Chapter 15

Bound by Words

Noah P.O.V

Noah sat on a wooden chair in a large room. In front of him was a large, elegant wooden desk. Behind the desk sat Lady Elara, her hands on the desk as she listened to his story about what happened last night on the library balcony.

"I don't know what was wrong with her, but it seems my words angered her so much that she threw me from that height. If Eyolian hadn't saved me, I would have been dead..."

Noah looked to the right side of the desk and pointed to the other knight who was with them on the balcony. "He knew well that the fault lay with the angry knightess. He even tried to stop her. But she lost her mind... I don't blame her, really. It's hard to lose someone, and dealing with… such thing, is not easy... I know."

Lady Elara said nothing, she just kept watching him. She glanced briefly at the knight on her right, who remained silent under her gaze. She looked back at Noah and said, "Repeat everything that happened from the beginning."

Noah took a deep breath, feeling frustrated with the repeated questioning. He felt a bit guilty for dragging Lady Elara into this matter, but what other choice did he have? "From the moment I parted ways with you, I went straight to the castle library, followed by the imperial knights..."

Lady Elara listened attentively, never interrupting, maintaining her cold and professional demeanor. When Noah finished the same story again, she sank into deep thought. Noah did not interrupt her, waiting for her to speak on her own.

After what seemed like long minutes, she raised her head to meet Noah's eyes. Somehow, she looked disappointed in him. "If your story is true, there's nothing to worry about... for now. But this is still a sensitive matter to deal with based on just your words and Eyolian's..."

Noah interrupted her and asked while pointing to the knight, "What about him? He was there. If he has any integrity, he will tell the truth. And what will happen to Eyolian now?"

Lady Elara did not seem bothered by his interruption and continued to answer his questions. "As for the imperial knight, I have no authority to interrogate him. And Eyolian, nothing will happen to her for now. Like you, she will remain within the castle walls until I make up my mind..."

Interrupting the woman’s words, a person in shabby brown clothes and short brown hair stood at the large double door, guarded by two less impressive armored knights compared to the imperial knight's armor. "My lady, the visiting knightess opened her eyes. She refused to allow the healers to examine her without her master present. What should we do?"

Without a word, the imperial knight moved from his place, unconcerned with anyone. Lady Elara ignored him and focused on Noah. "And that will be very soon, it seems."

She rose from her seat, and so did Noah. "May I accompany you?" he asked hopefully.

The beautiful woman said nothing, but she gestured for him to do so.

The two passed through various dimly lit corridors, sometimes lit by the moonlight coming through wide windows. But no one stopped to watch, they struggled to keep up with the imperial knight who somehow moved very quickly despite the armor covering every inch of his body.

After climbing some spiral staircases, they finally reached a straight corridor without any turns. Noah decided to ask Lady Elara, who seemed not tired unlike him. "Lady Elara, may I ask you something?" he said with heavy breaths.

She looked at him from the corner of her eye and said, "Of course, but only if you answer my question. Why did Eyolian decide to save you?"

Noah nodded to himself. He understood her logic and was grateful she hadn't asked him this question in the presence of the imperial knight. "Because I gave her a reason to."

Lady Elara frowned and motioned for him to elaborate.

Noah looked at the imperial knight ahead, already too far. Even Lady Elara slowed her pace to ease his tension. Noah looked directly into her eyes, having admired this woman from his first conversation with her. The main reason being she didn’t judge based on appearances as many did, and she had a transparent view of the world like him. These reasons were enough for Noah to share what he hadn’t said inside about his motives.

In a low voice, Noah began his explanation. "What I said inside is all true, at least from a third party's perspective. But the intentions, I guided them to the most favorable outcome."

"I knew about the age lie related to individuals awakening, but I kept my knowledge to myself and pretended to be ignorant like anyone else. When I spoke with Donfer Bornar, of course, he treated me like any other poorly informed commoner. That's when I saw the flaws in their story. Then I knew I wasn't safe in my situation. My conversation with you in the courtyard served the purpose of misleading the knights about my knowledge, and you were happy to participate."

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"Despite your assurances of the relative stability of my situation, I wasn't going to rely on uncertain words of a healer. I needed to be sure, I needed to protect myself. And when the opportunity presented itself, I exploited it, learning a little about my vulnerable situation."

Noah paused, thinking about his words. Lady Elara did not seem patient to wait and asked, "What did you learn?"—at least she didn’t seem judgmental.

With a deep breath, Noah continued. "The knight called me a specimen. Even the assessment from the Mages Guild described my situation as a late awakening. You probably don't know this, but there are places in the world capable of overcoming the biological barriers to individuals awakening. Of course, there are drawbacks, but the effectiveness is real. I was surprised to learn that the Empire lacked in this area, but then again, the Empire focuses heavily on offensive and battle magic."

Before Noah could explain the conclusions he had reached, Lady Elara spoke quietly. "Our fiefdom, and every other fiefdom in the Empire, signed a new law under the new national population register. It stipulates that all regional rulers must send monthly reports regarding any newly awakened individuals with all their information. There is also a section that states the report must be urgent if the awakened individual is between 19 and 22 or older."

Lady Elara said this and left Noah to his thoughts. Noah didn’t think long because he reached the same conclusion—he was a study specimen, or would be soon. "That's what I concluded."

Silence fell for a while, Noah lost in his thoughts and Lady Elara in hers. He hadn’t asked his question yet because she hadn’t given him permission. She probably still had more questions. Correct in his thoughts, Lady Elara looked into Noah's eyes and asked, "This doesn't explain the knightess's hostile actions towards you. Is there a logical explanation?"

Noah nodded with a dry smile. "There is an explanation, but it's not logical by any standard." He paused for a moment, then continued honestly. "You see, one of the many functions of human souls is to store emotions based on memory like a memory device. For example, someone who lost their entire family, that imprint would be visible on their soul in the initial stages, but over time those marks fade and become undetectable."

"For the imperial knightess, she had one of these imprints, she had lost someone. Of course, I didn’t know this at first, until she intervened because of a conversation I had with Eyolian. And I exploited that weakness to fuel her frustration into attacking me. Of course, I did all this to ascertain my value in their eyes, and the older knight let some words slip, and here we are."

Lady Elara fell silent, they were no longer walking, having stopped in the middle of the corridor facing each other. Lady Elara motioned for the castle knights accompanying them to keep their distance.

Suddenly, she grabbed Noah by the elbow and pulled him closer, speaking in a dangerous tone. "If this knowledge is true, how do you know it? More importantly, how can you influence another person's behavior? You are clearly not a mind mage, even if you were, their armor is anti-mind magic."

Noah looked into her eyes, taking her reaction as a good sign—at least she was listening. "Regular monsters, when they surpass level 50, become magical monsters, smarter and wiser. Think about it. They gain magical abilities, and these magical abilities are a result of their souls evolving. Regular monsters, unlike humans, store only their instincts and reactions toward individuals of the same or different species, no memory included. When they surpass level 50, their souls gain the ability to store memory like humans, albeit weakly. So they begin suppressing their instincts, making them more dangerous." Noah explained.

"Where many go wrong is thinking anything that influences behavior is the result of mind magic. The mind is not a thing but a process. Emotions are something the mind cannot process; the soul does that. The knightess’s reaction toward me was because I somehow insulted someone she lost; she couldn't bear it and spoke out, and I took that reaction and amplified it to make her do what she did, through her unprotected soul."

Noah fell silent, watching Lady Elara opposite him. She took in all the information calmly. After a few seconds, she spoke in a soft voice. "Soul magic, a lost art. Are you a necromancer?"

Noah laughed at the bold guess far from the truth. "No, I am no necromancer, nor do I plan to be one. It's just that I know a little about souls."

Noah hoped Lady Elara wouldn't ask him about this, but the curiosity on her face suggested otherwise, and so did her words. "How so?"

With a defeated expression, Noah decided to share part of the truth. He needed the help of the beautiful woman in front of him, and he would need it in the future as well. "I have an innate soul ability. I've had it since I was four years old. I don't know how to describe it, but it's something incomprehensible by the standards of worldly magic. You can ask me anything, but I won't be able to answer most of your questions because I myself don't know, rather, don't understand."

The woman said nothing, seeming to assess the credibility of his words. After a few seconds, she asked with genuine curiosity, "Why are you sharing all this with me? Is your question that important?"

Noah opened his eyes in shock and hurriedly said, "Actually, I was going to ask you for something. The question is just to determine if you can help."

She nodded and asked again, "Is your request that important for you to share all this with me?"

Noah nodded confidently and added, "Yes, it's quite important, but my decision to open up to you is simply because I admire you."

Lady Elara was taken aback and let out an attractive laugh. "That's a weak reason."

Noah smiled internally and reaffirmed, "It's still a reason."

She shook her head in disapproval, but her smile said a lot about her feelings. She met Noah's eyes again and asked, "I'll listen to your request. If it doesn't conflict with my interests, then I'll see what I can do. But not now, okay?"

Noah smiled broadly and genuinely. Lady Elara watched him for a moment to see if he would add anything, but he just nodded. She took a step back and began moving through the long corridor again. Noah followed behind her, his mood lifted and his view of the woman improved.