Principal Elias watched the banter between Yulia and Caerus, his eyes widening in genuine shock.

He studied Yulia with a localized intensity, as if she were a specimen he had never encountered in all his centuries of research.

Yulia cleared her throat, realizing she hadn't properly introduced herself. "Nice to meet you, E—"

She stalled. Four syllables? My brain isn't wired for this. She couldn't pull the man's name from the static in her head.

"Nice to meet you, Principal," she tried again, her voice bright with a forced professionalism. "I'm—"

"Yulia Farislan," Elias interrupted, his eyes crinkling at the corners. "The Imperial Princess. I know exactly who you are."

Yulia's jaw tightened. "You recognize me?" The memory-blurring spell Caerus used should have made her face a smudge in his mind.

"I heard of you the moment I heard my Father had awakened." The silver-gold haired man offered a graceful bow. He reached out, taking Yulia's hand and looking up at her from a half-kneel.

"It is a pleasure to finally meet you... Mother."

Caerus stiffened. His golden slit eyes flared with a sudden, jagged heat, looking as if he might incinerate the man where he stood.

"Who told you she's your mother?" the dragon-god rasped.

Elias stood, his humility undisturbed. "Is she not? My crows brought word from Catharsis. I assumed you were quite fond of her, Father."

Caerus let out a sharp, disgusted sound. "Keep using that title and lose your school. Choose."

Elias went silent, offering a respectful gesture as he led them toward the Principal's office.

Yulia hurried to keep up, her sapphire eyes darting toward Caerus. "So... how exactly does this work?"

"He's just one of the humans I tossed together a long time ago," Caerus said, his tone flat. "A decent enough prototype."

Modern-day Nuwa, Yulia thought, her head spinning. "If he calls you Father... maybe I should join in?"

Caerus stopped dead in the hallway. "Say it. I dare you."

They reached the office. Elias checked Yulia's fangs and tested her reaction to the morning light filtering through the stained glass.

"You've spoiled her," Elias sighed, leaning back in his velvet chair.

"She wasn't fully turned," Elias continued, his voice heavy with a clinical sort of pity. "A teaspoon of your blood would have fixed her. Instead, you let her drink her fill. Now, she's addicted to you."

"Addicted?" Yulia's hand flew to her neck. "That's insane. Why can't I be addicted to spicy blood stew instead?"

She turned back to Elias, her expression desperate. "Principal, level with me. Is there a cure?"

Elias's smile remained fixed. "Maybe."

"What is it?"

"Say my name correctly, and I'll tell you."

Yulia's mouth went flat. She turned to the dragon-god. "Lord Caerus, are you going to control your son or what?"

Caerus looked away, a muscle jumping in his jaw. Elias's joke had backfired; Yulia was already using the "son" label as a weapon.

"One drop of Caerus's blood a day," Elias finally answered. "The fangs will retract. You'll be human again soon."

Yulia gave Caerus a thumbs-up. "Lord Caerus, your son is amazing!"

Caerus's eyes narrowed into gold slivers. I'm going to gag her one day.

Elias moved to a stack of parchment on his desk. He seemed to know everything about the Old Pigeon Cage district and Yulia's new Lord.

"Farming is just the start," Elias said, his eyes twinkling with a hidden agenda. "To make a city grow, you need mages. One mage does the work of a hundred men."

Yulia's sapphire eyes brightened. If she had a legion of mages for construction and irrigation, the district would explode with life.

"You're right," she said, leaning over the desk. "Do you have a graduation season? Can I do on-campus recruitment? High pay, benefits—the works!"

Elias blinked, the terms "recruitment" and "benefits" clearly sliding off his ancient brain. He pushed his original plan forward.

"I mean... why not just enroll here?"

Yulia's stomach did a slow, agonizing somersault. Back to school? After the nightmares of high school exams?

"No—"

"Catharsis has a reputation," Elias said smoothly, his voice a low, hypnotic pull. "Mages won't go there for a paycheck. But if you're a student? You build trust. You recruit classmates."

He leaned in, his silver-gold hair catching the light. "You're sixteen. You belong in school. The workload is light, and for someone with your talent, it'll be a breeze."

Caerus's brow furrowed deeper. Yulia looked at him, knowing he was a picky eater who wouldn't want her leaving his side.

"Can Caerus come too?"

Caerus and Elias were both taken by surprise.

Caerus, in particular, had a refusal already on the tip of his tongue, but Yulia jumped in immediately.

"If Lord Caerus cannot come, there is no way I could possibly come here to study alone. I am a loyal believer who has sworn my life to him. I can't even imagine how to spend a single day without Lord Caerus; my life would lose all meaning..."

Caerus opened his mouth, then hesitated and closed it again.

Though he knew nine out of ten things this girl said were just sweet, deceptive nonsense...

It did sound rather pleasant to the ear.

Just as he was debating whether to take a step back, Elias spoke up.

"I'm afraid that won't work."

The beautiful man with light-gold hair smiled as he explained to Caerus.

"You see, our academy only accepts students under twenty."

The implication was clear—

My Lord, with an apparent age of twenty-five or twenty-six and an actual age of over a thousand, you are overage.