The Captain of the Guard stepped forward, his gaze intense. Doubly so for Aurora as she dropped her suitcase and shoved her hands into her pockets to prevent her leaky mana from being seen.
"Lord Albright you say. What business do you have with his lordship, girl?"
"I... uh hehe..." Her brain was frying, like a hamster who was too tired to continue running on the wheel. She had to come up with something fast or... she could already see her head rolling off the guillotine platform.
"Aurora!" She looked through the gate and into the courtyard. It was Julian. Thank the God above for his appearance. Or maybe not.
"You came at last, and here I was prepping to go back to your little cabin and-"
Aurora took a step back and put her hands in front of her face in defense. No, she didn't want to die by the Demon of the Order; his spells hurt...
Julian told the Captain of the Guard that she was with him and they thankfully let her through after that. She followed behind him, keeping her head down as they walked through the long courtyard to the front entrance. Why was the front lawn so massive...
The Royal Castle was built more like a palace, with its lavish gardens and lack of defenses aside from the tall fence that surrounded the entire castle. The only reason no one has attempted to attack the castle in its two hundred years of existence is because of the amount of guards present at all times.
Within the grounds and just outside the gate were patrols upon patrols of the Royal Guard, men trained specifically in the protection of the King and his family.
Before Julian could put his hand on one of the large double mahogany doors, it opened on its own. The butler, a tall, mustached man of around sixty, with a monocle in his left eye, bowed and welcomed Julian back into the castle.
"Welcome back, Sir. Duke Partridge awaits you both in the Grand Library, shall I take you to him?"
If Arden had been a human, Aurora felt that he would look very similar to this man. If only he could be just as polite too.
"Thank you, Albert." Julian patted the man on his shoulder and gestured forward, "Please take us to him."
Albert bowed again and began walking. As the Head Butler of the Royal Castle, not to be confused with the Head Butler to the Royal Family, he knew his way around the castle like the back of his hand.
Following behind, Aurora looked around the large antechamber, with its grand staircase in the center, and the many hallways leading throughout the castle. Overlooking them was a balcony on the second floor where residents could watch guests enter and exit the castle, very useful for members of the Royal Family who enjoyed people-watching during balls and such.
"So... Duke Partridge?" Aurora looked at Julian's backside, his longer hair a chestnut brown, a far different color compared to his golden eyes.
Julian kept walking, his gaze remaining forward, which Aurora was thankful for. "He is crucial for your mission, and you are to thank for that."
"Me?" Did she save him or something?
"He is the Duke of Aurelio." Oh, the port city of Aurelio, the one she saved a few months ago. Before she could think anymore on it, they arrived at their final destination, the Grand Library.
Inside, the library took up two stories, with many bookshelves. How she wished she could read them all; there were probably over a thousand books alone on magical theory in this place. Despite being apart of the Order, she had hardly visited the castle; the Summits always took place within the confines of White Tower.
For the first time since she left the cabin, her sapphire eyes were bright with joy, that was soon extinguished.
A tall man, why are they all so tall, wearing an expensive three-piece suit appeared from nowhere and hugged Aurora. It was so sudden that not even her heightened senses could pick up on his mana signature. He was concealing his mana, and incredibly well at that.
"Eh..." She couldn't believe what was happening right now, but when it finally clicked in her brain that she was being hugged, she hated it, she hated every second of it. She hated this close proximity so much so that she pushed him away.
The man laughed and paid the abrupt push no heed. "My apologies, Miss Aurora." His voice was baritone, lovely to the ears, but she could barely hear it. Her ears ringed as her hands shook a bit, however, they were not leaking mana.
This wasn't her being socially anxious, this was her recalling a bad memory. Before it could overwhelm her further, she took a deep breath and shook her head, escaping her own thoughts.
Noticing sweat on her palms, she wiped it away on her dress before looking down in shame. "I um... I'm sorry, Sir. I didn't mean to push you away, I'll be better, I promise..."
The man laughed again, "I do not mind at all, Miss Aurora, or should I say, 'Arcana Witch'. It was my fault after all."
She looked up. How did he know she was the Arcana Witch? Wait, this must be Duke Partridge; he's far more... muscular than she thought. Her first imagination of him was that of a short, portly man, definitely a far cry from this tall, muscular, and handsome man before her.
The Duke clapped his hands together, causing Aurora to jump out of her thoughts. "Now then, let us get down to business."
He asked them to follow him further into the library. This certainly feels like a setup for a murder; perhaps Aurora has been reading too many crime thriller novels.
Pulling a chair from one of the tables, the Duke offered it as a seat for Aurora, to which she hesitantly took it. What if he pulled the chair out from under her, just before she sat down? Now that would be embarrassing. She thanked him nervously and gently sat down.
"And thank you for offering me a seat as well." Julian pulled a chair for himself and sat down. The Duke bowed humbly in response with a smirk.
"Tea, Sir?" Albert asked Duke Partridge, to which the Duke said yes. Bowing, the butler left to fetch the three of them tea.
"Right then," Duke Partridge pulled a chair for himself and sat down, "As I'm sure Julian has told you, you will be protecting the First Princess, Princess Alara."
Albert came back and poured a cup of simmering tea for each of them. Thanking the butler, the Duke turned back to Aurora, who was looking down. She couldn't stand to look at him; his gaze was far too intense for her liking.
"Y-Yes... he made me aware." More like blackmailed her into doing it, but she left out that little detail.
"Perfect, and in order to protect her, you'll need a benefactor, one to provide you with the resources to succeed." The Duke pointed at himself with a boyish smile, "And I offer myself to fill that position!"
Aurora slid further back into her seat as if he was going to attack her. His excitement was contagious—well, it would be if he was talking to anyone but Aurora; she just found it scary how a tall, muscly man was shouting at her.
"M-My benefactor?" She glanced up at him before looking down again.
"Yes, as a thank you for saving my city. It is the least I can do for our savior, the Arcana Witch." Dang it, this had to be Julian's idea. She saved a city, and in turn, perfectly set up the opportunity for Julian to strike. By being in her debt, the Duke was obviously going to agree to Julian's request to be her benefactor in this noble mission. It wouldn't have mattered what city she saved; he would have approached any of the nobility in charge to rope them into his grand plan.
"What type of resources... are you offering me?" Manpower, potions, money... she hoped it was money; she loved money. There were so many things a Duke could offer somebody, especially the Duke of Aurelio, whose resources almost rivaled the king's.
"Anything you'd like, and if I can't get it, then I'll find somebody who can." Perhaps she should count herself as lucky that she saved Aurelio compared to any other random city, because now she had access to far greater resources than any other normie noble could ever provide her.
Julian waved his hand in the air to get their attention. This gesture made it look like he was above both of them in status, far from the truth, but he liked to act like he was because he knew he could get away with it.
"Now that the nitty-gritty is out of the way, it's time to meet the Princess." This statement made Aurora nervous. She'd attended Summits with the Royal Family present, but that was when she was the Arcana Witch, with her hood up and head held low. Now, she had to meet a member face-to-face and even talk to them...
Julian took his glasses off and polished them with a cloth that he pulled from his breast pocket. "Unfortunately, the King wished to be in attendance, so we shall be meeting with them in the Throne Room."
This just got even worse. The First Princess and the King she had to talk to. Aurora just wanted to curl up into a ball and die.
Twiddling with her thumbs, she bit her cheek and thought about all the terrible ways she could introduce herself, and subsequently find herself at the gallows.
"Let us be off then, best not to keep them waiting." Julian gently placed his glasses on the bridge of his nose and stood up before walking away hastily, which thankfully seemed to snap Aurora out of her terrible thoughts.
Quickly following him, she almost tripped and fell on her face, but luckily she caught herself before that could happen. Taking one last look at the vast library, she promised herself that she'd be back to read every single book on Magical Theory in here.
The route to the Throne Room from the Grand Library was a complex one, but luckily they had Albert to guide them, or Aurora would have gotten lost just from having fun exploring the secrets of the castle.
Before them stood large double wooden doors that were reinforced by guards stationed on each side. Beyond those doors stood her misery, in other words, the Princess, the only reason she was here in the first place.
"Are you ready?" Was that consideration in Julian's voice she heard? Probably not, but she wanted to believe it was.
She gulped audibly. All she had to do was remember her manners. Bow and greet, bow and greet, bow and greet. It was easy.
She nodded her head. "Y-Yes, I think."