Chapter 129: Karina and Trish

Ever since Lorin and Karina broke up, the Geer couple had fretted over it for a long time. Gradually, they came to understand the reason: their son’s magic rank had stagnated for years, which had sparked her disdain and led her to abandon him. Although the Geers kept their thoughts to themselves, they found the behavior of Morey and his daughter difficult to accept, and the elderly couple even fell ill over the matter.

After this, the Geers became even more concerned about Lorin’s prospects for marriage. They had intended to introduce him to someone new, but living in the Chun Church, they knew few people and had yet to find a suitable match. Today, seeing Lorin arrive with such a beautiful woman—even if she was his teacher—the elderly couple could not help but immediately assume she was his new girlfriend.

Lorin felt awkward when his father suddenly asked him such a question. Little Hawke, who was eating fruit nearby, tilted his head and asked, "Wow, brother, father, what are you two talking about so secretively?"

Lorin patted his younger brother’s head, feeling both amused and helpless. "Little guy, this is none of your business. Go back to your fruit."

Just then, Isha’s voice drifted from the kitchen: "Monroe, what do you think of our Lorin? Let me tell you, he has so many fine qualities..."

Lorin rubbed his temples, at a complete loss for what to do. By the time Isha and her guest finished preparing the meal and served it, the flush on Monroe's pretty face had yet to fade.

With little Hawke acting as the life of the party, the meal was filled with laughter and lasted nearly two hours. Afterward, Lorin and Monroe rode their respective mounts toward Potter Academy.

As they neared the academy gate, they noticed a large crowd gathered not far ahead. Lorin, who was usually single-mindedly focused on his cultivation, had intended to head straight to the back mountain to train, but a voice from the crowd made him stop.

"Karina, I never thought you were this kind of person! You dumped our fourth brother just because his rank stopped rising, and now you’ve taken up with this guy, Teresi!"

Recognizing the gruff voice as that of the eldest, Mahler, Lorin frowned. Through a gap in the crowd, he could see a man and a woman holding hands tightly. Although their backs were turned, Lorin recognized them instantly: one was Teresi, and the other was Karina.

A sharp pain pierced his heart. He had not expected that Karina, who had been so intimate with him—to the point where they had discussed marriage—would be with Teresi only a few months after their breakup.

Beside him, Professor Monroe said nothing. As Lorin had always been a prominent figure at the school, she knew a fair bit about her student’s history. She knew they had been a couple until Lorin’s magic rank stopped improving, at which point Karina left him. Teresi was also a student in her fire-element class, so she knew him well. Seeing them standing together so intimately, she understood exactly what was happening.

"Fatty, get out of my way, or don't blame me for being impolite!" Teresi’s arrogant voice rang out from the crowd.

Mahler’s voice trembled with indignant rage: "Damn it, I’d like to see you try!"

"Teresi, no, don't start a fight. We’re all fellow students; let's not ruin the harmony," Karina said, her expression sour as she hesitated before trying to hold him back.

"Hmph, Karina, don't pretend to be the good person here. I’ve seen right through you. You’re a snob. Back when our fourth brother was doing well, you were practically beating down the door of Dorm 2015, clinging to him every day. But now that he’s hit a bottleneck and is stuck at a third-rank mage, you won't even look him in the eye. We were truly blind about you before!" Mahler declared mercilessly.

"Fatty, are you looking to die? How dare you speak to my girlfriend like that!" Teresi shouted angrily.

"Bah! Your girlfriend? You shameless person who broke up someone else's happiness!" Mahler retorted with disdain.

The surrounding crowd began to murmur. Some supported Teresi and Karina, but more were criticizing Karina’s actions. While dating was a matter of freedom, her behavior was undeniably mercenary.

Hearing the whispers, Karina’s face turned bright red. She looked up and said, "Brother Mahler, please listen to me..."

Mahler waved a hand, cutting her off. "Don't call me brother. I don't have a sister like you!"

"Fine, Mahler, listen. People need to feel a connection to be together. At first, I did have feelings for Lorin, which is why we were close. But later, I gradually realized we had no chemistry. I didn't see the point in staying together if the feeling was gone," Karina argued.

"The feeling was gone? Ha! I think the only thing that was 'gone' was your interest once you realized he couldn't become a high-level mage!" Mahler sneered.

Hearing this, Karina’s expression darkened further. "Mahler, you’re an outsider. You don't understand the relationship between Lorin and me, so please stop making reckless comments."

"Heh, reckless comments? I don't know about everything, but I'm sure you haven't forgotten that your father brought up marriage to our fourth brother twice. It was your family who pushed him to agree to that engagement. Later, your father even used the excuse of poor health to move into the Chun Church just to get close to Lorin’s family and secure the deal. Am I right?" Mahler dropped a bombshell.

Karina’s face paled.

"But when Lorin’s rank stopped rising, what did you and your father do? You suddenly distanced yourselves, and you stopped showing up to our dormitory dinners. Your father moved out of the church, and when Lorin went to your house three times to ask why, your father refused to see him and had his servants tell him to cut all ties. Am I right?" Mahler continued to expose the truth.

Karina stood in the crowd, biting her lip, thinking with resentment, *That damn Lorin, how could he have told them all of this!*

Lorin, standing not far away, was stunned. He had never told anyone about these things. How did Mahler know?

Teresi’s face grew ugly, and just as he was about to speak, Mahler choked him off: "Hmph, and another thing, Karina. When you were seeing our fourth brother and even engaged to him, you were already messing around with Teresi behind his back. Did you think I didn't know? At the time, I was afraid of hurting Lorin, and I thought that since you two were engaged, you would settle down. Ha! I was just too naive!"

Seeing the flicker of panic on Karina’s face, Mahler gave a disdainful laugh. "Karina, in the Imperial Capital, there isn't much that escapes my notice. Our fourth brother was dumped for no reason; he wouldn't say a word, but as his brother, how could I just swallow this?"

"Hmph, it was our own poor judgment that led us to become friends with you," added Gebaz, the second brother, his voice filled with fury.

"Karina, a person like you is better off away from him. If you had stayed together, you would have ruined him!" Bill added.

Seeing the group preparing to continue, Teresi’s face turned leaden as he roared, "Enough! Karina is not that kind of person! Stop twisting the truth, or don't blame me for being ruthless!" As he spoke, violent waves of fire-elemental magic began to surge around his body.