57 Priviliege and Fate (2/2)
”But, she…” Ronald tried to argue, but was
”LEAVE!” For the first time, the magus used some of his powers to shut down the boy. This made Istuienn displeased, but even she wasn't able to force a magus to do as she wished. Feeling that he couldn't do anything more, Ronald finally left, but not without throwing a black stare at Leilade and then waved at Istuienn. The latter waved back, not noticing the comprehensive look the magus and the other girl exchanged with themselves. Her mission just became a lot harder than it was previously.
When the princess turned back, her smile vanished and she harbored the cutest angry face that the magus ever saw. He could hardly take the granddaughter of his twin seriously, but the girl in front of him was at another level. So for him, to hear her saying as seriously as she could the numerous reasons why Leilade should be punished, was worthless. When Istuienn ran out of things to say, he just shrugged it off and returned to his room. The princess immediately followed him, not without trying to find additional bad things to say, like the fact that Leilade had strange eyes and was solitary. She was again oblivious to the presence of the very same person that she was denigrating.
”Why is she here with us?” When the door was closed, she finally realized that they were three in the room and while it was logical for her to question her presence. Seeing no reaction from either the other student or the magus, she repeated the same question. ”Why is she here with us? I thought I was the only one that would be taught by you.”
”Yes, it should have been the case. But by mistake, I accidentally called this young lady to me. Because of this, it would have been possible that another mage tried to do the same and failed because the spell was already casted by me. Therefore, to compensate that tragic error, she will be considered your peer.” The logical excuse didn't sound as logical as they originally thought. But to their surprise, Istuienn didn't point out the very obvious flaws and only cared about the stroke of luck.
”That's inadmissible, why someone as talented as Ronald couldn't receive such a high treatment but someone as weak as her could? At worst, just find her some random magician, it won't be such a loss for her. To already have someone taking care of her would be a blessing, so for you, to personally lower you…”
”I AM NOT LOWERING ANYTHING, PRINCESS ISTUIENN!” The magus cut immediately the sentence she was pronouncing. To have a bias for a boy was still in the limit that the Academy could handle, but to have such a mindset was outrageous. They were all citizens of the Massalia Kingdom, and they should still be treated as such. Compared to the princess, Leilade was appearing even more mature and with her talent, Arthar even began to think that just her was potentially enough. He was not the kind to forgive and forget ungrateful behaviors. Istuienn was shocked to be rebuked like that, but even if she kept quiet, she didn't stop to look at Leilade, throwing daggers with her eyes.
”Great, now that I know that you have both met previously, it will be easier to work together. Each afternoon, you will come in front of this room or where you were tasked to go the day before immediately after you ate your lunch. You can arrive later or earlier if you want to do something before entering the canteen. But the moment you are done eating, you will get there. Without … any … delay” He heavily focused on the last sentence, while looking at the princess. The latter didn't even get that and was still fuming.
”Now that this was explained, I can tell you how everything will happen. You will always be under the supervision of a magician of at least the 3rd Circle. Most of the time, you will just cast spells after spells, having a large array of those at your disposal. If you desire it, you can also enter those rooms, they will be unlocked only for you. Inside it, you will find some of the latest inventions and still in development devices, to broaden your horizon. But please restrain yourself to not bother the magicians when they are working. You can ask your questions, but not when they are casting a spell or concentrating on a problem. And that's it, now follow me.”
They descended the stairs and even left the facility to head toward the stables. They crossed the immense greenhouse and saw three kids from the same class waiting inside it. They were surprised to see Arthar and Istuienn in this place, but when they noticed Leilade behind them, their mouth became wide open. Right before reaching the resting place of the magical creatures, they turned to the left and arrived at a huge barren plain, with a very sparse amount of grass. On the ground, numerous traces of frozen soil and burned areas could be seen.
”Take this! [Ice Arrow]!” A woman shouted that and her enemy barely had the time to create a [Fire Shield] before the impact. Because of the might of the spell and the difference in power between the two mages, the man ended up with an injury at his left shoulder, effectively ending the duel. At that sight, the ice magician shouted her joy and jumped in the air, celebrating her victory. She still offered her hand to the dejected man and helped him get up, before checking the damage done. After doing this, they finally saw the magus supervising this and saluted him before quickly leaving.
”As you can see, it is a very popular place for young people to fight each other. And that's what you will do for the next months. In the middle of winter, there will be a small competition between students, to rank them up. What will follow can be easily guessed. The higher you fare at this friendly spar, the better the rewards you will receive. Because you are under my wings, I will be extremely displeased if your results are not enough. And not even your lineage will matter in this case.”
After dropping that bomb, the magus left the two girls alone, to do whatever they wanted. And by the by the evil grin on the angelic face of one of them, what will follow won't be pretty. Especially when the other party was not even bothering to care about what will happen.