[Your request to go outside was finally approved by Vortigern.]
[For safety reasons, you quickly began learning various self-preservation spells under Morgan's tutelage.]
[Theory and practice are complementary fields. As a fellow Shadow-attribute magus, Morgan's mastery and exquisite skill in the use of shadow mana was a true eye-opener for you.]
[Due to your mana's affinity for darkness, you often chose to conduct your lessons in the garden under the veil of night. Morgan's dedicated instruction held almost nothing back.]
"Where light shines, shadow follows. Where there is light, shadow is born. In the mystics of magecraft, 'Shadow' often symbolizes the concepts of calamity, secrecy, and slumber. Therefore, Alvin, our mana attribute is naturally suited for stealth, though its specific applications still depend on individual understanding."
"Now, carefully commit every step of my casting to memory: Deeper than the blackest night, more ephemeral than the lightest feather; radiance and flame are your accompanying darkness, silence and slumber are your eternal words; that which flows and gathers according to my incantation, spread forth—"
"Shadow Curtain."
Her alluring blue lips parted slightly, uttering the rhythmic prayer.
The ominous witch, clad in her black veil, walked slowly through the tranquil courtyard. She cast her spell with the ease of a butterfly flitting through flowers. The shadows around her flowed and gathered silently, making even the pale, bright moon in the sky seem dim in comparison to her chant.
The silver-haired youth lifted his gaze to the Witch of Britain, standing in the courtyard under the dark night. Her gradient veil and hair seemed a weave of night and snow. Her piercing blue eyes seemed to hold a hint of a smile. Every inch of her voluptuous figure formed a perfect curve, and the fair skin peeking from beneath her dark skirt was like the bright moonlight adorning the night sky.
The night was cloudless, the stars brilliant. The most exquisite mystery and darkness were all gathered in her form and in her eyes, woven into the captivating face of a witch, a sight the bright light of day was never privileged to see.
If I cannot chase the flame, then I shall lurk in the gloom.
That was why she always concealed her face. Only in front of Su Shu did the witch named Morgan le Fay let down her heavy guard, which was as deep as the night itself, revealing a stunning charm as eye-catching as the bright moon. She bloomed in the shadows, like a flower in the twilight.
Su Shu had never seen the witch in such a moving state. For a moment, his gaze froze. Anyone who saw this scene would have to admit—how could learning magecraft be more beautiful than Morgan herself?
Noticing Su Shu's transfixed stare, the witch's face flushed slightly beneath her veil. But the current lesson was a matter of life and death, so she could no longer afford to keep her distance from her disciple.
"Focus on the flow of my mana, Alvin."
Under the watch of the night and moon, the witch took the youth's hand. As their senses connected, the flow of mana throughout Morgan's body was laid bare before Su Shu's eyes. The aether sang, the shadows gathered, and the witch's soft chant was like a serene and lonely opera.
But the youth no longer had the heart to care about the so-called magic lesson. Just like her standoffish aura, the witch's hand was as cold as he had imagined.
And so, Su Shu gently tightened his grip on her palm.
"Lady Morgan, your hands are very cold."
"!"
Su Shu's mischievous little action made Morgan's body tremble as if struck by electricity. A flicker of barely perceptible panic flashed in her blue eyes, and a blush, like the flush from wine, spread across her cheeks.
"Alvin, you—!"
"Please, look at me."
The youth's clear and resolute voice made Morgan freeze. She slowly raised her gaze to her disciple's face.
So close...
The silver-haired youth's handsome face was right before her, his feather-light eyelashes so close she could almost count them. He was smiling, his iron-gray eyes seeming to sparkle under the reflection of the moonlight. Though it was a cold moonlight, it felt as scorching as the blazing sun on her skin. Her originally cold palm began to grow warm. Their touching skin transmitted their feelings and warmth to one another.
And so, Morgan felt it—
Alvin's hand... is so warm...
I don't want to let go.
I don't want to let go...
I never want to let go for the rest of my life—
The thought flooded her mind. The silver-haired youth before her was like a slowly churning vortex of mana, making it impossible for the Witch of Britain to look away. Frozen in their shared gaze, Morgan dazedly realized... she had never been this close to Alvin.
Just like her face, the witch's heart was also shrouded in a veil that kept everyone at a distance. In the past, she would hide in the shadows, secretly observing her disciple's focused profile. This act, no different from peeping, filled Morgan with a strong sense of guilt, yet it was an addiction she could not break.
Because she had been hurt enough, maintaining distant relationships had become a subconscious form of self-protection. Because she was afraid Alvin would hate her, this one-sided observation gave her a pathological sense of security.
But... why couldn't she just look at him openly?
That voice echoed in the witch's mind. Yes, it was only at this moment that Morgan finally realized—she had never cared so much for another person.
Alvin Pendragon. The masterpiece she had poured her heart into creating. He filled her heart, occupied her mind. Her every thought, her every concern, from dawn till dusk, was about him.
I am his creator... so... why can't I look at him openly?
They were almost face to face. Those iron-gray eyes she could never tire of were right before her.
"Beautiful things always attract attention. So, I want to see you more clearly, Alvin."
The courtyard roses swayed, and layered shadows flowed around them. Su Shu raised his left hand, as if to gently lift Morgan's veil.
Faced with the youth's transgression, the witch's mind suddenly went blank. She subconsciously wanted to stop him, but her arm felt as if it were filled with heavy mercury, too sluggish to lift. Or perhaps, deep down, she was anticipating his action?
As the black veil covering her face was slightly lifted, the witch's exquisitely beautiful face was revealed, completely uncovered, to the youth for the first time.
Though the features were similar, her charm was entirely different from Artoria's steadfastness. Her eyes were as enchanting as a rare orchid blooming in a secluded valley, her reserved nature mixed with a touch of bashfulness. The hint of intoxicating blush that dotted her features made the beauty under the moonlight seem dream-like. Her eyes were the color of summer waves—mature, vibrant, gentle, yet also like a viper's: forbidden, tempting, deadly.
Her pale, slightly raised neck, the elegant curve down to her collarbone, and the gentle slope leading to the full peaks of her chest... those lines, those contours—so noble they were untouchable.
Like a black swan...
Faced with such divine beauty, a sigh of praise escaped Su Shu's lips. "You are so beautiful..."
With that almost dazed praise, the youth's outstretched hand continued its journey, about to touch the witch's face. The warmth of his fingertips seemed ready to pull her down from her untouchable pedestal, down into the mundane, fallen world of mortals.
Then, the instant he touched the witch's skin, shadows flooded the youth's fingertips. A breeze blew, and Morgan's form collapsed like a stream of water, turning into a flat, black shadow that melted into the ground and vanished.
All that was left was a faint, lonely fragrance on his fingertips and the witch's trembling, feignedly calm voice drifting through the courtyard, like a petal from a swaying rose.
"Y-You just train on your own, Alvin...! I- I suddenly feel tired. I'm going to rest..."
The witch's trembling voice faded like a dying flame. The youth bowed slightly, smiling at the moonlight. "Goodnight, Lady Morgan."
His sincere wish received no reply. As usual, the easily flustered witch seemed to have fled in a panic. The night wind was cool, bathing him in a shower of falling rose petals. The silver-haired youth held out his hand, letting a petal fall into his palm. The shadow mana from his body instantly formed a lifelike rose between his fingers. A black rose, with thorns. Just like the shy, standoffish witch. Both resisted being approached, and both carried an intoxicating, rich fragrance.
"A pity. I didn't get to see enough," the youth sighed faintly, though it was unclear if he meant the magic or the witch.
The bouquet of shadowy roses collapsed in his palm. Su Shu shook his head and began to focus on his night's training, doing his best to pretend—pretend he hadn't noticed the gaze lingering from within the shadows.
Yes... the youth hadn't had his fill of watching the witch, but that didn't stop the witch from watching the youth. Since he was five, his developing Ultimate Lifeform senses had allowed him to detect Morgan's faint, intermittent spying. As a peerless genius beloved by the Age of Gods, the witch's concealment magic was beyond the ability of his younger self to penetrate.
Unfortunately for her, the reason was simple—his dear cousin spent way too much time spying on him every day! It was several hours of high-intensity observation, almost daily. Even a witch had moments of carelessness where her mana would leak. If Su Shu still hadn't noticed, the 'Ultimate Lifeform' title would be a joke.
But, even though he knew, Su Shu tactfully never called her out on it. He understood that with Morgan's tsundere personality, being exposed would probably make her want to burrow into the Earth's mantle out of shame. Besides, what was there that couldn't be seen? Look, she could look all she wanted! His face wasn't some censored word list on a trollish webnovel site, full of inexplicable data redactions. It was meant to be seen, wasn't it?
Moreover, Lady Morgan had some class. She understood the principle of not looking at what was improper. Whenever Su Shu started to undress before his bath, the gaze from the shadows would linger on his toned upper body for a moment before reluctantly disappearing. He'd almost feel a bit strange on the days he wasn't being watched.
But what Su Shu was particularly curious about was... what exactly was Morgan doing when she was spying on him? He was very curious.
...
In the shadows of the rustling treetops, the witch, still in her concealed state, watched the silver-haired youth's clear face, her own face flushed red, her gaze hazy. Her slightly heavy breathing maintained a regular rhythm, the full, pale curves of her chest rising and falling.
"Alvin... Alvin... Alvin...!"
With a faint murmur from her lips, a tingly, numbing sensation, like an electric shock, shot up the witch's spine.
"——!"
The peaks swayed, and the tide surged.
Forty-two years of chastity, broken at last; a single encounter with the White Dragon has ruined me for life.
Savoring the endless aftertaste of the receding tide, a puff of heated, ambiguous mist escaped Morgan's blue lips. She raised the right hand that Su Shu had held so tightly, and then... gently, gently, pressed it to her own cheek.
...It seemed to still hold his warmth.
A moist dewdrop dripped down her sticky fingers, and a few translucent strands reflected the crystalline moonlight. The intoxicating blush on the witch's face was like a dew-kissed rose petal, enchanting and妖艳.
"My body... feels so strange... I... I want to be closer to you... If you found out, you would definitely hate me, wouldn't you? Hate a dark and despicable witch like me... But I can't leave you anymore... Alvin..."
She couldn't help but reach out, wanting to touch his face, but her fingertips shot back in fear, not daring to move another inch.
Morgan finally fled the scene. In her bashfulness, she didn't notice that she had inadvertently shaken a few drops of the moist stain from the treetop.
Plop.
...The youth, casting spells under the moonlight, paused his incantation. Su Shu raised a hand and gently wiped his face. A single, crystalline drop of dew had splashed onto his cheek.
Looking at the slightly strange, sticky, stringy wetness on his fingertips, which also had a strange, pleasant, decadent fragrance, the youth looked up at the cloudless night sky.
"...Is it raining?"
The treetops swayed in the wind. Only the pale moon was bright, the stars brilliant.
Su Shu: "?"
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