57 Priviliege and Fate (1/2)

Their previous interactions were more or less reduced to indifference from Leilade and disdain from Ronald. As much as he was grateful for her to have pushed Istuienn literally in his arm, it didn't remove the fact that she dared to hurt the princess. Their behaviors separated them even more. One was proud, liked to enjoy the light and the praises of other while the other didn't really do anything. The more he thought about it, the more he realized that she was just a harmless, and probably useless, little girl. To even think about harming Istuienn was probably the boldest thing she ever did.

”What are you doing here Ma… girl?” He began to call her Marie, until he realized that, he didn't even remember her name. Even worst, did he even heard someone call her, like anyone? As he was frowning a lot because of his intense reflexion, Leilade was getting more and more annoyed by the brat blocking her way. To do that was acceptable, but to not even do it properly and especially not being able to name her was disrespecting. The only reason why she was actively trying to put him in his right place, namely on the ground, was the fact that too many magicians were roaming around.

”Teacher.” She still answered him because otherwise, she would still be here for a very long time. And as she expected, he didn't believe her. Towering high above her, since he was quite tall compared to many boys, he leaned on her and in a quite pathetic attempt, tried to pressure her.

”What are you babbling about a teacher. It can't be that you, of all the students, will be personally taught by a magician. I don't really remember the result of your test, but it can't be higher than the 4th Circle, otherwise, it would have been known. What I am trying to do is to explain that you were probably mistaken, so, do whatever you want, but go.”

He was smiling the entire time like he enjoyed proving his superiority over her. While he, Ronald, was part of that elite, and will soon have his future teacher, she should just stay at her level. The more he kept that nasty attitude of him, the more Leilade was internally smiling at the oncoming spectacle. Especially when he was using his stare to make her go away. Just before he lost his calm and began to vehemently rant at her, she grabbed her card and shoved it right into his face.

The boy took a few seconds before realizing that a small arrow was pointing at the door right behind him, where he just left Istuienn. Figuring that out, he took the card out of the hands of Leilade without even bothering about here and turned it all around him. But to his dismay, the arrow changed in real time, meaning that it was really the same spell that he experienced previously. Taking out his own card, he saw nothing alike, and the space where the spell should have been was desperately empty.

”What! How! Impossible! This can't be! Why did you were chosen before me? WHY! TELL ME WHY!” Ronald grabbed Leilade and violently shook her, provoking the reactions of everyone around them. Before that, it was just a standard discussion between two young kids, but now, the boy was assaulting the little girl. From her lack of reaction, she was probably terrified and two young teenagers dropped the heavy box they were lifting and approached them.

”What is happening here, is anything wrong?” They were coming peacefully, but they never let Leilade out of their sight. She was still not responding, and only the angered face of Ronald was telling them anything. The young boy harshly rebuked the help of the two comers. ”That's fine, everything is fine, you don't have to bother us.” But they didn't care a single bit about Ronald and kept getting closer until they finally dropped the facade.

”We are not talking to you, kiddo, we are talking to the girl you are holding in your hands. And until she says that we misunderstood the situation, we won't leave.” The small spark of anger escalated more quickly than anyone could have guessed and in the end, even the door nearby that was previously shut down suddenly opened. An old man with a stern face, Arthar Rodil, and a beautiful little girl, Istuienn Gwendhir, finally appeared. The former was perplexed about the fact that Leilade was still not seen, but that question was rapidly resolved the moment he put his eyes on Ronald. The boy was getting more and more bothersome for the magus.

”What are you all idling about? Keep working, bunch of lazy buns!” The authoritarian voice of the old man prompted everyone to resume what they were doing previously. Even the two teenagers reluctantly began to lift the box once again, not without looking at Leilade one last time. Now that Arthar had arrived, the bullying they witnessed will stop immediately. But contrarily to what they expected, the first to say something was not him but Istuienn that ran toward Ronald.

”What happened, why was everyone surrounding you, did someth… oh, you are here.” At first, she was oblivious of the presence of Leilade and only saw Ronald. To her defense, Leilade was so small that the relatively tall body of the boy blocked the sight of the princess. But the platonic remark at the end clearly showed who she was favoring. Profiting of this, the boy waited no time and quickly painted the entire situation at his advantage.

By the time Arthar had grabbed a random magician to inquire about what happened, Istuienn already had been converted and was even looking with hostility at Leilade. At this point, it became obvious to the demon commandant that any hopes someone could have about making her and the princess friends were gone. And as expected, the moment Arthar reached the group of kids, Istuienn immediately attacked.

”Teacher, this girl is having a behavior totally unacceptable for the Academy. To be here should be an immense opportunity for someone like her, but instead of repaying that with hard work and respect, she acts like that. This can't be tolerated.” The fact that she truly thought like that only made the magus have a headache. Her tone had an imperceptible air of righteousness, that could make someone unaware of what happened truly trust her words. Unfortunately for Ronald, Arthar was totally aware of what probably happened.

”What did I say to you little boy, you don't belong to this floor yet. Now leave this place.”