Crackle! Crackle! Crackle! Crackle!
Yellow lightning streaked across the skies, striking the decoratively arranged trees, scorching them black, flames erupting from their forms.
Boom! Boom!
They hit the ground with force, each greater than the last, uneven craters marring the once beautiful grassfield.
"I am now at full strength," Raika smiled to herself as she clenched her fist, sweat trickling down her body.
Two days had passed since the incident.
Raika, who had lost her magic, finally regained it.
Not by any medical remedy, but by sheer force of will, not that it had been serious to begin with.
After a self-diagnosis, she discovered there was miasma blocking her mana pathways, attaching itself to her red blood cells as high carbon dioxide restricts oxygen absorption.
This was not something uncommon, happening in areas dense with miasma.
Miasma.
The anti-mana reagent that serves as a source of power to demons, as mana is to human.
Too much of one in another can and will inhibit the other.
This was a common fact, and she was aware.
Sure it had to be the demon.
Its miasma may have been more potent than her mana.
Though that should not be so.
As she had a Violet Mana Heart, her mana capacity at least five hundred days' worth, much more potent than most miasma of demons, especially a demonkin.
Yet she was poisoned by the miasma of the creature, suspicious no matter how one looked at it.
"I need to check on them." She turned her gaze to the castle behind her, the main keep of the Patraich.
After the incident, the Vulcan House was closed to the public, specifically the main keep, the Patraich's quarters.
No one was allowed in, except for his first wife, Raika.
No one was seen going in or out of the building.
The whole incident reeked of deceit and malicious intent.
They needed to keep everything a secret, especially Alaric's elemental affinity.
Remembering her son's hair, her smile collapsed into one of sadness.
With a heavy heart, she walked towards the main castle.
Taking detours.
The guards on patrol greeted her as she passed. Workers saluted, maids bowed, hushed whispers wafting into her ears as she passed by them.
"What is going on in the castle..."
"I heard the young master is dead."
"No, I heard that he has water affinity."
"Did the Thunder Princess cuckold the Patraich..."
"Shush!!"
The two maids who had been gossiping turned to look behind them, Raika not in sight.
"Hey, do you want us dead..." the maid said to her friend, afraid Raika might have heard them.
Her fear was warranted, as Raika did hear them, though she was several meters away, already out of view.
Her ears were sharp enough to catch their words.
Her fist clenched, body trembling as she reined in her anger.
Any other time, she would have gone on a rampage, attacking those who dared slander her.
But she remembered the words of Aiden.
Don't be quick to anger. Listen. We need to know what rumors would be spreading.
She calmed herself, breathing out a steaming breath, pushing the rage from her lungs.
She had to rein in her anger and find out who did this to his infant child.
Though she had a hunch, no more like she was truly believed she knew the culprit.
But had to be patient, she couldn't attack recklessly like she did.
At least that is what Aiden told her.
...
"Aiden, how is he?" Raika asked as she entered the room.
Aiden was seated behind his desk, Alaric in a baby's cot, his eyes closed.
He was asleep.
"He is healthy," he answered with a sad smile.
"There seem to be no other complications."
He turned his gaze to the sleeping infant.
"What did you hear out there?"
Raika explained the rumors to him, Aiden's expression remaining neutral.
"It is the same as my investigations," Aiden added, sinking into his chair, his gaze lifting to the ceiling.
He had hired some trustworthy people, the scarce wind mages and even scarcer sound variants.
Their reports showed rumors were circulating.
It was a given rumors would spread after the chaos of Alaric's birth celebration.
But they seemed too fast.
They were spreading rapidly among the common folk when only high nobles had been at the event.
Not that this was surprising. The nobles were gossips, after all.
But the problem was the details; most were already aware of Alaric's elemental affinity, though Aiden had tried his best to hide it.
True, a few saw his hair turning blue, but that was not a complete transformation. Not to mention, the chaos would not have allowed most to notice or care. Yet rumors spread far and wide each with their variant but all ultimately pointing to Alaric's water affinity.
It felt like everyone knew of it, even a child born the day before could babble about it.
"From the looks of it, someone seems to be purposely spreading the rumors..." Aiden straightened up, his gaze shifting to the sleeping Alaric.
"We know who it is, why don't we..." Raika paused, noticing Aiden's shaking figure.
He was holding in his rage. He too seething with fury at those he was sure were the culprits.
"I have something in store for them..." He narrowed his eyes, " I don't even know what gave them the liberty..."
"You don't know..." Raika chuckled, her voice booming with laughter, waking the sleeping Alaric.
Most children would have cried, but Alaric looked at them curiously.
"...your weak natured self is to be blamed, always prioritizing courtly etiquette" Raika slammed the desk.
"You always treat me like I am the barbaric one. Now look... If you acted like your father..."
"RAIKA!"
Aiden roared, black flames erupting from his form, filling the room with a grayish luminance.
The flames raged, licking the floor, ceiling, and furniture, yet none burned.
Though this was meant as a deterrent,
Raika's defiant gaze did not waver.
"If you had been more like your father, they wouldn't have had the balls to even try this..." Her voice softened as she turned her gaze to Alaric, who looked back at her curiously.
"They wouldn't have harmed our child." She walked closer, caressing Alaric's silver-blue hair.
The flames subsided as Aiden knew his wife was right.
Though he was the strongest Fifth Resonance mage, his benevolent nature had brought this upon himself.
It was evident whoever did this exploited the etiquette he respected, as no one could be directly held responsible.
And if they had tried to kill Alaric, even they knew he would have thrown etiquette out the window and massacred anyone he believed was involved.
"Take him to the Elves. They might know a way to reverse this. I will talk to the King..." He rose to his feet, unwilling to look at the duo.
Raika seemed to ignore him as he closed the door behind him.
"Don't worry, my son. We will definitely fix this." Raika touched Alaric's hair, a pang in her chest.
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A/N
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