Selina collapsed into the woman’s arms, crying and sobbing uncontrollably.
Tears streamed down her cheeks as her shoulders trembled violently. She clung tightly to the woman’s clothes as though she had finally found the one place where she could let go of everything she had been holding inside.
After all, Selina was only a sixteen-year-old girl.
She had not yet witnessed the true cruelty of the world, nor had she grown accustomed to seeing death with her own eyes.
Yet only a few hours ago, she had found herself in the middle of a fierce battle.
The screams of soldiers, the clash of weapons, spiritual techniques tearing through the earth, and the corpses falling one after another before her eyes...
Most of the soldiers who had accompanied her on the journey had never returned.
She had been terrified from the very beginning.
In fact, the fear had become so deeply rooted within her that she could barely process it anymore.
And yet, she had refused to show it.
She was the daughter of Duke Valer Foyd.
From a young age, she had understood that the name of the Foyd Family carried tremendous weight, and that her actions represented her entire family.
So she had forced herself to remain composed.
Even when her fingers trembled.
Even when she wanted to cry.
Even when she desperately wished there were someone she could hide behind.
But all those walls collapsed the moment she saw her most trusted maid.
Lyla.
Lyla had accompanied her for many years and knew Selina better than most members of her own family.
The moment Selina saw her, she could no longer pretend to be strong.
She threw herself into Lyla's arms and buried her face against her chest, crying bitterly.
Lyla was startled for a moment by the sight of her young mistress breaking down like this, but she quickly wrapped both arms around her.
She gently patted Selina's back.
"Calm down, Young Miss... You've returned safely. That's what matters."
But those words only made Selina cry harder.
"I was... I was so scared..."
The words escaped between her sobs.
Lyla tightened her embrace.
"I know."
She whispered softly,
"It's all right now... You're home."
They remained like that for some time.
Azrael stood not far away, silently watching the scene.
He did not interfere.
He knew that some emotions did not need the intervention of others.
Beside him, Gaya watched Selina with a softer expression than usual.
She understood her feelings.
Even the strongest people could break down once they finally reached a place where they felt safe.
After several minutes, Selina slowly regained her composure.
She wiped the tears from her cheeks with her hand and took a deep breath.
"I'm fine now..."
She said it even though her voice was still weak.
Lyla gave her a small smile.
"That's good."
She then helped Selina stand properly.
Afterward, Selina began telling her everything that had happened.
She spoke about the sudden attack, the large number of masked men, the soldiers who had fought until the very end, and how most of them had fallen.
Then she told her about Azrael and Gaya.
When she reached the moment when Gaya intervened and saved them, Selina looked toward her.
"If it weren't for Lady Gaya... none of us would have survived."
Lyla looked at Gaya with deep gratitude.
Selina continued,
"As for Sir Azrael..."
She paused for a moment.
She did not know how to describe the mysterious man.
He was completely different from anyone she had ever met.
"He remained calm the entire time."
She said softly.
"As though the battle meant nothing to him."
Gaya raised an eyebrow slightly, while Azrael remained silent.
After Selina finished telling her story, concern became evident on Lyla's face.
She immediately turned toward one of the servants.
"Go and inform the Duke, Lady Lunaria, and Young Master Leon about what happened."
The servant immediately bowed.
"Yes, Lady Lyla!"
He then turned and hurried away.
Lyla returned her gaze to Azrael and Gaya.
She stood before them and bowed deeply.
"Thank you for saving Young Miss Selina."
She spoke from the bottom of her heart.
"If you had not been there... I don't even want to think about what might have happened."
Gaya answered with a faint smile.
"There was nothing worth thanking us for."
But before she could say anything else—
BOOM!
A tremendous aura erupted from deep within the palace.
In an instant, the aura swept across the entire city.
The air trembled.
The people in the streets stopped moving.
Even some of the soldiers felt their bodies grow heavy beneath the overwhelming pressure.
Then a powerful voice echoed throughout the entire city:
"Who dares frighten this king's daughter?!"
The voice was filled with rage.
This was not the anger of an ordinary person.
It was the fury of a Duke—a man who stood at the peak of the Immortal Ascension Realm.
The Duke had learned what had happened to his beloved youngest daughter.
For a moment, he had lost control of his power.
Azrael raised his eyes toward the palace.
He did not need to ask anyone.
He had sensed the aura the moment it appeared.
With his experience, he immediately determined its level.
Peak Immortal Ascension.
Gaya also felt the pressure of the aura.
Her expression changed slightly.
But when she looked at Azrael, she found him standing calmly, as though the aura meant nothing to him.
After a brief silence, a man and a woman appeared beside Lyla and Selina.
The man was imposing, his features bearing the marks of many years of authority and experience.
The woman was beautiful, her eyes red with worry.
The moment she saw Selina—
Her expression completely changed.
"Selina!"
She rushed toward her daughter.
She embraced her tightly, as though she needed to make certain for herself that her daughter was real and unharmed.
Tears filled her eyes.
"My child..."
Her voice was filled with both fear and love.
When Selina saw her mother embracing her and crying, she broke down once again.
"Mother..."
She began crying again.
She hugged her mother tightly.
"I'm fine..."
She said between sobs.
"I'm fine, Mother."
But her mother could not stop her tears.
She gently stroked her daughter's hair, as though trying to make sure there were no injuries on her.
"Thank goodness..."
She whispered with a trembling voice.
"Thank goodness you're safe."
The man stood before them for a few moments, watching his wife and daughter.
Then he stepped forward and joined them.
He embraced them both.
And so the three of them remained locked in a family embrace for several minutes.
They did not care about the servants.
They did not care about the soldiers.
Nor did they care about the guests standing nearby.
At that moment, there was no Duke, no noblewoman, and no young lady.
They were simply a family whose daughter had survived a disaster.
Azrael silently watched the scene.
It was not entirely unfamiliar to him, but he said nothing.
Gaya, meanwhile, felt a warmth spread through her heart as she watched them.
She had spent a long time without experiencing genuine familial warmth, and for that reason, the scene affected her more deeply than she had expected.
After several minutes, the three finally separated.
Selina's mother wiped the tears from her face before looking at her daughter once again.
"Tell me... Who saved you?"
Selina pointed toward Azrael and Gaya.
"They did."
The woman turned toward them.
She paused for a moment when she saw Azrael.
There was something strange about his calm demeanor, something that made her feel that this young man was far from ordinary.
But she did not dwell on it for long.
Her gratitude was stronger than her curiosity.
She walked toward Azrael and Gaya.
Then she embraced them in gratitude for saving her beloved youngest daughter.
Her actions were so sudden that several servants froze in place.
Gaya's eyes widened slightly in surprise.
Azrael himself raised an eyebrow.
He was not accustomed to being embraced by strangers.
But this time, he did not refuse.
He remained calm as Selina's mother expressed her gratitude to them with complete sincerity.
And at that moment, none of those present knew that Azrael Netherval's arrival at the Foyd Family's palace would not be a mere passing encounter...
It would instead mark the beginning of a chain of events that would bind Azrael's fate to the Foyd Family in ways none of them could yet imagine.