Albinite Shard Dust.
It was the residue left behind after drawing with an Albinite Shard. At first glance, unless one's eyes were properly trained, there was no way to distinguish it from ordinary white chalk. They looked almost identical.
Yet this was no ordinary substance. It was an extremely rare and high-level item, only obtainable by defeating a powerful demonic beast — a mature rock wyvern with snow-white scales.
Rock wyverns were already rare creatures. But a white one? That kind of beast was only sighted once every decade, if that.
And yet… someone had used this very material to tamper with Emilia's summoning.
This material could disrupt the mana flow within a magical formulation; furthermore, it could also induce unwanted effects by twisting the mana into a dangerous form.
That likely explained all the bizarre phenomena that occurred during Emilia's summoning — the thunderclaps, the lightning sparks, the small explosions.
At the time, they had all assumed it was because she was calling forth some immensely powerful magical beast.
But the truth was different.
It was all because of the Albinite Shard.
So it wasn't hard to piece together what had happened.
Someone had tried to stop Emilia from summoning a powerufl beast — by sneaking into the summoning chamber and subtly overwriting part of the circle with Albinite Shard Dust.
Or it could be worse…
An assassination attempt.
"No…" Lady Ariana stood speechless, a smear of Albinite Shard dust on her fingertip. She brushed it off and inspected it closely, her brow furrowing.
"Ariana, when was the last time you checked this summoning room?" Draco asked, his voice trembling.
"Just a few hours ago," Ariana replied. "And I found no such thing!"
"And no one was allowed to enter after that?"
"Yes, I made sure of it!" Ariana said firmly.
As the first lady, Ariana was not only powerful but also highly knowledgeable. With the Silvervein bloodline coursing through her veins, she was by no means weaker than Draco—in fact, she could likely best him in a fight. Renowned for her meticulous nature and sharp eyes, Ariana was the last person anyone would expect to overlook something so dangerous.
Yet… the truth lay bare before their eyes.
Someone had tampered with the spell.
Suddenly, Draco's gaze fixed on Ariana, his eyes burning with intensity.
"What? You think I did this?" Ariana shot back, glaring at her husband, her voice thick with disbelief.
The tension between them crackled in the air, almost palpable.
But eventually… Draco yielded.
He sighed heavily.
"No, I'm sorry…" he muttered, swallowing his anger. "Ariana, I was too hasty."
Ariana was Emilia's mother.
There was no way she would harm her own daughter.
And besides, even if it wasn't her daughter, as long as they were Silvervein, Ariana would never bring them harm.
So…
Who?
And how…?
How did they do it?
The only plausible explanation was that someone had sneaked in here recently, after Lady Ariana's inspection.
And that meant… someone either held great power within the Clan…
Or possessed a special ability that even the strongest members of the Clan couldn't detect.
Draco's gaze shot upward, locking onto the Five Clan Elders.
But they all seemed genuinely shocked… no cracks in their expressions, nothing to suggest they were involved.
At least, nothing Draco could discern.
He knew two of them particularly disliked him and his daughter.
But there was no evidence pointing to them.
"Damn it…" Draco's fist clenched.
"Draco…" Ariana reached forward, gently grasping his hand. "Whatever happened, it's already done. Emilia is safe—that's what matters."
"Right…" Draco turned to his daughter, his eyes softening.
"Emilia, are you hurt?" he asked.
"No, Father…" Emilia shook her head.
Elmandir, the Luminaris headmaster, approached her slowly.
"Emilia, give me your hand," he said, extending his own. "Let me give you a quick check."
"Yes," Emilia complied. "Thank you, Headmaster…"
Elmandir took her hand and closed his eyes, focusing.
His magic swept through her swiftly, his robe fluttering faintly.
"Don't worry," he said. "Now take a deep breath and let me examine your mana."
Emilia obeyed.
Within seconds, Elmandir completed his assessment.
"She's unharmed. Just a bit tired from expending too much mana."
Ariana and Draco exhaled in relief, exchanging a glance.
"Looks like we've been lucky," he continued, narrowing his eyes. "Emilia's mana control was so excellent that she could even tame the violent surge of mana… If not, she could've easily been torn apart."