Headmistress Lenolia stared at him with a raised eyebrow as her aged, purple eyes bore deep into his with a scrutinizing gaze. The confusion prior was obvious, not just some simple misunderstanding on Cæ's part; one would have to be a fool to buy that.

It was clear that Cæ was hiding something.

He had no hope that she would simply buy his little 'oh, I just misunderstood' act. He did hope that she would let it slide and try not to pry too much into his business.

She heaved a sigh. "You're a man of many secrets, Mr. Cæ. Coming back to the main topic, I called you here to ensure that you are aware of the situation that you find yourself in. Miranda's parents have already arrived at the magicademy and are visiting their daughter in our medical ward, while Serulia's parents are also personally coming to Elendir from the Durmen Principality to visit her."

Cæ fell into thought as he began serious pondering his problem with a serious expression. "I definitely don't want to be around them when they show up. Messing with the Nelnmont Family was annoying and hard enough, but I truly would rather avoid getting into conflict with the Walyn Family if possible."

"I'm afraid it is not at all possible," said Headmistress Lenolia. "Even in the best-case scenario, you will still be a crucial witness providing testimony against Miranda. In the worst-case scenario, you become the ultimate difference, as I mentioned before, between counselling and going to prison for a decade."

"The latter is unlikely, is it not?" Cæ raised an eyebrow. "She's a mage and a student."

"Her being a mage will simply allow her to compensate for her crimes with slave magic labor," Headmistress Lenolia replied calmly. "And her being a student at this magicademy is irrelevant. She may be a student, but she is also an adult at the age of twenty-one years old, like Serulia, and the full extent of the law is applicable to her. Your testimony makes it impossible for Miranda to be sentenced to anything other than attempted murder. It is the key final nail in the coffin."

"There were many other witnesses," Cæ countered, "including Silian, Lorden, Lyarna, and Kyrell, all of whom have affluent backgrounds."

"Yes, but none of them can attest to how powerful the spell was, strictly speaking," Headmistress Lenolia replied knowingly. "The fact of the matter is that you were the one who defended against the spell, so you are the only one who can possibly attest to the power of the spell. You will be asked to describe exactly what happened in exact detail, micro-event by micro-event, and you will be grilled by the opposing counsel on what happened when the time comes."

Cæ broke into a cold sweat at those words as he cursed inwardly. Having his testimony scrupulously examined and broken down was exactly what he needed, given that his testimony was a lie to cover up the truth about his pure magic.

Now he would be forced to defend it in court under oath, committing perjury just to ensure that his pure magic remained untouched.

'Damn it, just what I needed; more people digging into exactly what happened with the intention of finding any inconsistency in my story to discredit it.' Cæ's expression grew serious with thought.

He didn't care if it was discredited, as much as people interested in the case deduced that he had used pure magic, given how high-profile the case was, featuring two affluent families, one from Colohen City itself, while the other was from the Durmen Principality.

If he gave even the slightest hint that he had used pure magic, then he would undoubtedly be exposed as a pure mage.

He needed to handle this with great care, or else he could lose everything.

'I have too much on my plate to worry about this. I need to find a quick way to end it.' Cæ's eyes sharpened. 'Besides, my secret being revealed isn't the only thing I need to worry about. I also need to worry about the Walyn Family targeting me to silence me.'

He turned towards Headmistress Lenolia with a serious expression. "How far will the Walyn Family go to keep their daughter out of prison? Are they willing to bend the rules? Are they… willing to intimidate or perhaps even kill witnesses?"

Her expression became one of approval. "You are asking the right questions, and unfortunately, I have bad news."

She pulled a document from the many stacked on her table, handing it to him. "I just had this printed just for you."

"This is…?" he accepted the file with a raised eyebrow.

"It's the summary of a criminal court case against Myron Walyn, Miranda's older brother," Headmistress Lenolia remarked with a more severe tone. "A criminal court case indicting him of murder. He killed a woman in broad daylight with many witnesses, but when the time for witness testimony came, all witnesses, unfortunately, committed suicide."

Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

Cæ's expression darkened with grim graveness as he skimmed through the details of the case summarized to him in point paragraphs with dates and references.

This didn't bode well for him.

"The Walyn Family has no qualms about eliminating anybody who gets in their way," Headmistress Lenolia's eyes grew serious. "Do you understand what this means, Mr. Cæ?"

His stormy, gray eyes closed.

"It means my life is in active danger."

He heaved a deep breath as he felt a burden weighing down on him, taking a moment to reorient himself.

The burdens he already had bore heavily on him. His duties included keeping up with and contributing to Trinity Housing on a regular basis, which he did every day for at least an hour. On top of that, there were the two things that had taken his time the most recently: the Magic Contest-related matters and his research for the heart healing business idea.

He had his magicademics and Student Council work that also took his time and wore him down, and now, he had this to worry about.

A threat to his very life, one that threatened to undermine everything that he had worked for.

It was overwhelming.

"DAMN IT!" A guttural scream of frustration escaped him in a moment of overwhelming anger and resentment.

The air grew tense while the atmosphere in the office tingled with nerves despite the refreshing bright light of the morning Sun beaming through the windows. Headmistress Lenolia didn't so much as flinch at his outburst, simply remaining silent as she watched him calm his breathing down with closed eyes as his heart rate returned to normal.

He heaved a deep breath, opening his eyes.

They had already regained their stormy composure.

"I apologize for the unsightly outburst, Headmistress," Cæ said to her with a calm tone. "I am fine now, please continue."

"…You are a strong man, Mr. Cæ." She gazed at him with sincere respect in her eyes and a hint of admiration in her tone. "Your capacity to tolerate and manage pressure is unlike anything that I have ever seen in any student in all my time as an educator and as Headmistress. Not even Virlyd and Mileila are able to match you in that department. You will make a fine Student Council President someday, I'm sure."

"You flatter me, madam. More importantly, how do you recommend I go about this? I don't have a good understanding of the security risks that are at play here. How far will they go to kill me?"

"Quite," Headmistress Lenolia remarked. "However, it is unlikely that they will go as far as deploying senior mage assassins to kill you. Magic leaves traces that can be picked up on and investigated by magical investigation divisions within law enforcement, as you will learn in Miranda's criminal attempted murder case. The more powerful a mage, the more distinct they are from other mages. Using senior mages they have on retainer risks them being caught, with too little reward when they can just kill you using apprentice mages."

Cæ's expression darkened. "…And what would your recommendations be?"

"Do not leave this magicademy until the case is resolved," Headmistress Lenolia remarked with a serious tone. "You are safe within the magicademy. I have deep control and insight in this place, and I can personally employ even greater measures to ensure your safety. Remain within the Elendir Institute of Magic until this matter is complete, and you will be safe."

Cæ's expression darkened. "…I don't know if I can do that, Headmistress."

Her elderly eyes sharpened at those words. "Cæ, don't be a fool. Your very life is at stake here."

He clenched his fists. "Damn it…"

His gaze shifted to the Headmistress. "What about that thing with Archmage Cantor? If I remember correctly, his protection makes it very difficult to attack me, does it not?"

"That is correct," Headmistress Lenolia nodded. "However, it will not deter the Walyn Family from targeting you. Not when it comes to the life of their daughter. They will aim to kill you in a manner that won't be ruled murder. Perhaps have you 'commit suicide' or try to kill you in an accident. There are a number of ways they can go about it ensuring that even Archmage Cantor cannot do anything about it."

"Damn…" Cæ cursed as his eyes wandered about, immersed in the matter of his life.

His joy at having his secret not being discovered began to fade as he realized that while this matter was not as severe to him as having his secret, it was still very important and serious, and deserved his full attention.

Headmistress Lenolia was right to treat it the way that she did.

He heaved a deep breath, directing a determined gaze towards the Headmistress.

"I can handle this, but I don't know if I can possibly remain within the Elendir Institute of Magic at all times," Cæ remarked. "I have obligations as CEO of my company to visit them once every alternate day and make sure that my absence there is not noticed."

She simply gazed at him with a serious expression. "…Do you really value your business venture that much?"

"I do," Cæ replied with a serious tone. "What I do isn't a mere passion or hobby or just a way to earn a livelihood. I knew that I would one day face threats to my life and resolved to go down this path nonetheless. I have no intention of stopping what I'm doing just because someone threatens my life."

"…You might truly die, Mr. Cæ," Headmistress Lenolia remarked with a serious tone. "If you believe that Archmage Cantor is going to protect you, you would be a fool. It is a deterrent for the greater good, but the death of one elite talent will not get him to go on a rampage to avenge you or anything of the sort."

"I am aware of that, Headmistress Lenolia," Cæ replied with a serious tone. "But if I let something like this stop me, then I have no chance of ever completing my goals in life."

"…What goals would require you to risk forging forward while risking your life, might I inquire?" She raised an eyebrow with a hint of curiosity.

He shook his head.

He had no intention of divulging that, of course.

But it was the truth nonetheless. Trying to destroy the world order would make him countless enemies across the entire world, all of whom would undoubtedly try to kill him at some point or another.

His resolve to destroy the world hadn't wavered in the face of that knowledge.

It had only grown stronger.

In comparison, the risks that he faced with the Walyn Family didn't even remotely compare. That didn't mean that he would jump to his death in a foolhardy manner; he would certainly take all the precautions he could and even accept certain security arrangements, but he wasn't willing to stop what he was doing just because of a threat to his life.

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