"Pass! Middle class!" the testkeeper announced as Malachai completed his Ordeal of the Chosen.
He immediately wrote a letter to Lady Ophelia to inform her about the result.
Two years gone by and Malachai was able to establish his name as one of the strongest mage at a young age.
"So this is the mage that the students are talking about. The one that can compete with Liora," the Headmaster remarked, studying the trial results pinned to the board.
"They're eager to see who's stronger between the two," the usher replied.
The Headmaster's eyes narrowed with interest. "He advanced to higher levels only months after entering. To achieve that so quickly is remarkable. It seems the Lyceum now has two prodigies. I want to oversee his training myself."
The usher chuckled. "So he's caught your eye. You were the same with Princess Liora."
"I only want to bring out their full potential."
Meanwhile, the dining hall buzzed with life. Students crowded the long tables, chattering over their meals.
"Congratulations on ranking high in the trial," one student said as he passed Malachai.
"Princess Liora's first again, as always," another whispered. "I heard the Headmaster sent her to exterminate monsters near the boundary."
Malachai listened quietly, keeping his head down.
A boy his age nudged him from the next seat. "Hi, you're from Dostani right?"
"Yes," Malachai answered.
"I heard you're sponsored by House Ambrose. Isn't that Princess Elery's paternal house? So... have you met the royal family?" the boy asked, eyes wide with curiosity.
"Uhm... no," Malachai said awkwardly. "I serve the Baron's sister. I've never met the royal family aside from Lord Lucian."
The boy looked a little disappointed.
Though Malachai was acknowledged for his strength, he remained apart from the others. Most students hailed from noble houses, and despite his achievements, he was still lowborn. Friends were hard to come by.
Suddenly, the hall stirred with excitement. Murmurs rose into shouts.
"Princess Liora is back!"
A crowd surged toward the entrance. A girl a few years older than Malachai, stepped in. Wherever she walked, the room seemed to brighten like the sun itself had entered the hall.
"Congratulations on ranking first again, Your Highness," a student said eagerly.
"Thank you," Princess Liora replied with a warm smile. Despite her royal status, she never flaunted her authority, and that made her shine all the brighter.
"The Lyceum's two strongest mages in the same room," someone whispered.
"I wonder who's stronger?"
"Isn't it obvious? Princess Liora. She's always been first in every trial."
"But what if it's one-on-one?"
The hall was filled with whispers, all eyes shifting between Malachai and Princess Liora.
"So he's the rising mage everyone has been talking about," Princess Liora thought as her gaze fell on Malachai.
She crossed the hall and, without hesitation, sat down at his table.
"Do you mind if I join you?" she asked with a polite smile.
"N-no, please go ahead," Malachai stammered, visibly flustered.
"Why would she choose to sit here of all places?" Malachai groaned inwardly.
He risked a glance at her as she quietly ate her lunch. "So this is Lord Lucian's sister. Are all royals this breathtaking?" His heart raced as he admired her beauty.
Catching his stare, Princess Liora met his eyes. Malachai instantly looked away, embarrassed.
"I heard Lady Ophelia is your sponsor," she began casually. "Then you must've met my brother, Lucian."
"Yes, Your Highness," Malachai replied awkwardly.
"I hope he's doing well. It saddened us to send him back to the Baron's manor due to the palace's customs, but he could at least write a letter to Elery," Liora sighed wistfully.
"Do they not know about Lord Lucian's circumstances?" Malachai thought, his brow furrowing.
"Uhm... do you really not know?" he asked hesitantly.
"Know what?"
"That the Baron has been mistreating Lord Lucian."
"What?!" Princess Liora shot up from her seat, her voice sharp with shock.
Malachai frowned. "I thought the royal family knew and chose to stay silent about it."
"If they truly don't know what's happening in that manor, then this is my chance to help Lord Lucian," he thought.
"We had no idea," Princess Liora said, her voice trembling with dread. "We thought he was doing well. I must inform my mother at once!" With that, she hurried out of the hall.
Meanwhile, in the Baron's manor, the servants were in a frenzy when Lady Ophelia crossed the corridor.
"What is all this commotion?" she demanded, halting a passing servant.
"M-my lady, one of the maid's children fell from a tree while playing and she isn't breathing!"
"What?! Bring me there immediately," she ordered.
"My brother will be home any moment. If he finds out, who knows what he'll do," she worried silently.
They rushed to the courtyard, where a maid cradled a small, limp body, her sobs raw with despair. Blood streaked the child's temple. Beside them stood Ashen, pale and tearful.
"Ashen," Lady Ophelia called firmly.
Ashen stumbled toward her. "I'm sorry, my lady. We were playing to see who can climb the tree first..." Her voice cracked as tears spilled down her cheeks.
Ophelia let out a weary sigh before kneeling by the child.
"M-my lady, please save her!" the maid begged desperately.
Ophelia pressed her fingers to the child's neck but felt nothing. She shook her head. "I'm sorry."
"No!" the maid wailed, clutching her daughter.
"Take a few days off," Lady Ophelia said quietly, turning away.
"Let's go inside," she said softly to Ashen. But Ashen stood rooted to the spot, her gaze fixed on the grieving mother.
"Ashen, let's go. There's nothing more we can do," Ophelia urged.
"What if I can do something?" Ashen whispered. "It's my fault she lost her daughter."
Ophelia turned to her sharply. "What could you possibly do? Bring back the dead?" she said bitterly, as though suggesting the impossible.
"Yes."
Ophelia froze. "What?"
Before she could react, Ashen ran to the maid's side.
"It's going to be alright," Ashen said gently, placing her hands on the girl's head and chest.
A faint glow emanated from Ashen's palms, flickering across the child's body before vanishing into her.
The girl's finger twitched. Slowly, her eyes slowly opened.
"M-Mother?" she whispered weakly.
The maid's cry of despair turned into a sob of joy. "My child!" she embraced her daughter tightly.
Ophelia's eyes widened. "What did I just witness?"
"Ashen, are you-"
She was cut off by a servant racing into the courtyard.
"My lady! The royal knights are here!"
"What?!"
Lady Ophelia rushed inside the manor and froze at the sight of her brother kneeling on the ground before Sir Darian, the royal guard, who stood tall with a scroll in hand, reading aloud his crimes.
"Baron Harold Ambrose," Sir Darian's voice rang through the hall, "you are charged with abusing your son, Lord Lucian Ambrose, a member of the royal family, as well as embezzling the funds designated for his care."
"Ha!" the Baron spat, his face twisted with anger. "A member of the royal family? Since when has the Queen treated Lucian as royal? She only cares for her daughters. I merely took what was rightfully mine for raising that boy!"
"Silence! You will not insult Her Majesty, traitor," Sir Darian barked, pressing his blade to the Baron's throat.
Lucian came down the stairs with knights next to him.
Sir Darian continued, "Upon further investigation, you have also been found guilty of conspiring with fellow nobles to overthrow the Queen. For these crimes, you are stripped of your title, your assets are hereby confiscated, and your family sentenced to execution by hanging."
Lady Ophelia's breath caught in her throat. Her knees buckled beneath her, and she collapsed upon hearing the charges against their House.
"L-Lucian! Tell them it isn't true!" the Baron cried, desperation replacing his arrogance as he reached toward his son.
But Lucian looked away.
"Seize them," Sir Darian commanded.
"N-no! Lucian! Tell them!" the Baron roared as he struggled against the knights dragging him away. "You ungrateful wretch!"
Lady Ophelia did not resist when the knights took hold of her arms.
"W-wait!" Lucian's voice cut through, halting Sir Darian.
He stepped forward as they pulled Ophelia away. "Please... spare Aunt Ophelia."
Sir Darian hesitated. "My lord, the Queen's orders are absolute. Whether she knew of the Baron's schemes or not, your aunt's silence makes her complicit. To ignore such abuse is a crime in itself."
Lucian shook his head. "You know what my father is like. My aunt had no power to oppose him. She is not guilty of his sins."
Sir Darian looked at Lady Ophelia for a moment, then gave a nod.
The knights released her.
"Lord Lucian has chosen mercy," Sir Darian said, his tone still stern.
"But House Ambrose will still bear its punishment."
"Th-thank you, my lord..." Ophelia whispered, sinking to her knees in relief.
"Come, my lord," Sir Darian said. "The Queen and Princess await your return."
Before leaving the manor, Lucian glanced at her once more.
"Please... say farewell to Malachai for me." And with that, he was gone.
For days afterward, officials and soldiers streamed in and out of the manor, stripping House Ambrose of all that remained.
"What should I do now?" Ophelia thought bitterly, clutching the tattered hem of her gown. "I am no longer a noble. If Malachai had not befriended Lucian, I would be hanging with my brother. Only Lucian's request kept me in this crumbling manor."
A soft knock pulled her from her thoughts.
"Come in."
Ashen entered, clutching a small stack of letters. "You have letters, my lady."
Lady Ophelia frowned. "Why are you the one delivering letters? Where are the servants?"
"The halls were empty... so I brought them myself," Ashen replied nervously.
"Of course they left," Ophelia thought bitterly. "Who would serve a disgraced house condemned for treason and cruelty?"
"Give it to me," she said. As she tore the seals, her heart sank. They were notices from the bank. It turns out that the Baron had debts and made the manor as a collateral.
Furious, she crumpled the paper and threw it. "Perhaps it would have been better if I had died with him."
She saw Ashen looking scared and nervous. Although she was still a child, Ashen had a vague idea of what happened.
"Forgive me, child. I did not mean to frighten you," She forced herself to soften. "I'm just worried that I can no longer support your brother's studies."
"Is there something I can do? I can work too, like my brother!" Ashen offered eagerly.
Lady Ophelia hesitated. Then, a memory of the courtyard flashed in her mind.
"Ashen... are you a mage like your brother?"
Ashen shook her head. "No. My brother says I'm like father, while he's like mother."
"Your father?"
Ashen nodded. "Brother said he was a necromancer, and that I must never tell anyone. Are necromancers bad?"
Lady Ophelia froze. She barely escaped death and now she find herself in death's doorstep once again.
"No," she whispered, gripping Ashen's shoulders. "But you must never speak of it. To anyone. Do you understand?"
"Yes, my lady," Ashen answered solemnly.
She will never escape death this time if people discovered she was harboring a necromancer under her wing.
"I want to express my gratitude to you," Princess Liora said, smiling at Malachai.
Malachai blinked, startled that the princess had spoken to him out of the blue during class.
"What for, Your Highness?" he asked, uncertain why she would thank him.
"If it wasn't for you, we wouldn't know what was happening to Lucian," she said. "He has been moved to the palace. It's against the custom to keep the sons in the palace but my mother has been insistent this time because of what happened, despite the nobles' opposition."
Relief washed over Malachai. He's finally in a safe place. Thank goodness.
"What happened to the Baron?" he asked.
"He's been hanged, and their assets confiscated," Princess Liora answered.
"What?!" Malachai's face drained of color. "Then what about Lady Ophelia?"
"She's been spared, though I still think she deserves death for turning a blind eye," Liora said coldly.
"Her ladyship has her reasons. She isn't like the Baron. If not for her, my sister and I would've been dead," Malachai said firmly, his tone sharp with disapproval. He hated hearing anyone speak ill of Lady Ophelia.
Princess Liora blinked at his sudden defiance. "Alright, alright. You don't have to glare at me like that," she said, relenting. "We'll be taking more classes together now that you're under the Headmaster, so let's get along. Also..." She hesitated, lowering her voice. "The Queen will support you financially while you're at the Lyceum. It's her way of showing gratitude. Considering House Ambrose's financial state, it would've been impossible for them to keep supporting you."
Instead of relief, guilt churned in Malachai's chest.
"Because of me, Lady Ophelia is suffering. I promised I'd be helpful, but now she's being punished for the Baron's crimes."
Burdened with guilt, he wrote to Lady Ophelia, asking if he could return.
"So it was Malachai who informed the Princess. I wondered how the Queen discovered the truth. He has made a good impression on her, and even the Headmaster has taken a liking to him. Now, he's acquainted with the princess herself. It was worth the investment to send him to the Lyceum. If I play my cards right, perhaps House Ambrose can rise again. His only flaw is his sister. If anyone finds out what she is, everything he has built will crumble. Yet she is also the reason he continues forward," Lady Ophelia thought as she reads Malachai's letter.
She dipped her quill and began to write:
To my dearest Malachai,
I know what troubles you, but do not let it weigh you down. Focus on your studies. It is a rare privilege to have the Queen's support. Strive to get along with the Princess, and do your best under the Headmaster's care. I hear she seldom takes on personal students, you must have left a remarkable impression. We can manage here for some time with the inheritance I've kept aside. Until then, take care of yourself.
Sincerely,
Ophelia Ambrose
When Malachai finished reading Lady Ophelia's letter, his heart still carried worry, but he resolved to follow her advice.
Years passed.
Then, a plague descended upon the Dostani Kingdom.