"I want to study him..."
At first, it was soft. Delicate. Barely audible over the hum of magic that still resonated in the air.
Then it twisted.
"I want to study him!"
Laughter spilled from her throat. Her spine arched as she clutched her cheeks with trembling hands, nails digging into skin as her eyes widened, dilated, and shook while swirling.
No longer detached. No longer regal.
"I want to study him! I want to study him!! I NEED to study him!!!"
She was glowing.
Her cheeks bloomed with crimson. Her chest rose and fell like a woman possessed. The staff trembled in her other hand, her mana fluctuating wildly as frost bloomed on the balcony floor.
She snapped her gaze to the king.
"You saw it too. That casting was so clean, so instinctive, it wasn't human. That wasn't the result of training for centuries and achieving true mastery. No… That wasn't mere talent."
"That was an immortal finally dropping the act of pretending to be a mortal."
