Mia snapped her gaze toward the figure in the doorway, and in an instant, a cascade of golden hair and a pair of emerald eyes met her sight.
It was… Princess Ellaria?!
“Ella… El…”
Mia nearly blurted out the name, her voice twisted by shock and lingering embarrassment.
Ellaria, standing outside the door, was clearly caught off guard by Mia’s startled exclamation. Her emerald eyes widened instantly.
Almost by reflex, she quickly raised a slender index finger to her soft lips, her green eyes urgent as she made a shushing motion at Mia.
Mia choked back the address she was about to utter, clamping her mouth shut.
But from inside the room came Sefina’s voice, laced with suspicion and residual anger, cutting through Mia’s chaotic thoughts:
“Mia? What’s with that ‘ah’? Are you still out there?”
Mia jolted, survival instincts kicking in. She hurriedly turned toward the door, forcing a tearful tone to cover up:
“Ah! I… I tripped and fell, my butt hurts so bad…”
There was a two-second silence from within, then Sefina shouted again:
“Then get back to your room! Right now!”
“Y-yes, ma’am! Teacher, I’m going!”
Mia answered hastily, desperately wanting to flee the scene of her social death.
But what really pushed her to leave quickly wasn’t just Sefina’s command—it was Princess Ellaria down the hallway…
She… she must have overheard a lot of “things she shouldn’t have.”
“Marriage proposal”—“I’ll fulfill my duties as a wife…” “I’ll take responsibility!” “We can get married!”
Mia couldn’t bear to think how much of her earth-shattering declarations had drifted into the princess’s ears.
Just imagining that scene made Mia’s vision go dark and her toes curl…
Aaaaaaaah!!!
So awkward! I want to die!!!
Mia screamed internally, slapping both hands over her face in mortification. She couldn’t bring herself to look in Ellaria’s direction, wanting only to bury herself in the ground.
As for when Ellaria had arrived outside the door…
That probably went back a bit further.
She had originally come to look for Teacher Sefina about something, but as she approached the office, she faintly heard some… unusual sounds from inside.
Some ragged breathing, mixed with faint noises of objects colliding and rubbing.
The sounds were soft, ambiguous, and intermittent, making Ellaria stop in her tracks, cheeks flushing, suspicion blooming in her heart…
She couldn’t quite tell what was happening, and she didn’t dare knock or leave. An inexplicable unease and strong curiosity kept her rooted, holding her breath to listen.
Then came Mia’s “earth-shattering” confession and proposal, followed by Teacher Sefina’s furious expulsion and Mia being “thrown out.”
Ellaria stood in the shadow of the corner, taking it all in, her shock and confusion no less than the participants’.
She urgently needed to understand what on earth was going on.
Of course, she also knew that the hallway, which anyone could pass by at any moment, was definitely not the place to discuss such topics.
So Ellaria gently tugged at Mia’s sleeve and lowered her voice:
“This isn’t convenient. Mia… how about we… go somewhere else to talk?”
Ellaria’s single dormitory.
“So… Mia, did you really… do it with Teacher Sefina?”
At this, Mia’s body visibly trembled, her fingers pressing tighter over her face.
“Mm…”
Mia didn’t deny it, her voice as quiet as a mosquito’s buzz.
She felt like all the blood in her body was rushing to her face. Shamefully, she could have dug a new magic academy with her toes.
Hearing the confirmation, Ellaria also quickly lowered her head, staring at her entwined hands, her long golden lashes trembling slightly.
Even though she had suspected it, such a ridiculous and forbidden thing actually happened to someone close to her—and one of the parties involved was Teacher Sefina…
It only made Ellaria feel even more incredulous.
An awkward silence fell again, even heavier than before.
***
After a while, Mia seemed to recover slightly from the peak of embarrassment.
She pulled her hands away from her face to reveal a face that was still beet red, her blue eyes watery as she looked at Ellaria. In a trembling voice, she asked back:
“So… Princess Ellaria, did you… were you outside the door when Teacher Sefina and I… when we were…”
Just asking the question made Mia feel like she was suffocating.
Ellaria’s body gave a slight shake, and she bent her head even lower, almost burying it in her chest.
Her golden hair fell forward, hiding most of her face, revealing only the tips of her ears, which were also bright red.
She was silent for a few seconds before she admitted, in a voice barely audible, “Mm…”
Although it was just one word, for Mia it was the final verdict.
Ruined. Completely ruined.
From those ambiguous sounds, to her own nonsensical rambling, to being thrown out…
The whole process had probably been heard by the princess from start to finish.
I really want to die!!!
Why did things turn out like this!!!
Mia’s heart wept rivers, but on her face there was only numb redness and an expression of utter despair.
She slumped in her chair like a dried fish that had lost all its dreams, silently accepting the cruel reality.
However, Ellaria’s “interrogation” was clearly not over yet.
After another stretch of excruciating silence, Ellaria lifted her head again.
The flush still hadn’t faded from her face, but her eyes had regained some clarity, and with a complex emotion she asked that question:
“So… Mia, was that proposal to Teacher Sefina… for real?”
“I-I-I was just talking nonsense!!!”
Mia shot up from her dried-fish state like a cat whose tail had been stepped on, flailing her hands wildly.
“It’s all… all because the damn magic potion’s effect hadn’t worn off yet! My brain was overheating! I wasn’t myself! I was talking garbage! Really! Princess, you mustn’t take it seriously!!!”
Mia gabbled excuses for her “marriage declaration,” trying to pin it all on the lingering effects of the potion.
“God knows what I was thinking at the time! I was totally possessed! Like I’d been taken over by some weird thing! So embarrassing! Embarrassing myself right in front of a royal princess!”
Ellaria watched Mia’s flustered denials quietly, half-believing and half-doubting.
She looked at Mia’s bright red face, leaned forward slightly to shorten the distance, and asked a killer question:
“Then… Mia, setting aside the potion’s influence, do you really, truly not want to marry Teacher Sefina at all?”
Mia: Σ(°△°|||)︴
Th-this…
How was Mia supposed to answer that!!!