The moon was high in the sky that night, but it made no difference to Cherry as she slept on. The only satisfaction for the Lord was that she looked way more relaxed in her slumber than she had during the day. The Healer took a look at her, and under the Lord’s scrutinizing watch he did his best. Even after getting treated, the girl was simply too exhausted. The misuse of her magic left her in severe state.
The Lord shook his head at this, rebuking his foolish self. No matter what, he should have been overseeing her advance in the field of magic. He just didn’t expect the instructor to be so blind and stupid. Too little mana, he said! The old fool wouldn’t know what mana is even if it hit him directly in the face.
The girl’s stirring brought him back to the present. He wanted to caress her face. To touch her hand and squeeze it in a soothing manner. But he did no such thing. He sat by her side motionless. Only his jaw setting and relaxing. His face doing somersaults of expressions as his heart was uneasy and restless. His mind a hurricane of thoughts.
How stupid!
He rebuked himself again and again.
If she was scared of him as a Duke, then he should have simply made her warm up to him again. They already felt so close before. It’s not like it was impossible. He was not different person, just by her realizing who he was. He did not pretend or lie. It wasn’t impossible, after all, it happened once. He just had no idea how it came to it nor when. But they felt close. Were close. And he was afraid to lose it, so he kept quiet.
Now he lost it and he kept quieter still.
Even as it ate him up on inside. He was afraid that if he did try, somehow, he would fail anyway. She would not look at him the same way. The same unafraid way. Shy and bashful, yes, but not terrified and stumped. Not whatever it was that she looked like when she saw him now.
One way or another, he couldn’t let her continue the hazardous way she handler her magic. She was in a need of a proper teacher. And he needed to find one fast.
Unfortunately or not, the Lord thought himself the right teacher. There were Mages who would fit the bill, but they were not readily available. And those who were, who knew if they wouldn’t turn out the same was as that instructor? Some Royal grade instructor it was! The Duke’s rage manifested every time he thought of His Majesty and how he recommended the old man to him so eagerly. No wonder there was the stagnation of the apprentices after the instructor appeared few years prior. The Duke was so out of league that he simply attributed the case to normalcy - no one seemed especially outstanding compared to him. It was a honest mistake on his part. A negligence. But mistake never the less. Therefore, any unknown Mages were out for the time being. And while there were several of his official Mages who could have done the job, trusted Mages, he just felt like forgetting they ever existed in this particular case. So, after very lengthy deliberation, he just had to do it himself.
He went over this reasoning over and over, up till the point the door opened. The class of apprentices entered eagerly, yet the eagerness turned hesitant the moment they saw the man at the instructor’s table.
They greeted even more hesitantly, took their seat carefully, suspecting they were in the wrong room. Maybe they were supposed to switch classes in the late winter.
The Lord didn’t bother with pleasantries, “I’ll be instructing this class until appropriate person is found.” His words echoed in the silent classroom. Skimming over surprised and mainly horrified faces, he failed to see the one he wanted to the most. His heart sank at the thought, and he rebuked himself right after.
How stupid!
He himself gave the order for her to rest today, of course she wouldn’t be here!
Comments (0)
See all