Chapter 239: I Told You to Save the Prince, Not Seduce Him!

In the center, motionless. Laxana felt like a stone pillar, standing still in the middle of the secret chamber.

The dual authentication from the two deans was more overwhelming than any magical protection.

So…

The nonsense I made up on the spot is actually true?

Xi Ya is a member of the Demon Race?

And I really did destroy her?

That would make me the hero who saved the prince?

This… did I pick up the wrong script?!

“Laxana.”

Dean Layana’s steady voice snapped her out of her confusion.

“Your performance this time was both brave and reckless.”

The Dean of the Magic Division stepped forward, her expression complex as she looked at her own daughter—approval mingling with more criticism.

“To take on a member of the Demon Race alone, without asking the Academy for help. If the enemy had been prepared, did you think about the consequences?”

“Exactly.”

Dean Aurelia of the Sacred Studies Branch also approached, her usually kind face full of lingering fear.

“Child, your courage deserves praise, but this is no child’s play. The cunning of the Demon Race far exceeds your imagination.”

On the surface, Laxana bowed her head and listened respectfully to the lecture, adopting an attitude of “I was wrong, I’ll do it again.”

But inside, she was screaming wildly:

‘How was I supposed to know!

’I was just talking nonsense!

‘If I had known there really was a demon, I would definitely have called you all!’

“This matter is no small thing.”

Layana’s expression turned serious again.

“For a member of the Demon Race to infiltrate the Central Academy without a sound means there is a fatal flaw in our Guardian Barrier. We must immediately initiate the highest level of security screening and also notify the royal families of the various nations as well as Holy See Headquarters!”

Princess Astreia, who had been listening, stepped forward anxiously.

Right now, what she cared about most was not the Demon Race.

The Demon Race had already been “eliminated” by Laxana.

The most critical issue now was Wendi!

“Dean Layana, Dean Aurelia!”

Astreia pleaded earnestly as she looked at the two high authorities.

“The matter of the Demon Race is certainly important, but Wendi… his memories have been altered! He’s especially rejecting me now, and he sees Laxana as… that demon. Please, I beg you, help him recover his memories!”

Upon hearing this, the two deans, whose brows had just relaxed a little, furrowed tightly once more.

“Altered memories…”

Layana muttered, her face turning extremely grim.

“This is a Soul Forbidden Arts that has been explicitly banned. Reversing it is as difficult as reaching heaven.”

“Not just difficult,” Dean Aurelia added.

“This kind of forbidden spell often leaves a mark similar to a contract on the soul. Although that demon was eliminated, the magical effect she left behind is bound to Prince Wendi’s soul. Forcibly removing it could cause permanent damage to the prince’s soul, or even… turn him into an empty shell without thoughts.”

“How could this be?!”

Astreia looked as if she had been struck, her face instantly turning pale. She simply could not accept this result.

“No! He must recover! I can’t stand by and watch him live in a false illusion, saying things to Laxana… things that were never meant for her!”

Astreia was getting emotional.

Hearing this, Laxana’s heart skipped a beat.

She blurted out without thinking:

“But… but Astreia, both deans said there’s a risk! What if… what if something happens to Wendi?”

As soon as the words left her mouth, Laxana regretted it.

‘Damn it, I said the wrong thing.’

‘At least he looks happy now, doesn’t he…’

Sure enough, Astreia whirled around, her emerald star-like eyes blazing with fury.

The guilt and trust that had just been established were instantly shattered by this seemingly careless remark.

“Happy? That’s false happiness!”

“Laxana, what do you mean? Do you want him to keep making this mistake forever?! Or do you enjoy this fake relationship now?!”

“I don’t! No, I don’t!”

Laxana flinched at her yell, a wave of grievance surging up, even her eyes turning red.

“I’m just worried about Wendi! How can you say that to me?!”

“How can I? Because Wendi’s eyes are full of you right now! Because of what you just said!”

“You’re wrong! I was thinking of him!”

“Thinking of him? I think you’re thinking of yourself!”

Seeing the two juniors about to come to blows right in front of them, Layana finally could not stand it anymore.

“Enough!”

A low rebuke silenced both agitated girls.

Layana and Aurelia exchanged glances, each seeing the helplessness in the other’s eyes.

Aurelia spoke first, analyzing in a relatively gentle tone:

“Princess Astreia, please calm down first. The most troublesome part of this is that Prince Wendi’s soul, in order to protect itself, has actively accepted these altered memories and developed an extremely strong ‘empathy’ with Miss Laxana. This is a recognition at the soul level.”

“Right now, in Wendi’s perception, Laxana is his salvation, his idealized love. If we forcibly tell him it’s all false, it would be like personally extinguishing the light. The blow to him could be devastating.”

Layana nodded in agreement and proposed a compromise.

“Directly restoring memories carries too much risk—we can’t gamble on it.”

“But leaving things as they are is also unacceptable.”

She turned her gaze to her daughter, who was on the verge of tears from grievance.

Laxana’s heart leaped, a bad premonition rising.

“Since this whole affair started with you, and Wendi has mistakenly projected all his emotions onto you…”

Layana’s eyes sharpened.

“Then the one who tied the knot must untie it.”

“You will guide him to discover the doubts in his own memories, so that he actively seeks the truth. This is the safest and only feasible plan at present.”

What?!

Laxana felt her brain buzz, and she nearly lost her balance.

‘Me… destroy all this with my own hands?’

‘Mom, are you really my mom?!’

‘How can you set your own daughter up like this?!’

“I object!”

Astreia blurted out without a second thought.

“I don’t agree! Let Laxana do it? She… she doesn’t even know how to handle something like this! What if she takes advantage of this opportunity to… I don’t trust her!”

The princess almost directly expressed her suspicion.

Laxana trembled with anger but had no strength to refute.

Because what Astreia said was exactly the deepest desire in her heart.

“Astreia.”

Layana’s tone turned extremely serious.

“This is an order, not a discussion. This is the safest plan for Prince Wendi at the moment. I trust my daughter. After this incident, she will understand what is important.”

She paused, her gaze sweeping over both of them.

“At the same time, I will personally supervise the entire process. Laxana, you must report your progress to me and Dean Aurelia every day.”

“If you truly believe in your friend, you should support her, not question her here.”

These last words completely silenced Astreia.

She bit her lip, her chest heaving violently, and finally hung her head unwillingly.

Then, the deans left with swift efficiency.

In the once oppressive secret chamber, only Laxana and Astreia remained.

The air seemed to freeze.

Laxana could even hear her own frantic heartbeat from guilt.

Just as she was about to find an excuse to slip away, an arm grabbed her.

Astreia turned around, her emerald star-like eyes fixed on her, as if trying to see straight through her.

“Now, there’s no one else.”

“Tell me everything that happened last night, every single detail, don’t leave anything out!”

“And we need to immediately formulate a detailed ‘Wendi Memory Recovery Plan’!”

‘Damn, I can’t escape.’

Laxana braced herself and began frantically patching up her previous lie, embellishing and retelling the story with added color.

She painted herself as a righteous ally who accidentally discovered that Wendi had been cursed by a demon.

In order to save him, she bravely confronted the demon.

Then, at the critical moment of the battle, the demon, in its dying throes, used an evil spell to forcibly graft her memories onto Wendi’s.

And she was the “reluctant” victim.

The story was told with such vivid emotion that Astreia listened half-convinced.

But now, dwelling on it was pointless.

For Wendi’s sake, she chose to temporarily believe Laxana.

“Fine. Let’s say what you said is true.”

Astreia released her grip, her expression deadly serious.

“Then let’s start with the first step of the plan.”

“Where do we begin?” Laxana asked cautiously.

A hint of a malicious sneer curled at the corner of Astreia’s mouth.

“Do you even need to ask?”

“Of course, we start with the prince’s biggest weakness!”

“Wendi… isn’t he a bit of a lecher?”