She was aware that while the Ernas embodied the shield protecting the royal family in broad daylight, the Myrok were the poisoned blade that was tasked of taking care of the enemies of the Kingdom from the shadows, under the fa?ade of being harmless second rate nobles.
Jirni's side of the family was very interested in Friya and Quylla. Since the girls had no blood relationship with the Ernas, the Myrok hoped to have them marry into their household to add their magical talent to their assets and hopefully to their bloodline too.
Between her relatives and the parties she was forced to attend to, she never had the time to visit Lith, only hearing from him with the amulet.
"Whoever said 'away from the eyes, away from the heart' was a jacka*s, right Lucky?" Phloria said throwing a chicken leg to the big mastiff, that barked enthusiastically.
As long as she fed him roasted chicken, Lucky agreed with everything she said.
"I miss so much our walks, our talks, the cuddling and everything else. I can't invite him here, or my grandparents would eat him alive, nor can I go to Lutia.
They have no Warp Steps and I have never been there. Going back and forth would take too much time, dammit." A chicken wing earned her another woof of compassion.
Quylla and Friya were faring much worse than their adoptive sister. During the last two months, Quylla had been unable to practice magic even once. Jirni gave Quylla her undivided attention, trying to cram in a single winter the education the other girls had received since birth.
Quylla had to learn the proper etiquette during conversation and the meals. How to ride a horse, play at least one instrument, and learn everything about the Kingdom's history and current political affairs.
Her talent for magic couldn't help her in any of the above, while her shy character made everything more difficult. Day after day, Quylla was forced to talk with people she didn't know and do things she didn't care about.
Friya had a lot of free time, instead. She used it to learn about her new family, spending more time with Orion and Jirni. Compared to her biological mother, Jirni was a much better kind of monster, giving her ample freedom about how to manage her life.
Orion was the father she had always wished for, so she soon came to realize that being adopted by the Ernas couple was the best thing that had ever happened to her. Friya spent her days helping Quylla revise the various subjects daily assigned to her and training together with Phloria.
Outside the academy, the two had still a shallow relationship, but it was slowly improving. Friya had long feared for Phloria to push her around abusing her status of the true daughter, yet the only thing she ever did was nag her about how bossy Jirni was and how fat Lucky was getting.
There were only two downsides to her current situation. The first, just like for Yurial, was being paraded as the second best student of the White Griffon at every occasion. The second one was closely related to the first: the bad rumors that came with her achievement.
Being a former member of the Solivar family was a stigma she was unable to wash away. Both the old and new magical bloodlines resented Friya, spreading the vilest accusations about her.
During each party, as soon as Friya turned her back, she could hear whispers about her sleeping with the Professors, blackmailing them, or cheating her way to success. There was nothing she could do about those rumors.
The thought that despite her presence was hurting the Ernas' reputation, her new parents treated her as one of her own, only made her wish that she could cut away those filthy tongues and shove them up their as*es.
***
Distar Household. Two weeks after the call.
That evening, one of the most important events of the season was taking place in the Marchioness' house. Her Marquisate was flourishing quickly, since it now ruled over the region hosting two of the only four remaining great academies.
The Earth and Crystal Griffon academies were closed. No one knew when or if they would ever reopen. Archmage Deirus had been awarded for his services with the lands hosting the Black Griffon, giving him control over the remaining two.
They now shared an enormous power above all the other noble households. Some said too much power.
All the four remaining academies depended on the two households for funding and supplies, giving them a voice in the matter of who to admit or about the changes in the academies' system.
The Crown had received countless petitions about taking at least one academy away from each of them, yet none had received a response. Officially, the Crown was still considering both sides' claims. Off the record, they had already dismissed them all.
The Crown had no interest to strip two of its most loyal subjects of a prize they had worked hard to achieve just to indulge households with a shady past and an even more shady present. The names at the bottoms of most petitions were the same on the Marchioness' list.
It wasn't enough to accuse them of treason but more than enough to not listen to a word they said.
That night Marchioness Distar had gathered the most influential people of the region to celebrate the rankers in the top twenty of the White and Lightning Griffon academies, allowing to students and their parents to mingle together.
Yurial and his fianc¨¦e, Libea, were having another 'happy' evening together.
"You know, when our parents arranged our marriage, I couldn't help but see you Deirus like tricksters hungry for the Fintyr household wealth. I would have never expected for a commoner's bloodline to become so successful. I admit I was wrong about you."
Libea said as soon they got rid of Duke Cailon.
"I was wrong about you too." Yurial replied with the same plastered smile like hers.
"I always saw you Fintyr as thirsty beggars in desperate need to get a bit of magic in their bloodline. I knew all along that your family has given birth to more dragons than mages in the past." He added viciously.
"I hoped we could at least keep things civil between us, but as I said, I was wrong."
Chapter 262 Gala Part 1
"Quite an attitude for someone that almost got outshined by a filthy traitor and a dirty poor commoner." Libea clicked her tongue in disgust.
"The traitor and the commoner, as you call them, are a thousand times better than you. I wish my friend Lith was here. He is great at dealing with monsters, something I am still lacking at."
Libea was about to reply in kind when suddenly the whole room turned dark and empty. She turned around just in time to see a shadowy figure with eyes blazing with blue mana closing in to her.
"My dear Yurial, I always told you to go big whenever you make a wish. Otherwise if one of them comes true it's more a pity than a relieve."
"He's right behind you, of course." Yurial said with a smirk.
"You have quite an attitude for someone that ranked¡ My bad, I forgot you have no rank. It's just that my mind refuses the idea that someone without an iota of magical power could be so arrogant."
Normally, Lith would have ignored Libea's slander. Back at the academy, he heard much crueler words on a daily basis, yet he paid them no heed. Lith just had three months of peace and his renewed bond with Solus made him calmer than ever.
The reason behind his unnatural behavior was the precise instructions Marchioness Distar had given him.
'It's been a while since I taught a lesson to an arrogant prick. This is going to be fun!' He thought.
"It's better for you to watch your tongue, young miss. One day, even a dirty poor commoner could reach a status higher than yours. Without your noble title, you are nothing more than a spoiled parlor dog.
"You should be aware that dumb creatures that keep barking at the wrong tree are¡ accident prone."
Lith kept his distance, pointing his finger at her while he talked. It was an act incredibly rude towards someone of a higher social class. In any other circumstance, Libea would have lashed out at Lith for his unacceptable behavior.
She wanted to, but was unable to speak. Something prevented her
from even moving her eyes away from Lith's index finger. To her it was like a sword pointed at her throat, exuding a chilling aura that was prickling at her skin like countless needles of ice.
With every step that Lith took forward, Libea's stomach twisted into one knot after the other. Suddenly she just wanted to hide behind Yurial, but he was nowhere to be seen. The whole world had disappeared, leaving her alone with a crazed beast.
Contrary to Libea's perception, Yurial was right beside her, the room was perfectly lighted, and Mogar kept spinning on its axis uncaring like always.
'I don't know why Lith is acting so touchy and honestly, I don't care.'
Yurial thought.
'Her being forced to shut up for once it's liberating.'
Being used to Lith's aura and having an innate powerful mana flow, Yurial was unable to perceive the pressure Lith was exerting, so he was further surprised by Libea's meek attitude.
At least until he realized she wasn't meek at all. His fianc¨¦e was simply unable to breathe.
Yurial recognized the all too familiar symptoms of mind aggression from a magical aura. Libea's forehead was beady with sweat, her face was turning from pale white to cyanotic blue from the lack of oxygen.
"Okay, that's enough." Yurial grabbed Lith's hand, interposing himself between the two to break the eye contact. Libea was now able to breathe again. She found herself back in the Marchioness's dining hall, the people around them were watching at the scene with an amused expression.
Realizing what had happened, she felt humiliated like it had never happened her whole life. The Fintyr family had never given birth to a single mage, but they were one of the most ancient noble households of the Griffon Kingdom.
Even Archmages treated them with respect, as long as the Fintyr did the same, of course. Libea wanted to yell and call for her personal guards, to teach the country bumpkin a lesson.
What she did was going to the closest bathroom, moving forward with furious but short strides, instead. The sudden scare had almost made Libea lose control of her bowels, she had only so much time before shaming herself for life.
Also, making a scene in front of so many guests would only make her look like a fool. The only thing she could accuse Lith of was being rude. He had not cast a single spell nor left a single scratch on her.
As soon as she left, Lith returned Yurial's grab, making it a handshake.
"If that's the woman you are going to spend the life with, there's no amount of alcohol that will make her presence bearable. You need to set boundaries, or she'll drive you insane. That or you can kill her."
Lith's wolfish smile made Yurial understand he wasn't joking at all.
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"I wish things were that simple." Yurial sighed.
"Killing Libea would only force me to marry one of her sisters and undergo a thorough investigation. Believe it or not, she's the less annoying of the bunch. Since you already know Lady Ernas, you can imagine what does it mean having a royal constable on your tail.
"No, I only have three roads ahead of me. Accepting my fate, emancipating myself from the Deirus household after the fifth year, or convince my father to cancel the wedding. Emancipation would mean squandering everything I have done so far and probably dooming the Deirus household.
"Without an heir, if something happens to my father, our bloodline is over. Yet, cancelling the wedding is even more unlikely. It would mean making us lose a lot of face, our prestige would be destroyed.
"Between that and antagonizing the Fintyr, it would put an end to all our plans for improvement for at least ten years. As you can see, I'm basically doomed."
A long, awkward moment of silence followed before Yurial decided to move on a less depressing subject.
"The dinner jacket looks good on you." Unlike Yurial, Lith wasn't wearing his uniform but the new world equivalent of a black tuxedo. The white shirt was apparently made of silk, while the pants and jacket were made of a wool similar to Earth's vicuna.
What Lith was actually wearing was his Skinwalker armor. He had stored the real suit in the blue gemstone embedded at the base of the neck, allowing the enchanted item to mimic it to perfection. The white griffon pin was shining on the pocket above his heart.
"Aren't you sick of that uniform at this point? Also, you seem to have lost weight since the last time we met."
"Yes to both. But what can I do about it?" Yurial shrugged.
"Since the rankings came out, my family was awarded with the lands that host the Black Griffon academy. It means a lot more authority and prestige, but also a lot more responsibilities.
"Because of that, my father is forced to spend most his days granting audiences to our new retainers, to sort out those to keep from those to replace. I'm helping him, of course. Being the heir, he is showing me the ropes while at the same time introducing me to my future subjects."
Chapter 263 Gala Part 2
"Why are you so stressed, then? Isn't this your life long dream? Libea excluded, obviously." Lith could understand her being a pain in the a*s but not like that. Yurial seemed to be well fed and rested, yet had lost at least five kilos.
"Because besides being paraded like an exotic animal 24/7 to affirm our new status in front of the Crown and our neighbors, which is already quite stressing, there have been five attempts on my life, already. Do you see that woman?"
Yurial tilted his head towards a gorgeous redhead. She was wearing an emerald dress that emphasized her fair white skin and green eyes. The red scarf on her neck matched her hair, partially covering her shoulders and arms that the dress left exposed.
"Do you mean that Battle Mage?" Lith replied while his eyes indulged on her neckline a second longer than it was polite.
"Yeah. She is my new personal assistant/mistress/bodyguard. I can't go anywhere without her following me around."
"Lucky bastard." Lith's voice had a tinge of envy.
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"Wow, that's new from you." Yurial was surprised. He had always considered Lith made of stone, or at least the next best thing.
"By the way, how do you know she is a Battle Mage?"
"Ever since my earlier little stunt, she hasn't taken her eyes off me. Hence, she knows what happened, but it's not afraid of me, just wary. That makes her a mage. She bears no sword, has too many muscles to be a civilian but too little to be just a hired muscle. If she was a Mage Knight, she would stick closer to you.
The only explanation left is for her being a Battle Mage." Lith explained his Holmes-like reasoning with a smug expression.
'You really are shameless.'
Solus made a mental retching sound.
'You didn't notice anything outside her three sizes, while I understood she is a mage from her bright blue mana core and her specialization from the enchanted items she wears. They come straight out of Wanemyre's catalogue. Yurial's dad spares no expenses.'
'Well, you know how they say. Hindsight is correct 100% of the times. Also, it's not like I can tell him about your existence. Since I need a cover story, I can as well use it to appear as a keen observer.'
"Brilliant deduction." Yurial nodded in approval.
"You are lucky none of the girls was here. Otherwise Phloria would never let you hear the end of it, if she learns about your previous remark."
"The Ernas are here too? I heard they didn't have the time to attend."
"They are fashionably late, as usual." Yurial shrugged.
"From what my father said to me, the Marchioness insisted for their presence. Just like she did for yours, I guess. I didn't expect to see you at all. You know, being the party full of stuck up nobles while your parents are¡"
Yurial didn't complete the sentence, but there was no need to.
"Indeed she did. I came here with Count Lark as my ch
aperon." Lith pointed at the jovial noble talking with other mages, losing his monocle from time to time due to the excitement. Lark didn't care about hanging with influential nobles as much as sharing his passion about magic.
"Speak of the phoenix and there is the smoke. Friya, nice to see you." Friya gave them a small curtsy to which they replied with a bow. She was wearing a gold embroidered cream colored evening dress that covered her up to the shoulder.
Her hair was arranged into an elaborate updo, with several tresses knot together that left her neck exposed, emphasizing the leaves shaped parure composed of golden necklace and earrings with black diamonds that complimented her dark eyes and hair.
She also wore evening gloves, giving her outfit a maiden look, being the one that left the most to imagination compared to the other noble dames.
"Nice to see you guys too. Thank the gods you didn't get any taller." She said with a smug expression while looking Lith in the eyes thanks to the high heels.
"I am still taller than you and I've got plenty of time to grow." He shrugged. "Nice dress. It looks lovely on you."
"Thanks, but I actually don't like it." She snorted. "I was just tired of men complimenting at my breasts for their rank at the academy while other girls called me a sl*t behind my back. At first, I tried to ignore them, but after a while they really got under my skin."
"Seriously? Again with those rumors?" Lith raised an eyebrow in disbelief.
"Yeah. Beware that you got it even worse than me. Some say that you slept with both the male and female Professors, others that you are the Marchioness' boy toy. Some even that you are the forbidden love child between her and Linjos."
Lith laughed heartily at the thought.
"Let them talk, I don't care. Where are the others?"
"Do you mean Phloria?" She winked at him. "Don't worry, she is eager to see you too. We just split up to search for you guys more quickly."
Their chatter was interrupted when they saw Marchioness Distar coming towards them, followed by three youths. The four ladies all wore magnificent evening dresses, embroidered with small gemstones complimenting either their eyes, hair, or skin.
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