Chapter 117: Where is Mikoto?

"Where the hell is that guy?" The annoyed words came from Princess Mirabella as she moved through the now empty hallways of the academy. Agatha followed listlessly by her side.

"This is the fifth time you've asked that," Agatha mused. "You sound like a worried wife."

"No, I don't!" the princess refuted with a tinge of red in her cheeks. "I'm just curious. Mikoto is always up to some random crap."

"Crude wording but apt, I suppose," Agatha agreed. In a world like theirs, you would tend to encounter any number of individuals. Agatha herself had met many people in her fifteen years of walking the realm. She could safely say Mikoto Yukio was amongst the oddest, but that oddness was what made him endearing, she supposed. Mikoto was interesting, and she would not lie; she did consider him a friend. His pompous attitude, his pride, and his jokey nature were all...nice. She still remembered the first time they spoke, how blunt he was. His blatant disregard for her father also helped elevate his image.

"Why are you smiling?" Mirabella questioned.

"I am thinking of Mikoto," Mirabella spluttered at the straightforward answer.

"Huh?" Mirabella blurted out, looking at her with suspicious eyes. "You...you don't like the guy, right?"

Agatha tilted her head at the question. "Romantically? Hmm, not sure, maybe not. When it comes to any kind of relationships, I was very shunned until I reached fifteen winters. Though I am intrigued by Mikoto, I will admit, but who knows. Do you find Mikoto romantically appealing?"

"Oi! You can't just ask that!" Mirabella exclaimed.

"But you asked first," Agatha shot back innocently. Mirabella just tried to hide the red creeping in on her cheeks. Talking about something like romance was foreign to her; well, there were the talks with her older sister. But those usually ended with the second princess burying her head in her pillow from all the embarrassment. Brash and rude as she may seem, she was a tad bashful. "Will you not answer? Are you perhaps too shy?" It could just be her mind playing tricks on her, but she swore she saw a smug smile on the Gregory girl.

"I-I ain't shy!" Mirabella exclaimed. Agatha did not seem the least bit convinced. "And I don't like Mikoto like that! I mean, he's fine and all, but no way I'd think about him that way with that weird-ass mask on his face." She finished with a mumble. "Why does he even wear that stupid thing?"

"I believe it was because he said he was much too handsome and we'd fall in love if we were ever to gaze upon his face," Agatha answered with a deadpan.

Mirabella snorted, "Yeah right, he's got a nice voice but doubt he's that good-looking."

"True."

"You two are supposed to steel yourselves for the upcoming festival! Not talk about some boy!" The sudden loud, squeaky voice caused both girls to nearly jump. Cor'nella, who had quite literally appeared out of nowhere, huffed as she hovered above Agatha's shoulder.

"Oi, you dumb fairy, don't go randomly appearing like that!" Mirabella chastised. The aforementioned fairy gave another huff for good measure.

"Tis not my thought you nearly shrieked like a little girl," Cor'nella argued.

"That ain't true, I was just surprised!" Mirabella defended.

"Enough, Cor'nella," Agatha leveled the fairy with a dull stare. "I thought you still had business to attend to."

"I already finished it. And I can't just leave a little girl like you to her own devices; I have a duty as a guide after all," the fairy haughtily stated.

"Right, for something so small, you've got a big head, huh?" Mirabella remarked with a bit of extra snark.

"I do not have a big head, you baboon!" Agatha merely sighed as she made a mental note not to let these two in the same area for the near future. For now, she could just change the subject.

"Cor'nella, what was the business you needed to attend to?" she questioned. "You seemed angrier than usual and in a rush."

"Hmph! I wanted to chew out that butthead Arthur!" The fairy exclaimed, eliciting two confused gazes trained on her.

"Arthur? Who the hell's that?" Mirabella asked. Cor'nella momentarily weighed whether she should insult the girl but surprisingly decided against it.

"He goes by Percival now, but he can't hide from me!" she stated with some measure of pride. "He was probably surprised to see me in this plane of reality, and he's become an Archbishop of all things!"

"What are you even yammering about?" Mirabella could not help but ask. She knew fairies to be odd creatures, but Cor'nella really drove that fact home.

"I am not just yammering!" Cor'nella defended. "Arthur is a stupid jerk! I had to go see 'em and give him a piece of my mind." Yep, she was just yammering on and on. Who this Arthur/Percival was, they did not know. But what would one need to do to gain the wrath of a fairy?

"This Arthur sounds like quite the character if he incurred your wrath," Agatha mused. She might have found Cor'nella quite annoying, but the fairy was going to be sticking around for a while, so she might as well get to know her better. Besides, this could be good for her; after all, there was no need to be some recluse snow queen.

"Where to even start?" The fairy was strangely receptive. "It was a few thousand ye-" She cut herself off as her eyes narrowed onwards; the two followed her gaze. Mirabella quirked up a brow, and Agatha's features schooled themselves to look much colder. Cor'nella took note of the gaze as she watched a man approach them; she remembered him from Agatha's memories. Elijah Gregory, her father.

"Agatha," the man greeted, though no warmth could be detected in his tone.

"Mirabella, you can go on ahead to the meeting; I shall catch up," Agatha's words elicited a raised brow from the aforementioned girl, but she said nothing as she walked on and past Elijah. The man spared her a glance but said nothing.

"This must be your fairy guide, so it is true," Elijah murmured, leveling a stare at Cor'nella, and surprisingly, the fairy kept quiet, no smart remark. "You've attained Arcane Ascendance."

"I have."

"I expected nothing less from my heir," her father stated. "It is a monumental achievement, also cause for celebration. I am proud-" He was cut off when a snort erupted from Agatha; his eyes narrowed dangerously.

"You lie, and it is painfully clear," the girl stated, leveling a dry gaze at the man she called father.

"What? You would-"

"Please save me any meaningless words," she cut him off once more, and she would admit she took great pleasure in the infuriating look adorning his face. "I have always found it strange when I first learned of Arcane Ascendance. How you had never disclosed something like that, you clearly know what it is. You pushed your goals and ideals onto me, yet not that, and it is clear why," her father remained silent as she continued. "You're seething right now; you are angry that it is not you that possesses this gift." His stone-cold features finally broke out into a heavy scowl.

"Watch your tone, girl," he threatened. "You will not speak to me in this manner, lest you suffer the consequences."

"Is that so?" Agatha let a small smirk break onto her features. "While true if I were to attempt to engage you as I am, I'd lose horribly. And Arcane Ascendance is something I can only keep active for about sixty seconds," she admitted smoothly. "Though that is more than enough time to brutalize you."

"You...you would threaten your own father!?" He truly did seem baffled, though that was not surprising. From the torment he had subjected her to, he had a deep hold on her both physically and mentally. She would follow his every word, and her only purpose would be to appease him, and that was all she ever did. She was little more than a puppet, but now she had no strings.

"I would; perhaps you should've chosen William as your heir," she remarked as she moved past him, Cor'nella following behind her. "Too late now, though." Now she took great pleasure in his seething rage as she walked on. Eventually, her father was out of sight.

"Hahahahahah!" And just then, a loud, squeaky laugh erupted from Cor'nella. Agatha gave the fairy a questioning gaze. "My, my, that was glorious, Agatha! Did you see the look on his face!?" She laughed on, and Agatha allowed another snort to escape her.

"It did feel quite liberating; I've been living my life to my father's tune for so, so long," she breathed out. "I did everything he wanted; I strived to become perfect like he wanted. But now I have my freedom, and I will do with it as I wish." In part, she had to thank Mikoto; seeing such a free spirit had inspired her. Mysterious as he was, there was no doubt that boy was free.

Alas, he was not as free as she thought.

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"Mirabella!" The first thing the second princess was subjected to upon entering the conference room within the academy was a bone-crushing hug that threatened to crush all of her being.

"Gah!" The familiar figure of her older sister all but lifted her from the ground with a tight hug. A rush of embarrassment passed Mirabella as she struggled in Astrid's hold. "H-hey, people are watching!" They were indeed; Guinevere watched with that annoying smirk on her face, Victoria was much the same. Lucinda just wore her usual smile at the scene of familial love; some plain-looking guy with auburn eyes smiled as well, but it looked quite dull. From the main seat, Aleister merely quirked up a brow. Lukas was here as well; he could but look at the two sheepishly, and General Mai looked completely out of it.

"Come on, let me have this, Mira. I have not seen you in ages!" Her sister seemed to revel in her misery.

"C-come on, put me down already." Victoria would say she took much pleasure in seeing the usual brash and rude princess reduced to a blushing mess. Astrid did eventually relent, releasing her younger sister from her bear hug.

"No need to be so bashful, Mirabella! You missed me too, right?" Astrid gave a cheeky and bright smile. Mirabella tried to muster up a scowl but found herself unable to do so.

"S-shut up, no I did not!" She denied; her sister's grin did not diminish; in fact, it grew wider.

"Your ears always turn red when you lie, Mira," her sister pointed out.

"Ahem, Lady Astrid, mayhap it be best to save the familial pleasantries for after the meeting concerning the festival," Lukas advised. The knight apprentice, stuck up as he may have been, Mirabella could not help but mentally thank him.

"Aww~ I suppose you're right." Astrid relented once more. "But you're not off the hook yet, Mira; I still want to hear all about your adventure." The younger of the two could not help but sigh.

"Yeah, yeah..." The two took a seat at the wide and long table along with the others, and of course, Astrid had to sit next to her. A few seconds later, the door gave way to two familiar blondes.

"Apologies for being late," Agatha curtly apologized. "I had to deal with quite the bother." The fairy to her side snickered as the former made her way to an open seat, next to Guinevere. The court mage gave her a curt nod.

"Mikoto is still absent," Lucinda noted. "I thought he would be back from getting his armor's blueprint created." The girl furrowed her brows, clearly worried.

"Come now, there's no need to worry about dear Mikoto. He can handle himself after all," Victoria stated, and her words were true enough. Besides, what could he be doing that is overly dangerous? Fighting a divine being?

"A shame," Guinevere muttered. "I would have liked to converse with him; he is quite interesting."

"Anything to do with you cannot be good," Mirabella blurted out. "Maybe it's a good thing Mikoto's gone." She got a coy smile in return.

"Now, now, Mira, no need to be rude to Lady Guinevere. We're all allies here, no? Here to fight and win the festival and the ultimate prize," her sister's words merely got a huff out of her.

"Then we have to exclude Mikoto in today's meeting," Aleister conceded. "For now, let this meeting commence."