CHAPTER 49: LATHEL AND LYRA

’Dark Mist is an ancient mystery connected to the Church...’ Lyra thought to herself. ’A prince as ordinary as Lathel shouldn’t even know of its existence.’

’And it shouldn’t have targeted him either, unless...’

At that moment, Lyra took out a blackened emblem of the Church and held it up in front of him. "Do you know what this represents?"

Lathel saw the emblem, and his face clearly showed surprise and confusion. He nodded and said, "I’ve seen it before... during the massacre... no, I mean..."

When Lyra heard Lathel mention ’the massacre,’ her gaze sharpened, as though she had suddenly understood everything.

"I..." Lathel stammered, as if searching for the right words.

"Prince, why are you hiding this?" Mira spoke up in frustration. "The Church really did massacre the people of our Kingdom—why won’t you say it?"

Hearing that, Lathel sighed and said, "Mira, we have no solid evidence. We can’t just speak recklessly."

"Maybe the Church was framed by some other organization? That emblem might not have even been made by the Church, and besides, the Church—"

"This is definitely from the Church." Lyra frowned, gently squeezed the emblem, and a stream of black smoke surged out before vanishing into the air.

"That’s..." Lathel feigned surprise when he saw the smoke. "Black mist... it..."

Lyra glanced at Lathel, sighed, and said, "Lathel, you’re too kind. That’s why you can’t see the dark sides of the Church."

"The Church..." Lathel mumbled. "Impossible! The Church couldn’t possibly..."

Lyra looked at him again, feeling a faint warmth in her heart from his thoughts.

’Someone so kind... yet caught in a swirl of darkness. I... can’t just stand by and watch his kindness be tainted,’ Lyra thought to herself.

She looked at Lathel and said, "I can’t explain much to you now. I can only say one thing... Lathel, what you saw was the Dark Mist."

"You don’t know what it is. Right now, knowing too much will only put you in danger."

"You just need to know that the Dark Mist is extremely dangerous, and it likely originates from the Church. Moreover, it can turn ordinary people into monsters. And it has another function, which is..."

As she spoke, Lyra glanced toward Mira, then looked back at Lathel and softly asked, "Lathel, do you feel anything... unusual inside your body?"

Lathel pretended to be surprised, furrowed his brows, and then said, "Well... it feels like I have an immense energy within me—one that’s nearly impossible to deplete."

Lyra then looked toward Mira again, smiling as she said, "You and she are very fortunate. Both of you were affected by the Dark Mist, yet you managed to awaken and become Awakened Ones."

"What?!" Lathel feigned shock, his hands trembling as he looked at Lyra. "You mean... I... and Mira have both become Awakened Ones?"

Mira already knew about it beforehand thanks to Lyra, so she wasn’t surprised. She simply smiled cheerfully at Lathel, thinking to herself: ’How fortunate, the Prince has become an Awakened One too. Hehehe...’

’From now on, I can stay by his side more, support him even more.’

Selvia, on the other hand, was different. Her eyes were filled with sorrow as she looked at Mira, then at Lathel. Her heart ached as though someone were squeezing it tightly, forcing her to clutch her chest with one hand.

Her eyes were wet as if she were about to cry, but Selvia bit her lip, trying hard not to let the tears fall.

’In the end... am I the only useless one?’ Selvia pressed her lips together and lowered her head, hiding her pained expression. ’No... Lathel becoming an Awakened One... I should be happy for him.’

Selvia took a deep breath, forcing herself to smile in congratulations—but that smile looked more painful than if she had cried.

Fortunately, neither Lathel, Lyra, nor Mira noticed her.

"That’s right," Lyra explained. "However, right now I don’t know the exact nature of your talents, but at the very least, becoming Awakened is far better than remaining ordinary."

"There will be a qualification test in two days. I think you should participate."

"This..." Lathel furrowed his brow, his expression becoming uneasy.

Mira kept her eyes on Lathel, as if waiting for his decision.

Lathel sighed, then said, "I’m sorry... I don’t want to participate."

Lyra and the others were surprised upon hearing that. "Why? You must know that after becoming Awakened, you can join the Magic Academy and receive tremendous support."

Lathel smiled warmly, a smile so gentle it pierced everyone’s hearts.

Even Lyra, with her normally indifferent face, blushed slightly at his smile.

"Maybe to everyone else, this is a great opportunity. But... I don’t want to leave my kingdom. That place needs me. Though I may not be able to help much, at the very least, I can assist my mother in managing the kingdom."

Hearing that, Lyra’s gaze toward Lathel grew even softer.

"Mira..." Lathel suddenly looked at her and said, "Now that you’ve become an Awakened One, you don’t need to follow me anymore. From now on, you’re free. You should join..."

"No!"

Thud!

Mira immediately knelt to the ground, tears streaming down her face. "Your Highness, even if I become Awakened, I am still your maid. I... I don’t want to leave you."

"You..." Lathel frowned, pretending to be angry, but his eyes were already fixed on Mira’s status screen displayed by the System.

The "Affection Points" section was blinking rapidly, indicating it was about to increase.

"Mira, what are you doing?" Lathel quickly said. "You’ve become an Awakened One—your future will surely be bright. Why follow me and remain just a maid?"

"No!" Mira shook her head, crying as she spoke. "I don’t want that, I only want to follow the Prince. Please..."

"You..." Lathel took a deep breath, his face expressing utter despair.

Seeing this scene, Lyra’s favorability toward Lathel increased significantly.

She spoke up, "Lathel, if you’re worried about your Kingdom, you can rest assured."

"After becoming a student of the Magic Academy and my personal disciple, I will make your identity public."

"Every student—especially those chosen to become the personal disciple of a professor—will be protected."

"If your Kingdom is ever in danger, I and other staff members of the Academy will surely assist you."

Lathel pretended to be surprised upon hearing this and hurriedly asked, "Really?"

"Of course!" Lyra nodded gently and said, "As long as you pass the qualification test, I will certainly accept you as my disciple."

"This..." Lathel hesitated, as if unsure about something.

"What are you still hesitating about?" Lyra asked in confusion.

Lathel glanced toward Selvia and immediately said, "I want to stay by my wife’s side. Is that alright?"

"Of course!" Lyra said. "I won’t interfere too much in your personal life. Only when there are missions assigned by the Academy will you have to follow my guidance."

Hearing that, Selvia could no longer hold back her tears—they flowed like two streams, but her heart felt incredibly warm.

If Mira and Lyra weren’t there, she would have rushed forward and offered her entire body and soul to him.

Lathel nodded, satisfied, and said, "Thank you, Professor Lyra. I... I don’t know if my talent is strong or not, that..."

Lyra immediately interrupted him, "Whether your talent is strong or weak doesn’t matter. What matters most... is your character."

After speaking, she took a small box from her bag and placed it on Lathel’s bed. "This is a welcome gift. Just rest here. In two days, I’ll bring you to the ’Tower of Trials’ for your talent assessment."

Lathel gave a slight nod and smiled warmly like morning sunlight. "Thank you, Professor Lyra."

Lyra gave a gentle nod, then immediately turned to leave, giving Mira and Selvia their private moment.

Crack!

As the door closed, Mira quickly wiped away her tears, smiling as she said, "Hehehe... Your Highness, from now on I’m no longer useless. I’ll definitely be able to help you a lot."

As soon as she said that, Mira seemed to remember something and fell silent, glancing over at Selvia.

At that moment, Selvia wasn’t angry. On the contrary, she gave a gentle smile and said, "I’m fine, don’t worry about me."

She slowly walked over to Lathel’s side and caressed his face. "As long as you’re safe, I’m happy. I... I... um..."

Before Selvia could finish her sentence, Lathel pulled her close and held her tightly in his arms.

"I will never abandon you, Selvia. You will always be my wife," Lathel said gently, his hand softly patting her back as if to comfort her.

"Thank you..." Selvia clung to Lathel, feeling her heart warmed: "I will love you forever... my sun."

Seeing this, Mira couldn’t help but smile blissfully.

The atmosphere in the room became incredibly warm and peaceful, as if that space belonged to them alone.

...

Outside, after leaving the room, Lyra frowned as she received a letter delivered by another male student.

After reading its contents, her expression grew more displeased. "Why did you all make this decision on your own?"

The male student standing before Lyra lowered his head, his face showing guilt and worry. "I’m sorry, Professor. I’m just the messenger. As for the specific content... I don’t really know."

Lyra sighed, her voice weary. "Alright, I understand."

The student bowed anxiously and quickly took his leave.

Lyra looked at the letter, furrowed her brow, and murmured, "Lucien... looks like I need to meet with the Headmaster."