Mist Empire’s Rise: Fake Noble to Fog Queen

Chapter 368 Mist Empire’s Rise- 367: Your Crimes Are Quite Numerous

"In the magic rune assessment, you were distracted and deliberately drew the simplest rune wrong. In the spellchanting assessment, you toyed with the supervising professor, despised the spellchanting profession, and showed no respect for the professor whatsoever."

"You disrupted assessment order, challenged academy authority, bullied elderly professors, and set a terrible example for other students!"

Luo Wei: A huge scapegoat fell from the sky!

"I didn't toy with the professor!!!" She argued her case. She absolutely wouldn't take the blame for things she didn't do. "This is all slander!"

Headmaster Morrison said coldly: "You mean the professors slandered you? You didn't do these things?"

Luo Wei's momentum weakened. She said quietly: "These were all accidents. I can explain, but I absolutely didn't bully professors. There's a misunderstanding here."

Headmaster Morrison: "Then explain. What misunderstanding?"

Luo Wei choked, stammering: "Well, I was a bit nervous during the exam. When I'm nervous my hands shake. When my hands shake I poke the wrong place. My memory's also a bit poor. Magic runes and spellchanting are easy to forget..."

Headmaster Morrison calmly stared at her, watching how long she could keep making up nonsense.

Gradually, Luo Wei couldn't continue.

No matter what she said, the headmaster didn't believe her. Forget it, she wouldn't say more.

She'd give up. Giving up should be fine, right?

Seeing her stop, Headmaster Morrison continued: "Additionally, the discipline master reported to me that you didn't return to your dorm at night and secretly ran to the corridor to have a tryst with Hessel. Did this happen?"

The companions on both sides suddenly perked up, their glowing eyes sweeping back and forth between Luo Wei and Hessel.

Tsk tsk tsk!

Who'd have thought they were that kind of people, secretly having trysts!

But the two subjects simultaneously shouted: "No!"

Luo Wei raised her voice to defend herself: "Absolutely not! The discipline master must have misunderstood!"

Hessel also frowned tightly to explain: "We were just discussing matters in the corridor, not having a tryst!"

Headmaster Morrison's reaction was flat: "So you're admitting you didn't return to your dorms and went to the corridor?"

Both fell silent. This was fact—no way to refute it.

"Also, yesterday afternoon, magical beasts in the advanced department's grazing area were frightened. Some timid beasts were so scared they wouldn't eat or drink and lost lots of fur."

"According to academy investigation, you snuck in and terrorized them?"

Everyone glared at Hol: All your fault!

You said we wouldn't be discovered, yet yesterday's incident was discovered today!

Hol: ... He'd never had problems going in alone. Who should really be blamed!

At this point, he could only come forward to admit fault: "Sorry, Headmaster. Yesterday I took them in to find laurel trees. I didn't expect to scare the magical beasts. I know I was wrong."

This incident taught him a lesson. From now on, he'd just go in alone.

Magical beast fur was also a potion material. When he lacked materials brewing potions, he often snuck in to pluck fur. Those beasts treated him like a tree. As long as he avoided people, he could wander freely among the beasts.

Seeing Hol's sincere attitude admitting fault, and that it was to pick laurel branches, Headmaster Morrison wasn't too angry: "I'll let it go this time. Don't let it happen again."

But he immediately continued: "A student wrote complaining that you form cliques and small groups, bully classmates, exclude classmates, and even at the ball stepped on her dress, knocked her down multiple times, and humiliated her wantonly."

"Luo Wei, the complaint letter mentions these bullying behaviors were all instigated by you, that you're the ringleader of this small group. Do you admit it?"

Luo Wei: ... Hearing this letter's content, she knew the person complaining was Axina.

She frowned: "That student has some conflicts with me and my friends. It's not one-sided bullying. She's also bullied them."

But she couldn't mention these incidents—like Axina having guards try to rape her, threatening Gladys to compete, eavesdropping on their conversations, spying on Hessel in original form...

Though Headmaster Morrison also knew their identities, some things—knowing didn't mean they could be discussed openly.

Moreover, didn't Headmaster Morrison know what kind of person Axina was? He just wanted their attitude.

Axina was bad, but every time she faced them she got the worse end. Probably in the headmaster's eyes, she could still be saved.

Luo Wei calmed down and directly admitted: "The ball part is true. I don't acknowledge the rest."

"We didn't form a small group. I didn't instigate them to humiliate her. Our private grudges didn't involve other people."

Headmaster Morrison: "Didn't form a small group? But the discipline master said he repeatedly saw you gathering by Willow Lake conspiring."

Luo Wei thought—the headmaster indeed didn't care whether they humiliated Axina. He was just reminding them not to make their clique too obvious, or it would be hard to stop wagging tongues.

"It's my fault. I saw the scenery was nice there and often invited friends to view it. I'll pay attention in the future and won't do things that make everyone misunderstand."

This time it was Headmaster Morrison's turn to fall silent. He didn't know what Luo Wei was thinking.

He wasn't reminding her not to cause misunderstandings but wanted to tell her—a group of troublemakers should spread out, not gather together all day!

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When these few clustered together, his eyelid twitched, always feeling they'd poke a huge hole for him.

However, looking at these six students before him, Headmaster Morrison sighed and didn't voice his thoughts.

All children with difficult fates. Telling them not to cluster meant making them lose friends. For such a small matter, unnecessary.

"Luo Wei, deduct forty credits, punish with one month community service, ram embankments for ten days, explain academy rules to new students at term start, write a two-thousand-word self-criticism, publicly criticized before all academy staff and students at term start."

One more credit deducted and Luo Wei would have to withdraw. The academy couldn't bear to lose such a good seedling, so they could only add more punishment elsewhere.

Regarding her own punishment, Luo Wei had no objections.

—Even if she had objections, she didn't dare say so.

Going to the cesspool to build embankments was already despairing enough. What if she said she disagreed and the headmaster made her clean the shit mountain piled under the castle toilet building?

Academy punishments couldn't be completed with magic. Then she'd have to dig through shit piles by hand!

After finishing with the student with the worst criminal record, Headmaster Morrison flipped through the book in his hands and began giving punishments one by one.

"Laura, late return eleven times. Deduct ten credits, write five-hundred-word self-criticism, punish with ten days community service."

"Gladys, didn't return to dorm five nights. Deduct fifteen credits, write eight-hundred-word self-criticism, punish with twelve days community service."

"Hol, secretly brewing potions in the dorm knocked out seven roommates and made over a hundred vomit. In the year-end assessment, your potion brewing corroded three sets of pharmaceutical tools. Stirring potions with your feet is suspected of insulting the supervising professor."

"Deduct twenty credits, punish with half a month community service, clear lake channels for five days, one-thousand-word self-criticism, publicly criticized before the whole academy at term start."

"Theodore, assaulted classmates, attempted to violate a male classmate's but... buttocks. Improperly dressed before female classmates, exposed leg hair. Used self-harm by cutting off hands and feet to threaten professors to transfer you to potions class. After being refused, snuck into the potions classroom and stole course potion materials..."

"Corrupting public morals, extremely vile conduct! Deduct thirty credits, punish with twenty days community service, clear lake channels for ten days, clean boys' toilets for three days, written apology to classmates and professors you frightened, write two-thousand-word self-criticism, publicly criticized before the whole academy at term start."

"Hessel, late return once, didn't return to dorm three nights, invaded boys' castle once, threatened classmates once, blew up alchemy rooms five times, causing nearly one thousand gold coins in academy public property losses."

"Deduct thirty-five credits, punish with twenty-five days community service, ram embankments for ten days, patrol Rose Castle for five days, rebuild alchemy room, compensate all alchemy warehouse losses, write two-thousand-word self-criticism, publicly criticized before the whole academy at term start."

After this round of punishments, Headmaster Morrison spoke until his mouth was dry. Looking up, these troublemakers standing before his desk actually still looked aggrieved.

They still dared feel aggrieved?

No remorse—seems the punishment was still too light!

Headmaster Morrison slapped the punishment form on the desk: "Come sign. After signing, go back and reflect properly!"

The six silently walked forward, picked up quills, and quickly signed their names.

Seeing Headmaster Morrison still had a dark face, Luo Wei and her companions quietly said "Goodbye, Headmaster" and tiptoed out of the office.

Once out the office door, the six fled like escaping for their lives, not stopping until they'd rushed out of the main chapel square, then slowing their pace toward the academy gate.

Laura patted her chest: "The headmaster was so fierce this time. I was so scared I didn't dare say a word after going in."

Gladys nodded in agreement: "Why was he, so angry?"

"I just summarized a pattern," Hol analyzed for everyone. "Angering professors—most severe punishment. Damaging academy property—second. Only violating school rules—lightest punishment."

Luo Wei thought that was wrong: "But last year I also didn't anger professors. How did I get forty credits deducted?"

"Skipping school once deducts two credits. You skipped eighteen times—already thirty-six credits deducted. You won by quantity hahaha!" Theodore laughed uncontrollably.

Hessel suddenly said: "I think the headmaster just wanted to punish you."

Luo Wei said in surprise: "Just wanted to punish me—why?"

"I also think the headmaster seemed to be deliberately finding fault with you," Hol said thoughtfully. "Actually those mistakes you made could be big or small, including last year's skipping school. Even deducting credits, shouldn't warrant too much punishment."

Logically it should be this way, but the fact was: last year Luo Wei not only had forty credits deducted but was also punished with fifteen days community service and patrolling the perimeter for a month.

Thinking of patrolling the perimeter, Luo Wei and Hessel exchanged glances.

Everything Headmaster Morrison did had deep meaning.

Patrolling the perimeter was to let Luo Wei discover Wordsworth. Doing community service was to deliver the truth that the Sun and Moon Gods were false gods to them.

So this year's embankment ramming?

What was it for?

Luo Wei guessed—could there also be some secret hidden in the cesspool?

Headmaster's office.

Headmaster Morrison drank a sip of sweet honey flower tea. His gloomy mood improved considerably.

Thinking this flower tea was given to him by Luo Wei, he humphed again.

Not sleeping in the middle of the night, running to his house to steal magic books, disturbing his intimate time with his lover, and making such an ugly puppet to knock on their window and scare them!

Before, thinking she had some unavoidable reason for stealing magic books, he let her off.

Who knew she was just stealing for fun!

Had to teach her a lesson. This child was really too mischievous. Without teaching her, she'd reach the heavens in the future!

Leisurely finishing a cup of flower tea, Headmaster Morrison took out another crystal-clear crystal cup, put some gardenias in it, scooped a spoonful of honey, finally added lukewarm boiled water, and gently stirred with a small spoon.

When the honey completely dissolved, he looked at the golden fragrant tea soup and nodded with satisfaction.

"Tap tap tap..."

Footsteps sounded outside the door.

Headmaster Morrison looked over. The wooden door was pushed open. A plump figure carrying a roster walked in.

"You're here. Want flower tea? I brewed it for you."

Professor Moses nodded, put down the roster, picked up the flower tea, and sat on the other side of the desk.

"Who made you angry again?" Headmaster Morrison asked.

Professor Moses indicated he should look at the roster on the desk: "This year's junior department assessment results."

Headmaster Morrison opened the roster and saw the statistics of names, courses, and scores. Some people were circled in red, some had diagonal lines drawn in black pen.

"Seventeen people didn't pass the assessment," Professor Moses said. "Eleven chose to withdraw. Six chose to retake."

Headmaster Morrison asked: "Didn't pass any of the six magic course assessments?"

Professor Moses was fuming: "They're stubborn. Don't know what they heard from others. Usually only studied one course, slept through other classes every day. Result—didn't pass that one course at year-end assessment, and other courses also failed."

Professors spoke harshly, warning students daily that failing even one course assessment meant expulsion. Actually, academy assessments were quite lenient.

Among the six magic courses, students only needed to pass any one course assessment to advance to intermediate department.

But when choosing their magic profession, they could only choose the course they passed.

These students learned from upperclassmen that assessments weren't as strict as professors said. Being too clever, they learned nothing except spellchanting.

Some students were lazy. Some had poor magic talent, so they put all their energy into the one course they most wanted to study.

This was very risky. If they passed the assessment, fine. If not, according to academy rules, they could only withdraw or retake.

Wealthy students retaking a year was nothing. Poor students were in trouble. Failing assessments meant losing tuition reduction eligibility. Unable to pay tuition, they could only withdraw.

Professors repeatedly emphasized taking assessments seriously, but some students just wouldn't listen, finally reaching this point today.

The more Professor Moses thought about it, the angrier she got: "What's wrong with this year's students? Each one treating assessments like child's play?"

Headmaster Morrison comforted her: "Look on the bright side—this cohort has many exceptionally talented students."

Professor Moses: "Exceptionally talented at causing trouble too."

"Geniuses are inevitably unruly. I've already taught them a lesson. They'll definitely restrain themselves in the future."

Headmaster Morrison pushed the punishment form before Professor Moses, hoping her mood would improve after reading it.

Professor Moses glanced at it and frowned: "Why did you punish so severely? The children are just a bit mischievous, not utterly wicked."

Headmaster Morrison: ...

He silently took back the punishment form.