The next day.
On this winter morning, the dawn light filtered through the thick fog, casting across the marble-brick walls of the Lilom City lord's manor.
Situated toward the rear of the city, the estate was surrounded by exquisite gardens, with mountain forests visible in the distance. The elaborately carved family crest above the main gate caught the gleam of light, heralding the start of a new day.
Viscount Francis led Lanqi out of the dining room on the manor's ground floor.
Inside, magic stoves dispelled the winter chill.
"I hope our Northern Continent breakfast suited your palate," Viscount Francis said with a smile, his voice deep and cultured.
"It was the finest hospitality I have ever received. Thank you, my Lord," Lanqi replied.
After sharing a pleasant breakfast, Viscount Francis and Lanqi walked down a long corridor within the manor. Portraits of past viscounts hung along the walls, while the carpet beneath their feet had been imported from the Southern Continent, its intricate patterns and colors evoking a warm, serene feeling.
"Things will be in your hands now. Regardless of whether you can persuade Zestira to accept your lessons, please don't feel pressured," Viscount Francis said.
"I will do my very best, Lord Viscount."
At last, they arrived before a door adorned with intricate wood carvings.
Viscount Francis knocked gently. No response came from within. He waited a few seconds nonetheless, then slowly pushed the door open.
What unfolded before their eyes was an astonishing private space. Miss Zestira's room was arranged like a miniature museum, neatly stocked with all manner of books, magic crystals, art pieces, and antiques.
A large window allowed soft winter light to spill in, brightly illuminating the collected ornaments throughout the room.
Beside a desk near the window sat the figure of a young girl.
"This is Mr. Luoqi, your new tutor. He hails from the Southern Continent. I imagine the culture over there is quite different from ours," the viscount said thoughtfully, his hand resting on the doorknob.
The figure inside merely glanced back at Viscount Francis and Lanqi, then promptly ignored them, turning back to her magic book.
It was as though even that brief glance had only been out of courtesy to the viscount.
"Mr. Luoqi, please don't take it to heart." Viscount Francis shook his head.
"Leave it to me, Lord Francis. I am deeply grateful for your family's kindness to me," Lanqi nodded.
"...Then I shall attend to my duties." Viscount Francis patted Lanqi on the arm and pulled the door shut behind him.
Outside Zestira's window, the winter sun climbed higher, heralding the start of a new journey of teaching and learning.
Lanqi cradled his books and cheerfully walked over to sit on another chair in the room.
He kept a certain distance from Zestira, ensuring he did not encroach upon her territory.
Then Lanqi took out a pen and began writing in the imperial textbook on his own, showing no intention of starting a lecture.
Beside the wall, the figure remained seated quietly at her long desk. Atop her head were two dragon horns that gleamed like metallic blades. Her deep black hair held a subtle bluish sheen, and the most striking feature in her eyes was a pair of vertical slits that carried a touch of ferocity and aloofness.
Hiding in the shadows, Boss Cat quietly observed. This viscount's daughter looked only fourteen or fifteen—no wonder she was preparing for preparatory school.
Yet young as she was, the magical power she possessed far surpassed Lanqi's, reaching at least the upper tier of the second rank.
It had never seen Lanqi teach before and had no idea how good his teaching actually was.
And so, Lanqi made no attempt to speak to her, and she paid him no mind, lasting for nearly half an hour.
Zestira did not drive him away, nor did she pause her reading, treating the new tutor as though he were just another piece of furniture in the room.
Yet as time ticked by, Lanqi proved to be even calmer than she was.
The nearly motionless Zestira finally changed the pace at which she turned pages.
She was beginning to feel a bit perplexed.
Although this new teacher hadn't bothered her right from the start, the fact that he was lingering here without leaving made her thoroughly uncomfortable.
"Has Miss had breakfast yet?" Lanqi finally spoke. He still hadn't looked up, remaining focused on writing before him.
"None of your business." Zestira didn't even bother looking at him, having zero desire to converse.
She only said it to drive him away as quickly as possible.
In any case, this guy was merely here because he had been paid handsomely, suppressing his inner hostility and sense of superiority to begrudgingly teach a demon like her.
Humans were all the same. Sometimes they harbored malice far more sickening than that of the demon race; some tried hard to mask it depending on status and standing, while others didn't bother hiding it at all.
"I'm sorry," Lanqi said promptly. "I was born of humble origins and never learned how to speak properly with a young lady of a noble family..."
Listening to Lanqi's words, Boss Cat in the shadows thought to itself:
*Aren't you always cheerfully hanging around with the duke's daughter from the Hutton Kingdom?*
*I've never once seen you feel inferior!*
"..."
Zestira glanced at Lanqi's crestfallen look.
The room was as silent as before.
Yet amid the silence, she felt an inexplicable prick of discomfort in her chest.
Usually, it was other people looking down on her. How could she ever look down on someone else?
She would never stoop to something so despicable.
"I ate," Zestira said, and then ignored Lanqi once more.
"Thank you." Having said that, Lanqi didn't press the conversation, returning to his work.
The initially dim light in the room grew brighter, the wooden floors reflecting a warm sheen. The antique clock embedded in the wall ticked softly, its cadence seeming all the more leisurely in the warm light.
More than ten minutes passed like this.
"Miss Zestira, may I be your friend?" Lanqi, seemingly having finished a stage of his work, closed his book for the moment, looked up, and asked.
"Who do you think you are?" Hearing this, Zestira shot back bluntly.
Like a hedgehog lashing out the moment it was touched.
"I'm sorry. I've had no friends since childhood, and people always bullied me..." Lanqi looked away with a dejected expression, averting his gaze from her.
"..."
Zestira fell silent for a long time.
For some reason, she felt awful inside.
She knew all too well what it felt like to have no friends growing up and to be bullied.
And this meek, gentle, and friendly young man genuinely looked like the type who got picked on easily.
"If anyone dares to bully you in Lilom City, just tell my father," she said.
"Thank you," Lanqi offered sincere gratitude.
"Besides, you have a friend now," Zestira added.
"Who?"
"Me."
"Thank you."
Boss Cat: "???"
*Is this kid seriously playing the pity card right now?!*
"Viscount Francis has taken great care of me, and I also heard him say that Miss is extraordinarily gifted in magic..." Lanqi pondered for a moment, his voice carrying a hint of hesitation.
"Alright, stop right there. There's no way I'm letting you teach me. Anything but that is off the table. I don't want to learn magic genealogy or magic engineering; I only want practical magic. A scholar like you shouldn't waste both of our time." Zestira raised a hand, refusing outright.
"I'm sorry... I have had no talent for magic since I was young, and I'm terrible at casting spells." Lanqi apologized once again.
Boss Cat suspected this had become Lanqi's automatic combo trigger!
"..."
Zestira finally turned around, staring at Lanqi in long, hesitant silence.
"How about... I teach you how to cast spells?" she said.
*That way, he won't get bullied.*
"Then I shall be in Miss's hands." Lanqi finally broke into a smile.
"Come over here."
And just like that, Lanqi sat beside Zestira's long desk, listening to her explain the foundational techniques of spellcasting.
...
Before anyone realized it, more than an hour had passed.
Having just finished the business at hand, Viscount Francis arrived outside Zestira's door, full of worry.
His secretary had reported that Mr. Luoqi had not been kicked out by Zestira midway through.
*Could he really be having a smooth lesson with Zestira?*
The viscount paced back and forth in the corridor, gingerly softening his footsteps as he drew closer, yet not daring to approach too closely lest he disturb Zestira.
Yet it was precisely because the room was so quiet that Viscount Francis couldn't fathom what was going on.
He couldn't resist leaning in to listen to what was happening inside.
Gradually, his expression morphed into pure bewilderment.
He brought his ear even closer to the door, wondering if his ears were playing tricks on him.
Until he finally confirmed what was happening inside.
The viscount was thoroughly dumbfounded.
This was the first time he had ever seen a private tutor coexist so peacefully and communicate so amiably with Zestira.
And furthermore...
*Why is Zestira the one teaching him?!*
Chapter 247