As the clock in the demon academy pointed to five in the morning, time seemed to slow its pace in an instant, waiting for some transformation to occur.

  A hint of dawn's light delicately and silently slipped through the windowsill into the pnt garden, scattering through gaps between leaves.

  In the misty atmosphere, clear radiance spread, and the entire demon Shadow World began to dissolve like bubbles.

  Lanqi finally closed the book in his hand.

  The next second, this demon ancient text that seemed weathered by time dissolved along with the magical pnt experimental garden scene.

  In the blink of an eye, Lanqi and Huberrian found themselves standing in a transparent small room seemingly wrapped in eternal starlit sky, with only sparse starlight gleaming around them, providing enough light to see their surroundings clearly.

  This was the threshold space between the real world and Shadow World.

  Lanqi could see a fine crack split open on the transparent barrier not far away, with a few streams of serene purple flowing light pouring from that narrow gap—it was a small void gate.

  Once they passed through it, they should be able to return to the real world.

  The Shadow World's evaluation hadn't appeared yet.

  Although real Shadow Worlds wouldn't fail to produce results like artificial ones might, Lanqi had heard that if too many non-standard situations occurred during a real Shadow World challenge, it would make the evaluation process slightly longer.

  He wondered how long his would take.

  Lanqi smiled and looked up at Huberrian, ready to chat with her.

  He remembered Huberrian had been talking to him earlier, but he had been too focused on reading the st bit of content in the book.

  Then Lanqi's face showed slight confusion.

  "Huberrian, what's wrong?"

  Lanqi looked at Huberrian's expression and murmured puzzledly,

  "Oh right, is it because of what that person said about you being a mixed-blood demon?"

  Lanqi suddenly realized that Huberrian had been fine before, until that wbreaker who was devoured by demons said "mixed-blood demon" with her dying breath, after which her state seemed off.

  "Mm."

  Huberrian met Lanqi's characteristically gentle gaze, and somehow, her suspended heart finally eased a bit.

  By now, she was absolutely certain that she didn't want to lose Lanqi as a friend no matter what.

  But then.

  What she never expected was.

  "My goodness, you have demon lineage?"

  Lanqi couldn't hide the admiration in his eyes as he stared at her.

  This completely threw Huberrian off.

  It was her first time seeing someone express not disgust, but genuine... favor? after learning about her mixed demon blood.

  "Do you really not hate demons? You've spent an entire day with a demon, you know."

  Huberrian said incredulously.

  She had never met anyone in the current era with such an friendly attitude towards demons!

  Even her father initially despised demons, only gradually changing after meeting her mother.

  "Uh..."

  Lanqi hesitated, holding his chin in thought for a moment, his eyes seeming to reminisce about the leadership team he had built at the Inferno Corridor Academy.

  "..."

  Huberrian was also speechless.

  Never mind, this guy was completely demon among demons among demons. If he was friendly with demons, it wasn't surprising.

  Huberrian recalled what Lanqi had done in the demon academy.

  She finally came to terms with it.

  "My mother was a great demon who drifted from the north, fell in love with my father Duke Migaya Ansar while disguised as a commoner girl, and eventually gave birth to me."

  Huberrian lowered her eyes, seeming lost in thought as she confessed to Lanqi.

  Huberrian didn't know if her father Duke Ansar had discovered her mother was a demon back then, or if perhaps father had known all along and just pretended not to.

  Until the birth of her, a mixed-blood demon baby, when the truth could no longer be hidden, and mother quietly left Heydon Capital not long after...

  Huberrian still remembered the mencholic expression her father would often show; even after learning her mother was a demon, his greatest wish was still to find her and bring her back.

  Duke Ansar was also the only person Huberrian used to think genuinely wouldn't despise demons in Heydon Capital.

  Of course, there might now be one more such kind oddity.

  Lanqi scratched his head upon hearing this.

  Why did this sound so familiar?

  Another demon from the north, and a great demon at that—could she be Talia's retive?

  "I feel like all the demons I've met are quite nice, why does everyone dislike demons..."

  Lanqi said confusedly.

  He felt this world's malice towards demons was too heavy, when they weren't harmful at all.

  "...Could it be that you're just too kindhearted?"

  Huberrian couldn't bring herself to criticize Lanqi.

  If anyone else had made such an outrageous statement in human territory, they might have been attacked by a mob and called a bleeding heart, but if the speaker was Lanqi, it was different—because demons truly were as harmless as rabbits before him.

  "Sigh, this is also why as a duchess, I'm disliked by everyone in the capital Icerite. After the war decades ago, everyone firmly believed demons couldn't coexist with humans, even half-demons like me with only half demon blood."

  Huberrian spoke to Lanqi as if finally able to voice thoughts long pressed in her heart with no one to tell.

  Lanqi had just arrived in the northern capital that had been ravaged by war from the southern border region recently, and it was only just past five in the morning of the second day of school—he was still quite unfamiliar with everything.

  Actually, once he attended csses for a few more days and interacted more with others, he would probably learn about Huberrian being half-demon.

  Then he would naturally understand the capital's hostility towards demons.

  "So you're saying, even though people in this capital know you have demon blood, they still respect you as a duchess?"

  Lanqi said with a slight smile.

  Huberrian was stunned hearing this, staring at Lanqi's emerald gentle eyes.

  For a moment she didn't know how to respond.

  She didn't understand.

  How "being a duchess rejected by everyone because of demon blood"—this matter.

  In Lanqi's words, it took on a different meaning.

  Somehow it sounded like a fortunate thing.

  "You really are..."

  Huberrian looked at Lanqi helplessly, with an expression of "I give up on you",

  "Last time between Vivian and me, you also spoke like this, making it impossible to respond to you."

  Though it sounded like a compint.

  But she ultimately smiled with acceptance—not a fake smile, nor acting skills learned in this level-four demon Shadow World, but a genuine smile that one could show as a human being.

  (End of Chapter)