The Red scarlets

It was your decision.

Reko asked after that, "Can I see the symbol for water magic? Maybe the first spell won't have a long incantation.

Okay.

Lucke then said, flipping through the pages and stopping at the page with the words "The water symbol" at the top. The symbol for water magic was a simple horizontal line with two curves. Among the many symbols, it was the simplest.

The first spell below the horizontal line read, "Grant me the power to create water out of nothing with the power of the great lord of water."

Upon seeing this, Reko sighed and said, "This one isn't any better than the first spell of the plant magic symbol. The incantation is still long and hard to remember. Actually, I'm not even sure if it's possible to remember all that."

Lucke replied, "Maybe, maybe not."

"Well, which one do you plan on practicing? Plant magic or water magic?" Lucke asked.

"Well... since they're both hard to remember, it doesn't really make a difference. But the plant magic spell is the hardest, so I'm going to go with water," Reko responded.

"Oh, so you're changing your choice from plants," Lucke remarked.

"Yes," Reko said quietly while observing the water symbols. The second spell of the water symbol had a date written next to it. The date indicated that learning the second spell would take six months, and the incantation for the second spell was, "Let the uncaged become caged in the cage of water."

"Well, there is one good thing about the water symbol. The second spell is very easy to remember, although it takes six months to learn," Lucke commented.

"Yes, six months is insane, but I guess it might be worth it," Reko replied.

Afterwards, Lucke left the book open for Reko to attempt to memorize the words for the initial spell of the water symbol, while Cleo stayed seated in silence, observing.

Alright, I should have it in my memory now, fingers crossed.

Following that, Lucke glanced at Reko and suggested, "Next time we meet here, please bring a piece of paper or something so I can write down the spell and draw the symbol for you."

Immediately after saying that, he realized that Reko probably didn't have any paper at home due to the state of the kingdom. Lucke fell silent for a moment, and noticing this, Reko reassured him.

"Don't worry, I have paper at home. Next time, I will bring some so I can better learn the spells of the water symbol."

"Oh, okay," Lucke responded, not bothering to inquire about how Reko obtained the paper. Instead, he concluded the conversation there, and they slowly began to rise, preparing to depart.

As they were leaving, Cleo glanced back towards the hidden passage.

"Hey," Ivy called out.

Immediately upon hearing that, Cleo swiftly turned around and started walking, concealing the golden jewelry in his pocket, while Reko, Lucke, and Ivy also held some out of sight to avoid being robbed.

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Alright, that's all for today. I hope you practice this method. It's a method that really helps with gaining control of your energy, which will truly help when it comes to magic.

I know, I know," Amori said as Miss Light left the room, closing the door behind her.

Now in her room on her own, Amori sighed before dropping onto her bed.

I guess my other magic instructors didn't know about this method of controlling your energy, but it's very challenging to be able to control your energy to the point that you can place it into an object, which I didn't even know was possible. I wonder how Miss Light figured out how to use this technique. Either way, it should be helpful since I have been struggling with using my energy.

Amori stood up and continued drawing the symbol of fire magic, focusing her energy into her hand and time after time trying to focus it into the pen.

Ok, that's it for today," she said and then stood up from the bed, picked up the pen and paper, and walked over to her bag and placed them both inside.

Alright, time to see what mother has been up to. She's always so busy with handling work related to the council of the kingdoms. I'm not even completely sure what she does because most of the time she's just writing up papers after papers. Surely that must get boring and tiring.

Amori walked over to the door and pushed it open before walking out into the large and expensive corridor. She closed the door and saw Alfred standing beside it.

Umm Alfred... Do you know where I can find my mother at the moment?

Alfred thought for a second before finally responding, "I believe she said she had no work to take care of today, so I believe you should be able to find her in the garden or her room."

Alright Alfred," after saying that, Amori started walking down the long corridor. As she walked down the corridor, she arrived at the door at the end, which was a large white door slightly larger than the others with a golden door handle.

She walked over to the door and knocked.

Knock, knock, knock.

But there was no answer. She twisted the doorknob and entered the room. This room was her mother's room and the room of King Alexander. It was an extremely large room with many expensive furniture, such as a golden lamp, chandelier, a larger white cabinet and wardrobe, and a very large bed with corner posts that had red and black sheets, and a small side table and two large glass doors that leads to a balcony, which had a round wooden table and chairs along with two guards wearing golden armor.

After surveying the room, she realized that her mother was not present. However, she could easily find out her whereabouts by asking one of the guards on the balcony. With this in mind, she made her way towards the glass doors that led to the balcony. She turned the handles and pushed them open, stepping out onto the balcony. To her right stood a knight in golden armor, and to her left was another knight in golden armor.

"Good morning, princess," both knights greeted immediately upon turning and seeing her walk through the glass door.

"Good morning, gentlemen."

"John, do you happen to know where I could find my mother?" she inquired.

John, the knight on the left side of the balcony, had brown eyes and blonde hair, and a large sword on his back. He pondered for a moment before replying, "Well, I'm almost certain you can find her in the garden. If not, then perhaps try the library."

Upon hearing this, Amori let out a sigh and said, "Well, a wonderful day to you both. I shall take my leave now."

"We wish you a wonderful day as well, princess."

After hearing their farewell, Amori walked back through the large glass door, closing it behind her. She then proceeded to walk through the front door and closed it as well. Making her way down the corridor in the direction she came from, she passed numerous doors before finally stopping at one.

She opened the door and faced a wooden stairwell that led down to the first floor. Descending the stairs, she eventually reached the bottom where she encountered a door in front of her. Opening it, she stepped through.

Once inside, she closed the door behind her and found herself at the end of another long corridor. At the end of the corridor was a wooden door. She approached it, turned the doorknob, and pushed it open before stepping out.

As she emerged, she noticed flowers lining both sides of a path that encircled the house. There were also several armored knights present. Following the path, she arrived in the garden where she spotted her mother engaged in conversation with Khan. Amori hid behind a tall tree situated at the entrance of the garden, adorned with a white arbor and an abundance of flowers. From her hiding spot, she was able to clearly hear the conversation between her mother and Khan.

My queen, Alexander mentioned that there's quite a situation occurring in the kingdom. Has he informed you?

Oh, do you mean the situation with the Red scarlets? I believe he mentioned that a red scarlet executive badge was found on a train. Also, please don't refer to me as "queen", just call me by my normal name, Alice.

Okay, Alice, you know this isn't good, right? Five years ago, when the red scarlets first appeared, I agreed to help my brother defend the kingdom against them. As soon as they appeared, the people of Kanull went crazy. They started attacking us, moving behind the walls with the help of the red scarlets, stealing resources, and killing many of our people.

We reached a compromise where we gave them some of our resources, but now the inevitable is approaching.

What do you mean by "the inevitable"?

A war. When the red scarlets first appeared, I wanted to eliminate them with the help of the secret assassination association. However, Alexander didn't want that and thought it would lead to an even bigger war. But allowing them to win the war five years ago was a mistake. Now I'm certain that they have returned with plans to destroy us.

Are you certain? They have been silent for years. Why not maintain this peace? Why would they start another war when we have the technology to fight them now? It would be like a snake trying to fight an eagle - they would all perish.

I understand, but it's still a possibility.

Upon hearing that, Alice sighed before agreeing that it is indeed a possibility, so we should at least prepare.

Oh, I'm sure you've heard about Hywin's death. Do you think the sudden appearance of a Red scarlet executive is connected to that?

Yes, Alice replied. I think Magret somehow killed Hywin in order to take his position as the family head, and this might be why this Red scarlet individual has appeared.

Are you sure? It's Magret we're talking about. Even though she cares for humans, would she really kill her grandfather for them? She's usually very kind to everyone, so I find it hard to believe she would kill anyone.

Exactly. That's why I think maybe this Red scarlet individual might be the one who killed Hywin. The only issue with this theory is that the red scarlet executive kept taking the same train repeatedly, unless he was trying to confuse us. Hmm... maybe he intentionally dropped the badge to divert our attention from what's really happening and instead focus on them.

Perhaps, perhaps. So, do you believe that Magret is working with the Red scarlets?

Yes, definitely, certainly, but it's not as simple as going up to her and telling her that she's being arrested for collaborating with the Red Scarlets. After all, she comes from the Wire Union family.

So, what do you think we should do about this issue? I have a feeling that it will only escalate into something dangerous.

Well, for now, I'll try to have a conversation with the council and get their thoughts on the situation.

Okay, I will talk to you again about this matter.