Filled with fury, Onneas rushed to the Third Hall and burst directly into the council meeting room where Enaricus was. Right then, Enaricus was sitting comfortably in the seat of honor.
At the sight of Onneas storming in, a fleeting look of panic crossed his face, but he quickly reverted to his usual arrogant and overbearing demeanor.
Onneas’ eyebrows were knitted together, and her eyes were wide with anger as she shouted sternly, “Enaricus, do you know what sort of crime you have committed?!”
Enaricus, however, acted completely nonchalant. With one leg crossed over the other, he drawled, “Oh, Ms. Dusko, what’s gotten you so angry? What crime have I committed?”
“You used a forbidden technique of the celestials to trap Jared in a void passage secretly! Is that not a crime?” Onneas spat through gritted teeth.
Enaricus laughed loudly. “Ms. Dusko, don’t go making groundless accusations here. When did I ever use a forbidden technique? Do you have any proof?”
“Proof? Isabel saw it with her own eyes! How can you deny it?” Onneas was trembling with anger.
Enaricus wore a completely shameless expression. “Isabel? Can the word of a mere maid be trusted? Perhaps she was mistaken, or perhaps you instructed her to say that.”
“You…” Onneas was speechless with rage; she hadn’t expected Enaricus to be so unreasonable.
Seeing Onneas choked with fury, Enaricus became even more complacent, even resorting to obscenities. “Ms. Dusko, I think you’ve developed a fancy for Jared, which is why you’re so eager to defend him. But don’t waste your energy. That brat is likely nothing but ashes by now. Instead of worrying about him, you should think about yourself. Why don’t you surrender to me? Perhaps I can make your life easier in the Celestial Palace.”
When Onneas heard Enaricus’s outright humiliation, her face turned as black as thunder, and she clenched her fists so hard that her nails dug into her flesh. She knew she was not a match for Enaricus right now, so acting rashly would only lead to self-humiliation.
Onneas suppressed her fury, saying coldly, “Enaricus, you will pay for your actions!”
Enaricus remained unconcerned, continuing to mock her. “What? Are you going to make me pay? Save your breath, Ms. Dusko. If you have the ability, go rescue Jared from the void passage. But I don’t think you’re capable of that, are you?”
Onneas took a deep breath, forcing herself to calm down. She knew it was not the time to be impulsive, her top priority was finding a way to save Jared.
“You will regret this, Enaricus!” Onneas snarled, then turned and left the Third Hall.
Back in her own residence, Onneas racked her brain for a way to save Jared.
She knew void passages were extremely dangerous, especially one affected by a forbidden technique of the celestials, as it would be filled with unknown perils. But she could not stand idly by and watch Jared fall into despair without attempting to rescue him.
Onneas first considered the ancient records of the celestials, perhaps they contained a method to counteract the effects of the forbidden technique in the void passage.
With that, she immediately headed to the Celestial King Palace’s library and began searching for clues among the vast sea of ancient records.
In the library, Onneas turned the pages one by one, not daring to blink, afraid of missing any useful piece of information.
Time ticked by, and sweat beaded on Onneas’ forehead, yet she refused to give up. No matter what, she could not let Jared be trapped in that void passage. Although she shared no familial connection with Jared, since returning from level six, she found herself thinking about him from time to time.
Sometimes, she would even dream of Jared. His face simply would not fade from her mind.
Onneas had spent her entire life cultivating, never experiencing romance. But now her heart was in turmoil.
When she heard Jared was in danger, she became so restless that she was unable to focus on her cultivation.
While she didn’t know if that meant she had romantic feelings for Jared, she was going to risk everything to prevent him from dying in that void passage.
