Despite spending weeks combing through our territory, the Azure Hawk knights couldn't find a single trace of an infernal gate. The news was bittersweet because while this meant that the territory was safe from further demon attacks, no one knew how those two hellhounds got to Gauldrin since the county was near the center of the duchy. Duke Ordrin scaled down the subjugation force and sent scouting parties to all the other counties he ruled, but nothing turned up. Even Olivia joined the scouts, after a long period of trying to convince her father to allow her to participate. I could tell the Duke didn't want Olivia to have to worry about subjugations when she was only six, but her determination must have made an impression on him because he eventually relented and Olivia started traveling with the knights. While they patrolled the duchy they dealt with natural disaster relief, a few bandits, and some dangerous wildlife, but not a single demon or infernal gate appeared in Holst.

Since Olivia was gone, I also didn't want to sit idle while she improved herself, and Magister Lucus started taking me outside to practice casting spells deliberately instead of letting my emotions take over and to test the limits of my gravity magic. Spells, I learned, were actually just patterns that were written down to make magic easier to learn. Elemental magic could do anything so long as it involved its respective element, but such freedom was hard to grasp by young practitioners so past Magisters created guides on ways to harness magic; a spell. If you gather fire into your hand and throw it then that's the fireball spell. If you conjure and shape water into a wall then that's the hydro wall spell. It was an easy way to grasp magic and to build a foundation to further explore and develop at my own pace. I also learned more about magic exhaustion as Magister Lucus never let our practice drag on too long and would always stop when I appeared tired. He said that magic exhaustion was equivalent to running out of energy while doing physical exercises but for the brain; it was a kind of mental fatigue that could also affect the body. While the quickest way to increase one's magic reserve was to drain it completely and suffer through magic exhaustion, I was warned to never push myself that far. Magisters who continuously pushed beyond their limit would gain a tremendous amount of magic but would also be seen conversing with the air as if it were a person, they reacted to sounds that weren't there, and many would end up locking themselves away cutting off all contact with friends and loved ones. These people were said to be closer to the gods but such a feat came with great cost so I stuck to the routine, and before I knew it two years had passed.

"This really does hit the spot on a cold winter day," Olivia said while sipping a steaming cup of tea. Olivia, Cassandra, Margaret, and I were in Olivia's room in Wortrest Keep, sitting around a table that was close to the fireplace which had a gentle fire flickering inside. The first snowfall had hit us for the year and blanketed the land in a bright white that shimmered under the sun's light as the clouds retreated from the sky.

"So warm~," Cassandra let out a content sigh as she was buried in a warm blanket while holding her cup of tea like a hand warmer. "I'm so glad you're smart, Olivia."

"This wouldn't have been possible without Lucina," Olivia replied and she gave me a smile. While I was learning spells, Olivia had sent me a letter asking if I could enchant spells into items, like the bathtubs we used that kept the water at a warm temperature by having fire magic engraved into the bottom of the tub. When I asked Magister Lucus he became rather excited because I was broadening my horizons and there was always something new to teach which made his days interesting. "She's the one who spent the time to make the teapots I asked for, despite how many she broke along the way," she joked.

"It's harder than you think!" I retorted and held my cup close to keep my hands warm. "Enchanting a large tub to keep water warm is one thing, but to enchant a small teapot to keep water hot is difficult." To keep such a small area hot enough to boil water, while also not spreading the heat to the rest of the teapot, while also not evaporating the water, while also not shattering the porcelain took months to perfect. Though, it was a great exercise in magic manipulation and control, plus I now know the basics of magic enchantment so I didn't mind that it took so long.

"Indeed, we have enough broken teapots from your experiments to fill a museum dedicated to the founding of our launch product," Olivia teased me before turning to Margaret. "Speaking of, have all the shipments gone out, yet?"

"The last ship sailed for Gorinville yesterday," Margaret replied while going through some papers she brought from her office. Thanks to Olivia's investment, and getting a local trade charter from the Duke upon Olivia's request, the Trent Merchant Company was able to stay afloat long enough for the capital to finally get back to them and issue an official trade charter for the entirety of Urldrusk. Margaret's father was so touched by what he had received that he repaid Olivia by making the Wortrest building their primary residence instead of moving to the capital like they originally planned. With Trent cemented in Wortrest, the city's influence on the rest of the kingdom's trade was guaranteed for years to come as they supplied goods and gems from Yulash; just like in Olivia's prophecies. With a trade company in her back pocket, Olivia wanted to test the waters on what she could earn by launching a new product; the self-heating teapot. Olivia brought the Ordrin name, I created the teapots, Margaret took care of storage and distribution, and Cassandra was given a few as gifts to show off at all the gatherings she frequented to spread the word far and wide. "Luckily, the Helker hasn't frozen over yet so we're able to meet the demand on time. We're completely sold out here, and we've received word that our distributors in the capital are also completely booked. Not a single one will hit the shelves since they're already sold and will instead go directly into the customer's hands." Margaret flipped through some more papers before stopping to adjust her reading glasses. "Are you sure you don't want to make more? We've got so much demand that they're guaranteed to sell."

"I'm sure," Olivia affirmed and sipped her tea with a knowing smile. "Since we only made a limited number, the prices were ours to control. Let's wait a while before thinking about launching a second line." Margaret seemed apprehensive since she was a merchant who was being told to not make more money, but she kept her thoughts to herself since Trent had already made such a large profit on the one hundred teapots we did make. I also saw some of the wealth since Olivia paid me a portion of the profits because I was the one making the teapots. Honestly, I had no idea what to spend the money on, so I just put it in the bank. "Artificial scarcity is a scary thing," Olivia mused.

"Even if competitors will eventually make their own teapots to pick up the slack?" Margaret asked.

"Even if they do," Olivia idly replied, unworried. "All they'll be doing is making our products shine more while flooding the market with off-brand products that will dilute their own price. They won't have the Ordrin name behind them, or be handled by Trent, so it won't be much of a loss for us." Olivia had told me about this happening in her previous life when I brought up a similar question and she said that collectibles like 'anime figures' proved her strategy, whatever those were. "Since we only made a hundred, I was able to personally inspect each one to guarantee their quality." She reached over and patted my head. "My Lucina's such a skilled craftsman."

A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

"…" I turned my head toward the fire to hide my flushing cheeks. She kept doing things like this to see me embarrassed despite me being too old for such childish acts, though the fact I was still a full-head shorter than her didn't help. I need to grow!

"Mmm~." Cassandra had become a pink blob in her chair as her mature composure was thrown out the window in favor of basking in the warmth.

"Don't melt into the chair, Cassandra," Olivia laughed.

"But~," Cassandra complained as she tried and failed to sit straight, "I'm only able to relax when I'm here. It's so tiring being the center of attention at normal gatherings and I can't let my guard down." If she was so tired then why was she bragging? "I like how relaxed you let us be."

"But, won't your hair get ruined if you slouch in a blanket like that?"

"Impossible. My hair is always perfect, even when messy." She spoke with such matter-of-fact confidence that I worry for her future, and wonder how the other noble daughters flock to her with a straight face. "Mmmm. Actually, could you make a blanket that warms itself, like the teapot?" she asked me while returning to her blob state.

"That sounds like a fire hazard," I replied and looked to Olivia to back me up, but found she was lost in thought about the idea. Did her past life also have self-heating blankets? Just how powerful was the kingdom she used to live in for such a dangerous thing to be common?

"I second Lady Lucina's warning." Margaret had my back, at least. "Transporting the teapots was already an endeavor because of their fragility, but a self-warming flammable blanket? Not to mention the dangers of storage and use by the customer. There's too many risks to be worth the profit."

"Boo~," Cassandra whined and sipped her tea.

"My Lady?" As I set my empty cup aside, Mary knocked and entered the room. She seemed nervous and clutched a rather ornate-looking letter in her hand. "There's a letter for you from the royal family."

"!?!" Olivia choked on her drink and started coughing.

"Olivia!?" I started patting her back and Mary rushed to Olivia's side. Margaret put down her papers and looked ready to help, and Cassandra emerged from her blob.

"…Give it to me," Olivia said once she stopped coughing. With uneasy hands, she took the letter from Mary and opened it. As she read, I watched the color drain from Olivia's face.

"What does it say?" Cassandra asked as she also noticed Olivia's discomfort.

"…I was chosen as a candidate for the crown prince's fiancé and am to head to the capital to meet the royal family. I am also to stay in the capital if I'm chosen so I can receive the education necessary to assist the crown prince as his queen." Her words sent a chill through the room. The Holst duchy as a whole was not on good terms with the royal family, and the capital had almost ruined Trent so everyone in the room felt the weight of the letter's cruel intent.

***

"He dares try and make my daughter a puppet!?" Richard roared when he received news of the letter and the maid who brought the news took a tense step back while keeping her head bowed. The Duke was holding a meeting with a few of his vassals in his study, and everyone tensed up from his outburst. Richard's pen snapped in two as he clenched his fists in frustration. "First my son wishes to join the royal guard, and now this?"

"They're probably after the Lady's business," Baron Lyllium, Cassandra's mother, spoke up. Her hair was the same pink as her daughter's, but her eyes were a scarlet red, and she stood as tall as the male vassals beside her. "It's no secret that Lady Olivia's received a considerable profit from the self-heating teapots, not to mention the fact that she practically owns Trent what with her constant meetings with the owner's daughter."

"A business could be bought, though," another vassal brought up. "Plus, Lady Olivia seems to refuse to make more of the teapots so there's no continuous revenue to go after. She's already made her piece." The other gathered vassals all started voicing their opinions and concerns about the news and soon the study was filled with arguing voices. Richard waved his hand to dismiss the trembling maid and she quickly left the room.

"They're not after the business, they're after her," Richard muttered bitterly which silenced his vassals. His fingers started tapping against his desk as his mind worked through his thoughts. "Olivia's proven herself to be a shrewd businesswoman with her limited teapots plan, she has one of the largest and still growing merchant companies in the kingdom at her beck and call, and she's an Aurister that stands above even some of my own knights all at the age of eight." He leaned back in his chair and ran a hand through his hair. "I doubt the teapots are the last plan Olivia will have that makes such a large impact on the social world, and she has the people around her to make anything a reality." While he and Charles Felswore had done what they could to keep Lucina's potential hidden, there was always the chance of a leak especially once the teapots launched and everyone wanted to know who the skilled Magister was that could create such a wonderful magic item. Even Baron Lyllium's daughter, who was popular beyond her rank among the nobility's children, did what she could to help his daughter which only further spread Olivia's influence in high society despite not even having debuted, yet. Olivia had created the foundations of a formidable powerbase, and the royal family noticed.

"Are you going to send your daughter to the lion's den, Duke?" Baron Lyllium asked since none of the other vassals wanted to speak first.

"If I don’t, Marcus will say I went against a royal decree that was issued for the kingdom's future prosperity, and he'll hurt the duchy," Richard replied half-heartedly. Ever since his grandfather's rule, the Holst duchy worked to stand tall without licking the royal family's boots. It was an uneasy peace since the duchy had strength on par with the royal family, but the scales were getting tipped by the other dukes. "He probably thinks that just because Duke Hoffman worships the ground he walks on he can mess with me. What are Duke Einbore's movements, Baron Lyllium?"

"The Lorn duchy in the north is still secluding itself to deal with the increased infernal gates that are opening along the tip of their northern borders," Baron Lyllium reported. Her barony was on the border with the Lorn duchy so she was in charge of keeping tabs on them. "They're keeping the demons at bay, but I don't believe they can last while continuing to seclude themselves, and the royal family will definitely try and win them over in a few years."

"So, only Duke Mordrist stands with us," Richard mused as he thought about the southern duchy ruled by the only person he could consider his ally. The scales were balanced with only Duke Einbore not picking a side. "Einbore wants to focus on the north, so if we act rashly and move aggressively first then he'll join the royals to keep the peace." Richard chuckled to himself, "What an annoying bastard." He stared at the ceiling for a few seconds in silence before finally giving his verdict, "Looks like I'll be heading to the capital with my daughter."

***

"Are you sure you'll be alright!?" I asked while holding Olivia's hand. It was the following day and we were standing outside Wortrest Keep where a carriage was getting loaded with supplies for her and her father's departure to Gorinville.

"Don't worry, I'll be fine," Olivia tried to lie but her hands weren't trembling from the cold.

"But, the prophecies-"

"I know," Olivia cut me off and squeezed my hands. "…But who knows?" she attempted to reason, "Maybe I can befriend the crown prince and he won't kill me?" She tried to make it sound like a joke, but her voice shook when she mentioned him killing her. "Maybe I can quietly step down when the Saintess appears and let them live happily ever after? Maybe…" Her words trailed off.

"If you need anything, send me a letter and I'll do what I can!" I had to lift her spirits, I wouldn't send her off to the man who could kill her one day without a word of relief. "Or Margaret! We're here for you. Also, Cassandra will definitely be at a lot of events in the capital so you can look forward to seeing her!"

"…Yeah." She didn't sound convinced but at least her hands stopped shaking.

"Olivia?" the Duke called from the carriage which had finished loading. "We need to set out to make it to our first stop before nightfall."

"Coming!" Olivia called back. She gave me one last hopeful look and smiled. "I'll see you later, Lucina." She let go of my hand and headed to the carriage.

"…See you later, Olivia." My words were carried away by a cold wind that blew through the castle. The Duchess, my mother, Vivian, and a few servants stood outside with me to watch the carriage disappear beyond the castle gates and into the wintery horizon. I wasn't sure when I would be able to see Olivia again, but I prayed with all my heart that things would be okay.