“That’s all for today then. Thank you for your cooperation.”
Liangzhou stood up and gestured toward the silent figure waiting nearby—Darkness.
“Not at all, nya~ Helping my adorable little sister Liangzhou is nothing but a small favor, nya!”
The great witch Qianyi smiled brightly, clearly in a good mood.
She didn’t continue teasing Liangzhou, but instead asked with curiosity, “So, what’s the plan now? Heading straight back, or would you like to look around our academy a bit?”
“Darkness.”
“Yes! Ahem—Lady Liangzhou’s schedule is currently light. She has ample leisure time. If Lady Liangzhou would like to tour Jadecold Academy, I can adjust the itinerary immediately.”
Darkness straightened up at once and responded in a firm, clear voice.
Though travel arrangements were usually handled by Liangzhou’s personal maid within the family, during trips like these, the duty typically fell to Darkness.
“Hmm. I’ve got nothing pressing at the moment, and I’ve heard some interesting rumors. I suppose I’ll stay a day.”
Liangzhou nodded after a moment of thought, casually making the decision.
“Understood!”
“Interesting rumors?”
The great witch’s curiosity was piqued by Liangzhou’s comment, her tone laced with mischief.
“What could possibly be going on here that’s enough to catch your attention, little sister Liangzhou, nya?”
“I heard someone is seriously trying to pull off a soul-return ritual with a corpse. I thought I’d take a look for myself.”
Liangzhou spoke calmly as she pushed the chair back under the desk and began walking toward the doorway where Darkness stood waiting.
“Lastly, I bring greetings from my mother. Your old best friend is doing well. I’m sure she’d be delighted to know you’re still as lively as ever.”
“And if possible, I’d prefer not to meet again.”
“That’s all.”
Bang.
Liangzhou closed the door behind her.
The office instantly fell back into total darkness.
Had she and her companion lingered just a bit longer, they might have noticed that not a single sliver of light ever seeped into this room.
In the pitch-black silence, the great witch of Twilight slumped back into her seat and slowly tilted her head upward.
Thanks to her powers, her sight in darkness was as clear as daylight.
Her gaze climbed until it met the ceiling above.
“Xiaoman… your daughter, aside from the face, is nothing like you.”
Her voice rasped, weak and drained of strength, as if weighed down by memories or melancholy.
“I think so too~”
“Who’s there?!”
A man’s voice echoed suddenly in the dark, and the startled great witch nearly leapt out of her chair.
She looked up to find a blond, one-eyed man hanging upside down from the ceiling.
A gentle smile curved his handsome face, half-hidden by an eyepatch over his right eye.
He greeted her with cheerful familiarity.
“So it’s you, Headmaster.”
The great witch exhaled sharply, her body slackening again, melting into her seat like fresh-baked bread—soft, warm, and vulnerable.
That man hanging from the ceiling with an affable grin was none other than the true lord of Jadecold, the headmaster of Jadecold Academy, and one of the most powerful beings alive.
“I heard Xiaoman’s kid was coming to see you, so I hid up here early to watch. Hard to believe that the little girl who used to cling to my leg, swearing she’d marry her uncle when she grew up, turned into such a beauty.”
“If you would, Headmaster, please don’t act like spying on staff offices is normal behavior. Otherwise, don’t blame me when I smash up your wine cellar one of these days.”
“And don’t go making up stories either. Liangzhou never went through a phase where she said stuff like that.”
Arms crossed, the great witch shot down his nostalgia with ruthless precision.
But the sharp remarks did little to faze the blond headmaster, who scratched his head and chuckled.
“Eh? Is that so? Must be age catching up with me. My memory’s fuzzy.”
“Also, why’d you drop the ‘nya’ from your sentences? I thought it was kind of cute~”
“Cute for you, maybe. Who asked for your opinion?”
The great witch somehow produced a steaming cup of red tea and took a slow, deliberate sip before coolly throwing back her question.
“Liangzhou’s gone. So why are you still here?”
“Can’t a boss check in and chat with his staff once in a while?”
The headmaster dropped lightly from the ceiling, landing without a sound, and turned to face her.
“The Daughter of Prophecy has begun to move. This time, the sacrifice involved is one of your disciples. I came in case you were tempted to… act out.”
“Oh? That so?”
Surprisingly, the great witch seemed genuinely confused.
She had thousands—tens of thousands—of disciples by now.
Unlike the Crystal Magi, she had no special fondness for the idea of “personal disciples.”
To her, the teacher-student relationship was entirely practical.
Seeing her lack of reaction, the headmaster relaxed slightly.
“Good. That’s a relief.”
He looked at her, not as a woman, but as something far beyond.
With his one remaining eye, he stared at her—and perhaps through her—to something more fundamental.
“Ever since the End of the Underworld quelled the chaotic wars more than a decade ago, this continent has known peace.”
“But in truth, power and ambition have never truly released their grip on this world.”
“The one who transcends magic, the one who rules as the eternal emperor, the sainted maiden who will save all—these foretold figures, prophesied to bring the end, all appear in this era. So the question is…”
“Whose fate will dominate?”
He muttered the words as his face cycled through joy, rage, sorrow, fear, love, hate, and desire—every emotion imaginable flickering across his features.
The great witch remained silent.
Instead of replying, she reached out and cloaked the man in a swirl of dark magic, as gentle as a mother cradling a newborn.
But her thoughts drifted to the pair who had just left.
Coming from a family of diviners, Liangzhou had surely realized it too.
The emergence of “Detachment”—someone who has twice severed their destiny—is no small matter.
The peace built atop brutal violence all those years ago…
It was beginning to crack.
But whatever the future may hold, for now, it was just one man and one woman, caught in personal grievances, stirring up trouble for another girl.