Avoid The Lead, No Matter What!

28. The Palace

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With Novia and Lady Garrett out of House Scarlett, Celia could take other steps... the first of which was to systematically kick out any Maids or Servants in Novia or Lady Garrett's circle.

It was a cleansing of sorts, and Celia felt great when it was done.

'Good Riddance!' The last thing she needed were spies in her own home!

Two days had barely passed when a strange individual visited the Scarlett household.

"Cece! I trust you, but..." Lord Scarlett was eyeing a greasy man who sat wolfing several dishes of food at once. "He is...?"

"Ehehe, Papa don't worry! He has volunteered as a test subject! I want to create a new spell! Let him stay in one of the empty rooms. I already made arrangements for his care in my absence."

But Celia had brought the ragged looking man for another purpose.

In all her fake lives, she had heard about him while working in the Palace.

Born with a powerful boundary technique, he had been discarded by his family and society, because he was capable of canceling almost any magic while they were around him.

Starving and driven by desperation, he had wreaked havoc in several places, including the capital, which led to his arrest and execution.

His powers were an anomaly, and it had taken the Palace Grand Mage and several High Mages half a day to finally tire him out and arrest him.

After the Mind Spell, Celia had sent Butler Gray to quickly find and shelter him, and his signed letter was one of the few still left in her little tin box.

The man couldn't control his technique, but Celia could, and she could even make it targeted!

She had always admired how fortified the Palace was against magic, but it had taken thousands of years to build! There were also spells that could fortify a place, they were temporary and limiting...

But right now, with the exception of her father and a few others, every high level technique within the Scarlett Estate, had been cancelled the instant the man walked in, and they would remain cancelled till he left.

His mere presence was enough to fortify the entire Estate, and all Celia had to do was channel the effect!

And this made House Scarlett a safe base for future plans...

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Meanwhile, amidst the chaos of scandals, Celia nearly forgot all about Grand Mage Soren, and she quickly sent Butler Gray to fetch the Magical Post.

But she sighed with relief after scouring through several papers and finding nothing written about him or Elfsworth Academy.

'Taze must have succeeded!' The thought of Taze brought a smile to her face and light to her eyes.

She missed him!

But she had mixed feelings as she both longed to work in the Palace, but dreaded the swift passage of time.

Work began after the New Year, and she might be able to see him!

But the New Year meant the seventeenth year.

The year Taze always died...

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Two weeks later...

After a lavish new year celebration, the time came for Celia to begin work in the Palace, and she drew in a breath as the Scarlett carriage approached the Central Elfen Palace of Luxia.