Reborn as the Head of the Stolen Mage Family

Chapter 17

In a secluded women’s bathroom in the academy—

“Letmosio.”

…

“Letmosio.”

…

“Letmo…! Ha…”

Joy, about to cast the same spell a third time, gave up and touched her forehead.

It was the most powerful recovery spell she knew, but it couldn’t restore her broken wand.

She sighed, looking at the thoroughly splintered wand pieces.

“…Still, thank you for holding up until the practical exam.”

Her wand had snapped right after she perfectly executed and withdrew a 3-star spell in the practical.

It was a close call.

If it had broken a second earlier, she would have ruined the practical exam.

With only the interview left, she wouldn’t need a wand.

But she had to find a new one before enrollment.

“I’ve saved up 220 darks… but a workshop wand costs at least 500 darks…”

In the end, she’d have to buy one from the black market.

Biting her lip, Joy recalled the black market swindlers who had sold her a faulty wand before.

The memory made her grind her teeth, but what angered her more was having to go back to them due to lack of funds.

As she sighed several times, a thought suddenly crossed her mind.

“…”

The fountain pen the Kirhausen Tail had offered during the written exam.

That pen, which looked expensive enough to buy ten black market wands, had been casually offered to her.

‘Pathetic guy. Does he think that’s his own possession?’

And that ostentatious wand, surely provided by Kirhausen, was almost laughable.

Her pride was wounded.

The fact that she, a commoner, had been pitied by a boy who willingly became a servant of the upper class.

Joy furrowed her brow, recalling the Tails who shadowed their young masters and ladies at the academy.

More detestable than the arrogant upper class were those Tails.

By choosing to serve noble families, they lowered the value of commoners themselves.

Thus, Tails gave the upper class a perfect excuse to look down on commoners.

And the fact that one of those Tails had pitied her, even briefly, infuriated Joy.

But… what angered her most—

Was the thought that with that Tail’s fountain pen, she could have bought a good wand from a workshop.

Snort.

A bitter laugh escaped her bitten lips.

“Get it together…”

Joy shook her head and faced her reflection in the bathroom mirror.

In an instant, she changed her expression, erasing the anxiety and discouragement from her eyes.

With the practical exam over, the other commoner children would be worried about her broken wand.

‘I can’t drag down the mood because of me. I need to stay sharp and prepare for the interview with them.’

Steeling herself, Joy tucked the broken wand away and left the bathroom.

***

The children who finished the practical exam spent the break preparing for the final exam: the interview.

Like the previous breaks, they could freely use academy facilities under the administrators’ supervision.

Most went to the library or empty lecture halls to review anticipated interview questions.

Marcel and I were no different, heading to an empty lecture hall to practice mock interviews.

Step, step.

“…”

I glanced at Marcel’s expression as we walked through the academy corridors.

He looked pleased.

Even at a glance, his face screamed, ‘I aced the exam.’

Normally, Marcel didn’t show his emotions openly.

But now, his twitching lips betrayed his uncontainable joy.

‘Good.’

His pure delight meant he hadn’t noticed the mana I planted in him.

Satisfied, I walked beside him.

Then, an administrator approached and spoke to Marcel in a low voice.

Marcel nodded with a subtle expression.

“Eddie, go to the lecture hall first.”

Without further explanation, he followed the administrator.

But I knew exactly where he was going.

I had clearly heard the name “Lener” in the administrator’s hushed voice.

***

As Marcel went to meet Anton, I was left alone.

‘Anton Lener. He must be cozying up to Furas to check the dean. I expected as much, given his past rift with Leo.’

Anton was likely relaying greetings from Furas to Marcel and giving him a hint about his practical exam results.

Of course, a proctor approaching an examinee privately was improper.

But Anton’s proctoring duties were over.

‘And it’s not like a mere administrator could defy a senior professor’s orders.’

With some free time, I decided to explore the academy.

Most places were familiar, but visiting my alma mater after decades felt nostalgic.

“Oh, is the third-floor closet by the bathroom still there?”

My eyes lit up at the sudden thought.

The third-floor closet, a famous academy rendezvous spot.

It looked like an ordinary wall, but speaking a specific password opened it, revealing a secret room.

No one knew who made it, when, or why.

But it had existed for ages and became a popular meeting spot for lovers after its discovery.

Excited to visit the closet after decades, I quickened my steps.

As I reached the third floor and headed toward the closet, I slowed to a stop.

I sensed a presence near it.

Muffling my footsteps, I pressed myself against the wall.

‘The students are on break and should be home. So… is a professor or an examinee having a rendezvous?’

My eyes sparkled with curiosity.

Moving silently, I reached the corridor’s corner.

Peeking out to identify the rendezvous participants—

‘What’s that?’

I frowned.

Standing in front of the closet entrance was Derrick Jenkins.

Looking anxious, Derrick bit his nails while staring at the wall that served as the door.

‘Did he forget the password?’

My guess was correct.

Flustered by repeated incorrect passwords, Derrick muttered similar-sounding phrases.

“Le Amusiento…! La Amusento…! Ugh, this is driving me crazy… La Amusiento…!”

Grind—

After numerous attempts, he finally succeeded.

The wall responded to the password, sliding open to reveal the closet, and Derrick stepped inside with a triumphant smile.

And then—

“Oh…”

A commoner child, Paul Milligan, exiting the third-floor bathroom, witnessed it.

“…”

A suffocating silence fell over the third-floor corridor.

Derrick, frozen mid-step into the closet, stared intensely at Paul.

Paul, equally startled, looked between Derrick and the closet with trembling eyes.

Watching it all, I touched my forehead.

‘Whoever told him about the closet wasn’t an academy student.’

The closet was right in front of the bathroom, so you had to check if anyone was there to avoid being seen.

Any frequent closet user or academy alumnus would know this.

I chuckled at Derrick’s clumsy attempt at a rendezvous.

But his reaction was odd.

“You, you!”

Grab.

After staring at Paul, Derrick angrily seized his collar.

“You punk! How long have you been hiding there! Were you spying on me?!”

“What?! Spying? What are you talking about…!”

Derrick began berating Paul with baseless accusations.

Sensing something suspicious, I drew my wand and cast Invisibility to hide myself.

Then, I approached the two as they argued.

Unaware of my presence, Derrick and Paul continued.

Observing Derrick’s heated reaction, I was certain.

‘This isn’t just embarrassment from being caught at a rendezvous. This guy was up to something shady in the closet.’

Derrick was now dragging Paul by the collar toward the central staircase.

He aimed to distance Paul from the closet and accuse him publicly in a crowded area.

‘In a crowd, the loudest voice wins. He plans to frame Paul and get him expelled from the exam.’

But I had no intention of letting that happen.

As Derrick dragged Paul away, I entered the closet without hesitation.

Soon, I found a small glass bottle tucked in a crevice of the brick wall.

‘As expected.’

Inside was a small note.

But it was blank.

‘Ho… written with mana residue?’

Whoever did this had put in considerable effort.

I aimed my wand at the blank note.

Turning it clockwise with mana—

My Revelio revealed the mana residue embedded in the note.

‘Of course.’

The note contained questions for the upcoming interview exam.

I let out a wry laugh as I read it.

‘There’s someone from Jenkins among the academy staff.’

The culprit, likely in cahoots with Derrick, was probably a Jenkins-affiliated staff member who never attended the academy.

‘Instead of silencing Paul after being caught, he made a scene to signal his accomplice that things went wrong. The accomplice will come for the note soon.’

I folded the note with the interview questions and slipped it into my pants pocket.

Then, I found paper and a pen in a nearby empty lecture hall and wrote a new note.

‘Even after decades, Jenkins hasn’t progressed. Time to teach them a lesson.’

I smirked as I quickly scribbled on the new note.

***

“I’ve told you multiple times! I wasn’t following you, Young Master!”

“Don’t lie! I knew all along you were after my interview prep materials!”

The two examinees argued fiercely.

The intriguing scene drew a crowd to the central plaza.

Derrick’s accusations against Paul were now nothing but lies.

But no one dared step in to judge who was right.

Neither had evidence to back their claims.

Derrick had no proof Paul was following him, and Paul had no alibi to prove he wasn’t.

If things continued, the louder, higher-status voice would inevitably prevail.

That was exactly what Derrick was aiming for:

Getting Paul, who saw him trying to enter the closet, disqualified and expelled.

Once expelled, Paul would be swiftly kicked out of the academy grounds, and no matter how much he protested outside, it would be futile.

The world wouldn’t listen to a commoner accused of cheating at the academy.

But Derrick had overlooked something.

“You’re the one who was about to do something suspicious in that secret room by the bathroom! You ran into me while trying to get in there!”

“…!!”

Like a cornered mouse biting a cat.