*Smash*
Selene stood in the middle of her room, dressed only in a light and too revealing chemise, inappropriate for a young lady.
Her golden hair was loose and looked like a golden waterfall. Her chest rose and fell again as she breathed heavily. Selene clenched her fists angrily and unclenched them again.
She watched the red liquid run down the pale green wall, and the shards of the broken wine glass glisten in the dim light.
"Another failure. That fucking bitch!" She hissed through clenched teeth.
"What are you doing again?" A man's voice echoed off the large double bed. The veil covering the inside of the bed moved, and red eyes flashed out of the darkness.
The man was handsome, had dark blue, half-length hair, and a lithe, muscular build. When he stood up, he was wearing only Adam's robe.
He glanced briefly at Selene, who took no notice of his appearance and instead began pacing the room.
"Getting Eren back did not work. I do not know how, but the Dark Talisman was destroyed." She explained.
As she said this, the man was suddenly at her side, holding her face in the palm of his hand. He forcibly and harshly lifted her head so that she would look at him.
"Talisman was destroyed?" He repeated slowly.
"Uh-huh..." Selene shook her head slightly, unable to speak properly as he squeezed her cheeks painfully.
"Ha!" The man snarled at her, amused but in a mischievous way. He pushed Selene away, who staggered a few steps, not even noticing that she was standing on broken glass.
"I wonder how you are going to explain that." He taunted her as he turned to pick up the unfinished wine bottle and take a good sip from it.
"I told you Elizabeth was suddenly smarter. Braver. There's something wrong with her." Selene defended herself. The man stopped drinking and looked at her. He walked over to her, raised his hand with the wine bottle, and poured the rest over her head.
Selene did not move and just stared at him. "Or maybe you are just too stupid. Maybe you should be replaced. Hehe. Maybe I should see her myself. Seems like she'd be more fun."
Selene's hand shot forward, leaving a trail of green smoke and slamming the man's palm into his wickedly smiling chin, which flew off with a crunch.
The man did not move and continued to stare at her, his jaw ripped off, tongue hanging limply, and torn flesh quivering slightly as muscles tensed.
"I am not done yet, Mori. She's not the only one with hidden triumphs." She hissed.
Mori made a grunting sound remotely reminiscent of laughter as the flesh on his severed jaw grew so fast it was visible to the naked eye.
"Ffell, try harf, yof littlfe crefatufe. I fill gladly fait for four fithdrafal." Mori could not speak well without his jaw, so his words were almost difficult to understand. But the venom in his voice was clear.
*****
Eliz gave instructions to keep Donovan's whereabouts secret. All present were forbidden to speak. Alobela was to select an experienced maid to assist Donovan, but this had to remain secret for now.
Eliz planned to discuss everything with her father when he returned. As for Eren, the doctor said he had a mental breakdown combined with an epileptic seizure. The doctor said he should not be affected, but that would be clear when he woke up. In the meantime, he was placed in the infirmary for observation.
Eliz could only wait and see. The same was true for Donovan, who probably had a minor nervous breakdown. Although she was very curious about what he could tell her about dark magic, she decided not to push things now and visit him later.
To be safe, she put the bracelet back in the box and stowed it in her room to give to her father for examination. She had no intention of simply throwing away the potentially still dangerous object. The system might say she had destroyed it, but it could not hurt to have another perspective.
There were also problems with her new Achievement. She began to smell odors. She had not known that this was a passive ability! Everything smelled awful! Her delicate perfume suddenly became scented of torture! In addition, it combined with the metallic smell of blood with which she was still covered. She hurried to her room and took a bath.
After a good two hours, Eliz stood outside with Alobella in her private training area. Eliz felt satisfied. It smelled much better outside. And now she had pants on, too! Eliz wore tight brown pants, high boots, and a plain ruffled women's shirt. Eliz felt like some female buccaneer.
Eliz did not mind being dressed so plainly, but finding something appropriate for the situation was very difficult. Aside from her riding outfit, Elizabeth did not really have anything sporty. Had the spoiled lady never exercised in her life? She was probably picking up cups of tea.
Eliz was not really sporty, either. Not that she did not want to be. But life was not easy, and she did not have the energy for more spending.
Alobela, like Eliz, wore pants and a loose shirt. It wasn't visible under her maid outfit, but Alobela had an incredible hourglass figure that would be the envy of any woman. Eliz herself could only be envious of those round hips. However, she could bet that the answer to her question would be that she ate a lot of lettuce.
"So, how do we get started?" Eliz asked when she felt ready enough.
"When your mana awoke, did you feel any pulling and suctioning sensation around your belly, young lady?" Asked Alobela bluntly.
"Yes. But just call me Elizabeth now, actually... call me Eliz if you are my instructor now." Said Eliz excitedly. Eliz's name was abbreviated, but her name was not Elizabetha; it was Eliza. But out of habit, everyone called her Eliz. That's right. People shortcut everything.
"No." Alobela declined, and Eliz's expression worsened.
'Stupid etiquette!'
Alobela ignored Eliz's disappointment and continued.
"Young lady, now you must remember and imagine the feeling." She explained.
Eliz blinked. "Is that all?"
"For now, yes."
Eliz thought it would be more challenging, but she followed the instructions. She closed her eyes and began to remember the feeling. Eliz remembered the moment in the carriage, how the feeling had almost thrown her horizontally.
"Try to touch it with your mind. Imagine your hand touching it." Alobel's voice, sounding soft now, guided her.
Eliz tried and imagined a pool full of glowing blue water into which she dipped her hand. At that moment, she fainted.
When she regained consciousness, she was lying on the ground, staring into the uninterested green eyes of her maid.
"What... happened?" Eliz asked, confused.
"You used up all your mana, young lady." Explained Alobela.
Eliz sat up, feeling weak. "How, I did not do anything." She did not understand.
"That happens to almost everyone for the first time, young lady. You have no experience with mana control. So when you touched your mana pool, you took not just a little but all the mana. This exhausted you until you passed out. Fortunately, your mana pool regenerates fairly quickly, so you were only unconscious for ten minutes." As Eliz stood up, Alobela wiped the dust off her and explained.
"Why did you not warn me before?" Eliz asked, but not angrily. More like curious. Her body felt weak as if she had not eaten all day.
Alobela backed away from her. "It's good to realize from the start that mana, even if you have it, is not an inexhaustible source of energy, young lady. You'll be able to control it better the next time you try it because subconsciously you will not want to faint again."
Eliz scratched the back of her head. It made sense, like throwing a non-swimmer into the water so he could learn to swim.
They paused for a bit before starting again.
"Try taking just a little this time, young lady," Alobela advised her.
"Could you try to be a little more specific?" Eliz asked.
Alobela was silent momentarily, probably thinking about how to express herself. "The most common description for your mana in your body is 'mana pool.' Many people think of it as something like that, as a pool full of mana. But that's not always the best way for everyone. Everyone's mana pool is of different sizes and different depths. So when I say, 'Just take a little,' it's hard to imagine how much a little is when I have no idea how big your mana pool is, and neither do you, young lady, when you are just getting familiar with it."
Eliz listened, and her eyes widened slightly because that was probably the longest thing Alobela had ever said. At all.
"For that reason, it's good to drain your mana a few times to get an idea of how big your mana pool is. That will help you a lot with control, young lady. For now, you will try different ways of handling your mana."
Eliz thought about her explanation and nodded. "You said some people have different ideas about their mana pool. Does that mean you have a different one?" She wondered.
Alobela nodded. "Yes. I have my mana neatly arranged into spheres in the exact amount of mana I need for my tasks, young lady."
Eliz bit her tongue to keep from saying anything. So... organized.
"Haha... that's lovely. Let us continue." Instead, she changed the subject.
*****
After a few hours, Alobela stood next to the unconscious Elizabeth. This was the seventh time she had completely depleted her mana.
Alobela watched the birds flying in the nearby bushes and thought.
The young lady had poor control, even for a beginner. Even though she claimed to be trying, it didn't seem like she was. Mana erupted from her so quickly several times that she was unconscious before she hit the ground.
Alobela guessed it might have been related to her sudden change in demeanor. Her thoughts were unstable, and so was the mana that was gushing out of her at such a speed it felt like her life was on the line.
Alobela heard what happened at the ball. She guessed that this was the breaking point for Elizabeth when she finally looked up and collected herself. She liked this young lady better. And her ears would finally get a break from all the screaming, too.
"Ughh..." the young lady on the ground stirred, so Alobela turned her gaze to her.
"I think we should call it a day, young lady. You shouldn't overdo it. Also, it will soon be time for dinner. There will be your favorite chicken roasted on peaches."
Elizabeth opened her eyes sharply, suddenly clear and bright and full of hope. "Chicken?" She repeated.
Alobela nodded, turning her face away so her young lady wouldn't see the corners of her lips lift a little.
*****
Donovan was lying in bed. He had long since loosened his tie, placed his glasses on the nightstand, and his blue hair lay loose and disheveled on the pillow.
He put his arm over his eyes and tried to breathe calmly. He still had that horrible scene in his mind. He thought the military academy had prepared him for any situation. But he was not prepared one bit for the encounter with the Dark Magic.
And more. Selene seemed to have something to do with it. Sweet Selene, who had won his heart.
He tried to find an explanation. Maybe someone had set her up? Maybe she did not know what it was. How could Selene even know about Dark Magic?
His heart moved in a different direction than his thoughts wanted it to. He could not help but think of how excited she had been to give Eren her gift. And how she had insisted that he not open it.
As he began to doubt, his head started to hurt, but some memories came up too. How Selene had sometimes subtly insisted and he could not help but agree. He also remembered their discussion before the ball. Eren had been right. He really doubted that Elizabeth had tried to push Selene down the stairs.
The headache continued, he remembered, and soon he realized that his nose was bleeding. He raised a trembling hand and touched his nose. He examined the red blood on his fingers. This, too, was not a good sign. He had known Selene for almost a year. If... if... no... how many things had he forgotten?
He sat up and went to the bathroom, where he began to rinse his face with cold water. He looked at himself in the mirror. He was too pale; even his lips were discolored. He no longer looked like the sophisticated young man he had seen this morning. Now he looked like someone who had been through a long illness.
His eyes fell closed as the memory emerged of the tea party before the ball season at Contessa Gillereln's house.
He was standing near the stairs sipping a glass of wine when Elizabeth entered. It was one of those moments when he had to admit that Elizabeth was truly beautiful and elegant as a black swan.
She came in quietly and gracefully in a tight black dress whose skirt fell down the sides and revealed her legs from the knees down. Before she descended the short staircase, Selene appeared, attracting as much attention as Elizabeth. As they stood side by side, it was as if they were looking at the moon and the sun at the same time. Selene was wearing a light blue dress with a wide skirt tied at the waist with a thick yellow ribbon.
His attention was quickly moved from Elizabeth to Selene. He watched as Selene turned to her and said something. Elizabeth frowned slightly and pursed her lips. She made a movement as if to go around Selene, but at that moment, Selene moved in the same direction and then suddenly fell backward down the stairs.
Donovan's heart stopped in shock, but he saw Elizabeth turn pale and reach out her hand as if to catch Selene.
He was not really paying attention at that moment and tried to move to catch Selene. Fortunately, Gray was faster and reached the bottom of the stairs in time for Selene to fall into his arms.
Donovan was relieved that Selene was unharmed. Then they all turned their disapproving gazes on Elizabeth, who was still standing frozen at the top of the landing.
He saw Elizabeth step back under everyone's gaze and open her mouth as if to say something, but finally, she just turned and walked away. She did not return to the tea party.
Donovan thought nothing of it at that moment. It was more comfortable for everyone that she left. Although he wasn't sure exactly what had happened, he was fooled by what the others and especially Selene, were saying.
But he had to compare again. Elizabeth from before and now. Elizabeth seemed much braver and more straightforward. She had startled him more than once today. Still, she had shown great courage in rushing to her brother's aid. She had also offered to help him without asking for anything in return. Is that how a selfish and evil person behaves? He did not have that impression.
He returned to his room and sat down at his desk. He prepared some paper and began to write. He accepted Elizabeth's words that he needed some time off to sort things out.
There was another thing that was troubling him. Is Elizabeth really all right? Dealing with Dark Magic is not easy. And more. Such people must have sacred powers. And as far as he knew, only the Pope and the higher priests had holy powers. Elizabeth certainly did not look like someone who had the blessing of God. So how did she purify the dark magic? As soon as he finished the letter, he wanted to talk to her about it.