How could this be called a dormitory? This was clearly a super-luxurious large flat apartment!
In the spacious and bright common living room, there were soft and comfortable velvet sofas and a complete set of entertainment facilities—from the Sand Table for magic combat exercises, to the Crystal Projector that could play illusionary operas, everything was available.
Beside it, there was an independent kitchen, dining room, and even a small workshop filled with all kinds of Alchemical Apparatus.
The apartment had four independent bedrooms in total, each with its own balcony and private bathroom.
“As expected of the Royal Academy of Magic…”
Tulia sighed once again in her heart, “A hundred gold coins per year for tuition, it’s really worth every penny. Oh wait, we’re here for free, so it’s basically a huge win!”
At this time, the other three roommates hadn’t arrived yet, so only a few of them were in the vast apartment.
Tulia, familiar with everything, walked into Lisbeth’s bedroom and began helping her make the bed. As she smoothed out the bedding, her “nagging mother” mode was instantly activated.
“Little Liz, listen up. Now that you’re in a new environment, you have to get along well with your roommates, understand? Don’t go around with that sulky face all day as if everyone owes you money. Remember to fold your quilt every day. Don’t pile your clothes on the chair—put them in the laundry basket. Also, you must brush your teeth before bed, you hear me?”
She went on and on, covering everything from personal hygiene to social interaction, not leaving out a single detail.
Claudia Winston and Mia, watching this scene full of life from the side, exchanged knowing smiles.
Standing at the doorway, Lisbeth’s just-fading awkwardness of adolescence surged back all at once.
Especially being nagged like a child by her mother in front of her new classmates and new teacher—she couldn’t help but feel a little embarrassed.
“All right, Mom!” She finally couldn’t hold it in and interrupted impatiently, “I get it! You’ve said it eight hundred times already!”
Tulia’s hands froze mid-bedmaking.
She slowly turned around, and her expression collapsed in an instant. Her eyes reddened, her mouth pouted, and her voice was thick with a nasally aggrievement.
“Oh, I see… My daughter’s all grown up now, her wings are strong, and she’s already annoyed by her mom’s nagging…” As she spoke, she lifted her hand, exaggeratedly wiping at the corner of her eye with her sleeve, forcing two sparkling tears from her tear ducts, “I worked so hard to raise you, and now… now I can’t even say a few words anymore… I really… have such a hard life…”
This sudden tragic act threw Lisbeth completely off.
She really couldn’t handle seeing her mom like this.
“I… I didn’t mean that!” Lisbeth immediately panicked, rushing forward in a fluster to comfort her, “Mom, don’t cry! I was wrong! Isn’t it enough if I admit I was wrong? You can say as much as you want!”
Just as Lisbeth was spinning in circles in anxiety, her “heartbroken” mother suddenly lifted her head.
Where was there even a hint of tears?
Tulia was barely holding back her laughter, her beautiful blue eyes curved like sly crescent moons, her face full of mischievous pride at her successful prank.
Lisbeth froze for two seconds, then realized she’d been played. A wave of shame and irritation shot straight to her head.
“Mom—!!!”
She dragged out the word, letting out a cry filled with both shyness and anger.
Seeing her daughter’s adorable yet helplessly angry look, Tulia finally couldn’t help but burst out laughing.
But after laughing, she also felt a small wave of sentiment in her heart.
There was a time when she herself hated most being teased by adults in this way.
She never expected that, in the blink of an eye, after having a child, she’d become this kind of “naughty adult” herself.
She stopped laughing and gave Lisbeth a mysterious wink.
“All right, all right, I’ll stop teasing you. Now, watch carefully.”
She spread out her right hand, palm empty, signaling for Lisbeth and Mia to watch closely.
The instant the two focused on her palm, Tulia’s left hand, at a speed too fast for the naked eye to catch, flashed out a small paper box from her cloth pocket and swiftly transferred it to her right hand—the whole movement smooth and quick as an illusion.
“Ta-da—!”
Like performing a magic trick, she handed the box that had appeared out of nowhere to Lisbeth.
Lisbeth’s eyes lit up instantly.
Inside the box was her favorite Fruit Tart, topped with fresh Starlightberries.
“Wow!” Mia gasped in genuine surprise beside them.
“Remember to share with your new roommates.” Tulia smiled as she ruffled Lisbeth’s hair one last time, her movements full of infinite tenderness and affection.
She glanced at the sky, then gave Claudia a slight nod, “Professor Winston, I’ll leave the child in your care.”
“Please rest assured, Madam.” Claudia replied solemnly.
Tulia didn’t say anything more. She turned, waved her hand with flair, and ended this long and marvelous “university day tour.”
After saying goodbye to her daughter and Claudia, Tulia walked alone on the road back to the school gate.
Without Lisbeth by her side, her gentle, mature wife’s charm was like the unhidden bright moon in the dark night, radiating unreservedly.
Along the way, she politely and distantly refused countless open and subtle attempts to strike up a conversation.
She sighed to herself in a self-satisfied way.
Ah, being too beautiful really is a kind of trouble.
Just as she thought she’d managed to “clear the stage” smoothly, a figure blocked her path.
It was a woman with such a voluptuous figure that one could get a nosebleed just looking.
She wore a boldly cut, deep red mage robe with a neckline so low it almost reached her navel. Her enchanting black, long, wavy hair was carelessly draped over her shoulders, and the corners of her lips always held a lazy feline smile, there yet not.
“Look! It’s the ‘Succubus’ Professor!”
“Heavens, why is she here? Quick, get away! Don’t let her notice you!”
All the female students passing by shrank away as soon as they saw her, lowering their voices and fleeing as if mice had seen a cat.
Oh wow, just hearing that nickname, you knew she was a boss-level character!
And that outfit…tsk tsk, that indecent mage robe was cut almost down to her navel.
This Professor named Sylvia didn’t rush to start a conversation like the others. She merely crossed her arms, leaned calmly against a nearby pillar, and ran her mesmerizing eyes over Tulia from head to toe with keen interest.
“Cutie,” after a long pause, she finally spoke, her voice husky and seductive, “are you a new student this year? What’s your name?”
Cutie?
Tulia’s mouth twitched.
Woman, you’ve succeeded in catching my attention. Very well, is the next line going to be ‘Damn, I actually find you a bit sweet’? What’s with this thick old-school domineering novel vibe?
Tulia was frantically roasting in her heart, but her face still wore a polite smile.
“Sorry, I…”
“No need to refuse so quickly.” Sylvia cut her off before she could finish, straightening up and walking toward her, an intense fragrance like blooming night roses wafting over.
“I’m Sylvia Roland, Professor of Enchantment here at the Academy. I see your mana is deeply restrained and your spiritual power is excellent. Would you be interested in coming to my laboratory for an ‘in-depth’, ‘hands-on’ exploration of the mysteries of human Enchantment?”
As she spoke, her warm breath intentionally or otherwise brushed Tulia’s ear, sending a shiver of tingling numbness down her spine.
Tulia’s scalp tingled at once.
—Oh my! Sis, this pickup method is way too greasy! “In-depth” exploration, “hands-on”—did you steal your lines from some third-rate ‘Professor Falls for Me’ romance? Next, are you going to grip my chin and flash an evil smile?
She forcibly suppressed the urge to punch that “three parts cool, three parts mocking, four parts careless” face, knowing she couldn’t win a direct confrontation.
In a flash of inspiration, Tulia’s mind sparked with an idea—her “finishing move.”
Her polite and distant expression vanished instantly, replaced by a smile so gentle and maternal it could drip water, radiating with the light of motherhood.
“Oh my, so it’s Professor Roland! What an honor!”
She enthusiastically stepped forward—not dodging, but instead warmly, with the air of an elder toward a junior, gently took Sylvia’s hand.
“Actually… I’m a student’s parent.”
Sylvia: “…Huh?”
Her lazy smile froze at once.
“My daughter, Lisbeth, is this year’s new student with a 99% Wood Elemental affinity.” Tulia kept smiling, her tone full of motherly pride and joy. “And, to be honest, she’s a little taller than you. Ah, kids these days really do grow up fast.”
Sylvia’s mind crashed completely.
P-parent?
Daughter?
She looked at Tulia’s face, which couldn’t have been more than twenty, skin so fresh it almost oozed water, then looked at herself. For a moment, her entire worldview was shaken.
“You…you’re kidding me.” It took Sylvia a long time to find her voice, and she tried to maintain her “Succubus Professor” persona, but there was already an imperceptible hint of confusion in her tone, “Looking like this… how could you possibly…”
“It’s true.” Tulia blinked her big, innocent eyes.
Sylvia still wanted to argue she didn’t believe Tulia’s excuse at all, assuming it was just a creative way to reject her. She was just about to take another step and use her best “charm” to press her advantage, when she saw the “cutie” in front of her flash a playful grin.
“In that case, Professor Roland, I’ll be counting on you to look after my daughter in the future. I still have things to do, so I’ll be going now!”
Before the words had even fully left her mouth, a tiny, intricate Space Array appeared beneath Tulia’s feet.
A flash of light.
Sylvia only felt her vision blur for a second, and the person in front of her had already vanished without a trace, leaving behind only a playful, wind-blown voice.
Sylvia stood frozen in place, hand outstretched, with an unprecedentedly complicated expression—a mixture of shock, frustration, and a thick hint of interest.
“Instant cast… space transfer?” she murmured, then the corners of her lips curled into a determined smile.
“How interesting… truly interesting.”
“A student’s parent?”
“I really want to see… just what your background is.”