“Ignorance of ignorance,” the professor continued, not waiting for a response from the stupefied Codrin. “It’s one thing to not know. It’s a whole other thing to never realize that you don’t know. And coming to a place of learning thinking you have all the answers is the absolute pinnacle of ignorance. You nobles will never know how deep this world of magic really goes, for no other reason than because you don’t care to know.”

He was directing his words at Codrin, but Nadrina felt like he was really addressing all of them in the room. Professor Aldric pulled Codrin even closer, forehead to forehead.

“Heaven forbid this pretty glass castle you’ve built for yourselves should come crumbling down around you. Your father gave me hell, years ago, for showing him exactly that. I made sure he got scars to remember me by. Maybe his kid needs some, too...?”

A second silence, even more awful than the first, took hold of them all at the obvious threat in his voice. No one moved an inch or spoke a single word. Nadrina dimly realized she’d forgotten to breathe at some point.

Then the professor’s death glare sputtered out and died, his body slowly bleeding out tension as he released Codrin’s collar and took a step back. His face was a complex portrait of frustration, sadness, self-loathing, and guilt. He looked to have aged several decades right in front of them.

“Luckily for you, I’m not like your father,” he said, sounding utterly defeated. “No... no. I’m much worse.”

He turned to the woman as he left for a door in the back of the room. Nadrina assumed it was some sort of office. “I told you this was a mistake,” he muttered, before shutting the door closed behind him. The noise felt overly loud in the quiet room.

As if to snap them out of their trance, the belltower rang, signifying the end of class. The woman looked almost as shaken as the rest of them, but rallied quickly.

“Class, I dismiss you for today,” she announced, in a tone that brooked no argument. Not that she had to tell them twice; Codrin and the brown-haired boy were already heading for the doors, almost at a sprint. Without waiting for them to leave, the woman turned and hurried after Professor Aldric.

Nadrina stood at her desk, even as Lilianna asked her if she was alright. She was just as intimidated as the rest of them, of course, but she couldn’t get over the questions bouncing around in her head. Just what was that just now? As far as she knew, which honestly wasn’t that much, enchanting that quick and precise shouldn’t be possible. He may seem like a violent drunk of a man, but he was far from an average sorcerer. That Nadrina herself was a sorcerer only made her even more curious.