"You're not hurt, are you?"
Risa shook her head with a smile when Jehan asked that with worry. The mage-in-training learned what happened because of Lady Enlari who was able to sense it using her wind powers. However, he couldn't have gotten back in time to the Master Mage's house because he was dealing with Jehan's father at the time.
It was only through the Master Mage and the Deputy Mage's interference that the matter of not disturbing Jehan anymore even if he still carried the Ellanher clan's name finally came to a close. Of course, when Risa heard that, she couldn't help feeling sorry for her friend. But upon looking at him, he looked... relieved.
"The Master Mage's dragons did their best to protect me. But those creatures tried to keep me from entering the barrier, for some reason. Both Lord Shuren and Lord Elross said that the creatures were after me."
"Wait a minute! Hold it right there! Did you just say... Lord Elross?"
Risa nodded. But she frowned soon after when she saw the shocked expression on Jehan's face.
"Jehan? Are you okay?" She had no idea why her friend would react this way, so she asked that.
He blinked a few times before recovering from the shock and took a deep breath.
"Y-you said that... both Shuren and Lord Elross had concluded that the creatures that attacked here were after you?"
Risa nodded once more, still not removing the frown from her face.
"Is there something wrong?"
She couldn't shake off the feeling that she was about to discover something strange with the way Jehan reacted to her story.
"Why would they come here?"
"Excuse me?"
Jehan soon faced her with a somber expression, this time. Once again, he took a deep breath and faced Risa.
"Those two men who made that conclusion... were both connected to the royal family."
She knew she was about to discover something strange, but not as big as this.
"T-the royal family? You mean the Revian royal family?"
Jehan nodded.
"The man who introduced himself as Lord Elross isn't just a noble man. He belonged to the royal family as he is the Third Prince of this kingdom. While the man Shuren is the bodyguard of the Second Prince Alathil."
What in the world? How did she come face to face with men such as the ones she met earlier? And yet the shock soon dissipated as she thought of something.
"If that is so... why didn't they introduce themselves to me as such? Why do they have to hide it from me?"
"I'm afraid I don't have an answer to that right now. But I don't think they would mention anything to the king at this point."
"What do you mean?"
"They're not the ones who would say any of their discoveries to the king unless they gathered enough proof or evidence. In your case, curiosity must have been the reason why they were here earlier."
The more Risa heard what Jehan had to say about the situation, the more her thoughts became complicated.
"They could still be investigating the events surrounding the attempted assassination on the Crown Prince that day. They must have thought that the Master Mage was here and would like to get answers from him. Only to find me here and the dragons fighting off those creatures."
Though Risa had said it calmly, her hand was quivering just from recalling the experience a while back. Perhaps she felt that way because she still had no idea how to properly wield the magic inside of her yet. But if she already knew how to do so...
"Maybe I'll convince Lady Enlari more about training you in Lord Benlor's stead. If this happens again..."
Risa thought of the same thing. But could they truly convince the female mage about it? She still doesn't understand the reason for those creatures to stop her from entering the barrier and -- according to the Third Prince and Shuren -- going after her.
She wanted to know the real reason for that.
"Let's wait for them to go back before we can decide. But while doing so..."
She faced Jehan with a determined look on her face. Though it wasn't the first time, there was something different with the way she looked at the young man.
"Perhaps you can teach me at least the basics of swordsmanship. I'm sure you have an idea about it even though you're a mage-in-training."
Jehan heaved a sigh as if already expecting that Risa would say something like this to him.
But would he simply do what Risa wanted, even if it was for her safety?
xxxxxx
In the end, Jehan didn't give Risa a clear answer about her desire to learn swordsmanship. He reasoned that he had to ask the Master Mage's permission first before he could come up with a decision. Even though he was assigned to take care of her, there were things that he still had to ask permission for first before proceeding to do it.
Though she understood that reason, Risa couldn't help feeling annoyed at that. Then again, it wasn't like she could move on her own in that world. There were still things that she had to learn first before anything else.
One of them turned out to be patience.
"Shouldn't you be in your room right now? It's cold out here, especially late at night."
She didn't turn around to even see who it was. She sighed and looked up to the starry night sky.
"Don't worry about me. I'm not planning to get sick or anything. I just have to think."
It wasn't long before she felt something cover her shoulder which made her look up to him.
"This is..."
"I'm not a fool to let you stay here without anything warm to cover you."
Risa smiled at Jehan's caring tone and nodded. Even when they ended their conversation on a strange note, it seemed that he would still be there to take care of her.
"Thank you."
She invited him to sit next to her on that tree trunk.
"You're still worried that I was not able to give you a definite answer on what you wanted to do, huh?"
But to Jehan's confusion, Risa shook her head.
"No. Well, partly, that's one of them. I'm annoyed that I can't seem to move around the way I usually do."
Soon after, she sighed.
"Then again, Qilrun said that I came here at its most dangerous times. I'm not sure what exactly I'm dealing with if I were to consider the power existing in me. But I can't be hasty about all this. I can't help feeling that one wrong move that I'd do and it'll all be over for me. I wouldn't be able to find out the truth about what happened that day. I don't even know why I'm here, in the first place."
Indeed, it was frustrating for her for many days. She was only hiding that not to worry Jehan or the Master Mage. But perhaps it won't be possible to hide it longer than she should have. She knew very well that it wasn't good to keep acting as if everything was okay.
"It's not like I don't want to teach you what I know. But Lady Enlari warned me not to put too much pressure on you or your sealed magic could put your still frail body in a pinch."
Of course, with that, Risa couldn't help frowning. "What do you mean?"
Jehan took a deep breath first before speaking again. "I have no idea why she said that to me. But it could be that... your sealed magic could potentially kill you if we still couldn't figure out what it truly does to you."
"But... it didn't even happen that way when I was attacked earlier. Was there supposed to be an explanation for that? Not to mention, it was the Third Prince who said that I cast that tornado subconsciously. Is there something I'm missing about this sealed magic I have?"
The two of them didn't say anything after that. But they were truly thinking of the same thing.
The sealed magic in Risa's body was more than just that. It revealed her ability as a dragon listener. And now, a possible wind magic user.
What else does that sealed magic – once unleashed – could do for Risa?
xxxxxx
"It's about time you sleep, big brother."
Alathil raised his head and his eyes widened at the sight of his little brother Elross, still in his travel clothes.
"It's about time you came back from your survey mission. What took you so long?"
But Elross only smiled and approached him as he was still gazing at the stars while sitting on the stone floor of the astronomy tower of the Angarth Castle. He didn't know why he had the desire to go there and look at the stars. Then again, since when did he question his urges, as long as they would help him clear his mind?
"What brings you up here? You don't usually look at the stars like this by yourself."
Alathil remained silent for a while, though. Even he didn't know how to answer that question. Not long after, he sighed.
"Is it strange that I'm here when I'm supposed to be in my room, thinking of battle strategies?"
Elross tapped Alathil's shoulder before he sat beside him. "We're not in a war right now for you to do that, okay? But it seems that it would be a matter of time before we start facing such violence again."
"You didn't get a good result on your mission, huh?" He knew the Third Prince was sent to investigate the recurring appearance of the dog-like creatures called Brathos in the Western Forest – the Lusetrie Woods.
This time, it was Elross who sighed. "Let's just say I'm standing in the middle when it comes to the results I gathered. One of them turned out to be interesting."
"What do you mean?"
"The Brathos didn't only appear in the Lusetrie Woods, but also the Hareskoven Forest. I saw them yesterday when I went there together with your bodyguard."
Soon after, the Third Prince grinned. Alathil couldn't help feeling nervous about it, though. He knew his little brother to be mischievous in some ways. And he didn't like that at all.
"What kind of preposterous idea are you thinking right now?"
"Aren't you being mean for saying such a thing? I was only going to say that I met the woman who happened to live in the Master Mage's house. Shuren said that you've taken an interest in her. Is that true?"
Now he was sure he would be in for a long interrogation. Then again, why would Elross tell him about it? The Third Prince's mischievous smile faded and a somber expression appeared.
"I saw her cast a tornado – albeit subconsciously – when those annoying Brathos dared attack her. And if what your dragon friend told you was right, that woman could be the new dragon listener of the kingdom."
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