Chapter 237: As Long as I Cry First, You Can’t Say I’m Wrong

The excruciating breakfast finally ended.

Laxana practically fled, escorting Wendy to the entrance of the Military Branch teaching building.

Throughout the walk, the Prince was as clingy as ever, constantly fussing over her, even trying to fix the collar of her Mage’s Robe that he had torn earlier. His deep, affectionate eyes were filled with an indissoluble love.

Every trace of tenderness he showed only deepened the guilt and murderous intent festering in Laxana’s heart.

“Alright, you need to get to class. You’re going to be late.”

She finally found an excuse, shoving Wendy away firmly as he tried to say more.

“I’ll come find you after class?”

Wendy looked at her expectantly.

“No! Don’t!”

Laxana refused without hesitation.

“I… I have to go look up some materials this afternoon. I’ll be busy!”

“Then I’ll go with you?”

“No!”

Seeing the hurt expression on Wendy’s face, Laxana’s heart softened for a moment, only to be seized by fear. She forced herself to harden her heart and came up with a flimsy excuse.

“That’s internal material for our Magic Division. It’s not convenient for you to see. Be good, and go to class.”

Reluctantly, Wendy nodded, looking back at her three times before stepping into the building.

Watching his figure disappear, Laxana let out a long breath. She felt completely drained, leaning against the cold wall.

But there was no time to rest.

An even more terrifying storm awaited her at the dormitory.

She composed herself and trudged toward the dormitory with heavy steps.

The dormitory door was ajar.

Laxana pushed it open.

Inside the room, Astreia stood with her back to her by the window. She wasn’t wearing her signature school uniform skirt, only a form-fitting blue training outfit that outlined her striking figure.

Hearing the sound, the Princess slowly turned around.

“You’re back.”

Astreia’s tone was flat, revealing neither joy nor anger.

But Laxana’s heart sank like a stone.

She knew her comrade-in-arms better than anyone.

The calmer she seemed, the more terrifying the storm brewing beneath.

“Astreia, let me explain…”

Laxana spoke first, trying to seize the initiative.

“Fine, explain.”

“Explain?”

Astreia cut her off, stepping closer.

“Why is Wendy acting like that?”

“Why is he talking to me like I’m a stranger?”

“Why is he shielding you with that… that look in his eyes?”

“He said you’re gentle? Laxana, tell me—since when did you become ‘gentle’?”

A barrage of accusations, each one piercing straight to the heart.

Laxana’s face grew paler. Under her friend’s overwhelming pressure, the excuse she had prepared stuck in her throat.

“And last night.”

Astreia’s emerald eyes locked onto her.

“I came to find you, but you weren’t in the dormitory at all. And this morning, you showed up with Wendy!”

“What did you do to him? Or rather… what did you two do?”

She practically spat out the last few words through gritted teeth.

Laxana shuddered and instinctively stepped back.

She saw the hurt and sense of betrayal in Astreia’s eyes.

She couldn’t hesitate any longer!

“Astreia! We’ve both been deceived!”

Laxana suddenly lifted her head, her face instantly shifting to an expression combining fear and indignation, her voice trembling as if she were about to cry.

This sharp cry caught Astreia off guard, forcing her to swallow the next round of accusations.

Seeing this, Laxana pressed her advantage, pouring out the lies she had already prepared.

“After you left yesterday, the more I thought about it, the more something felt wrong. So I snuck back to the Library alone!”

“I wanted to see what secrets that woman named Xi Ya was hiding!”

Her voice quivered with “excitement,” and her eyes glistened with a timely sheen of tears, making her look utterly sincere.

“And then… then I discovered a huge secret!”

“That Xi Ya! She’s not human! She’s from the Demon Race!”

“The Demon Race?!”

Astreia’s expression finally changed.

“Yes!”

Laxana nodded emphatically, her face filled with the terror of a “narrow escape.”

“I saw her skin change color with my own eyes, and wings of the Demon Race emerge from her body! She was holding an evil magic book, casting a spell on Wendy!”

“So Wendy leaving us before, being completely infatuated with her—it wasn’t his choice! That witch had been controlling his mind with magic!”

Laxana waved her hands indignantly as she spoke.

“I was furious! I couldn’t just stand by and watch her harm Wendy!”

“While she wasn’t paying attention, I ambushed her with the highest-level Lightning Magic I could cast!”

“My Lightning Magic hit her fair and square!”

Laxana continued her performance.

Astreia listened quietly, not interrupting, but her tense body revealed the turmoil inside.

“That witch and her evil magic book were blasted to ashes on the spot by my lightning!”

“You know the Guardian Array of the Central Academy is useless against the Demon Race.”

She finished, patting her chest in lingering fear, breathing heavily as if she had truly survived a life-and-death battle.

The whole story was seamless.

It explained Xi Ya’s disappearance, explained Wendy’s strange behavior, and painted herself as a hero who saved her friend and her beloved without regard for danger.

However, after a brief shock, Astreia frowned.

“Ashes?”

She latched onto that word acutely.

“Yes, not a speck left.”

Laxana answered firmly, though her heart skipped a beat.

“You alone?”

Astreia pressed.

“Are you sure she was completely eliminated?”

“Of course! I… I saw it with my own eyes!”

“Then why didn’t you call for backup? Dealing with the Demon Race is no small matter.”

“I… I didn’t have time to think! I just saw her hurting Wendy!”

Laxana defended herself in a tone of “acting on love.”

Astreia fell silent.

She stared at Laxana, the suspicion in her emerald eyes growing stronger.

Laxana’s heart sank lower and lower.

She knew Astreia hadn’t fully believed her.

This lie had too many holes.

How could a member of the Demon Race, strong enough to bypass detection magic and sneak into the Central Academy, be so easily ambushed and annihilated without a trace?

Even if it were true, there should be signs of battle and residual magic at the scene.

But the way Wendy was in the cafeteria—he clearly knew nothing.

And most importantly…

“Then why…”

Astreia finally asked the most fatal question.

“Does Wendy’s memory see you as Xi Ya?”

“Why does he think that the one who stayed with him last night, who was ‘gentle’ to him… is you?”

The air seemed to freeze.

Laxana felt her blood run cold.

Her mind raced.

What to do?

How to answer that?

Say she didn’t know? Too fake.

Blame it on a side effect of the magic? Too coincidental!

What side effect in the world could be this convenient?

Just when she was about to run out of lies, Laxana suddenly had a flash of inspiration, remembering the last card Xi Ya had left her.

She grabbed Astreia’s arm, her expression shifting from guilt and panic to grievance and determination.

“I don’t know!”

She shouted, tears actually falling.

“How would I know? Maybe it’s a curse from that witch before she died! Maybe it’s the evil power of that magic book!”

“Astreia, are you suspecting me? Suspecting that I colluded with the Demon Race to get Wendy?”

“Is that the kind of person you think I am?!”

Turning the tables.

She covered up all logical flaws with emotional manipulation.

Astreia was momentarily stunned by her sudden outburst, instinctively trying to calm her down.

But Laxana didn’t give her that chance.

“Fine! If you don’t believe me, then let’s find someone who can prove my innocence!”

She shook off Astreia’s hand and rushed toward the door.

“We’ll go find my mother! She’s the Dean of the Magic Branch! All magical affairs in the Central Academy fall under her authority!”

“Whether there was a Demon Race invasion or traces of forbidden spells—she’ll know with one look!”

“Then we’ll see who’s lying—me, or you, for groundlessly doubting your friend!”