Chapter 50: Chapter 50
The next second, Duran stood up from his chair, and the sound of the chair scraping against the ground echoed in the stunned silence.
Lana blinked, taken aback by Duran’s response. Wasn’t he supposed to look dreadful? Or look for his phone to inform the Almonds about her next move?
"You are admitted." Duran’s voice was laced with excitement; his eyes stayed trained on the pulsing blue light as if he were seeing the eighth wonder.
"Ugh... thanks?" Lana was befuddled, her mind racing.
’Something is amiss... either... Duran is acting... and if he is... he is a damn good actor. Or... he isn’t on the Almond Family side.’
In her previous life, when she was suspended, the vice principal and principal had gone to deal with one of the ghost portals.
The acting vice principal, Miss Dorris, hated Lana’s guts and expelled her without properly investigating the plagiarism event.
When things are unknown, the only solution left is... bluffing.
"What about the Almond Family? How are you going to respond to them about my admission?" Lana let out a sound, somewhere between a scoff and curiosity.
"Almond family? What does this have to do with them?" Duran questioned, his wise grey eyes shimmering with a glint.
"Are you going to act as if you have no connection with them?" Lana’s voice was laced with certainty, while a nonchalant expression settled on her face.
Duran was silent for a long while before he crackled with laughter. His deep voice echoed in the suffocating silence.
"So the reason why you masked your hostility with innocence was to test me, huh?" Duran finished, amusement dripping from his tone.
The tension in the air loosened slightly, though Lana didn’t drop her guard.
Lana’s lips curved faintly. "You could say that," she replied. "It’s only natural to be cautious when the people you once trusted start pulling strings behind your back."
Mr. Crow sensed the faint ache through their bond and frowned in puzzlement.
"The Almond family did approach me. But if I started to listen to every single wealthy heir’s tantrum, the school might have collapsed long ago. As for this guard... hm... I will fire him."
The guard was stunned; his knees gave out, and he knelt, trembling. "Sir! Please have mercy! I didn’t disrespect her at all! I was mindful of my behavior all along."
"Hm... did you forget the primary rule? No one is allowed to take bribes and get things done for any wealthy family." Duran’s voice was calm and steady with no undercurrent.
"Sir, I will apologize to Miss Lana! Please don’t fire me!" The guard begged, tears streaming down his face.
Lana sighed. The guard didn’t understand... he wasn’t fired because he disrespected Lana, but because he had taken a bribe.
Lana suspected that if she were the ordinary Lana of her past life and wasn’t able to reach the vice principal’s office at all, the guard would still have been fired.
"You still haven’t grasped the problem here. Shadowridge doesn’t let any leeches who can be tempted with money or power stay. Leave before I have to use my powers." Duran’s stern voice matched his stern expression, scaring the guard to the point that he scrambled away.
Turning toward Lana, his face turned peaceful again, and he gave a polite smile, "Child, I will get you admitted. And to compensate for the mistake from our end, we will waive off half of your semester’s fees."
Lana was taken aback.
Eh? Such a good attitude? Truly worthy of being the most sought-after university in the entire country.
Things progressed smoothly from there on. Lana successfully registered herself and even changed her major to mystic cultivator.
As for her identity as a talisman practitioner? Lana planned to keep it a secret.
The university had many different departments, like the Dream Warden division, the spiritualist, the Exoray, the Divine division, the Talisman Practitioner Division, the Mystic Cultivator Division, and the Summoner department.
These were the top courses, or to be precise, the division ranking highest in the hierarchy of Shadowridge University.
Then there was the department solely made for soul cultivators or ordinary people, but sometimes opted for by awakened ones, too. The Law Department, Media Department, Weapon-making Department, Drama Department, and Archivists
Out of all the departments, the most deserted were the Mystic and Summoner divisions, due to a lack of talent.
Even with fewer students, these departments ranked top in the hierarchy, and they ruled the university.
In Lana’s words, they were royalty. And Lana had a favorable impression of them.
Primarily because, in her previous life, while other departments had gone on a witch hunt against her, they stayed neutral and even tried their best to prevent the excessive bullying.
Yet when she had a confrontation with Cassandra, even they were taken aback.
Lana inhaled a deep breath and decided not to delve into the past memories.
"Are you going to keep this crow with you?" Duran, who was walking beside Lana and leading her toward the mystic department, asked in a curious voice. Fresh chapters posted on Nov3lFɪre.ɴet
"Well, yes. He is my contracted beast." Lana’s lips curved into a forced smile.
"I will issue a certificate for your pet beast then," Duran said supportively.
"Thank you, vice principal." Lana bowed, and she thought of something before giving an apologetic smile, "And sorry for the doubts I showcased earlier."
"Not a big deal. I can understand. If you ever need help, just ping me." Duran smiled; the wrinkles at the corners of his eyes seemed to magnify his kind personality.
Soon, they both reached outside the mystic department, and Lana inhaled a deep breath and entered the room.
The room featured tiered, stadium-style seating made entirely of wood, creating a stepped platform that allows each level to have a clear view.
Comfortable lounge chairs in muted shades of green and orange are scattered across the tiers, paired with small tables, making it suitable for studying, discussions, or informal meetings.
There was also a floor-to-ceiling window partition divided into two. The lighting on the ceiling was like stars scattered in a midnight sky.