Hogwarts’ Holy Grail War - 279/280 (Patreon)

Chapter 279: That Woman Was Beaten to Her Knees by Ethan...

“I want to fight him.”

Cassandra’s slender finger pointed straight at Ethan. The corners of her lips curled upward as she declared her choice in a tone that brooked no argument.

Ethan, who had been enjoying a massage from his girlfriend, looked up at the triumphant blonde beauty pointing at him and tilted his head in confusion.

Why did this little tsundere want to fight him again?

First, he had completely crushed her during their midnight duel. Then, in the Forbidden Forest, she had witnessed some of his Ancient Magic firsthand. He had already shown her enough of his hand, and she herself had said that she understood the difference in strength between them.

So why was she asking for another beating today?

Surely she hadn’t awakened some strange fetish and was actually waiting for him to publicly humiliate her with Spells... right?

And why did this whole scene feel strangely familiar?

Damn it. Wasn’t this almost exactly like that dream he had in Red Grave City?

Please, whatever happened, don’t let her say “Darling” next.

“What? Don’t tell me you’re too scared to accept my challenge.” Cassandra planted one hand on her hip, beckoned at Ethan with the other, and raised her chin provocatively. “And don’t try telling me you were injured in that last duel and can’t keep fighting. I know perfectly well your body isn’t that fragile.”

She had personally seen just how absurd Ethan’s physique was in the Forbidden Forest. Even Rosier’s light whip had failed to break his skin. How could a mere fall possibly affect his ability to fight?

So Cassandra said it without a second thought.

To the other students, however, those words carried an entirely different implication.

Miss Vole, how exactly do you know Ethan’s body isn’t weak?

Have you personally tested it?

The boys’ hatred for Ethan immediately climbed another notch.

“I’m perfectly fine, and I don’t mind having another wizarding duel right away,” Ethan said with a strange expression. “But are you really sure you want me as your opponent, Cassandra?”

He was a kindhearted person. He simply couldn’t bear the thought of crushing this little tsundere so badly that she lost face in front of so many students.

Sure, he had tormented her plenty of times before, but hadn’t all of that happened in private? When there were this many spectators, Ethan was still considerate enough to protect Cassandra’s dignity.

Still, he would only warn her one more time.

Any more than that would be excessive. As long as he fulfilled his obligation to warn her, that was enough, wasn’t it?

After all, he was starting to feel like teasing the little tsundere again.

“Yes. Obviously I mean you.” Cassandra immediately glared at him. “If you’re scared, just admit it. Don’t stand there making snide remarks and hoping I’ll back down. Not happening!”

“All right, all right. Since you insist, I’ll accept your challenge.”

Ethan helplessly got to his feet and stepped back onto the platform, wand in his left hand while his right unconsciously rubbed his lower back.

“Are you... really all right? Can you still keep going?” Cassandra asked uneasily, as though she hadn’t been the one aggressively provoking him into accepting just moments earlier.

Ethan smiled. “I’m fine. I think you know my condition pretty well.”

Cassandra quietly breathed a sigh of relief, then smiled in satisfaction.

She certainly wasn’t some foolish woman with no understanding of her own limits.

Among everyone present, aside from Alanna, Cassandra was probably the person whose understanding of Ethan’s true strength came closest to reality.

So if she knew how enormous the gap between them was, why had she dared to challenge Ethan to another wizarding duel?

It wasn’t because she was still angry and wanted to beat him up to vent her frustration.

Nor did she believe Professor Flitwick’s numerous restrictions on Ethan had somehow given her a chance to defeat him.

She had simply seen Ethan deliberately lose to Alanna to spare his girlfriend’s feelings. That had reminded her of the humiliating memory of being completely overwhelmed by Ethan in the Trophy Room, and an inexplicable hint of jealousy had risen inside her again.

So Cassandra wanted to test something.

If she stood opposite Ethan now, would he go easy on her just as he had with Alanna?

And if he did, exactly how far would he go?

It was nothing more than a strange competitive streak getting the better of her.

“All right. Both of you, bow.”

Ethan bent forward and whispered to Cassandra while suppressing a laugh, “Want me to hold back a little?”

“What do you think?” Cassandra hissed through gritted teeth, feeling vaguely resentful.

Why did Ethan have to be like this?

What kind of man threw a question like that back at the girl?

If he thought he ought to hold back, then he should simply make that decision himself instead of asking her opinion.

How was she supposed to answer?

If she said yes, she would be admitting weakness, something she absolutely refused to do.

But if she said no and Ethan genuinely stopped holding back, crushed her completely, and then she ended up resenting him afterward, wouldn’t that make her look petty and unreasonable?

So this was all Ethan’s fault.

Who told him to ask in the first place?

“Raise your wands. Prepare yourselves.”

Ethan brought his wand up before him. Under Cassandra’s irritated stare, he sighed inwardly.

Fine.

He would save her some face.

He wouldn’t hit her too hard. He just had to make it look as though they had fought a difficult battle and he had barely managed to scrape out a victory.

“One more reminder, Mr. Ethan,” Professor Flitwick added before giving the final signal. “Don’t forget the restrictions on the Spells you may use during this duel.”

“Of course, Professor. I know.”

To reiterate, Ethan was forbidden from using above-curriculum Spells during friendly classroom matches.

Yes, only Ethan had such restrictions.

He was not allowed to use Spells beyond the fourth-year curriculum or Dark Charms that were excessively powerful. Everyone else, including Ethan’s opponent, was free to use any Spell they had mastered, even if it went beyond what had been taught in class.

Naturally, things on the level of the three Unforgivable Curses were excluded.

Talk about blatant targeting.

Still, Ethan understood Professor Flitwick’s reasoning.

After all, Ethan himself was basically an opponent far beyond the level of the curriculum. If his opponents were also restricted in what Spells they could use merely for the sake of superficial fairness, preventing them from fighting at their full strength, then Ethan wouldn’t be able to enjoy himself...

Ahem.

He meant that his opponents wouldn’t be able to enjoy a properly balanced wizarding duel either.

In any case, the restrictions were only minor inconveniences. They certainly weren’t enough to stop Ethan from winning within the rules.

“One. Two. Three. Begin!”

The instant Professor Flitwick gave the signal, Cassandra opened with a probing attack.

“Incendio!”

A stream of flame as thick as a finger shot from the tip of her wand toward Ethan.

Without the slightest panic, Ethan pointed his wand forward.

“Aguamenti.”

A stream of water of equal thickness shot out and collided with Cassandra’s fire in midair.

The water instantly vaporized under the intense heat, then condensed again as it cooled, turning into countless tiny droplets that filled the classroom with a thin haze.

After that brief exchange, both of them stopped simultaneously, then attacked again.

“Water Prison!”

A sphere of water two meters in radius suddenly engulfed Ethan.

Unfortunately, Ethan had just opened his mouth to cast another Spell. Caught completely off guard, he swallowed a stomachful of water and ended up looking thoroughly miserable.

Watching Ethan struggle inside the Water Prison, the little tsundere smugly curled her lips.

So he really couldn’t bring himself to fight her seriously.

If Ethan had actually been going all out, there was no way a Spell like this would have caught him.

That made her strangely happy.

The next instant, red flames erupted around Ethan.

The massive water sphere vanished into steam almost immediately.

The heat also dried the clothes and hair soaked by the Water Prison. By the time Ethan dropped back onto the platform, he was once again completely dry and presentable.

The only problem was that he was still coughing from choking on the water, his face flushed bright red.

“Are you all right?”

Cassandra immediately panicked.

Completely forgetting that they were still in the middle of a duel and that she ought to be pressing her advantage, she hurried forward two steps, intending to help him.

“The duel isn’t over yet, Cassandra. We’re still enemies.”

Ethan finally caught his breath, stood upright, and raised a hand to stop her. Then he lifted his wand again and resumed his fighting stance.

Cassandra pouted, annoyed by how utterly incapable Ethan was of taking a hint.

With a sharp wave of her wand, she launched a fireball nearly as tall as a person straight at him.

The heat radiating from it was so intense that even the tasseled carpet covering the platform began to curl slightly.

Ethan calmly flicked his wand.

“Water Prison.”

A sphere of water of equal size appeared before him.

Water and fire slammed together, releasing a violent burst of steam. In an instant, the white mist already lingering throughout the classroom thickened until the watching students could no longer see anything.

Taking advantage of Ethan’s obscured vision, Cassandra immediately followed with two Nonverbal Spells.

Flipendo.

Wingardium Leviosa.

Neither was a particularly aggressive Spell. Both were intended to lift or knock a target through the air.

Cassandra merely wanted to send Ethan outside the dueling area and win that way. She had no intention of actually incapacitating him.

After all, there was no longer any point lying to herself.

She simply couldn’t bring herself to seriously hurt Ethan.

She didn’t want him injured.

As for the fireball and Water Prison she had used earlier, that was different. She knew Ethan could react quickly enough to counter those.

But now that his vision was blocked, he might not be able to defend himself in time against something dangerous.

What if she actually hurt him?

The mist blocked Cassandra’s sight as well.

Surrounded by nothing but white, she had no idea whether either of her Spells had struck Ethan.

Just as she prepared to dispel the fog herself, Ethan’s voice came from within it.

“Deletrius.”

The dense mist dispersed, revealing Ethan suspended in midair.

Apparently at least one of Cassandra’s Spells had hit him.

Perhaps both had.

“Descendo.”

Ethan dropped steadily to the floor in a textbook hero-landing pose.

Before he could even straighten up, his wand was already pointed toward Cassandra.

“Leviosa.”

Cassandra immediately retaliated.

“Protego! Liberacorpus!”

“Finite.”

“Stupefy!”

“Protego.”

“Wingardium Leviosa!”

“Descendo.”

“Everte Statum!”

“Arresto Momentum.”

“Serpensortia!”

“Vipera Evanesca.”

Unlike Ethan’s earlier duel with Alanna, which had felt almost turn-based because of his deliberately passive approach, these two were now getting increasingly carried away.

Their casting grew faster and faster.

Gradually, the sound of incantations disappeared altogether as every Spell became Nonverbal.

Neither of them waited for the other to finish defending before moving on. The instant one Spell left their wand, the next was already being prepared.

Countless flashes of magical light streaked chaotically back and forth across the classroom.

Now this actually resembled a proper wizarding duel.

Of course, Ethan was still only defending against or dodging Cassandra’s attacks.

Every Spell he used was defensive or controlling in nature.

He had yet to cast a single genuinely offensive Spell.

The watching students were completely captivated by the exchange.

Even though Ethan remained entirely on the defensive, the sheer variety of magic the two were using and the speed at which they were casting were already beyond what many of the students present could manage.

More importantly, Ethan’s acting had completely fooled them.

They genuinely believed Cassandra had trained hard enough to raise her abilities above Ethan’s level.

Naturally, seeing someone finally suppress the seemingly invincible Ethan left them more than a little excited.

After sidestepping yet another Banishing Charm from Cassandra, Ethan decided he had given the little tsundere more than enough face.

It was time to end this rather enjoyable duel.

“Expelliarmus.”

By pure coincidence, Cassandra cast exactly the same Spell at almost exactly the same instant.

“Expelliarmus!”

Like the climax of a battle in a shonen manga, where both fighters unleashed their ultimate techniques against each other at once, two crimson beams collided in midair and locked together.

Sparks burst continuously from the point of impact, bathing every face in the room, along with the entire classroom, in a vivid red glow.

But the stalemate did not mean Ethan and Cassandra were evenly matched.

Ethan was still nowhere near using his full strength. He remained completely composed, handling the clash with effortless ease.

As he gradually increased the power behind his Spell, the point where the two beams met began steadily moving toward Cassandra.

Cassandra, meanwhile, was already pouring everything she had into maintaining her Spell.

Seeing Ethan remain so calm only intensified her stubborn refusal to admit defeat.

She clenched her teeth and forced even more magic through her wand, completely disregarding the possibility that pushing herself this far beyond her limits could injure her.

Ethan saw Cassandra’s face turn crimson.

Veins stood out on her forehead.

He immediately realized that this little tsundere was pushing herself far too hard again.

His expression hardened.

Ethan poured more power into his Spell, determined to end the stalemate immediately.

He absolutely could not allow Cassandra to get hurt because of him.

Her pride would have to wait.

First he would end the duel.

Then he could comfort her afterward.

Cassandra watched the point where their Spells met race rapidly toward her, and a powerful sense of unwillingness welled up inside her.

So there really was still an enormous gulf between their strength.

Even while Ethan held back.

Even with all the restrictions placed on him.

No matter what she did, she still couldn’t beat him.

At that moment, a familiar wave of dizziness suddenly overwhelmed her.

Cassandra’s vision went black.

Before Ethan’s Disarming Charm could even reach her, her wand slipped from her fingers and landed on the carpet.

Then Cassandra collapsed stiffly onto the platform.

“Cassandra!”

...

Chapter 280: That Dog Ethan Made Her Faint from Anger

“Cassandra!”

Ethan immediately stopped the Charm he was casting. The moment Cassandra fainted, he panicked, afraid he had gone too far and forced her to push herself beyond her limits.

At that point, he could not spare a thought for anything else. Whether Alanna would get jealous or what the other students would think never even crossed his mind. He rushed straight to Cassandra, took hold of her wrist, and checked her pulse. Only after feeling that it was strong and steady did he finally breathe a sigh of relief.

Thank goodness. She had simply fainted.

Ethan scooped the little tsundere Sleeping Beauty into his arms and turned to Professor Flitwick.

“Professor, may I take her to the Hospital Wing?”

“Go on, quickly. Make sure you take good care of her.” Professor Flitwick nodded at once.

With the professor’s permission, Ethan hurried out of the classroom with Cassandra in his arms, leaving the entire class behind to watch with envious expressions as his figure receded down the corridor.

They had watched two wizard duels in a single class, and somehow both had still ended with everyone being force-fed romance.

Ethan, you have no heart!

Alanna stared blankly as her boyfriend carried another girl away right in front of her. She desperately wanted to stop this absolutely awful turn of events from unfolding, but she also knew Ethan was doing the right thing. She had no legitimate reason to object.

All she could do was hope a certain big jerk could control himself.

“All right, let’s continue with the lesson.”

Professor Flitwick looked away from the doorway and clapped his hands, drawing everyone’s attention back to class.

But after the unexpected incident just now, everyone was distracted. Even the students chosen to go up and participate in the wizard duels seemed absentminded.

The students, and even Professor Flitwick himself, appeared to be watching the duel in front of them, but their minds were secretly occupied with what Ethan’s actions had meant.

Just how far had Ethan and Cassandra... gone?

If he could pick her up in front of everyone without caring in the slightest what anyone thought, then surely they had not already gone all the way... had they?

Before this, the students had only privately joked about Ethan attracting girls everywhere he went. Deep down, none of them had genuinely believed Cassandra was his girlfriend.

After all, Cassandra’s previous behavior could just barely be explained as friendship. They might have been a little closer than ordinary friends, but that alone proved nothing.

What Ethan had just done, however, felt like dozens of loud slaps across their faces.

His actual girlfriend was standing right there watching him! How did he dare pick up another girl in front of her?

Was this bastard really dating multiple girls at once?

Miss Alanna was suffering the most. She had to worry about her best friend’s condition while simultaneously feeling anxious that her boyfriend might get seduced and cheat on her. She could not focus on class at all. The only thing on her mind was waiting for the lesson to end so she could hurry to the Hospital Wing and find out what was happening.

“Madam Pomfrey, please examine her!”

Ethan practically crashed through the doors of the Hospital Wing. There was not a single patient inside at the moment, but the loud commotion still earned him Madam Pomfrey’s displeasure.

“Mr. Ethan, what do you think you’re doing? This may not be as formal as St. Mungo’s, but it is still a hospital! You need to keep quiet, understand?”

“I’m sorry, Madam Pomfrey. I was in a hurry... But could you please check her first? She suddenly fainted during dueling practice.”

Ethan immediately admitted his mistake and gestured toward the little tsundere in his arms.

The instant Madam Pomfrey saw the unconscious girl, her professional instincts as a Healer took over.

“All right, I understand. Come with me. Put her on a bed first.”

Ethan carefully laid Cassandra on the bed closest to the entrance, then waited for Madam Pomfrey to finish examining her.

After an agonizing wait, Madam Pomfrey lowered her wand and let out a long breath before reassuring him.

“It’s nothing serious. Miss Vole simply fainted. She should wake up on her own. I’ll go fetch her some calming potion.”

“Then... why did she faint? Was it something like magical exhaustion?” Ethan asked uneasily.

If Cassandra had really ended up like this because she had insisted on competing with him, then the responsibility would be entirely his.

“No, I don’t believe that’s the cause, Mr. Ethan.”

Madam Pomfrey shook her head.

“I’ve treated plenty of students who knocked themselves unconscious by recklessly using Charms until they drained their magic dry. I can assure you that Miss Vole is not suffering from anything like that.”

“Then... what caused it?”

“I can’t say for certain.”

Madam Pomfrey shook her head again.

“It’s strange. There’s nothing physically wrong with her that should have caused her to faint. Such a sudden loss of consciousness without any warning almost resembles... a Dark Charm. But I found no trace of dark magic either, so it shouldn’t be anything serious. Perhaps she was simply under too much mental strain.”

“Not magical exhaustion, and not a dark magic Curse...” Ethan frowned in thought. “Could it be some hereditary condition?”

“That’s unlikely. A hereditary condition would leave physical signs that could be detected. Your little girlfriend is perfectly healthy at the moment. There’s no sign of any underlying illness.”

Madam Pomfrey smiled as she explained, then patted Ethan on the shoulder.

“I know you’re worried about Miss Vole, but there’s no need to work yourself up over nothing. I’ll get the medicine. Stay here with her for now. She should wake up soon.”

Madam Pomfrey entered the potions room and began searching the shelves for a Draught of Peace. Only then did something belatedly occur to her.

Wait a moment.

When this boy was hospitalized last time, wasn’t it a different girl who came running in crying to see him?

And a few days ago, during one of the rare times she had left the Hospital Wing, hadn’t she seen him walking past hand in hand with that same girl?

Which meant those two were the actual couple...

Oh no. She had said the wrong thing!

But then why was he so concerned about a girl who was not his girlfriend? And did his girlfriend really not object? Or did she simply not know?

Could the girl lying here now be... his sister?

Almost at the exact moment Madam Pomfrey shut the wooden door to the potions room, Cassandra opened her eyes on the hospital bed.

She slowly turned her head and looked around. When she spotted the person sitting beside her bed, disbelief immediately appeared on her face.

“Ethan... why are you here? I’m not dreaming, am I?”

He was actually sitting beside her bed, keeping her company, and he did not even look impatient.

Something this wonderful could only happen in a dream...

“What do you mean, dreaming? Have you forgotten what happened in class?”

Ethan smiled and patiently explained.

“You suddenly fainted during our duel and scared everyone half to death. I thought maybe my Charm had been too powerful and somehow caused a backlash, so I rushed you straight to the Hospital Wing. Madam Pomfrey has already examined you, though. There’s nothing wrong with your body. You’re perfectly healthy.”

Cassandra remembered now.

A familiar wave of dizziness had swept over her, her vision had gone black, and then she had lost consciousness.

Something similar had happened occasionally before, but usually it was nothing more than a brief spell of blurred vision followed by some fatigue. She had never expected it to make her collapse outright this time.

Even now, she still felt dizzy and lightheaded, while her mind was unusually weak and sluggish. It was almost as though something that had been accumulating inside her for a long time had suddenly erupted all at once.

“Still, even though Madam Pomfrey said that, I’m a little concerned.”

Ethan continued, “Cassandra, do you have any idea what’s actually happening to you?”

Cassandra weakly shook her head.

“I... don’t really know.”

This was not the first time she had experienced that kind of dizziness, but she truly had no idea why it happened. The symptoms had always been so mild before that she had never taken them seriously enough to undergo any additional examinations.

“Uh, all right. Let me ask another way.”

Ethan thought for a moment.

“Has this happened to you often before? I mean suddenly fainting and losing consciousness.”

Cassandra gently shook her head.

“No. I’ve never had anything like this before. It’s only started happening occasionally recently. And even then, it was just a brief spell of dizziness and blurred vision. Today was the first time I actually fainted.”

At that, Cassandra paused for a moment before looking at Ethan with a reproachful expression.

“This only started after school began. It has to be something you caused by making me so angry those two times!”

“All right, all right. My fault. But if I was the one making you angry, then after we cleared everything up this morning, it shouldn’t have happened again, should it? So why did your condition get even worse?”

Ethan struggled to suppress his laughter as he mercilessly pointed out the contradiction in her complaint, then added another jab.

“Or did you only pretend to make up with me while secretly staying angry?”

“I...”

Cassandra fell silent.

She simply stared at Ethan with an aggrieved, resentful look, as though she wanted to pierce straight through him with her gaze.

She was not angry anymore.

The last trace of resentment she had held toward Ethan had already disappeared during their duel, the moment she realized he had actually been holding back for her sake. If anything, his staying here and taking care of her now had made her secretly rather happy.

But the way he knowingly asked a question just to expose what she was thinking without showing her any mercy still irritated her.

You know everything, do you?

“Heh...”

The little tsundere’s puffed-up, sulking expression looked surprisingly cute to Ethan, and he could not help chuckling.

“What are you laughing at?!” Cassandra was still weak, but she bared her teeth and forced herself to look fierce as she threatened him with an oddly adorable ferocity. “If you dare laugh at me, I’ll kill you!”

“Ahem. I’m not laughing anymore.”

Ethan cleared his throat, suppressed his smile, and stood up.

“I’m still worried there might actually be something wrong with you. Since you’re awake now, I don’t need to stay here watching you every second. I’ll go find Professor Snape and ask him to come take a look. He knows more about dark magic than anyone else in this school. If you’ve been cursed with some obscure form of dark magic, he might be able to spot something.”

His concern for the little tsundere’s health was genuine, but the claim that he absolutely needed Snape to examine her was not.

If Ethan truly wanted to inspect Cassandra’s condition, he could do it himself with Ancient Magic, and far more comprehensively and precisely than any Healer or professor knowledgeable about dark magic.

Naturally, the real reason he said all that was because he wanted an excuse to escape.

Perhaps because he had carried her to the Hospital Wing and stayed by her side afterward, the way the little tsundere was looking at him had already begun to feel dangerous. If this increasingly intimate atmosphere continued, who knew what kind of wild development might come next?

It would be better to slip away before anything happened.

Unfortunately, events did not unfold quite as smoothly as he hoped.

“Don’t go.”

The moment Cassandra saw Ethan preparing to leave, she hurriedly reached out and grabbed the hem of his clothes, then carefully asked,

“Could you... stay here with me for a little while?”

“I...”

Ethan felt the faint tug on his clothes.

He could have freed himself with the slightest effort, yet he still froze in place.

So it had finally come.

The little tsundere had stopped pretending. She had swallowed her pride and exposed her true attitude toward him.

But she was still extremely weak. Whether out of concern for her emotional state or because of certain selfish feelings of his own, Ethan could not bring himself to reject her outright.

All he could do was gently try to persuade his patient.

“Don’t make a fuss. Your health is what matters right now. How about this? Class is almost over anyway. I’ll go find Alanna and ask her to come stay with you, then I’ll find Professor Snape and bring him over to examine you. They’ll both be here soon. Just wait a little longer, okay?”

“No. I don’t want anyone else.”

Cassandra shook her head desperately, clumsily trying to look pitiful and cute.

This was the first time she had ever shown such vulnerability to another person. She had never displayed this softer side of herself in front of anyone before. Not even Alanna or her parents had ever seen her like this.

“I only want you to stay with me...”

Cassandra looked at Ethan with pleading eyes and asked in a tone that bordered on begging.

“Can you?”

“...Sigh...”

Ethan sighed.

Cassandra looked so pitiful that even the hardest-hearted person would probably have struggled to reject her.

In the end, he helplessly sat back down.

“Just for a little while. If Madam Pomfrey comes back and tells me to leave, then I’m leaving.”

Why? Why am I always so soft-hearted and weak?

“Mm!”

Cassandra hurriedly nodded. A trace of secret delight rose inside her, and a spark of hope rekindled.

So he really did care about her.

And he had not shown any resistance even when she made such an obvious attempt to get closer to him. It seemed her decision to settle for being friends with him for the time being had indeed been correct.

If she slowly wore down his boundaries bit by bit, then sooner or later, she would completely win him over!

Since Ethan had promised the little tsundere he would not leave, he decided he might as well use the opportunity to examine her himself.

He would never have known without checking. There really was a faint but unusual abnormality hidden inside Cassandra’s body.

It was not dark magic, nor was it some hereditary disease. Instead, it was a hidden condition that required a specific combination of circumstances to flare up. Under ordinary conditions, it showed no symptoms whatsoever, but the moment her emotions fluctuated too violently, it would immediately trigger.

It was like taking cephalosporins by themselves. Usually no problem. Drinking alcohol by itself was not necessarily a huge problem either. But combine the two, and you could end up on a stretcher in minutes.

So in a sense, Cassandra had actually been right.

This time, Ethan really had made her faint from anger.

Her emotions had probably become too intense during the duel and triggered the hidden condition inside her body.

But why did she have such a condition in the first place?

Judging from the traces Ethan could detect, it appeared to be caused by some external factor, similar to a foodborne illness, rather than something that had developed spontaneously within Cassandra’s own body.

It was also extremely well hidden. As soon as an episode ended, it concealed itself again immediately, leaving nothing detectable by ordinary examination.

If her symptoms had not been so severe this time that an almost imperceptible trace remained afterward, even Ethan would never have noticed it.

Something similar to a foodborne illness...

Had the little tsundere taken the wrong medicine recently?

Ethan gave Cassandra a rough explanation of what he had discovered. After hearing him out, Cassandra frowned and thought hard about it, but in the end, she could not come up with any useful explanation either.

“Here’s what we’ll do. From now on, it’ll be safer if you stay with Alanna and me as much as possible. If this happens again, tell me immediately so I can examine you while it’s happening and see if I can find any new clues. I need to understand exactly what this condition is before I’ll feel comfortable trying to treat it.”

After considering the problem, Ethan offered what he believed was the best solution, then continued fussing over Cassandra with a long string of warnings.

“And you need to be more careful from now on. The Vole family is prominent enough to attract plenty of attention, and you’re still very young. There’s no telling whether some Dark Wizard your parents crossed in the past might decide to take their grudge out on you and secretly plot something against you. If you ask me...”

Recently, at Professor Fig’s suggestion, Ethan had been cramming a great deal of history concerning Dark Wizards and the Goblin Rebellion, particularly the period of the First Wizarding War before Voldemort’s downfall.

As a result, he had learned many details that had never been described in the original books, including the fact that the Vole family and the Dark Wizards who once followed Voldemort were bitter enemies.

He had to admit that Cassandra’s father was seriously capable.

The man had managed to deceive Voldemort’s Legilimency, pretending to accept his attempts at recruitment while secretly using his family’s influence to aid the Order of the Phoenix and pass them intelligence on more than one occasion.

Then, after the deception was exposed, he had personally defeated the Death Eaters and Dementors sent to surround them before walking away unharmed as though it were nothing.

The little tsundere’s father really did have some impressive skills.

Cassandra listened blankly as Ethan rattled off one arrangement after another for her sake.

Her face gradually turned red, and an indescribable emotion slowly gathered in her eyes. After hesitating for a moment, she finally asked,

“Are you worried about me?”