Leon frowned, if that was the case, then the matter had become more complicated.
"If that started five years ago… Could it be that there was someone who had already set eyes on her from the day she was rescued?" he replied with a dark expression.
"That's not necessary.. We'd have to know when exactly it happened, is it really upon the time you took her out of the mad doctor's den or upon the time you left her to us? Sigh... If we only know the motive…" Kayden replied, he was uncertain, but he knew that they had to look for another angle for the investigation.
"Then I'd have to talk to Eli again to know particular details from Elise's memories." Leon replied with a serious tone.
He had already talked to Eli for the details that night of Elise's death, however, the memory of the festival was rather blurred.
As such, there was a missing chunk of information that could have been helpful in case Elise had a clear memory during that time, but unfortunately, she was drugged.
Nevertheless, they already had a new angle to dig into, this was already a good sign.
--
Meanwhile, back in the capital, Eli had already started the boot camp for the research branch.
As the class was held on a massive scale, Bramwell decided to hold the lecture in the grand amphitheater, where the official awarding ceremonies and graduation rites were traditionally held in the Farauld Magic Institute.
Although the boot camp was only exclusive for the research branch, except for Dean Simone and Athena, the news of Eli conducting a lecture still caused an uproar in the entire campus.
Many young students lamented that the research branch was fortunate to even be listening to the lecture by the Great Inventor.
What's more, some people actually emphasized that the Great Inventor Eli would actually be teaching her own knowledge that was detrimental in the creation process of her inventions!
How generous could the Great Inventor be?
Of course, this news didn't stay inside the campus.
No matter how Grandpa Ben and Bramwell emphasized the confidentiality of this matter, it still managed to be leaked in the entire capital, even reaching the other rival campuses outside the empire as well.
Farauld Magic Institute had several rivals in the nearby empires and was equally on the lookout for talented individuals to finally suppress the Farauld Magic Institute for years.
One of those rivals was the Vanderford Institute, who was famous for nurturing the most talented and cunning mages in the Guirard Empire.
The Seirende Empire and the Guirard Empire had been in a discreet rivalry for decades, and so were their frontrunner institutes, Farauld Magic Institute and Vanderford Institute.
This Vanderford institute was the closest to trampling down the Farauld Magic Institute because it was really famous in making the students upgrade a class level no matter what constitution they have.
It was said that the historical number of Class A alumni from Vanderford Institute was six percent higher than that of Farauld Magic Institute since their establishment.
They only fell short on the strength of their research branch. As it was their weak point, inventions and innovations were really rare in their institute, much less in the entire Guirard Empire.
Another rival was the secluded Green Wave Institute. It was located at the Green Wave Continent, way far than the territories of Seirende and Guirard. One needs to embark on a voyage for at least six months, if you are lucky, just to reach this continent.
Green Wave Institute was a league of their own, that is because this institute was actually famous for nurturing Prasinons of other races! That meant, the dragons, elves, dwarves, mermaids and so on! It was the safest haven for non-human creatures that are stronger, if not equally strong, than their human peers!
However, just like the Vanderford Institute, they also longed to strengthen their intellectual knowledge, hoping that their research teams would progress a lot.
As such, the Vanderford and Green Wave institutes, including all other rivals, always had an eye on Farauld Institute's every move.
Also add it to the fact that the Seirende Empire had caused a grand move just more than a month ago, these institutes had already set their eyes to the maker of the inventions mentioned in Emperor Valentin's decree.
As such, they had long activated their spy network to gather intelligence about the inventor, Eli.
Unfortunately, the Great Inventor kept herself well hidden, and by the time they were able to gather clues about her affiliations, she had already entered the Farauld Magic Institute as a counselor!
What kind of luck does the Farauld Magic Institute have to get Eli to teach in their campus?
The officials of the rival institute couldn't help but feel unsettled upon knowing this information. So they went as far as trying to infiltrate the Farauld Magic Institute by bribing some faculty members.
However, after a month of trying to do that, no faculty member has ever agreed to their bribing.
Because who among the faculty members would be so stupid to sell out the opportunity to be Eli's colleague for a measly money?!
Besides, the Great Inventor had already expressed her intent to share her teachings to the rest of the faculty members at a later time.. So why will they help other the schools in poaching her?
They aren't that stupid to let her go!
However, not all faculty members view the Great Inventor as someone indispensable.
A faculty member couldn't help but resent Eli's very existence in the Institute.
It was none other than the self proclaimed star teacher of the Farauld Magic Institute, Alicia!
Although Alicia, initially decided to cozy up to Eli's side, the chances to interact with the inventor was as small as the chances of finding a needle on a haystack!
When the research branch was still on the temple exile, she thought that Eli would be idle for a few weeks and she would have more time to try to get closer to her but who would have known…
"What the heck?! She would only report in the institute for four hours?!! That meant she would not be obligated to report to school every weekday!" Alicia couldn't help but slam the flower vases in her room, extremely vexed.
The special treatment for her is too much!
Even her nemesis Dean Zeke, who was the youngest dean in the institute's history didn't receive special treatment!
"Milady! Calm down!" her personal maid was frightened out of her wits.
Her Lady has never acted like this since she was defeated by the current dean of the Farauld Magic Institute. Who managed to provoke her so badly that she had to run back in the estate to throw tantrums!
"Who is Eli really? How could she convince the Headmaster and the Vice Chairman to let her hold a counselor position with a clear intention of slacking off?"
"Four hours a week?! Argg!!" Alicia's face was so contorted because of extreme frustration. She couldn't help but clench her fist so tightly that veins almost popped out of her fair hands.
She had worked for several years in the institute and had even given her all during the selection for the deputy dean position.
For her to win, she rejected all the summons from her family to be married off, up until she gets her dream position. She even went for months with barely four hours of sleep just to read the books that they have to master for the competition.
But even after all that, she still fell short.
She wasn't chosen, how could she even hope to receive a tad bit of special treatment?
But this Great Inventor Eli??
Just mere three projects made her entitled to act like this? What's more, the entire institute still had to act grateful for her to be teaching for a few hours?!
"Cheh! Even the second generation of the Faraulds didn't even receive this kind of treatment!"
"Milady, please calm down… Master and Madame will be worried that you will be hurt from all these." Her personal maid pleaded.
Alicia's eyes turned fiery red, as if she was suddenly possessed by a malevolent spirit, making the maid shudder in fear.
However, if she allowed her Missus to continue throwing a fit, her Master and Madame would hold her accountable if the lady suffered an injury.
She could only grit her teeth and do her best to stop her Missus from hurting herself.
"Shut up!" Alicia, who had long destroyed all the flower vases nearby, took the glass pitcher and threw it towards the maid's direction.
She didn't even blink when she saw that the glass pitcher directly hit the maid's head.
Crash!
"Aaaaah! Have mercy young miss!"
The glass shards immediately fell on the carpeted floor, along with the flowing water and blood from the maid's wounded forehead.
Because of the impact of the pitcher, the maid's vision began to blur and her head was dominated by a wave of dizziness.
However, as a servant, she had no right to collapse on the floor and hope for medical help. For whether she stays conscious or not, her life will be at the mercy of the angry lady in front of her.
"What's with this commotion?! Alicia, how could you act like this!" Suddenly a mature woman's voice was heard from the door, which was forcibly opened.
