A few hours had passed since Adrien arrived in Valebrand.
He was alone in his room now, standing in front of the mirror while fastening the last part of the outfit his mother had prepared for him. According to what he’d been told, every head of house had to report their arrival to a Crown official before Oathday officially began.
The clothes were unmistakably Clairmont. Green and yellow, formal enough for a noble gathering without being covered in enough decoration to make walking difficult.
Adrien adjusted the collar and looked himself over. Grey eyes. Black hair. And, finally, a body that didn’t look like it had been surviving on water for the last eighteen years.
The difference wasn’t enormous, but several days of eating properly and moving around had already put a little weight back on him. His face looked healthier, his shoulders slightly less narrow, and the clothes no longer hung from him quite as badly.
’Much better. At least if half the kingdom is going to stare at me tonight, I won’t look like I’m about to collapse in front of them again.’
Adrien left his luggage behind and stepped into the corridor. When he closed the door, a small device beside the handle flashed once as it recognized his mana signature and locked itself.
He was about to start toward the registration hall when something caught his attention.
Mana.
Adrien stopped. Absolute Mana Sense had been running in the background almost constantly since he awakened it, feeding him little details about the mana around him without requiring much thought.
Servants passing through other corridors. The residue inside enchanted objects. The faint movement running through the castle itself.
This was different.
There was a concentrated presence somewhere nearby, stronger and cleaner than anything he’d noticed since arriving.
’That’s new.’
The official could wait a few minutes.
Adrien turned away from the direction he’d been given and followed the sensation instead. The corridors changed as he went. Fewer doors, less foot traffic, and no servants rushing around with luggage or nobles complaining about where their rooms had been placed.
’More private part of the castle, I guess.’
The mana moved again.
Adrien slowed as he reached another corner. ’Should be right around here.’
He turned it and found himself standing along an upper passage overlooking the floor below.
A training hall had been built into the lower level, while the corridors above ran along its sides like balconies. From where Adrien stood, he could see almost the entire room beneath him.
There was only one person inside.
A young woman.
Golden hair had been tied back behind her head, exposing a pale face and eyes almost the same color as her hair, bright like polished gold under the light. She wore simple training clothes rather than anything suited to a royal event, and there was enough sweat at her temples to make it obvious she’d been here for a while.
For a moment, Adrien simply looked at her.
’Well. She certainly looks the part. If somebody asked me to imagine a princess from an old story, they’d probably end up somewhere close.’
The borrowed memories gave him the name a moment later.
Margaret Valleroy. Third Princess of Valleroy.
More importantly, Margaret was famous for possessing an S-rank talent that allowed her to carry two Paths at once.
Mage and Summoner.
Even among nobles, that made her exceptional.
Adrien leaned lightly against the railing. ’So that’s what I felt.’
Absolute Mana Sense wasn’t giving him a number above her head. He could feel the density and movement of her mana well enough to know immediately that Margaret was far beyond him.
His One Star Core felt almost embarrassing by comparison.
Then Margaret raised two fingers.
Mana gathered.
Adrien’s attention sharpened immediately.
A thin spark snapped into existence between her fingertips. It wasn’t anything like Frost Lance. There was no long construction or mass of compressed mana waiting to be released.
The entire spell was tiny, barely extending more than a few inches from her hand before vanishing again in a sharp crack of electricity.
[New Spell Observed: Zap | 1 Star]
[Affinity: Zephyr]
[Aspect: Lightning]
[Absolute Comprehension active]
[Comprehension: 100%]
The spell opened inside his head.
Mana drawn through Zephyr, narrowed through its Lightning Aspect, compressed into a tiny discharge designed for extremely short range rather than damage.
Less than twenty-five centimeters. Almost useless at distance, but extremely useful if somebody was already close enough to touch.
The electricity interfered with the target’s body for roughly one second, locking the muscles and leaving them unable to move.
One second wasn’t much, but in a fight, one second was enormous.
[Spell Learned: Zap]
[Zap | 1 Star | Novice 0%]
Pain followed the understanding almost immediately.
Adrien’s eyes squeezed shut and he pressed two fingers between them as the familiar ache settled behind his forehead.
’Yeah. Still hate that part.’
It wasn’t as bad as trying to understand the teleportation circle. Not even close. But Absolute Comprehension apparently had no interest in giving him anything for free.
Adrien opened his eyes again.
Margaret continued practicing below, unaware that she’d just handed him another spell.
’Zephyr. Lightning. That alone was worth the detour.’
Frost Lance belonged to Aqua through its Frost Aspect.
Zap belonged to an entirely different Affinity.
And he’d learned both.
The line inside his Status came back to him.
[Unique Path: Absolute Magus]
’That answers another question.’
Adrien pushed away from the railing. His curiosity was satisfied, he’d gained something useful, and Absolute Mana Sense had already proven itself valuable in a way he hadn’t expected.
’Better leave before I actually attract attention.’
He turned around.
An orange cat sat in the middle of the corridor.
Adrien stopped.
The cat stared at him, and Adrien stared back. It was sitting directly in his way with its tail curled around its paws, looking at him with the sort of expression that suggested Adrien had entered its corridor without permission.
"Move."
The cat did not move.
Adrien stepped left.
The cat moved left.
He stepped right.
The cat moved right.
"What the hell is wrong with this flea-ridden thing?"
"A little harsh, don’t you think?"
Adrien froze.
The voice came from behind him, sweet and light enough to fit perfectly with the golden girl he’d just been watching.
He turned.
There was a staircase leading from the training floor to the upper passage, and Margaret Valleroy had just reached the top of it.
Wonderful.
She’d found him watching her.
And from this distance, Adrien had to admit the princess was even prettier. ’Excellent first impression.’
He straightened and attempted what he believed was the appropriate greeting for royalty.
He had never actually performed one before.
It showed.
Margaret watched him lower his head at a slightly awkward angle, and a quiet laugh escaped her before she could hide it.
"You can lift your head."
Adrien did.
"A pleasure to meet you, Princess. This is the first time we’ve met. My name is—"
"Adrien Clairmont."
That stopped him.
Margaret gave him a small smile.
"It’s a pleasure to meet you too."
’A pleasure?’
Adrien kept his expression polite while his thoughts went somewhere else entirely.
His father had died branded as a traitor. Technically, the man responsible for ordering Alaric Clairmont’s execution had been Margaret’s own father.
’Something about that doesn’t fit.’
"The pleasure is mine, Princess."
Margaret glanced down at herself.
"I should probably go. I have somewhere to be, and I’d rather not arrive smelling like a training hall. Oathday is bad enough without giving everyone something extra to talk about."
She bent down and picked up the orange cat, which immediately settled into her arms as though it hadn’t spent the last minute blocking Adrien’s escape.
"And don’t worry. I’ll take the flea-ridden creature with me."
Adrien coughed.
"I may have been slightly unfair."
"Only slightly?"
"I haven’t known him long enough to make a proper judgment."
That earned another quiet laugh.
"Then perhaps next time."
Margaret walked past him with the cat in her arms.
"See you tonight, Adrien Clairmont."
Adrien watched her disappear around the corner before continuing in the opposite direction.
...
AN: Add the novel to collections and send support if like it ;)