Chapter 37: The Grand Magisterium

Lily swung her legs lightly against the side of the desk, the soft thump of her shoes hitting the black wood the only sound in the heavy office. The half-eaten strawberry lollipop was still between her teeth, but her red eyes were completely serious as they stayed fixed on Arthur.

"You will enter The Grand Magisterium Tournament," she said, as if she were telling him what he would have for lunch, "and you will take first place."

Arthur opened his mouth to agree at once. He didn’t know what the tournament was. He didn’t care. If that was the price for her to stop looking at him like he was an insect that had landed on Selene’s shoulder, he would pay it.

Selene stepped forward before the words could leave his throat, her blue dress rustling.

"Master! Students who enter that tournament are Year 4, sometimes the absolute strongest Year 3s in the empire. The finalists are all Level 4, some even early Level 5. Arthur is only first year. He will be completely outmatched. They will break him."

Lily tilted her head, looking almost bored by the objection. She took the lollipop out of her mouth and examined it.

"I do not think so," she said. "Look at him. He is already early Level 3 in mana pool size. That is what an average student reaches in Year 3 after two years of resources and private tutoring. On top of that, he can now use your abilities. Frost Sovereign is not a normal ice element. It is a Sovereign-tier concept. I do not see a problem. If he is clever, he will win."

Selene’s voice rose slightly, losing a fraction of its usual perfect composure. It was the first time Arthur had ever heard her argue with Lily.

"There are many students stronger than Arthur even inside our own academy, not to mention every other academy that will participate. The Imperial Academy sends monsters every year. Saintess Academy sends their prodigies. He doesn’t even know how to properly chain his spells yet, Master. You are sending him to be humiliated."

Arthur looked between the two of them, clearly lost. The name Grand Magisterium meant nothing to him. He had grown up on the Fringe where even hearing about the academy was a luxury.

Selene noticed his expression and turned to him, forcing her voice back to a calmer, more professor-like tone, though her cheeks were still pink.

"The Grand Magisterium Tournament is held once a year between students of every major academy in the empire," she explained quickly. "Only the strongest from each school are allowed to enter - usually one team of five. The entire empire watches. The royal family attends. The top ten receive awards - custom artifacts, private libraries, direct apprenticeships. Rank one receives personal gifts and recognition from the headmaster of every participating academy. It is the fastest way for a student to become known across the continent."

Arthur processed the information in silence for a moment. A tournament of all academies. Year 4s and Level 4s and Level 5s. The strongest in the empire. A year from now.

Then he looked straight at Lily. No hesitation this time.

"I’ll do it."

Selene spun toward him, eyes wide.

"Arthur— you don’t understand what you’re agreeing to. Those students have been training since they were children. Their Grimoires are—"

"I want to do it," he cut in, but his eyes were still on Lily. "If first place is what it takes for you to acknowledge me, then I’ll take first place."

Lily’s smile widened. It was not a kind smile, but it was no longer cold either. It was the smile of someone who had finally heard an interesting answer.

She waved one small hand at Selene as if dismissing a minor, noisy complaint.

"Let the boy do it, Selene. He is doing it for you. You should be happy instead of scolding him."

Selene froze mid-step. Her eyes moved slowly back to Arthur. He met her gaze without looking away, without flinching. The black book was warm against his side. The new frost in his chest hummed, still carrying a faint echo of her own mana from the barrier.

"I want to get stronger," he said quietly, so only the three of them could hear it. "I don’t want to hide our relationship. I don’t want you to have to lie to your master for me again."

Something shifted in Selene’s expression. The usual layer of ice, the professional distance she had maintained for years as the youngest professor in academy history, cracked for a full second. She lifted one hand and lightly touched her own cheek with her fingertips, as if checking whether the heat she felt was real, as if making sure she wasn’t dreaming. No one had ever spoken to her like that. No one had ever stood in front of Lily Nightshade and declared they would become worthy of her, knowing exactly how terrifying Lily could be.

Arthur had.

Lily’s voice cut through the moment with dry, surgical amusement.

"Do that when you are alone. Not in front of me. I am too young to watch such things. It hurts my eyes."

Selene’s hand dropped instantly as if burned. A fresh, deep flush rose across her face and neck. Arthur cleared his throat violently and stared at a very interesting spot on the floor, his ears red.

Mimi, who had been hiding behind Arthur’s coat the entire time, peeked out just enough to whisper, "M-Master is being bullied..." before hiding again.

Lily continued as if nothing had happened, hopping down from the desk. Her bare feet made no sound on the rug. The Eros Codex floated off the desk of its own accord and drifted back into Arthur’s hands, warm and familiar. Mimi, still half-hiding, let out a tiny, relieved breath when she saw her house was back. ℯℯ𝘭.𝘤ℴ𝘮

"The tournament is almost a full year away," Lily said, walking toward the tall windows. "Eleven months and twenty-three days, to be exact. The preliminaries start early. You have that much time to prepare. Use it well. I will not help you. If you come to me for training, I will throw you out the window."

She stopped in front of the glass. Outside, the academy was still smoking, instructors carrying wounded on stretchers, students staring up at the black spire where her office sat.

Lily’s red eyes moved to Selene, and her tone softened just a fraction - a master’s tone, not an Empress’s.

"Now leave. And continue what you two did inside that barrier."

Selene choked.

Lily didn’t even turn around. "The frostbite is removed, but it is not completely gone. The root is still lodged deep in your core. That lingering damage is the reason you were never able to increase your mastery over your Grimoire beyond 35%. It was holding you back. Now you can, because of him. I hope you get stronger as well, Selene. You will need it."

Her voice dropped slightly on the last words, so low Arthur almost missed it.

"The times are changing. That man who attacked... he is not from any force we know. If Equinox is working with things like that, a year from now the empire will not be quiet."

Selene lowered her head in a deep, respectful bow, her silver hair falling forward to hide her still-red face. Arthur copied the motion a second later, clutching the black book. Neither of them spoke. Lily made a small gesture with her fingers. The heavy office door opened by itself with a soft click.

They walked out together.

The corridor outside felt strangely quiet and normal after the weight of Lily’s presence. The stone was cool. Distant voices echoed from below. Selene walked a few steps ahead, the blue dress moving softly around her legs, her back straight and composed again. Arthur followed, the black book warm against his side once more, Mimi finally floating out and sitting on his shoulder with a huff.

Neither of them looked back at the office.

Behind the closed door, Lily Nightshade stood alone in front of the tall windows, staring out at the damaged academy and the distant horizon. The half-eaten lollipop finally disappeared into her mouth with a soft crunch.

A year.

That was how long the boy had to become something the empire would be forced to notice. To go from early Level 3 to something that could stand in front of Level 5 monsters and win.

She wondered, with a faint, cold curiosity, whether it would be enough.