Chapter IV - My Students, The Elements

"Kevin, Please make sure that all of Noah's work are all transferred to him directly. Give him our fastest Raven in the house. And make sure that it's safe and protected." Duchess Ophelia said as she continued to write down her work and approving some papers for the day. This specific report was given to her by Kevin earlier, and it would seems like one 'rat' had infiltrated her Castle.

"You won't need to sorry about that Madam, after all Master Vincent won't let anyone snuck at the Castle especially since Master Noah is here." Kevin said as he served the tea he was brewing earlier.

The Duchess received it and looked out at the large window and looked into the vast dark yet sparkling night, she looked as though she was reminiscing of the past. Kevin was bothered by her actions, "Madam, it wasn't your fault, 'that' already happened 13 years ago." The Duchess looked at Kevin before setting her tea cup down.

"Yes, 'it' may have been that long. But the damage it cause was enough to last a lifetime. If only I have known, I wouldn't have done that. And now, his hatred isn't going away. I was foolish and let my emotion decide." She said with a bitter smile.

Kevin could only look at his Master with pity as she distracted herself with work to get rid of her guilt.

'You say that Madam, and yet your the one who is affected the most since that incident' He thought as he continued to watch over the Duchess, silent.

At Vincent's Bedroom office, he called upon his servant.

"Elias." A tall figure of a man came out of the shadow. He was dressed in black yet his Golden eyes reflect that of curiosity and loyalty.

"I want you to patrol the perimeter of the Castle and also give this to Christopher. He would be delighted because his younger brother safely arrived." The Man, Elias was gone in a blink of an eye.

"Now, what kind of sweets would Iris like tomorrow? I'll just order them to harvest as many strawberries they can collect and I'll give them all to Iris, since he likes it very much." Vincent said as his hand held that of a pressed flower bookmark, a white flower to be exact in his hand, while he looked at the evergreen brooch with intricate gold vines as its design.

"I can't wait for tomorrow." He said to himself as his Violet eyes glows, his eyes landing on the small portrait of Noah in his Desk. This was painted after he stayed for 2 weeks per Vincent's request, but Vincent was quite dissatisfied that the painting lack something that seeing the real Noah has. He still kept it, safely in his possession after that event.

"This time, my Iris. I won't let someone take you away from me. Be it an assassin, a king or even fate, I won't let you go out my sight." Vincent said as he smiled, his glowing eyes show an intent of obsession.

In the morning. The sound of someone knocking made Noah turn his head towards the door as he finished buttoning his shirt, he grabbed the cuffs before letting the person enter. "Come in." The door opened and revealed a strawberry blonde maid who is frantically looking away from Noah.

"I-I'm Louise sir! And I'm going to be your personal maid as of today by the Madams order. It's a pleasure to meet Master Wisteria." She said as she curtsy. Noah smiled as Louise went near him and helped him with the Amber cuffs he got for his birthday earlier in the year. She only helped with the cuffs as Noah was very capable of dressing himself on his own.

"Shall we head down now Master? Mr. Hart already informed me to call you for breakfast." She said as she opened the door, only to greet a sleepy looking Vincent who is a few inches by the door, luckily he wasn't slammed by the door. Which would probably wake him up, Noah laughed.

"Good morning Iris." He said he adjusted his sleeves and black gloves in his hand, his eyes examining Noah and glinting dangerously to the maid.

"Good morning Vince. You're up earlier than expected." Noah said as he closed his door as Louise was trembling besides him.

"You're here so I have to wake up early." Noah has no other choice but to send Louise off because she was trembling too much.

"Now that we're here. Why don't we go to the dining hall together?" Noah said as Vincent only grabbed Noah's hand and walked towards the dining hall again.

"Why don't we have lunch later under the tree we used to sleep at Vince?" Noah said as he placed his hand on his chin, thinking what activity will be enjoyable at the current weather.

"it's been a while since that. It would be perfect." Vincent nodded in agreement.

"Then it's settled." Noah said with a smile.

The guards who are guarding the Dining Hall immediately opened the large doors to let them enter, and sat down to their previous and respective chairs yesterday. Next came the Twin who adorned matching black and gold clothes, they both noticed Noah and Vincent in the room so they gave their greeting and went to sit in front of them.

"Good morning Sir Noah." Richard said and Audriana nodded.

Noah taught that their cute so he smiled at them while Vincent huffed.

"Uhm..Sir Noah? Can I ask a question?" Audriana asked after some time, Noah was of course delighted, "Of course your can. As long as I can answer it." Audriana hesitate for a while before asking her question.

"Can..Can you use magic?" She asked. Noah was taken aback but he responded enthusiastically, "Yes, Yes I can." He said as he smiled.

Both the Twins eyes glow and sparkle at amazement. Noah thought that the children looks so pure and innocent except their Older Brother is currently grunting, displease.

He then began to take water from his cup using magic and recreate the things he saw outside the Castle. From the bustling Capital City, Green covered Wisteria Mansion, The Imperial Castle and tiny villages he went to. They were amazed as they were not allowed to go outside as it would be dangerous for the children.

The Leondale family has many enemies, made from greed, grudges or them simply want to kill them out of fear. But that doesn't mean they will get hurt, unless they want their family, employers and everyone related to them to be wiped out the Continent of Plietta

Soon after that, Duchess Ophelia entered the Hall and they all stood up to greet her, she walked towards the head seat and breakfast began.

"I already informed Kevin about your work. After all, if it's not you opening the letter and documents with burn and also the soul who decided to steal your message." Noah nodded, "Thank you, your Grace." Duchess Ophelia gave a smile as they all began eating.

"I must say, the spell in the letters sent to you is very dangerous. It seems like no one would want to take a look." Vincent said as he drank some water and stopped eating.

"It has to be that way. Besides only a couple of people would want to see the information in it. I did that so we won't lost another important information, since the last stolen one was valuable. But it won't be any use and it was a defect." Vincent nod as Noah explained the circumstance.

"How many messengers did die in such a spell." Vincent asked again.

Noah got quiet for a moment before eating a strawberry and answered. "Hmm...50."

The twins were noticeably intrigued, while Vincent only smiled and laughed a little.

"Don't worry sir Noah, our Ravens are fast and won't delay a letter." Audriana said excitedly with her twin brother following her with both sparkles in their eyes.

Noah laughed because the Twins were too cute and he never experienced having a little brother or sister so he was happy to interact with children.

"Uhm..sir Noah. Can you..Can you please teach us magic?" Richard suddenly asked.

Duchess Ophelia and Vincent only looked at Noah for his answer.

"It would be my pleasure." He said with a smile and both twins happily jumped in their seats.

Duchess Ophelia only smiled happily and Vincent has his usual bored look, but you can tell he was happy that Noah was having fun and finally have something to do so he won't lose interest.

Soon after that, breakfast ended and Noah changed his clothes to a more comfortable one, a Horse Riding ensemble because he was going to teach the twins some basic magic before having his lunch with Vincent.

"Sir Noah!" Audriana said as she and her brother went to the large field besides the Castle dressed in horse riding clothes.

They were going to learn magic, something that is coveted in their continent. With the seclusive and powerful Tower full of magicians and alike who control Mana, many nobles want to have children who has a lot of potential to enter the exclusive Tower. Both for Status and Power.

"You both look excellent. Now then before we began I would create a barrier first in case we encounter any problems. We wouldn't want anyone to be in danger." Noah suddenly went quiet as the twin watched in awe as they saw the winds pick up began spiraling and encasing the three of them in a barrier.

"(3rd Level barrier: Training)" Noah said as he looked towards to twins.

"Normally I would have place a Level 1 barrier, but since you both hold a large amount of Mana. It would be the best to use a 3rd level one." He said as the twins looked at Noah's hand which now had something floating around it.

"These are the Elements I can control: Wind, Earth, Water, and Light. I can also use Ice as it's the combination of Wind and Water. But I have a problem controlling Fire, Lightning and Dark. For the Dark, it's an affinity that everyone in the Empire stays away because they believe it would bring disaster. But I think that, if one Dark user is taught in the right way and utilize their power for the right. It would be a change in direction." Noah said as the twins looked at the spiral elements in Noah's right hand which hold the elements he can control while his left hand has small fragments of the elements he finds difficult to use.

"Since you both now know that we have the 6 Elements, We would first want to know what your affinities are." Noah said as the elements in his hand disappear.

"How do we do that Sir Noah?" Richard asked while Audriana followed.

Noah smiled as he crouched down to the twins level, "Please, call me Noah. As for how can we know your affinity we would have to use these Element Crystals to know." The twins looked at Noah's palm which have tiny pieces of crystals in different colors.

"As you can guess. Red is Fire, Blue is Water, Green is Earth, Clear is Wind, White is Light, and Black is Dark." Noah explained as he pointed each crystal of it's affinity.

"But what about this Gray one Noah?" Audriana asked.

"This Gray one is Unique, it's a Neutral Crystal of a neutral affinity. This also means that if you have the affinity for this you can use a Bloodline magic or Unique magic a person has." Noah explained while holding the gray gem.

"But that's strange, I thought that only one person has the neutral gem in the empire. So why do you have one Noah?" Richard asked while looking at him, as well as Audriana. Noah playfully smiled and placed his pointer finger in his lips.

"This is a secret Ok? I'm the one who found this gem. And this is also my secret affinity." He said while the twins eyes widened.

"Your the one? Even the tower couldn't touch the owner but it was you?! Can you really tell us a super secret like this?" They both asked in sync.

Noah laughed as the twins were panicking because of the revelation. "Of course! I trust you both that you won't say it. But if it's an emergency you can use this affinity if you have one. And besides it's our secret." The twins both nodded while holding their mouths. Noah laughed as the twins were just panicking and looked like scared rabbits.

"Don't worry, I won't be mad if you use it to help. Now then, take turns and just imagine and chant the element that the gem holds." With determined faces, the twins began.

Richard went first and tried all the Element Crystals by pouring a small amount of Mana into the stone and chanting the element. He succeeded on the element of Fire, Earth, Wind and Dark while using Water didn't only made him exhausted but he was also not compatible with it.

"Water, How can I not control it?" He asked Noah, dejected. Noah smiled and patted his head.

Audriana comforted Richard and praised him before she went ahead and tried hers. She huffed as she look frustrated by the fact she only managed to control the Elements of Fire, Water and Dark while she had a very hard time from Earth and Wind. She was also dejected but looked at Noah as he praised her and them both.

"It was said that a person's ability to control elements are based on their personality. Based on that, you will have your answer. You can control: Fire because you have hope and inspiration but it also means destruction, Earth because you have a steady foundation but it also mean it can crumble, Wind because you want to sore high and be free but it also means a storm, Water because you care for life but it also mean you can drown into something and Dark because your family carried this element since before the family is called Leondale, It would mean its in the blood. But that doesn't mean that it's just full of destruction and everything bad." Noah said as he sighed.

"As I've said earlier, if someone with good intentions teaches a student to use it for the right then it will guide them to the right path. But everyone has a perception on what is right and what is wrong, the color of black and white, sun and moon. Even so, when a person only do and wished for good but still uses the dark will that mean he is evil but all in his life he only saved people?" He asked the twins.

Unsure the twin looked at each other, "Then, We would defend that person. Because we know what is right or wrong, just because it's not something everyone use and considered evil. Everyone shouldn't judge anyone just by their element." They both said as Noah looked at them in shock, before his lips formed into a gentle smile and his face looks serene.

"That's the answer I was looking for, Richard and Audriana." He said while patting their heads.

Before long, it was already 1 in the afternoon.

The twins have both known what element they can control and were happy for the praises it earned them.

"Now, for the neutral." He first handed the neutral gem to Richard.

"Why don't we start with something easy. Try chanting (Grab) or example." Richard was confused but looked at Noah before confirming what he wants. A second later, his hands held the Amber cuffs Noah owns.

Noah was satisfied and praised him, "Great Job. To tell you the truth I was the one who created that neutral spell. I used it to grab and hide things from people in my job. It was really helpful. But do be careful, you wouldn't want grabbing something bad, right? Use this for the good Ok?" Richard understood and nodded.

"Now then, Audriana. It's your turn. But first let's go here." The twins looked at each other as Noah walked towards a tree, which was enclosed with them.

"(Break)" Noah said as the tree split apart.

"Oh, be careful about (Break) one wrong moved and that person is spilt in half like the tree." The twins nod. With a smile, Noah gave the gem to Audriana,

"Say (Reverse) while focusing on the tree." Audriana looked at the gem and held it tight before focusing her mind and vision towards the tree.

"(Reverse!)" She said, and the split apart tree return to its original condition.

"Excellent! Reverse is a spell that can, you guess reverse something to its original condition. Simply put, that tree was split right? So by reverse it turned back to its original condition. But that spell can only activate if the object of interest is damage within the same day. So if that tree was already broken for a long, you can't reverse it anymore. Just think of what would be the advantage of learning this in a serious situation. It could be very handy." Noah explained as he dispelled the barrier.

"Ok, let's end the lesson today. Tomorrow, we will learn about where these Elements came from." He said as he dusted the twins of wind a low leveled wind spell.

"(Breeze)" He said as the wind flew all the dirt and sand from their clothes, now it looked like it was brand new.

"But Noah, we both have Fire and Dark elements that we control. And you mentioned that you can't use them very well." The twins both said. Noah sent quiet as he think for a solution.

"I know!" He shouted, the twins were surprised as their eyes widened.

"Why did you shout?" They both asked. Noah smiled and waved his pointer finger.

"Your Older brother, Vincent. Is very proficient with that element. And also its branch element Lightning." He said in a matter of fact tone.

But the twins were confused, "You think Older brother will help us? We didn't even know he was proficient with these element." They both said.

Noah laughed, "Of course he would. I'll ask him later. Besides, I know that he can because he can already control them when we were kids!" He said as he grabbed the twins hand, Richard in his right, while Audriana in his left.

"Now, clean up and rest. You can come find me later, after lunch so we can also discuss some fun things!" He excitedly said. Both the twins eyes lit up, "we will!" And the three of them laughed.

After Noah sent them inside to rest

'The area here didn't change since then.' Noah thought as he sat down besides the large tree he used to sit and read under in the past.

'It's a good thing I brought a book. Vince said that he will handle lunch so I just have to wait.' He opened the book and began to read.

Some time passed, and before he noticed he's already halfway the through the book he was reading.

He sighed as Vincent was running late, "Hey you!" he was confused as someone shouted at his direction.

"What are you doing here?" A maid stopped in front of him, she was of average height and beauty and only her light brown hair stand out.

"I'm reading a book here." Noah answered as he showed the book.

"And why would you read a book when there's so much work to do?!" She shouted.

'Work? What is she talking about?' Noah thought as she must have mistaken him for a new servant.

"I'm sorry miss, but you must be mistaken." Noah said as he stood up.

"Shut up and follow me! You dare talk back at me! Your just a newbie here!" She screamed and grabbed Noah's collar and harshly dragged him.

'She did mistake me for a servant.; Noah cried in his head.

"I told you! You're heavily mistaken." Noah tried to pry her hands of, but he has a principle to not hurt a lady no matter their standing.

'Oh no, Vincent's going to be furious!' Noah taught as he got ready for the worse as he was already at the West part of the Castle, already far away from the East garden.

Meanwhile, back in the meeting place.

Elias was already scared as his Master was losing patience, his Master already finished his work when an important report came that made him late. Only to find out that Noah was not under the tree, he knew Noah was not the type to go when waiting for a person.

This means that someone took him away, this thought made Vincent furious. Ready to skin away the person who took his Noah.

"Find and bring Noah in front of me! Now Elias!" He ordered.

"Yes!" He answered.

'Just where are you Master Noah!' He thought as he ran frantically to look for Noah.