Chapter 82: Chapter 82

The red parasol unfurled, shielding Lathel.

The terrifying lightning bolt struck the parasol with a deafening explosion. A shockwave burst forth like a raging storm, blasting outward.

Yet, the lightning dissipated—while the parasol continued to float calmly in front of Lathel.

Morlan’s eyes widened as he witnessed the scene. His gaze turned distant, as if waiting for something that stirred both excitement and dread within him.

"Velithra..." he muttered.

The red parasol twirled and spun backward, flying straight toward a woman walking toward them.

She caught the parasol effortlessly and used it to shield herself from the sun.

Golden hair, shining like strands of rare metal, cascaded down her shoulders, reflecting the morning light. Her face was flawless—so beautiful it felt unreal—shrouded in an alluring laziness.

Her fox-like ears twitched slightly, at once charming and mysterious. Her robe slipped slightly off her shoulder, revealing a delicate collarbone and skin white as snow, as if daring someone to sin.

Her silver eyes gleamed with lust and greed—so intense it seemed anyone who met her gaze might be devoured whole.

She walked over to Lathel, leaned slightly forward—revealing snowy twin peaks right before his eyes—and gazed at him with a look of fascination and hunger.

"Ah\~ My\~ My\~, you’re Lyra’s disciple?" she chuckled, voice dripping with temptation. "So handsome. Just my type."

Lathel feigned surprise and stepped back, a light blush on his face. "Thank you... and you are...?"

The woman straightened up, tilting her head with a lazy smile. "I’m Velithra Moonsong. You may call me Velithra... or Vely, if you’d like."

"Professor Velithra?" Lathel asked in confusion.

"Kekeke..." Velithra tilted her head again, holding the parasol in one hand, her other hand propping up her cheek. Her smile was sultry. "How adorable... Would you like to become my disciple?"

"Heh?! That’s..." Lathel froze, unsure how to respond.

"Don’t worry\~" Velithra said with a smirk. "Lyra may not be able to protect you, but I can."

"If you become my disciple..." she continued, reaching out with a soft hand, lifting Lathel’s chin gently, forcing him to look into her seductive eyes. "I’ll grant you some benefits... things Lyra could never offer."

"Velithra..." Just then, Morlan suddenly shouted and hurriedly stepped in front of her.

Unlike his earlier demeanor, Morlan now wore a sycophantic smile, his face resembling that of a dog who had just seen its master arrive.

If he had a tail, it would be spinning like a helicopter rotor.

In stark contrast, Velithra appeared indifferent—if not outright annoyed.

Her eyes glanced sharply at Morlan, as if to say: Don’t come near me.

"Apologies, Vice Dean, you must address me as Professor Moonsong."

"Ah!" Morlan flushed with embarrassment and quickly explained, "Sorry, I was just so happy to see you that I forgot."

"Happy?" Velithra tilted her head. "And what exactly did I do to make you happy?"

"Hahaha..." Morlan laughed awkwardly. "No, it’s just that your very presence brightens the atmosphere."

Velithra stared at him silently. After he finished, she let out a sigh and said, "It’s the opposite for me, Vice Dean. I have absolutely no desire to see you."

"Ack!" Morlan flinched, scratching his head and laughing nervously. "Ah... Professor Moonsong, don’t joke like that. There are a lot of people here."

"Huh!" Velithra scoffed and turned her gaze back to Lathel. The longer she looked at him, the more possessive her eyes became.

"Well then? What do you think of my offer?"

Lathel was about to respond, but Morlan cut in.

"Call me Professor Moonsong." Velithra frowned, her eyes filled with contempt as if she were looking at a filthy bug.

"Ah! Right, Professor Moonsong," Morlan stammered. "He’s Lyra’s disciple. Doing this isn’t appropriate. Besides, he’s a deceiver. He’s suspected of cheating during the Tower Trial."

"Professor Moonsong, you absolutely must not trust him. Instead, Lucien is my disciple. If it pleases you, we could teach him together."

"I truly believe that with his talent and character, within five years he’ll surely..."

"Have you said enough?" Velithra frowned, her voice growing cold and irritated.

"Ack! I..." Morlan scratched his head, nervous, and took a step back under the chill of her stare.

"Master..." At that moment, Lucien approached Morlan and gently placed a hand on his shoulder.

Morlan turned and saw Lucien shake his head, then sighed in silence.

Lucien stepped in front of Velithra and bowed politely.

"Professor Moonsong, I am Lucien."

"I have no need to know your name," Velithra replied flatly.

Lucien’s chest tightened, but he didn’t let it show in his expression.

Another victim fooled by Lathel’s looks, he thought bitterly. I can’t let Professor Moonsong be deceived by that bastard any longer.

’Selvia and Professor Lyra are already more than enough...’

Lucien took a deep breath and spoke resolutely, "Professor Moonsong, everything the Vice Dean said is true." For more chapters visıt novel⚑fire.net

"Sometimes, appearances mean nothing. It’s inner beauty and a kind heart that we should truly value."

"Ah!" Velithra didn’t respond to Lucien. Instead, she turned to Lathel and asked, "What do you think of what he just said?"

Lathel shook his head and replied, "He’s right—inner beauty and virtue are things we should aspire to."

Velithra gave a slight nod, but a flicker of dissatisfaction crossed her eyes.

"However..." Lathel didn’t stop there. "If you’re ugly, if your status is low, then those things he just mentioned are nothing more than garbage."

"Ara\~" Interest lit up Velithra’s eyes. She smiled and said, "Explain further."

"It’s simple," Lathel grinned. "Between the lies of a king and the truths of a beggar, Professor Vely—whose words would you believe?"

"Ah\~" Velithra’s eyes sparkled. Covering her mouth, she laughed sweetly. "Hehehe... Lathel, you’re truly fascinating."

She stepped closer to him—so close that not even air could pass between them. The intoxicating fragrance of her body wrapped around Lathel, leaving him slightly entranced.

Morlan, seeing this, clenched his teeth so tightly that the grinding echoed audibly. His fists trembled with fury, and his reddened eyes glared at Velithra as he shouted, "Professor Moonsong, there should be boundaries between a professor and a student. You—"

"I don’t like boundaries," Velithra pouted. "As far as I remember, there’s no such rule in the academy."

"Besides..." she leaned onto Lathel, licking her lips with a lustful glint in her eyes. "He’s far too handsome... I’m having trouble controlling myself."

"Professor Vely, I already have a wife." Lathel took a step back, dodging her soft, tentacle-like fingers.

"Ah!" Velithra pouted and looked toward Selvia.

Feeling her intense gaze, Selvia quickly lowered her head and said, "It’s a pleasure to meet you. I’m Lathel’s wife. My name is Selvia."

Velithra glanced at Lathel with a hint of jealousy and said with mock complaint, "Lathel, you’re a prince, aren’t you? Isn’t it normal for a prince to have multiple wives? Am I wrong?"

"Well..." Lathel forced a smile. "Hahaha... you’re not wrong, but right now I want to focus on studying—especially since someone has been eyeing my wife."

"You..." Lucien gritted his teeth, enraged by the way Lathel twisted the situation to make him seem like the villain.

"Lathel, don’t use your deceitful words to trick Professor Moonsong!" Lucien shouted in fury. "You’ve already deceived Selvia—I won’t let you deceive Professor Moonsong too!"

"Lucien!" Selvia also shouted angrily, "I won’t allow you to insult my husband!"

"Selvia..." Lucien was stunned. He had never seen Selvia this angry, and it pierced him deeply. "You’ve never been angry at me before..."

Selvia frowned. "That’s because I used to think you were a good person. I thought you were pitiful, so I helped you."

"But I never imagined you would try to ruin my happiness. Lucien, if I could turn back time, I would never have helped you—never even met you."

Lucien clenched his fists so tightly his knuckles turned white.

Unable to hold back, Irelia spoke up. "Stupid woman, can’t you see Lucien is trying to help you?"

"You must be blind to think that bastard is a good person. Lucien’s trying to protect you, and instead of being grateful, you scold him?"

"I don’t need him to protect me," Selvia said firmly.

Right now, she wanted to protect Lathel, and she didn’t hesitate to confront Irelia and Lucien to do it.

"You..." Irelia sneered coldly. "Hah! Stupid woman. When that bastard throws you away, Lucien won’t want you either."

Selvia furrowed her brows. "Even if Lathel throws me away, I’d still accept it—because I’ve had some of the happiest moments of my life with him."

"You... you filthy woman, I—"

"That’s enough!" Lathel snapped, his gaze cold as he glared at Irelia. "If you dare insult my woman again, don’t blame me for being ruthless."

Lucien quickly stepped in front of Irelia, frowning. "If you dare harm my friend, I’ll cut you into a hundred pieces."

Tension instantly thickened in the air—heavy, volatile, explosive.

Suddenly, Velithra’s sweet and sultry voice rang out: "Hahaha... how entertaining. Even though Lyra isn’t here today, I’ll protect Lathel in her place."

Morlan’s fists trembled with fury, his face twitching in frustration. "Professor Moonsong, are you really choosing to protect him?"

"That’s right," Velithra said with a smile. "What’s wrong? Are you angry about that?"