扒开女人两片毛茸茸黑森林

with me," Envy said, her smile still friendly, but Viper sensed nothing but danger behind it. (Author's Note: Viper's real name is Markus Jackson.)

Gulp. "Lady Envy..." Viper swallowed nervously, the martini in his hand shaking violently. "I... I'll be exercising my right to a lawyer," he stammered, forcing a smile despite the intense fear gripping him.

"Oh my... do I look like a cop to you?" Envy asked, still smiling, but the air around Viper grew noticeably colder. Sweat poured down Viper's face, and Silencer felt a similar wave of fear. Viper, however, bore the full brunt of the enraged vampire's animosity from behind him.

That was the last anyone saw of Viper and Silencer.

According to the working women that are working at the party, they fell asleep and were later paid by a beautiful black-haired woman in a black jacket. The woman explained that she and her companions needed to have a long talk with Viper and Silencer. The women were assured they would receive full payment for their services, plus a bonus for their unexpected interruption, and were told not to worry.

— Present —

*Yawn~~* Daniel let out a long yawn during Envy's lesson, only to be jolted awake by a chalk hitting his head.

"Student Emberweave, please pay attention in class," Envy scolded after hitting her beloved with the chalk. Daniel rubbed his forehead where the chalk had landed, while the class, including his daughter Sylvana, laughed at him.

"Ugh... This is so embarrassing," he muttered under his breath.

"Hahaha, Papa got poked!" Sylvana giggled at Daniel's misfortune, causing him to sigh. Even his own daughter was laughing at him.

Yes, Daniel had promised Envy that he would study the fundamental knowledge about modern mage society and the Curtained World. He wholeheartedly agreed with her assessment that he was a bit too gullible about the current state of affairs and its history and its relatable knowledge.

The incident where he got duped by Viper would've never happened if he were aware of the affair and the history of the mage society and the Curtained World.

That's why he was subjected to this bit of embarrassment and teasing from Envy. [Ugh... she seems to really enjoy this], Daniel thought as he listened to the lesson about the overall history of Hightower.

The Hightower is a mage organization first founded by Merlin of Camelot during the founding of Camelot and the rise of King Arthur during 500 AD. Its original headquarters was on the island of Avalon, as told in Arthurian legend. However, after Avalon vanished along with its tower following the Battle of Camlann, the headquarters was rebuilt in what is now modern-day London.

The Hightower's goal was to manage and quell the turmoil caused by conflicts between various powerful mage clans and families, to procure and preserve magical materials for the greater good, to look after the interests of its associates, and to bring order to the entire Curtained World.

That was the noble goal set at its founding, but things went awry after the establishment of the new Hightower. Yes, quelling chaos and bringing order remained priorities, but preserving magical materials did not. Moreover, the greater good was twisted by new members who sought to exploit the power of the Hightower for their own gain and desires.

In 600 AD, the new Hightower HQ was built with the money and support of many mage clans and families that wanted to be part of the renowned Hightower that Merlin had built.

The mage families and clans wanted to be founding members of the Hightower to gain access to artifacts and magical diagrams that Merlin had prepared, which they hoped to use as research material to improve their own magic.

During the founding of the new Hightower, many of the founding members wanted a piece of the pie, specifically the Grand Councilor position held by Envy. To manage this, Envy decided to split the power into three parts, thus creating the three-faction system within the Hightower.

The first faction oversees the advancement of mage research. The faction's name is determined by its head, the current Grand Councilor overseeing this part of the authority. The last leader of this faction was Cyrus Ashborn of the Path of Knowledge.

The second faction, the Law faction, oversees the Hightower's laws and holds most of the power and magical arsenal from Merlin himself. The Grand Councilor of this faction must swear an oath to the Hightower to be fair, just, and unbiased. The current Grand Councilor overseeing the law is known as Golden Scale.

This man uses his faction name because he claims not to have a personal name and has never shown his face to anyone.

The third faction, the Magic Harmony faction, tries to preserve magical ingredients and creatures while mediating between mage clans, families, and other major factions such as the Vatican, Vampires, Elves, Dwarves, Centaurs, and Mermaids. Envy oversees this faction, striving to preserve Merlin's legacy and the original goals of the Hightower.

The Hightower has been involved in many wars and conflicts, both internal and external. Often, these wars were fought by proxy using normal people, such as the Hundred Years' War, the Second Crusade, and the First and Second World Wars. These historical events mark instances where the Hightower used its influence to participate in warfare.

Some wars were not fought by proxy, with the Hightower directly joining or aiding the war effort, as in the First and Second World Wars. Additionally, some conflicts were resolved by one or two elite mages from the Hightower, such as the secret crusade against Vlad Tepes. The mage civil war also intertwined with these broader conflicts.

For example, World War I epitomized a mage civil war gone wrong, where the conflict among mages escalated and ended up costing many normal lives.

The Hightower also fought against radical factions of normal people supported by the Vatican, such as during the two witch hunts, which ended with two Black Plagues, killing most of the population in Europe. This devastation deterred the Vatican from acting recklessly against the Hightower ever again.

[Wait… Envy fought against the most popular religious faction in the world, such as the Vatican, and won!? Even after they rallied their followers to hunt all the mages!? And by killing enough people in Europe, most of whom were followers of Christianity! Damn… she's more ruthless than I thought when the situation calls for it,] Daniel thought to himself as he listened to the lesson.

As Daniel listened to the lecture, time passed until it was 3 PM and the school day ended. Envy assigned the students homework to research the history of the Curtained World and present the most fascinating part of Hightower's history to her at their next meeting.

"How was your third class, Student Emberweave?" Envy walked toward Daniel, asking hi mwit ha teasing tone after all the students had left the classroom except little Sylvana, who was sitting on Daniel's lap.

"It was okay, Teacher Envy, but there's something I wanted to know that wasn't covered in the lecture," Daniel said, humoring his beloved teacher roleplay.

"Oh? What's that?" Envy asked, curious about her lover's question.

"The mage clans and families that helped you build the Hightower. Are any of them still around today?" he asked.

"There is, but only one remains. The others perished in wars or experiments gone wrong that drove them mad, resulting in another war with the Vatican. We had no choice but to join forces with the Vatican to eliminate the threat," Envy explained.

"You're being very specific here, Envy," Daniel noted.

"Yes, I am. It's because they were very powerful. Let me think... um... which family was it? Ah, yes!

The Osman family, from Turkey," Envy answered, hitting her hand with her fist as she remembered the name.

"Osman!? The Ottoman Empire's last royal dynasty!?" Daniel was alarmed.

"Yes, the very same," Envy nodded.

"Then what about the founding family that's still around today?" he asked. This was the question he most wanted answered. He wanted to know who they were in case they got in his way, and since they were one of Hightower's founding families, they must be quite powerful. He wanted to be prepared.

"Oh, it's the Beaumont family. They're a very long line of powerful mages, but they mostly keep to themselves and don't vie for power or resources. However, if someone were to poke their nose where they don't belong, especially within the Beaumont family business or what they consider a family secret, their fate never ends well," Envy said.

"What do they do? I mean, do they have any business or some kind of special magic?" Daniel asked.