It was nearly lunchtime, so the morning workshop session came to a temporary end.
The door was gently pushed open, and under Dekalorin’s support, Seraphina stepped back into her temporary room.
The afternoon sunlight streamed in through the garden, illuminating the interior with warmth and brightness.
Seraphina was still immersed in her recent workshop experience, but as she lifted her gaze toward the room, her steps halted abruptly, and her breath caught for an instant.
Movira was standing right there.
No longer a blurry image in the light mirror, but truly present.
She stood in the center of the room, her back to the indoor garden; her figure was tall, yet it inexplicably gave off a sense of fragility on the verge of collapse.
Her black robe bore traces of dust from the journey, and fatigue lingered in her eyes, as if she had rushed here without pause.
Seraphina’s pupils dilated slightly in surprise; she really hadn’t expected Movira to arrive so quickly, much less to appear so quietly in the room that temporarily belonged to her.
Saint Eustacia had actually agreed! Or had they reached some unbelievable agreement?
Her pause and the astonishment on her face, falling into Movira’s intently watching eyes, were distorted through filters named “fear” and “self-blame” into another signal.
Was Seraphina unwilling?
Movira wanted to discern the emotions on Seraphina’s pale face beyond mere weakness.
But… she seemed to find only a hint of distance?
What particularly stung Movira was that Dekalorin’s hand still steadily supported Seraphina’s elbow, the posture so natural it seemed she had done it countless times.
And Seraphina appeared to have grown accustomed to it.
The air in the room seemed to solidify, even the sunlight outside dimming a few shades.
Seraphina was the first to regain her composure; she took a light breath, trying to suppress the suddenly accelerated heartbeat from this unexpected meeting, along with that inexplicable awkwardness.
Since Movira could appear here, in the heart of human territory at the academy, she must have paid a great price or offered benefits… honoring her promise without resorting to forceful means.
This realization stirred a complex mix of emotions in her heart—gratitude, along with feelings she didn’t want to delve into deeply.
She moved her lips, wanting to say something to break this uncomfortable silence.
Perhaps a word of concern, or a greeting.
But she didn’t get the chance to speak; Movira opened her mouth first, her voice a bit dry, still carrying residual tension.
“…Perhaps, I’ve come at a bad time…”
This sentence seemed unwelcome even to Movira herself; after a moment, she added, “I’ve disturbed your rest.”
In an instant, those words shattered the speech Seraphina had just organized; she was stunned, not understanding how Movira had reached such a conclusion.
She was just a bit… surprised, that’s all—and given their relationship, Seraphina didn’t understand why there would be talk of disturbance.
Even with all the big and small conflicts before, Seraphina didn’t want to pursue them now; at least in her mind, in that near-death moment on the snowy plain, she had been thinking of her coming to save her.
Dekalorin revealed a meaningful smile, timely releasing Seraphina’s arm but keeping her body relatively close, ready to support her at the first sign of trouble.
At the same time, she intervened in the solidified atmosphere with a gentle manner. “Movira, long time no see. You must be tired from the long journey. Miss Seraphina has just finished her activity and needs rest too. How about we sit down first and talk?”
With that, she guided the two toward the chairs in the room.
Seraphina nodded; she was indeed a bit tired—these past few days, even slight activity left her exhausted.
She looked at Movira, her gaze calm, simply hoping the other would understand that she truly needed to sit and rest for a bit.
However, this calm gaze was once again distorted by Movira, giving her a sense of silent expulsion.
Movira’s throat bobbed as she swallowed the surging emotions.
She sat to the side, quietly watching as Dekalorin settled Seraphina comfortably, handed her hot water, and draped a soft thin blanket over her—actions considerate and gentle.
While she herself felt like an abrupt decoration, a dispensable accessory… utterly out of place in this room filled with cozy warmth.
Movira sat in silence, and in a daze, she seemed to realize that she was like an unwelcome guest…
“Mm.”
“How long have we ‘worked together’?” Finally, Dekalorin pulled over a chair and sat in front of them, and of course, this question was directed at Movira.
“Huh? Worked together…”
“Seventy years? Or…”
Seeing Movira’s current disheveled appearance, Dekalorin couldn’t help but let out a “pfft” laugh.
“…So forgetful? Then let me ask you, how many major battles have we fought between us?”
The momentarily dazed Movira was pulled back by this question.
“It’s been one hundred and thirteen years! Really…”
This question stumped Movira once more, while Seraphina, listening from the side, was utterly confused.
What working together? What major battles? Did the saintess’s teacher have some connection with the Demon King?
But judging by their demeanor, there was definitely some relationship there.
The response to Dekalorin was only silence.
“If I remember correctly… when I was still Saint Dekalorin…
We clashed eight times!”
Saint Dekalorin?!
Seraphina keenly caught this entirely new name—could it be…
That “Saint” was just a prefix?
Saint Eustacia was the saintess, so it was prefixed with “Saint.”
Then Saint Dekalorin…
The previous saintess? Wasn’t the saintess position lifelong?
Movira’s reaction was still sluggish, prompting Dekalorin to sigh. “You…
Looking like this… you couldn’t have been bewitched by a heart demon, could you!”
Click! At that moment, the room door was pushed open—it was Saint Eustacia.
“Teacher.” She first greeted Dekalorin with a hint of warmth, then turned to Movira, her tone shifting to complete iciness.
“Movira, come with me. There are some things we need to lay down the law about in three chapters.”
Whether out of self-abandonment or something else, in the past, Movira would surely have…
But this time, she willingly went.
As she passed the doorframe, she paused for just half a second, clenching her fist tightly, leaving behind a back that pretended to be resolute.
This little action didn’t escape Dekalorin’s eyes at all—only Seraphina was left bewildered.
“Ah…” Dekalorin let out a long sigh. “She’s gone. Perfect timing to chat with you alone about the relationship between you two.”
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