Laxana looked at Wendy, who was passed out on the sofa.
She recalled Xi Ya’s heart-piercing insults from earlier, and the anger in her chest finally could not be suppressed, exploding with a bang.
She could no longer endure this feeling of being toyed with!
“You… fox spirit!”
With a furious shout, the Klein family’s eldest daughter’s mana completely ran wild. A dazzling dark purple light gathered in her palm, and a complex lightning magic seal quickly formed. The violent elemental energy made the air in the entire secret chamber scorching hot, aimed directly at the smiling woman before her.
Xi Ya didn’t even raise an eyelid.
She maintained her elegance, only gently rubbing the smooth edge of the wine glass with her thumb pad, as gentle as the evening breeze.
“Oh? What does Miss Klein plan to do?”
“Are you going to blast a hole in this secret chamber with lightning, alarming the entire academy? Or are you going to reduce me to ashes?”
She raised her other hand, her slender index finger pointing far away at Wendy.
Xi Ya’s tone became playful.
“Aren’t you afraid… of waking him up?”
“Guess what he’ll think when he wakes up and sees a woman who is about to attack his friend?”
“Will he be moved by your ‘hero saving a beauty,’ or will he think you’re a lunatic who followed him and wants to kill his friend?”
These words were like a basin of icy water with ice shards, dousing all of Laxana’s anger.
Her arm stopped in midair, trembling violently. The lightning seal that was about to form flickered on and off, and finally, with endless reluctance, completely extinguished.
Yes.
She couldn’t act.
Once she acted, regardless of the outcome, she would leave an indelible bad impression in Wendy’s heart.
Laxana gritted her teeth, suppressing the surging humiliation, withdrew her hand, and her voice was hoarse from anger.
“What exactly do you want?!”
Xi Ya finally put down the wine glass and walked slowly to Laxana.
The playfulness on her face suddenly faded, replaced by a perfectly appropriate melancholy, and her purple eyes were tinged with helplessness.
“Of course I really like Mr. Wendy.”
She sighed lightly, her posture as if she were truly troubled by something.
“But the more I like him, the more I can’t be with him.”
Xi Ya said, walking to Wendy’s side, reaching out her hand, and gently stroking the prince’s soft dark blue hair with her fingertips, her movements gentle and devout.
“I am a commoner, he is a prince. Between us, there is an insurmountable chasm.”
“I don’t want him to bear unnecessary criticism because of me. So… these past two days, I only dared to approach him in this way.”
Xi Ya’s gaze swept across Laxana’s face, a hint of mockery flashing deep in her eyes, but quickly concealed by perfect acting.
Laxana was completely stunned.
She only knew that this woman had done all kinds of intimate things with Wendy, even allowing her to experience unprecedented ultimate pleasure through the empathic link, yet she had not taken the final step.
She simply could not understand this woman’s logic.
What does it mean that the more you like someone, the more you can’t be together?
And Xi Ya’s next words turned into a sharp blade, piercing straight into her heart.
“You and Princess Astreia ‘share’ him, yet you always end up at a disadvantage.”
“You are clearly the daughter of the Dean of the Magic Branch, possessing so many resources that ordinary people dream of, yet you can’t even capture one man’s heart…”
Xi Ya tilted her head slightly, the sadness on her face fading, replaced by a look of frustrated pity.
“Truly… unworthy of being a daughter of the Klein family.”
Boom!
Laxana’s face turned pale as paper in an instant.
Her self-esteem was ruthlessly stomped on and crushed to dust by the other party’s gentlest tone.
“Shut up!”
Her eyes reddened, the mana that had just calmed down surged wildly again.
This time, she did not concentrate magic, but suddenly stepped forward, almost pressing against Xi Ya’s face, gritting her teeth and speaking word by word.
“Stop playing these games with me! If you don’t have a reasonable explanation today, even if I am misunderstood by Wendy and hated by him for life, I will tear you to pieces right here!”
Faced with her hysterical threat, Xi Ya just looked at her, the curve of her mouth growing more knowing.
She did not dodge, but unhurriedly took out a thick notebook from behind her and handed it over.
“Before tearing me apart, why not take a look at this first.”
Laxana took it suspiciously.
The book had a plain cover, just ordinary hard cowhide, emitting the smell of old paper and ink, without even a title.
But the moment she opened the first page, her breath caught.
On the pages flowed ancient and obscure magic inscriptions! The profound and vast mana fluctuation, even just as a hand-copied manuscript, made her, a master mage, feel a palpitation.
This was… a legendary forbidden magic long thought lost!
She, as if possessed, quickly flipped through the pages.
“Necromancy Summoning,” “Soul Solidification,” “Time Stasis”…
Every spell recorded here was a legendary forbidden technique she had only seen a few words about in the oldest documents!
This manuscript… its value was probably more precious than the entire magic core inventory of the academy combined!
Laxana slammed the book shut, lifted her head, and stared at Xi Ya with an extremely complicated expression.
“You… why are you giving me something like this?”
Xi Ya’s face showed a perfect, flawless smile.
“I will be graduating soon. I have to go out and make a name for myself, improve my status.”
She said, then gazed affectionately at the prince’s peaceful sleeping face.
“So that in the future, I will be worthy of Mr. Wendy.”
Suddenly, she changed the subject, looking at Laxana again, her eyes becoming sharp.
“Before I return, I don’t want anyone to touch him.”
“Especially Princess Astreia. She is too strong-willed, too overbearing. By the time I come back, Wendy might have already become a shape that belongs only to her.”
“So, Miss Klein.”
Xi Ya’s tone became serious.
“I hope you can take my place… and protect him.”
“And this spell manuscript is the payment I give you in advance.”
Upon hearing this, Laxana’s expression twisted to the extreme.
The temptation of this spell manuscript was truly too great.
If she could master just one or two forbidden techniques, she could easily surpass her mother in magical attainment, and even have the strength to rival the witchified Astreia!
But…
“I can’t do it!”
She blurted out.
“Doing this is not only betraying Astreia… but you are treating Wendy as a commodity that can be traded!”
Hearing this, Xi Ya just chuckled lightly.
“Don’t worry. I’ve already resolved this ‘moral dilemma’ for you.”
She extended her slender finger and lightly tapped her own smooth temple.
“I have cast the highest level of memory sealing spell on Mr. Wendy.”
“After he wakes up, all memories of these past few days will be altered.”
“He will only think that the person who accompanied him, guided him, and satisfied him in the most gentle way in the library these past few days…”
Xi Ya paused.
“was you, Laxana Klein.”
Laxana’s whole body trembled violently.
In her mind, she wildly recalled the image of Wendy sinking into ultimate pleasure in Xi Ya’s arms.
And the dreamy murmur filled with deep dependence and longing.
“Xi Ya… more…”
Now, all of this would become her own “real” memory alone.
She would become the companion who gave Wendy ultimate tenderness.
And Astreia would continue to play the role of the rough, demanding competitor.
This result… this result she simply could not refuse!
Xi Ya saw Laxana’s hesitation and stepped forward.
“Are you willing to share the man you love with another woman?”
Her voice dropped lower, carrying a demonic temptation.
“Are you really willing to forever be the ‘weak’ one who can only follow behind Astreia and pick up her leftovers?”
Laxana fell completely silent.
She gripped the forbidden grimoire tightly, her nails digging deep into the pages from the force.
After a long while.
The eldest daughter finally lifted her head.
The struggle and confusion in her eyes had completely faded, replaced by a firm determination to burn one’s bridges.
“Then… when you come back, what about Wendy?”
Hearing this question, Xi Ya—or rather, Succubus Queen Evelyn—curved her blood-red lips into a triumphant smile.
She turned and walked back to the table, picked up the glass of wine again, and gently swirled it before Laxana.
The scarlet liquid swayed like flames in the glass.
“Then… let’s settle it with a duel.”
She downed the wine in one gulp, her movement elegant and dangerous.
“Miss Klein, only the strong deserve beauty.”
“Or…”
Xi Ya lifted her chin, with a hint of contemptuous provocation.
“As the daughter of the Dean of the Magic Branch, possessing the top resources of the entire Central Academy…”
“Are you still afraid of losing to me, a commoner with nothing?”