Chapter 10

The time I spent with father came to an end, we hugged and said our goodbyes, me going back to my room and father back to his work.

After Alida went out of his office, Nicola's smiling face turned cold, a frown between his eyebrows. The patriarch was enraged.

Not long after Count Anderson enter the office .

"Anderson investigate my daughter's life at the Academy." With a cold voice dripping with rage, the patriarch instructed his advisor some more and went back to his desk to continue his work.

A storm was brewing in the Empire without anyone knowing and some nobles would have to suffer.

After entering my room I instructed one of my maids about tomorrow's departure and went back to my daily routine : mediation , eating, meditation sleeping. I was quite proud at what I achieved. Before my arrival , Alida's mana was barely a full bowl of soup but I managed to double it in just a week. Of course it's not like she was lazy , at first, just that the beginning is more hard but after you grasp it, it becomes more natural and a little easier and the good part was that there were plants of mana planted in specific locations of the estate to help us cultivate our mana pool easier.

A mana plant was a plant that existed since we can remember, the ancient times, that releases mana specific to us, in our case the blueish-white colored blobs, that's why mana specific to lightning was more abundant than any other. Our mana plants were blue-white in color, looked like bells but pointing upwards instead of down. They needed to be regularly watered with a special type of water that was provided by The Church of Sun and Moon, wich was extremely expensive, that's why the more up the ladder you were the more your chances of being more powerful.

After a good dinner and my meditation/cultivation time was over I went to bed eager for tomorrow's visit.

The next morning.

After a hearty breakfast I started preparing, with my maids help, for the outing. Since I'm a lover of pants more than dresses, although I love both, i picked my outfit for today. I decided to go with a black pair of fitted skinny pants, a white blouse with gold ridges that was fitted from up my shoulders to my waist line then cascading like a dress down just enough to cover my bottom, then paired these with black and gold boots and a golden short jacket. My hair up in a ponytail with some accessories to mach in it, some light make-up, a pair of purple earrings and I was good to go.

Exiting my room and down the stairs, i was in front of the mansion in no time but i was stunned at the sight in front of me. What awaited me was an exquisite carriage with our family's simbol on the sides , a diamond with a lightning in the middle and in the background clouds that formed a tornado. The carriage matched my outfit quite well, it was mostly white with black and purple in it. The part that stunned me most was the fact that instead of four escorts I had eight, all on horses and ready to move, but I saw that two of them had a different uniform. Instead of the standart purple uniform of our House, these two escorts had black and purple uniforms wich signified the Patriarch's special unit.

'I guess father wanted to make sure nobody bullies his daughter huh?' I taught inwardly but honestly I felt like something was sticking in my throat and breathing down my neck just by seeing all these people. Add to the fact that I needed a couchman and a maid with me, we were already more than ten people, me included. I guess it's to be expected since this is something I never experienced before.

Me and Flora , my maid, boarded the carriage and set off .

The road to The Church of Sun and Moon took almost three hours. It was a long and tiring journey. But i wasn't bored, since this was my first outing i was eager to explore the capital. The capital of the Misstryne Empire was named after the wife of the first emperor since it's founding days : Helena.

The capital city of Helena was a very big city , expanding over 3000 metre square , it was both located near mountains in the north and plain hills all around. The Palace was located center-south, while the Burgess estate was located in the East and where we are going, The Church of Sun and Moon is located in the north where most of the mountains are.

The City oh Helena is a very beautiful city, with houses big and small, the architecture of the houses vary but most being a combination of modern and baroque style. The streets are clean, paved and along the roads you can find gardens and fountains especially made for relaxing along with all kinds of businesses big or small like cafes, boutiques, jewelry stores, shoe stores, small libraries etc. The City is a sight to the eyes, clean and bright , giving of a joyful and pleasant atmosphere.

After almost three hours we finally arrived at our destination. When the people saw our carriage, all made way for us to pass. Except for the royal family and the archduke's family no house has priority in front of a Duke's family.

At the entrance gate the coachman said something to the guards and then we proceeded with entry.

The Church's courtyard was big as a football field, paved with marble in white and gray color. Along the way to the sides you could find small patches of green with a few small trees and benches to relax. Some benches had a cover some had not. Straight in front at the end of the courtyard and in the center was the Primary Temple, big as a cathedral mostly used for official matters or nobles and to the sides small temples for people to pray in them. In the back was a huge library and to the far end were quarters for people who wished to stay overnight and the priests and nunes. All in all it was a magnificent sight.

Getting off the carriage i decided to walk on foot until the cathedral wanting to enjoy and absorb more of the scenery. Although Alida's memories were clear about this place, nothing beats the experience of seeing it with your own eyes.

With my head up, left and right ,and not watching were I was going I actually bumped into someone.