Aside from her father and her eldest sister-in-law, who had already gone missing, she was the only living relative with a blood connection to Lynn left in the family.
As he slowly unfolded the letter and saw its contents, Lynn's expression instantly stiffened.
Imperial City of Glostin, Royal Transcendent Academy.
At the moment, the classroom of the Alchemy Department was empty and very quiet.
The students were still resting in their respective dormitories, and except for teaching assistants and the like, no one would come to the classroom so early to prepare.
However, at this moment, a girl who looked like a student was frantically fumbling with the bottles and jars on the podium, making preparations for the upcoming general alchemy class.
Her figure was slender and graceful; the contours of her budding chest were faintly visible. Besides that, her long black hair was tied into twin braids that hung over her shoulders.
The girl seemed to have a pair of beautiful sea-blue eyes, just like someone, and her delicate little face looked refined and pretty.
Unfortunately, those eyes appeared somewhat dim, as if suppressing some sorrowful emotions.
As the last remaining bloodline of the Bartleion family in the Imperial Capital, her two brothers were ambushed one after the other, one dying on the battlefield and the other being stripped of his power and cast out to the frontier city, likely with no chance to see them ever again.
Apart from the Marquis Bartleion, who was still lying in a coma, the great family was left with her alone.
Oh, it should be Earl now.
After all, during the recent earth-shattering case, the Bartleion family was the first to be targeted for retribution, and even her father's title had been forcibly downgraded.
As a result, the slander and hidden currents that should have been directed at the family mostly fell upon the girl herself.
An accident caused a glass vessel to shatter on the floor.
She suddenly became flustered.
If the professor found another excuse to punish her, she might even be expelled from the Royal Transcendent Academy.
Once she lost her own way to advance in power, the Bartleion family would have no chance of ever rising again.
Tears instantly welled in Eleanor's eyes.
She crouched down, trying to clumsily clean up the shards.
But in another mishap, she cut a wound on the delicate skin of her fingertip.
The consecutive misfortunes caused the already overwhelmed Eleanor to kneel on the ground, as large tears rolled down from her eyes.
She cried silently, as if crushed and completely broken by the successive blows.
In a daze, the figures of two brothers appeared in front of the girl.
They seemed to be gently stroking her head, comforting her not to be afraid, just like in the past.
Unfortunately, everything done by the Mosgla family had completely destroyed her once peaceful and beautiful life, turning those memories into nothing but a fantasy.
Just then, a series of hurried footsteps came from the doorway.
She quickly raised her sleeve, wanting to wipe away the tears from the corner of her eyes, not wanting anyone to see her in such a dishevelled state.
However, the other party was a step too fast.
Seeing Eleanor sitting on the ground amidst the broken glass, crying inconsolably, the group of girls who burst into the classroom suddenly burst into unanimous laughter.
Their laughter was full of mockery and disdain, as if mocking the former high and mighty daughter of the Bartleion family had fallen into such a sorry state.
The leader of the girls had prominent cheekbones and looked rather sharp and mean.
"Dear Eleanor, why are you hiding here crying all by yourself?" she squatted down, looking straight at her, "Is it because you no longer have your brothers' hugs? Where are they now?"
"Oh, I'm sorry, I almost forgot—your brother Lynn seems to have completely disappeared in that border disaster, probably dead by now."
"How pitiful, Eleanor, do you need me to comfort you?"
With that, the girl reached out to grab her hair.
Her name was Eunice Mosgla, a direct relative of the Snow Eagle family.
Due to the family's recent terrifying prestige in the Imperial Capital over the past two years, her status in the academy also soared.
As the victor in the struggle between the two great families, she looked down with contempt at the descendants of the defeated.
Upon hearing this, Eleanor's expression turned cold, and she waved to open her wrist.
Though tears remained in her eyes, she was still incredibly defiant.
Vulnerability was reserved for herself.
In the face of outsiders, especially the sworn enemies of her family, she would not back down.
"Brother Linn won't die," Eleanor said coldly as she lowered her head to clean up the fragments on the ground, "sooner or later, he will come back and teach you damned bastards a lesson!"
Although she said this, a trace of sorrow flashed through her blue eyes as she lowered her head.
Logically speaking, what the woman said was not wrong.
Deep down, Eleanor actually harbored the thought that both her older brothers had completely left this world.
After all, under the deliberate sealing by Saint Laurent VI and some of the powerful, every major event that recently occurred in Orn City had erased the young man's figure, not a single mention of him even in the merit register.
Thus, even Eleanor did not know the extent of the terrifying deeds her brother had done on the frontier.
Moreover, the news that Linn was actually alive after his return to the manor had not reached the Imperial Capital under the deliberate sealing of Duke Tierus.
As for the Second Prince who was also privy to this information... having been humiliated himself, how could he loudly proclaim it everywhere if Linn and the others would not speak of it?
So for now, the vast majority of the Church and nobility in the Imperial Capital believed that the young man had indeed died in that Level 0 Sealed Object outbreak.
Only a few were privy to some inside information and sensed the signs that a storm was coming.
Perhaps, the day the young man returned to the Imperial Capital would be the opening of a grand play.
Noticing the girl's defiance, Eunice's eyes flickered with a hint of coldness, "How have you considered the matter from last time?"
"Viscount Grad is very wealthy, and although somewhat old, he is not bad looking, and most importantly, he fell in love with you at first sight at the last ball, mentioning your name repeatedly in front of my father, hoping to make you his third wife."
"The Bartleion family is in a difficult position now, it might be good not to pass up such a lifeline."
She placed her hand on Eleanor's slender shoulder, gradually exerting pressure, as if she had just made an inconsequential suggestion.
Just as if she were compelling her to heed the arrangements of the Mosgla family.
After all, her sister was the renowned "Empire's Valkyrie" Irina, and the Bartleion family had already been thoroughly infiltrated, so they really did have the power to meddle in Eleanor's fate.
Eleanor suddenly grabbed a shard of glass from the ground, heedless of her delicate palm being cut and bleeding profusely, and hurled it forcefully in Eunice's direction.
An old and ugly widower, dare to covet a Bartleion family treasure?
Despite the loss of past glory and status, the family's dignity was not to be insulted!
Although Eunice managed to dodge the sharp fragments, a cut appeared on her cheek.
Looking at Eleanor's desperate demeanor, she nodded coldly, "Very well."
"Since you don't accept this friendly suggestion from a friend, it's time we talked about our deal."
"Do you remember the previous contract?" Eunice's lips curled into a malicious smile, "The Fourth Prince has taken a keen interest in the blood of Bartleion, so he proposed using your blood in exchange for the family's survival."
"One vial of blood, to ensure the Bartleion name is not stricken from the Imperial Capital for a day."
"But seeing how ungrateful you are acting, I think this contract can be revised."
"Starting today, the terms change from one vial to ten."
"I wonder how long your small frame can last... let's wait and see."
As she spoke, Eunice cast a venomous glance her way, then left with several henchmen in tow.
Leaving Eleanor alone, staring at the broken glass scattered around her, silently shedding tears.
After a moment, she gently lifted her scarred little hand and pressed it firmly against her chest.
In her hollow and numb eyes, a hint of sorrow flickered.
"Brother Linn, I miss you so much..."