Chapter 56: Lathel and Irelia

"I’m truly sorry, Professor Lyra, for letting you witness such an embarrassing scene." In Lyra’s office, Lathel stood before her. Behind him, Selvia and Mira stood with their heads lowered, their faces flushed with shame. Hearing Lathel’s apology, Lyra sighed. Her cheeks were still tinged with red. "You don’t need to apologize to me. After all, it was my fault for entering without knocking." As she spoke, her eyes subtly shifted to Mira and Selvia, and she couldn’t help but think, "It seems... the royal family’s private life is quite chaotic." Selvia and Mira seemed to sense Lyra’s gaze, which only deepened their embarrassment as they bowed their heads even lower. "Alright then," Lyra spoke up. "This is your personal matter, and I won’t interfere." "Now that you’re my disciple, I won’t restrict your freedom. I only hope you’ll exercise some restraint and focus more on studying magic." "Yes!" Lathel replied, a warm smile appearing on his face. "You too, Mira." "Ah!" Mira quickly responded, "Yes, Professor Lyra!" Seeing Lathel’s smile, Lyra now understood why both Mira and Selvia had accepted being in bed with this young man. Lathel possessed a powerful charm. Coupled with that gentle, warm smile of his, it was almost impossible for any woman to resist him. But Lyra didn’t feel disgusted. On the contrary, she found it understandable. After all, Lathel had risked his life to protect Selvia and Mira. That they would use their bodies to ’thank’ him seemed perfectly reasonable. "Still..." Lyra glanced at Lathel, puzzled. "He was just seriously injured not long ago. Hasn’t fully recovered... and yet he could handle two women at once?" "Ugh! What am I even thinking?" Lyra shook her head quickly, forcing herself to discard that strange thought. "Tomorrow, all of you will undergo the aptitude and potential assessments. Have you prepared for them yet?" she asked, her expression growing more serious. Lathel looked confused. "Professor..." "Call me Master," Lyra corrected. "Ah! Yes, Master Lyra. What exactly is the format of the test?" he asked. "You really don’t know?" Lyra seemed surprised, glancing at both Lathel and Mira’s puzzled expressions. Then she sighed. "Ah, I forgot this is your first time here. My apologies." "To be honest, the aptitude test isn’t all that important. But... the potential assessment is a bit dangerous. If you’re afraid, you can choose to forfeit." After hearing this, Lathel thought silently to himself, "So... this potential assessment must be a ’major event’ prepared for Lucien." As if to confirm his thoughts, he smiled and asked, "Master Lyra, is the potential assessment really that dangerous?" "Not exactly," Lyra shook her head. "You’ve probably heard of the Academy’s ’Trial Tower,’ haven’t you?" "I have," Lathel replied. "I just don’t know what’s inside." Lyra nodded. "The Trial Tower is used to evaluate a student’s potential. Even if a student’s aptitude is poor, if they possess great potential, they’ll still earn the respect of many professors." "The Trial Tower has ten floors. However, to this day, no one has ever made it past the eighth floor. The ninth and tenth remain unconquered." "That said, as long as you make it past the third floor, the professors will certainly regard you with admiration." Lathel frowned, silently thinking, "Just as I expected. Lucien will probably use this chance to break the tower’s highest record, drawing everyone’s attention—especially Professor Lyra’s." He scoffed inwardly. That kind of trope may be simple, but it was undeniably effective. In this world, people revered heroes. The strong were always the ones admired and respected. Moreover... Aris had already investigated. Aside from the absent Headmaster, Lyra was the only beautiful female professor in the academy. Despite her overwhelming potential and high status, Lyra had never taken on a single disciple. Her personality seemed indifferent to everything—lacking any real-world experience. She checked every box for a heroine character—just waiting for the protagonist to conquer her. Lathel responded with a smile, "Professor Lyra, what if I can’t make it past the third floor?" "Don’t worry," Lyra said casually. "Even if you don’t pass the third floor, I will still take you as my disciple." "I’ve already decided to accept both you and Mira. This assessment is merely a formality." Lathel took a deep breath, his expression firm. "I promise I won’t disappoint you, Professor Lyra." Lyra gave a slight nod, her expression calm as always. "Good. Go get some rest. Tomorrow, I’ll take you to the Trial Tower." Lathel bowed and left with Mira. But Selvia didn’t follow. Instead, she suddenly knelt down and earnestly pleaded, "Professor, please help me." Lyra was taken aback, glancing toward Lathel and Mira. However, Lathel knew exactly what Selvia wanted. So he quietly left with Mira, giving them the privacy they needed. As the door closed behind them, Selvia immediately spoke, "Professor, please—I don’t want to be useless to Lathel. I... I want to learn magic too." "This..." Lyra realized what Selvia wanted. She sighed and said, "Stand up first." Selvia bit her lip, then slowly stood, her body trembling slightly, yet her eyes were filled with hope as she looked at Lyra. Lyra stepped forward, gazing intently at her. She raised a finger and gently touched Selvia’s forehead. Selvia didn’t flinch, allowing Lyra’s fingertip to rest on her skin. Lyra frowned, her eyes showing a flicker of surprise. "You... no, not exactly." She seemed to be struggling to believe what she had just sensed. After a moment, Lyra withdrew her hand and said with a furrowed brow, "Selvia, there is a way for you to use magic—but it’s extremely difficult. You’ll need to work very hard." "And of course, the failure rate is incredibly high. Do you still want to try?" Selvia’s eyes lit up with determination. She clenched her teeth and said, "I... I agree!" ... Outside, Lathel and Mira strolled down the corridor. Mira asked curiously, "Prince, is something wrong with Selvia?" Lathel smiled. "Don’t worry. She’s just trying to find her own path." "Ah..." Mira seemed half-understanding, half-confused, and fell silent. Suddenly, Lathel stopped walking. His eyes landed on a woman standing near the corridor window. His gaze wasn’t directed at her so much as at the system interface hovering beside her, displaying her profile. ... Name: Irelia Level: Level 1 – Late stage | Awakened Role: Supporting female character Charm Rating: 82 Affection: 0% (Hatred) Description: Irelia encountered Lucien by chance in the forest, where they shared moments between life and death. Attracted by Lucien’s upright nature and mysterious past, she developed feelings for him. In the future, her family recognizes Lucien, becoming a major source of support that allows him to overthrow the Royal Family of the Terith Kingdom. ... Lathel saw the information panel, and what he paid the most attention to was her favorability score. ’0%, she hates me?’ Lathel thought to himself. ’It seems... Lucien has succeeded in implanting hatred toward me in her mind.’ Although Lathel had never met Irelia before, he wasn’t too surprised to see the favorability score at 0%. After all, the protagonist always had the ability to lower other people’s IQ, making them completely trust and empathize with whatever he said. Because of that, Lathel clearly understood what Lucien must have told Irelia. "If you keep staring, I’ll gouge out your eyes and throw them to the dogs." Irelia’s gaze was fixed on the outside through the window, not paying the slightest attention to Lathel, yet her cold voice echoed, directly aimed at him. "How dare you speak to my Prince like that?" Mira shouted angrily at this moment. Irelia glanced at Mira, slightly surprised that such a beautiful girl would serve someone like Lathel. That only made Irelia all the more scornful and full of hatred toward Lathel. [Ding! Irelia’s Favorability has decreased: -5%.] Seeing the System notification, Lathel didn’t feel worried—he simply found it amusing. Irelia spoke, her voice still cold and indifferent: "What the hell is he that I should show him respect?" "You..." Mira bristled like a kitten fluffing up in anger. Lathel placed a hand on Mira’s shoulder, signaling her not to speak further. Mira pouted and stepped back, sulking, saying, "Your Highness, she insulted you." He nodded, then looked back at Irelia, a warm smile appearing on his face: "It seems you and I don’t know each other, am I right?" "That’s right." Irelia frowned and said, "This is my first time meeting you, but you’re exactly as disgusting and deceitful as I imagined." "Ah! It seems there’s been some misunderstanding between us," Lathel said with a smile. "Tsk!" Irelia clicked her tongue, her expression full of disdain: "Don’t smile at me. It makes me nauseous." "Girl..." Irelia suddenly looked at Mira, frowned, and said, "You’re being deceived by him. If you want to escape from him, just say the word—I’ll help you." "Even if he’s a Prince, here he’s no different from anyone else." "Oh! I almost forgot—he has no talent and isn’t even an Awakened One. He just snuck in here like a dog, relying on his deceit and uselessness." Mira could no longer contain herself and immediately shouted, "Shut your mouth! If you dare insult the Prince again, I will..." "Oh? And what will you do?" Irelia said scornfully. "I’ve warned you. If you keep foolishly staying by his side, in the end, you’ll become nothing but his plaything." "You..." Mira clenched her teeth in fury, stepping forward as if to attack Irelia. Clang! Suddenly, Irelia drew her sword. The sharp, chilling blade pointed straight at Mira’s throat. Irelia frowned, her eyes filled with contempt as she looked at Mira and said, "Don’t come near me. I’m afraid your stupidity might be contagious." With the tip of the sword pressed against her throat, Mira trembled in fear. Yet even then, she clenched her teeth and, mustering all her courage, said: "I won’t allow you to insult my Prince." "Ah! How foolish." Irelia sighed. "Someone as stupid as you—your life is meaningless. Let me end it for you." Whoosh! The tip of the sword lunged toward Mira’s throat at a terrifying speed. After all, Irelia was an Awakened One of the combat type and had already reached the late stage. How could a girl like Mira possibly react in time to such an attack? In the instant Mira thought the sword would pierce through her throat, a firm and masculine hand reached out. Smash!