Chương 67: The Deal

Elric endeavored not to react to the fact that his plan to keep Arielle safe could easily crumble thanks to one girl. If she could see souls, then that meant that she would know the Raven girl wasn't Vittoria. If they ever encountered each other again, she would know it was Arielle.

"What is your name, Lady…." He guessed that she was Lady Draco, seeing as how she was on scene for the incident, but he wanted to be sure.

"I'm Lady Ishta Draco, at your service, Archmage." She curtsied again, and Elric cursed internally. Ah, of course. Of course, it had to be the Draco sibling who caught Arielle, because why the heck not? Why couldn't it be someone simple that he could use his Unknowing potion on? That might not have worked anyway. The Unknowing potion worked best on recent memories and was wonky on memories that had been there for weeks.

She couldn't be bribed to keep it a secret, and he didn't trust that she would keep her word either. So instead, he asked, "Do you attend an academy, young lady?"

"Yes," Elder Hattus answered.

"The Dracos attend Shadowmire Academy." Drat. That was one of the academies that participated in the interschool magical tournaments next semester. She might run into Ari there.

"I see." He had to do something. They could never meet. This was a serious problem. Elric ran through possible solutions in his mind. He couldn't prevent Lady Draco from attending the academy or going to the tournament. He could possibly tell Arielle not to participate, but depending on where the tournament was held, they might bump into each other regardless. Perhaps Vittoria could help.

She was Vitae-dominant, one of the few Vitae-dominant Archmages they'd had in history, with Luxa and Vacu as her supporting essences. She had spent a lot of time experimenting with creatures like ghouls. Perhaps she knew something about shielding souls. He would stop by to visit her again on his way home.

"Excuse me, I shall return to my chambers now," Lady Draco said.

"I wish you good luck in your search, Archmage."

"Yes, thank you." She wasn't as rude as he'd expected her to be, but he knew that looks could be deceiving, especially with the demonic sect. As the girl headed off, Elric returned to his perusal of the documents again. It was hard to glean much from them. They gave just the standard script of the capture, everything that he'd found in the ministry's own archives.

But his spells [Cathedral of Living Light] and [Bonded Archive] enabled him to see what had happened during the crafting of the documents, piecing together the story in order. He figured they had deliberately doctored the documents, and he saw them arguing about details that the witnesses had given.

"Cult" was mentioned more than once.

"Equinox" was also mentioned a few times. They also argued about the Blue Dragon sect. Beyond that, there was a blockage, like someone had cast a seal on more of the vision, and had made the words garbled and cut off. Someone like Archmage Yseult, current anchor of this territory. Elric made a noise of frustration. That arse was going to be difficult about giving him more information, and Elric had no way of bullying him since he was outranked by him.

Yseult was number ten, while Elric was still the newest and weakest of the Archmages. However, there might be someone who could break the seal. The thought of asking Gio for help rankled, but this was precisely the type of thing that his skill did well with. Still, he would go with Vittoria first. She was much more Luxa-inclined than Elric was, plus, with her Vitae combo, she might be able to cast a spell to bypass it. If not, then he would approach Gio. Or perhaps… Arielle. No.

That would get her a [Hidden Ability] marker. Not to mention, she was too curious for her own good. He could not involve her in this investigation at all.

"I'll be taking these documents with me," he said.

"And will return them within the week." Elder Hattus looked like he very much wanted to protest, but one raised eyebrow from Elric made him capitulate.

"Yes, sir."

"I also wanted to ask about Cornelius Draco," Elric said. Elder Hattus frowned.

"I know of no one like that."

"Yes. He's not in your Draco family tree, but I assumed that he was perhaps an illegitimate child or an adopted family member."

"No. There's no one like that on palace grounds." Elric frowned.

"Are you sure? He might be dead now, but he existed a long time ago."

"I think your records are wrong. There is no one by that name that ever existed in all of Hama." The confusing part about it was that it was clear that he was telling the truth. He did not know Cornelius Draco. Strange. All the Dracos lived in Hama, even those who had been adopted into the family and had taken the name. He was not marked as dead or reported missing. It was impossible for no one to have heard of such a person.

"Convene your elders," he said.

"I would like to ask them all about this."

"The other elders are busy," he said.

"It will take me some time to gather them."

"No problem. I will wait." Well, he did plan to ask the villagers too, so he might as well use this opportunity to do that. As Elric made the move to leave, he remembered the maid again. Suddenly, he had an idea.

"Summon that maid for me." Elder Hattus didn't hesitate. He went to fetch her, and when they returned, the maid looked unharmed, only red-faced.

"What's your name?" he asked her.

"I-In-Inara, sir." He ran a silent, quick scan on her body to check for immediate injuries. When he didn't find any, he cast "[Bonded Archive]." She jerked as the magic surrounded her, sinking in.

"That will keep a record of every injury that happens to her," he said.

"It will activate and alert me if anything is amiss. If you punish her as a result of this visit, I will know." He narrowed his eyes at Elder Hattus.

"And I will not be very happy. Understood?" The Elder made several sputtering, choking sounds that were like protests that didn't quite land. Elric stood his ground. He knew he might get in some trouble for this. He was intruding on clan matters in a territory that wasn't his. Especially for a clan like the demonic sect, with connections to the High Ascendant, they could make life difficult for him. However, he was an Archmage.

That gave him a certain authority and responsibility, and these were the types of things he should stick out a limb for. This was his entire reason for becoming a mage in the first place.

"Why?" the Elder said.

"Why would you go so far for a strange maid?"

"That's not for you to worry about. You only have to heed my warning. Understood?" Elder Hattus immediately bowed in deference.

"Yes, sir." Elric turned back to her, noting she looked frozen in shock.

"I assume you would not leave with me if I asked you to, correct?" She recovered enough to blush deeper, and her gaze dropped in a way that reminded him of Arielle.

"No, I will not."

"I thought so." He sighed.

"Stay safe. And you know how to contact me if you need to." It was common knowledge that he worked for the ministry, and she could message him through there. Even if she couldn't message him, a major injury to her body would alert him that something was wrong.

"Yes. Thank you, Archmage." She practically shook with gratitude as she prostrated herself, not getting up despite his protests. Support the creativity of authors by visiting Royal Road for this novel and more. Elric left quickly so she would stop. He then headed to the place where he could find the most honest information possible. Elric chose to walk from the castle to the village slums.

Things got more crammed the farther he walked, the roads narrower, the huts damp, with the occasional smell of rot permeating the atmosphere. Piles of garbage behind homes spoke to inadequate waste management. Stagnant water also collected in shallow puddles, ponds, and lagoons, flooded sidewalks, a testament to the constant rain and improper drainage. The roads were mostly empty because it was getting dark, and the darkness in this area was something to be feared.

At a point, Elric hovered over the roads so as not to stain the hem of his robes and his boots. He was looking for one person, just one that he could talk to, but he wondered if he would have to knock on doors for it. Then he came upon a single man in only linen pants who swept the front of his hut. He looked young, but something about him spoke to an advanced age. He was likely a mage.

"Good evening," Elric greeted.

"I'm Elric." The man stopped sweeping, executing a deep bow.

"I have a question for you," Elric said.

"Yes, sir," he said as he straightened.

"What do you know about Cornelius Draco?" The man froze. It was like Elric had just uttered a curse or flung an insult at him. He went ghostly pale, then he turned around and ran.

Arielle and Lyra stared at Professor Llywyd, waiting for her to say something. She'd been silent for a minute and thirty seconds. Lyra had tried calling her name several times, but Professor Llywyd had not responded. Arielle had suggested they use a small shock spell to revive her, but Lyra had vetoed that and told her it wasn't a good idea. So they just waited, while the birds chirped in the trees, and Arielle wondered if [Revertus] would fix the broken forest. Another bird called as the seconds ticked by.

Arielle yawned. Now that her excitement and zeal had died down somewhat, the tiredness was starting to kick in. She truly wanted to take a nap, but she didn't think she could leave now. She had to ensure that Lyra's lack of balanced cores was not a problem moving forward.

"Professor Llywyd?" Lyra tried again as Ari used her feet to trace the twigs, to keep herself busy so she didn't doze off standing up.

"Professor Llywyd? The professor finally moved, sticking a hand up in the air and saying,"Just…give me a second."

"We've given you several seconds already," Arielle pointed out. Lyra shot her a look, but the professor barked with laughter. Then she turned to Lyra.

"Do it again," she ordered, and Arielle looked at Lyra and nodded. But before Lyra could wave her wand, the professor held up her hand again.

"Wait. First, let me get Professor Valeria. I can't possibly be the only one watching this." Her robe billowed about her round frame as she ran off, leaving the sound of crunching leaves in her wake. Lyra sounded amused when she said, "I wonder how many people she's going to tell on the way in. You might have to do a lot of explaining by the time the day is over." Arielle yawned again.

"Do I have to be here? I would really like to take a nap."

"I would offer to explain it in your stead, but I don't really think I understand."

"It's very simple. Each spirit orb–I mean essence is made up of..." Arielle trailed off. While they'd already given Professor Llywyd the cursory explanation when she got here, Ari realized then that a deeper rundown using mini-orbs would mention a lot of things that weren't common knowledge for a first-year student. She couldn't explain how she'd gotten the knowledge except through observation, and she wasn't supposed to reveal that she could see spirit orbs.

Before Professor Llywyd returns, I have to make up a lie for how I know what I know. Unfortunately, making lies quickly was not her forte.

"Erm..." She cleared her throat.

"In essence, I simply did some experimentation and happened to stumble on this solution."

"Really?" Lyra looked unsure.

"Really."

"How did you experiment?"

"Well... I meditated very hard. And I studied the types of spells that contained lots of Vitae, noting that they typically had Vacu or Calor in them." This wasn't untrue, luckily.

"I assumed that a rune with Vacu and Calor in a given arrangement would boost the bonding abilities of Vitae."

"How did you figure out how to use that to suppress my aunt's curse?"

"The aura reading charm helped." That was all Arielle could say. Lyra didn't question her, but mostly because she didn't have time. Soon enough, they heard the sound of running footsteps, and Professor Llywyd returned. But it wasn't just with Professor Valeria. They also arrived with Professor Flintwick and Professor Woden, with Garrick and Rava bringing up the rear.

"Okay," Professor Llywyd said.

"Now do it again." Lyra still turned to Ari before she did so, and Ari nodded and told her, "You can do it." Lyra swallowed. The crowd obviously made her nervous, but she swung her wand with more confidence than before. It was a confidence borne of experience and a stronger connection with the spell now that it had been incorporated into her system. It caused the orbs to rush forward and arrange themselves in the familiar pattern that the system recognized.

This time it only took her five seconds to complete, and after another explosion hit the trees and reverberated in the air, Lyra turned to look at her willing audience. Six stunned people were staring at her, and Arielle had to wait even longer for them to recover from their shock.

"How…" Professor Valeria said, but she didn't finish as she stared between Lyra and Arielle.

"When did you…" Professor Flintwick, usually stoic, also adjusted his glasses and blinked at Lyra.

"How on Earth did you do that?"

"Holy smokes," Rava murmured.

"Was that [Spore Burst]?"

"Yes," Lyra said, blushing from their combined regard.

"No way," Garrick said.

"It can't be. How on Earth did she manage [Spore Burst]?"

"It has to be the rune," Woden murmured, and he was the only one who was staring at Arielle steadily rather than Lyra.

"Isn't it? Did Telip make that?"

"He helped," Arielle said. It might be easier to let Telip take the full credit for creating the rune, but Woden would probably ask Telip himself, and they would discover the truth.

"He only helped me make the scroll and showed me how to incorporate the charm mixture. I came up with the spell form."

"You made the spell form? And combined the herbs and everything?" Shoot. I'm not supposed to know how to do that either.

"Yes." She would have claimed to have bought the rune, but then it would be like the charms mess all over again, only worse. Woden gaped.

"How? You're a first-year. You haven't even learned how to make charms yet."

"Yes, but I've been reading the books Telip gave me; they've been very helpful."

"They shouldn't enable you to make something like this." Arielle regretted calling Professor Llywyd here. She should have thought about this more. It felt like she was being interrogated, and her gaze dropped to the floor.

"Who the bloody hell cares how she made it?" Professor Llywyd turned on Woden, gesturing wildly to Lyra.

"Did you just see what she did? This one couldn't cast a vitality spell last week. Now she's casting a Tier-6 spell. If it's truly the work of a rune, then we need to call the research institute right now and tell them that we've found their next Golden Scholar recipient, who will help us maybe get more Vitae users in our employ. Oh, I wish you'd told me when you were making it, Arielle. I would have liked my name on that research report."

"It's just surprising, that's all," Woden said.

"To think of a first-year making a powerful rune like that."

"Her cousin probably helped," Flintwick said. Ah yes. Elric. Let him take the credit for it. Good one, Professor Flintwick.

"It can't be that surprising," Professor Valeria stepped in, with her chin up, pride oozing from her voice.

"My mentee has always been exceedingly intelligent. She's been crafting since almost the moment she got here. She's a genius after all. I doubt her cousin even had to help much." Arielle blushed with pleasure.

"Your mentee, huh?" Woden gave her a considering look.

"I distinctly remember that she asked me for mentorship some time ago. I'm exceedingly busy, as you know, Arielle, but suppose I can clear my schedule of a few things and we can work on–""No need," Professor Valeria said, smugly.

"I'm sure Arielle is managing just fine without you. Unless, Arielle, you want to switch." Ariele thought about Woden's disorganized office and nearly shuddered with disgust. She shook her head frantically. That was the last thing she wanted. Woden's face fell, and Valeria laughed.

"Well, whether she's your mentee or not, Valeria, we will be working together," Professor Llywyd said.

"Arielle, you and I are going to write a paper on this, and we'll submit it to the Research Institute, and we'll patent that rune and have our names written down in future textbooks." She stared off into space, dreamily.

"It will be glorious."

"Excuse me," Valeria turned to Llywyd with a frown.

"Why should you share in her patent?"

"Well, I can help her perfect it." Llywyd sniffed in a dignified way.

"It seemed pretty perfect to me," Valeria counted.

"I don't mind sharing the patent," Arielle said.

"But I won't have time to work on that right now."

"Yes, of course," Professor Llywyd practically fell over herself to say.

"I will give you till after severance, then we will write the paper. Now tell me. How does it work?"

"Erm... we can discuss that later," Arielle said, because she needed time to refine her lie.

"But I would like to make one thing clear, because I feel like you all are misconstruing things. The rune isn't what makes Lyra capable of casting the powerful spell. That is all Lyra's ability. The rune simply takes care of Lyra's curse."

"Curse?" Valeria asked.

"Ah, yes, you mentioned that before," Llywyd said.

"What is this curse?" Arielle glanced at Lyra, who reluctantly told them the story of her aunt. Arielle yawned several times in the middle of her explanation, but no one took pity on her and let her leave. They had all surrounded her and Lyra, looming over them, demanding answers. It made her uncomfortable. Professor Llywyd brushed her chin after Lyra was done speaking.

"I have never heard of such a thing. What a cruel thing that has been done to you, child. No wonder. She should be punished."

"Exactly," Arielle said.

"It's not Lyra's fault."

"Yes, but..." Professor Llywyd struggled to frame her next words.

"I do know about the Priestesses, and typically their work is to channel Vitae orbs into the right Leylines."

"Lyra doesn't want to do that. She wants to be a mage." Lyra nodded.

"I've never heard of a way to reverse priesthood or this 'curse' as you've put it," Professor Llywyd said.

"Once you're chosen, that's it, and typically priestesses lose connection to their other cores on their sixteenth birthday. That will make it very hard for you to stay here, Lyra." Lyra looked devastated, but Arielle said, "If we cannot fix it, then I can find a way for her to use Vitae-only spells." They all gave her indulgent, sympathetic looks that one would give a child when they said something silly. Valeria shook her head.

"That's not possible, Arielle."

"It might be."

"It's not." Arielle bit her tongue to keep from arguing and revealing too much. However, she added, "If I'm able to give her Vitae-only spells that Lyra can use by severance, then will you ignore her imbalance? If she perfects five Vitae-only spells in a week, will that be enough?" Llywyd pursed her lips.

"That's not possible, Arielle."

"But if it is, Lyra can stay." The professor sighed.

"If she can do it without the runes, then yes."

"Okay." That was her next challenge.