The crowd actually cheered as she set the Fae on fire. The fire didn't take of course, the Fae were still more powerful than her. But then the Empress lent her mana. And it worked. The Fae barely had time to scream as they erupted into a pile of ash and mana. So much mana.

"I will handle it" Pulsie said into her mind. Wait, he could sense this far now? How come he wasn't talking?

The mana was pulled by some kind of force, flowing towards the center of the palace in one massive wave. Althea felt her cultivation grow, not breaking through but instead accumulating. The core was not ready to break through yet.

After she gained enough skill, it would let the mana go. That was the way things worked in the Apprentice stage. The crowd did not have such problems. Hundreds of people broke through across the entire palace as a wave of mana lifted their cultivations. And then the wave hit the barracks.

Perhaps if the army hadn't been out on missions, there would have been more at the Apprentice stage, but if what Althea sensed was true, there were at least a hundred in the city now. The mana had served them well. Even after she ate most of it. Wait no, Pulsie ate even more of the mana, then she ate most of the rest, the rest seeping into the air.

The fae had people at the Journeyman and even a couple at the Master stage. Althea wouldn't have to worry about mana for a while. Perhaps till the Journeyman stage itself. What she did have to worry about was activating and using this mana.

Althea stood up, letting her aura flow, concentrating on calming the many volatile ones around her. The mana responded to her, calming down, temporarily out of the others control.

"What happened was a thing of great regret. I hope it will not happen again." Althea looked at the crowd, emphasizing her words. "I sympathize with the victims of this great tragedy, and feel that they are deserving of our aid. I therefore decree that they shall have the same rights as a citizen of the county. After today, they will not lack a home or any other necessities."

Althea let the mana react to her and coalesce into her core, aware that it would cause a show. The show had very little power, most of the people in this room should be able to. But it still looked impressive to the people in the county, who had yet to realize their strength.

"So I decree." she continued. "Does anyone have any objections?"

A man stepped out of the crowd. "What does that mean, your grace? What rights do citizens have?" he asked.

Althea raised an eyebrow. The education was truly lacking. The people were not even aware of their rights. But perhaps that was on purpose.

"The Diery county's charter guarantees its citizens a home, enough food to live comfortably, the right to safety, the right to seek their rulers for justice, and of course, the right to an education. The county has responsibilities to ensure that every citizen has these rights."

The whispers made it quite clear how little they knew about their rights. Another thing added to the to-do list. Althea walked out, ignoring the crowd as she headed straight for her bedroom, gesturing for Nathan and Vanessa to follow. The three of them entered her room, along with the Empress who had appeared from somewhere.

"I will go to the vault and get the manuals in a bit, but before that, what do you think should be done about your comrades? Do you think they would want to live in the county, or go with the half-Elves to their island?" she asked.

"I…think you should as them, your grace." Nathan replied, hesitantly. "Some will want to live here, among humans, and others would rather avoid civilization altogether. There are other hybrids among the your grace, not just from the three major races, but from the minor ones too. Even some that are not human at all."

The three major races. This was the first time Althea was hearing about them. The stellar education she had received now looked pretty bleak. But this one was easy enough to figure out. There were seven continents in this world. Three ruled by Elves, two by humans and two by Fae. Althea was pretty sure these were who Nathan was talking about.

"I will have to trouble you to take care of them then. I am sure they will be more likely to cooperate with you than me." Althea said, trying, and failing to suppress a yawn. "The nobility thing can be addressed whenever you want, but I would suggest waiting till you have some sizable contributions to the county. The ministers will be more likely to accept it than."

Vanessa nodded. "Yes, they were remarkably hostile today."

Althea sat up. "What do you mean?"

"The Minister of Defense called the children a collection of bugs that would eat the county from inside." the Empress chimed in.

Nathan dismissed. "Do not worry, we have heard worse."

Althea frowned. "Just because you have one does not mean that you have to hear it again. I will have words with the minister."

Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

"Please don't" Vanessa said, hesitantly.

"I saw the looks on the crowd today. The people of the Diery county are more accepting than most, but they are uncomfortable about the other species among them. The ones with differentiating features were treated with hostility and fear. The minister is an exception with his words. But standing up for us would just make it worse, and alienate you from your own people."

Althea groaned. The fatigue of the last several days had been catching up to her. The travel wasn't easy, not with the roads being as busy as they were. The other parts of her day were not exactly low stress either.

"What do you want me to do then? As far as I am concerned, Vanessa, you are a Viscountess of the Solerian Empire. A Space mage. Tell me what you want me to do about your own people.

Vanessa paused. "I-I don't know, your grace. I would like for us to be able to walk the street too, but I do not know if it is possible."

"Perhaps you are unaware of it, your grace, but the county, and Empire at large, is one of the most peaceful and accepting places in the continent, perhaps the word." Nathan said.

"In Soleria a Satyr can walk down the street, even trade in some places. In the Zun Empire and Elara kingdom, they would die. So would they in most countries of this continent. The Elven continent is more accepting, but even there a Satyr would not get far. A Fae like me would be kicked out of the continent as soon as I was found."

Althea sighed. "So much hate. I wonder why."

The reasons beguiled her. Was it some part of history she was missing? A part of the inherent culture. What was right and wrong was often governed just by how people were raised and what their opinions were. But still, they had to know what was wrong, right?

"If bigotry followed logic, it wouldn't be bigotry." the Empress said. "The other species have avoided the continent for a long time. The only time the common people hear of them, it is when they have done something bad.

A city burnt to steal resources. A Fae caravan that kidnaps children. An Elven pirate that keeps sinking their ships. The perpetrators of coups, assassinations and great crimes. That is what the average human on the continent knows other species for. The fear is what fuels their hate. The fear that they will lose everything they have to the greedy Elves and cruel Fae."

"Now, I would recommend finishing up. The next few days will have a lot of work. And you need your sleep." the Empress replied, giving a soft smile.

"Do you think I should get some help?" Althea said, suppressing a yawn as they walked towards the vault.

"What do you think?" the Empress asked.

"I think help would be good. But I don't know who to trust." Althea sighed.

"At times, when things aren't clear, we must just push through the work. The talents shall distinguish themselves. The ones you can trust shall show it. The capable will appear. What you have to do is keep going till then." The Empress advised.

Althea collected the manuals half-asleep, giving them to Nathan and Vanessa before collapsing onto the sofa. The fight left her as she sagged, trying to stay awake. The sofa was a bit too soft.

The pair used the manual and left the room to break through to the Apprentice stage. Althea barely got to her bed before she was asleep.

sc

The next day, she woke up early. Not as early as dawn, but early enough that the important activities did not start till an hour later. Now she had a choice, breakfast or read up on stuff she was missing? Or both? The answer was, of course, both.

Althea had a maid bring in breakfast while she went into the library and began reading up. The books on geography were limited. But she did get some information.

Althea could feel Pulsie's eagerness through their connection, the plant making sure she knew how eager it was to hear. Shaking her head, she brought the books to the garden. A good parent would be appalled by her lack of care. But well, she had magic. Water fell on the book? Magic it out. Is there dirt on the pages? Well, off you go dirt.

And she didn't have parents to begin with. The late Countess would have certainly not bothered to correct her. Heck, she wouldn't have known it to begin with. But no, that woman did not deserve to occupy her mind.

Althea poured her attention into the book as Pulsie read over her shoulder. The plant had grown over two meters, he was big enough to be called a tree. But his shape remained similar to a plant, not a tree. Althea had seen normal Silverbirch trees. Pulsie was sure to be bigger than them.

"Are you going to turn the page?" Pulsie asked. Althea turned it, her mind processing the information.

The burning was a rather interesting part of history. An Empire in the eastern part of the continent had decided to sabotage manuals in the western part of the continent. The plan had been good. The nations had suspected their neighbors, not this Empire.

A few weeks and some more events later, there was war. But the war spread faster, and farther than the Empire had thought. The Empire was mostly ignored, but its sheer size took it into the war.

The book did not go into details, but there were over three million casualties among the armies. The collateral damage wasn't even calculated. Ninety percent of the continent's manuals had disappeared, bringing about an era of weakness.

An era that seemed to be just beginning. But there were things that the book did not explain. Like why the other continents had weakened too. The book spoke of how there were so few at the Grandmaster stage left after the burning.

Yes, the book spoke of people at the Grandmaster stage being not just existing, but being active. The book was written five hundred years ago. That meant that something had either changed drastically in the last five hundred years and causing them to disappear from the world stage, or the book was wrong.

Perhaps she should try to get into a library that had books less than a hundred years old. Why the previous rulers had not updated the library she had no idea. Perhaps they just thought that there was no need. Hmm, was there another library in the county?

Althea stood up, intent to walk towards the library and try to check its records for another library. The records were at least up to date.

"Have you thought of contacting Steward Ven?" Pulsie suddenly asked. "I mean, he is from the palace. I am sure he can explain the burning to us."

Althea turned back towards him. "Yes, I think I should. That is a very good idea, she walked out of her room, intent on getting an answer from the good Steward. That was a good idea indeed.