The four of you gathered together in the tea room to chat amongst the four of you. Before the servants came with the tea and cookies, Lionel waved his hand to his head butler to hand you a box. Lionel seemed to be a very elegant man who knew his etiquette and manners well. He made sure to make both you and the crown prince feel relaxed while in his own estate. On the other hand, Daphnie surprisingly knows her etiquette to some extent.
The Baron was a tall gentleman with blonde hair and green eyes. His appearance took more after his mother while Daphnie's appearance took more after her father. He appeared neat, elegant, and poised while Daphnie appeared tough, headstrong, and wild.
The night before your arrival, she made sure to cram her head in with noble's etiquette knowledge so that she wouldn't offend the both of you. Bowing and where the arms go when bowing, sitting straight and where to keep the legs when sitting, addressing someone with the correct titles, what should be served during a visit, and even not speaking out of turn.
Sword fighting is much easier than this... She thought to herself, adjusting the collar on her neck of her knight's uniform. Nobles sure do have it tough; they're so nitpicky with everything from their jewelry right down to the philosophy books they read.
Daphnie thought back to the ceremonial banquet and was confused. She remembered Maeus and the imperial family barely adorning jewelry and expensive looking clothes. This strikes it as strange because they were adorned in jewelry before the Saintess's arrival and suddenly choosing not to wear anything wasn't like them. The Empire did need money, but it wasn't this bad...
In Maeus's perspective, he knew that it gained your sympathy. He remembered the time you confided in him that you were bullied as a kid for being poorer than your peers at school. You were picked on for smelling bad, not being able to pay for a new uniform after getting it ruined from others throwing things at you, an unkempt appearance, etc. In a sense, he succeeded. Maeus wasn't generally too prideful, but nobles, royals, and imperials still had their pride. However, if it meant keeping you by his side, he could show this side of him.
Maeus smirks while looking at you speaking to Lionel. Metal chains around your neck connected to your bed–tears threaten to fall down from your ducts, not from fear or pain, but from desperation. The desperation of not wanting to part from him. The prince's reveries were interrupted when Lionel spoke.
"This box contains my DNA to help you with the paternity test. Please let me know if you need anything else," Lionel said. He had no memory of what had happened to him ten years ago, but he believed in 'innocent before proven guilty' and he wanted the truth that was long overdue. He had no interest in attacking the Countess, but couldn't bring himself to speak to her either due to the shame. On the other hand, his sister seems to have been bullying her despite him telling her not to.
You retrieved this easier than you thought and thanked the gentleman. You looked at the knight and tried to see what you saw in your vision, but didn't see anything wrong. She looked fine and didn't seem to have a dark aura. Surely, your vision wasn't just something you saw for grins... Though, you could feel that her aura is one that was easily angered. Like the Alberets, there seems to be more than what's on the surface.
---
Nightfall arrived and Maeus was planning to meet you in your room for a chat because you wanted to talk to him about something until he noticed a dark shadow at the end of the hallway that he caught by the corner of his eye. The footsteps may have been silent, but Maeus can detect mana easily as long as it was in use.
"?" Maeus raised his eyebrow and silently stalked the presence. He looked and saw the presence to be Daphnie... or at least whatever was next to her. He widened his eyes to see a demoguine perched onto her shoulder and communicating with her. This sight changed Maeus's view of the knight entirely. His first assumption of the situation was that she was possessed by a demoguine or was being controlled by one. To think she was completely sober and was working with one.
The prince used his magical pocket watch to notify Cirrus of what he saw and the head mage sighed in annoyance in his office. Daphnie went back to her room unaware that she was being followed.
"Ugh, this is the worst type of demoguine. I hate the ones that have no physical form to touch; makes them much harder to hit," Cirrus went to his shelf and grabbed a small blue box. He placed the box on his desk and begrudgingly opened it by inserting his mana into the keyhole. The box slowly opened to reveal a sword's hilt–no blade.
He lifted up the hilt and poured his mana into the hilt. Upon doing so, a glowing orange light in the shape of a long blade revealed itself connected to the hilt. This orange light is from the color of Cirrus's mana. If someone else were to wield this item, it will change to the color of the individual's mana. Though the mage did wish his color was red, his color was chosen to be orange.
An item like this is difficult for someone to get their hands on and Cirrus only has one. However, this item was made by him rather than buying it from the original manufacturers. Mainly because he wanted to improve the effectiveness and design it in a way he wanted. The original item wasn't quite effective and sometimes missed the opponent. Sometimes, it would injure allies rather than passing right through people. When used, it is only used for the purpose of fighting against formless entities that lack physicalities. The original item wasn't supposed to hurt physical things, but ended up that way.
Although, this didn't stop people from purchasing said item because this item is currently the only way to fight against formless entities so far.
He's been curious about what the two of you were up to, so he decided to show up unannounced to assist you in this journey.
"Hee hee," Cirrus giggled and used his mana to move himself forward quickly a few kilometers at a time until he appeared in front of Lionel's estate. He rarely used this magic because appearing in someone's place without permission is trespassing, however, when has he really cared about that as long as he got what he wanted?
He playfully invited himself in and immediately spotted the prince. He gave the prince a cheeky grin and wave.
Maeus was outside waiting for the arrival of this unhinged genius.
"Head Mage Cirrus reporting for duty~" He bowed to the prince while still floating in the air, making sure his head was below the prince's.
---
From the author: Happy Holidays everyone! I apologize that I don't update often, but I hope you still enjoy!
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Oh, my Emperor! (Yandere Emperor x reader)
Romance(Yandere Emperor x reader) Upon a near-death experience, you were running for your life from a killer who you rejected on top of a bridge only for it to collapse beneath the two of you, transporting you both into another world filled with a medieval...
