All-around teacher at the magic academy

Emma, ​​who was being surrounded by people and receiving their blessings, suddenly felt a sense of unease.

She turned her head to look in the direction where Leon had just been standing, only to find that the place was now empty.

Her heart tightened, and she wanted to call out "Teacher Leon," trying to find that familiar figure, but her voice caught in her throat and ultimately did not come out.

She scanned her surroundings, her eyes searching anxiously through the crowd, but she still couldn't find any trace of Teacher Leon.

Emma felt a little anxious; she wanted to get away from the crowd and find Teacher Leon.

Duke Chloe noticed his daughter's unusual behavior and smiled, asking, "Emma, ​​what's wrong..."

However, before he could finish speaking, he felt as if something was blocking his throat, and a sharp pain struck him.

He quickly covered his neck with his hands, trying to check the situation. However, as soon as he made a movement, a large amount of black liquid gushed from his mouth, emitting a nauseating, fishy stench.

Upon seeing this, everyone took a step back in fear, and gasps of alarm rose and fell. The atmosphere of the banquet instantly plummeted from the peak of joy to the abyss of terror.

Seeing this, Raphael quickly looked around, instinctively trying to find Leon.

However, his eyes searched the crowd urgently but found no trace of Leon.

At that moment, Raphael felt a chill run down his spine, and an ominous premonition welled up in his heart.

Emma noticed her father's unusual behavior, and the fear and worry in her heart made her forget everything around her.

She rushed to Duke Chloe, knelt beside him, her eyes red-rimmed, and asked anxiously, "Father, what's wrong?"

However, Duke Chloe could not give her any response. Black liquid continued to gush from his mouth, staining the ground around him like poison.

His body was curled up on the ground, his hands tightly gripping his neck, as if he were struggling desperately.

His eyes were filled with terror and helplessness, his mind repeatedly screaming the same question: "What's going on? What's going on?"

He couldn't hear his daughter's cries, nor could he see her anxious face. His world seemed to be locked in a silent, dark space.

Duke Chloe continued to clutch his neck tightly until he had vomited out all the black liquid inside his body, at which point he gradually stopped convulsing. The hand that had been gripping his neck fell limply to the ground, and the entire banquet hall fell into a deathly silence.

Emma stared at the figure lying on the ground, instantly becoming emaciated and motionless. Her heart felt as if it had been struck a heavy blow, and her mind went blank.

Her tears flowed uncontrollably, and she sobbed silently.

Suddenly, her body swayed, and then everything went black as she collapsed beside her father.

The surrounding guests were all terrified by what they saw. In just a few moments, a high-ranking duke had died before their very eyes. For many of them, this was the first time they had ever witnessed such a scene, and it was an unimaginable horror.

They glanced at each other, their eyes revealing different emotions.

Some eyes were filled with fear, unable to believe the tragedy before their eyes;

Some eyes were full of contempt, seemingly unsurprised by the death of Duke Chloe;

Some eyes were filled with greed, already secretly calculating the power vacuum that the Duke's death might bring.

Some people wanted to take the opportunity to leave this troublesome place, but Raphael stopped them.

He waved his hand, signaling everyone to remain calm. Then, the knights quickly walked in from outside, and the atmosphere immediately became even more tense.

Galli walked over to Raphael, nodded, and then went forward to examine the body lying on the ground more closely.

He examined Duke Chloe's pupils, mouth, and fingers. After a moment, he stood up, looked at Raphael, and said solemnly, "Your Highness, it is a curse."

Upon hearing this answer, Raphael narrowed his eyes, his heart filled with doubt and shock. A curse? Could he be proficient in curse magic?

...

Leon walked hurriedly back to his dormitory, his steps quick, with only one thought in his mind: to get out of here as soon as possible.

He planned to run away immediately, taking advantage of the fact that no one had reacted yet. He had already packed all his things, and as long as he returned to his dormitory, picked up his luggage, he could disappear from the city immediately.

His face was expressionless, showing no discomfort from the killing, no guilt towards Emma, ​​and no tension, only a slight sense of relief.

For him, this seemed like a relief, a freedom from long-standing constraints.

He pushed open his room door, but as soon as he stepped inside, he suddenly stopped.

His gaze fell on the figure sitting in the center of his room, a person he knew all too well.

Upon seeing the figure, Leon smiled helplessly, his voice tinged with bitterness: "Why are you here, Captain?"

Max looked at Leon standing in the doorway, his eyes filled with complex emotions.

He opened his mouth, as if to say something, but ultimately found himself at a loss for words.

He was filled with guilt because he knew that it was he, his decisions and actions, that had led to Leon's current predicament.

He stared silently at Leon, a pain unspeakable in his eyes. Finally, he sighed and asked in a heavy voice, "Where are you going?"

Leon shrugged, his expression somewhat nonchalant, as if he had no concrete plans for the future: "I don't know, I'll just go with the flow."

"sorry."

After a moment of silence, Max uttered those three words. After saying them, he seemed to age several years in an instant, and his shoulders slumped as if he were carrying a heavy burden.

Leon looked at him and said with a smile, "What have you done to wrong me, Captain?"

He was silent for a moment, then quietly took out a pack of cigarettes from his pocket, which he used to relieve his emotions when under great pressure.

He took out a cigarette and offered it to Leon, but Leon just glanced at the cigarette in his hand and gently shook his head: "You know, Captain, I don't smoke."

Max's hand froze in mid-air as he looked at Leon's calm face, a strange sense of loss welling up inside him.

He took back the cigarette he had offered, put it to his own lips, and lit a match.

He took a deep breath, and the smoke billowed in the air with his breath, blurring his vision.

Max looked at Leon through the smoke, his mind filled with a multitude of thoughts.

.....