“Was she really picked up by her?”
“Of course. An orphan with nothing, wandering outside, was picked up by a kind, purple-haired mother. It’s really that simple.”
The night she was abandoned, she cried so much she couldn’t even speak, pitied by Ophelia.
It was better to avoid telling the whole truth. Merlin absolutely did not want to discuss that matter in front of her again.
“You two seem really close.”
Merlin lowered her head, took another big detour, then turned to look out at the sky beyond the window.
“That’s only natural. After all, she’s the mother who adopted me. During the time I was raised by her, I truly came to understand that I was just a child. Everything from my childhood was immature, all just…”
Mahina took over the conversation.
“I’m really sorry for slapping you at the opening ceremony.”
Mahina walked up to Merlin and bowed her head.
“It’s nothing. It’s not like it was the first time.”
“Heh…”
“Besides, didn’t you save me as well?”
“There’s nothing to thank me for. The indirect reason you had to sneak into the labyrinth was also because of me. I was just making up for it.”
Even if she tried to convince herself to adapt, seeing Mahina act so coldly toward her was still hard to accept.
“When you’ve recovered, I’ll offer you a formal apology.”
“I see.”
“Well then, Your Highness, let’s part ways for today.”
“Jack, you should know I’m very protective of my own.”
At this moment, Ophelia sat with her legs crossed, her left hand resting on the comfortable sofa, supporting her chin as she looked at the man before her.
“Yes, teacher. I was under your care when I was young.”
“Then you should know what I want to do.”
Ophelia had rushed over last night when Merlin was injured. After seeing Merlin transformed into an elf, she examined her and roughly confirmed her situation.
Of course, Ophelia was already perfectly clear about everything that had happened in this academy.
“Why didn’t you take action before things got even worse?”
Ophelia’s voice was as gentle as poetry, but in her emerald eyes, cold frost had gathered.
Jack stood in front of her, repeatedly wiping his forehead with a handkerchief embroidered with the academy’s crest. Beads of sweat dripped from his temple, falling to the floor.
“Uh… because until the day before yesterday, things hadn’t really gotten out of hand. At most, there were some nasty rumors.”
“That’s exactly why you should have prevented it.”
Ophelia lifted her tea. The crisp clink of porcelain made Jack’s shoulders tremble.
Thinking about how Merlin had suffered such grievances just after the semester started, Ophelia’s heart felt unspeakably uncomfortable.
“Public opinion aside, even having her desk scribbled on is unacceptable.”
“Sigh… But this school is full of nobles. Handling things rashly can be troublesome.”
Ophelia looked at the man before her, set her teacup back on the gilded saucer with a perfectly timed tap. She gazed at the wavering reflection in her cup, the curve of her lips forming a frosty arc.
“You’ve become tainted by the stench of money too, I see. When you were younger, you weren’t like this. You only knew how to study dumbly.”
“That’s… just how things are.”
“That’s why your magic can’t advance further. You’re too bound by the constraints of reality. In the end, it’s even affected your magical judgment.”
“You’re right.”
A sudden shattering sound sent a tremor through the air in the room.
Ophelia’s high-heeled short boots had cracked the floor tiles, purple lightning bursting out from the web-like cracks, flickering. Her voice was still calm, but each syllable resonated with magical power.
“So, what will you do? You have to give my daughter some compensation.”
“Um… I’ve already issued confinement and a severe warning to that girl.”
Ophelia raised her eyebrows slightly, looking at the big man—much taller than herself—who now stood trembling.
“That’s all?”
“But what she did doesn’t quite reach the level of expulsion.”
In an instant, Ophelia’s tone turned cold and dignified. She spoke clearly, word by word, not too fast or too slow.
“Then, is scribbling on the desk, insulting the elven princess, and insulting royalty enough?”
“…It is enough.”
“Good thing it’s enough. If it wasn’t, I was going to ask the Queen to stir up some diplomatic incident. Like that little ‘Tears of the Fountain’ thing you all like so much.”
“Please don’t do that!”
Jack’s panicked exclamation startled the birds outside the window into flight.
Ophelia turned and smiled. That smile was heartbreakingly beautiful.
“I’d also like to ask you all, don’t hurt or insult my daughter at school. Do you know how much it pains a mother? You know just how protective I am.”
“I’m truly sorry.”
“And I told you from the start, Merlin and Mahina don’t get along. I told you to keep them apart as much as possible. How did you arrange things at the opening ceremony?”
This was indeed Jack’s mistake. He never expected Mahina, who was always gentle and kind at school, would slap Merlin in front of everyone.
He’d thought even if they had a dispute, Mahina would never be the one to start it.
The model-student filter Mahina had cast over Jack was too strong.
Ophelia’s sigh drifted like a breeze across wind chimes.
“So, isn’t this your fault too? You saw her as perfect, and saw my child as the villain? What did my child ever do to deserve this?”
“Teacher! I’m truly sorry.”
Ophelia cradled Merlin and walked toward the bed. The soft morning light cast a flickering shadow in her eyes. She glanced at the view outside the window, beautiful and peaceful as it was, yet she had no mind to admire it.
Ophelia stamped her foot in anger, leaving another deep pit of purple magic behind.
“Aaahhhh~~~ So annoying. Maybe I should just blow up the whole academy. It was only built for fun back in the day anyway.”
“I’ll have that girl expelled and ban her from ever entering the academy again.”
Jack’s voice trembled with hopelessness.
That’s more like it.
“Jack, everything Merlinlia has suffered this month was totally undeserved. I even told you before about the conflict between Merlinlia and Mahina, but without understanding the situation, you just assumed it was mostly Merlinlia’s fault and favored Mahina.”
“I’m sorry…”
“As I thought… maybe I should just blow it all up. A place that hurts Merlinlia like this—taking her back to the Elven Forest wouldn’t be so bad. The only reason I gave up was because I saw how much she wanted to stay.”
“Please have mercy. Isn’t this also a place full of your memories?”
“But now, the painful memories seem to outweigh the beautiful ones.”
“But…”
“I told you, I’m very protective of my own. It’s so upsetting. I let her come here to study—half the reason was because I was familiar with this place, it’s full of memories. But what happened? Even the first one I raised never suffered this kind of treatment.”
“That was… a princess, after all.”
“And isn’t this one also a princess now?”
“But when you asked me to write a recommendation letter, you didn’t know that, did you?”
“But now you and I both know. Besides, even if she wasn’t an elf, she’s still the one I raised.”
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