Shattered Innocence: Transmigrated Into a Novel as an Extra

Chapter 436 My, my....youngsters these days

"My, my… youngsters these days…"

A shiver ran down Cedric's spine, sharp and immediate. That voice—he knew it all too well.

"Ah..."

Elara reacted just the same, her breath hitching, her body tensing instinctively.

Both of them snapped their gazes to the window.

There, perched casually on the sill, leaning against the wooden frame with a knowing smile, was a woman clad in deep indigo robes. A pointy wizard's hat sat atop her head, the brim casting a faint shadow over her piercing, unreadable eyes.

Elara's heartbeat quickened, her throat tightening.

"Master?"

The woman smirked, tilting her head slightly, her hat shifting just enough to reveal more of her face.

"Well, well," she mused, her gaze flickering between the two of them. "What a fiery little spat. I do hope I'm not interrupting something… personal?"

Cedric exhaled sharply, taking a step back instinctively. He had faced monsters, criminals, and beasts beyond reason, but this woman—she was something else entirely.

She had a presence, an undeniable weight to her being that made the air around her feel thinner, as if reality itself adjusted to accommodate her.

Elara swallowed, steadying herself. "Master," she repeated, her voice quieter this time, the sharpness from before entirely gone. "Why… are you here?"

Elara's breath hitched as she stared at the woman before her—the woman who had shaped her, broken her down, built her back up, and molded her into the mage she was today. Eveline Draycott. Archmage. Enigma. The one person Elara still couldn't fully understand, no matter how many years she spent under her tutelage.

The very air in the room seemed to shift around her presence, crackling with something unseen yet undeniable.

"My, my… youngsters these days," Eveline mused, her tone laced with amusement. She leaned casually against the window frame, her indigo robes swaying lightly in the ocean breeze. The shadow of her wide-brimmed hat cast an angular veil over her sharp, knowing eyes, but the smirk on her lips was unmistakable.

Elara took an unconscious step forward, her hands tightening at her sides. "Master?" she breathed.

Eveline's smirk widened. "Why the hesitation, little apprentice? Surely, you didn't forget about me already?"

Elara opened her mouth, but nothing came out. Her mind was racing. Why was Eveline here? She had sent Elara on this test—this grueling, unforgiving test of survival. Wasn't she supposed to see it through? To learn whatever lesson her master had intended?

So why was she here now?

As if sensing the turmoil in her apprentice's mind, Eveline hummed and flicked her wrist dismissively. "Oh, don't look at me like that," she teased. "Can't I come check on my precious student? After all, I was the one who sent you here. Surely, I should see how you're holding up."

Elara stiffened, unable to argue with the logic but also unable to accept it. This wasn't just her master stopping by out of curiosity. There was something more, something that didn't sit right.

Cedric, who had remained unnervingly silent up until now, exhaled sharply. He was tense, but he knew better than to speak against someone like Eveline. Even he, with all his training, knew that the woman before them was beyond reason if she chose to be.

Elara finally found her voice. "You gave me this test," she said, her words more stable than she felt. "A test I haven't completed yet. Why are you here now?"

Eveline's gaze flickered toward her, sharp and