Kefi stood dazed in place, her cheeks flushing hot as her heart hammered erratically against her ribs.
“Teacher… Tea — Teacher — is this… what are you…”
Though Kefi was still an innocent girl who hadn’t yet experienced love and was mostly ignorant of such matters, basic physiological knowledge and the vague rumors whispered among the girls were enough for her to guess exactly what Teacher Sefina was doing to make those sounds…
But… how could this be possible?!
The usually indifferent Teacher Sefina, who seemed completely detached from worldly desires… actually…
This undoubtedly shattered Kefi’s perception of Teacher Sefina. In her mind, her teacher was supposed to be rigorous, self-disciplined, and aloof. How could she… how could she…
This was just… too much of an image collapse! It was so embarrassing!
Kefi felt her face burning intensely. Her feet felt as if they had taken root, leaving her torn between staying and leaving. She felt she shouldn’t listen any longer; it was a grave sign of disrespect toward her teacher.
However, in the next second—
A more intense, yet extremely delicate and weak groan came from the room. The sound was laced with an even more obvious sense of pain.
Kefi’s heart clenched.
‘Teacher’s voice sounds like… it’s not just indulgence, but also pain? Is it just my imagination?’
Her reason slowly returned, and Kefi forced herself to think calmly. Teacher Sefina could never be the type of person who would suddenly indulge herself at such an odd time; it didn’t fit her personality at all.
‘Could it be… that Teacher is actually suffering from a serious illness? Or, like what’s written in some knight novels, has she been hit by some evil curse that causes abnormal bodily reactions?’
Shame and awkwardness were eventually suppressed by worry.
Listening to Teacher Sefina’s intermittent, delicate breaths mixed with pain coming from behind the door, she finally summoned her courage and knocked softly. With a voice full of concern and nervousness, she asked:
“Teacher Sefina? Are… are you okay? Are you in a lot of pain? Is… is something wrong? Do you need my help or something? Teacher Sefina? Are you alright?”
Inside the room, Sefina froze in shock when she heard Kefi’s voice suddenly come from outside.
‘Didn’t… didn’t she leave?! Along with Mia and Ellaria… why did she come back alone?!’
As for how Sefina was “solving” the issue while her hand tenosynovitis prevented her from “using force”… the method was actually quite simple.
She used a small item she had crafted herself, similar to those from her previous life.
There was no other choice. Under circumstances where the magic crest erupted periodically and no permanent cure could be found, she had to prepare some emergency measures.
At this moment, facing a magic tattoo backlash that far exceeded the norm, she had already turned the small device’s power to the maximum, attempting to forcibly suppress the reaction.
This was the first time Sefina had encountered a magic crest eruption of this magnitude, and the effects were far more terrifying than she had anticipated.
A normal eruption could usually be temporarily calmed with a single session. But now…
‘Ugh…’
Sefina thought with a blurred consciousness, ‘How many times has it been now? Three? Four?’
She felt incredibly ashamed herself, but she simply couldn’t resolve it!
The effect of the magic tattoo backlash seemed to possess some sort of malicious will, refusing to give her a single moment to breathe as it crashed against her body and mind in wave after wave.
Only after each brief peak could she regain a sliver of her sanity.
She didn’t know how much longer it would take for that damn neutralizer to fully take effect…
Outside the door, Kefi looked at the locked entrance, her heart filled with both anxiety and helplessness.
She tried to push the door open several times to check on her teacher’s condition, but the door was bolted tight from the inside and wouldn’t budge.
Left with no choice, she could only wait anxiously outside, listening to the embarrassing yet heart-pounding sounds coming from the room over and over again…
Her mind was filled with worry for her teacher’s physical condition and all sorts of chaotic guesses.
After an unknown amount of time—probably after five or six rounds—the commotion inside finally quieted down.
Sefina lay limp on the bed, her entire body drenched in sweat as if she had just been fished out of water.
She felt the scorching heat in her lower abdomen finally recede slowly, like a ebbing tide.
Sefina let out a long breath, feeling completely exhausted.
‘I really didn’t expect… this damned magic crest to have something like a self-defense mechanism! Taking a magic potion to try and suppress it was not only ineffective, but it triggered such a fierce backlash that lasted so long and felt so intense.’
‘It’s all that wicked woman Ophidoro’s fault!’
Sefina cursed the culprit who brought her endless trouble with the most vicious words in her heart.
She was utterly exhausted now; it seemed she would need a good rest recently.
After resting for a bit and gathering some strength, Sefina barely managed to prop up her weakened body.
Kefi, standing outside, seemed to notice it had finally gone quiet inside and inquired softly once more:
“Teacher Sefina? How… how are you? Are you alright? Are you still feeling unwell? Should we go to the Infirmary? I can accompany you…”
Sefina walked to the door with unsteady steps. After a moment of hesitation, she reached out and unlocked the door.
The moment the door opened, Kefi immediately looked over with worried eyes.
The Teacher Sefina before her was pale, her hair matted to her forehead and cheeks with sweat, and her breathing was still somewhat hurried.
Her current state was a stark contrast to her usual cold and rigorous image; she seemed extremely fatigued and fragile.
Looking at Sefina like this, Kefi felt a surge of heartache and anxiety. She finally couldn’t help but ask the guess she had in her heart:
“Teacher… are… are you suffering from some very serious illness? Or… have you been hit by a curse? Is that why you were just…”
Sefina stared into Kefi’s clear eyes. That pure concern was like a mirror, reflecting the secrets in her heart.
She sighed inwardly, realizing that she could no longer keep it hidden.
‘Whatever, Mia and Ellaria already know anyway. Having one more person like Kefi know… it doesn’t seem to make much of a difference.’
Sefina felt a sense of helpless resignation.
She simply couldn’t come up with any more lies.
Leaning against the doorframe, her voice carrying a post-exertion rasp and exhaustion, she told the truth:
“…On my lower abdomen, there is a magic crest similar to a curse… it… it makes me… um…”
Sefina was too embarrassed to say those words out loud. Her sentence trailed off there, and a rare trace of predicament appeared on her face.
Seeing her awkward expression and combining it with the sounds she had heard and the teacher’s current state, Kefi instantly understood the meaning behind the unspoken words. Her cheeks turned even redder, and she nodded quickly to show her understanding.
Looking at Kefi’s flushed face, Sefina sighed deeply and helplessly once more.
‘This damned magic crest… when will this ever end?’
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