BANG
The doors to Headmistress Lenolia's office flew open as Melia found herself standing at its entrance.
Her expression was a strange mixture of distraught and relieved.
Her eyes were teary and puffy.
She gazed at Headmistress Lenolia with broken eyes.
Immediately, the older woman grew severe at the young adolescent's state, closing the doors behind her with a wave of her hand as she gazed at Melia with a serious expression of concern.
"What happened, my child?" she asked with a worried tone. "Did it go well? Did it fail?"
Melia found herself choking with emotion, barely managing to squeeze out a response. "I…"
Tears streamed down her face. "…I learned how unsafe I have been my entire life."
Those words struck at the older woman's heart as she walked over to the young adolescent with a sorrowful expression.
PAT
She gently stroked the girl as she sobbed her heart out, narrating everything that had happened with great detail.
Headmistress Lenolia's eyes burned with a cold fury when Melia recounted how her father choked her, pushing her to the brink. It was far, far worse than anything he had ever done to his daughter prior, and that realization was what inspired great dread and horror in Melia.
To know that he was capable of going that far against his own daughter for the mere crime of simple unwillingness to recant a conversation.
It understandably shook her to know that that was all it took to put her life at risk.
To know that her father, if in a bad mood, could potentially choke the life out of her if she disobeyed his command.
It was like waking up to find a venomous serpent in one's bed and the ensuing dread that followed with the realization that one could have died at any point during the night and that one had unknowingly been vulnerable, which, through sheer good fortune, had not struck.
It was that feeling, except magnified across one's life.
It was no wonder that the very memory of what had happened had shaken her.
"You have suffered much, young Melia." Headmistress Lenolia's voice was sorrowful, yet it contained an edge of reassurance. "You will never have to suffer ever again."
Her elderly hands placed themselves on Melia's chest as several incredibly complex magic circles emerged on them.
One spell was to diagnose Melia to ensure that she didn't have any damage from her father's abuse still lingering on her body. Another spell extracted the charm that the Headmistress had infused in her body as a white light emerged from within her depths.
"With this…" Headmistress Lenolia's expression grew certain and confident. "I will have gained the power to protect you from your family and their attempts to control your destiny through force and fear. With this…"
She gazed at Melia with a powerful, reassuring gaze. "…your family will never be able to touch you again."
Melia's eyes lit up with hope amid her sobs and teary eyes. "…Thank you. Thank you for everything."
"I'm just doing my duty as the head of the magicademy and an educator to my students," she smiled at the young adolescent. "Now then…"
She placed the charm in a crystal that rapidly absorbed it and the information within it.
"Time to call up your father and inform him of this new development," she remarked. "Would you like to be there for when I break the news to him that he is no longer entitled to you and your destiny?"
Shivers crawled down her spine at the very thought of seeing her father.
Chills ran across her skin at the idea of looking into his eyes ever again.
"No…" she shook her head vigorously with a shaky tone. "I… I don't ever want to see him in my life ever again."
Headmistress Lenolia's expression grew a little sorrowful at her words.
It became quite evident to her that the young student had suffered a degree of trauma from the recent events that bore down on her heavily.
To an extent, she felt guilty for the current state of Melia.
It was her idea to have her provoke her father to make sure that they had enough evidence to ensure that it never happened again. However, not even the Headmistress could have anticipated that her father would go so overboard again, against his very own daughter, and exercise such violence against a young girl.
It made her feel guilty.
It made her feel angry.
Against the monster of a man who had done this to Melia.
"Very well then," Headmistress Lenolia spoke with a gentle tone. "Return to your room immediately and get some well-needed rest. I have already rounded up all your family servants and have ensured that your father cannot use them against you. So go, and sleep and give your mind some rest and reprieve."
She nodded lightly before departing from the room with an unsteady and exhausted gait.
Headmistress Lenolia had much to discuss with her about her future arrangements in the Elendir Institute of Magic and how long the Institute's protection of her would last, but that could be saved for another time when she was more refreshed and less burdened by her trauma.
She immediately studied the footage that her charm had gathered from within Melia.
The magical footage and audio weren't the clearest or of the best resolution, but that was within her expectations and part of her intentions to minimize the risk of discovery.
And yet, the identity of the people involved, the words they spoke, the actions they took, and the locations they were at were clear enough to withstand any degree of suspicion.
The Headmistress' expression grew truly ugly when she saw how hard the Nelnmont Patriarch had beaten his own daughter, but her eyes widened with shock and alarm when he pressed her against a wall and choked the life out of her.
If not for the fact that she had checked the young girl herself, she wouldn't have been able to believe that she was entirely fine.
She studied the footage over and over, making sure to make several copies of it and keep it safe.
And soon enough, it was time.
KNOCK KNOCK
She waved her hand, opening the door with magic.
At her doorsteps, much to her expectations, was none other than the Nelnmont Patriarch.
He gazed at her with a distrustful expression and piercing eyes. His hair was very well groomed, slicked back flat across his head while his giant extravagant attire bore the crest of the Nelnmont Family across its chest.
Behind him were two senior mages who stood in protection of him.
"…Headmistress Lenolia," he remarked with an eerie expression. "I must say, you sent me an urgent message, urging me to come to the magicademy immediately, stating that it was an emergency regarding my daughter's continuation in this magicademy…"
His tone was chilling.
"I had to cancel a meeting with a prospective client," he growled at her. "Whatever this is, it truly better be an emergency, or else there will be consequences."
The air tingled with danger.
The atmosphere boiled with peril.
The mood between them had darkened to the point that not even the bright light of the afternoon Sun piercing through the windows behind the Headmistress could brighten the mood.
"Have a seat," she remarked with a cold tone.
Her aged purple eyes fixed on the obese man with icy fury.
"I can assure you that what I'm about to convey to you is very important."
The tension in the air was palpable.
It pricked at the nerves.
He simply gazed at her with an expression hardened with displeasure as he slowly strode forward, taking a seat opposite her silently.
"I have thought about your offer," Headmistress Lenolia remarked with a sharp edge to her voice. "As well as about our recently commenced legal battle."
He raised an eyebrow.
"I thought this was about an emergency regarding my daughter."
"I'm getting there," she retorted. "To continue…"
Even as she spoke, Patriarch Nelnmont smirked inwardly.
The fact that she had brought this topic up in regards to his daughter was a sign to him that she had fallen for the misinformation trick that he had had his daughter pull. He had been a little concerned when his daughter didn't respond to his messages, but it was clear that all was well.
"…and so," she continued. "I have come across some information that I think will help us put an end to this."
A gruesome grin emerged on his face. "Oh? Pray tell, what information could it be?"
Headmistress Lenolia simply activated a holographic artifact, displaying the key points of the footage that her charm inside Melia had collected.
It was a spliced montage and collage of the most incriminating moments.
The slap.
The choking and suffocation.
The screaming and verbal abuse.
The emotional abuse.
The hiding of evidence.
The Nelnmont Patriarch's eyes widened with shock and horror.
His body froze.
His expression grew pale.
His breathing grew choked.
His eyes grew bloodshot.
He simply stared with unadulterated terror at the absolute and undeniable evidence of all manner of abuse and violence, documented through and through.
"If this footage were to go public, it would be a catastrophic scandal," the Headmistress continued with a chilling tone. "Especially if I use my political influence to cause it to spread as far and deeply as possible in the media and on the net. Especially since I have the Mendel Administration, and you have thrown your lot with the opposition this time due to their liberal litigation policies. They will help me destroy your reputation to the gutter through and through."
Goosebumps ran across his entire body.
"That's not all," Headmistress Lenolia continued with a dark tone. "With basic verification of this information, I can get the city law enforcement divisions to immediately begin an investigation into child abuse cases, again with my ties with the current administration, and have them hunt you down alive."
His expression crumpled with grave severity as he gritted his teeth, clenching his fists.
"That's not all." Her voice was laced with fury. "Frankly, your abuse of Melia is so horrifying that with just a little bit of doctoring, I'm relatively certain I can get law enforcement to indict you for attempted murder."
He shook where he sat at those words as he found his voice for the first time.
"You… you…!!!" he squeezed with gritted teeth as his expression reddened with anger. "UNSANCTIONED ESPIONAGE IS A CRIME! HOW DARE YOU SPY ON ME IN MY OWN HOME?!"
She huffed with an unamused expression. "Good luck proving that. I have no intention of establishing any ties between myself and this information when it goes out. Good luck proving that I am responsible for this information. No one will believe your testimony or that of your little bodyguards against mine in a court of law."
He clenched his fists even as his rage continued mounting.
And yet, he was good enough of a lawyer to know that he had nothing against her.
He could ruin the Nelnmont Family with the legal consequences of the footage that she held, as well as absolute isolation from the rest of the community, and the financial ruin that would undoubtedly follow if the news blew up too much due to artificial boosting.
She had him by the balls.
And he knew it.
His head slumped over with a hint of resignation.
"…What do you want?"
His tone was laced with agony.
"Two things," she began with a cold expression. "First, you will never, ever see Melia again until she desires it."
His eyes widened as his expression was aghast.
And yet, he gritted his teeth hard, almost cracking them with the sheer force.
He couldn't forsake the future of the Nelmont Family by destroying the present.
"And secondly…" she continued as she got to the bonus perk that was to her benefit. "I want you to withdraw the lawsuit that you have filed against me and release a statement saying that you rescind all prior statements on me."