NOVPUBThe hospital room, except for the large, bright windows on one side, was decorated mainly with dark brown wood, giving a comforting warm feeling.
Lanci walked over to the bed, sat on the chair next to it, and smiled tenderly at his father.
Gazing at Lanci’s smiling face, Noe did not know what to say about his son.
"For the past few days, I have been resting and barely leaving the ward. I heard your grades are good, so I have put my worries to rest, but..."
The thought of the horrified look on the clergy’s faces, Noe could not begin to fathom what kind of mischief Lanci had caused.
When he was child, he glanced through the newspaper near the open-air projector, as the light fluctuated, he only skimmed over the key images on the newspaper, without really reading the text, before he passed out."
"Never mind, as long as you are back safely."
Noe sighed.
Just by looking at the photos of that incident in the Shadow World, it was evident how dangerous it had been.
"I knew you’d be worried about my academic progress, but rest assured, even if I don’t succeed in academia, I’ll give it my all!"
Lanci firmly reassured his father.
"Lanci, what I want for you now is to walk the straight and narrow path, to develop stead by step. I don’t expect you to be as stunning as Duke Migaya."
Upon hearing Lanci’s words, Noe should have felt relieved.
However, he was inexplicably suffused with a vague sense of trepidation.
He used to worry that Lanci wouldn’t try hard enough.
Now he seemed a bit afraid that Lanci was trying too hard, so he lightly patted Lanci’s shoulder and gave him some advice.
He didn’t want Lanci to lose himself, or to walk a crooked path, looking for unattainable high goals.
Even though Noe initially wanted Lanci to attend the Ichrite Academy in the hope that he could learn from the distinguished alumnus, Duke Migaya, in reality, that was just a parent’s wishful thinking.
"Lanci actually has talents comparable to those of Duke Migaya."
Student Hyperion said quite modestly.
Prior to this, she would never admit that someone had more talent than her father. It wasn’t until she interacted with Lanci for such a long period of time that she realized he was even harder to evaluate.
"Student Hyperion, don’t overpraise my boy."
Noe shook his head and looked at Lanci scornfully,
"Apart from being good-looking, he is nowhere near Duke Migaya!"
This kid is comparable to the unprecedented genius, Duke Migaya of the Hutton Kingdom?
Even though Noe could tell from Hyperion’s words that she genuinely thought highly of Lanci.
However, Noe was an old admirer of Duke Migaya, a hardcore Migaya fan.
Every time he saw the news slander Duke Migaya, he got particularly angry.
"Actually, he can, Lanci is amazing."
Hyperion confidently repeated again.
Even though she always liked to hear others praise Duke Migaya, she was a realistic person.
"Speaking of grades, when Duke Migaya was admitted to the Knight College of Ichrite Academy, he ranked first. What was his rank in the Sage Academy?"
Noe pointed at Lanci and asked.
He felt this girl was a little over her head.
"First place."
Hyperion said.
"...?"
Noe was shocked, he stared at Lanci,
"Really, first?"
Lanci simply nodded unemotionally.
Noe’s heart pounded. He initially hoped that Lanci could just get into the Alchemy College with a passing grade.
Now he felt like he was dreaming.
Although Noe had inferred from the fact that Lanci could participate in the Shadow World after only two months of starting school that Lanci’s grades were not bad, is it true that he really ranked first?
One must know that the chief of any unit of the Ichrite Academy can at least guarantee not too bad achievement in the future!
Noe calmed down a bit.
Finally, he said-
"However, Duke Migaya took the Knight College entrance examination, but his real brilliance lies in his talent for magical engineering. He excels not only in magic and various other knowledge but also in pharmacy and card making. One could say that he would have ranked first no matter which of the four branches he took. I guess you should have heard after staying in the Royal Capital for so long about the unprecedented accomplishment of Duke Migaya having made three Pink Holy cards during the Registered Card Making Master exam, right?"
Noe felt proud of Lanci, yet the more he felt this way, the more he needed to remind Lanci not to be complacent and complacent, to keep his feet firmly on the ground and his head out of the clouds.
Lanci just nodded silently with a smile.
"..."
Hyperion looked at Noe with a puzzled look.
But she soon understood.
Lanci’s Card Maker registration test took place just prior to entering the Shadow World, merely a few days ago.
And only she, Prince Aynor, the high-ranking officials of the Magic Engineering College, Dean Loren, and the Ichrite Branch of the Cardmaker’s Association knew about Lanci’s advancement to the Platinum Level, it has not yet been publicized.
The story spreading around the Royal Capital was that Lanci made an epic, but there were so many exaggerated stories about Principal Lan in the Royal Capital that people could not be sure of its authenticity.
According to the president of the branch, Noe fainted shortly after arriving at Ichrite Academy, so it was normal for him to not know about Lanci’s Card Making Master registration test.
"While Lanci may not have all the skills, he is one of those people who passionate about mastering a certain skill to perfection... and his ranking in the Registered Card-making Master exam was even higher than Duke Migaya."
After some thought, Hyperion, concerned that Lanci was planning a big surprise for Noe and that Noe’s praise for Migaya was making her a bit embarrassed.
To prevent Lanci from causing more trouble, Hyperion decided it would be better to reveal the truth herself.
Noe was first startled for a moment, his brain seemed to crash due to overloading.
Last time when he returned to Nanwantina and met Lanci in his study, he heard from his housekeeper Hans that Lanci had a talent for making magic cards, and Lanci also asked him for a sum of money, claiming it to be "the material cost and tuition for making magic cards."
At first, Noe thought Lanci was just taking up it as a hobby and as long as he could make some simple magic cards, it would be great.
How could the kid be ready to take the Registered Card-maker exam in just half a year?
Wait.
"Higher?"
Noe discovered something, he calculated carefully.
Duke Migaya must have reached the Gold-level.
Even higher.
Could it possibly be the Platinum level?
Noe couldn’t believe his eyes as he looked at Lanci, as if he was seeing a monster.
Originally, the butler Hans told him that Young Master Lanci could definitely make an excellent Magic Card.
He thought Hans was just defending Lanci, but did Hans mean it literally?
"Student Hyperion, you’re not fooling me, are you?"
Noe stuttered, struggling to articulate his thoughts.
He didn’t quite believe it, thinking that Hyperion was joking around.
"It hasn’t been officially approved yet, so unofficially, he’s a ’prospective Platinum Level’."
Hyperion accurately replied.
Noe’s eyes glazed over as he looked at Lanci, unable to say anything for a while.
He believed Hyperion was an honest good kid, who wouldn’t lie to him.
This feeling was more surreal than a dream.
A Platinum Level Card Maker, a real big shot.
Noe never imagined that Lanci could achieve so much.
"This is strange, isn’t it? You all seem to take it so hard..."
Lanci muttered to himself, he didn’t expect to be the one being ridiculed one day.
They were both turning their backs on him.
If Duke Migaya heard his daughter belittling him, he would certainly be heartbroken.
However, Lanci felt that Noe still didn’t seem to realize that Hyperion was actually Duke Migaya’s daughter.
Noe just sat there, stunned for a long while.
Finally, a joyful smile broke through his face.
"Ha, even so, I’m sure there’s something this kid can’t top Duke Migaya on."
He didn’t know how to digest his sudden happiness, and blurted out casually as if he was joking or trying to show off.
"What?"
Hyperion didn’t know how else to get Noe to sincerely admit that Lanci is indeed exceptional.
"Duke Migaya can marry a demon race wife, can Lanci do that?"
Noe chuckled, in a mocking tone.
"Of course, he..."
Hyperion started off instinctively along the lines of Noe, but her face quickly changed color.
"I’m sorry, I’ll be excusing myself."
She immediately averted her eyes awkwardly, stood up with her lips tightly closed, and walked out of the hospital room with her head down.
"...See, you can’t argue back now."
Noe laughed jubilantly, seemingly celebrating a small victory.
"Father, she is…"
Lanci sighed.
He was about to tell him, but worried that his dad might pass out again.
If it happened a second time, it could be really dangerous; he was hesitating, not sure whether to speak or not.
"Who is she? Don’t tell me she’s Duke Migaya’s daughter!"
Noe laughed even harder, finding Lanci stuttering amusing.
"Where could you find such a gentle and kind demon? I can judge people pretty accurately; I’d sooner believe you were a demon than believe she has any demon blood."
"..."
Lanci was rendered speechless by Noe’s comment.
Forget it.
Just stick to his role and respect his father’s destiny.
Seeing the calm demeanor of Lanci, Noe couldn’t help but admire how mature and steady the kid had become.
"If you’ve got the guts, go marry a demon race wife. If she happens to be a pure-blood of the Demon Clan like Duchess Migaya, I will crown you the strongest."
Noe was still laughing, patting Lanci’s shoulder and unwittingly making a joke. He was in a really good mood.
The Demon Race are not an easy kind, with Lanci’s character, he’s likely to be killed at their first meeting before even starting the chase.
The existence of the Great Demon Clan, like a natural disaster, would crush Lanci like an ant."
"..." 𝑛𝘰𝑣𝑝𝑢𝑏.𝘤𝑜𝘮
Lanci shook his head in resignation.
That was the one thing he could never do.
Marrying a pure-blooded demon race wife is impossible; firstly, the thinking pattern of the demon race is different from that of humans. After arguments between married couples, either the wife murders the husband or she disappears, a good ending would basically be impossible.
If he were to ever marry a pure-blooded Demon, the only possibility would be under duress, with a knife at his throat.
However, there is no chance that such a situation would ever happen.
