Chapter 705: Lifaeya and Her Relationship with Her Family
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 705: Lifaeya and Her Relationship with Her Family
"No eligibility to enter the Witch Academy?" I looked up, repeating her words slowly before turning my gaze toward Lifaeya.
To be honest, that was the one thing I looked down on the most. It was as if I’d had the "eligibility" to enter the Witch Academy back then—and yet, here I was.
Lifaeya might not have had the eligibility, but she had made it in anyway. She had even become a Teaching Assistant.
"Correct."
"Who said so? Who decided you weren't eligible? That’s the one argument I can never buy into."
"The family," Lifaeya explained. "Perhaps you don't know, but not every scion of a family has the right to enter the Witch Academy. Especially an academy like this, where you lose your fertility upon enrollment. Family restrictions are even harsher because they need us to carry on the bloodline."
"So that’s the reason... I’ve heard a bit about that." Hearing her explanation, I recalled some information I’d come across before. "Just because the family didn't allow it... and yet, you still entered the Witch Academy."
"Yes, I entered anyway. I did it behind their backs. The Academy opens its doors to anyone who meets the criteria."
"So, how did the family handle you?" I was becoming more curious about Lifaeya’s story. Since she was willing to share this with me now, I was more than happy to be her audience.
"I secretly changed my school preferences back then, but a secret like that couldn't be kept for long. The punishment for defying the family's arrangements is usually severe, especially regarding rules that conflict with the Academy's will..."
"So... they couldn't stop you from entering the Witch Academy, so they punished your specific branch of the family instead?"
"No, they have plenty of ways to stop someone from entering a Transcendent Academy. There are many excuses—being 'poached' by another academy, or 'voluntarily' giving up... those are basic tactics. A family's influence in the outside world is absolute. They can easily make someone who hasn't yet stepped into the Transcendent realm vanish from the face of the earth."
"Well, well. My understanding of these families just got a little deeper." I had initially thought families wouldn't dare defy the Witch Academy. I didn't realize they acted like local tyrants in the places the Academy didn't care to look.
"From your tone, you seem to hate families too, even though you aren't part of one."
"You don't need a reason to hate a person, a faction, or a family. A bad first impression is enough."
It was just like the world of those gamers. My first impression of them was terrible—so bad that at one point, I’d even declared I wanted them completely wiped out...
"Is that so? You really do whatever you please... That must be nice."
"But I'm curious how you actually made it to the Witch Academy. Based on what you said, you shouldn't have even had the chance to get here," I said, steering the conversation back.
"Well..." Lifaeya paused to gather her thoughts, then took a piece of the spicy dried fish I offered and ate it. "Actually, as soon as my parents found out about my rebellion, they grabbed me and dragged me to the Main House to confess my sins."
"As long as I gave up on the Transcendent Academy, I would still be their 'precious daughter'... You might not understand what it feels like to be your parents' darling one moment, only to have them slap you across the face the next and tell you it's 'for your own good.'"
"So you fought back?" I guessed.
"No, I submitted. At the time, I still clung to the hope of being their precious child. For that, I was willing to overlook the slap they gave me."
"But you can't have everything. Every act of willfulness comes with a price..."
"Because of my defiance, in the short span between the admission letters being sent out and the enrollment deadline, my life went from luxury to ruin. The family businesses managed by my parents were heavily affected... I heard it was because... well, I don't really understand the family's business grading system. Regardless, the family was completely disappointed in my parents' line. They stripped them of their power, turning us into a branch family in name only..."
"And how did your parents treat you then?"
"They blamed me, of course. How could they keep loving me? I wasn't their only child."
"I’ll never forget them locking me in a small room, saying they’d only consider letting me out after the enrollment ceremony was over. The food I ate during that time... Heh, it was countless times worse than what we're eating now." Lifaeya picked up another piece of dried fish. Even though it was just an ordinary snack, she looked as if she were savoring a delicacy.
"Solitary confinement? What did you do after that?"
"I called for help. It was only then that I realized my phone had been tapped the entire time."
"A dedicated monitor? That’s extreme."
"Of course not. Looking back... it was probably keyword-based. I made many calls from that room without issue until I called my deskmate from school. I knew she had also been accepted into a Transcendent Academy..."
"And then they caught you?"
"Mm... My door was kicked open. I naively thought my dad was letting me out, but I was met with a brutal beating instead. He kept hitting me while saying it was for my own good, telling me to give up on the idea of the Transcendent Academy..."
"That sounds like a suffocating atmosphere."
"It was... The family I was born into meant there were many things I simply wasn't allowed to do. And if I did them, I had to pay the price."
"And then? What did you do?"
"After the beating, I behaved. I cried and begged them not to take my phone. Maybe they thought it was fine since it was tapped, so they eventually softened and let me keep it. I stayed quiet until the very end."
"But in the end... you still made a call for help? Who did you call?" I asked.
At that point, Lifaeya’s only opening would have been the phone. I reasonably guessed she had used it to call someone.
"It was that same deskmate. And that was the turning point of my life. When the call connected, it wasn't my deskmate who answered, but a stranger. After talking, I found out my deskmate had been 'poached' in those final days... snatched away to another Transcendent Academy. I heard she was taken to a Wizard Academy..."
"Oh? It went like that? And then?"
"The person on the other end heard my plea for help and realized I was a student admitted to the Witch Academy. They became interested. But what really made them decide to come get me was my score..."
"Your score must have been very high. I bet you were grateful to your past self for studying so hard."
"Yes. I was excellent; I deserved the Transcendent Academy. That was one of the fundamental reasons I yearned for it, wasn't it? If I had been a failure or a poor student, I wouldn't have had the resolve to defy my family." Lifaeya’s voice grew agitated as she spoke. She probably didn't even notice the change.
"But if that's the case, you should be a student at the Wizard Academy, right?"
"I should be... but guess which academy is the most notorious for poaching new students in our world?"
"The Witch Academy!" I blurted out.
"Exactly. My deskmate and I were both poached by the Witch Academy in the end..."
"The drama is off the charts," I said with a smile.
"Yeah. Every time I look back on it, it feels unbelievable... Only after entering the Witch Academy did I see the true nature of this world. You know, during my first few years here, I was terrified the family would find me and drag me back, stripping me of my status as a student..."
"But there are some things even a family can't interfere with, like the status of an active student at a Transcendent Academy," I added.
"Exactly. As my understanding of the Academy deepened, I became more certain of how right my rebellion was, and how lucky that coincidence had been!"
"So what about now? You've become a Teaching Assistant. You should have enough standing to cut ties with your original family, right?" I continued.
"Cut ties..." Hearing my question, Lifaeya seemed to think of something. A bitter expression crossed her face. "I once heard someone say that family is an eternal, indestructible shackle carved into a person. No matter what I become or where I go... those shackles will follow me like a shadow..."
"..."
I listened quietly without interrupting. Perhaps it was difficult for me to fully grasp, but I respected Lifaeya’s perspective.
Just as someone who hasn't experienced my hardships wouldn't understand what my past means, they couldn't truly empathize with how much weight is behind a seemingly simple "letting go."
"Those shackles... whether I'm at rock bottom or the peak of success, they always find me, turning me back into that helpless little girl locked in a small room... It’s a subtle thing, an obedience carved into my bones from birth. The discipline the family injected into my thoughts through education... the ideology of obedience, the philosophy of submission, the concept of 'Family Above All'... These aren't shackles you can just take off once you understand them..."
"I see..."
As Lifaeya spoke, I began to understand and even feel a bit of empathy. That mode of thinking, etched into one's cognition from childhood—in this regard, the poor and the wealthy families were the same. Only the specific ideologies they hammered in were different...
"Can you understand that feeling?" Lifaeya was clearly being affected by her emotions now, though she forced herself to remain composed.
"I can. Family and education are hurdles that neither the poor nor the rich can bypass."
"I heard your past was also quite rough, and your application process was full of turmoil. I also heard that during this College Entrance Exam... you went back to resolve the issues with your original family..."
"Yes, that's true."
"I truly envy how decisive you can be..."
"Decisive... do you really envy that? Even if it means never knowing what it feels like to be connected to someone by blood from the moment of your birth? If you're okay with that, then you can be just as decisive. But... a terrible childhood might take the rest of your life to heal."
"That... well, it seems I was thinking too simply." Lifaeya gave a light laugh and shook her head. "This damn, wretched world..."
"Look on the bright side. At least you've become a Teaching Assistant through your own hard work, haven't you? At least you have your fate in your own hands," I comforted her.
"Hard work... Teaching Assistant... Heh... Actually, it's neither. Xiao Han, you've been a Teaching Assistant too. You should know that becoming one is always more about luck and opportunity than ability and effort."
"There's a story there too?" My curiosity was piqued again.
However, I knew exactly what she meant. Teaching Assistants were a specific group. They didn't represent the peak of power for non-Transcendent groups in the Witch Academy. They existed for two reasons: one, to handle trivial matters for Transcendent Mentors, and two, because those mentors saw the potential for that student to become a Transcendent.
"It's not really a story. The process of me becoming a Teaching Assistant was just... even more dramatic. It was because of my history—my enrollment and my rebellion..."
"The family denied me eligibility, so I fought for it myself. The family became my shackles, so I would tear them apart with my own hands... Because of my experiences, the Mentor I currently follow is absolutely certain that I can resist the sense of belonging granted by the Attributional Ley Line Shackles. And she promised to be my firmest backer until I ascend to become a Transcendent Witch..."
"So that's why you cause trouble all over the Academy, yet your Mentor is still happy to settle everything for you?" I finally understood.
If it was a matter of the Ley Line Shackles and the sense of belonging, training a student who was highly likely to resist them meant she had a high probability of becoming a Transcendent Witch—second only to someone like me, who had already severed the Ley Line Shackles...
"It's not really 'causing trouble'... You should understand that many students and Teaching Assistants in the Academy are reflections of their respective families' interests. It's inevitable to run into them... I don't want to join their circles, so they ostracize me..."
"I can relate. If you're not part of the group, you can't play together."
The conversation continued in this vein, with Lifaeya and I taking turns sharing our thoughts.
Although the topic had drifted far from the original question, learning about a person's past allowed me to predict her future and more clearly understand the underlying logic driving her choices.
...
"So they gave you an opportunity... a chance to officially and completely cut ties with your family, as long as you cooperated in the attempt to assassinate me?"
"Yes..."
"Why?" I looked at Lifaeya. My "why" was asking why she had given up on that chance.
"Because... your actions showed me, and made me realize... that cutting ties with your past and your bloodline doesn't require anyone else's charity."
"..."
"Actually, I should have seen through them long ago. You were just the turning point that made me reach a decision and change."
"The one who made the decision was always you."
I knew very well that what I had done hadn't actually provided Lifaeya with much "inspiration." Whatever she wanted to do in her heart, she could turn even the most irrational excuse into a firm anchor. I just happened to be the excuse she chose...
"No, I'm certain it was you who gave me the courage to change... but I'm sorry that I can't give you an equal return." Lifaeya sighed, a look of hesitation crossing her face as if she were struggling with whether to say more.
"What? It looks like you're not finished. If it's some kind of 'repayment,' forget it."
"No... I don't know how to say this because I can't be sure, but I hope you won't take too many risks in the next few days. Don't get into conflicts with those Teaching Assistants, and more importantly... don't think that dying at their hands is no big deal."
"What do you mean?"
"How should I put this... When I heard their plan, although they didn't say it explicitly, it sounded as if the mission would be complete once they killed you just once... Perhaps they possess a method of killing that even a Resurrection Spell cannot undo..."
Lifaeya seemed to think of something else. "Remember the contract issues we discussed before this Joint Exam? The powers in this world can never be fully restricted. There might be some unknown power that can bypass the loopholes in the contracts..."
"Is that so? Anyway, thanks for the warning." I silently committed Lifaeya’s words to heart before changing the subject. "Let's stop talking about these heavy topics. Let's get back to the livestream. We have so much good food here; it would be a waste not to make the viewers jealous."
"Huh? Okay~" Lifaeya blinked, then followed my lead without further comment, turning the livestream back on.