The moment the noble spoke, the First Prince's heart skipped a beat.
He had thought the person frozen inside the ice looked familiar, but he couldn't remember who she was.
It really was Duke Levi's daughter.
Seeing the young woman before him, the First Prince finally remembered that Duke Levi had also been invited to this banquet.
The Duke had declined, saying he had important business to attend to, and had sent his daughter in his place.
But Albany had only seen Erica once at the start of the banquet. After that, he hadn't noticed her again.
How had she ended up sealed inside a block of ice after disappearing for such a short time?
Looking at Erica trapped inside the ice, anxiety appeared on the First Prince's face.
"We have to find a way to save her!"
She was the Duke's daughter. Nothing could happen to her.
Fortunately, Claudia carefully examined Erica inside the ice and quietly said to the First Prince, "Don't worry. She's fine."
Both the First Prince and the noble froze.
The two stared blankly at each other.
'Wait... she's sealed inside a block of ice, and she's fine?'
The First Prince looked at the ice again.
Erica's body seemed to be rising and falling slightly.
Her breathing was steady, as if she were peacefully asleep inside the ice.
The sight left him speechless.
Did she fall asleep inside the ice?
Claudia's eyes were also fixed on the ice.
But she wasn't looking at Erica.
She was looking at the golden light surrounding it.
She reached out and gently touched the surface, feeling the familiar repelling force.
It was exactly the same as what she had felt from Leopold before.
That alone was enough for her to determine who had trapped the girl inside the ice.
After staring at the golden light for a while, Claudia turned to the First Prince and asked,
"What exactly did Viktor say to Leopold just now?"
Hearing the question, the First Prince gradually came back to himself. He stroked his chin and began recalling.
"Mother... you mean...?"
Viktor had called him Leopold Nannard.
The surname Nannard was famous throughout the business world.
It belonged to the president of the world's largest merchant guild, the Cassidra Merchant Guild.
The First Prince couldn't help thinking about what that meant.
In other words, Leopold might have been connected to the Cassidra Merchant Guild, an independent and extremely powerful organization.
If Leopold represented the Cassidra Merchant Guild, then the implications were terrifying.
Because decades ago, Leopold had already entered the Empire under the alias "Lesser."
He had built the Lesser family's financial empire inside the Empire.
And now it seemed he was also connected to the Cassidra Merchant Guild beyond the Empire.
That meant Leopold's wealth and influence might not have been weaker than the Empire itself.
Yet someone like that had been killed by Viktor with ease?
The First Prince instinctively refused to believe it.
But that wasn't what Claudia was asking.
She calmly continued, "No. I want to know the sentence Viktor said after that."
At the time, Viktor had cast a terrifying fifth-tier spell. The explosion had shaken the air so much that Claudia hadn't heard his final words clearly.
"I think it was... Hel... something?"
The First Prince couldn't remember either.
His attention had been completely drawn to the astonishing magic, so he had missed the conversation between Viktor and Leopold.
After all, that spell had captured everyone's attention.
The more Claudia thought about it, the more familiar that half-finished name sounded.
But since neither of them had heard it clearly, they had no idea what the rest of the name was.
Right now, the most important thing was getting Erica out of the ice.
The First Prince looked at Erica for a moment before saying, "In this situation, only Count Viktor can save her."
Fortunately, he knew Erica was Viktor's student.
Viktor wouldn't ignore her.
The noble standing nearby quickly caught on and volunteered, "I'll go find Mr. Viktor right away."
But before he could take a step, a familiar cold voice sounded beside them.
"There's no need. I'm already here."
Everyone turned toward the voice.
The figure in the black trench coat slowly walked over.
Holding a staff, he calmly stopped before them.
The moment the First Prince saw Viktor, he immediately relaxed.
For some reason, Viktor's presence always put people at ease.
That was Viktor's influence.
"Mr. Viktor, what exactly happened?"
Viktor lowered his head.
His calm gaze fell upon Erica inside the ice, as though quietly looking at her peaceful sleeping face.
Even the crow on his shoulder narrowed its dark, deep eye as it silently spoke with Viktor.
"Interesting work. Looks like that thief god isn't completely useless."
"Yeah."
Looking at the ice, Viktor calmly muttered to himself, "Hermes."
"I admit he's crafty."
"He really did cause me a little trouble."
The First Prince overheard Viktor and asked curiously, "Trouble? Count Viktor, what trouble do you mean?"
"Do you need my help?"
But Claudia, who had also heard Viktor, suddenly widened her eyes behind her mask.
"Her... mes?"
She quietly repeated the name, as though she had just heard something unbelievable.
At that moment, Viktor put both hands into his pockets, turned toward where the elves were hiding, and said calmly, "If nothing unexpected happens, something has probably happened to the elves."
The First Prince became even more confused.
If nothing unexpected happens... then something unexpected will happen?
As he was thinking about it, several dull thuds suddenly came from where the elves were hiding.
The First Prince looked up.
Several elves had fallen from the trees.
They curled up on the ground, clutching their chests with both hands, their faces twisted in pain.
The nearby elves thought they had simply slipped.
But after seeing their suffering, they immediately realized something was wrong.
Panicking, they jumped down from the branches and gently touched their companions.
"Y-What's wrong with you?!"
But the moment they saw blood-red thorn patterns appearing around their companions' necks and spreading upward, their faces instantly turned pale.
They stumbled backward in fear.
The crimson thorns crawled across their skin like living markings.
They wrapped around the elves' necks and limbs, slowly spreading toward their chests.
Sharp pain and overwhelming suffocation spread through the fallen elves' bodies.
As the thorns grew longer, the stabbing pain in their hearts became stronger, sinking deep into their bones.
Their miserable screams echoed across the quiet ground, drawing everyone's attention.
The First Prince watched the scene, his eyes filled with shock and confusion.
"W-What's happening?"
How could perfectly fine elves suddenly fall to the ground and suffer like this?
Almost at the same moment, the Demon Hunters standing behind Claudia reacted.
Their eyes gradually glowed red as they stared at the elves covered in crimson thorns.
At that moment, they sensed a familiar power from those elves.
Like prey that should be hunted.
Only Claudia was different.
Though she was also a Demon Hunter, she calmly watched the elves.
Because she knew this power well.
"The Demon of Envy..."
But the elves hadn't become like this because they were possessed by the Demon of Envy.
They had simply been attacked by the escaped Demon of Envy.
Every Primal Demon had its own unique trait.
The Demon of Greed could never satisfy its greed.
The Demon of Wrath would constantly fall into anger.
Likewise, the Demon of Envy's defining trait was its overwhelming jealousy.
It attacked people who stood out.
Those who were beautiful.
Those who were intelligent.
Or those who were strong.
And the reason it attacked them was simple...
The Demon of Envy would never allow anyone to be more perfect than itself.
Among everyone present, the most perfect beings were obvious.
Elves were known as nature's beloved children.
Every one of them was nature's most perfect creation.
That was why they had become the Demon of Envy's targets.
Just then, Viktor spoke, "Your Highness, do you know why elves are called nature's beloved children?"
Hearing that, the First Prince turned toward Viktor and instinctively answered, "Because... if anyone harms an elf, nature will punish them."
Everyone knew that.
But as soon as he finished speaking, his eyes suddenly widened.
"They were attacked by the Demon of Envy."
As Viktor explained, fear instantly spread across the First Prince's face.
"Quick... hurry and save them..."
"It's too late."
Claudia's voice sounded beside him.
The First Prince could only stare helplessly as the elves continued to suffer.
The air around them seemed filled with tension, and panic spread like a shockwave.
BOOM!!!
Suddenly, the ground beneath everyone's feet shook violently.
A deep roar echoed throughout the entire courtyard.
Everyone felt the terrifying tremor beneath them.
Many people could barely keep standing.
Their legs went weak, and they nearly fell.
Even their vision became blurry.
One noble, feeling the shaking, looked around in confusion.
"Was... was that an earthquake?"
He hurriedly looked around before leaning against a wall to steady himself.
At that moment, everyone's eyes turned toward Viktor, hoping he could reassure them.
But Viktor didn't explain the cause of the shaking.
He simply looked toward the elves, danger flashing in his eyes.
"Prepare to evacuate everyone in the royal capital."
The First Prince looked at Viktor in shock as Viktor continued, "The war is coming."