Everyone woke up early because there was breakfast again in the castle. Lilac gave me another dress. If last night it was purple, today it is red with gold-colored laces.
Do they own a fashion boutique?
Anyways, I should look good today. I have to make that witch Julianna Sutton look like she's got a wrong opponent. Ha! Come on, b*tch, I'm the daughter of Amberleigh Regalia. And I am more powerful than you. You’re super viscous and cheap, while I am high quality. I shouldn’t be compared to you in the first place.
I was ready to offer flowers, food, and animals to the goddess of beauty and love, Aphrodite, when a comb took an emergency landing on my head. My morning ritual is now ruined.
I turned to Marina. Isn't she able to do anything with her life, so she's interfering with my personal life? Is she that bored? “Hey b*tch, never dare to speak English to me! Is she that bored-is she that bored. Get out!”
Gosh, he's even braver than Mommy!
“Get out!”
“Roger that!”
Maybe it's her bloody day today. Maybe supernatural women have that, don't they? They might also have a day of bloodshed. In some scenarios, it’s a week of bloodshed. Well, it was only three days of my bleeding in my case.
“What the h*ll is a bloody day?”
“F*ck.” I turned to Crimson and threw him a pillow. “Learn to knock, Ul*lens! That's a door, okay?”
He frowned a bit and slowly went here. “Marina is cursing all the time because of your mental rants. I suggest you stop.”
“I suggest Marina stop reading my mind. Duh, that supposed to be a respect for one's privacy.”
He rolled his eyes. “Whatever, airhead.” Airhead? Hey, I'm not stupid! “Get out now. You're the only one we’re waiting for.”
Tsk, can't you wait? You're pissing me off!
While going to the living area, I heard them talking. And I even listened to my name. Whatever it is, I feel something is wrong.
“There you are.” Thoreau smiled and stood up as he saw me. “We've been waiting for you, Ahrina. What took you so long?”
Blake smirked. “Wushu, wushu, wushu, Thoreau's picking up a girl!”
I went near to them and smiled back. On the other hand, Blake was slapping my hand, pinching his ear. “I was just fixing something.” I looked at them all one by one. “Let's go?”
“Uhm, Ahrina…” Lia threw a glance at Blake.
I let go of his ear and grinned. “I'm sorry. I thought I was holding on to the sofa.”
Blake only threw me a glare. “Vamanos!”
“What?”
“Aren't you watching Dora — never mind.” You guys know Dora the Explorer, right? Of course, I'm sure that's part of your childhood.
When we reached the castle, they stopped to see cars on the patio. Wait, am I missing something? All the cars here have a flag in the leftmost corner of the car roof. And the one there, if I'm not mistaken, is Aurora's flag. It means Mom's here.
"Hey, I'm hungry." Honestly not. They don't want to move. Instead of shouting at them, I just chose to tell a lie. It was unsuccessful, so I just cleared my throat and walked ahead of them. If they don't want to come in, I'll go alone.
Tss, they’ll now follow my steps. What’s with the frozen effect? And so, what if the leaders of each city and province are here? Maybe we just had breakfast and their meeting about whatevs. But these people with me are making this a big deal.
“Oh, here's the daughter of Governess Amberleigh Regalia and niece of Headmistress Calla Mildred.”
This witch is really very immature. The one info she said is still wrong. Duh, I'm not Aunt Calla's niece — or if it's true, I'm not informed.
I mocked him. “Sorry to break your ego, daughter of Governor Thad Sutton, but I'm not Headmistress Mildred's niece.” I patted her shoulder. “Check the information you received first before spitting them out, okay?”
And I left her there, all pissed.
I heard her murmur. “Let's not make a scene. All of the leaders are here.”
I stopped walking. I am a few meters away from them, but I can still clearly hear them. Okay, my bad. Ability mimicry is the ability that I have, so it's natural for me to imitate an ability of the non-human people around me.
“Ahri!” I immediately turned in the direction where Mommy was. She excused herself and walked briskly to me. “My daughter!” She exclaimed and hugged me tightly. “I miss you, Ahrina.”
“I miss you too, Mom.”
She let go of the hug and looked at me from head to toe. When she looked into my eyes, I didn't know if she was smiling or not. Sometimes Mommy really looks crazy. You can’t figure out if she’s addicted to coffee or doing a diabetes experiment. Sometimes there are so many coffee beans. Sometimes the creamer and sugar are all over the place.
“My daughter is surprisingly blooming, huh? Is anyone taking care of you?”
If I weren't just her mom, I'd probably have poured her a bunch of profanities. “Mom, I don't have time for that thing.” I faced my friends. “Ah, Mom, they—”
“Nice to meet you all! I'm Governess Amberleigh Regalia.” Mommy let out laughter. “Thank you for being at my daughter's side always. She's a bit impulsive, sarcastic, and trash talker, but she's kind, responsible, and warmhearted. Just be patient.”
I rolled my eyes and mumbled. “Yes, thank you for telling them my remarkable characteristics.”
“Anyways,” I hate you, Mom, “you're Freesia Davis, right?”
Freesia nodded and shook hands with Mom. “It’s an honor to meet you, Governess Regalia.”
I frowned. “Address her Aunt Amber. She hates too much formality.”
“My daughter's correct. Just call me Aunt Amber.”
And she continued greeting them. I lingered my sight around not because I knew someone here but because I couldn't do anything.
“Nice to meet you, Aunt Amber. I'm Thoreau Whistler.”
“Ah, I know you. My daughter's suitor?”
I was dumbfounded by what Mommy said. I didn't eat anything. My saliva just clogged up. I immediately looked at Mommy and this time, she is really smiling. “God, are you serious, Mommy?”
“That's what I received.”
“Even if you die?”
“Even if I kill you.”
“I don’t believe you.”
“I'm serious, Ahri.”
“Hi, Serious. How did you know my name?”
“Tannytan.”
“Mom! What’s with your gossip radar? In what continent of the eternal galaxy did you get that bluff?”
Mom burst into laughter. “I'll tell you later.”
“Yeah, Mom.”
She turned to Thoreau. “Good luck. And you're Crimson Torren, right? My dear Ruby's second child.”
Crimson Ul*l smiled. “Yes, Aunt Amber. I didn't know that you're friends with my Mom.” In fairness, his smile’s so attractive. Not that bad either.
“Of course! If it wasn't because of my dearest Ruby, I wouldn't meet my husband, and Ahrina will never have been born! I owe her my life.”
“OA,” I mumbled. “Anyways, are you done, Mom? I'm already hungry, and before my blood boils, my stomach rather, I need to eat. Or if it's okay with you, I'll go first, hmm?” I turned my back to her and rolled my eyes. “Suitor, my *ss.”
When I was about to pull off a chair where the other students are sitting down, Thoreau did it before me. "Sit down." I remained my glare on him. "I'm considering Aunt Amber's statement about me."
"Keep dreaming! Go and sit somewhere before I could punch your face." I sat on the chair and pulled it on my own.
They followed and sat down as well. When Crimson was about to sit across from me, a girl jumped behind him and almost choked him to death. Alas, he did not die. “Kuya!” What the fudge?
“Hey, Lil bro! Long time no see!” So, he's a middle child? He has an elder and younger sister.
“Go away, can you?” Uh-oh, Crimson Ul*l’s mood is already down. “Let's just talk later. I have to eat breakfast.”
Both of them were about to leave when they saw me. “Oh? Ahrina Tantiana Regalia, right?”
Am I that famous? How nice of me to be? Anyways, how — I'm not considering my two ideas. “Yes. It's me.”
His big sister frowned a bit. “Oh right. You won't even remember me. Okay, so, happy eating!”
Okay? What was that?
Of course, while we are eating breakfast, they are having their small talks. I was even touched by their gossip. It's okay if Mom — joke.
“We weren't informed,” Freesia said. “Ahrina already has a suitor.”
I rolled my eyes. “I'm not interested in love.”
Blake laughed. “How's that, bro? Looks like you're going to have a hard time.”
Thoreau smiled. A genuine smile. “It's okay. Love isn't like instant noodles.”
I started coughing, accompanied by the collapse of Crimson's utensils. Something blocked my esophagus, Lia immediately gave me a glass of water, and I drank thirds of it in a split second. “Are you okay?” She asked, and I just nodded. “You're OA.”
And now, we are leaving Thalia. We are all going back to Schiz Academy and continuing our lives there as student magicians. After we thanked everyone, we boarded the school bus one by one.
Next to me was Freesia, who looked grumpy. I haven't locked him up yet because it might make me dry ice. Of course, he was obviously jealous. But I doubt Thoreau. Ah, whatever. Let it be.
When we arrived here at Academy, we went straight to our dormitory to get dressed. We have afternoon classes, so we need to prepare for that.
Of course. Today is the start of my training with Crimson Ul*lens.
After putting on my school uniform, I left our room with our laundry. Freesia and I have a lot to wash, so I will take the initiative to clean them. Not literally, I’m going to do the laundry. I’ll just take it to the laundry area of the dorm.
I knocked on Lia and Marina's bedroom. “Girls! Your laundry!”
Marina opened the door and smirked. “You will bring it?”
“If you want, you bring it.” Isn't it obvious yet?
She rolled her eyes and took their laundry bags. She handed it to me. “Thank you!”
“Thank you, your face.” Lia's laughter echoed as well as Freesia's. “Hey, witches. I'm leaving!”
“Okay!” They yelled in chorus.
Carrying my school bag and two laundry bags, I left our dorm unit and walked downstairs. There's a huge laundry area in the dormitory where students obviously wash their clothes. How did I find out? I saw it in my dream. I saw the whole Academy in my dream last night.
So, later, they will be confused about how I knew there's a laundry area here without asking them.
When I entered the laundry area, I first put the bag on the bench in the middle of the room and then loaded the laundry. Of course, I sorted it and didn't just slap it. I'm not that ignorant. As Mommy said, I'm just impulsive and a trash talker, but I'm not naive.
I felt the door open. Five girls, including Julianna. And they all have laundry bags with them. I’ll bet they'll throw that at me.
I was shocked when the clothes stopped mid-air and fell to the floor as I stood up. Shems, I shouldn't assume, but maybe I did it. Anyways, I shouldn’t have shown that I was surprised. This witch is my opponent here. “What else do you want, Julianna Sutton?”
She smirked. And f*ck, I was suddenly irritated. “I didn't know you were hiding something. Thoreau Whistler, your suitor? Who the h*ll will believe in that sh*t? Or maybe, you used that witch's magic to get him.”
“Another bluff information, Sutton.” Now, I smiled. “I don't know if you're envious of everything I have or just bored, so you're doing it. But whatever your reason is, mess with your own life. Fix yourself.”
She snorted. “Pathetic.”
“Are you referring to yourself?” Her eyes widened. “Now, are you annoyed? You started all of this sh*t, Sutton, so you have no right to be annoyed. Look, I have no time for your immaturity. Just reschedule your desire to kill me.”
I was about to take my bag, but she slapped me all of a sudden. Sh*t, I feel like my cheek's literally burning. It's hot. The ward is elevated throughout the dormitory, so how come he can use his magic? Another thing that happened earlier was that the clothes floated.
Julianna held my hair tightly. “In the first place, you shouldn't be here. You're from Earth, so you should have stayed there.” Then she snickered crazily. “Earthlings who are flirtatious, uneducated, exploitative, gold diggers. They only use their connections for their own sake.” Wow! What a generalization.
“If only I could have stayed in our house on Earth. That's not the case, Sutton. Mom had to bring me back here for my safety. To get rid of those who targeted me. I didn't go here just to call you flirty, Sutton. I went here to know the past. And it has nothing to do with you.”
“What did you say?” I didn't get a chance to protect myself. He suddenly pushed me hard, causing me to land on a washing machine. The pain in my back and head, please. He pulled my hair again and held it tighter. “You have no right to answer me bluntly, Regalia. I am the successor of Antheia, and no one must talk to me without any means of respect.”
“So what?” I looked into her eyes as I smirked. If the battle is heated, I will never let myself defeat. “You're just the successor of Antheia, not the whole Demetria. It doesn't mean that Schiz Academy is in Antheia. You already own it. You have no power over this school, Sutton. This is Aunt Calla's, not yours.”
“Julianna, we have to go. They’re arriving.”
She glared at me and pulled my hair tighter. “We're not done yet, Regalia. I'll take you back anytime I want.” He let go of my hair and stood up. “Let's go.”
Julianna, you are arrogant. Then, let's see which of us is superior. Just wait, Sutton. You will kneel down before me. I swear.
“Ahrina!” They yelled in chorus and ran to me. Lia checked my hair as well as my cheek. "That Sutton—”
“I'm fine.” I stood up on my own and fixed my uniform. “Why did you follow me? You should just go straight to your class.”
Freesia gave me my bag. “We're just wondering how you found out there's a laundry area here even though we didn't tell you.” See? My prediction is correct.
I smiled a bit. “I saw this in my dream last night, excluding Julianna's. Go to your class. I'll take care of this.”
“Are you sure?” Marina asked after she placed all of the scattered clothes inside a carton box. I nodded. “Don't you have a class today?”
“I have training with Crimson Ul*lens later, so you all should leave.”
They all looked at each other. Freesia sighed. “Okay. Well then, we're going to the class now.”
I nodded. “Okay! Take care!”
As they left, I took the carton box filled with the clothes that Julianna almost threw at me earlier and threw them in the trash. All of a sudden, ants appeared on the box and began feasting. Whether I do it or not, it is a good idea to teach Julianna Sutton a lesson.
Messing with a Regalia is the worst and last thing you'll ever think of.
I was in the laundry area for one hour, so I ran upstairs to our dorm when the clothes were okay. I placed the laundry bags on the sofa and walked to the Training Chamber. Since classes are occurring now, no students are loitering around the hallway.
When I arrived at the Training Chamber, I saw Crimson Ul*lens training alone using daggers and knives. Okay, I’ll prepare myself first. Maybe later, he will suddenly throw me a dagger or a knife.
And as expected. When I opened the door, he turned to face me and inadvertently threw a dagger. What I didn't expect was that I managed to hold the dagger's blade, considering its speed. Crimson Ul*lens smirked, so I did the same. “Gotcha. Too slow.”
“Tss. Consider yourself lucky.” I entered the Training Chamber and returned him the dagger. “You're fifteen minutes late.”
“I did the laundry.” He raised his eyebrow at me. “And some kindergarten students messed with me earlier, so I took longer.” I placed my bag in a corner and stood in front of him again. “So, what's up? Are we going to start training?”
He nodded. “I'm not the type of teacher that will start with the basics, so prepare yourself. Let's start battling.”
Is he serious? “Are you sure?”
“Why? Are you scared?”
Is he serious? “Look, I don't know how to control both my magic and ability, so I can't assure you your safety—”
“Kill me with your best shot. That's your only goal.” Sh*t. He’s serious! “Let's start.” He formed two giant dark balls on his palms, and his eyes became scary. “Move your hands, Regalia. Do what you think you have to do.”
“Look, Crimson Ul*lens—” An enormous dark ball on his left palm moved in my direction. I have no choice but to defend myself. I felt electricity running through my veins, going to my palms. My left hand moved and released a light beam, causing the dark ball to vanish. “Listen to me first, Crimson!”
“Continue what you are doing.” What! “This is exciting.”
“Torren, this is f*cking absurd!”
Completely drained and exhausted, my body fell onto the floor. I continued catching my breath after three straight hours of fighting with him.
“Do what you think. But don't let your magic overpower you,” he stated. “You will feel an electricity running through your veins, which is your magic, and you have to control it.”
“You should have taught me how to control this first!”
“I told you, I'm not the type of teacher that will teach your basics first before applying it.” Whatever! “Stand up, Regalia. We have two more hours.”
“Five minutes,” I uttered as I exhaled.
Silence filled the whole Chamber. Pretty awkward, after all. I felt him going in my direction, yet I was too tired to move even an inch. “I'm curious about something.”
“Hmm?”
“Who are you?”
As if on a cue, my breathing regulates. I'm okay, that's all. I opened my eyes, and lights on the ceiling welcomed me. I also felt the cold of the floor, so I sat down. When I looked at him, Crimson was staring at me. “Ahrina Tantiana Regalia.”
“Obviously. What I mean is, you're not a normal mage.”
Is he joking? Then, it’s not funny. If I'm just crazy, I'll answer, “So, I’m abnormal?”. But no. He is earnest. The awkward thing is if I laugh at him, right? “I told you before, Crimson Ul*lens. Don't ask me, but rather, Mom or Aunt—Headmistress Mildred. I'm confused about everything too.” I stood up and threw my cape into my bag as I removed it. “Let's continue.”
I went straight to the dorm to shower and change clothes. They're in the Freesia Dining Hall, so I'll be there after I'm here. I would have liked to get dressed right away. In case I remembered, Tita Calla and Mom would even talk to me, so I just wore casual wear. I guess an oversized hoodie and shorts will do.
While in the hallway, some students looked at me. It is not forbidden to wear shorts, it is not prohibited to wear all-black, especially it is not forbidden to wear casual at night. Out of curiosity, I suddenly heard their whispers.
I accelerated my walk to the Dining Hall, dizzy because of the amount they say. they're all like bees and flies.
I immediately sat down next to Freesia and gasped for breath. “Are you okay? What happened?” Lia asked immediately.
Marina and Freesia looked at each other. It was as if they already knew what was going on. “Can you hear it?” I nodded at Freesia's question. “Good thing you managed to endure it.”
“It's so intoxicating.” I looked at Lia. “I think I imitated Freesia's ability out of curiosity. The students in the hallway were whispering, and then those still looking at me.”
“It's normal. Just let it go,” Marina responded. “Have you eaten already?”
I shook my head at her, and she gave me food. “Thanks.” And I started eating.
Right after we all ate, two butlers approached our table. They bowed, and then the one next to me spoke. “Lady Ahrina, Governess Regalia is asking for your presence.”
“Lady Ahrina?” The other students looked at us. “Wait, I'm Ahrina, but—”
The butler with him answered. “Headmistress Mildred has ordered us to address you, Lady Ahrina starting today.” Seriously?
Freesia pushed me lightly. “Hurry up. Aunt Amber is waiting for you.”
“Ah, okay. Let's just see each other later.”
“Sure!” Lia and Marina cheerfully exclaimed in chorus.
The butlers were the first to walk. I thought there were only two of them. There were two more waiting in the doorway. What's going on again? There was always a butler coming to me when I was called.
The two butlers in front of me knocked and opened the door. They are still in that situation at the same time. When the door opened, Mommy and Aunt Calla was inside. However, it’s not just them. Celeste, Governor Thad Sutton, Governor and Vice Governess Torren, Sir Collin, Headmaster Mildred, and Vice Governor Alexandrus of Aurora are also here.
What are they doing here?
“Thank you so much,” Mommy said to the four butlers with me. They just bowed and then left the office to maybe watch. “Ahrina, sit down.”
I followed what Mommy said. I sat in the vacant seat next to him and spoke. “I thought the three of us would be the ones who will talk? Why are the other leaders and Sir Collin here?”
Mommy gazed at Tita Calla, and the latter sighed. "We want to hear from you about this. That event in Thalia wasn't the first time Lady Julianna Sutton hit you, was it?”
“Yeah.” Everyone sighed, especially Governor Sutton. Beat you, Julianna. I felt Tita Calla and Mommy staring at me, so I continued. “Earlier in the laundry area, she slapped and pulled me. She also told me that I should be afraid of her because she is the successor of Antheia.” I turned to Governor Sutton and bowed. “I'm sorry.”
“My daughter must be the one telling you that, Lady Ahrina, and not you.” Sh*t, this is nerve-racking. “As Julianna's father, I want her to realize that what she's doing is wrong. I ask you to give her three days of Magic and Ability Nullification. I think three days is enough for her to learn.”
“B-But please—”
Headmaster Mildred spoke. Gone with his childish aura, he's full of authority now. “I agree with Governor Sutton's request. Lady Julianna's abusing her power as the successor is completely wrong. We have to take action.”
Vice Governor Alexandrus nodded. “I agree too. We can't let the successor of Aurora be bullied by anyone.” My eyes widened at what he said. S-Successor of Aurora?
Mommy held my hand and smiled. “What you heard is correct and undoubting, daughter. You, Ahrina Tantiana Regalia, are the sole successor of Aurora. As you reach the legal age, you will lead the whole Aurora as the governess.”