It would take four to five days to reach the city of Zurham aboard a flying carriage. So, as soon as Selene received the letter telling her to come, she wasted no time and prepared to depart immediately.
Mika advised against bringing too much luggage and that she doesn't have to worry about clothes. So, in the end, Selene only brought one suitcase, containing books from the library that she could read in the duration of her stay.
As soon as she came out, a bizarre sight unfolded before her very eyes. The same carriage she used during the funeral lay await, but new sections were added and connected to it, including the necessary facilities to help make their journey a bit more comfortable.
Although, Selene doesn't have much expectations.
She's still not used to seeing the dragon-like creature which served as their horse. It was three meters tall and its skin was covered with gray scales. Their long tails hovered above the carriages, ending with a smaller wing.
Speaking of wings, they were currently folded. The last time she had witnessed them, they were quite massive. They could use it to cover their bodies. They were leathery and strong. A single flap will probably blow her away like a leaf.
Six of such creatures were connected to the carriages. They were called wyverns. A lesser relative of dragons.
Casting a wary glance at the strange creature, Selene hastily climbed on the carriage.
The coachman offered his hand which she took gracefully. Mika followed her actions and sat next to her inside the main carriage.
When everyone was settled, the wyverns unfolded their wings, bringing wind and creating ripples on the grass.
Three maids stood at the entrance, watching as the carriage floated up in the air.
There was a weird feeling in Selene's stomach as the sight of the manor zoomed out, becoming smaller as they flew higher into the sky.
The green grasslands appeared like a blanket, sprinkled by trees and houses here and there. Tearing off her gaze, she stared blankly at the window where the back of the coachman can be seen.
"Would you like to read a book, Lady Selene?"
"No, the shaking makes me dizzy."
This would be her first time traveling for days. It has only been a few minutes and she already felt like vomiting.
---
A figure moved past the rows of gigantic trees, leaping at their roots skillfully. He was too fast that he would appear like a hazy blur if someone were to watch him from a distance.
The leaves and twigs he stepped on, crunched under his feet as he ran towards the growing light.
Soon after, the sunlight greeted him and his speed slowed down, until he came into a stop.
Sweat cascaded down his forehead, to his neck and to his chest. The man stood six feet tall, wearing only a pair of pants which hung precariously on his waist. He walked barefooted, stepping on the bermuda grass that stretched as far as the eye could see.
He looked up at the towering height of the castle a hundred meters away from him. Fog covered half of it, giving the structure a haunting look.
A man in uniform walked towards him, and handed a towel.
"You have a meeting with the council in ten minutes, your majesty."
The half-naked man was still catching his breath as he wiped the sweat off his body.
Sometime later, he was in a hallway, dressed in red robes. Its thickness hid his shape, making him appear bigger than his actual size. This made his face look misplaced. Ruby eyes, defined jaw, tall nose and perfect skin. It does not fit the size of his body at all. If anything, he appeared like a mascot who had taken off the head part of his costume.
He walked as though he was an old man, his every step screamed of dignity, power and experience.
As he passed through the narrow hallway, the face of the young man slowly changed into that of an old man. Wrinkles appeared, his eyes deepened and his once perfect skin was suddenly littered with moles and large pores. His hair that was once dark turned gray and white.
From the other side of the door, his arrival was being announced.
"His Majesty, the Emperor, the Flames of the Crimson Empire. Gerard Vincent del Fuego!"
---
Selene squinted at the sun as soon as she stepped out of the carriage. There were dark circles under her eyes and her lips were pale. Mika tailed her like a worried mother as they walked through lines and lines of maids.
Not long after that, she saw three figures waiting at the entrance. She was quite shocked with the warm welcome, but was too exhausted to appreciate it.
The four-day ride was nothing but hell to Selene. Many times, she resisted the urge to jump out and let herself fall into the vastness of the sea. It was a harrowing journey, nothing short of a nightmare.
And now all she wanted to do is lie down and rest for an entire week. However, this was not made possible by the three men waiting for her.
"Welcome, Anton! I'm so glad you're finally here!" The man who had long, red hair exclaimed and ran down the stairs to greet her. He was smiling from ear to ear, which is weird, because he has such a manly and rugged look to him.
Looking closely, she recognized him.
He had a portrait in Selene Rosseficent's room.
But...
'Who on Zetheria is Anton?'
In a blink of an eye, Long Hair reached her and locked her in a tight embrace.
Selene couldn't be mistaken. That was teleportation magic.
"We missed you, Anton."
'Uh... looks like it's me.'
Selene tapped his back. Only then did the long haired man let her go and held her hand instead.
The mansion's windows glimmered under the sunlight. There were no ivys crawling on the walls, no cracks and broken statues. It looked new. The manor she stayed in couldn't even compare.
Rose bushes created a maze with a fountain at the center. That was only one part of the front yard. On its far left was a wide field of hydrangeas as well as on the opposite side, putting the maze at the center. Selene was circling it when she was stopped by Long Hair.
As they approached the two other men, it became clear who they were.
The duke stood with a bad posture, the dark circles under his eyes were darker than Selene's and if both of them stood side by side, you will recognize them as father and daughter based on the weight of their eyebags.
The duke's expression screamed of exhaustion and resignation. Even the shadow of his former self was nowhere to be seen. He looked like a different person from the portrait.
Meanwhile, the younger one was incredibly handsome, she must admit. Striking, emerald eyes stared at her intently, his forehead slightly creased.
His mouth opened and spoke, "What have you done?"
"Stop it, Sainth. She just arrived. She's tired." The long haired man scowled at him as he assisted Selene inside the mansion.
"Sanjiv. There's no point delaying a conversation that would have happened in the future regardless."
The duke massaged his forehead. "Let's save this for later."
And he left. Sainth threw Selene a glance before following the duke.
"They're just busy. But, they really care for you."
Sanjiv's whispers didn't reach Selene at all. They were not her real family. Although, they could be an important tool that would help her reach her goals. Still, it doesn't mean that feelings need to be involved.
---
It took a few days of waiting before the duke finally called Selene into his office. And in those two days, she finished reading all the books she had brought here. In the morning and in the afternoon, she spent her time practicing a new spell.
She was in the middle of her morning practice when the butler came and guided her to the duke's office.
As soon as the double doors opened, she sighed deeply, preparing herself for the long-awaited conversation.
Sanjiv and Sainth were present. They sat on a sofa, facing each other, leaving an empty seat at the center. Selene sat there, facing the duke with a measured facial expression.
"We can't present you to society like this," the duke started. He took off his reading glasses and wiped it with a cloth.
"Father, Anton's debut is in three months. That's enough time for us to train her."
Sainth raised an eyebrow. "We don't have to personally train her. We could hire teachers."
Sanjiv shook his head defiantly.
"Only us knew how the Rosseficent trains their magic..."
With a sigh, the duke wore his reading glasses again. "Then, we call for the Fissolos."
This time, the frown on Sanjiv's face deepened.
"Father, no. Their magic might share the same fundamentals as the Rosseficent, but it's just a mere branch! A submagic! She won't reach her full potential using their technique!"
"Enough, Sanjiv."
Sainth chuckled. "Then, do you suggest taking her with you to the front lines and supervise her training personally?"
Sanjiv flinched.
"I'm fine with that," Selene said with a straight face.
"Anton?"
"Then, it's settled." The duke clasped his hands, looking more tired than the start of the conversation. His eyebags gave him a gothic look. Still, the hint of power hidden beneath his eyes remained.
"Anton, it's dangerous!"
The duke looked at Sanjiv wearily. "The matter is settled."
At that moment, it became clear to Selene that the duke was indeed a bit indifferent to matters concerning her. It's as if, she barely takes a space in his mind.
'Well, whatever.'
In the afternoon, Selene trained her magic inside her chambers. The vines that used to look like threads were now as thick as her fingers. They covered the entire floor of her chamber, before she ran out of strength.
She hold onto a chair, her body trembling and aching.
'If I were to fight in the front lines of the battefield, I must do better than this.'
She looked over her shoulder to confirm the range of the spell.
'This won't do.'
Staggering to her bed, she collapsed immediately. Her legs hanging on the edge and her arms spread out. Without the wall of portraits that she had gotten used to seeing, the room felt empty.
After several seconds, and when her body relaxed a little, she murmured, "Third form: Heal."
Looking back, she had only memorized ten out of the one hundred spells and tried only two of them. She's been using the tenth form to practice her magic. What if she tried every spell? There might be a spell that could produce more results if done regularly.
'I'll have to think about this later.'
The reason why she couldn't recklessly use any spell is because it might take more mana than she is capable of controlling. If she really wanted to, Selene needed to read more about the spells she's going to use. Since, a mage's strength is measured on how efficiently they could utilize their mana in casting a spell. There's no way of knowing how much mana the spell would take if a beginner tried it. Many mages in the past accidentally destroyed their mana veins because the spell took too much of their mana and the spell went out of control.
The higher the quality, the less mana needed to perform a spell. And the quality of mana is determined by your bloodline.
But, the Rosseficent is a strong bloodline. If her brothers could do it, then why can't she?
Still, she was able to use the two spells under the advise of the physician.
This is why not having a teacher is detrimental for a mage who just awakened. And this is also the reason why not all mages could reach the peak of their power. Not everyone could afford to have a teacher.
'Even this world is not so different from my world. Eventually, your fate is determined by your birth. The poor remains poor. The rich remains rich.'
In that regard, Selene is quite lucky to wake up in this body.
Now that the fatigue receded for a bit because of the healing spell, Selene could cast one last spell for today.
She let the vines disintegrate into tiny sparks. She thought of letting the vines form a certain shape this time.
'Maybe, a ball.'
Standing up, she was about to cast the spell. But, before she could, the vines already came out of her fingertips, crawled and slowly assumed the shape of a ball that stood as tall as she was.
'What?'
Selene couldn't believe what she had witnessed. Her mana was being consumed at a staggering pace, so she willed it to disappear immediately.
Selene panted.
'That was dangerous. But...'
Come to think of it, it wasn't that strange. Pages flew in her mind until she recalled a certain paragraph in a book called The Three Mages.
Apparently, in the beginning of time. There were only three mages:
The spell mage, whose powers rely on the use of the one hundred spells. They had no affinity with an element, relying only on forms of mana to create magic. Their spells are limited only to the one hundred spells. Of course, they would still experience the Spell Recoil.
The elemental mage, who have high affinity to one of the four elements, allowing them to use it like an extension of their body. Their direct connection to an element does not allow them to use the one hundred spells.
Finally, the high mage who could do both, they can access the one hundred spells, but they could also control one of the elements like another limb. What's more, they could incorporate their element to the one hundred spells.
Selene didn't recall anything that said she has to verbally cast the spell. Only the one hundred spells require casting in order to manifest the spell structure and get the desired effect.
In that regard, there are countless possibilities and room for growth. Selene's future is bright.