Heiress Unmasked: Shaking the World With Geomancy novel Chapter 2098

Shannon knew her new body couldn't gather supernatural strength, but it was alright—she had Trevaris.

After Serelith had claimed her name before the crowd, it was time to see for herself just what kind of power of phoenix Solvanna carried within.

Maeric stood stone-faced, but beneath that still exterior, his mind was racing.

If Solvanna could receive the phoenix's answer before all these guests, then none of today's chaos would matter.

As long as she could prove herself as the Chosen One, and so long as that fate bore the Ignis bloodline, all his careful schemes would still hold.

As for Serelith? He had never pinned hopes on her from the beginning. Her failure was inevitable.

Once she shamed herself in front of everyone, he would finally have reason to cast her out for good. If she refused to behave like a proper daughter of the Ignis family, then so be it—she need not be one at all.

As Elysia ordered preparations for the invocation ceremony following Serelith's bold challenge, a different kind of storm brewed in the backyard.

A pale and listless Marcellus, half-reclined inside a velvet-lined litter, was carefully carried by a pair of young servants through the winding paths of the manor, their steps hushed, their eyes wary.

That day, Aurelia had left his body the moment she'd dropped the shears. When he regained his consciousness, he found himself gripping the blood-dripping weapon.

Each time he woke in a sweat these past few nights, pain shooting through him, he remembered one devastating truth—he had crippled himself.

The feeling was all the more jarring for having been dealt by his own hand, rather than an enemy's. The sheer helplessness of witnessing it, living it, and being unable to stop it was maddening.

He knew he had to do something, or he would be consumed by madness.

He had first intended to hire a mystic to trace Aurelia's soul, but Maeric forbade it. With Solvanna's ceremony approaching, he would rather keep the family's disgrace under wraps.

With no outlet to avenge himself, he began resenting Maeric, Solvanna, and mostly, Serelith.

The litter swayed with each step, every motion sending fresh waves of pain surging through Marcellus. He gritted his teeth, barely holding back the groan rising in his throat. At last, the litter came to a halt.

To the outside world, a fire engulfing a young lady's chambers on the day of her coming-of-age ceremony could only mean one thing—she was the bringer of misfortune.

Considering she was so eager to conspire with Aurelia and bring ruin upon his life, he didn't mind destroying her name.

While Marcellus was making his move, Solvanna was already performing the invocation ceremony, under the watchful eyes of all the guests.

This was the annual rite held by the Ignis family, a tradition unlike others. Unlike other families, the Ignises specifically worshipped the Phoenix Deity.

It was during one such ceremony, when Solvanna was offering her prayers, that a miraculous phoenix apparition had risen from the sky.

From that moment, she became the first in a century to receive a phoenix's answer. Today, she would once again bask in the admiration of thousands.

The ceremony proceeded until the moment arrived when Solvanna quietly called upon the Trueflame.

"O' Trueflame, allow these insignificant lowlifes to witness your divine power once more."