George slowly backed off, the memories of how his arm was twisted into unimaginable directions were still vivid in his mind. Seeing this woman, he was again reminded of the nightmare he experienced at Wizzert.
"W-What are you doing here?" George breathed.
Austen clenched his fists, ready to pounce the moment he saw even the slightest suspicious movement. Thankfully, the Young Lord was here.
This single fact made the brothers somewhat at ease.
"Did you follow us all the way here? Damn thi—" Austen stopped the latter part of his statement.
Damn thief .
The last time they said those words to this woman, they were beaten to a pulp by her brother. Their bodies remembered the pain and they unconsciously stopped blurting the words out.
Chryselle looked at the pallid brothers, then at the bewildered Lark.
She'd been stupid, she thought. She should have changed her appearance, or masked it at the very least. ?ow, the only two people who knew her real identity just so happened to see her, along with the commander.
She'd been too sheltered by the tower. She knew there was no other way out of this.
She breathed in deeply and sighed. She pulled down her hood, revealing a youthful face that resembled the elves'. Wavy red hair. Long, downcast eyelashes. She looked fragile, yet there was this indescribable strength seeping through those crimson eyes.
"I didn't mean to deceive you," she said to the Commander. "And I plan on revealing my identity once things have calmed down."
She cast a glance at the brothers. "Also, a proper apology."
She sighed again, placed her hand on her chest and bowed.
"Chryselle Vont Aria. Magician of Wizzert City. Fifth Elder of the Magic Tower."
Lark's eyes slowly grew wider. So, this was the reason that she felt familiar somehow. Her magic signature was really similar to those of the magicians' in Wizzert City. Moreover, she was an Elder of the Magic City?
She bit her lip and said, "My brother did terrible things to your disciples." She turned toward George and Austen. "On behalf of my brother, of Wizzert City... I'm really sorry."
"V-Vont Aria?"
The words 'magician of Wizzert' and 'Elder of the Magic Tower' didn't immediately register in George and Austen's minds but they immediately froze hearing the words 'Vont Aria.' Just that name alone was enough to instill fear among the two of them. This was the first time they'd met a member of the Vont Family. And as though that wasn't enough, this woman in front of them also belonged to the House Aria.
The Vont Family was among the richest families in the Kingdom.
From Merchant Guilds, mercenary troops, even the navy, their influence spanned the entire Kingdom despite their lack of nobility. The House Aria, on the other hand, was a renowned family of magicians. Several Royal Court Magicians came from this bloodline, and the ruling class in Wizzert City belonged to their House.
For a moment, George and Austen had the urge to apologize instead.
Lark stared at Chryselle for a long time. He finally spoke, "Alecto.
The bastard who broke the arms of my disciples. He's your brother?" Lark's voice was so monotonous that for a moment, Chryselle didn't know how to react.
"Yes."
"Did you come here for revenge?" said Lark. "That brother of yours.
You probably know this, but I'm the one who repeatedly pummeled his annoying face to the ground."
George and Austen looked at their master in bewilderment. Last time they asked, Lark denied being involved in the incident in the magic tower. But now, he easily admitted it in front of this woman.
Chryselle shook her head fiercely. "?o! I didn't come here for revenge. Especially after learning the identity of that intruder!" She looked Lark straight in the eye.
After learning the identity of the intruder who single-handedly defeated the magicians of the tower, she realized why the perpetrator had targeted her brother. She was simply thankful that Lark hadn't taken anyone's life that night, despite his ability to do so.
What if the same Grand Scale Magic, which obliterated half of the Alvaren Army, was cast at the magic tower instead? She shuddered the moment she thought of this. Surely, hundreds of lives would have been lost in that very moment.
"My brother never lost a fight in his life before." She bit her lip hard. "Maybe that's why he's been conceited, thinking that he's invincible, that all other magicians are beneath him. He really takes pride in being part of the House Aria. He's condescending, arrogant, barbaric, but he's a doting brother. And I'm sincerely thankful that you spared his life during that battle."
Silence befell the room. Lark studied Chryselle for a moment.
"I see," Lark eventually said.
Lark pointed a finger in front of him and an image of a magic circle made of light magic slowly formed before him.
"I heard George and Austen's story," said Lark. "They said that the reason you approached them is because of this?"
Chryselle stared at the magic circle for quite some time, her eyes opened wide as though it was the most fascinating thing in the world. She replied softly, eyes still glued to the magic formation which was now slowly fading away into nothingness, "Yes."
Lark quickly put the pieces of the puzzle together. The basic magic formation which originated from the Magic Empire. Her infiltrating the Third Army and becoming the leader of the supply team. Refusing a reward from the King and asking for private magic lessons instead. ?ow that he knew her real identity, everything made sense.
But could he trust her?
For a moment, Lark pondered if he should remove her leadership position, but until now, she had been managing things perfectly, despite the attempts of arson and the incidences of poisoning several days ago.
"Austen, George."
"M-Master!"
"What do you think of her apology?" Lark asked them, since he didn't want to decide this thing on his own. They were the ones who'd been beaten up mercilessly, after all.
Austen and George looked at each other. After some time, they nodded. The two had come to a consensus without muttering another word.
"We've heard what Maste—what the intruder did in the magic tower," said Austen. He awkwardly scratched his cheek. "And… uhm, w-we forgive you."
They heard from the rumors that the face of Alecto had been beaten to the point that no one would have recognized him if he hadn't been wearing the crest of the city's master. The brothers thought that it was more than enough revenge for mere commoners like them.
"Thank you!" Chryselle bowed repeatedly. She had been afraid that they would ridicule her despite her apology.
"This matter's settled then," said Lark. "But the fact that you've concealed your identity when you entered the Third Army remains. Rules exists for a reason, and truth be told, I can't completely trust you at this moment."
Chryselle perfectly understood the commander's stance.
"Yes," said Chryselle. "I understand."
She was ready to be stripped of her position as the leader of the supply team. But Lark had a different plan instore for her.
"You requested magic lessons," said Lark. "Tell me, which magic do you want to learn?"
Chryselle was taken by surprise by this question. It felt as though Lark was asking her to browse through a vast list of spells and pick one which suited her liking. This was impossible, since there was no way someone so young could know such a wide variety of spells.
Chryselle decided to answer the question regardless. "The core of all elements. The magic formation where all magic originates."
Lark liked the woman's answer. It was neither too greedy nor too self-restrained.
"I see."
He started casting spells and three one-meter sized magic circles appeared out of thin air. "The one to your left's the one my disciples are currently mastering. It's a first-tier magic circle, the lowest and weakest, but the at the same time the most important of all magic formations."
The magic formation to the left formed cracks and shattered, eventually vanishing from sight.
"The one in the middle's a fourth-tier magic circle," said Lark. He noticed that Chryselle was gawking at it, as though trying to embed the magic formation in her mind. "The foundation of compound magic. As an Elder of Wizzert, I'm sure you've already mastered this."
The magic formation at the middle also formed cracks.
"W-Wait!" shouted Chryselle.
The magic formation shattered into numerous particles of light and dissipated.
Lark tilted his head. "What is it? Don't tell me you're incapable of compound magic?"
Chryselle frowned, definitely displeased that she didn't have enough time to inspect the magic circle. She shook her head. "?o, that's not it. I've been able to cast compound magic since I was young. But Commander, the magic circle you've shown me… It's completely different from the magic formation taught to us in the magic academy in Wizzert City."
Lark's interest was piqued by this. There was another formula for compound magic? He wanted to see. "A different magic formation, huh?
Can you show me?"
Chryselle didn't hesitate in the slightest and began casting her spell.
?nlike Lark, her casting speed was slow despite omitting several chants from the spell formula.
A magic circle, different from the one Lark showed them, manifested itself to everyone in the room. Lark stood up from his seat and closely examined the runes and formations.
After a while, he mumbled, "I see."
Lark touched the floating magic formation created by Chryselle, and to everyone's surprise, activated it. He also forcefully moved the runes here and there and added another layer to its base.
"W-What are you doing?" said Chryselle. "That spell will explode if you remove the inner circuit!"
Lark ignored her. The magic formation emitted bright light, the runes spun around and a high-pitched buzzing sound which signified a malfunctioning spell filled the room.
And stopped.
The light started dimming and a magic formation, similar to the one Lark showed them before, took the place of the one Chryselle had cast.
"I don't know who invented this magic formation," said Lark, nodding to himself. "But the second layer of the circuit's partially blocking the flow of mana to the cardinal runes. This spell will work just fine, but the mana consumption will be three times normal. Casting speed's greatly affected too and we also have to keep in mind its vulnerability to an altering spell. It's a dangerous spell to use in real battle, unless it's been engraved on a stable material—say the ground, or a talisman—beforehand."
Lark touched the center of the magic formation and it shattered into numerous particles of light. Ignoring the dumbfounded expression of Chryselle, he proceeded to explain the last magic formation to their right.
"And this one. The last one. The magic formation for an eight-tier spell.
Add three more layers and you'll be able to cast Grand Scale Magic."
Chryselle looked at the last magic formation. It was also different to the one taught to them back in the academy.
"These three magic formations are the basis of all spells," said Lark.
A dagger made of wind magic appeared in his hand. "It'd be a waste to remove an officer as competent as you. And I don't think the vice leaders of the supply team could have handled the arsonist as well as you did. So how about this?"
Lark opened his palm and presented the dagger toward her. "An oath. Swear with your life on the line that you won't betray this army, this Kingdom."
Chryselle was familiar with oaths like this. It was magic known by priests.
She accepted the dagger without hesitation. She didn't have the slightest intention of betraying the Kingdom after all. What's to fear?
Following Lark's instructions, she made a small cut on her arm and the flowing blood was immediately sucked away by the dagger, turning it crimson.
While the dagger was sucking her blood, she made her oath, "I, Chryselle Vont Aria, vow to never betray the Coalition Army, nor this Kingdom. May this dagger sink its blade into my heart should this vow be broken."
The dagger shattered into numerous tiny pieces and disappeared from sight.
The ritual was a lot simpler than the ones the priests used in the temples. There were no Gods involved and no grand offerings were needed.
Although the dagger vanished, Chryselle could feel a very tiny seed in her chest. She knew that the moment she betrayed the Kingdom, the tiny seed would grow and pierce her heart.
Lark was satisfied with this outcome. ?ow he no longer had to find a replacement for this woman. She had been managing the army's supplies well, after all.
"Yzelle," Lark asked curiously. "How old are you?"
Chryselle tilted her head to the side, confused about why Lark wanted to know. "Twenty-six, Commander."
"Are you sure about this?" chuckled Lark, grinning broadly. "A kid like me becoming your teacher? After this war, once our magic lessons start, you'll have to call me Master, right?" The last part of the statement was thrown out impishly. Chryselle's face flushed.
"O-Of course!" She firmed her resolve.
Lark noticed her flustered expression. He continued chuckling. He added playfully, "then let's try to get along well, my dearest disciple."