[Supreme Magic Tower, Principal’s Private Laboratory]
This place was a stark contrast to the romantic starry sky of the office. Alchemy tables, runic arrays, and crystal vessels filled with liquids of various colors suspended in mid-air, all combined to form a realm of reason and precision.
Reyana took off her principal’s robe and changed into a sharp white research coat. Donning a pair of gloves made of dragon hide, she carefully placed two samples respectively in the center of a complex magic array.
One was a blue strand of hair, belonging to Wendy. The other was a long, golden strand, belonging to Laxana.
At another node of the magic array, a single drop of a strangely sweet-scented liquid floated.
Magic Potion: [Thorn Kiss].
There was no trace of laziness or composure left on Reyana’s face.
She was going to sever the empathic link created by [Thorn Kiss].
She had to cut this cursed bond that tied her own daughter to a mere mortal!
A faint red magical light shot into the sky, illuminating the entire laboratory like a twilight dusk.
Countless runes on the ground swirled at lightning speed, converging into a force that surged toward the center of the array.
Reyana focused completely on the changes within the magic array.
The original liquid of [Thorn Kiss] began to decompose under the array’s power, dissipating into countless microscopic threads barely visible to the naked eye.
These threads were not purified. Instead, they actively coiled around the two strands of hair.
The strand representing Laxana and the strand representing Wendy were forcibly pulled together by the threads of the original liquid.
Then, what Reyana dreaded most happened.
The two strands began to merge and permeate each other in a bizarre manner, intertwining as if they were becoming an indivisible symbiotic entity.
Instead of being separated, the two strands of hair were getting tangled tighter and tighter under the effect of the original liquid. The magic array emitted a groaning buzz, straining under the burden.
Reyana tried to increase her magical output to forcibly separate the two.
However, the moment they began to separate, the two strands, now partially fused, simultaneously emitted a faint, dull light.
This was a sign of waning life force!
Forcible separation would harm both!
Reyana abruptly cut off the magical supply.
The light of the magic array extinguished instantly, plunging the laboratory back into gloom.
She tore off her gloves with one hand, her body swaying. She had to brace herself against the alchemy table to keep from falling.
The situation was more troublesome than she had imagined.
This wasn’t simply a curse!
This was a forbidden magic potion that forcibly bound two souls together!
A malicious “Soul Contract”!
As long as Wendy remained a mortal, as long as he would age and die, then the moment Wendy died, Laxana’s flame of life would be instantly drained by this contract and extinguish along with his!
What could she do?
The always calm and confident principal felt a helpless panic for the first time.
Her daughter’s tear-streaked face and pleading voice lingered in her mind, refusing to leave.
Calm down.
She had to stay calm.
Suddenly, an idea flashed through her mind.
[Goddess Veil].
That legendary holy relic that could suppress the witchification of Astreia.
Witchification was also an “abnormal status” that involved the soul and one’s life form.
Since [Goddess Veil] could suppress the former, would it… also be effective against the “empathic link” formed by [Thorn Kiss]?
This was almost the only way to break the deadlock she could think of that didn’t fall into the category of forbidden magic.
Reyana picked up a communication crystal and directly contacted Vivian.
There was no time to lose.
The crystal’s light flickered, and Vivian’s spirited, handsome face appeared on its surface. She seemed to have just finished training, with sweat still beading on her forehead, but her expression was lively.
“Your Excellency the Principal, you called for me?”
“President Vivian, it’s me.”
Reyana had already calmed her state of mind and returned to her normal tone of voice.
“Regarding Astreia’s ‘Special Condition,’ I have a new research idea, and I need your help.”
Hearing it was about the “Special Condition,” Vivian immediately stood at attention, her face full of solemnity.
“Please, speak! As long as it can help Prince Wendy, I will cooperate fully!”
‘Good, she hasn’t realized the problem yet.’
Reyana felt a bit more at ease and began to lay out her “research topic” without changing her expression.
“It’s like this. I was thinking, since [Goddess Veil] can suppress witchification, would it also be effective against other types of ‘Abnormal Status’? I want to conduct a comparative experiment.”
“Prince Wendy himself seems to have… a very peculiar constitution that attracts abnormal things easily. The reason Astreia is so fixated on him might also be related to this.”
“So, I want to see what would happen if [Goddess Veil] were temporarily worn by Prince Wendy or by my daughter, Laxana. This would allow me to use the method of controlling variables to pinpoint the source of Astreia’s illness more precisely.”
These words were clear, logically rigorous, and filled with the academic spirit of seeking truth.
Vivian listened and nodded repeatedly. Her gaze towards Reyana was filled with reverence for the Principal.
“I understand! I understand!”
“So that’s it! By using the process of elimination, you reverse-engineer the source of the illness!”
“No problem! Your Excellency the Principal!”
Vivian puffed out her not-so-full chest, her face radiant with a holy light.
“A holy relic exists to protect justice and purity in the world! Being able to help Prince Wendy is its honor…”
Ending the communication, Reyana let out a long sigh.
Step one, accomplished.
Meanwhile, inside Laxana’s dormitory.
The curtains were drawn tight, plunging the room into darkness. The only light was a faint purple glow emanating from a notebook spread open on her knees.
Laxana leaned against the headboard, her cheeks flushed with an unnatural red.
Just moments ago, a sudden surge of sensation had washed over her without warning.
…Warm, soft, and carrying a strangely suffocating embarrassment, tingling and intoxicating.
It was Wendy!
He was with Astreia!
And they were… doing that kind of thing behind her back!
The empathic link formed by [Thorn Kiss] revealed its most malicious side at this moment. It transmitted Wendy’s current physical sensations almost perfectly onto Laxana!
Shame, anger, and a morbid excitement she was unwilling to admit even to herself…
All these emotions intertwined, making the young lady’s body burn.
This intense emotion seemed to resonate with the strange notebook on her knees.
The ancient letters on the pages writhed violently, as if they had come alive.
And Laxana, caught up in her agitation, unconsciously tightened her grip on the page.
“Tsk—”
The sharp edge of the paper cut her finger.
A single drop of blood oozed from the wound and dripped onto the page.
It didn’t soak in or spread.
The drop of blood was completely devoured the moment it touched the page, vanishing without a trace.
The next second, the entire book began to emit a dense black qi!
The obscure, difficult-to-understand text, after absorbing her blood, seemed to have received some kind of permission and began to rapidly reorganize and change.
Finally, a clear title appeared before Laxana’s eyes.
[Eternal Bond]
Enchanted, she read the contents below.
It was an ancient and malicious blood sacrifice ritual.
It could bind the life and soul of the caster and the target in the deepest way, granting eternal youth and sharing life force forever, until the end of time.
This was exactly what she had been dreaming of!
Laxana’s breath hitched, and a frightening light burst from her flushed eyes.
However, when she reached the final condition of the ritual, her ecstasy came to an abrupt halt.
“Sacrifice…?”
The ritual required a living sacrifice, but the conditions were brutally specific.
“The sacrifice must be a soul filled with ‘love and obsession.’ The stronger the emotion, the more obsessive, the more perfect the ritual’s effect.”
Love and obsession…
A living sacrifice…
Where could she find such a person?
Laxana’s eyes, bright with manic joy, gradually clouded over with a shadow.