“What’s wrong, Your Grace?”
Seeing her superior stop walking, Loruze also halted and asked. At the same time, his gaze turned toward the young man walking in their direction.
“You know him?”
Sylvia asked indifferently.
“Yes.”
Loruze nodded.
“He is the second son of the Earl of Lancaster, Clade Lancaster. He’s also a knight of the Tribunal under the Church of Radiance.”
“However, he doesn’t serve at the church in the City of Alova, but rather at the one in the capital, Clionde.”
I see.
Sylvia didn’t reply immediately, but she nodded silently to herself.
She had seen this man in the City of Vekonte.
When she first opened her eyes in this world, he was one of the people standing in front of her.
At that time, she had just been stuffed into this puppet body, completely unadapted, unable to move even the slightest bit.
So, she had been locked into a silver sealing box by that group of people.
“Very well, I understand.”
“Let’s go.”
With a slight smile at the corners of her mouth, she nodded lightly and walked past Sir Clade with the slightly bewildered pair—one man and one bird—without drawing his attention in the slightest.
But after turning a corner, she slowed her steps again.
She looked at the brass-colored metal door before her and the button embedded in the wall.
An elevator.
While its existence wasn’t surprising in this era, it still took her aback for a moment.
Shaking her head to dispel the sense of dissonance, she quickened her pace and headed straight for the room she had inquired about earlier that morning.
Without knocking, the two people, one crow, and one shadow pushed the door open and filed inside.
However, the shadow creature seemed a bit too large—getting through the bedroom door proved difficult. In the end, Sylvia had to knead it into a round pancake shape so it could “roll” its way in.
“Ahem.”
After casting a veil of black gauze—produced through the Authority of Sloth—over Isabella, who lay sleeping on the bed, the puppet person let out a deliberately suspicious cough.
Then, under the surprised gazes of Loruze and Lakdevo, she pulled down the hood on her head, placed both hands firmly on her skull, and tugged upwards—
*Pop!*
With a crisp sound, the head with long ash-gray hair and violet eyes came clean off.
“Your Grace…”
Loruze was just about to ask something when his mouth was covered by the plump crow that had suddenly taken flight.
“Caw! Don’t speak. This is going to be good!”
The crow whispered in a barely audible voice.
Sylvia ignored the two of them. She took two steps forward to Isabella’s bedside and placed her head next to the girl’s pillow.
After doing all this, the headless figure extended her right hand and gently nudged the still-sleeping Isabella.
“…Mmm… ngh…”
The blonde girl curled up under the blanket let out a groggy, wordless murmur before slowly opening her eyes in confusion.
And in that moment, the first thing she saw—was a human head!
Bright moonlight spilled through a slit in the curtains, pulled open by some unknown hand, casting heavy shadows from the disembodied head and the headless person standing beside the bed.
"……"
"Ah!!!"
A high-pitched scream instantly pierced the air, but the severed head placed beside her pillow suddenly let out a soft laugh and spoke:
"Lesson one: When faced with the unknown, panic will only put you in danger. Therefore, you must remain calm."
"Unfortunately, you’ve failed your pop quiz."
With that, Sylvia reached out and picked up her head, then reattached it to her neck.
Afterward, she looked toward the fat crow that had just flown back from the curtain, giving it a look of approval.
"Your Highness?"
Still reeling from the shock, Isabella sat up in bed, looking at Sylvia who stood at her bedside, and at Loruze a short distance away.
"You… you all?"
"Night lessons."
Sylvia replied indifferently. She then pulled over a chair and sat down, smiling as she looked at the blonde girl, who was slowly calming down.
"You’re about to step into the supernatural. Therefore, you need to acquire a basic understanding of this world."
"Um… I appreciate Your Highness’s kindness, but my family’s private collection contains related knowledge, and due to my current physical condition, I can’t become a transcendent yet, so I don’t really need—"
"No, you do."
Sylvia interrupted her directly and spoke sternly.
"This is called being prepared."
"Besides, standing before you are two apostles who walk upon the earth, and a bishop of the Orthodox Church. I don’t believe your family’s collection can be more comprehensive than our knowledge."
"…Yes, Your Highness."
Isabella nodded timidly, while both Loruze and Lakdevo, who stood behind Sylvia, wore thoughtful expressions.
"Alright, let’s begin."
Sylvia leaned back against the chair and snapped her fingers casually, causing a wisp of starlight to bloom within the lampshade of the wall lamp, casting a mysterious glow over the room.
Seeing this, Loruze cleared his throat, took out a thick hardcover book, and began to speak as Isabella looked on in confusion.
"First, we need to build a basic understanding of this world—"
"The entire world can be divided into several spatial layers. Do you know how many?"
Loruze looked at Isabella, who was still in her nightgown, and asked.
The blonde girl thought back to the occult books she had idly browsed and answered:
"Four layers."
"Correct."
Loruze nodded.
"The first layer is called the ‘Divinity Realm’, fully titled ‘The Kingdom of Gods’."
"It is the deepest of all realms, the dwelling place of the gods, and where divine kingdoms are located."
"Only beings who possess divinity are qualified to knock on the gates of this realm."
"Therefore, most scriptures and texts contain very little about this layer of the world."
"The second layer is called the ‘Spiritual Realm’, fully titled ‘The Sky of Spirituality’. There’s also another term—‘The Starry Sky of Spirituality’."
"It is a world born from the radiance of divinity and is the source of the supernatural."
"In this layer, one can find stars that symbolize every living being in this world."
"In addition, the world contains numerous laws and forces. The process of becoming a transcendent involves having your own spiritual star gather those relevant laws and forces."
At this point, a look of realization appeared on Isabella’s face.
It was clear she hadn’t seen the latter half of Loruze’s explanation in her family’s collection.
"The third layer is called the ‘Manifest Realm’, fully titled ‘The Domain of Manifestation’."
"As the layer most closely linked to reality, it is also the one we understand the best."
Loruze paused, his eyes subconsciously drifting toward Sylvia, who was seated in the chair.
At that moment, the puppet girl’s expression was focused. When she noticed the sudden pause, she cast a questioning look at Loruze standing before her.