"What do you teach in the Academy?"
"What else can be taught? Combat and Magic, of course."
Hearing this, Inna's eyes twinkled with curiosity.
"Combat? … and Magic?" She looked at Solomon with bright sparkly eyes.
Immediately, Solomon knew what she was thinking.
"OH NO NO NO NO NO! YOU ARE NOT ENTERING!"
God only know how much chaos she's going to bring in his academy.
And how many headaches he's going to suffer from it.
"Why not?!" She grumbled.
"Because you are a crazy ill-mannered wild animal!" Solomon hissed.
His academy is a prestigious one so it was mostly filled with Anemoly's nobles that had great upbringing or genius commoners that had commendable talent. But if he released this kid from her cage and made her go to his territory, he was afraid she'd end up bickering with them! Or worse, fighting them!
And what's worse, a member of the royal family is coming as well!
So, he really can't take any chances!
"HEY! I CAN BEHAVE!" Inna argued back.
"Behave, my butt!"
"You're not going and that's final!"
After hearing his words, for some reason, Inna felt like she was talking to a father trying to protect their daughter.
"Now, now… let's not be hasty." Inna decided to show how she can be behaved. She began to act in a prim and proper manner, similar to those Englishmen she saw in TV shows. She lifted her chin and cupped both her hands in front of her stomach like a choir boy. "Such barbaric attitude is unbecoming of a headmaster such as yourself."
"Barbaric attitude? BARBARIC ATTITUDE?! IT'S YOU WHO'S BARBARIC!" Solomon almost busted a vein while cringing at her sad imitation of a noble woman.
"Now, now... Hush, your blood pressure might spike up again. We wouldn't want such a tragic thing to happen now, would we milord?" She continued her facade, this time with a British accent.
"Blood….. Pressure? BLOOD PRESSURE?! ARE YOU CALLING ME OLD?!"
Solomon's fatigue seemed to have disappeared and was now replaced with bottomless fury.
"Now, now…" Inna continued while withholding laughter. But after a few moments, the dam broke and she broke out into a fit of giggles and snorts.
Feeling oddly amused by her strange laugh, Solomon forgot his anger and started to laugh as well.
Soon, the entire study was filled with the sounds of their crazed laughter. The sounds became louder that it leaked out to the hallways. The maids who were about to enter to serve tea heard the sound and suddenly their jaws dropped to the floor.
Master Solomon is actually laughing!
He is laughing! After 10 years, he finally laughed again!
The maids then heard another high-pitched laughter that sounded like a mutation between a child and a pig and knew that the other person inside the room was none other than that weird brat!
Hearing their laughter, the maids saw Inna in a new light and began highly respecting her.
To think that her strangeness would bring back their master's laughter.
They couldn't be more thankful that Inna arrived 2 months ago!
In the end, they couldn't hold it in their hearts to keep hating her for the garden incident. So, when the laughter died down, the maids knocked before entering and serving the tea. Then, they kindly smiled at Inna before retreating silently.
Inna raised an eyebrow at their strange behavior but didn't comment.
"Still, the answer is no." Solomon said firmly.
"Besides, why do you need to go to school when I am teaching you personally?"
Inna sighed. "It's 'because' you're teaching me, that's why."
"You said the school year is starting so, you need to prioritize all these," Inna gestured at the towering stacks of papers.
"Rather than this." She then pointed at her.
"It's been fun and all, but I don't think leaving me with stacks of boring books for me to read without any pictures and guidance, can be called 'teaching.' Because I'm sure as heck, I didn't learn jack shit of what I just read yesterday or the past following days."
"The only way I can learn, is to actually be taught something. It means 'guidance,' not 'figure it out yourself' treatment. Or else it's going to end up becoming like that garden incident. I might lose control of the spells. And who knows, one day, this whole Sunny whatever mansion would suddenly disappear from the world."
Solomon contemplated for a moment.
It is true. There were lots of businesses he left unfinished and meetings he postponed in the academy. And now to add the fact that someone from the royal family is entering, it'll make him busier with safety planning and maintenance of the academy's security. And he knew deep inside that once the school year starts, he wouldn't be able to have that much spare time to see Inna, much less teach her.
He knew that.
Since in all the previous years, because of the very same work, he couldn't even take care of his own son properly.
So, Solomon sighed as he made a decision.
"Fine. You can go."