Claude strolled through the halls, no particular reason needed. The sunlight hit his hair, applying a sort of glow on him which made him look all the more godly. As he neared Athanasia's room, he thought he heard an unfamiliar voice. When he walked to the door, the talking faded and it was suddenly quiet. But before he turned away, he felt a trace of unfamiliar magic, yet despite never having felt this magic, it was so familiar in a sense, but alas, the emperor couldn't place his finger on it. He then paused. He was sure he heard an unfamiliar voice, which disappeared once he got close to the room. And the leftover trace of magic...
It couldn't have been a coincidence, right?
◈❈◈
Athanasia's 9th birthday had just passed a few days ago, and she now was thinking about her debutante. Yes, her debutante.
Yes, she knows it's in 5 years. She's just preparing early.
She was nervous, since the original Athanasia never got her debutante and instead Jennette had one, which was exactly the one where the do-
Ahem, Roger Alpheus, announced that Jennette was Claude's daughter. And of course, that event was what led Athanasia ultimately to her downfall.
Not to mention, Jennette's birthday was coming up. She had to plan ahead early, since there was no telling what could happen. Ijekiel was studying abroad, and Lucas....
Well, I mean, it's Lucas we're talking about here.
But maybe...
No, she couldn't. It would raise Claude's suspicion and he would definitely find out. But her curiosity was getting to the best of her. She recalled her encounter with Aelin, and the teleportation situation.
Maybe she could persuade Lucas...
❈◈❈
To say that Aelin was stressed was an understatement. He paced around his room as he the maid's words replayed in his head. And even worse, his birthday was only in a few days. Though he supposed it couldn't be that bad, given that he'd finally meet Jennette, but he would also have to meet the Duke, which was the main cause of his stress. Aelin panicked until he heard a knock from... his window?
The boy looked outside and saw a familiar face. It was the kidnapper! ...What was is name again? Luca? Lucas? He was pretty sure it was the latter. Aelin begrudgingly opened the window and let the ruby eyed boy in.
"...What do you want."
Lucas faked sadness and wiped a sparkling tear from his eye.
"How could you be so cruel, even though I was patiently waiting outside your window."
"...Creep."
Aelin sighed and sat down on his bed.
"There must be a reason for why you came, is there not?"
"I just happened to hear from certain sources that you were going to meet a certain someone in a few days."
Admin crawled onto the bed and hid behind a pillow.
"Where did you hear that from!?"
Lucas held back a laugh looking at the boy's cat like behaviour.
Sorry, kitten like behaviour.
The magician could feel the mana floating around the room. Athanasia was indeed correct. The mana was warm like sunshine, and calming in a similar way to that of the chimera's, yet it couldn't be more opposed. The most interesting thing was that even though the mana was quite powerful, it was surprisingly stable, unlike the princess's unruly mana.
But even though it should be a good thing that the mana was stable, this was exactly what made the magician suspect casualties. With how calm and stable the mana is, Lucas suspected that any slight amount of pressure or outburst could cause situations like fainting or even falling into a coma.
Aelin looked at Lucas's expression. The magician seemed to be deep in thought about something, maybe something uncomfortable, seeing his grimace. Curious, he reached out to the magician and tapped him on the shoulder, only for the ruby eyed boy to flinch violently at the contact. Aelin held back a laugh at the boy's reaction, while Lucas glared at the blonde.
"What?"
Aelin calmed down and asked the magician.
"May I ask what you were so enraptured in your thoughts about?"
Lucas was still getting used to the blonde's polite speech. I mean, the kid's 9 (almost 10)! What 9 year old speaks like that? I mean sure, he's a noble, but so is Athanasia and she doesn't speak like that!
Lucas thought about telling the boy what he was thinking about, but decided against it.
"...It's nothing."
The blonde boy leaned forward towards the magician. Said magician froze on the spot from how close the blonde had leaned in. His blonde hair casted a shadow over his eyes, his brows furrowed, his lips were slightly parted and in a frown as his emerald eyes gleamed. The magician could feel his face heat up.
"You're definitely hiding something."
The boy leaned back onto the bed, giving the magician some time to breathe. Lucas calmed down and replied to the blonde.
"Why do I need to tell you what I'm thinking about, hm?"
Aelin tsked and scoffed.
"Fair enough."
Just as he was about to pose Lucas another question, he heard knocking on his room door. He rushed to the door, but remembered a certain someone was still in his room. He turned around to tell the magician to leave, but the ruby eyed boy had already vanished. Aelin gave a quick sigh of relief before answering the door. He opened the door to see Selena, with a anxious and frightened expression on her face.
"Selena? Is everything alright?"
The maid took a deep breath.
"Young master, you must not panic if I tell you alright? I know it isn't your 10th birthday yet, and it's been stressing you out, but you simply cannot panic or stress given our current situation. I myself feel anxious even merely informing you of this."
Aelin grabbed the maid's hand to help her calm down.
"It's alright, you can inform me."
Selena sighed and turned to the young master.
"The Duke...
He's here."
...
What?
• ❖ • ❖ • ❖ • ❖ •
IM SO SORRY
I KNOW YALL HAVE BEEN WAITING
FOR SO LONG
IM SO SORRY
I've been getting a lot of writers blocks and burnouts recently, so I didn't post anything, but seeing your comments really motivated me! You guys are really sweet aaaa('；ω；｀)
Thank you for the support, I really really appreciate it. I might take another break, but this is only a MIGHT.
YOU GUYS ARE SO AMAZING AND KIND AND SWEET AAAAAA MWAH
TAKE CARE OF YOURSELVES, STAY SAFE AND HYDRATE!
LOVE YALL
KIWII, OUT!
-🥝💞
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Warmth (WMMAP fanfic)
FanfictionHe was in Lovely Princess. This "Lady Judith" was in fact Penelope Judith, ex-fiance of the Emperor. And the other baby next to him must be Jennette. He heard people rush into the room. He was too tired to check who they were, but he could hear the...
