Magicapita

Cæ wanted to clap back with a witty retort, but the Headmistress had no intention of letting this continue.

"Mr. Cæ," she said with an unusually formal, distant tone. "Please return to your dormitory for the day immediately."

Cæ's stormy gaze bore deep into the venomous, violent eyes of the Walyn head before closing his eyes.

"Understood, Madam Headmistress. I apologize for the disrespectful display. Have a good day, madam."

With that, he walked past Leonora Walyn with a steel expression, exiting the Headmistress's office and closing the door shut.

The air in the office remained tense, tingling at one's nerves as the atmosphere seemed chill with the cold smile of Matriarch Leonora despite the bright, warm light of the morning Sun beaming through the windows of the office.

The silence hung in the air for several moments, as did the scent of Leonora's perfume that diffused within the office. It was a sharp, confrontational perfume, the kind that prickled at the nose and demanded attention.

"…He is a fierce one," she mused as her attention returned to Headmistress Lenolia, who gazed at her with serious eyes. "He didn't so much as flinch when at my bloodlust, even if it was a momentary and highly limited one. I have never seen a student or a young man his age have such a fortitude about him."

She heaved a soft sigh. "Truly, it is unfortunate that he had to be the one. My task would be so much easier if I were dealing with any other student, preferably a younger lad who was still nervous around girls and women, wouldn't you agree?"

She directed a cold, malevolent smile at the Headmistress, who simply sharpened her elder eyes.

"And what task might that be?"

The Walyn Matriarch giggled with a soft, high-pitched voice, as if someone ringing a tiny bell before directing a knowing smile at the Headmistress.

"Why ask questions you already know the answer to?" Leonora asked as she walked forth with a relaxed gait, taking a seat opposite the Headmistress. "I was a little anxious to speak with you, so I came a little earlier to ascertain where you stood, dear Lenolia. And yet…"

She closed her eyes, heaving a soft sigh of projected regret. "Just by observing the dynamic between yourself and the young man, I'm afraid I already have my answer."

She opened her eyes slowly as they pierced the elderly depths of the Headmistress's eyes.

"Why do you align yourself with a family that isn't of Elendir?"

Headmistress Lenolia heaved a soft breath, shaking her head lightly. "You understand nothing. I have not sided with any family. I have sided with the safety of my students."

The Walyn Matriarch tilted her head as a hint of surprise emerged upon her expression. "Then why side with a family that is persecuting my daughter, one of the top students of your magicade—"

"Do not play dumb with me."

Headmistress Lenolia's voice cut through the innocent tone of the master mage opposite her firmly as her elderly yet sharp eyes bore deep into those of Leonora's. "Your daughter is a menace. She attempted murder on Serulia after the latter won her team a mock match-up of Capture the Flag."

"Oh dear…" A strangely concerned tone emerged from Leonora as she gazed at Headmistress Lenolia with worry. "It is rather troubling that even a reputable master mage of divination falls prey to vicious misinformation…!"

Headmistress Lenolia's expression grew more severe. "…What did you just say?"

"Misinformation, all of it." Leonora's chilling smile returned to her face. "My family has discovered discreet financial paper trails between an unknown party and all the instructors of the Capture The Flag training team. They were paid to provide the testimony that they provided to you. On top of that, we have reason to believe that these payments came from abroad, specifically…"

Her smile grew colder.

"…From a shell account in the Durmen Principality."

Headmistress Lenolia simply stared at Leonora with a severe expression as she understood what the play here was.

She was creating fake evidence that the Vritra Family was responsible for staging a fake event that never happened, insisting that their testimony was lies born from bribery and creating false testimony to implicate Miranda Walyn.

Headmistress Lenolia already knew that there was no point in trying to grill her about the fake evidence. She would just play dumb to extreme degrees and act obtusely, pretending her evidence was real and airtight.

"What about the testimonies of the students?"

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"We have evidence of threats to their families that have been used to coerce them into lying along with the trainers."

"That nonsensical explanation doesn't work for the testimonies of Lorden Adanbami, Kyrell Singe, and especially Silian Sylvester," Headmistress Lenolia found herself growing unusually agitated.

Perhaps it was to be expected with a master manipulator and viper like Leonora.

"The Sylvester Family is even more powerful than the Vritra Family of the Durment Principality. It is impossible for the latter to manipulate the former with force or wealth," Headmistress Lenolia continued with a stern tone. "Yet Silian Sylvester's testimony is absolutely clear on what happened. Your daughter rabidly attacked Serulia after the game was completely over. There is no denying what happened."

And yet, Leonora was entirely unperturbed by the Headmistress's determined retorts.

Her smile simply widened. "Regarding Silian Sylvester and the other affluent children of our community who also allege that my angel Miranda attempted murder, the explanation is rather simple…"

A hint of derision entered her violet eyes.

"It was an illusion."

Headmistress Lenolia's expression cracked with a flash of anger. "…What?"

"It was an illusion," Leonora repeated with a cold smile. "A really good illusion. One that nobody there could have seen through by any of the students in that moment. An illusion cast by none other than Serulia! In other words, my saint of a daughter, Miranda, never truly attacked Serulia. Instead, the deceitful Vritra used her powerful illusion magic to convince all the students that she was being attacked by Miranda. After all…"

Leonora smiled.

"Her illusion magic is known to be extremely good. During the combat selection process, not a single person realized she was using illusion magic for much of the rounds. And not a single person detected her during the mock Capture The Flag match-up that they held just today. In other words, it would be very easy for her to use her illusion magic to fool everybody into believing that my angel Miranda tried killing her."

Very rarely did Headmistress Lenolia feel the urge to attack someone.

She was certainly not docile, but quite passive when it came to physical aggression. She rarely ever felt the need to jump to violence when engaging in conversation with a given individual.

And yet, she felt the urge to grab her staff and blast Leonora with the strongest light storm that she possibly could.

Of course, it would destroy the entire campus and even the district that they were in, so she restrained her from exercising her extraordinary power. Especially given that her opponent was also a master mage, with powerful healing magic that would allow her to survive the attack and even emerge unscathed.

"…even that nonsensical explanation does not explain how Cæ testifies that Miranda's magic was lethal," Headmistress Lenolia. "He can't possibly have been fooled about the force of his magic. I know for a fact that you can't have possibly found any bullshit paper trails to him since he rarely leaves the magicademy, unlike the trainers, and our heavy surveillance within the magicademy will find him innocent of any accusation that you can possibly cook up."

"…" Leonora's smile remained unmoved, even as she remained silent.

Headmistress Lenolia sensed that he had hit the nail on the head; even if she could explain away a lot of the other testimony with nonsensical excuses, there was no excuse, nonsensical or otherwise, for why Cæ insisted that Miranda tried to kill Serulia.

"Well…" Leonora remarked with a gentle tone. "Life is quite unfortunate. It is entirely possible that Mr. Cæ may…"

Her tone grew chilling.

"…may not make it to the trail."

Suddenly, the looming tension in the air heightened as the atmosphere boiled with peril.

It boiled with the fury within the Headmistress.

"Did you know why my killing of a master mage of the Colohen Mafia blew over as swiftly as it did, Leonora?" Headmistress Lenolia asked her with an ominously soft tone. "Why, despite a major asset like a master mage being killed instead of captured or even attempting to be captured, not a single investigation lasted more than even ten days?"

Leonora's violet eyes bore deep into the cold fury in Headmistress Lenolia's eyes. "…Enlighten me."

"It's because there exists a clause of the Elendir Institute of Magic bill passed by the Parliament that states that the Headmistress of the institute may use force both defensively and offensively to incapacitate, capture, and even eliminate an active threat to the lives of the elite-level talents of the Elendir Institute of Magic." Headmistress Lenolia's tone grew heightened with peril. "In other words, if I interpreted your words as a threat to Cæ's life and as an intention to harm him, then…"

A glint of bloodlust flickered in the depths of the Headmistress's eyes.

"…then I can kill you right here and right now, and get away with it."

The atmosphere in the silent office grew suffocating with peril and danger.

The air in the entire campus began growing chilly with the weight of the Headmistress's words.

And yet, Leonora was unperturbed by the thinly veiled threat.

She simply smiled coldly as her violet eyes bore deep into the Headmistress's. "Go ahead then. I know I cannot defeat you in combat, but I certainly can ensure that our battle will kill every single student in the magicademy. If that is the price you're willing to pay, then by all means, go right ahead."

Her tone contained a hint of mockery.

"You would be willing to kill your own daughter just to make me pay the price?" Headmistress Lenolia sharpened her eyes. "What kind of mother are you?"

"Well… all of this started because I want to protect my daughter from these slanderous accusations of attempted murder," Leonora remarked with an amused tone. "So, you tell me. Regardless… I will not back down when it comes to protecting Miranda's future. I will not allow this nonsense to destroy her life. She is destined to be the heir of my family. I cannot allow an elite talent like her in our bloodline to go down the drain."

"…Justice will be served, Leonora," Headmistress Lenolia informed her with a serious tone. "You will not be able to escape it, and neither will your daughter."

Leonora smiled chillingly. "We'll see about that. However, in your own personal interest, I would encourage you not to take a stand against me in this little spat. Do not assume that I'm as easy an opponent as that fool Nelnmont. Rest assured, you will suffer if you raise your hand against me. You don't have to do anything. Just perform your role as Headmistress, and that will suffice."

"Part of my role as Headmistress is protecting my students," Headmistress Lenolia retorted coldly. "The Elendir Institute of Magic has elite students, and it is my responsibility to ensure that they are alive and well during their time as students in this magicademy. I will protect my students from all threats, inside or out."

Her eyes sharpened pointedly. "Including those students who happen to be important witnesses to a case that puts their lives on the line."

Leonora directed a deep gaze into Headmistress Lenolia's unyielding eyes before closing hers.

"Very well then. Do not blame me when you regret your decision in the future."