Death, Devotion, Dissonance

Endra smiled. Despite everything, he was enjoying the conversation with Eliseline.

"I feel declaring yourself a Child of the Empress wouldn't grant you a normal childhood."

"It was going well when I was first born," Eliseline said. "A loving family, a carefree childhood… Sure, we were poor, but I was confident I'd be able to help as soon as I was able. But… shit happened and now I'm the daughter of a duke."

"Sounds like trouble."

"Tell me about it," she groaned with tiredness. "The title has its perks, but there are too many responsibilities attached to it."

Endra smiled. "And I thought nobles were there only to lavishly exploit the commoners."

Eliseline scoffed, looking genuinely offended. "The more I live as the duke's daughter, the more I feel I deserve to live a life of luxury. I should be wasting everyone's money for how much work they shove onto me… but old habits die hard. I lived frugally before I died and had to live even more frugally after I was reborn. Even if I have the means to, it's impossible to suddenly become a wastrel."

"Mm."

"You really don't know how easy you have it. A commoner mage with no responsibilities except for perhaps participating in the war. You're also involved with the fight against the otherworlders, but that's wholly optional. The Aspects or the Empress herself are sure to intervene if things get too out of hand."

"I guess."

"What the hell do you even do anyway? I don't imagine academy classes being a challenge for you. In the first place, those things are designed to be as easy to understand as possible."

"I can ask the same from you."

"Me? I'm just plowing through the theoretical knowledge. I try to do some practical experiments for the subjects I'm interested in, but sadly, I'm usually swamped with my adoptive father's orders."

"Just call him your father."

"Ugh, no. I'm not young enough to crave fatherly love and besides, our relationship's purely benefit oriented. I receive resources and education; he receives my loyalty for the next 15 years. If I start calling him 'Daddy' all of a sudden, it's just going to be weird and awkward."

Endra could sympathize with her. Even now, he wasn't sure how he was supposed to approach Lora and her family. He hadn't received any letters from them, and he didn't want to send any himself either.

"Oh? What are you thinking about? I detect pain on your face."

"My mother," Endra replied. "I had to move her to the north, because the otherworlders started harassing her family."

"Aren't you able enough to protect her?"

"Not always."

"Hmm… well, shit happens."

The two stood in silence for a brief moment.

The barrier that was keeping their conversation secret disappeared. Sen's voice came from the outside. "Young Mistress, your father wishes to speak with you."

Eliseline sighed and turned to Endra. "Well, duty calls. You got anything to say to my father?"

"No. It'd be best if you don't mention me at all."

"I'm afraid he's calling me specifically to ask about you."

"Ah," Endra hummed. "In that case: 'I'm scared, I'm confused. Please leave me alone.' "

"He-heh, sure, sure," she beamed. "Well, it was nice to meet you. If I find some free time, I'll have Sen reach out to you. You wouldn't mind spending some time with, would you?"

"For?"

"For a date, duh."

"Oh."

"You know, maybe you are a clumsy little teen," she winked.

With those words, Eliseline walked away, leaving Endra alone in the house. A few moments later, he too walked home.

"Huh."

*****

Leanne flew behind the hooded figure, trying her best to stay unheard and unseen. They were high in the sky, and according to her guide, it was the only way they could enter the palace without the knowledge of Leland's people. When she acted as the king's mistress, she could enter the palace any way she wished, but now that she was considered  a forgotten mistress, she couldn't be seen by his enemies.

Soon, they appeared right above the palace. Her guide floated upwards and downwards for a bit, before nodding to Leanne.

Leanne made him weightless and held his hand as she was asked.

"Down to hell I strive to fall, but my feeble strength can only send me so far."

The odd chant prompted a golden portal to appear right below them. Leanne undid their spell and they fell through the portal. The next moment, they appeared inside the king's bedroom.

"Welcome back," King Seth greeted her.

He was sitting behind his desk, a stack of papers in his hand. As always, Nola was standing silently nearby, an expressionless face on her head.

"I've done what you asked. Evin's not an otherworlder. There. Could've just told him and I wouldn't have to risk getting abducted," Leanne said, pointing to the guide.

Before she met the king, she would've never taken such an attitude with him, but the more she talked to him, the more she realized she was better off cutting her ties with him completely. The king was losing. And he was losing badly.

"Now, don't be hasty. We all saw what he did today. Tell me, is he a Child of the Empress?"

"No. He lived as a normal 2nd grade till his 10th birthday, and only when he Awakened, did he show his potential for Imagination Casting."

"Many of the Children prefer to lay low."

"In his case, he was stuck with a violent, abusive father, who was always ready to take out his day on his son. Not only that, his father was fearful of Evin becoming a mage, as that would put the boy above him. I still remember Evin coming to the Academy ten days after his Awakening, delirious and stuttering, saying he doesn't want to become a mage. You think one of the Children would willingly live like that?"

Leanne found herself growling out the last part.

"I tried fixing his head with the World of Thoughts. In the end, I myself became sick in my head."

"Even so…"

"He is not an otherworlder either. He lives with me. Though he still attends the Academy, he's now studying ahead under Chairman Kent's guidance."

Leanne did not mention that Evin was last reading a book on the study of Godlings. The subject was usually taught only in the 4th year, so at this pace, Evin was set to finish learning everything in the Academy by the time he became a 3rd year.

"And. Evin never hides his strength. In his first contest of spellcasting, he cast an explosion on his opponent's face, and until just recently, the only thing holding him back was the size of his mana-core. Now that his core's sufficiently large, of course, there's no one among the students who can match him. Even the 4th years in the Academy can't hold a candle against him. If he's trying lay low, why garner himself so much attention?"

Of course he hid his strength. Although what he revealed to the public was unprecedented, he was still hiding something. Leanne was confident she could take him on, but she knew she was going to struggle for it. Her pride was hurt at the assessment she came to, but the boy was simply too unique.

"What about his private life? His spare time?"

"He goes to play around with his classmates sometimes, but he's usually alone. It's not that odd. He had a rough childhood, so he finds it hard to trust people. But to the people he trusts, he's oddly loyal. He even escorted his family all the way to Koidot city, because they were being harassed by some unknown men."

Leanne decided not to mention Evin's rare escapes to the city, then coming home tipsy or sometimes, with world energies sparkling all around him and a slight smell of blood. She also didn't mention that most of Evin's friends were adults.

"Unknown men?"

"Two mages broke into his house once. One died to his grandfather, a Hornbearer of the North. Due to the dead one being a noble, the case was quietly dropped. But since then, there wasn't any other mention of the attack."

Of course, Leanne did not talk about Evin's sudden shift in attitude towards his parents. Before, he was always happy to talk about them, but now, his face would strain whenever someone mentioned them.

She was hiding all these things because against all odds, her heart decided that she was better off offending the king, rather than betraying Evin.