After dinner, Lilith took her leave first, while Luo Wei and Jane sauntered down the street, their casual chatter filling the air.

Jane linked arms with Luo Wei, her eyes sparkling with curiosity. "Spill the beans! Is the Esqueray Dessert House really yours? Luo Wei, you sneaky thing! Keeping secrets from your bestie, huh? I'm wounded!"

"It's not like that," Luo Wei said, trying to placate her friend. "When I say it's my territory, I mean it's managed by my family. I wrote home whining about the awful grub here, so they dispatched a manager to set up shop."

"Potato, potahto! It's still your place," Jane nudged Luo Wei excitedly. "It was your brainchild to open up here, wasn't it? All for our benefit. Oh, you sweet, sweet angel!"

Luo Wei chuckled awkwardly, feeling like she'd just been handed another "Saint Luo Wei" card.

"Really, it wasn't."

"Oh, stop being so modest! Opening a shop is no small feat. Your folks probably wanted to just send a personal chef for you, but you couldn't bear to see us suffering through the slop they serve here. So you had them open up on Academy Street for everyone! Admit it!"

Jane had spun her own little fairy tale, her eyes misting over as she gazed at Luo Wei. "Oh, darling, you're just too precious for this world!"

"Even if it's emptying your wallet?" Luo Wei gently extricated herself from Jane's embrace.

Jane huffed, "My money, my choice. Don't you worry your pretty little head about it!"

"Alright, alright," Luo Wei conceded, linking arms with Jane again. "How about this - I'll hook you up with a month of gold card membership. All you can eat and drink, on the house. Sound good?"

"Now you're talking!" Jane's face lit up like a Yuletide tree. "You said it, so no take-backs! Looks like I'm saving on this month's top-up!"

"But hey," Luo Wei's tone turned serious as she glanced ahead, "What's the deal with Senior Kael and Professor Lilith? Why did he say... what he said?"

"You're out of the loop, huh?" Jane glanced around furtively before lowering her voice to a whisper. "Word on the street is that our newly minted Professor Lilith is actually the grand princess of Kinoko. Seven years back, she tied the knot with Marquis James Rossetti. A year into the marriage, the marquis kicked the bucket, and she inherited his mountains of gold and vast estates. Last year, she waltzed right back into the royal palace."

"Hold up. They're both Rossettis. You don't mean she married...?"

"Bingo! Her cousin, son of the Kinoko King's brother. Tongues are wagging that it was all a wicked scheme cooked up by the king and princess to snatch back James' lands!"

"Whoa, let's pump the brakes on the rumor mill," Luo Wei cautioned. "Loose lips sink ships, you know. Gossip like that could drive someone to the edge." Despite Lilith's apparent ambition, Luo Wei felt the professor wasn't the type to let nothing stand in the way of power.

Even if Lilith had James' blood on her hands, there might be more to the story.

"Oh, Luo Wei, you sweet summer child," Jane shook her head, exasperation written all over her face. "The royal court is a viper's nest of intrigue. You'd do well to watch your step. Not everyone's a saint, you know. Even those closest to you could stab you in the back when you least expect it."

Luo Wei blinked in surprise. To hear something so cynical from the usually bubbly Jane was truly an eye-opener.

As the clock struck two, the afternoon sun turned harsh and unforgiving.

Jane, ever mindful of her complexion, scurried back to the academy. Luo Wei, meanwhile, approached a nearby tree and peered upward. "What's with your obsession with playing rooftop ninja? Aren't you worried someone might spot you in broad daylight?"

The leaves rustled, and a figure shrouded in a voluminous black robe materialized.

"Apart from you, who else makes a habit of gawking at rooftops?"

"I don't make a habit of it," Luo Wei protested. "It just so happens that every time I look up, there you are."

Troy's face remained hidden in the shadows of his hood, only a sliver of his chin visible. "Heading back?"

"Yeah."

The duo made their way back to the small courtyard. Luo Wei, feigning exhaustion, rubbed her eyes and ascended the stairs.

Troy's gaze followed her into the room, his heart performing a complex gymnastics routine before settling as the door clicked shut.

A simple door, yet it divided two realms.

Light on one side, shadows on the other.

With a tug, Troy lowered his hood and leapt onto the apple tree.

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The late autumn tree stood nearly bare, save for a smattering of yellow leaves clinging to its sun-facing side. Troy perched among this meager foliage, resembling nothing so much as a world-weary crow keeping a cold, lonely vigil.

Stifling a chuckle at her own fanciful comparison, Luo Wei gently closed the window. She then retrieved the magical parchment she had squirreled away in the cabinet the previous day.

It was a pitiful state of affairs. Professor Moses, in all his wisdom, had taught them to parrot spells without so much as a nod to the arcane script itself. The incantations might as well have been hieroglyphics for all she could decipher.

No matter. She'd find a way. By matching the spells she knew to their written counterparts, she could reverse-engineer the words and grammar. With a bit of luck, she'd be reciting them... well, close enough.

Brimming with confidence, Luo Wei unfurled the parchment. And then...

She'd overestimated herself. Grossly. The power of the magical text had blindsided her completely.

Decoding the words? Ha! She could barely look at the advanced script for more than two seconds without her vision swimming. Even gritting her teeth and pushing through, ten seconds was her absolute limit.

After those grueling ten seconds, Luo Wei snapped the book shut, her expression grim.

Who knew advanced magical text came with its own built-in vertigo charm? Certainly not her.

Her fingers drummed a restless rhythm on the parchment as the gravity of the situation sank in.

Learn it, or die. Those were her options.

After a moment's contemplation, Luo Wei fished out her long-neglected turtle shell from beneath her skirt.

Eyes closed, she slipped into a meditative state before posing her question to the cosmos.

"If I bull-headedly tackle this magical text, am I going to turn my brain to mush?"

The celestial tracks converged, Jupiter blazed, and lo and behold - misfortune morphed into a stroke of luck.

Not only would her grey matter remain intact, but she might even stumble upon some unexpected benefits in the process.

Emboldened, she pressed on. "Alright, universe, what's my game plan for cracking this magical code?"

In the Purple Star Big Dipper, the Heavenly Horse Star decided to go on a little joyride, galloping all the way to her due south. Without warning, the entire sky plunged into darkness, unceremoniously booting her from her celestial vision.

Luo Wei's eyes fluttered open, her brow furrowed in confusion.

South? What in the world was the significance of south?

Was this some cosmic hint that she needed to embark on another city-wide scavenger hunt?

Her gaze drifted to the southern wall of her room, only to be met with the blank stare of a tightly shuttered window.

A spark of intuition flared to life. She crossed the room and threw open the window, her eyes immediately drawn to the old crow - aka Troy - roosting in the balding apple tree that stood sentinel in the courtyard. Could the stars be pointing her toward him?

Did these sword-swinging types dabble in the mystical arts as well?

"Troy!" she called out. "Get up here!"

The old crow stirred, cocking his head to peer up at her. In a heartbeat, he took flight from his perch, setting the tree's last stubborn leaves adrift in his wake.

The golden leaves pirouetted down from the canopy, like a troupe of world-weary butterflies performing their final dance.

Troy's midnight cloak billowed dramatically as he strode beneath the eaves, a miniature whirlwind of fallen leaves in his wake.

No sooner had Luo Wei processed this theatrical entrance than a knock sounded at her bedroom door. Lo and behold, the black-clad swordsman materialized in her doorway.

Luo Wei swung the door wide, meeting Troy's questioning gaze with characteristic directness. "So, any chance you're versed in the art of advanced spell-casting?"

"Why do you ask?" His tone carried a note of suspicion.

"If you've got the know-how, I want you to school me."

Troy's head shake was immediate and emphatic. "Novices meddling with advanced incantations is a recipe for disaster. You'll addle your brains."

"Psh, as if," Luo Wei brandished her trusty turtle shell. "I've consulted the cosmos. My grey matter's safe."

Troy's eyes fell on the verdant shell in her grasp, his expression a delightful cocktail of disbelief and amusement.

"Turtle shells went out of style with the dinosaurs," he quipped. "Any diviner worth their salt uses crystal balls or tarot cards these days."

"Hogwash. Turtle shell readers are the real deal," Luo Wei countered, her tone brooking no argument. Then, switching tactics, she went for the jugular. "So, are you going to teach me or not? Because if not, I'm afraid I'll have to dock your pay."

For a long moment, Troy was silent, locked in an internal war. Finally, financial pragmatism emerged victorious. "Fine. I'll teach you."

A triumphant grin tugged at Luo Wei's lips as she thrust the spellbook into his hands. "Excellent. I want to master advanced transformation spells, plus invisibility and waterproofing for good measure."

Troy leafed through the tome, his movements growing increasingly hesitant until he ground to a halt. "Small snag. I'm wandless. I can recite the incantations, but actually casting? That's a no-go."

"That'll do," Luo Wei assured him. "I just need to learn the words."

Relief washed over Troy's features as he launched into a recitation of her requested spells. It quickly became apparent, however, that his grasp of the material was tenuous at best. He stumbled over the arcane syllables like a newborn fawn finding its legs.

Under normal circumstances, budding mages would cut their teeth on magical text during their intermediate studies. By the time they reached advanced levels, they'd typically specialize in a particular magical discipline. Troy, having chosen the path of the blade, had given magical academia the boot after a mere year, and it showed.

Luo Wei, however, was too preoccupied with her own musings to pass judgment. A troubling thought had taken root in her mind.

Were Troy's fumbling recitations even in the ballpark of accuracy?

How many words had he butchered, omitted, or conjured out of thin air?

Just how much wiggle room did magical text allow for error? If a single misplaced syllable could turn a simple levitation charm into a town-leveling catastrophe, she might as well start penning her eulogy now.

TO BE CONTINUED...