Magic's Return: I Can See The Spirits



"Did you completely overlook the tension that arose during today's meeting? What? Was your brain in hibernation or something? Or has that whole darn thing rusted away since you have your sister taking care of things for you?"

Draven spoke as his mouth twitched in anger.

Vaelen's expression changed, not wanting to meet his father's eyes, he turned towards his little sister and Lirael sighed.

"Brother, what you said would have been true if the Family Head was old, if the Battle of Heirs was at its peak where the next Heir had to be chosen as soon as possible.

Right now, however, that is not the case,

Lady Astra is merely 60 years old and since she is an Advance Mage, she can live till she is 150 years old. The Vesta Family is perfectly comfortable with Lady Astra as the Family Head for at least the next 40 to 50 years.

The Battle of Heirs is only at its starting phase and the family is in no hurry to choose the next heir.

Therefore, the Factions we currently have are not stable.

We are talking about cunning nobles who have been doing this for decades, do you truly believe they would stay on a boat if they are offered to jump to ships?

Vaan is someone who researched a Circle that is much more efficient than the Circle the people of this world have been using for 5,000 years, if he shows any Magic Talent, then there is a high chance that many nobles will switch sides and go to him.

The Factions we currently have are not as absolute as you think they are."

Lirael explained the whole situation and Vaelen's face turned grim.

"There is another factor you missed."

Suddenly, Draven spoke up.

Lirael turned towards him and frowned.

"No current Faction is being supported by the Family Head."

Hearing those words, Lirael's frown deepened, "But according to the Vesta Family rules, the Family Head cannot support any Prospective Heirs in the Battle of Heirs."

"Heh, do you truly believe that is the case?" Draven smiled wryly and without him having to explain any further, Lirael's face turned grim.

"Just the fact that Vaan is the son of the Family Head is enough to give him a strong position. The Mages who are completely loyal to Family Head might support Vaan 'on their own accord'.

This would strengthen his Faction to a ridiculous level, even bringing it close to ours without him doing anything." She realized.

"That is correct."

Draven nodded.

"Astra didn't act before because let alone showing any qualities of a promising Mage, Vaan didn't even show any interest in being a Mage or learning Magic in the first place. Even if she wanted, there was only so much Astra could indirectly do if Vaan himself didn't have any goals.

This was why other factions were created and strengthened at a much stronger rate because the only son of the current Family Head didn't seem to be interested in participating in the Battle of Heirs.

Now, however, things have changed.

The son of the Family head was showing interest in these matters.

Not only that, he even announced himself as a Prospective Heir in the Meeting Hall, making his stance clear, and showing that he not only has potential as a Mage, but also as a future Family Head.

This would give Astra enough reason to move.

If she tries then…"

"Then the birth of the Third and the Strongest Faction wouldn't be impossible."

Lirael completed her father's sentence.

Draven nodded.

"…"

Lirael turned silent.

"…" Vaelen, who finally understood the severity of the situation had a solemn look on his face as well.

"If Vaan's Magic Talent turns out to be above average, it would be problematic for us," Lirael commented. "Him being the creator of the Advanced Magic Circle gives him a too strong of a benefit," Lirael commented.

"We cannot let him reveal his Magic Talent." Suddenly, Vaelen spoke up as well. "We need to cripple his growth."

Vaelen glanced at his sister and seeing that she didn't disagree with him, he confidently turned towards his father.

Draven, however, shook his head,

"There is nothing I can do to help you here.

I am under constant watch."

"Why?" Lirael questioned with a frown on her face.

Draven, however, just turned silent.

How was he supposed to say that Astra had already warned him once and that if he took any further actions, she would retaliate?

The last thing they want is the Family Head purposefully targeting them and if it is the Family Head whose influence is as strong as Astra's this was even worse.

However,

"Of course, the two of you are free to move." Suddenly, Draven spoke as he glanced at his daughter.

Then, a meaningful smile appeared on his face, and,

"No one would get involved in the children's scuffle. Not even the Family Head."

Within a second, Lirael understood what her father was hinting at, and a similar smile appeared on her face,

"No one would like to support a Prospective Heir who often gets into trouble and has an impatient personality."

Draven's smile widened.

This was why he liked this daughter of his, not only was she adequately talented in Magic, unlike his son, she also knew how to use her Head.

She hadn't even been here since Vaan started to change and had just read the reports he had the servants prepare for her, however, just with that, she was already thinking about exploiting  Vaan's faults and placing themselves in a better situation.

"If you would excuse me, Father.

I need to take care of a few things."

Lirael spoke as she bowed her head.

"You can leave.

I wish you luck."

Lirael nodded and then, she left the room. Now, the only ones left inside were Draven and Vaelen.

Draven glanced at his son and, "Why do you never try to learn from your sister?"

"Why do I need to do that, Father?" Vaelen tilted his head and questioned.

"It would be helpful if you could properly use your head."

"It doesn't matter, Father. I only need to focus on Magic, getting stronger and protecting my sister.

Lirael is a bright girl, she knows how things around her work and how to make the best out of every situation. Copying her would simply result in trying to be the second her and failing miserably.

This is why I just focus on Magic and try to find my own path and my own way to help my Sister."

"Just say you are lazy, your words might fool others, but I have been watching you ever since you were a small child. Your words cannot fool me."

"It was worth a try." Vaelen chuckled as he lazily stretched his body.

"Just leave the room." Draven sighed.

"Well, as you say." With a smile on his face, Vaelen turned around and then left.

As the two left, Draven's face turned solemn, "Battle of Heirs huh… this brings some bad memories." He muttered, then, he closed his eyes, burying those memories deep in his heart.

…

"Why are you here?" Vaan questioned as he glanced at the woman standing in front of him with a slightly annoyed look on his face.

"Young Master Vaan seemed hurt." Seraphina commented he noticed the black circle around Vaan's face and other bruises that were all over his face.

This was the result of Missing the Training Session…

'That crazy old man… he is much more insane than him...'

Vaan couldn't help but compare Orion to his Father he had in his previous life. Just like Astra, Orion's face was strikingly familiar to his Father in his previous life and it was not just looks, their attitudes were quite similar as well. Even the attitude of beating their child whenever he does something wrong.

The only difference was that since Orion was a strong swordsman and knew where to hit to hurt more and damage less, his beatings were even more merciless.

'Tsk.'

Vaan snorted inwardly as he recalled how Orion mercilessly beat him up in the name of spar.

His body has improved drastically in these last few days thanks to the Stances Orion had taught him, it was to the point where Vaan felt like he was reaching close to his peak strength when he was Christopher.

And this time, since he was much younger and had better technique, Vaan felt like if given some more time, he would soon surpass his previous self. 

However, even then, when he sparred with Orion today, he only played the role of a practice dummy, unable to block or dodge even a single one of his father's attacks and ended up in this pathetic state.

"I slipped and fell."

Vaan replied.

Seraphina raised her eyebrow, clearly knowing that this wasn't the injury one would get if they 'slipped', however, Seraphina was smart enough to know when to stop,

"I understand, please be mindful of your steps, Young Master Vaan."

"I will, anyways, why are you here? I don't remember calling you." Vaan questioned in a hurried tone, he was already in pain, he didn't wish to deal with another one.

Seraphina, however, had come with something good,

"I am here to prove my Competence, just as Young Master had ordered me to."

*Thud*

Seraphina spoke as she placed 5 big notebooks she was carrying on the nearby Table.