Reborn as the General's Useless Daughter-Chapter 127: Prince Kael is back

When the four arrived at the mentors’ office, Tutors Sebastian and Miel looked up at once. The moment they saw the familiar figures standing there, relief and joy flashed through their eyes.

Miel hurried forward, scanning them from head to toe. After confirming that none of them were seriously injured, he patted Alaric Von Seraph’s and Raphael’s shoulders heavily. "Good. Good! You all made it back safely. That’s truly great."

Sebastian let out a long breath as well. When news of the monster beast tide had arrived, his heart had sunk immediately. Upon learning that both Alaric Von Seraph’s group and Marcus’s group were in the White Mountains, worry followed day and night.

The academy’s special enrollment students were its pride. Losing even one team would be a devastating blow.

"Instructor," Raphael asked after a moment of hesitation, his expression complicated, "has there been any news from Marcus’s group?"

Miel sighed and shook his head. "Not yet. They still haven’t returned. The teams sent to search haven’t brought back any news either."

Raphael fell silent. Though they often competed and bet against Marcus and his people, in private, they were close, brothers who had fought and trained side by side.

At this moment, rivalry meant nothing. All that remained was worry.

If something truly happened to Marcus and the others in the White Mountains, none of them would feel at ease.

"They’ll definitely make it back safely," Zora said softly, her voice calm yet reassuring. At this point, there was nothing more they could do. Worrying endlessly would change nothing. All they could do was wait and hope.

Miel gave a faint nod, his expression heavy. "There were many students training in the White Mountains. So far, fewer than ten have returned."

Those words made everyone’s hearts sink. Even if they were strangers, they were still fellow students of the academy. No one wished for such an ending.

"The losses this time are not small," Sebastian said, rubbing his temples. Dark circles shadowed his eyes, a clear sign that he hadn’t rested properly for days.

"Even the principal and vice principal have been alarmed."

A glint of understanding flashed through Zora’s eyes.

She knew enough about the academy’s upper ranks to grasp the seriousness of the situation.

Wilheim, the academy’s principal, was a powerhouse who spent most of his time in seclusion. Unless something truly major occurred, he rarely showed himself. Most daily affairs were handled by the instructors.

As for Vice Principal Gerrad, he was a formidable fourth-grade alchemist, a figure of immense prestige even within the Elysia Empire.

On the entire Holy Mystic continent, fourth-grade alchemists were already at the pinnacle. Such a person usually devoted himself entirely to alchemy and seldom interfered in academy matters.

For both of them to appear meant one thing: the monster beast frenzy had shaken the academy to its core.

"If too many students are lost this time," Sebastian continued with a tired sigh, "the academy may have no choice but to slightly lower some thresholds and recruit again."

Shock flickered across the faces of Alaric Von Seraph and the others.

Recruiting again was no small matter. From this alone, they could tell how severe the losses truly were. Never in the academy’s history had something like this happened on such a scale.

"You’ve all just come back and must be exhausted," Miel said gently. "Go back and rest properly. We’ll handle things here for now."

Anyone with eyes could see how worn down these youngsters were. Days of nonstop flight, fear, and tension had pushed their bodies far past the limit. Rest was no longer optional.

"Then we’ll return first," Alaric Von Seraph replied solemnly. "If the academy needs us, please send word."

His cold, composed demeanor carried a quiet sense of responsibility.

For the first time, Zora looked at him with mild surprise.

She had always thought Alaric Von Seraph was the type to cultivate alone, indifferent to everything else. She hadn’t expected him to care so deeply about the academy’s affairs.

*

Later;

Back in her dormitory, Zora collapsed onto the bed with her every muscle finally relaxing. Black, White, and Shihtzu each claimed a comfortable corner, sprawled out without the slightest regard for appearances.

"Ha..." she let out a long breath.

Only now did the accumulated fatigue truly surface. The intensity of the past few days had already left her body aching faintly.

Clearly, she still needed to further temper her physical strength.

With that thought, she forced herself up from the soft bed.

From the Ring of Chaos, she took out a large wooden tub.

After heating water and filling it, she poured in the liquid she had prepared earlier. Steam rose gently into the air, carrying with it a sharp yet refreshing scent.

Today, her body was utterly drained, and precisely because of that, it was the best moment to absorb the medicinal solution.

Zora stepped into the tub. Warm liquid wrapped around her skin, and the tension that had accumulated in her muscles over the past few days slowly melted away.

Through her pores, the medicinal power seeped into her body, nourishing her flesh and bones, strengthening every mana particle within her.

She closed her eyes, a faint sigh escaping her lips. "Haa..."

Absorbing the medicine was not painful at all.

On the contrary, it was almost indulgently comfortable.

Fully drawing out the drug’s effects required the body to be pushed to its limits beforehand, and now that her exhaustion had peaked, the medicine responded perfectly.

Surrounded by warmth and tranquility, even someone as vigilant as her could not resist drifting into sleep.

Night deepened quietly, and the lights of the academy glimmered softly in the distance.

A faint sound suddenly came from the window.

Zora remained asleep, her breath remaining steady. After days of relentless tension, true rest had finally claimed her.

"Master!"

Black’s urgent voice rang out through their mental connection. Someone arriving at this hour was rarely a good sign.

"Master!" 𝑓𝑟ℯ𝘦𝓌𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝑐ℴ𝓂

The second call finally pierced her consciousness. Zora frowned slightly, her mind snapping awake in an instant. A chill flashed through her eyes as she reached out for the robe nearby and pulled it around her body.

At the same time, a tall white figure appeared inside the room.

"Darling..."

That familiar voice made her freeze.

She looked up, and there he stood. Prince Kael wore a white soft robe trimmed with subtle dark patterns, simple yet refined. His features were flawless, almost unreal, and his eyes shone brightly under the lamplight.

Yet there was unmistakable amusement in the slight lift of his brows.

Only then did Zora realize how compromising the scene looked. Her robe clung lightly to her body, damp from the bath, concealing yet revealing the skin beneath the robe.

Prince Kael’s gaze lingered on her, his star-like eyes darkening with unmistakable heat. The air itself seemed to grow warmer, and tension quietly spread between them.

"Breaking in through the window in the dead of night," Zora said calmly, lifting her chin. Her voice held no panic, and she spoke as if she wasn’t surprised or showed a little bit of emotion at missing him. "That hardly seems like something a gentleman would do."

A wicked curve formed at Prince Kael’s lips. His eyes swept over her openly, without the slightest intention of hiding his thoughts. "Visiting my wife late at night, what’s improper about that, Darling?"

His mood was exceptionally good. In fact, it had been quite turbulent beyond measure for the past few days.

The entire way here, his expression had been dark, his heart heavy with unease. When he arrived at the academy and heard that she had returned safely, relief and joy surged through him, yet he still hadn’t been able to calm down.

He needed to see her. Immediately.

That was why he hadn’t bothered with doors or etiquette, choosing instead to enter through the window. The instant his eyes landed on her, it felt as though his heart had fallen from the depths of hell back into the heavens.

Now, standing before her like this, he found it hard not to feel something stir.

Zora shot him a cool look. "You know perfectly well that we’re not a real married couple."

"Before, perhaps..." Prince Kael replied leisurely, stepping closer. A playful glint flickered in his eyes as he added. "But who’s to say that can’t change?"

His voice dropped slightly, carrying a teasing warmth that brushed against her senses.

"After all," he added with a half-smile, "your husband here wouldn’t mind offering himself to you to carry on our lineage..."

Her cheeks blushed a deep red instantly. "You..."