The sky turned darker as the sun receded into the horizon, and the pale crescent moon shone in the sky.

Tonight, Mordica was doing something she had never done and never felt the need to.

"Damnit! I should have said no."

She gritted her teeth with a displeased look as she packed her game consoles and others into the shelves, then neatly arranged her bedsheet.

Her room was always rough. Not because she was lazy and didn’t like cleaning, but because she found no reason to. It wasn’t like anyone would be bold enough to visit her, anyway.

Unfortunately, she was going to have a visitor tonight.

Suppressing her annoyance, she huffed and looked around the room. Now, it looked decent and presentable.

At that moment, she heard a knock on her door.

The little organ in her chest skipped a beat, but she immediately relaxed and reverted to her usual expression—cold and aloof.

With calm steps, she approached the door and opened it.

Outside, Kaiser was standing calmly. He was dressed in a long-sleeved t-shirt and a three-quarter trousers.

Mordica blinked at the casualness of his dressing, then raised her gaze to his face.

"Come in."

The blue-haired boy stepped into the room, took off his shoes by the door, then stepped into the room with his socks only.

Mordica closed the door and turned to him.

"You didn’t bring any book?"

He didn’t answer immediately, merely looking around the room like he was studying it. Then, he slowly turned to her.

"You’re a cosplayer?"

Mordica froze, her eyes snapping straight to the posters she had on the wall.

’No!!!’

Drowned in embarrassment, she was unable to move. Her mind screamed at her to immediately tear off the posters, but she knew it was futile.

He had already seen the whole thing. Unsurprisingly, her usually impassive face turned red.

Kaiser observed her in amusement, then chuckled.

"Not bad, I just wasn’t expecting that."

Giving the posters one last glance, he made himself comfortable on her bed.

"You were asking about my books? Sorry, but I won’t be needing them. You’re the one being taught."

Seeing him shift from her secret, Mordica sighed in relief. Her expression turned cold again.

"Is that right? You’re brutally confident for a first-year student like everyone else."

Kaiser just shrugged. "My bad. I can’t pretend to be humble."

"Tsk." She clicked her tongue, then took out her notebooks and textbook from her bag. "Here it is."

There weren’t enough chairs in the room, so she could only sit beside Kaiser and place her books between them.

As she sat on the bed with her legs crossed, the pale moonlight reflected on her pale skin that was as smooth as jade. That spotless white skin like clouds obscuring the peak of a mountain was enough to attract any man’s attention.

Well, except Kaiser.

He picked up the textbook, opened it, and glanced through briefly.

"First. Let’s deal with Nirad Plant Biology. Tell me about the classifications."

He said, posing the question to evaluate her knowledge level.

Mordica stared back at him with a blank gaze.

"I haven’t bothered studying it ever since I noticed it was complicated."

Hearing her words, Kaiser’s forehead creased. He almost couldn’t believe what he was hearing.

However, it wasn’t like she was wrong. It was better to ignore something than to waste time on certain futility. Still, that wasn’t a suitable academic advice.

Sighing, he realized he had a lot to teach this blank witch.

.........

Two hours passed, and Kaiser finally paused the tutorial.

Mordica blinked and looked at her wall clock, realizing it was almost nine o’clock in the night.

"Oh... that fast?"

Kaiser nodded, then stretched his body.

"Have you gotten everything I said?"

The purple-haired witch nodded, then sighed.

"Though I must say... you’re really talented in making someone understand you. I almost can’t believe how much we covered in these two hours."

Kaiser lowered his head. "Of course you can make anyone understand me by understanding them first."

Inwardly, he continued. ’Else, how would you manipulate them?’

This was an important lesson he had learnt in the clan, and it had shaped him.

Mordica closed her books, then stood up.

"You should go back now. Thank you."

Kaiser nodded and stood up too. He yawned leisurely, looking around the room again.

"I must say... your cosplaying skills aren’t bad. Do you mind if I take a picture?"

Before he even finished speaking, he had already taken out his phone and raised it to take a picture.

"Don’t you dare!"

Mordica’s enraged roar interrupted him, as her hand clamped around his throat, and she slammed into him, sending them sprawling on the bed.

Her purple eyes were burning with fury as she grabbed the phone with her other hand and tightened her grip to crush it.

"Don’t let your anger could your senses."

Kaiser’s emotionless voice doused cold water onto her blazing fury. She blinked, stunned.

’Huh?’

She was laying on the bed in a comical pose, while Kaiser stood and watched her in amusement. His hands were in his pocket, and there was no phone in sight.

’Was that... an illusion?’

She sat up immediately, her eyes wide as she stared at him.

"Is that your ability? Creating illusions?"

She looked agitated. If it wasn’t his ability, that could only mean one thing. Kaiser was also a witch.

"I know what you’re thinking. I’m not a witch. And that was not my ability either."

Kaiser said to her, his gaze calm.

"Then, how...?"

Kaiser picked up the books that had been thrown to the ground and explained.

"It’s merely a cognitive illusion. By saying the right words, I triggered a predetermined illusion you had crafted in your head, making you even react to it physically."

Mordica’s jaw dropped as she realized he was right. Indeed, she had always been prepared to subdue him if he tried to do anything. However, now, that preparation she had conjured in her mind had been used against her.

’Cognitive illusion, huh?’

Kaiser dropped the books on the table and walked to the door.

"I will be coming at the same time tomorrow. Don’t worry, the secret about your fetish is safe with me."

Immediately, Mordica’s biting voice followed. "It’s not a fetish, you damned freak!"

.........

The next morning, Kaiser appeared in class as usual, with everyone already present in their seats. Before the lessons started, Hazel went up to the podium and began to speak.

"I already set the poll on the ground and everyone has chosen their wanted tutors. Just for confirmation, I will be calling out the tutors and you’ll raise your hand if you’re in their groups."

The class was silent, so she began calling out.

"Liam. 6 students. If you’re among these seven, raise your hand up."

Instantly, seven hands were raised, and Hazel noted their faces.

Five of them were girls who obviously had a crush on the brown-haired boy.

"Alright, next is myself."

Five students raised their hands, including Logan and Eric. Hazel confirmed that they were in her group, then continued.

"Astron. 4 students."

The four boys who had chosen Astron raised their hands, making Hazel nod.

"Alisa. 5 students."

Five hands were raised, all belonging to boys. Naturally, their reason for choosing her was quite obvious. Alisa was fit to be a fashion model, after all.

"Kaiser. 4 students."

Kiera, Mordica, Ysabella, and Charles raised their hands, surprising the whole class. Well, the chubby boy didn’t surprise them, but Kiera and Mordica were different.

Ysabella’s decision was also surprising and devastating to Jose. He had wanted to choose anyone Ysabella chose, but he didn’t expect it to be Kaiser she would choose.

It wasn’t that strange, though. After all, Kaiser and Ysabella had been quite close in the past.

For Kiera, it was different.

Kiera had a boyfriend who was also heading a group, yet she had chosen another person.

Was this a sign that she could leave Liam soon?

The girls began exchanging hushed whispers, while casting sneaky glances at the white-haired girl.

Liam also sensed the shift and frowned. Although he couldn’t understand why Kiera would choose Kaiser’s group, he didn’t want to make her feel uncomfortable.

So he just gave her a calm, loving smile. Kiera returned the smile, dispersing the tensed air.

Hazel locked eyes with Mordica, tilting her head curiously. "You too?"

She hadn’t expected someone as intelligent as Mordica to participate in the study sessions. Unless she wasn’t good in some particular subjects.

Mordica heard her question but didn’t reply. She merely snorted and shifted her gaze from Hazel.

The black-haired girl wasn’t offended by her attitude, simply ignoring it with an equally cold gaze.

"Today is Tuesday and we don’t have much time left for this examination. The study sessions start today. I’ve created a group for the leaders and I expect everyone of us to be responsible."

As soon as her voice dropped, Instructor Rina walked into the class. Hazel calmly returned to her seat, letting the black-haired woman take the stage.

"Alright. Seems you’re all ready. Let’s begin today’s first lecture."