NOVPUBAt this moment, on the sixth floor of the Sage Academy Tower Library, just a few meters away from the dome, one can easily overlook the entirety of the main hall on the ground floor by leaning against the railing on the high platform.
If your vision is good enough, you can see three figures standing in the central round plaza.
And if you have previously placed magic tools on a table at the edge of the ground floor plaza, you can clearly hear what they are talking about.
Hyperion and Sofia had slightly disguised themselves today and arrived early at the stone railing on the sixth floor to read books while also observing the situation on the ground floor from a distance.
According to Lanci, this was a practical class.
Sofia should be observing judiciously and introspect on how to respond correctly to Carlen’s rhetoric in the upcoming conversation.
Originally, Sofia was a bit nervous, worried that Lanci would not be able to cope with Carlen.
However, before Lanci and Carlen even spoke,
Sofia started giggling with schadenfreude at the sight of Carlen’s initial setback.
"Sofia, you..."
Hyperion, who had come to accompany Sofia, recalled that Sofia had once stood in Carlen’s position during the meetings at the Cardmaker’s Association.
Now, not only did the sight not evoke painful memories for Sofia, but she was also quite interested, which left Hyperion very worried about Sofia’s mental state.
She wondered how Sofia had gone from being upset about Aynor and Lanci’s closeness to enjoying this...
Hyperion also didn’t feel comfortable leaving Lanci out of her sight for too long. Therefore, after breakfast with Miss Tata this morning, she had Miss Tata drop her off at school and pick her up in the evening.
The two continued to quietly observe the situation on the ground floor plaza.
Lanci seemed both helpless and accepting towards Aynor’s affections - as long as Aynor was happy, that was enough.
Lanci patiently waited while Aynor talked to himself for a while, listening attentively.
"No matter what, I am overjoyed to see you today. Whenever you’re free, I must take you to see the renowned paintings in the palace and hear your opinions on them."
As Aynor spoke, he patted Lanci’s shoulder.
Finally, during a pause in Aynor’s speech, Lanci smiled and looked at Aynor, saying:
"Actually, Prince Aynor, I was also surprised to see you today. Because Hyperion once told me that Sofia had planned to invite you to observe the Original Slabs a long time ago. If everything had gone according to plan, she would have attempted Dean Loren’s challenge by her junior year, but alas..."
Upon saying this, Lanci looked down, expressing a sense of regret. He felt it was inappropriate to continue speaking.
"... Is that true?"
"You can ask Sofia."
The moment Aynor heard Lanci’s confident response, the smile on his face gradually disappeared, replaced by a deep sense of guilt.
"..."
Aynor was plunged into a profound dilemma.
He really wanted to join Sofia, but he had promised Carlen and it wouldn’t be right to go back on his word in this moment, especially since he was a prince and ought to keep his promises.
"Prince Aynor, I have overstepped..."
Seeing Aynor’s reaction, Carlen spoke with a hint of worry,
"I finally understand why Sofia was so angry that day. It turns out it was all my fault..."
Just saying as much brought tears to Carlen’s eyes.
This left Aynor even more speechless.
Carlen covertly glanced at Lanci.
She wasn’t sure whether this young man had intentionally stirred up trouble or unknowingly revealed the matter about Sofia.
But after quickly thinking it over, if Lanci was indeed like her, he generally would use his intellect and charm to win others over rather than selflessly help others facilitate a relationship.
Doing otherwise would create a conflict between his words and actions. It wasn’t reasonable to imagine someone with malevolent designs going about doing good deeds all day. If he actually did that, it would mean he was a good person.
So most likely, this young man naturally elicited irritation from others.
But that was okay.
No matter what Aynor and Lanci said, she knew she could make Aynor stay out of compassion for her today, and then gradually alienate him from Sofia.
Just when Aynor was becoming increasingly distressed, sympathizing with Carlen’s pitiful eyes, and feeling unable to hurt Carlen,
"I’m sorry. As your dear friend, I won’t embarrass you. Just do as you wish."
Lanci said guiltily at this side.
His eyes seemed to empathize deeply with Aynor’s pain at this moment.
"Lanci..."
Aynor looked at Lanci, deeply moved.
"Ay... "
Carlen was about to speak, but Lanci’s statement seemed to have silenced her as she struggled to find suitable words, her expression shifting several times.
On the sixth floor of the Gu Ta Library, Sofia and Hyperion were leaning against the stone railing, observing the situation below.
"Why isn’t Carlen speaking?"
Sofia asked Hyperion in confusion.
Moments ago, when Carlen was with her and Aynor, every time Aynor was about to make a decision, Carlen would retreat and put on a pitiful act. Sofia had seen that act several times already.
She didn’t have any evidence to prove that Carlen was pretending, so she could only endure in silence each time. 𝖓𝔬𝔳𝔭𝖚𝖇.𝔠𝔬𝖒
But the way Lanci handled a similar situation seemed quite ordinary to Sofia.
Yet the result was that Carlen couldn’t speak!
Sofia was utterly confused about what was going on. Surely Lanci couldn’t have used a silencing spell in this situation, could he?
Hyperion remained silent for a while.
She seemed to have somewhat complex feelings about this.
"... The actual meaning of Lanci’s words was - you girls are just fighting over Prince Aynor, only I truly care for him."
Finally, Hyperion shook her head and translated Lanci’s words for Sofia.
While every female’s thoughts were puzzling to Aynor, his close friend Lanci was the only one who could understand him.
After Lanci’s words, Carlen realized that anything else she said would only seem like she was selfishly putting Prince Aynor in a difficult situation.
"!"
Sofia suddenly understood and then looked at Hyperion with a complicated expression,
"Why can you understand Lanci’s words?"
Having grown up together, Sofia was very clear about Hyperion’s character. She was convinced that Hyperion was a rare good girl.
"Yeah... why do I understand indeed..."
Hyperion looked at Sofia in a daze, almost on the verge of tears.
Having spent so much time with Lanci, she had gradually started to understand his thoughts.
Wasn’t this also a kind of mutation?
Her character...
