After dark on the first day of exam testing, Madeline decided she had to find out something important so she slipped out and walked over to the testing area and found the status board. First, she cast a light spell covering the area around the board and then she carefully checked the area to make sure she was alone, even going so far as to cover the board and herself with a sheet in case Diggory was looking from the Tower. She took a deep breath and then gingerly reached out to touch the board.
Name: Madeline Celeste d'Aumont Class: Magic Swordsman Level: 35 XP: 150/5000000
Strength: 14 Attack: 140
Dexterity: 17 Defense: 170
Intelligence: 35 (+35) Mana: 350 (+350) Bonus: Intelligence
Wisdom: 9
Charisma: 15 Love Interest: Ito Aoi (Guy de Montfort) Favorability: Max
Constitution: 10 Health: 100
She saw his name, his real name and then started to sob tears of joy. She carefully looked again to verify what she hoped she would see and sure enough there it was clear as can be, his name really was Ito Aoi, and he really was Guy de Montfort. When she saw that he really did love her and that it wasn't just a lie, it was like a huge burden she had been carrying flew away. Madeline knew that she had been secretly afraid that she would be cast aside for another woman all this time. Prince Andre had hurt her much more deeply than she ever let on to anyone.
She thought back to that day again when the family servants had said a royal carriage was coming. The young Madeline came running, she had dressed in her finest clothing, even had the maid do her hair perfectly and then added a touch of makeup trying to look a little more mature. When the door opened and she saw her fiancé holding the arm of another woman. Then to hear him say that she couldn't compare, it ignited something in her that buried the pain and hurt. It forced her to make something of herself to make Prince Andre's words an impossibility.
She was so hurt that it forced her to fight. It wasn't until she met him and he said those words to her that she finally realized that other people understood that she wasn't worthless. She still remembered sitting on the library stairs and hearing Guy, no, Aoi tell her, "As I recall, the second prince chose Lady milk cow for his fiancé and unjustly ended your engagement." Even thinking about it now, she couldn't help but start to laugh.
She looked again and then canceled the light spell and slipped away.
*****
First Mage Diggory saw the light coming from the status board room and slipped down to take a look, he saw Madeline sneak out of the room and decided to take a peek at the status she was hiding. He saw the name Ito Aoi and made a noise, "Hmm, so that was it. Didn't trust her own feelings. I suppose this evidence proves some of what he said to us, that makes things even more complicated though."
Diggory looked through some of the magic books trying to find a spell.
*****
Guy and Olivier walked into the secret entrance to the Ito Conglomerate building through a seedy looking tavern. They walked through a passage that connected the two buildings and then through a guarded door. Once inside, Olivier asked Guy, "Do we really need to keep going that way? We are never followed."
Guy shook his head and said, "No, we are always followed. Your father for one has been very interested in our movements. Those Black Knights of his are very good."
Olivier snorted and then said, "You are just paranoid."
Guy shook his head and smiled and then said, "You are just lucky that I take precautions with our pet projects."
Olivier looked at the drawings of the design and said, "If this does what you say it will, this is going to change the world more than the magic you taught us."
Guy nodded and said, "Oh, it will. Trust me, this is the one thing that will make the world small.. Not just transport, but manufacturing and even electricity. The engine will revolutionize the world."
Olivier nodded and then asked, "Why haven't you already released it?"
Guy said, "This world isn't ready. If we release something like this now it will be just as destructive as the wholesale release of magic. The environment will be ravaged by the greedy to build more manufacturing and transportation to meet the demands of an ever increasing population as everything from food to clothing becomes easier to get."
Olivier asked, "Is that what happened in your world?"
Guy nodded and then said, "That's why I am looking for solutions to my world's problems now before I release the monster. There was something else I wanted to talk to you about."
Olivier nodded and then replied, "Sure, anything you need."
Guy sighed and then asked, "I need advice, about women."
Olivier chuckled and said, "Why ask me? I don't even have a girlfriend."
Guy rubbed the back of his head and said, "My common sense is out of touch with the common sense of this world in some places, and this is one of them."
Olivier looked surprised and asked, "is it something to do with the marriage?"
Guy nodded and asked, "As you know, my parents set the marriage, but, how should I proceed? Do I need to ask her myself? Should I present a ring, are there any traditions that are important for nobility?"
Olivier nodded and said, "You'll need to speak with her father, arrange for her dowry to be given and then you will speak with your father about setting the date of the wedding. You and Madeline will then work with your family to set the wedding itself. Since you are high ranking nobility we will also want to invite dignitaries from other countries and the nobles from Pays Des Abrutis. It's best to schedule things out well in advance to allow everyone the travel time for them to reach you with a gift. Father will most likely arrange for the use of the Palace for the wedding as you are the son of a Duke and because you are the Second and Third Mage of the Council of Magic."
Guy sighed and said, "Things are always so complex."