"No way! You really did it!"
Zane was dumbfounded. To think that Velrath, the former demon king, actually managed to cast the Thaleward's barrier spells. And it was Wardell, the strongest mage in humanity, and Zane's grandfather, who personally taught Velrath? It all seemed absurd to Zane.
"How's that? Believe me now?"
Velrath said while crossing his arms, looking at Zane's dumfounded face.
Zane was really confuse, I mean, why would his grandfather teach Velrath how to do their barrier spells. Wasn't he an enemy?
"But why would grandfather teach you the Thaleward's barrier spells?"
Hearing Zane's words, Velrath's face unexpectedly turned somber. As if his eyes drifted into the distant past. He then said.
"Who knows? Maybe he was simply stupid."
Zane stared at Velrath blankly; he wasn't angry because he could somehow tell that Velrath didn't really mean it. Looking at his somber expression and by how Velrath acts, perhaps Velrath wasn't really a bad demon?
'No, no! He could be deceiving me; I shouldn't trust him easily."
But he really wondered; he had never thought that a demon king would have such a playful personality. From the moment they first met, Velrath was laughing at his stupid face. He even helped him escape the library earlier, well with a payment, of course, but he still helped him. He was still not planning on forgiving him, though.
"Stupid, huh? Even though you suffered a defeat to him."
Velrath smiked, he then said.
"Heh, I let him beat me, whether you believe me or not."
Zane stared at Velrath's face blankly, he then said.
"That's exactly what losers say."
Velrath sighed; he then said in a casual tone.
"Anyways, we should begin now. Just a warning though, I am not a kind teacher. I simply teach the way my teachers do, which was pretty rough."
Velrath suddenly tried to change the topic, but Zane didn't really try to revert. Since he could somehow feel that Velrath didn't really like to talk about the past. Perhaps he was mad about losing to his grandfather; either way, he definitely didn't want to anger a demon king.
Zane also had a feeling this wasn't about to go well. I mean, a demon king teaching you about magic? Sounds so absurd. Maybe he really should have been patient and learned the rest tomorrow? Ah, but he really couldn't afford to waste any time. He really wanted to be stronger as fast as he could and catch up to others. It was simply his ambition to do so.
Zane smirked; he then said in a sarcastic tone.
"I sure hope they went extra rough on you."
Zane mumbled quietly.
Velrath turned to look at him with his eyebrows furrowed.
"What's that?"
...
Knock!
Knock!
Zane could hear someone knocking on his door; however, he slept so late at night to the point that he simply couldn't open his eyes.
Creak!
"Zane! Wake up! You are going to be late!"
Zane could hear someone's voice. A woman's voice; her voice sounded soft despite it sounding like she was panicking. However, Zane still refused to get up.
"1 more hour, Lyra..."
"..."
Zane could hear Lyra's footstep getting closer. Lyra was rushing towards Zane; she then shaken Zane's body, trying to wake him up.
"Zane! Please wake up!"
Slap!
Suddenly, Zane woke up in a rush. He was breathing heavily, and he couldn't see clearly. He looked from left to right until he saw Lyra in front of him.
"H-huh? Lyra?"
Suddenly, he remembered that he still had to go to the academy today.
'Shit! That's right!'
Lyra's expression was somber; she paused for a while, then said.
"Zane, why are you sleeping on the floor? And why are you taking so long to wake up? Did you sleep late last night?"
Zane responded, his voice hoarse and stuttering. Horror could be seen all over his face.
"O-of course not, Lyra! I slept really good last night, and I had a really scary nightmare, and I guess I feel out of bed."
Lyra was staring at him with curiosity all over her face. She somehow felt that Zane was acting differently. But decided to ignore it anyway. Teenage boys are full of secrets after all.
Lyra sighed; she then responded.
"Alright, alright. But you gotta hurry and dress up. The carriage is already prepared for you outside."
A faint smile appeared on Zane's lips; he then responded.
"Alright..."
Lyra started walking out of the room.
"Hurry up, alright? Or else you will be late at the academy."
Zane watched as Lyra started walking out of his bedroom. However, he remembered about what had happened yesterday. About the problem he had caused in the library, he was curious if they found out about the hidden hall inside the library or not, so he decided to ask.
"Uhm, Lyra? I heard a really loud sound last night; can you tell me what the ruckus was all about?"
Lyra turned his head towards Zane, she paused for a bit, then slowly a smile started appearing in her lips.
"Ah, well, I am not really sure myself. But they said an intruder tried to steal a magic formula inside the library. Why? Don't tell me... were you scared, Zane? Is that why you slept so late last night?"
Zane frowned; he then said.
"What?! Of course not!"
Lyra's expression became soft; she then said it in a soft tone.
"Oh, Zane... you really are still a child after all."
Zane stared at her blankly, pausing for a bit, he then said in a casual tone.
"Sure, sure. Whatever, believe what you want to believe, Lyra."
"Oh, my... now you are acting like an adult! Alright, alright, I will drop the teasing so you can dress up already."
Lyra said, then proceeded to go out in Zane's bedroom while laughing softly.
Zane sighed. He then lied down back on the bed again.
'Well, at least they didn't find out about the mysterious hall. If they do and alert Father about it and find out that the book kept in the mysterious hall was gone, things may not go well for me.'
'Aside for that, I have to go back on that hell hole again.'
"..."
"Who was that woman, Zane? Was that your mother? Hmm... Do you... perhaps need a new father?"
Zane looked towards Velrath, then said furiosly.
"She's not my mother, and absolutely hell no. She likes innocent boys, by the way, so you have absolutely no chance against her."
Velrath smirked and shifted towards Zane without saying anything.
"Ah, right. You are a demon king. You could just manipulate her and make her yours, but I won't let that happen."
Velrath paused for a bit, he then said.
"Hey, hey. Is that really the right thing to say to someone who helped you master the 5 basic barrier spells; you had such a hard time learning? I even gave you some of my mana so that you can continue learning the rest of the spells."
Zane looked at Velrath; his expression was neutral.
"Hey, hey. Didn't you do that because you felt guilty about putting a curse on me?"
Velrath looked away from Zane; his expression felt awkward.
"I don't feel such thing; I only did that because I have my pride as a demon king."
Zane stared at him with confusion, he then said.
"That makes absolutely no sense."
...
Zane stood up; he then headed towards his dressing room.
However, before he dressed himself, he decided to wash himself first. His body was soaked in sweat last night after all. The stench was kind of unbearable.
Zane's mood today was mixed. He was unsually happy because he mastered all the 5 basic barriers he had been so eager to learn, and all in one night too. He was also angry at the same time because of the curse that had turned his entire life upside down.
And also, about the trials, he decided to postpone it.
He thought that it would seem suspicious for him to just suddenly be able to cast all the 5 basic barrier spells, when just yesterday he collapsed doing one. Hell, he wasn't even able to do it in the complete form. So, he planned on doing it at least by the end of the week.
The reason why he was so eager to move to the main house was because the Ironviel castle doesn't teach anything other than basic magic spells. If he moved to the main house, they would give you a magic formula that contained an advanced magic spell, whether it belonged to his family or not.
Soon after, Zane was done washing himself and dressing himself. He took everything he had to bring with him; he then headed out of the castle.
Zane was wearing his acadamy uniform, since he was going straight to the acadamy.
He stepped out of the castle, the cold air hitting his face. The stone walls behind him seemed even older in the daylight, worn by time and weather. The path leading away was lined with overgrown grass, and the quiet of the place felt heavy.
Lyra was there waiting for him, along with the carriage. He already had most of his things in the academy's dormitory, so he didn't really have anything he had to bring.
Lyra stared at him with a somber expression as he headed closer towards the carriage.
"Zane, please take care more of yourself next time."
A smile appeared on Zane's face; he then said in a soft tone.
"I will, Lyra. Thank you for everything, really."
Lyra smiled; her smile was soft and genuine. Zane kind of feels sad; the last time he saw her was 1 week ago, and just when he finally met her again, he was going away already.
Zane proceeded to get inside the carriage, glancing at Lyra for one last time.
Then the carriage started moving.
Lyra was waving at her as their distance started to grow even more. She kept waving at Zane, and Zane kept waving back at her until the distance between them made it hard for them to see each other.
Zane turned his head in front of him; his gaze were sharp as blades.
'This time... This time will be different. I swear it. I will grow stronger and stronger. And prove everyone wrong about me.'