Evening had fallen.
Jacqueline sat nervously in her dorm room, shaking her leg.
Eventually, she nearly screamed when it cramped up.
Just then, the door burst open and Rita walked in.
Rita looked down at Jacqueline who was now clutching her calf and rolling around on the floor.
For a moment, she seemed to be choosing her words carefully—
A kindness that hinted at her effort not to make a face.
“Would it be rude if I asked what exactly you’re doing right now?”
“I was just stretching a little…”
Jacqueline quickly straightened up and shifted her tone.
“More importantly, what did the dorm supervisor say?”
“She said Shannon came back to the dorm and hasn’t left. Supposedly, she’s in her room.”
“So she did come back? That’s weird. I knocked earlier, but there was no answer.”
Since being summoned to the Dean’s Office, Shannon had broken her promise to meet them at the café and hadn’t shown up even for dinner.
Jacqueline stood up while massaging her leg.
“I’m going to check on Shannon’s room one more time.”
“Do you have to? We already confirmed she didn’t disappear.”
“What if she’s sick or something?”
“Maybe she just wants to be alone.”
“Without saying anything to us?”
Even as she said it, Jacqueline realized how unconvincing it sounded.
Shannon usually preferred being alone and wasn’t the type to share much about herself.
“Still, I have a bad feeling. I’ll just check if she’s okay.”
“Jacqueline… is this just an excuse because you don’t want to study?”
“Come on. Even if I have to stay up all night, I will review today’s material before I sleep!”
With that, Jacqueline stepped out of the room and strode off briskly.
Shannon’s room, a single at the end of the hallway, was her destination.
Knock knock.
She knocked on the door.
No response.
But the dorm supervisor clearly said she hadn’t seen Shannon go out.
That meant she had to be inside.
“Shannon, are you asleep? Sorry, but I’m coming in.”
Saying that, she turned the doorknob.
It turned smoothly.
She had worried it might be locked, but fortunately, it wasn’t.
Click.
The door opened quietly, revealing a dark interior.
The lights weren’t on. Maybe she really was asleep.
In that case, Jacqueline decided she’d just take a quick look and leave.
All the dorm rooms were designed with a narrow entryway to ensure privacy; you had to walk in to see the living space.
Jacqueline squinted.
I hate creepy stuff…
She crept forward at a crawl-like pace.
In the darkness, she could vaguely make out the shape of the room.
The window was open, and the curtains fluttered slightly in the breeze from outside.
On the desk by the window, Jacqueline spotted a lantern. She lit the candle inside and turned—
—and locked eyes with a pair of pupils already watching her.
“Eek!”
Jacqueline screamed and fell backward with a thud.
The lantern flew from her hands, nearly crashing to the floor—
But someone’s magic caught it midair and gently returned it to the desk.
It was Shannon’s magic.
“So you weren’t asleep.”
“No.”
Shannon was sitting on her bed, knees drawn to her chest.
Jacqueline asked,
“Why are you sitting there all alone like that?”
“What are you doing here?”
“Of course I came because I was worried! We said we’d meet at the café, and you never showed. You didn’t even come down for dinner.”
“I just didn’t feel like eating.”
Instead of pressing further, Jacqueline got up from the floor and walked over to Shannon.
She opened her arms and gently embraced her—
Because it just felt like the right thing to do.
Shannon’s face, lit by the lantern, wore such a deeply sorrowful expression.
“Are you okay? What happened?”
Silence fell.
And then something else fell, too.
Jacqueline’s shoulder began to quietly grow damp.
***
In the end, all three of them gathered in Shannon’s room.
Rita, having come at Jacqueline’s call, took one look at Shannon’s face and said:
“Oh wow, Jacqueline. So you’ve finally had enough of studying and committed rebellion, huh? After everything she’s taught you in magic, this is how you repay Shannon?”
Jacqueline’s face turned bright red.
“What are you even talking about?! I didn’t do anything!”
“And yet Shannon’s eyes are like that?”
Shannon’s eyes were swollen and slightly flushed. There were clear traces of tears.
“Ugh, I’ll go make some hot tea or something.”
By the time Rita returned with two steaming mugs, Shannon had calmed down somewhat.
Jacqueline grumbled in protest.
“Why are there only two cups of tea? Where’s mine?”
“I’ve only got two hands, you know. Wanna share?”
“Actually, I prefer cold drinks.”
Hearing their banter, Shannon let out a small laugh.
Jacqueline and Rita exchanged a glance and smiled in relief.
“You know, they say if you cry and then laugh, you’ll grow horns on your butt.”
“You’re impossible.”
While sipping her tea, Shannon finally began to share everything that had happened earlier that day.
How coming to study at the Laurencia Royal Academy had basically been an escape—
How it was practically a runaway.
And how her school back in Karaf had descended into chaos because of her disappearance—
They even went so far as to pressure the academy through the Karaf embassy, demanding her return.
“What did the Dean say?”
Jacqueline asked.
“He said it was already decided and couldn’t be overturned. That the decision came from much higher up than him. That because Karaf and Laurencia are entangled in political interests, they can’t ignore the request…”
“So… are you really going to go?”
“What else can I do?”
“Don’t go. Stay with us.”
“Don’t… go?”
Shannon echoed the words, her voice full of confusion—
As if that idea had never even occurred to her.
For a mage, the authority of Karaf was absolute.
Disobeying a direct order simply wasn’t an option.
To her, the best outcome had always been not getting caught.
But now that she’d been found out, there was no going back.
“The Academy’s going to expel me. I probably won’t even be allowed to stay in the dorm anymore.”
“Then we’ll find you somewhere else to stay.”
“And where exactly would that be? I already spent all the money I brought with me when I left home.”
Shannon had never expected her runaway to last this long.
She hadn’t brought much money to begin with and hadn’t been particularly frugal, either.
After a moment of thinking, Jacqueline offered a suggestion.
“My aunt lives on the west side of Lambart. I’ll ask if she can take you in, even just temporarily—”
“Stop it, Jacqueline.”
Rita cut in, unable to stay silent.
“Stop? What are you talking about?”
“We all know that’s not a real solution. Living in hiding, constantly on the run. Is that really the kind of life Shannon wants?”
“Then what? We’re just supposed to sit back and let her leave?”
Rita replied firmly, as if it were obvious.
“We ask Shannon. What you want to do.”
“……”
“Forget what the situation is. Forget what’s ‘possible’. I’m not asking about that.
What do you want, Shannon? What do you truly want to do?”
“I…”
Shannon opened her mouth, then closed it again.
Jacqueline and Rita waited patiently, giving her the space and time she needed. And that patience gave Shannon the courage to gather her thoughts.
Finally, she spoke.
“I don’t want to go back. I like the time I’ve been spending with you all. Even if it’s just for a little while, I want to do things I’ve never had the chance to try before. Even if it’s just one more day, I want to spend more time with you.”
Jacqueline sniffled, clearly moved, and Rita finally nodded.
“Then it’s decided. What we need to do.”
“What is it?”
“We ask for help.”
Jacqueline looked frustrated.
“From who? Even the Dean said there’s pressure from above, and there’s nothing he can do.”
“Professor Winslet.”
“What?”
“Let’s ask Professor Winslet. You know, he’s… kind of special, even among the Academy staff. I heard he used to work in Karaf, so he might have some connections there.”
“Sounds plausible.”
“The only problem is whether he’ll be willing to take the risk to help us…”
“He will.”
It was Jacqueline who said that.
Her voice was full of conviction.
***
“Would you be willing to help me?”
Camille Sapin.
The ambassador from Karaf came straight to my office and said that, without preamble.
“I’d like to ask for your help regarding Miss Shannon Quinlivan.”
“Have a seat first.”
“Thank you. But the chair is…”
This has happened before, hasn’t it?
I really need to have Dean Kingfisher get some proper chairs in here.
I led Camille to the sofa across from mine and sat him down, then asked,
“So, you said Shannon Quinlivan?”
“Yes.”
“Go ahead.”
“Karaf has demanded the immediate return of Miss Shannon Quinlivan.”
“They’re asking us to send Shannon Quinlivan back?”
I frowned, unable to understand.
“Didn’t she come to the Laurencia Royal Academy of her own free will?”
Why would a young genius who should’ve been in Karaf show up in Laurencia?
It was the same question I had when I first encountered Shannon in the Academy classroom.
“I don’t know where to begin…”
Camille Sapin sighed, then started recounting, step by step, what had happened over the past couple of months.
He had attended the First Class graduation ceremony for the new students of the Magic Academy, at the Academy’s request.
There, by chance, he had spotted Shannon Quinlivan.
Curious as to why she was in Laurencia, he had attempted to speak with her, but she had refused.
Then he had tried to contact his home country to confirm Shannon Quinlivan’s status.
“Miss Quinlivan left Karaf in a manner that’s practically a runaway.”
“A runaway?”
“Yes. She left Karaf without going through official departure procedures. She didn’t even notify her school of magic.”
“But Shannon Quinlivan is the heir to the Venizelos school, isn’t she? That must’ve caused an uproar.”
“It seems they kept it strictly confidential within the school of magic to save face. But once the letter I sent revealed her runaway, Venizelos reportedly reacted with something close to a seizure.”
“Huh.”
“At first, he threatened everyone who found out about it, including me, not to spread the word. But when the rumors got out of control, it looks like he shifted his strategy to bringing Miss Quinlivan back to the Tower.”
“What did that bastard do?”
“Venizelos himself started turning over every stone, almost daily, claiming that the Laurencia Kingdom had stolen his great-granddaughter. As a result, I ended up receiving a return order with the seal of the Karaf Library Director.”
He gave a bitter smile.
Looking into Camille Sapin’s eyes, I asked,
“So, you’re asking me to help you bring Shannon back to Karaf?”
At my slightly sharp question, Camille shook his head with a serious expression.
“No. Just the opposite. Please, Professor…stop the forced return.”
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