The soles of his feet were nearly worn through.
Wendy stood in front of Laxana’s private dormitory door, feeling the relief he’d barely managed to carry out of Headmistress Layana’s lab being eroded bit by bit by the dead silence behind the door, transforming into unease.
The door was locked.
He knocked. No answer.
He called her name. Nothing but silence.
‘Damn it, something’s really happened, hasn’t it?’
Wendy stopped and looked up at the delicate little building.
Last night, Laxana’s panicked, soul-lost figure replayed over and over in his mind.
That expression—a mix of shame, terror, and despair…
For a spoiled genius lady with a pride that soared to the heavens, locking herself up after experiencing a night that turned her entire worldview upside down seemed perfectly reasonable.
But what if she did something reckless, like experimenting with dangerous magic inside?
‘No, that would be a total disaster!’
Should he go find Headmistress Layana?
The thought barely surfaced before Wendy crushed it.
‘Are you kidding? Going to the headmistress now would be like telling her directly, “Your daughter had her mind shattered because she had too much fun with me,” wouldn’t it?’
The freedom he’d just gained would probably be confiscated immediately—and with a life sentence to boot.
But if he didn’t, and something really did happen…
Just as Wendy was caught between two difficult choices, a gentle surge of magic rippled around his ear, and Layana’s intellectual voice sounded directly in his mind.
“Prince Wendy, have you seen Laxana?”
Wendy jolted.
This was long-range magical communication, a skill only high-level mages could master.
“If she’s not in a good state, bring her back to see me immediately. I’m worried…”
The headmistress’s transmission carried a barely concealed anxiety.
Wendy’s lips moved toward the air, hesitated for a moment.
‘Is this a chance I’m voluntarily walking into?’
He weighed it for half a second, then decided to tell the truth.
After all, if someone ended up dead, he would be the primary responsible party.
“Headmistress Excellency.”
He focused his will, gathering his intent to respond to that magical fluctuation.
“I haven’t found her. But the door to Laxana’s room… is locked from the inside.”
The moment the message was sent, Wendy immediately sensed the other end of the magical connection erupt with intense emotional turmoil.
“Locked?! Don’t move! I’ll be right there!”
Layana’s reply was quick and brief, and then the magic link was severed.
Wendy sighed, leaned against the garden railing, and stared at the tightly closed wooden door, his head aching.
Before long, two figures rushed over from the path leading to the Magic Tower.
The one in front was Layana herself. Her face no longer bore any trace of a scholar’s composure; it was written with a mother’s panic.
Following behind her was Astreia, who had just returned to normal, following closely.
The three met in front of the dormitory door.
Without a word, Layana stepped forward and pressed her pale palm against the door lock.
Circles of pale purple magic runes spread from her palm, trying to parse the lock’s structure.
A few seconds later, her hand fell weakly.
“It’s a high-level ‘Silent Guard,’ sealing the entire room.”
Layana swayed slightly, her eyes heavy with worry.
She looked at Wendy and Astreia.
“It’s a defensive ward meant to block all detection and forced entry… She cast it from the inside. Unless the caster voluntarily removes it or a mage far more powerful than her breaks through. She doesn’t want to see anyone… The situation is worse than I imagined.”
“Laxana.”
Layana stepped close to the door, forcing her voice to sound gentle.
“It’s Mom. Open the door, okay?”
Inside, there was still only dead silence.
Not even the chirp of an insect could be heard.
Layana closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and when she opened them again, determination replaced panic.
A ball of blazing fire element began gathering in her palm.
She was going to break the door down by force.
“Wait!”
Wendy suddenly spoke, stepping forward and blocking Layana.
‘Are you kidding? Break it down with a fireball now?’
‘That’s like shouting “Get out here!” with a loudspeaker at someone with social anxiety—what’s the difference?’
It would only make her resist even more.
Layana and Astreia stared at him in surprise.
Wendy didn’t explain. He simply walked past the headmistress and stood in front of the closed door.
He didn’t knock, didn’t shout. Instead, he leaned his body against the doorframe and spoke in the most relaxed, friend-like tone he could muster.
“Laxana, it’s me, Wendy.”
“Don’t worry. We’re not here to force you to open the door.”
“I just came to tell you… Astreia is back to normal. She put on President Vivian’s LT Goddess Veil GT, and the Witchification has been suppressed. So… you’re safe.”
Inside, there was still no response.
But Wendy could sense a faint ripple behind the door.
‘It’s working!’
He pressed on, this time adding a hint of self-deprecation to his voice.
“I just want to tell you… last night wasn’t your fault.”
“Really. You didn’t do anything wrong. I know it was absurd, humiliating, and… chaotic. I understand how you feel. So please don’t blame yourself anymore.”
The prince’s words were unhurried and without any coercion.
Behind the door, the world remained silent.
But this silence was completely different from the deathly stillness earlier.
A few seconds later, a faint, muffled sob—barely suppressed but leaking through the crack under the door—was heard.
She was crying!
Layana and Astreia both froze, staring incredulously at Wendy’s back.
Especially Layana—she knew better than anyone her daughter’s personality, cold on the outside, warm on the inside, and fiercely proud.
For her to show such vulnerability in front of others…
What part of her heart had Wendy’s words touched?
Wendy didn’t turn around. He simply listened quietly to the intermittent sobs.
When the crying subsided a little, he spoke again.
This time, his voice shifted to genuine exhaustion, with a hint of pleading.
“Laxana, we’re all outside waiting for you.”
“If you still need to be alone, that’s fine too.”
“But… can you tell me that you’re okay?”
After these words, everyone held their breath.
A long silence.
It felt like an eternity.
Then, from inside the door, finally came a response—hoarse and dry from crying.
“I… I’m fine.”
The voice was soft, fragile, but crystal clear.
“Wendy… I’m just… a little tired. I… I want to be alone for a while.”
Hearing that, Wendy completely relaxed.
As long as she was okay.
He didn’t press any further. He simply said, in the gentlest voice, toward the door:
“Alright. Then get some rest. We’ll go now and won’t disturb you.”
With that, he turned around and gave Layana a reassuring nod.
Layana looked at Wendy, then at the closed door, her heart a whirlwind of emotions.
As much as it pained her, she knew her daughter needed space more than anything right now.
Finally, she nodded and waved at Wendy and Astreia, signaling that they could go back.
Wendy was immensely relieved. He grabbed Astreia, who had been completely out of the loop the whole time, and quickly left the scene.
On the garden path, their footsteps faded away.
But Layana didn’t leave.
She stood quietly outside her daughter’s dormitory.
Her previous headmistress authority and mage scholar demeanor gone.
Now, she was just a mother.
Standing outside the door, silently guarding her daughter as she licked her wounds alone.