The antique clock in the office ticked softly and steadily, its hands having just slipped past nine o'clock.
Lanqi paid the time no heed. In complete contrast to the spring sunlight outside, he simply whiled away the morning at his leisure, everything around him seeming quiet and orderly because of his presence.
Not until a gentle knock sounded at the office door did Pranay's voice carry in from outside: "Mr. Luoqi, Miss Cloris is here to see you."
"Please, come in."
Lanqi lifted his head and looked toward the entrance, his voice calm and warm.
The door opened slowly. Pranay stood respectfully at the threshold, and behind him, a woman of extraordinary bearing stepped into the room.
She still wore an aristocratic hunting dress jacket and tailored trousers, the tip of her finely braided hair resting over her shoulder, only dressed more formally than before.
"Headmaster Luoqi, it has been over a month."
Removing her formal hat, Lady Cloris took a seat across from Lanqi's desk and sighed with emotion.
Her radiant aura seemed to usher in a breath of fresh air and floral fragrance. Even though it was already a clear spring day outside, her presence made the entire office feel even brighter.
"Being confined to the ducal manor all this time must have been truly grueling."
Lanqi smiled and rose to his feet, gesturing for Lady Cloris to join him in the reception area on the left side of the office.
When they had spoken before as headmaster and student, they could converse at length across the desk, but that was no longer appropriate.
"Indeed. Every day I had no idea whether I would live to see the next. It all hinged on whether I had bet correctly. But thankfully, going by the result, I won a total victory."
Cloris held out her hands with a light shrug.
Nothing about her suggested a woman who had just hovered on the brink of life and death for tens of days.
Once the two settled onto the sofas in the reception area, Pranay turned deftly and walked toward a cabinet to the side. Opening a drawer, he took out a small packet of select tea leaves and began preparing tea for Cloris.
Watching Pranay's fluid movements as he brewed the tea, Lanqi couldn't help but sigh in appreciation at this tranquil, pleasant routine.
After months of intense work, he finally had some downtime, and his mind was completely relaxed.
After bringing over the freshly brewed floral tea for both of them, Pranay bowed and took his leave once more, pulling the office door shut softly behind him.
"Since when did our academy have such an extraordinary instructor?"
Cloris felt as though she had only been under house arrest for a little over a month, yet out of nowhere, a professor had appeared whom she had never seen before and could not read in the slightest.
"Perhaps he has always been here, only no one noticed,"
Lanqi replied with a smile.
"Is that so?"
Cloris seemed to understand something, though having seen through it, she had no intention of voicing it aloud.
"I heard His Majesty, Franklin III, invited you to dinner yesterday."
She lifted her teacup, eyeing the headmaster with keen interest as she asked.
"That did happen."
Lanqi nodded.
In truth, the Emperor of the Protos Empire had been frightened out of his wits on the day of the bishop election.
Or rather, Franklin III had not enjoyed a single day of peace over the past few months.
Not until Luoqi McCarthy appeared and settled everything for him.
This dinner had carried several implicit undertones—such as the Emperor's hope that he would ignore public opinion and continue leading the Protos Empire.
Lanqi had spoken with His Imperial Majesty of the Protos Empire for a long time.
Even though Luoqi McCarthy had grown too close to the Bishop of Domination, causing the current sentiment among many imperial nobles to lean against seeing him hold too much power—and for the sake of avoiding suspicion, he ought not actively pursue excessive authority either—the Emperor had still expressed his trust in Lanqi, urging him not to mind the prejudices of the empire's other political factions.
Lanqi knew this meeting had likely been arranged partly at Isis's prompting; the Emperor had been quite nervous while dining with him.
Yet as the conversation progressed, Emperor Franklin III had gradually opened his heart to Lanqi.
Franklin III admitted frankly that in his heart, he too feared Luoqi McCarthy, as many considered him an existence beyond ordinary mortal comprehension.
Yet rather than gamble everything on an unknown variable, it was better to stake everything on someone truly capable.
According to findings that had not yet been made public, the investigation concluded that Duke Morotian had conspired with Askesan, the Bishop of Extinction, to orchestrate this plot. Their goal had been to trigger a war and cause massive casualties, enabling Morotian to harvest vast quantities of living souls and ascend to Tier 9.
Had Duke Morotian's plot succeeded, not only would the frontline provinces in the northern reaches of the empire have been devastated, but the Northern Kingdoms would also have become a grand banquet ground after the monstrous revelry of those two inhuman masterminds.
However, the presence of the northern demons and the changes that had occurred in the duke still lacked an explanation.
It was possibly tied to the Calamitous Wasteland in the far north of the Northern Continent, and no one knew whether the Theocracy had played a part.
After all, within the Northern Continent, the Protos Empire was merely a realm along the southern coast; to the north lay countless unknown mysteries that contemporary humans could scarcely fathom.
Perhaps one day in the future, an even deeper peril would resurface, and Franklin III hoped that when that time came, the Protos Empire would still have Luoqi McCarthy.
"So that's how it was."
Cloris nodded.
She had already guessed the general gist of the conversation between the headmaster and the Emperor.
In the end, it was nothing more than Luoqi McCarthy earning the Emperor's trust and agreeing to remain in office.
"What brings Lady Cloris to see me today?"
Lanqi looked at Cloris and asked.
"No, I suppose I should address you as Duchess Cloris now."
He considered for a moment, slightly adjusting his phrasing.
As a national treasure of the Protos Empire and an heirloom of Duke Bernhardt's family, the [Original Slate - Undead] was currently held by Great Sage Isis following Duke Morotian's demise.
Isis had stated that she would return the slate to House Bernhardt once Cloris reached Tier 7, a decision made out of protective consideration.
Cloris had now been cleared of all charges and released. She was set to inherit leadership of House Bernhardt and become a duchess of the empire.
Though this news had not yet been made public, an announcement was due any day, and the upper echelons of the empire were well aware of it.
"Regardless of whatever changes my status undergoes now, House Bernhardt will remain your ally. Thank you for maintaining your trust in me until the very end,"
Cloris offered her thanks.
Every step she had taken was a perilous gamble; had she lacked even a shred of trust from her allies, everything would have collapsed completely.
"There is no need."
Lanqi averted his gaze and gave a faint smile with lowered eyes.
"Why?"
Cloris gazed at him and asked.
She could not understand what considerations led Luoqi McCarthy to decline her offer.
"I'm preparing to retire,"
Lanqi leaned back in his chair, speaking with a gaze detached from worldly ambition, looking for all the world like someone ready to retire tomorrow.
"..."
Cloris could not fathom this man.
He was just a step away from grasping control of the Protos Empire, yet he wanted nothing at all.
What had all his previous efforts been for, then?
"I never had much interest in fame, fortune, or status to begin with. I only want to return to my hometown and live a peaceful life,"
Lanqi showed an easy smile.
"After I step down, the Protos Royal Magic Academy will revert to its previous operation without a headmaster, and the post of governor of the northern Snowfield Province will be entrusted to Viscount Chinston. As for the Domination branch, if possible, I hope Duchess Cloris will look after them."
He knew that in certain respects the young duchess before him resembled her father, Duke Morotian, yet at her core she was different—a far more trustworthy partner.
"Naturally. We have always been allies,"
Cloris nodded, her tone firm.
After a brief pause, she glanced at the clock on the wall, seemingly feeling that she had stayed too long.
"In that case, I will trouble Mr. Luoqi no further,"
Cloris rose and bid Lanqi farewell.
Graceful and poised in her demeanor, she walked with light footsteps toward the entrance of the headmaster's office.
The moment her hand caught the doorknob, she turned back, an inexplicable smile dawning on her lips.
"By the way, Headmaster, a light-haired girl at the base of the Redmond Building asked me to tell you that she's waiting by the lake. She told you to change into something more casual and handsome before going to meet her,"
Cloris said. Then, with a slight nod, she closed the door gently, leaving behind a tranquil silence.
Lanqi's gaze lingered on the closing door for a moment.
He did not move, looking slightly dazed.
Then he chuckled with relief.
"Is it really fine for a bishop and a holy son to go on a date?"
Lanqi stood up, muttering wryly to himself.
That night, he had merely used it as an example to explain to Sigrid what things one should never say before a battle. Who could have thought that, through a series of coincidences, it would turn into a genuine date?
Even so, he lingered not a moment longer, striding out of the headmaster's office with newfound vigor.
Chapter 484