Chapter 22
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Volume 3 + Chapter 22: Teasing The Appetite
Xia Yi opened the envelope.
Inside was an invitation letter.
The moment she saw the emblem on the letter, she knew something was off.
It was a depiction of a massive laurel tree.
She had seen this emblem once before. It represented Laurel Tree Academy. Back in Golde, she’d encountered her student Hill alongside some students from that academy, so it had left an impression.
She glanced over the contents. It was about applying for admission to Laurel Tree Academy…
Xia Yi raised her head and looked at the beaming, self-satisfied Keith.
“Master Keith, what’s the meaning of this?” Xia Yi asked, puzzled.
“Miss Xia Yi, this is an invitation for you to take the entrance exam for Laurel Tree Academy,” Keith explained.
“…Huh?”
Xia Yi felt something wasn’t right. Why had the Lawrence family gone and arranged this without her input?
Getting into Laurel Tree Academy was never part of her plan.
“Why did the Lawrence family make this kind of decision for me without permission?” Xia Yi asked, a bit sternly. “I never agreed to this.”
“Why…?”
Keith frowned in confusion, now the one who looked puzzled.
“Wasn’t this at your request?”
“When did I request this?”
“Before you arrived in Bellen, didn’t your maid—Miss Lucia, the one who’s been in contact with our family—send us a letter on your behalf?”
“That… did happen.”
“This was something mentioned in that letter. We were instructed to handle it once you arrived in Bellen,” Keith reported truthfully. “And besides, if you hadn’t requested it, we wouldn’t have taken such liberties.”
“…”
Xia Yi fell silent.
Lucia hadn’t told her anything about applying to Laurel Tree Academy.
That wasn’t like Lucia. A maid of the royal household wouldn’t take the initiative to make decisions for royalty. The only explanation was: she was carrying out the will of the royal family.
This had to be Xia Lulu’s doing. Lucia had simply followed her command.
“Lord Keith, could I see that letter?” Xia Yi asked.
“Uh—of course, please wait a moment.”
Keith was visibly frustrated. He had worked so hard during his trip and tried to be thorough in his arrangements, yet he didn’t even get a word of thanks.
…
“I’m back, Miss Xia Yi. Here’s the letter that was sent earlier—you can read it for yourself.”
Keith handed the letter to Xia Yi.
She opened it and began reading.
Most of the contents were routine—requests for the Lawrence family to support Xia Yi during her stay, promises of financial support from Lucia, and then, at the end, a few lines did indeed mention helping Xia Yi enroll in Laurel Tree Academy.
So it was true after all.
Still, Xia Yi didn’t quite understand the reason behind it.
Suddenly, she noticed something strange.
The letter didn’t just contain the visible text—it also held traces of lingering magic.
This magical residue was extremely subtle, almost indistinguishable from the ambient mana in the air. One had to be quite powerful to detect it—at least Tier 4.
Coincidentally, Xia Yi was Tier 4.
She placed her finger over the envelope and swept her magic across it to activate it.
Then, at the very end of the letter, a new line appeared—not in the common tongue of this land, but in Draconic.
Its meaning was approximately:
“Daughter, I’ve left a gift for you at Laurel Tree Academy. The way to obtain it is…”
It was a note from Xia Lulu!
Xia Yi’s heart trembled. The rest of the message gave instructions on how to retrieve the gift hidden within the academy.
As the Draconic script faded, she realized it could only be revealed once and would vanish afterward. She quickly committed the contents to memory.
Keith, being an ordinary human, was completely unaware of any of this. He couldn’t see the Draconic text, and only noticed that Xia Yi’s expression had gone through several strange changes after reading the letter.
“Hmm, so that’s how it is,” Xia Yi said at last, breaking into a smile.
“There were some… miscommunications with my family earlier. I do indeed need to enroll in Laurel Tree Academy. I’m sorry for the misunderstanding, Lord Keith.”
“Oh, no problem! Glad we cleared that up!” Keith replied. He didn’t mind, but Xia Yi and the forces backing her were growing increasingly mysterious to him.
“In any case, Miss Xia Yi, this is your entrance exam invitation. Our Lawrence family pulled a few strings to get it for you. When the time comes, you’ll be able to attend the exam.”
“An exam, huh?”
“Yes. Sorry! Our Lawrence family doesn’t have the influence to guarantee direct admission—you’ll still need to be officially accepted by the academy. But you’re a mage, right?”
“Eh? Oh! Yes, yes, I’m a mage! A mage!” Xia Yi quickly responded.
“Miss Lucia also mentioned in the letter that your magical talent is exceptional. You shouldn’t have any trouble getting in. We just needed to secure the exam invitation.”
“That’s perfectly fine. This is enough.”
“The exam will be held in the capital—it’s not far from Bellen. When the time comes, I’ll send someone to escort you there. Once you’re admitted, our Lawrence family will handle the rest.”
“Thank you very much, Lord Keith,” Xia Yi said with a nod.
Once Keith left, she fell into deep thought.
What kind of “gift” had Xia Lulu left behind that required all this secrecy?
Why not just leave it with the Lawrence family?
Why insist on hiding it in Laurel Tree Academy?
Could it be that when Xia Lulu told her to infiltrate the human world as a spy, claiming it was to uncover humanity’s secrets, there was actually a hidden agenda?
“Hmph. You’re really good at keeping people in suspense. You’re awful, Xia Lulu!”
Xia Yi hated this kind of manipulation—but at this point, her curiosity had been thoroughly piqued. She couldn’t ignore it anymore.
She had to go see what was waiting at Laurel Tree Academy.
…
At Night.
“Ahhh, this is the life~”
Keith leaned back on his leather couch, swirling a glass of red wine in his hand, clearly in high spirits.
He’d been so busy the past few days preparing for Xia Yi’s arrival that he hadn’t had time to enjoy himself—not even a single party.
Now that she’d be admitted to Laurel Tree Academy, he wouldn’t have to wait on her anymore and could finally get back to enjoying life.
“Still… that Miss Xia Yi is definitely a little odd.”
Knock knock knock.
There was a knock at the door.
“Who is it?”
“Uncle, it’s me.”
“Norma? What is it? It’s late. Come back tomorrow if you need something,” Keith said impatiently.
“…Uncle, please. I need to speak with you face to face. It’s important—I must tell you in person.”
Norma’s voice was unusually serious.
