"Alright, it's settled! I'm skipping work today!"

"Screw this 'final path of annihilation' and 'doomed future' nonsense. Ever since becoming the Pride Witch in this game, I haven't had a single relaxing day. Who's the real final boss here anyway?!"

"To hell with the protagonist! I've been on edge for over a month—can't I just enjoy myself for once?"

Cecile projected a fabricated message outward.

The leftover popcorn and cola vanished as she stood up, leaving no trace behind.

Cecile headed toward the other side of the castle.

Entering the library, she called out, "Imoxiu! Winnie!"

A small purple head suddenly popped out from a pile of books nearby, glaring at her with utter disdain. "Huh? What do you want, you wretched disciple? Back in my day, I actually made you read books! Look what you've got me doing now?!"

Winnie grabbed a thick tome from the stack and hurled it at Cecile. "Fill-in-the-blanks was bad enough, but sometimes you leave entire sentences blank! Are you seriously making me invent spell incantations from scratch?!"

Cecile caught the book and grinned. "Only my master truly understands me."

Winnie frowned. "Can you speak human for once?"

"Just a little sentimentality. Nothing to worry about."

Imoxiu flipped down from the top floor, floating gently to the ground with a spell. "Mom, what brings you here?"

"Hmm, Mom, I can't get this Thunderfire Burst spell to work. I don't know where I'm going wrong."

Cecile scanned the spell diagram. "Show me."

"Here?" Imoxiu glanced at the priceless books surrounding them. Destroying these treasures might get her killed by Mom.

"Right here. Don't worry—we've got Winnie and me."

With two Pride Witches present, letting the Witch Heir mess up would be utterly humiliating.

"You ungrateful brat! I'm an apprentice witch now—your apprentice! Do you even know what that means?!" Winnie jabbed a finger at Cecile, furious at being used as free labor.

"Since when do apprentices get to yell at their witches like that? Imoxiu, begin."

"Okay." Imoxiu nodded and started chanting the Thunderfire Burst incantation.

Lightning and fire arrays intertwined before her, igniting as the chant progressed.

But when the arrays overlapped, no fierce combined attack erupted—just feeble sparks and crackles.

"Hah! You actually made such a simple mistake?" Winnie burst out laughing.

"Mom..." Imoxiu looked up at Cecile, confused.

Cecile placed a hand on Imoxiu's forehead. "Your mana flow doesn't match your chant speed. Slow down the incantation so mana fully saturates the array."

Imoxiu nodded and tried again.

"Boom!" A fiery dragon crackling with electricity surged from her hands.

Cecile casually grabbed its head and snuffed it out.

Handling spells at Imoxiu's level was effortless for her.

"Practice matching mana flow and chant speed—it'll improve. Most weak spells stem from this mismatch. Adjust as needed."

"Got it! Thanks, Mom!" Imoxiu beamed, thrilled to master a new spell under her mother's guidance.

"Why did you come here, Mom?" she asked eagerly.

"Yeah, brat, what do you want? You dumped Imoxiu on me, and I've got a mountain of these damn fill-in-the-blanks to finish!"

Cecile smiled, materializing two outfits in her hands.

"We're all going out to play!"

"Out to play? With you, Mom?!" Imoxiu's eyes sparkled with excitement.

Winnie, however, paled in horror. "Hey! What's with that outfit?!"

It was the sheer gauze dress Cecile had once threatened to force her into. Winnie knew exactly what she planned.

"Don't worry, Winnie. It'll be dark soon, and I even got you safety shorts."

"You wretched disciple!" Winnie scrambled out of the books to flee. "You two go ahead. I'd rather die than wear that outside!"

"Really? I was going to skip your homework. Since you're so eager to study, I'll let you stay home."

"Whoosh!" The gauze dress vanished from Cecile's hand.

"Once! Just this once! I'm warning you, brat—I'll wear it only once!"

"Sure, sure. Just once... this one time." Cecile agreed smoothly.

Like hell it would be just once.

One time meant countless times after.

Imoxiu happily took the purple mini-dress from Cecile's other hand.

Though less dreamy than the gauze dress, it still showed off a girl's youthful energy—revealing all the right places.

Cecile was very pleased.

Girls should be vibrant and full of life.

"Will you stay with us tonight, Mom?"

"Even better—we've got a whole group. Think of it as a long-overdue team outing."

...

"We're playing in Yahar City tonight. Bring them back early to freshen up. No hidden agendas—just pure fun. Tell everyone, including you, Aileen. After tidying them up, you join too. Even you need a break from running around."

Aileen received the message and shook her head. "Master really... becomes harder to read every day."

The old master never spoke in such roundabout ways.

And granting her time off? Unheard of after serving two Pride Witches—Edwinnie and Cecile.

Still, she couldn't slack off.

One night of rest meant mountains of paperwork tomorrow.

But orders were orders. As a maid, she obeyed.

She approached the group—Euphemia and Annette locked in silent tension, True Dawn chatting happily with Witt—and announced, "Plans have changed. We're heading straight to Yahar City now."

"Yahar City? Now?!" Annette blinked. "Walking there would take us until dawn."

"By order of Papal Majesty."

Everyone froze at those words.

A teleportation vortex opened before Aileen.

"Time waits for no one. You'll need to freshen up after arriving. I doubt any of you want to meet Papal Majesty looking dusty and worn."