Alex crossed his arms confidently, a faint grin tugging at the corner of his lips.
"Well, you don't have to worry about him anymore. That guy's way too useful for me to be rotting in some dungeon."
He glanced up at the sky, the light filtering through the academy's arcane barrier shimmering like a second sun.
"You could even say… he's the one who'll save me from the daily poverty that's haunting me like a cursed spirit."
A determined glint flickered in his eyes.
"I'll save him, I'll save my accounts that are getting emptier every day, no matter what."
He clenched his fists.
"And one more thing—no one gets away with torturing my slav—"
Before he could finish, Charlotte's sharp elbow slammed into his gut with unrelenting precision honed from years of magical combat training as a princess.
He doubled over, coughing. "Ack—!"
"I mean—!" he quickly corrected, raising a hand in mock surrender. "No one gets away with torturing my friend."
