Chapter 3- Tremble

Chapter 3- Tremble

Elise lived at the orphanage for three weeks and is now used to the everyday schedule. The orphanage manages their lessons by age, and Elise is having a hard time attending her classes because she is learning pre-school-like teachings. She is bored to death and almost sneaks out and just ditches her lessons but holds herself because being a delinquent student will only bring a bad future, and a bad future means instant death. She plans to become a teacher’s pet so that she can manipulate them later on. Elise is using patience as a virtue method, will follow rules, and be the best student so that the people around her will listen to her when the tragedy comes to them. 

Elise went to the library. A place where she always spends every day. She reads lots of books that are installed on the shelves of the library. Some of the adults ignore Elise because there are more complicated books she was reading. The teachers let Elise do it because they thought she didn't understand the content and she was just interested in the unique cover of the book.

Elise read the history of the Empire in the current year. It is overwhelming and scary, she refuses to believe that this world existed when a flying unicorn is only natural. She also read myths, angels, former saints, and the power of the Imperial Family. 

The current Imperial family emperor is Necephorus Aus Viten, He is the most powerful Emperor in the empire. He married a Saint Empress Aelia Gazelle Placidar and had a son of a crown prince. Elise remembers the wise and cruel emperor with the Saint's loving wife. The author in the book “The Lazy Lucky Princess” describes them as powerful beings that help Alicia after being kidnapped several times. Elise didn't need to write down the date because she fully remembers it like she's the one who wrote the book. Now the most curious Elise is about the book for magic and the Saints. 

The current empire does not have a saint but appointed the higher Priest which the last Saint, the empress gave her blessings. It tells that the empress transferred her remaining power to the priest and became a temporary Saint, which gives Elise a confusing thought. Having the amount of divine power is dangerous, a vessel that is not designed for the blessing of God will die and the divine power will have vanished. It never made sense to Elise who knows the flow of the story. The holy church got higher authority because of it and was most respected by the people.

Magicians on the other hand have their post in the empire. Magic is for gifted people who are awakened. They are the types of people who were customized using magic power. They aren’t rare but also not in the majority. Magicians will use mana from magic stones, magic stones can amplify magic power and only gifted people can wield it. But ancient magic power is different, it consists of casting spells, and using those spells is dangerous. It requires great mana and only higher magicians can do. Some ancient spells are forbidden because they can only be cast by sacrificing a life.

The empire built an academy that was divided into two departments. For magicians and ordinary people but excel to become a scholar. The academy is open to everyone and does not discriminate. They valued highly individuals according to their talents not in their ranks in society. The nobles who are proud of themselves followed the rules because not obeying the academy will be expelled and only bring shame into their family. A commoner who did not follow the rules will lose the benefits given to them. The students are highly respected because of the academy’s prestige.

Elise, engrossed in reading, thinks of the orphans in the La papillonne. The author never mentioned the gifted children aside from Alicia. It’s unfortunate enough that they are going to die in vain without Alicia as their salvation.

"Elise! You're here again!" Martha the librarian scolds her.

Elise, who is focused, jumps up because of the angry lady facing her.

"Hi, Ms. Martha. I just like the magical cover of this book!" Elise responded to Martha before she could scold her even more. 

"The book is in the thirteen volume! Even though I can't understand it fully, why do you keep taking that book?!" Martha angrily told her.

"I promise Ms. Forbe to just look at the cover and carefully take care of the pages. I even cleaned it because I'm afraid the book is full of dust." Elise said actively and fake her smile at the lady scolding her.

"Then clean everything! The shelf after that book too. You always take hours here just playing! you need to be responsible that you’re staying in here now!"

Martha is annoyed with Elise, keeping her loud voice while scolding her.

"I understand. but promise me that I can continue to go there after my lessons." Elise pleads with Martha and continues to look like a puppy. 

"Okay. Just do some work." Martha smiling satisfyingly crossed her arms. 

"Thank you, Martha." Elise, who is faking to be a naive little girl, manages to escape the angry Martha.

After the library scene, Elise is going to the director's office. Just in the plan, Elise becomes close to Samantha and promises her to have an afternoon tea with the director. She said that she wanted to apply her knowledge in the tea ceremony for Samantha but the children in the orphanage are opposed to the idea at first but Elise manages to convince them by inviting them from time to time. She appears as a modest, kind-hearted child to the other children so that no one will be suspicious of her actions. 

Elise knocked at the door thrice and opened it after. She bows upon entering and sees that the director is busy talking to someone she didn't recognize. Samantha’s office is bigger with lots of furniture. There’s a wide sofa in the center for the guest and a desk that serves as a working table. The man is talking seriously to Samantha and did not bother to lift his head when another child came to the director’s office.

Elise can't hear the conversation between them and decides to join the other kids who are quietly sitting at the corner. The table is full of sweets- cakes, biscuits, and cookies. The drinks are replaced by juices. The tea ceremony must be canceled because of visitors, she thought.

Elise sits beside Alicia who is busy reading a book. Alicia as a noble young lady can read complicated books and is known as an intelligent child in the orphanage. She greeted the children politely then went beside Alicia.

The time passed by and Elise was bored eating cookies. She wanted to hurriedly talk to Samantha and ask for permission to access more books in the library. She said it’s only for references as part of her studying but that is not an excuse anymore. Elise is serious about studying this world.

The man’s back is facing Elise, she peeks a little to examine him and as her curiosity deepens, the more he becomes familiar to her. The man is wearing a very expensive black suit with black gloves and shoes. His hair is wavy and dark in color. The man is also tall as she observed him at the back. A déjà vu process Elise mind. A clear scenario that keeps flashing into her head… causes Elise's face to lose its blood.

Chills quickly occupy Elise's body. Her face turned pale and she’s having trouble breathing. She froze in her seat after realizing the identity of the man. The Duke and a powerful magician Zachary Molten. The evil villain in the story “The Lazy Lucky Princess”. He is merciless and kills the children after torturing them. He’s a crazy psychopath who didn’t feel any empathy for the people he killed. Molten was the one who abused Alicia and almost killed her in the story.

Elise is threatened to tremble in her seat.

END OF CHAPTER 3…