The Dean's Office of the Sage Institute at Iketerite Academy.
The dark gray walls complemented the high-end black wooden furniture, creating a restrained and solemn atmosphere. A row of bookshelves filled with a sense of spatial overlap lined the walls, packed with classic works on magical engineering, as well as academic reports and research journals.
A small meeting area occupied one corner of the office. It contained a round, low-legged conference table and several comfortable chairs, usually used for brief meetings or informal conversations with students and faculty.
The windows were large and bright, offering a view of the beautiful campus scenery—especially the Sage Institute's courtyard and the Ancient Tower Library in the distance. Natural light streamed generously into the room, making the entire space look even more spacious and bright.
Loren sat behind his broad wooden desk, intently browsing through the documents in his hands.
The eventful semester had finally come to an end.
As Dean, he only had some final coordination work left.
When he saw Lanchi's string of absences on his transcript and Hughberlian's nearly perfect grades in every subject, Loren felt as if something were stuck in his throat. How on earth did these two end up together?
Back in the capital, almost everyone had agreed that Hughberlian, the duke's daughter, was far inferior to her father, Duke Migaiya, and had inherited none of his talent. But now, Loren saw that this was not the case. Her talent was astonishing. She had actually managed to keep Lanchi in check.
Loren dared not imagine what would have become of the Sage Institute if she had not drawn Lanchi's attention away and allowed him to run wild.
Whenever he thought of Lanchi, then of the students from the Yarolan Kingdom who were still in the hospital, and then