Laxana’s eyelids felt as heavy as if they’d been filled with lead.
The pungent scent of medicine drilled into her nose, mixed with a faint trace of potion fragrance, as if someone’s alchemy lab had exploded and they’d forcibly sprayed air freshener to cover it up.
She struggled to open a slit of her eyes, the world a blur of light and shifting shadows.
Then, without warning, a magnified face filled her entire vision.
That face was breathtakingly beautiful, as if time itself had favored it, leaving no trace behind—only a pair of violet eyes gazed at her with interest, their pupils shining with the light one shows upon seeing a rare experimental material.
“Ah!”
Laxana’s soul nearly left her body from fright.
Driven by instinct, she jerked back violently, the back of her head slamming solidly against the headboard.
“Thunk!”
A dull, crisp sound echoed.
“Giggle giggle giggle…”
A string of silvery, malicious laughter rang through the room.
The owner of the face straightened up, looking at her daughter—who was clutching her head in pain and baring her teeth in distress—with a satisfied expression.
“Look at you, my little Shana. One nap and your courage has shrunk smaller than a rabbit’s?”
Laxana clutched her throbbing head, stars spinning before her eyes.
When she finally recognized the visitor, her terrified expression instantly collapsed into one of disdain.
“Mom?!”
Miss Klein grumbled irritably.
“What are you doing here? Did you blow up the Magic Tower at Central Academy again and get kicked out?”
Layana Klein, the Chief Court Mage of Valoran, President of the Mage Association, and the esteemed Dean of Central Academy, was currently smiling with her eyes curved, looking every bit like a mischievous girl who’d just pulled off a prank.
She reached out and pinched Laxana’s puffed cheek affectionately, unable to resist squeezing it a few more times for its satisfying squishiness.
“I heard my precious daughter was ill, so I put aside a dozen important magical experiments, even paused my once-in-a-millennium research on ‘the effect of Abyssal Worm Digestive Fluid on spatial stability’, and came to see you.”
Laxana slapped her hand away without hesitation, rubbing her sore cheek, rolling her eyes so hard they nearly disappeared into her skull.
“Do you even believe that yourself?”
Miss Klein’s tone was full of accusation, every word soaked in grievance.
“Back when I was training in the Weeping Mountains and got attacked by the Three-Headed Demon Serpent’s venom—nearly melted into a puddle of goo—I even sent a distress signal. Where were you?”
“You replied with just one line: ‘The neurotoxin of the Three-Headed Demon Serpent is excellent material for soul magic research. Remember to bring some back, preferably fresh, and if possible, catch one alive.'”
“Ahahaha…”
Exposed in front of her black history, Layana’s face flashed with embarrassment.
She gave a dry laugh and skillfully changed the subject.
“Ah, let’s not bring up the past. Daughters have to learn to face danger themselves as they grow—it’s all part of life’s trials.”
“Speaking of which,”
She asked, seemingly casually, lifting a glass of water and swirling it gently.
“How has your good friend, Princess Astreia, been lately?”
“And that interesting Prince of the Cavalry Kingdom, is he well?”
It was here!
Laxana’s inner alarm blared.
Her hairs stood on end.
Back at Sunset Fortress, her mom had already shown a suspicious level of interest in Astreia’s strange soul state, her gaze no different from a butcher eyeing a fat pig.
Now she was bringing it up again—was she planning to drag Astreia into the lab while her state was unstable?
Watching her daughter instantly become wary, like a little beast guarding its food, Layana sighed helplessly, putting on a wounded expression.
“Relax, I won’t dissect your friends for research~”
The Dean waved her hand, her tone as casual as commenting on the weather.
But to Laxana, those words only increased her wariness.
What did ‘won’t dissect’ mean?
Was it ‘not dissect, but maybe preserve in formalin and study the whole body’?
“They’re fine. They don’t need your concern.”
Laxana stiffened her neck, refusing to budge.
“And what about you?”
Layana suddenly leaned closer, those beautiful violet eyes sharp as scalpels, piercing straight into Laxana’s gaze, as if they could cut open her soul.
“My dear daughter, the physician said you fainted from severe mental shock.”
Her voice grew low and magnetic, each word striking Laxana’s tense nerves.
“Can you tell me what kind of shock could make the fearless Miss Klein, who dares to keep high-ranked demons as pets, collapse on the spot?”
Laxana’s heart skipped a beat.
In an instant, she remembered the soul-wrenching pain transmitted through the ‘Empathic Link’…
Swoosh.
Miss Klein’s face paled further.
No way. She absolutely couldn’t say it!
If she did, Astreia and Wendy would be doomed!
Her mom would definitely pack them both away—one as a specimen, the other sliced and stored at the most prominent spot in her lab, showing off her rare collection to anyone who visited!
“Nothing.”
Laxana jerked her head away, avoiding her mother’s all-seeing eyes, her tone as hard as stone.
“It’s just… just that Prince Wendy was too handsome, and I lost control for a moment, so…”
Even she knew how ridiculous that sounded.
“Oh?”
Layana arched a brow, her lips curling with amusement, her eyes practically spelling out ‘keep making things up’.
“So that’s how it was.”
She didn’t press further, simply sitting up straight and leaning back in her chair, her gaze wandering the room as if searching for something unseen.
A strange silence settled over the room.
Laxana felt like a criminal under trial, with her mother as the shrewdest judge—every second stretched into an eternity, the air growing heavy.
Just as she thought she’d escaped, a new sound cut through the tension.
Knock. Knock. Knock.
A steady, rhythmic knocking echoed through the room.
The pace was neither fast nor slow, the strength even, as if the knocker’s heartbeat resided in each tap—yet there was an undeniable sense of authority.
Then, a woman’s voice drifted in from outside—calm, yet edged with exhaustion, each word clear and unwavering.
“Layana, my old friend.”
“I know you’re in there.”
“Open the door. This time… we need to have a proper talk.”