Private Lesson

Finding the principal's office proved to be quite easy.

It was located at the top of the castle. This floor was usually reserved for the professor's living quarters, so he hasn't been here yet.

The marble floor here was slightly less clean, and few people walked here, which created a bit of a desolate atmosphere.

Cyril stood in front of big double doors, which looked like they would lead to some banquet hall.

After a brief pause, he pulled the door knocker in the form of a lizard's head and let go of it.

Even the knocking sound appeared somehow grand.

Without waiting for too long, the doors soon opened on their own, and Cyril entered inside.

It was a rather spacious office, the table in the middle of the room, behind it a big window with a panoramic view of the Academy grounds, bookshelves filled to the brim with books on the side.

This looked like a small library almost.

To the side there was also a single door leading to another room.

However, there was no sign of Margaret anywhere.

Cyril slowly walked to the table and took a seat in a chair.

"This place is not quite as expensive-looking as I expected," Rhamn observed the wooden table with interest.

Even the one in Cyril's dorm was made of higher quality wood than this one. It was all quite dusty too.

If Morpho were here, she would have disliked this place a lot.

As he was thinking that, the side door opened, and a mature woman in loose-fitting pajamas stepped out. The collar hung so low you could almost see something you shouldn't.

"Sorry, I was taking a nap just now," Margaret said with a smile.

She was still wearing her oversized witch hat, which looked rather mismatching in her current outfit.

"So don't look." Rhamn quickly said and stood in front of Cyril, obscuring the sight with her own body.

Cyril didn't struggle; he wasn't that interested anyways.

"I wanted to learn illusion magic, but should I come a bit later?" He asked, staring Rhamn in the eyes.

There was some movement where he couldn't see; Margaret sat in the chair behind the table.

"No, it's fine," Margaret cheerfully said, and a flash of light was noticeable behind Rhamn.

"Huh? That is convenient..." Rhamn turned around, and after a brief comment, stood aside, letting Cyril's gaze through.

Margaret was now fully dressed in her witch robe, even the hair peeking out from under the hat looked brushed now.

"Why wouldn't she do that before entering through the door?" Rhamn said with dissatisfaction.

"Or was that only an illusion? Was she never in a pajama to begin with?" She thoughtfully continued.

"That might be even worse then..." Her gaze turned more hostile when looking at the principal.

...

In the meantime, Margaret rummaged through her desk and took out some familiar-looking papers—the same ones Cyril had seen back at Alvin's place.

She placed the spell book on the table, opened it to the first page, and flipped it around to show Cyril.

"Let's begin right away. Illusion Magic is a rather complex system; not even I have fully learned it." Margaret said with awe.

Cyril immediately asked after that, "I thought you were the one who developed this magic?"

Hearing this, Margaret's face turned peculiar, like she found him saying that amusing.

"No, I am fascinated by more direct spells, particularly elemental magic," Margaret replied and continued with a mysterious smile.

"Illusion Magic, on the other hand, was developed by a dear friend of mine. She was truly the brightest and the bravest mind I have ever known." With nostalgia in her voice, she heaved a heavy sigh.

Cyril waited for a few seconds before cautiously asking, "Can you tell me who that friend was?"

Margaret looked at him, her eyes narrowing.

"You seem to have a guess already?" She smiled. "You are completely right; that was your mother, Theresa."

Cyril hadn't expected to get an answer so easily. Hearing this name, one that was forbidden to speak in the Felling mansion, felt almost surreal.

Once recovered, he quickly asked again. "What exactly happened to her? What was she like?"

Never before did he have the chance to find out anything about his mother. She wasn't from the city, which made it so much harder to find information.

None of the people who knew his father had anything to say about her. Theresa was always the biggest mystery of the Felling family.

"Theresa was a brilliant mage, always challenging the impossible. She possessed an almost childlike curiosity about the world, which would occasionally get her in a lot of trouble..." Margaret said with a warm voice.

Cyril listened with great attentiveness, not missing anything.

"Was she... unusual in some way?" He added with hopes.

Margaret tapped her finger on the table in thought before replying, "...In a few ways, yes. Sometimes she would get a bit too absorbed in her research, maybe even obsessed—a common bad quality of most mages, but slightly ironic in her case."

She made a pause, and her thin smile got slightly wider. "But that's not what you want to know, right?"

Cyril momentarily froze and nodded once recovered. Surely a friend of his mother's wouldn't be an enemy?

With a bell-like voice, Margaret began speaking. "Unfortunately, I won't say what you want to hear~" She said somewhat teasingly.

This caused Cyril to freeze again, but for a different reason. He was dumbfounded.

She said so much, alluded to some things, only to not say anything in the end?

Margaret laughed quietly in a sweet voice and explained herself, "I am sorry; it would be insensitive of me to say more. Your father should be the one to tell you what you want to hear."

Then her head hung lower; even the smile on her face grew weaker. "I will only say that she is no longer with us. Don't doubt this."

Such a somber mood silenced any complaints Cyril was about to say.

He did have slight expectations that Theresa was actually somewhere out there alive.

This topic is just so secretive one couldn't help but think of all sorts of scenarios. But Margaret quickly dismissed any theories in that direction.

Cyril didn't really feel sad about it. He didn't even have any memories of Theresa. She was basically a stranger.

"This is the second time someone told you to ask your father." Rhamn sat on the table with her legs crossed, her hand on her chin.

"It must be something truly exciting for them to be so secretive about it..." Rhamn treated this as an interesting piece of gossip.

...

"I think we spend enough time on this. Let's begin learning." Margaret interrupted Cyril's thoughts, "Unless, of course, you wanting to learn illusion magic was only an excuse?"

Cyril shook his head. "I truly want to learn. Please share what you know."

Margaret said with content in her voice, "Good. Maybe you will go further on this road than I have. You certainly should have the qualifications."

She raised her index finger. "Not many know this, but at a high enough level, the effectiveness of your spells will not only lean on your skill and knowledge..."

Cyril, ready to learn, perked up his ears. Rhamn did the same.

"Sometimes 'talent' has a bigger influence on how far you'll go," Margaret crossed her arms and briefly explained.

"Some people are more fit to cast particular spells. It just feels more right, more comfortable for them. For example, your friend, Rose, has talent in lightning magic."

"Doesn't she seem to favor them in every academy competition? For her, it's probably just felt better to use these spells, maybe even cooler. It could be any reason, but her intuition guided her on the right path."

"It's a very elusive and subtle feeling, but it's very important for powerful mages."

"And I, unfortunately, don't have much talent in illusion magic. We'll see if you are different." She finished with a thin, curious smile.

"I wonder what your talent is," said Rhamn with curiosity.

Cyril was obviously curious too. He never really got this feeling before.

He used fire magic the most for now, so maybe it was that? Could Heavenly Dragon's Judgement be considered for this?

Doesn't matter right now.

He quickly shook off any stray thoughts and focused on Margaret's introduction to Illusion Magic.

It was time to learn.