Mastering Magic and a Motherly Proposition

Saranya and her master dallied on the stone table for a while; only after she had thoroughly indulged Kaelan’s whims did her master release her wrists, allowing her to clamber down from the tabletop.

“Do not leave until you have mastered Ice Lance.”

Kaelan stepped a few paces away from Saranya, planting her hands on her hips, assuming the posture of a strict overseer of her studies.

Saranya’s face fell, a troubled expression clouding her features.

“Master, given my magical aptitude, I rely on external aids like the Magic-Sensing Stone just to perceive ambient magic. Even with a ready-made casting demonstration before me, I doubt I can grasp it instantly…”

“What nonsense are you spouting? Do you recall the familiar Paresha summoned in the arena? The one with wings, quite large, that white b*tch who tried to take you with her when she left!”

Kaelan was, of course, referring to the high elf Freya, though her words lacked a certain measure of politeness.

“Try using the power she bestowed upon you as an aid!”

At her master’s prompt, an idea immediately sparked within Saranya.

Freya had granted her the abilities of a Spellbreaker; by activating this power concurrently with a magic demonstration, she could visualize the convergence points and flow of magic within her sight. This meant that, even as a mortal devoid of magical talent, she could deconstruct and learn new spells with the same ease as a magical prodigy.

“Alright, let’s give it a try…”

Saranya took a deep breath, lightly pressed the stone table, and initiated the Ice Lance demonstration.

Through the Spellbreaker’s vision, she observed two swirling masses of blue magic weaving together in the air, intertwining and twisting to form a solid ice lance. Subsequently, a third mass of magic materialized at the base of the lance, serving as its propellant; initially compressed to a tiny point, it then abruptly released, propelling the ice lance towards the caster’s target.

‘After all that, it still boils down to good old Newtonian mechanics…’

The principle behind this spell was remarkably simple, placing it squarely in the beginner difficulty range; however, when cast with the flawless precision shown in the demonstration, the ice lance unleashed possessed considerable power.

She had previously learned that divine arts, such as those wielded by Dalia and Aivy, involved firing solidified light using ‘Condensation Light Art’. In comparison, her Ice Lance had a slightly longer wind-up, but its kinetic energy was far more potent, capable of piercing a knight’s metal plate armor in a single strike, delivering a devastating blow to an individual foe.

Saranya’s eyes snapped open; she raised her right arm, and with a flash of magical light in her blue eyes, an ice lance whistled through the air, streaking towards the distance.

“Excellent… Next time, you must combine it with an incantation; chanting helps to enhance your focus. Still, for a beginner, you’ve done quite well…”

“Yes, yes, Master teaches so well…”

Saranya flattered her master, all while secretly preening with self-satisfaction.

‘At this rate of learning, wouldn’t I quickly master a plethora of spells? And that Wizard’s Crown… if the legends were true, I could very well become its master, gaining the power to dominate curses…’

‘To acquire absolute dominion, to manipulate the wills of others at my whim… wouldn’t that be akin to owning a world full of slaves?’

‘Even Master would…?’

The mere thought sent a sudden dryness to her throat.

‘Damn it all, why would Master bring up such a thing? This must be a subtle form of temptation, right? It has to be! Who could possibly resist such an allure?!’

With a guilty glance, she looked at Kaelan, only to find herself caught in her master’s intense, almost viscous gaze.

“Master… I wished to ask about that crown… Is it truly fine that you cannot obtain it, yet you’ve allowed me to learn of such a thing…?”

A searing pain coursed from her lower abdomen throughout her body, causing the purple magical markings on her skin to glow and rise to the surface.

Her master clearly understood the implication of her words, intending to silence her, but by now, a warning of this caliber was indistinguishable from a tease.

Saranya shivered, her excitement mounting; disregarding her master’s wishes, she continued to press her inquiry.

“That crown, can it truly dominate any—”

“Silence! Do not speak of that! You cannot do such a thing… You are forbidden from casting spells on your master, cease your absurd fantasies… Under no circumstances, absolutely… absolutely will I permit you to cast a spell on me…”

‘Both of us, thinking the exact same thing…’

“What? Master, I—I didn’t say anything, I hadn’t even finished my question…?”

Witnessing her master’s intense reaction, Saranya’s cheeks flushed crimson to her earlobes, and she promptly resorted to feigning ignorance.

Turning to Kaelan, the little witch had averted her head, her soft hair completely obscuring her expression. She seemed not to have heard a word Saranya uttered, instead utterly absorbed in some imagined scenario of her own.

‘Such a thing… impossible… utterly treasonous… A mere demon s*ave, nothing more than my plaything… How could I possibly wish for my demon s*ave to…♡’

Perhaps lost too deeply in her fantasy, Kaelan’s voice trailed off, her eyes glazed over, and her brain momentarily froze for several seconds.

Saranya was no better; she stood rooted to the spot, her head practically steaming.

‘Yes, how peculiar, what could be happening…? Master has no reason to think such things! Master must have… must have accidentally revealed the crown’s existence to me… Heh… hehe… I absolutely must work hard…’

****

The two young women, having mentally filtered out the sensitive topic, gathered their composure under the cloak of night. They stealthily departed the root cellar and made their way towards the manor’s main villa.

The villa exuded an eerie aura; from the outside, the massive three-story structure appeared utterly dark, devoid of any radiating light. Thick stone walls were overrun with creeping vines, and its Gothic-arched windows readily conjured images of the wicked lairs often depicted in classic vampire tales.

Saranya stepped beneath the main building’s archway, and shielded by the deep slate, she reached out and pushed open the villa’s grand doors.

“Ah, to raise funds for the dungeon, everything has been moved out and sold off…”

The door hinges groaned a mournful lament as Saranya surveyed the scene of decay before her, letting out a long sigh.

“I recall last time, there was an enormous crystal chandelier hanging above us, and a wine-red carpet with gold embroidery spread across the floor. Hmm? Even the Hillburg family’s metal escutcheon has been removed…”

“They were all useless things. Isn’t it better that they’re sold off and out of sight?”

“It’s not that it’s bad, exactly, it’s just… a little regrettable, perhaps…”

Saranya could only sigh softly at her master’s desperate, all-or-nothing approach, leaving no room for retreat.

Bending down, she picked up a candelabra by the door, then slowly followed Kaelan deeper into the villa.

Suddenly, another light source appeared in the darkness, and as they met, a soft, slightly childish girl’s voice drifted towards them.

“Cap-tain~ you’re~ here~!”

Before Saranya could react, Vireta darted forward and launched herself into her arms.

“Oh, oh, Vireta, didn’t I tell you not to call me Captain…?”

Seeing the dark scowl on her master’s face beside her, Saranya’s heart sank, and she hastily pushed Vireta away.

“But calling you Miss Haia, I just can’t get used to it…”

‘Ugh, this is unbearable. Why is this squire acting like such a child…?’

On the other side, Kaelan reached out and nudged Saranya’s waist.

“Hurry now, let’s get to the point. You have something to say to Vireta, don’t you?”

Seeing Vireta blinking her large eyes, and recalling her previous words to Bishop Kalima, Saranya couldn’t help but look distraught.

“Er… Vireta, you don’t have to call me Miss Haia anymore…”

“Then what should I call you? Captain, why does your name keep changing?”

“Well, I was wondering, would you… mind calling me Mama?”

“Ma… Mama…?”

Vireta froze instantly.