"I still can't get up." Ryan remained sprawled on the ground; he had to be sure the restlessness inside him was completely calmed before he dared to stand.

  Evelyn stood to one side, staring at him coolly. She had clearly seen through Ryan's act and was now certain there was nothing seriously wrong with him.

  "Huh! I suddenly feel so strong!" Seeing the chance, Ryan immediately performed a revival on the spot.

  He sprang up from the ground and deliberately put on a look of surprise, brushing dust from his clothes as if the earlier awkwardness had never happened.

  The dramatic turnaround left Darlene, Derrick and Andrew standing not far off dumbfounded, their faces filled with speechless disbelief.

  Especially Darlene, who began to suspect Ryan might have some mental disorder. How else could someone be too weak to stand one moment and full of life the next?

  "Do you have some brain problem or what?" Darlene could not help rolling her eyes at Ryan, her tone full of disdain.

  His acting was clumsy; even the most basic emotional disguise came off as unnatural.

  Ryan took two steps forward and pointed at Darlene, snapping back with a frown,"What's it to you? Say one more word and I'll tie you up and spank you!"

  "What is wrong with you! My Mentor is handsome and clever, can't you watch your mouth?" Derrick immediately jumped in to defend Ryan.

  Derrick and Ryan were basically cut from the same cloth. If someone mocked his Mentor, as the apprentice he had to stand up for him.

  Darlene, caught speechless by the retort, clenched her delicate fists in anger; her chest rose and fell slightly, and her eyes flashed with fire as if she might punish him with magic at any second.

  Evelyn stood aside listening to the three bicker and found the noise unbearable. She never liked pointless squabbling.

  The next instant, Evelyn's figure left behind a faint mist of ice and vanished without a trace.

  Ryan and the others, still arguing over the trivial matter and spitting words like three ordinary citizens squabbling in the street, did not notice Evelyn had already left.

  After a while, Darlene, panting, stopped the quarrel and shouted angrily at Ryan and Derrick,"You two have no manners! Both of you ganged up and insulted me!"

  As she spoke she stomped several times on the ground and the hem of her fine skirt shook.

  Having vented, she turned to Andrew, who was still dazed, and said with a hint of grievance,"Uncle, you did not help me at all! I am going to tell my mother that you bullied me!"

  "Aren't you weaned yet? You are still going to tell your mother?" Derrick mocked Darlene.

  Andrew finally came to his senses. He had only turned to give orders to his men for a moment; when he turned back the woman was gone.

  For someone to vanish without a trace right under his eyes, despite him being a Ninth-tier Adept Mage, the other party's cultivation must be at least Journeyman Mage.

  That realization made Andrew's face fall. Apparently he had no right to detain that woman. He could at best deal with the two troublemakers in front of him.

  He cleared his throat, interrupted Darlene's complaint, and said sternly,"This farce ends now."

  His gaze fell on Ryan and Derrick as he continued,"You two were involved in a street fight in the royal capital. That violates public order."

  "You have two choices now: either go to the person you assaulted and apologize to win his forgiveness, or come with me back to the guard headquarters and sit in the temporary detention cell for a few days as punishment."

  "Evelyn," Ryan turned as if to call after her, only to realize that she was already gone from the alley.

  Beside him, only Derrick remained, still squabbling with Darlene, the air thick with spittle from their argument.

  "Stop!" Ryan suddenly raised his voice, the words laced with restrained anger."Have you had enough?"

  Derrick and Darlene froze, staring at him in shock.

  This narrative has been purloined without the author's approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.

  Ryan ignored their reactions and turned his gaze toward Andrew not far off, his eyes hardening. Since Evelyn had already left, there was no need to keep pretending to be an Adept Mage.

  A surge of magical pressure, unmistakably belonging to a Sixth-tier Journeyman Mage, burst forth from his body.

  "Try bothering me again, and don't blame me for using high-level binding spells," Ryan warned.

  Andrew's face instantly turned pale, his legs trembling uncontrollably. He never would have expected that the boy who had been pretending to be weak was actually a Journeyman Mage.

  In the magical hierarchy of the royal capital, a Journeyman Mage was already a high-tier combatant.

  Even if they accidentally injured someone, they would only need to pay a small amount of Magic Crystals as compensation and would not be easily held accountable.

  After all, no faction would risk offending a Journeyman Mage capable of area-effect spells for the sake of a single person.

  Darlene, standing nearby, felt suffocated under the magical pressure. Although she was an Eighth-tier Adept Mage, she could not resist the energy suppression of a Journeyman Mage.

  It was only now that she realized the weakness Ryan had shown in front of Evelyn had all been an act. He had deliberately feigned frailty before that"sister" and then revealed the sharp teeth of a strong mage the moment he turned around.

  Darlene silently cursed him in her mind: this person is too hypocritical, like a magical mask with two faces, gentle and obedient in front of people, cold and ruthless behind their back.

  "We had no sense, and we disturbed you!" Andrew quickly abandoned his earlier harshness, bowing deeply to Ryan, his tone full of awe.

  "We will leave immediately and will never bother you again!" With that, he grabbed the still-stunned Darlene and rushed toward the alley entrance, his steps hurried and anxious, afraid that even a second's delay might bring him under Ryan's magic.

  Pulled along by Andrew, Darlene still turned to glare at Derrick, though the fire in her eyes had dimmed, replaced by a mixture of grievance and reluctance. For the first time, she had been suppressed so completely, unable even to muster the courage to argue.

  "Mentor! You are way too cool!" Derrick immediately ran up to Ryan, his eyes full of admiration."That aura just now, once you unleashed it, they were scared out of their minds!"

  Ryan sighed and rubbed his forehead helplessly. This apprentice was fine in most ways, but sometimes his brain went off on tangents, missing the point entirely. He was worried because Evelyn had left, yet this boy only noticed how intimidating his aura had been.

  "Let's go!" Ryan kicked Derrick lightly on the butt and turned to head down the small path.

  Derrick quickly followed, holding his backside, but his mind was still replaying the spat with Darlene.

  The more he thought about it, the more amusing it seemed: Darlene puffing her cheeks in anger, failing to argue her point, glaring with her big round eyes like a helpless little scold, adorably foolish.

  "Hehehe…" Derrick couldn't help laughing, the corners of his mouth stretching almost to his ears.

  "What are you laughing at?" Ryan turned to him, puzzled. This boy had just been worried about getting caught, so why was he suddenly laughing like an idiot?

  "Mentor, I just can't help it thinking about how mad that girl looked!" Derrick rubbed his cheeks, trying to stifle his laughter as he explained."Her eyes were so round when she glared, like the lantern fruits from my hometown. Not scary at all!"

  Ryan frowned and recalled Darlene's earlier expression, seeing nothing funny.

  Then he suddenly realized that Derrick and Darlene actually had some similarities. Both were strangely stubborn, quick to react and quick to calm down, like a pair of children who had never grown up.

  ...

  Deep within the royal palace, in Queen Eryndor's private chambers, the domed ceiling inlaid with moonstone bathed the room in a gentle, flowing light.

  Ancient tapestries hung on the walls, depicting the legends of past monarchs who had safeguarded the Empire.

  The reigning queen, Eryndor sat beside a soft divan draped in star-patterned velvet, her fingertips lightly tracing the pages of an ancient tome.

  Though she had ruled the Empire for centuries, her youthful appearance remained unchanged.

  Her long hair was bound with a sapphire-studded crown, and her eyes carried both wisdom and authority.

  "Darlene, why do you look like that?" Eryndor set the book aside, gazing at her daughter sitting cross-legged on the divan, clutching the embroidered quilt tightly. A hint of amusement touched her voice.

  Hearing her mother's voice, Darlene immediately turned, her eyes slightly red, her voice quivering as she cried,"Mom! I'm so angry today!"

  She buried her face in the soft quilt, as if it could soothe the injustice she felt. The thought of Derrick saying she hadn't been weaned from her mother made her shiver with fury.

  Eryndor stepped to the divan and gently patted her daughter's back, asking softly,"Tell me slowly, what happened to make my daughter so upset?"

  Darlene lifted her head from the quilt, clenching her fists, and said indignantly,"Today, in the alley, I met a lady. She was so beautiful and obviously a powerful mage! But she was followed by two annoying men, one pretending to be crazy and foolish, the other extremely rude!"

  Eryndor did not interrupt, simply gesturing for her to continue.

  "They actually dared to insult me!" Darlene's teeth trembled with anger as she continued,"The shorter one actually said I hadn't been weaned from you! Mom, tell me, isn't that too much?"

  Hearing this, the usually dignified and composed Eryndor could no longer hold back. She covered her mouth and laughed.

  She had expected her daughter to have faced some serious humiliation, but it turned out to be such a childish dispute. After all, Darlene was already fifteen, yet she still often clung to her mother's arm in a spoiled manner.

  "Mom! Why are you laughing?" Darlene exclaimed, pouting as she wrapped her arms around Eryndor, shaking slightly in irritation."They bullied me so much, and you aren't even helping me teach them a lesson?"

  Eryndor stifled her laughter and reached out to smooth her daughter's hair."Darlene, first tell me, did you say something rude to them first?"

  To sit on the throne of the Empire, she was far from impulsive. She knew her daughter's temper well, Darlene could never tolerate even the smallest injustice and often lashed out first when things did not go her way.

  Darlene hesitated at her mother's question, her eyes darting away. She remembered that she had indeed mocked Ryan first, saying he had a brain problem, which had provoked Derrick's retort.