have the maids fan them all night or use a cold spell in the room that can keep the room cold for a few hours.

Yet, neither was present in this current situation. Maybe Arceus was being punished this way?

Noah thought before he jumped through the window. His body landed softly upon the floor without a sound.

Immediately afterward, cool air brushed against his face from above.

Noah glanced upward.

There was a spell placed on the ceiling instead of the floor.

He shifted his gaze toward the bed.

There slept Arceus Silver.

Even under dim lighting, Noah noticed immediately how thin this guy had become compared to before.

He used to look like a godly handsome scholar, but now he is simply a patient.

His face looked pale.

Tired.

The kind of exhaustion born not from battle, but helplessness.

Yet Noah felt no emotional disturbance.

After all, whatever emotions he had, they could only be felt toward his Big sis, and no one else. Atleast in the eyes of Noah.

Silently, he summoned one Protos Dagger, just in case...

Step by step, he approached the bed.

Then suddenly... his hand covered Arceus Silver’s mouth firmly.

Arceus jolted awake instantly.

”Mmph—!”