Yujin did not send Alicia back imdiately after putting her to sleep.
Instead, he took a few steps and sought out soone who could be of help in this situation.
"It turned out this way."
"......"
And that person was, as expected, the headmistress of the academy, Ines Karandar.
The mont he entered the headmistress's office, she greeted him politely. But the mont she saw Alicia lying unconscious as if she had fainted, her expression turned to one of alarm. Yujin wasted no ti in explaining.
And now—
"...Hold on a mont, Yujin-nim. I’m sorry, but I don’t think I fully understand what you just said…"
She held her head as if feeling dizzy, then turned to face Yujin. He continued speaking with a calm, unaffected expression.
"It seems Her Highness has started to depend on too emotionally. I rely hinted that once her issues were resolved, our connection would co to an end, but she lost control."
It was a blunt and concise explanation—word for word the sa as what he had told her before. Ines staggered slightly.
"No, that doesn’t make sense…"
"Headmistress, you already understood, didn’t you? You just haven’t fully accepted it yet."
"......"
Ines, still struggling to process the situation, fell silent at his words.
She pressed a hand to her forehead, closed her eyes, and took a mont of quiet contemplation. After seemingly organizing her thoughts, she finally spoke.
"...Yujin-nim, how in the world did it co to this?"
"How did it co to this…"
Yujin let out a faint, bitter chuckle and laid Alicia down on the office sofa before answering.
"I thought she had stabilized sowhat after I sealed her Magi, but she still seed dangerously unstable. It’s only natural that she would latch onto soone offering her help in such a state. This kind of problem is particularly difficult. I can’t just refuse to support soone ntally unstable, but at the sa ti, I can’t fully accept her dependence either."
"I… I see…"
She could understand why this would be a difficult problem. It was essentially a dilemma.
If Alicia could overco her hardships on her own, that would be ideal. But since she couldn’t, soone had to help her.
However, making sure she didn’t beco overly dependent on her helper was just as challenging. She was already in a fragile state, needing sothing to lean on. And paradoxically, they needed to prevent her from leaning too much.
"Perhaps I was too eager to handle this as though I were an expert. I did set a boundary, but her emotions seem to have grown too deep. That very sa emotion caused her to unleash Magi, sothing she normally couldn’t even control."
"Is it that severe?"
Ines's expression hardened. If Alicia had lost control to the point that even the Magi Yujin sealed had run wild, she couldn’t begin to imagine how overwhelming her emotions must have been.
"I need to find a way to slowly resolve this... but it's difficult."
"...Then, Yujin-nim, wouldn’t it be better to use magic to interfere with her mind directly?"
"......"
At her cautious suggestion, Yujin remained silent for a mont. Then, he slowly turned to her, partially opening his eyes.
"!"
For Ines, this was only the second ti she had directly t his crimson gaze. The first ti was when she had mistaken him for a dark mage and attacked him.
That mont had been burned into her mory ever since.
And now, as she once again locked eyes with him, her body froze—as if she were a frog caught in the sight of a snake.
"Headmistress, are you serious about that?"
Yujin's voice was low as he questioned her. She stiffened, then slowly lowered her head.
"...I-I'm sorry."
"There’s nothing for you to apologize to for. However, that may have been an incredibly disrespectful suggestion toward Her Highness."
"......"
"Of course, it’s not like I haven’t considered that thod before. Naturally, directly interfering with her mind would be much easier. It’s not as though I dislike taking the easy way out."
After saying that, Yujin looked down at Alicia.
"If I construct an impenetrable ntal barrier to block external influence, manipulate her mind to perceive her emotions and trauma as insignificant, and ultimately alter her sense of self… there would be no difficulty in handling this. After all, regardless of Magi, it’s Her Highness who still holds control over her body. As long as her mind remains unscathed, the demonic self that cannot fight back will ultimately be defeated.
Of course, whether or not the person left standing at the end would still be Princess Alicia is another matter entirely."
"......"
"Headmistress."
Yujin turned back to Ines.
"I promised Her Highness that I would help her survive with her identity intact, and that promise still stands. Therefore, I refuse to use mind manipulation as a ans of solving this problem."
"...I apologize. That was thoughtless of ."
As the headmistress, she felt ashad. She had always believed she was protecting her students, yet upon hearing that Alicia had nearly lost control, she had montarily considered abandoning ethics in favor of a quick solution.
"It’s fine. The situation isn’t exactly simple, after all."
Yujin reassured her, then turned back to Alicia. Her sleeping face was so peaceful that it was hard to believe she had been grinning with malice just monts ago.
That was because he had woven a spell to ensure she would have pleasant dreams.
What kind of dream was she having right now?
Well, unless he ventured into her mind, Yujin had no way of knowing.
"In any case, it would be best if she doesn’t see for the ti being."
"You think so?"
"Yes. For now, it would be better if she has soone else to rely on—whether that be her family or soone else. There’s no guarantee that she won’t lose control the mont she wakes up and sees ."
"Then, regarding Her Highness’s situation…"
"I’m not saying I won’t see her at all. Once she has had ti to stabilize, I plan to help her understand why she developed these emotions in the first place and gradually resolve them. Since the source of her emotions is tied to her suffering, resolving that suffering should naturally dissolve these misguided feelings as well. By the ti her treatnt is complete, she will hopefully look back on this as nothing more than a slightly embarrassing mory."
"......"
Hearing this, Ines hesitated before asking, her curiosity seemingly genuine.
"Yujin-nim, this may be an incredibly rude question, but…"
"You may ask. As long as it isn’t sothing too outrageous, I’ll answer."
"What if… Princess Alicia’s feelings don’t fade? What will you do then?"
"......"
Yujin fell silent, as if considering the question.
If her emotions did not disappear… then—
"I will do everything I can to prevent that outco. However… if it does co to that, I suppose I will have to take responsibility in my own way."
"By responsibility, do you an…?"
"If it cos down to it, I am prepared to accept her feelings."
"!"
Ines's eyes widened. Her voice trembled slightly as she asked,
"A-Are you saying that you would accept Princess Alicia’s love…?"
"If she ends up harboring unresolved emotions because of my failure, then yes, I would have no choice but to bear that responsibility. Every failure cos with a price. If this is my failure, then I must bear it as well."
"......"
Ines was stunned into silence. She muttered,
"Do you really need to go that far? You are a Transcendent, after all…"
"As I said, failure always has a cost."
Yujin t her gaze and asked,
"Headmistress, do you believe that turning a blind eye to one's failures just to avoid consequences is the right way for a Transcendent to act?"
"....!"
"Was that the kind of dragon you believed to be?"
At those words, Ines’s face turned pale. She quickly responded,
"N-No! I have never thought that! I just felt that Yujin-nim was… too entangled in the affairs of the lower world…!"
"Is that so? I suppose it might seem that way. However, I believe you may have misunderstood sothing."
"What…?"
"I was never forced into being involved in the lower world. I chose to involve myself, and I do not consider my choice to be a shackle."
Saying so, Yujin shrugged lightly.
"If it is my choice, then what shackles could there possibly be? I chose this of my own free will, and there is no such thing as freedom without cost. That would simply be indulgence."
"......"
"If this is the consequence of my freedom, then taking responsibility for it is also my duty. There is no reason for to listen to others say, 'But you’re a Transcendent, so shouldn’t you be exempt from such burdens?'"
"...I apologize."
"There’s no need to apologize. I only wanted to clarify sothing for you. Your words are not freeing from shackles—they are restricting my freedom."
Ines lowered her head, her face flushing with embarrassnt. It struck her just how narrow-minded she had been. Today seed to be a day filled with these monts of realization.
Yujin, however, did not linger on her reaction.
"At any rate, it would be best if Her Highness does not see for the next few days. The Magi has been sealed, so for now, it would be better for her to return to the imperial palace and spend ti with her family. There is no longer any need to search for a solution within the Labyrinth."
"Ah, by that, you an..."
As Ines started to speak, Yujin nodded, cutting her off.
"Yes. Now that Her Highness no longer has a reason to remain at the academy, I ask that you handle the necessary procedures to send her back to the imperial palace. As a re professor, I do not have the authority to arrange such matters."
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