“Morris...” Sherlock called his name in a spoiled, almost pouty tone, but there was a faint sob in it. “What am I supposed to do...?”

“It’s my fault.” Morris gently rubbed Sherlock’s head and sighed. “I was only thinking about myself. I forgot about you.”

“I was worried too...” Sherlock narrowed her eyes in comfort, looking almost like a content little rabbit. “But when I saw you walk up there, I thought... maybe I shouldn’t interrupt you...”

She opened her eyes and looked at Morris with tears glimmering inside them. “What if I get treated like dead weight? What am I supposed to do then?”

Morris smiled helplessly. “Come on, milady. I’m your bodyguard right now. I’m supposed to be the one taking care of you. I failed at my job this time. It’s all on me. This won’t happen again.”

After hearing that, Sherlock blinked, then slowly bent down and lay across Morris’s lap, feeling a rare sense of peace.

Morris reached out and stroked her long hair. Arcane Source Magic quietly slipped from his fingertips, silently helping her rapidly digest the effects of the Blood Pact.

During that time, four or five more people had already finished their tests onstage.

Even Constans himself had to admit that, aside from Morris, the entire testing process had actually been extremely efficient.

“Next, Benny Igquintine!” Jaelman called out. The moment he read that name, his brows relaxed and his expression turned lighter. “The young master of House Igquintine. Come, let us witness the deep foundations of an old noble house.”

Young Master Igquintine stepped forward and reached toward the crystal in Constans’s hand. In that instant, a massive phantom suddenly appeared above the classroom. It was a pitch-black demonic beast dancing through the mountains. It leaped as it charged, then suddenly seemed to notice the students’ gazes. It opened its bloody maw, bared razor-sharp fangs, and lunged at the crowd!

The phantom froze abruptly at the exact moment of the beast’s pounce.

“Mhm, not bad. Very good indeed.” Constans raised his brows in satisfaction. “So you’ve already decided to walk the summoning path? An Artificer Tier young master.”

“Yes.” Benny slowly withdrew his hand, then turned to look at the entire classroom, all of them stunned by the phenomenon he had revealed. Satisfied, he said to Constans, “I’m confident I can walk this path to the very end.”

“Well, the Arcane Source art passed down in the Igquintine family is summoning-based to begin with.” Jaelman nodded and signaled that Benny could return. “Go on, young master. I look forward to your performance.”

That said, after suffering through Morris’s torment, the academic staff had all become numb to some extent.

It was worth mentioning that ordinary Arcane Source Wizards could choose one of the five Arcane Source branches as their focus once they reached Artificer Tier. Morris, however, was strange. Even Constans and Jaelman couldn’t tell what branch he cultivated. In the end, they could only classify him on the list as the type who had reached Lawform Tier without choosing any branch at all.

That decision was, in truth, incredibly foolish. The earlier one chose a branch, the earlier one could begin proper study and step onto the wizard’s path. Dragging it off until the next tier meant permanently losing the insights available at Artificer Tier.

As Benny walked back, his gaze drifted on its own toward the last row at the top of the steps, toward the girl he had been thinking about all this time. But then he saw that girl curled up in Morris’s arms. The two of them were chatting and laughing, looking so sweet together it was downright infuriating.

“Tch, Morris...” Benny sat back down with heavy steps, ignoring all the flattery and praise around him as he thought to himself, So what if you’re Lawform Tier? Once school starts, don’t think you’ll have it easy...

“Next—”

People came and went, and soon the list reached Sherlock. The effects of the Blood Pact inside her had faded quite a bit by now. She let out a long breath and stood up.

At the same time, Morris also rose from his seat.

Constans’s eyelid twitched at once. He hurriedly pointed at Morris and barked, “What are you trying to do?!”

Meanwhile, Jaelman silently reached out and shielded the crystal, looking exactly like someone ready to die protecting it.

“I’m just here to accompany someone, just accompany someone,” Morris said. He clearly hadn’t expected to be watched this warily now, and for a moment he looked a little awkward. Scattered laughter rose in the classroom. It seemed Morris had already left behind a rather unforgettable impression in everyone’s minds.

He pointed at Sherlock beside him. Constans’s expression eased a little, but he still didn’t fully lower his guard. “You really won’t do anything?”

Morris nodded again and again. “I really won’t do anything. Really!”

Only then did Jaelman let out a breath. He said to Morris helplessly, “Why do you absolutely have to accompany this young lady?”

“Because he’s my person.”

The one who answered this time was Sherlock. She lifted her eyes slightly, her lashes long and fine. “Is there a problem?”

Sherlock’s voice was very soft, yet every person in the room heard it clearly. For a moment, the entire classroom seemed to freeze, as if even the air had solidified. No one made a sound. Even Morris was stunned. He looked at Sherlock’s profile and noticed there was still a tiny bit of confusion in her eyes. Only then did he realize the effects of the Blood Pact still hadn’t fully faded.

“...No problem.” Jaelman hadn’t seen a freshman with this much attitude in a long time. And Sherlock was already the last one. Among all the girls before her, there had been no trace of that princess. Which meant this Sherlock...

Sherlock slowly walked down, her right hand holding Morris’s left. The gazes around them washed over the two of them. She glanced back with a smile, her golden hair under the sunlight like a sea of brilliant flowers. At once, everyone else looked at Morris with intense envy and jealousy.

But Morris was full of panic. Nothing showed on his face, yet he was actually terrified someone would notice something was off. Only he knew that Sherlock was completely under the influence of the Blood Pact right now. Everything she was doing might not be from her true heart at all. Once she came to her senses, who knew how she would blame him?

“Then, Miss Sherlock, please.” Jaelman sighed and raised the notebook in his hand. “You’re the last student today, so please be quick. By tonight, we’ll prepare temporary lodging and deliver uniforms to the students who pass. That way, tomorrow you can go to the main campus and meet your mentors.”

Sherlock slowly reached out her hand.

The crystal dimmed for a moment, with no visible fluctuation at all. That was the normal result. After all, she was just an ordinary person.

But when Constans saw that, his expression began to twist. He looked at Sherlock and said with obvious contempt, “Just a mere ordinary human, and you dared speak to us like that just now?”

Morris quickly pulled her behind him and forced a smile. “Sorry, sorry. She’s a little...”

“If you’re trash, then don’t put on this kind of pride!” Constans ignored Morris’s explanation completely. He snorted a puff of white air through his nose at the two of them, posture arrogant. The other students in the classroom showed no sympathy either. Instead, faint mocking laughter spread through the room.

A commoner girl with no Arcane Source talent at all had dared speak to Lord Constans like that. She had it coming.

For a moment, Sherlock couldn’t make sense of the situation. Under the Blood Pact’s influence, she had unconsciously revealed the bearing of a princess. But the people around her knew nothing about that. Having never experienced anything like this before, she could only look around timidly and clutch Morris’s hand tightly.

“Get back already, you two idiots.” Professor Klein had waited so long that he finally seized his chance and immediately started mocking them without mercy. “When you—”

“My apologies, Vice Dean Constans.”

Morris cut Klein off. He silently raised his head. For an instant, a ghostly flame bloomed in the abyss of his dark eyes. He pointed at the crystal in Constans’s hand, which was flashing nonstop, and asked with an innocent face, “May I ask what’s going on here?”

Constans lowered his head to look.

His expression froze instantly.

“BOOM!!!!”

This was the third thunderous crystal explosion in the academy today. It wasn’t the first time in history that a crystal had shattered during testing, but it was absolutely the first time three had broken in a row. Everyone present was now a witness to history, though the ones paying the price were the wallets of these two vice deans.

“You—Morris!” Constans, blown onto the floor by the blast wave, struggled to lift his head and shout.

“That has nothing to do with us, Vice Dean,” Morris said softly, shielding Sherlock in his arms. “After all, I’m just a tiny little Law Aspect.”

“He’s right. What ability would a Law Aspect Sorcerer have to destroy a crystal?” Jaelman slowly stood up from beneath the podium and calmly shook his head. “One can only sigh and say that he truly shares an inseparable fate with these crystals.”

“Damn you, Crystal Shatterer!” Constans forced himself up from the ground and roared at Morris, “I’ll report everything about you to the dean right away, you freak, Morris!!!”