Right after Yujin’s shout, all hallucinations vanished.
The vision began to clear up, and everything started to look normal again.
However, Elysia couldn’t shift her gaze from anything else. Her focus was solely on Yujin’s half-opened eyes, as if her entire attention was drawn to them alone.
No matter how many times she looked, his eyes were beautiful—like glittering rubies, or blood-like in their sticky allure, growing more charming the more you stared.
For a long time, Elysia just blankly stared at Yujin until he let go of the sword blade, which finally snapped her out of it.
“A-ah! A-a!”
Elysia hastily dropped the sword, scattering it into petals.
“Sorry, Professor! Um… Did you get hurt anywhere…?”
“Haha, no injuries. Your Highness, don’t worry too much.”
Yujin flexed the fingers that had gripped the blade. The residual demonic magic lingered like faint traces but there were no wounds. With a light shake of his hand, the remnants dissipated quickly.
“But, Your Highness, are you alright? It seems the Demon’s Ego played some tricks.”
“Yes, yes… I’m fine. But, Professor, about the sword…”
“I already said it’s fine. There was no real issue, and it was partly my fault for not reacting faster. Anyway, if Your Highness is okay, then that’s good.”
Though still calm, Yujin’s words reassured Elysia somewhat. However, her expression remained somber, clearly feeling guilty for having swung a sword at him.
“I’m sorry…”
“It’s not your fault—it was the demon playing tricks. Raise your head, please. If you keep this up, it’ll make me uncomfortable.”
“…Yes…”
Elysia lifted her head upon hearing that. As she did, Yujin glanced around at the surroundings.
“Anyway, the aftermath of what just happened has left things a bit messy.”
“Ah…”
Elysia’s body is demonic in nature. Given that her sword strike clashed with a force powerful enough to block it, disrupting the area was inevitable.
“Shall we tidy it up a little?”
Snap!
As Yujin flicked his finger, high-level magic unfolded.
Whoosh!
In an instant, everything returned to its original place as if time had rewound. Witnessing this, Elysia widened her eyes.
“This is… Time Series Magic.”
“You know about it, Your Highness?”
Yujin responded to her murmurs. Elysia nodded.
“After Professor left yesterday, I… personally looked into you a bit. Ah, um, if it bothers you that I investigated…”
“Haha, no, it doesn’t bother me. It’s natural for students to be curious about who their professor is. You don’t need to be overly cautious about every action. Besides, you’re royalty, aren’t you?”
If the princess behaves too carefully around a mere professor, that could present its own set of problems. Though only the two of them were present now, and Yujin himself was quite renowned, considering their social standings, her behavior seemed a tad excessive.
“Yes…”
Elysia herself realized she was being overly cautious around Yujin. She knew it wasn’t necessary, yet…
‘Why am I acting like this, really?’
Elysia was known throughout the empire as a regal flower, maintaining an aloof image. Since deciding to grow stronger, she consciously acted this way to avoid showing any weakness.
Of course, she bowed to certain individuals like Ines Karandar, President of the Academy, as a sign of respect, but she didn’t usually behave so meticulously to avoid offending others.
Yet, standing before Yujin made her feel strange. Words that usually came out crisply now stumbled, and her typically composed demeanor became clumsy.
Perhaps it was due to Yujin’s immense power or hidden secrets that she chose to overlook, but…
Elysia instinctively felt it was something else entirely.
This was… something different.
“Let’s sit down, Your Highness. I’ve suppressed the unruly magic for now, so it should stay quiet for a while. Let’s start getting accustomed to handling it.”
“Yes!”
At his words, Elysia sat down, and Yujin joined her across from her.
“First, let’s try sensing the Demon’s Magic. Though detecting energy is a basic step, given that your Highness possesses the magic of a Transcendent, we’ll start here.”
“Yes.”
With that, Elysia closed her eyes and focused inward, searching for the presence of the demonic magic within her.
Swishhh…
The sweet fragrance exuding from the magic felt almost intoxicating, reminiscent of flowers.
“I can sense it.”
“Can you control it?”
Upon that question, Elysia attempted to manipulate the magic, treating it like the aura she originally possessed.
But…
‘It won’t move.’
The magic that had run rampant when the seal broke now refused to budge, hiding away like a frightened mouse.
Just moments ago, she had vividly formed a sword imbued with the power of demons, yet now the magic wouldn’t stir as if denying its earlier capability.
“It won’t move.”
“Is that so? Well, I kind of expected this. Seems like the Demon’s Ego is firmly holding onto the reins of the magic. Without that, there’d be no chance of winning.”
“It feels… scared.”
“Hmm? Scared, you say?”
“Yes, it’s a vague sensation, but…”
At that, Yujin tilted his head in thought and addressed Tiamat.
‘Tiamat, does the essence of a Transcendent have any form of self-awareness?’
『…Hmph, why don’t you figure it out yourself?』
‘…?’
The problem was that Tiamat seemed to know something but had no intention of sharing it with Yujin.
But she herself was frustrated.
『You were saying something about me being number one and family earlier, weren’t you? Yet you seem awfully devoted to that girl now.』
Ever since Yujin had been displaying such kindness toward Elysia, it deeply irked Tiamat. Just moments before entering this room, he was spouting nonsense about her being the most precious person, practically family, yet now he appeared intent on seducing Elysia, which she found extremely distasteful.
‘Hmm…’
Naturally, Yujin couldn’t help but let out a wry smile. Clearly, Tiamat wasn’t planning to help him right now.
‘Maybe I’ll soothe Tiamat later…’
Given the current situation, calming Tiamat wasn’t feasible, so Yujin decided to set her aside temporarily and widen his transcendent senses instead.
Specifically, he concentrated his perception on Elysia, aiming to fully observe her current state. He intended to think through this himself, as Tiamat suggested.
And thus, he began assessing her condition.
“The magic is scared… Yes, it does seem similar, though something feels off.”
It’s true that transcendent magic cannot be controlled by someone without dominion over it. Even Yujin, prior to becoming a transcendent, vaguely sensed that he couldn’t use the mana in Tiamat’s heart without her permission.
Still, this was slightly different. Elysia wasn’t entirely without control over the magic…
‘Ah, is that it?’
Yujin casually glanced around.
Fact was, Yujin had deliberately spread his mana throughout Elysia’s dormitory room. Naturally, this was a precaution in case the magic went berserk, allowing him to suppress it immediately. In a sense, this area could be considered Yujin’s domain.
Moreover, the demonic magic had already lost the territorial battle against Yujin. Now that the room was practically his territory, the magic couldn’t act recklessly.
In a way, it could be seen as retreating after losing the territorial fight, akin to Elysia’s description of being scared.
‘Simpler than expected. So then…’
Yujin briefly considered withdrawing his mana but shook his head. Whether he withdrew it or not, Elysia currently couldn’t control the magic as she wished.
Thus, it was correct to proceed with the initial goal of giving her time to adapt. Having reached that conclusion, Yujin spoke.
“For now, let’s maintain this state. Your Highness, continue sensing the magic and work on getting used to it.”
“Yes.”
“In that case… How about we do some light counseling? Though I’m not a professional counselor.”
At Yujin’s words, Elysia opened her eyes slightly and asked.
“Counseling…?”
“Yes. Ultimately, if Your Highness becomes mentally stronger, it will be easier to gain control over both your body and the magic. Oh, and keep focusing on the magic.”
“Ah, yes. But… What will the counseling be about?”
“The content… Hmm, this might touch on some sensitive topics…”
After pondering for a moment, Yujin asked Elysia.
“Let’s talk about any traumas or mental issues Your Highness may have.”
