"Can't you see it? No one can account for the validity of the Crown Prince's claim and no one knew what exactly was their reason for going out privately that day, either. I mean, does it even make sense to you?? Someone ambushed them. Yet, rather than taking the Crown Prince, they took a young general instead??? I mean, that was so pointless, not unless those bandits were complete fools that they could not differentiate the value of a crown prince over a mere general at first glance. What I am thinking is that the Crown Prince was behind all this." It took time for Audrey to process everything that Selene just told her. But when the realization finally dawned on her, she had this weird look on her face. She could not understand why would the Crown Prince would ever do that thing to her brother, to begin with. His brother had been very loyal to the royal family. Her brother had almost given them his life, his time and everything. To the point that he nearly abandoned his only siste
"So, we meet again...."Diether started with a drawl, as he was considering which name to call the other party. But eventually, he chose to say,"Andrew."A pursed smile appeared on the man's lip afterward when he saw relief washed over Audrey's face."If I remember correctly, I believe that is the name you decide to go by now."He added casually. Audrey, on the other hand, flashed him a forced smile as she slowly found herself secretly praying for the other party to speak less of their past encounter. Lest he ended up exposing the skeleton she was hiding on her closet."I'm glad we meet again, Sir Diether. I haven't had an opportunity to properly thank you from what you did for me last time."Albeit a little concern for what the man may or may not say that could put her secret at the risk of exposure, nevertheless, she still chose to observe courtesy during the meeting.Mostly because not only she was in the presence of her benefactor but also due to the fact that her adviser, Profes
"Hello, my dear. We already had the pleasure to meet each other at Everything Emporium before, remember me?"Audrey's mind has been riddled with nothing but questions ever since they started talking. Their words filled her with uncertainty and so far, none of it was given a concrete answer yet. So naturally, she was quite on edge.That was why when Madam Xing strike a conversation with her out of the blue she sounded unenthusiastic."Of course, Madam Xing, you're the owner of that shop. Again, I'm sorry about the Jar of Misfortune."Truth be told, Audrey did not mean for her apology to sound less sincere than she really was. It was just that given the current situation, she was more eager to hear more about his brother than making another acquaintance."It's nothing."Madam Xing replied shortly before adding,"Your mother, Delicia, used to be a close friend of mine back when she was still teaching here at Iridos.""My mom used to be a teacher here?!"Another unexpected revelation made
"If her parents was the future leader of their clan, then how come she always have no money?"Steve thought out loud on the side. But he was only asking himself. The people around the table was so focus talking to each other that they seemed to forget about his existence.Thus he was left to wonder on his own. He even wonder why they let him be part of this meeting when he clearly did not have anything to do about it.It would be a lie to say that he did not feel left out.Nonetheless, when Audrey heard him asking his question to the wind, she was kind enough to answer."Because I ran away from home. That's why I did not have the support of my family right now."Slowly, recognition dawned to Steve's face and soon his face lit up when he started to understand what was happening.'The name Audrey, the family name, Lee....'The guy mused to himself until realization struck him."You must be Nike's fiancee, the young lady of Lee Clan, Audrey Lee!"Steve beamed."Yeah, that too."Audrey's
"The two families must have keep an amicable relationship on the surface, for the public to see. But who was to say they don't hold a grudge against each other? Especially the King. It must have been a great blow on his pride that a monarchy like him has to curry favor from someone else."The distribution of power within the Kingdom of Corona was quite complicated because the King does not hold absolute power. The Lee Clan became almost as good as their equals in terms of standing. So it would not come as a surprise if the royal family would do something underhanded that could potentially jeopardize the Lee's.[Hmmm... That brings me back to an old concern behind the murder of the previous owner of your body, little lass. There is definitely a foul play back there. Could it be that the crown was involved? Maybe they wished to get rid of at least one young lady of the clan so that Johnson would have lesser power in the future.]
"But why are they after my brother?"She voiced out the question bugging her mind. From the way it seemed, someone from the mage community was the mastermind. So why of all people, were they being singled out of that status?She could at least understand the reason behind the royal family's action. But why would a magic practitioner target them?As Audrey mused at this question on her own, she eventually arrived to an enlightenment.The last conversation she had with her grandfather made her aware just how their family was connected to the apprentice necromancer.He was forlorn ex lover of her mother and due to heartbreak because of his unrequited love, the apprentice necromancer killed his father and put a curse on baby her."Could it be that the apprentice necromancer who is after my mother is behind all this? Is it all for the sake of revenge?"&nbs
The sky was overcast when Audrey and Steve left for the meeting. So it did not came as a surprise when they encountered a heavy downpour of rain when they returned to their dorm.However, on that same night, while the rest of his roommates were already passed asleep, Steve sneaked out of their dormitory under his senior's instruction."Steve, I am sure you know that a few years ago, I left our sect under a mission, do you remember?"Diether's lips drew into a tight line as soon as he started talking, making it obvious that what he was about to discuss was of serious matter.Meanwhile, as Steve was reminded of that fateful night, the light in his eyes dimmed. But because it was dark, his senior failed to notice this change.Diether was the senior Steve looked up to as a child. So he cried silly when the other party left so suddenly."I remember I was still a little child then and the rain was pouring that night just like right now. I was in the middle of making sleep as I allowed the p
"Audrey can potentially be a savior someday. So it goes without saying that those who can influence her decision would definitely hold great power as well. After all, they will have a say too about how the world should be dealt. If the upper echelons of mage community learns the real meaning of her existence, what do you think they will do to your friend?"Dither continued and as he directed this question to Steve, realization slowly dawned at the other party. Whilst Steve arrived at the comprehension of their current predicament, horror started to wash over his face.In his reckoning, there was no doubt that the elite members of the mage community would take all necessary measure just to ensure that they could have Audrey dance on their palm.Just to think of the length that the upper echelon would be willing to go in order to secure absolute power within themselves was enough to give Steve a bundle of nerves. Trying to manipulate Audrey so that no reform would take place was one t
[Distract them for me.]“Was it not only right for Steffi to get to use to eye whenever she feels like it?? I mean, she is older than the two of you so naturally, she was supposed to have more authority above both of you, no?.”“Ehhh… She’ll be fine. I’m the youngest so they should let me wear it more.” (Meredith)“The kid is right. The eldest should have the eyeball. She is a genius” (Steffi)Steve, on the other hand, seemed to get what Audrey was trying to do, so he said something that would surely add fuel to the fire.“But what about the middle child? I am sure, Ariel wants to have her turn too.&rdqu
“Now, where are we? Right, cooking.”Steffi changed the topic on purpose, before turning to her sisters.“I need the eye to check if it's ready, who has it?”“It’s around here, somewhere,”Meredith replied as she started to rummage through a pile of disorganized drawers. She felt obliged to respond since she was the last one to use the Magus Eye. Unfortunately, she forgot where she left it.“The last time I saw it, you put it in the utensils compartment, Meredith” Steffi insinuated using a lazy tone so the other party rebutted,“Don’t use that tone with my name.”Ariel on the other hand joined in this time to inform them that the eye was nowhere to be seen.“It’s not there this time.”After a while of contemplation, Meredith’s face lit up as she recalled something.“Aha! Steffi always put it in the dish cabinet:”And just like that, she found where her sister was hiding it.Consequently, the group found it interesting to watch how the three sisters could be talkative without having t
“I agree with Ariel. Why don’t we invite them over? This way, we could continue our chat there whilst they take their much-needed rest.” This time, it was Meredith who spoke and she deliberately told her sisters this. Nonetheless, she has spoken the words loud enough to be heard by others. The students, on the other hand, were beyond ecstatic when they overhear the ongoing conversation. But decided that it would be best not to allow their emotion to show on their faces. At this point, Meredith turned to the group and greeted them with a bow. “Let me apologize on my sister’s behalf. The thing is, it has been a while since we had visitors. As such, we are no longer accustomed to receiving guests.” She insinuated before she slowly approached the bunch of bewildered youngsters; careful not to bump her toe as she felt her way through the darkness. Her blindness was made obvious by her action and it made her appear pitiful to any onlooker. Truth be told, the Grae’s current act of displ
“Seriously, when will they stop obsessing over Cercei?”Tsking in annoyance, Steffi stealthily moved her slender fingers next to the Magnus Eye with the full intention of taking it back from her younger sister’s possession.“These people were getting on my nerves!”She purposely added this to appeal to her sisters’ sentiment so that their minds could focus somewhere else and they would not notice it once she started hogging the magic eye all for herself again. Meanwhile, her plan worked, as it always did. Ariel readily agreed to her and with a voice full of despondency, she said,“That’s how the mage community works. They fear what they could not understand and so they are set on destroying anything that they cannot control.”Ariel finished with an exasperated sigh. Meredith, on the other hand, could not help but clenched her fist as she was reminded of their good friend’s plight. Then with her brows knitted together, she roared,“The gal did not deserve all this hatred.”Meanwhile, t
On the flip side, rewinding the clock a tad, just a few minutes before Audrey’s group discovered that they unknowingly fall under a spell, the Graes were already watching them. “The eye! Who has the eye?” Meredith, the youngest, shouted at the top of her lungs. Steffi, on the other hand, stepped away from the giant cauldron before answering. “Over here. I had it with me.” She purposely put a safe distance between her and her two sisters before taking the eye out from her pocket. Afterward, she put the eyeball inside her empty socket. Meanwhile, Ariel, the middle child among the three sisters complained, “You again? You are always snagging our eyes by yourself.” “I know right? Give us a chance as well.” Meredith seconded. But Steffi only rolled her removable eye and mumbled, “Oh, shut up! Stop whining, it's because I have more use of this than the two of you combined.” Ariel no longer argued. But Meredith was different. “Give me that, it is my turn today.” She insinuated and
“But this was done in consideration of what was the lesser evil. News about how the petrifying monster has been terrorizing the Black Forest had already reached the ears of the masses and as a result, was causing mayhem among the people; both non-magic and magic practitioners alike. If it was not for that, the mage community would not make a move.” “Terrorizing, you say.” The Grae mockingly repeated Niccoli’s word that struck her noggin the most. Then with a contemptuous scoff, she added, “What an interesting choice of words considering that it was you, students, who made the first move against her. If you were to ask me, I think it is more accurate to say that it was the other way around. You all are the ones doing the terrorizing. You brought the melee with you and now that she retaliated, you turned her into a villain?” Everyone fell silent afterward but it was not because they were trying to come up with better arguments to refute the other party’s words. Rather, it was due to
Audrey was on her dormitory bed when all that happened, and she was absolutely oblivious to the problem that was headed her way. Meanwhile, the results of the examination were announced on the third day. The students gathered around the square early in the morning and crammed in front of the announcement board to check their results. They also wanted to find out which class they had been allocated to. Niccoli dragged Audrey into the heavily obstructed crowd and finally came before the Herbalist Division’s announcement board. Niccoli immediately found their names, and as expected, both of them had obtained the highest marks for the test. They were also allocated to the Herbalist Division’s violet class for that autumn enrollment. Niccoli was also excited to see the name ‘Andrew’ written on the top of the list. Everyone envied her marks. “Andrew! You are the first! You are the first!” Niccoli was extremely surprised and held onto Audrey’s shoulder. He was very excited, and it was as i
[Alright, I must admit it’s my fault this time. My bad.] “As you should!” Ultimately, Nero acknowledged the part he played in inciting the agitated hut to action. But he also did not forget to let Audrey know that he did not appreciate her tone. [Needless to say, raising your voice is completely unnecessary. Besides, getting mad at me won’t change anything, will it? You’re kind of embarrassing me, just you know.] The cat tried to reason out but with her and her friends’ lives at stake and almost put in danger, Audrey did not back away easily this time. “Oh yeah? Then swear to me that from now on, you will be mindful of your choice of words. We have to be careful with every word we are saying because it was not every time that we got a chance to take it back.” Meanwhile, Nero’s response came shortly. However, it was so brief. Moreover, it did not sound sincere either. [Okay. I promised] So Audrey prompted the cat to state the matter precisely because she did not want him to circ
“What if the Graes already took notice of us as soon as we entered their perimeter and right now, we are under a spell; making our eyes play a trick on us? What if what we are seeing right now is not real?”“Well, if that is the case, then I guess there is only one way to check it.”Audrey insinuated and without wasting another breath, she said the passphrase."Turn your back to the forest, your front to me."Slowly, it dawned on the others as well what was possibly happening and so without waiting to be told what to do, they recited the same thing too."Turn your back to the forest, your front to me."They whispered into the air one after another and almost immediately, the landscape changed into something else, right before their naked eyes.Everyone watched with an awestruck face as the trees turned into fences. At the same time, just a few feet away from where they were standing, they noticed how an empty lot from moments ago started to morph into what seemed to be an inconspicuou