Chapter 85 - The Return of the High Elf (Part 2)
Professor Adrihna was in a room in the castle. The maids were tidying up her quarters and bringing in the luggage from the carriage. I took my time before going to see her because I needed to take a bath and change my clothes since I hadn’t even gotten out of bed. When I arrived, I saw the familiar high elf chatting with my mother and Aunt Margie as they sat in armchairs. Chloe and Kinue were busy examining the gifts she always brought from the elven kingdom. Kinue needed to be supplied with clothes that Adrihna bought in Apsalon, tailored to fit her due to her tail, as human clothes didn’t suit her. My cousin adored the sweets that Adrihna brought.
I observed the little rascal sitting with a new dress in her hands, alongside what seemed to be an opened sweet.
Every child gets excited and happy about gifts, even in another world.
“Well, if it isn’t my patient,” the professor said upon seeing me.
“Adrihna,” I greeted her as I walked over.
Part of me was genuinely glad to see her again.
“I thought you weren’t coming for another month,” I said.
“We’re in the admission period at the academy. Only a few professors are involved, and I always find a way to escape extra work,” she said, laughing.
Oh, that’s right. Natty and Catty had taken the admission exam and had recently returned with Martha and Hugo. They would start their classes next month.
“You gave us a bit of a surprise by arriving so quickly; the messenger crow only delivered the notice a few hours ago,” Aunt Margie said.
My professor adjusted her monocle and smiled slightly.
“I asked the wall guard to delay sending the crow, hehe,” she said.
So she wanted to surprise us—I get it.
My mother approached me.
“How are you feeling, my son? Are you still in pain?”
“I’m feeling a bit better, now it’s just a small discomfort. I think it will pass soon.”
Professor Adrihna looked at me.
“It’s been a few months since he last had a pain period; could you examine him?” my aunt asked.
The professor stepped closer, looked into my eyes, and touched my abdomen.
“I’m just checking if there’s been any color change in your eyes before I analyze your mana. The color is still the same, a dark shade. I’ll examine your Mana Gem and your eyes later. I’ve used up quite a bit of mana on the horse summons to guide the carriage for hours, so I’m a bit exhausted. I want to examine your gem when I’m in better condition,” she said.
Adrihna had managed to keep two golem horses fully active throughout the journey. She didn’t come from Evenhart City, which means she didn’t use the Underground Transport. She traveled here by carriage. It seems like Adrihna must have been on the road for many days—could she have come from the elven kingdom?
It makes sense since the Underground Transport can only be taken from the Royal Capital. She must have come from the border or the elven kingdom’s embassy. She’s incredibly powerful to sustain the golems for so long. Even with breaks along the way, I know she kept the golems active for hours from the wall to the castle. She truly is powerful and has an impressive amount of mana.
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Whenever she arrives from her journey, she takes a short break to rest due to the significant expenditure of mana, but even so, what she accomplishes is incredible. How powerful is she really? Could she make the golems attack? From what I’ve researched, most light element users are of the Emitter category. Both she and Kinue are rare users of the light element in other categories. Kinue is both an Emitter and a Transmitter. Adrihna is an Emitter but also has the Summoner category. My professor is truly a prodigy.
“Alright, I’ll wait until later. I can feel it easing up; the worst of the pain has passed,” I said.
“Even so, I still want to check for any changes,” Adrihna replied.
My periods of intense pain were rare, but they always passed eventually. We had gotten used to it over the past two years, ever since my eyes first started hurting. Whenever Professor Adrihna was here, she would try to analyze my Mana Gem and my eyes. Since I was the only person in years to possess these Special Eyes, she was eager to study how they formed in someone’s body using the power of her own eyes.
“I brought some presents for you as well,” my professor said, pointing to a box.
Despite being over 500 years old, I was still a child at heart, and I won’t lie—I was thrilled to hear that. My professor always brought me different types of knives, crafted by local blacksmiths from the places she visited. I was building a collection of knives from each region across the three kingdoms.
They continued chatting, and then Martha arrived, informing us that Adrihna’s and Kinue’s rooms were ready. Whenever Adrihna came to the castle, Kinue liked to sleep near her teacher.
Martha Riverclimb:
“Children, it’s better if you head out for a bit. You still have tasks to complete and need to train with Sifu,” Lady Margaery said.
I watched as the three of them left the room and waited until they were gone. Once they were out, Lady Margaery looked at me, and I walked over to the door, closing it and locking the room.
“What’s the diagnosis?” Lady Katherine asked.
Adrihna stood up from her chair and adjusted her monocle.
“He’s still cultivating the Special Eyes; there hasn’t been much change since the last time.”
“No change at all? I thought something might have happened this time,” Katherine said, her voice tinged with concern.
Lady Adrihna seemed to ponder this for a moment.
“It could be that today it’s like this, but tomorrow he might wake up with the eyes fully awakened. Special Eyes are unpredictable, and young Nathan is the first in years to possess one. I’m monitoring the development using my abilities, but it reaches a point where it’s similar to a Mana Gem, and we’ll simply have to wait until his body is ready,” she explained.
Lady Margaery was worried. It had been a year since we all became a bit tense after he had to go through the process of having a photograph taken, fearing that the young master’s eyes might awaken before the Grand Duke arrived.
“It seems he’ll continue to experience pain for now, though thankfully these periods are rare,” Margaery remarked.
“I could take the young prince to the elven kingdom. There are ways to cross our borders discreetly, without your kingdom knowing. We have excellent healers there who could stay with him and relieve his symptoms whenever he has pain crises,” Lady Adrihna suggested.
“No!” Katherine exclaimed.
Only the Legacies knew the secret of Katherine, Nathan, and Kinue’s family. Lady Margaery had confided in us, along with Adrihna, as we would be the equivalent of ‘royal guards’ for the three of them.
We are already royal guards, even if we weren’t in this situation. We are the guardians of young Nathan and Chloe, the future Dukes.
“Alright, I’ll respect your decision, Katherine. But know that the pain from cultivating these eyes is excruciating. It’s like needles are being sewn into his mana channels through his eyes. My brother and I had access to the best healing mages when we felt pain,” Lady Adrihna said.
Katherine’s expression turned sad, and she sighed.
“I know…”
“Painkillers don’t work. The only thing that can alleviate the pain caused by the mana channels is healing magic from the plant element, and only the best healers can perform it. He would be treated by the finest mages. Our queen is the greatest healing mage of the plant element; she would personally care for him.”
Lady Katherine stood up from her chair.
“I would have to give up my son’s childhood here until his eyes awakened, and I would have to expose him to diplomatic issues that I want to avoid. If we went with you, could you guarantee we’d be able to return?” she asked.
Lady Adrihna averted her gaze.
“I can’t promise that…” Adrihna admitted, “your situation is delicate…”
“Then we’ll stay here and wait until he’s old enough to address the problem of having unknowingly violated a bunch of laws just by existing,” Katherine said.
Lady Margaery clapped her hands to draw their attention.
“Let’s end the discussion here; it’s alright. Enduring pain is part of an assassin’s training. I appreciate your intention to help, Adrihna. I also wouldn’t let my nephew leave in such a way, as I’m responsible for his education and safety. Now, let’s talk about what you discussed with the other family. I need to know more about the crime of treason I committed in this kingdom by marrying an Archduke from another realm to a Duchess,” she said.