Chapter 216

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Chapter 216

Unable to help herself, Xerath looked at Sylas. Sylas smiled lightly and said, "Teacher, the article I quoted was written by her."

"It’s not just me! There are twelve of us, and of course, everyone likes you a lot!"

Xerath’s cold face showed a small smile and politely said, "Thank you. Sylas, are you her friend?"

"Yes, of course!" Sylas didn’t know how to face her classmates now. Everyone liked Xerath so much, and she had kept this important secret.

Xerath’s eyes mischievously turned and said, "If it’s alright with you, would you like to go out for a drink with us?"

Rubbing her eyes in disbelief, Sylas wondered if she had heard wrong. The aloof archmage was inviting her? Was it because of Sylas? But this was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Even though she would surely get in trouble later for leaving without permission, she couldn’t miss this chance for the archmage. Sorry everyone!

She walked beside Sylas, who was holding the archmage’s bent arm and leaned out to talk to her, "I didn’t mean to hide it. The teacher didn’t let me tell anyone."

"Hmm, I understand, I understand." Writer Jane didn’t need to say anything more. She could already imagine all the complex emotions in the story. The lonely and misunderstood genius, trying to protect her apprentice from her own troubles, repeatedly warning her to be discreet. But there were some things that couldn’t be swallowed in silence.

As they walked out of the hall into the vestibule, another group of people happened to come out from a different exit. The leader nodded slightly when he saw her.

It was Diego.

The person following him is old Sauran, and there are people standing on both sides of him. One person is holding his arm, and despite some hiding and blocking, Xerath still sees the handcuffs on old Sauran’s wrist.

She felt doubtful, and her doubt reached its peak when Diego’s gaze shifted to Sylas. Diego almost imperceptibly nodded, and Sylas responded with a confused gesture.

Diego walked out like this, with many people following behind. The archmage also saw one of her classmates, Lucius Manel. This seemed like an arrest operation, with high-profile individuals being escorted out, one on each side.

"What is this emblem for?" Xerath intentionally slowed down to let these people pass first. She held a sword and shield adorned with lilies in her hand, and asked Jane after passing Sylas, "It looks very exquisite."

"This was designed by Luna! Luna is Sylas’s roommate."

"Luna contributed as well."

"Do you know Luna? Oh, did Sylas write about her in the letter?" Xerath was actually quite curious about what Sylas wrote in the letter. Luna must have revealed something. The letters from the "teacher" were quite dull, but considering Xerath’s personality, it meant a lot to receive mundane and insignificant things from someone else.

"Yes."

"This is the emblem of the Lily Knight Order!"

"What does Lily Knight Order mean?"

"It means the golden Lily Knight Order!"

Sylas added, "The members are all your passionate admirers. Fans and followers, Jane is their leader."

You are still our Honorable Knight!" She poked Sylas’s chest defiantly, unhappy with her condescending tone of "you’re just kids playing around.

Sylas blushed and smiled, unable to hide her pride. Xerath had just said thank you, even though she had scolded her as "immature" earlier.

But she wasn’t mad, she said "thank you."

They turned together into a small alley, where a secret hideout restaurant was located. It was quite far from school, making it difficult for anyone they knew to accidentally come across them. Sylas was about to tell Xerath about this place, but immediately remembered the ambush they had escaped here less than a month ago, narrowly escaping with their lives.

Xerath spoke first, "I used to come here often, and it hasn’t changed much." She walked over to an old wooden table in the corner and said, "Sometimes I would come here to do my homework."

Sylas felt a moment of déjà vu, as that was also a spot they frequently fought over, secluded and quiet, with a view of the entrance and conveniently close to the back door, allowing them to slip away unnoticed.

Xerath walked over and sat down, asking the Water Lord to bring something. Then she placed the emblem in front of her and said, "Tell me about the ‘Honorable Knight’."

Sylas waved her hands in panic, trying to stop Xerath and Jane. "Teacher, there’s nothing important to know about this!"

Xerath blinked at her and said, "But I want to know." Then she looked at Jane.

Jane, being stared at by her idol, forgot about her friendship with classmates. She quickly exaggerated the story of Sylas and Veses dueling on the playground. When she mentioned Sylas "sitting on Veses, grabbing him by the collar, and punching him in the face," Sylas slumped on the table, with her head buried in her elbows, weakly trying to defend herself, saying, "That’s not true… it didn’t happen like that…"

Xerath placed her hand on her head and said, "I will judge for myself, with the help of this book, ‘The Beauty and the Duel.’"

"Ah, please don’t say anymore…"

"Did Sylas use her fist directly?"

"Yes! Her face was swollen for a long time afterward, but Miss Slote used herbal paste to help her heal."

"Sylas? With her right hand?"

Sylas weakly nodded, then felt Xerath grab her right hand, holding it and rotating it left and right, probably examining it.

Right after, Xerath tightened her grip on her hand and gently patted her back of the hand, "Doesn’t it hurt?"

"Yes, it hurts, it has been hurting for a long time."

"This book says you later used ice armor. Is that true?"

"Yes…"

Ice armor wasn’t unfamiliar to both of them, it was just a few changes from an ice barrier. The archmage used to even shatter library windows with frost spikes. Although it looked powerful, it didn’t serve much purpose for the frail bodies of mages.

"How does it feel?"

Sylas earnestly replied, "It got much better afterwards, no more swelling."

Xerath laughed deeply, pinching her chin and said, "You’re really mischievous." Then she turned her head to Jane, "What happened later?"

Jane approached cautiously, with a mischievous smile on his face. "Veses, whose trick fooled many girls, got his face swollen like a pig’s head and had a red shame mark for a whole month. He even had to take the final exam with that look. Someone went to ask Sylas why she made a move…"

Sylas hurriedly rushed forward, trying to cover her mouth. "Don’t say that!"

"For a whole month?"

"Ah, I accidentally spilled some powder and messed it up, even though everything was already prepared…"

The archmage found her panicked expression quite amusing. It had been a while since he had seen her like this. During the time she had grown up, she had become more and more composed, although occasionally she would appear shy. But overall, she always looked beautiful and intelligent.

"Sylas, if you won’t allow her to speak, will you do it yourself?"

Sylas kept shaking her head. But the archmage placed both hands flat on the table and said to her, "Hands."

Sylas hesitantly held her hand. Whenever the prey fell into the trap, Xerath would tightly grip her hands, and then she would say to Jane, "It’s okay, you can speak now."

Jane glanced apologetically at Sylas, but before her gaze could shift, it turned into a wicked thief’s laughter. Sylas angrily prepared to cast a Silence Spell, but the archmage raised his hand, covering her mouth, interrupting her spellcasting. He took advantage of Sylas’s momentary confusion and whispered "Silence" into her ear, plunging her into a deathly silence.

She smiled and adjusted her hair, tightly holding Sylas’s hands, she said to Jane, "Okay, you can talk now."

Jane, who was standing nearby, witnessed their playfulness up close. She was feeling overwhelmed inside, but now her eyes were filled with the radiant smile of the archmage. It took her quite some time to calm down and then she truthfully recounted the incident of Sauran speaking ill of her in class, all the way until Sauran ended up with a Shame Mark that could be switched on and off at will.

Sylas couldn’t lip read and had no idea what they were saying. This awkwardness made her simply pretend that she didn’t know anything, and she leaned on the table again.

Xerath still held her hand, occasionally tightening and relaxing it, occasionally giving it a squeeze. Xerath’s hand felt comfortable, warm, flexible, and slightly moist. Sylas’s heart swelled, and she didn’t dare to lift her head.

The archmage’s smile gradually faded. Although she vaguely guessed that Sylas’s decision not to take the exam was related to Sauran, she didn’t expect that even with deliberate concealment, Sylas would quickly hold a grudge against herself and Sauran. She also didn’t expect that most of Sylas’s time in school for the past two years was spent in fights.

Then she remembered Virgil, the wretched hunter who had visited the school. He must have found out something, but he didn’t disclose a word.

Slowly, she said, "There is a student who dueled with someone because of me. Could that be Sylas?"

Jane shrugged and said, "Maybe there’s no one else. Only she is exceptionally powerful, defeating the bad guys is not a problem for her."

She was Virgil’s A+ rated demon beast, and probably very few people in the school could defeat an A-level demon beast. But that wretched old hunter must know something, maybe he’s already laughing his head off inside.

"No wonder I didn’t see Sauran today," she thought. She had originally believed that Sauran didn’t come to mock her publicly today because she had received the learning award. However, there might be deeper issues at play. But Diego took old Sauran away directly from the auditorium, so it might also be related to Sylas.

Jane asked cautiously, "Sylas… Have you always lived in the tower with him?"

"Yes, always."

She silently cheered and applauded in her heart. From the known information, the fantasy story that was closest to reality was undoubtedly her own. It fit her style of blurring the line between truth and fiction. However, there was still a major question. Jane couldn’t help but say, "During one of the duels, Sylas’s collar was cut by someone…" She carefully observed Xerath’s reaction, to see if she understood what she meant.

The archmage was puzzled, and Jane had to point to the location of her own collarbone. Xerath’s face became very serious as she asked, "What was revealed?"