Of Power and Secrets

The Academy was not the only educational institution in Yves Empire. But it was the most prestigious and well-known; placed at the edge of the Capital, it was built the same time as Yves when it was founded. Usually, children could enter school at the age of 11 years old, they would then be called Initiates. At that time, they could choose between being a magician or being a swordsman. Both employ mana but had different focuses. Magi emphasizes wide-scale magic and uses long-range attacks when in battle while on the contrary, swordsmen use short-range attacks and highlight the application of mana on their sword.

In their third year, they could be Acolytes after passing a series of exams; finishing their fourth year would make them graduates from training and be called Apprentices. Their second-half of Academy would begin and by then some students would fail so few could proceed with the apprenticeship. People who could continue, however, needed to find a mentor whose specialty also aligns with theirs.

They would need to successfully pass the ceremony before entering the Academy again. Calling it a ceremony would be stretching it though because it was a contest between the students. Magi and swordsmen would battle between themselves and showcase their talent in the academy stadium wherein mentors would choose the apprentice that they had set their eyes on. The winner of the contest could get some perks but none of them would compare to the teacher that they would get. On the other hand, it depends on the mentors on who they would choose, the best ones would not necessarily choose the Top 1.

If their journey was smooth sailing, students could graduate after eight years and be a magus or a swordsman. They could then increase their standing either by doing research or going on life-threatening journeys. From then on their power would be confirmed by testing their magic levels using crystal balls and only then they could be promoted. To do this most magi would join an organization that would provide them resources and support. In return, they would work for the organization – some choose to go rogue but this was not common.

The stages of being a magician after entering the academy would usually be from Magus, High Magus, Grand Magus to Arch Magus. If they chose to master the art of the sword while employing mana, it would be Swordsman, Swordmaster, Great Swordmaster, and Swordmaster Emperor, respectively.

Funny enough, the Emperor of Yves was a Swordmaster Emperor and the leader of the Magic Tower was an Arch Magus. The former was a public figure while the latter was a hermit. Both were needed to balance the power of the empire, the disappearance of one could be treated as a national disaster. Having large powerhouses like them could determine the future of the country, they could also serve as protection from places that wanted to conquer other lands.

It would also not take a long time until Kira could enter the Academy, but for now, she had to continue her studies in her own home. This was a common practice for nobility and also the reason why they were one step ahead of commoners. They were educated right after their mana aptitude test so they have better chances of passing. Their strength as magi or swordsmen would also determine their position in nobility, some would be endorsed to a higher position, some would be demoted.

This was why some commoners would try their luck with magic, it would be a reverse of their fortune.

The Roelf family, so far, had produced outstanding heirs. Even now Esternon showed great aptitude in learning swordsmanship, he was also talented in his magic studies. Their father, Duke Albert Roelf, was currently a powerful mage and a Great Swordmaster – he was now on the boundary of being a Swordmaster Emperor.

Of course, since their family was focused on swordsmanship, the silver-haired girl had no choice but to also learn the art of the swords. As Kira would say, she would need to undergo 'training' at the age of five, if anyone were to ask her the so-called 'training' was just one-sided beating. Who could teach a five-year-old properly?

Even her older brother had to be beaten black and blue by her father before he entered the Academy. Back then she would laugh at him but when it was her turn she realized she would rather die on the spot. Kira knew she have no talent for this stuff, maybe using her fist would suffice. At this point, she was only doing this for the honor of their family. Nowadays, she could handle the sword better and although it was not up to par with her brother's, she could at least defend herself.

Typically, when the boy was at home, he would be the one that would spar with his sister. But since he already started school, he could only bully the girl at every end of the school year. Esternon was now turning 12 and even though his classmates would call him a sister-con, she begs to disagree. The boy had not even tried to pull his punches when they were having a 'friendly fight', he was also not that soft with her at all.

The girl knew her brother the most, although she gets irritated with him from time to time she could not deny he was a great sibling. Without him, she would not be confident with her sword skill at all. He had taken care of Al and her right after their mother died. Which made Kira admire him more. For her it was no problem to process her grief, she was not a six-year-old mentally. But the boy was only nine when their mom died, his sadness was probably unimaginable.

----

If Arthur did not know any better, he would have thought that the Duke was some stoic old man hungry for children who would not stop crying. Well, that was how the commoners described him.

In his defense, that was also what he thought when her mother had thrown him into the duchy. He could not deny this uncle of his was scary as hell, all the self-centeredness in his bones evaporated once this man had thrown a sword right in between his legs – almost cutting off the little Arthur there. That was probably why he did not pursue swordsmanship, it became the lifelong trauma that gave him nightmares at night.

"Mother said it would be my choice if I wanted to stay in the Roelf Duchy for my vacation." Peering at his uncle slowly, he straightened his back as the man's gaze was directed at him.

"That woman still thinks she's still young, you're already 14, you're not that rowdy as before, you can go back to your mother now," the Duke lowered down his eyes to write on the documents on his table. "Was it your choice to stay here?"

"Yes, Uncle."

Without looking at him he continued to take care of the papers while clicking his tongue. "Nevermind, you can visit here anytime. I'm also thankful that you chose to teach Kira while you're using your time off studying."

The teen almost snorted but he tried his best to stop himself. He wanted to inform the duke that the girl was the one that cornered him and forced him to be a tutor. On the other hand, he could not deny that he was the one who let himself be blackmailed, he was fond of his cousin after all so it was alright to work a little while he was there.

"It was not a big deal, you know she's smart. It's better if I can help her while she's still young." His tone was noncommittal, perfectly aware he was never really good at teaching. The only thing that made the student-teacher relationship work was Kira's proficiency in grasping topics that were discussed to her just once.

The Duke sighed as he finally dropped the pen in his hand. "How are you faring in the Academy, by the way? I heard the First Prince had been found, thank goodness he was still safe and sound."

"They mentioned it was done by some dark organization," he pondered while he tilted his head to the side. "The Director was even reluctant to let the students return home but he could not handle the worried parents. Mother was also helping with the investigation, and from what I have heard the children were abducted not because of their powerful background but rather because of their mana reserves."

Duke Albert frowned as he drummed his fingers at the edge of the table.

The first prince of the Empire disappeared right before the end of the school year. Amidst the explosion near the boy's dormitory, the school officials were distraught when they realized the son of the Emperor was captured. When the imperial family had learned of what happened they announced a wide-scale lockdown, it took them a day to find the boy. There were no reported casualties and the destroyed buildings could easily be remade.

They found him in an underground hide-out along with other children who were being experimented on. They were performing research on how to widen the mana reserves at a young age; the research aimed to also produce magicians from a non-magician lineage. Experimenting on the emperor's son was part of their final stage in research. He was a good seedling since he was young and had a large potential, enlarging his mana would mean it would still grow larger as he become older.

"Is Esternon with the first prince?" Arthur inquired as he was aware that both of the boys were friends. The two of them were in the same year and the same class, he also saw them together once when he was in the Academy.

"That boy insisted on being with the prince, although I do not know how he made the Emperor and Empress agree he was staying in the palace right now. " The duke grabbed the nearest stack of papers on his right and shuffled them on the table. "You should also rest now, it's getting pretty late."

"Well, I will excuse myself then," the teen obediently replied as he stood up.

Arthur was not aware of the details of the abduction. The only thing he had heard was that the monarchists were filing a complaint and were using this opportunity to suggest waging war with other countries. The Emperor did not approve and proceeded to launch his special investigation team. The teen was not sure if it would delay the start of the next opening of the academy since it was a matter of national security but for now, he would opt to stay with his uncle since his parents were not in their home.

Scratching his head, he thought of how he should tell it to Kira.

----

Kira frowned absently as she tried to teleport the mouse from inside its cage to the other end of the room. She had been trying to control the other mana and now she started to use it on living things. Thankfully, all her efforts were not in vain, as long as she can see the distance it would not be a problem to safely move something to another place.

She confirmed that the mouse was still alive and were not missing a limb. Afterward, she proceeded to walk to her bedside table to get the letter placed on top. Kira opened it to look at its contents, she had already read this earlier but she still felt out of sorts after. This was a letter given by her father from her mother before she died. Written in it was her mother's message for her and her goodbyes.

Below that was the information about her teleportation magic.

Marissa Roelf was known as the princess that does not have magic. That was why her father and brother were so worried she might not have any. To her knowledge, her father had still married her mother even after his elders disagreed. This was also the reason why the imperial family had allowed it. The political power of the Roelf family would lessen since chances of producing offspring with magic would be low, it would also prevent their family from rising through the ranks.

Her mother was born from a concubine and although it was this way, she was still close with her other half-siblings. That concubine also had no mana but Kira was now sure her grandmother also had teleportation magic.

Marissa instructed her father to not read the letter in any circumstances, and whether the girl had passed the mana aptitude test or not, he needed to give the letter to her. She must have realized her daughter could use teleportation magic after Kira was kidnapped when she was young then decided to tell her the secret about their magic before she died. The silver-haired girl started to feel edgy since the contents of the letter does not only include the revelation but also the place where her mom had hidden her journal.

Remembering the silhouette of the blonde woman, she was at a loss at what she should do. The girl decided to retrieve her mother's journal and then proceed from there.

It was a trait of their lineage to produce a different kind of magic, and they had kept it from others for so long since it could be dangerous if other people would know. Presumably, no one knows where the magic started because no one had kept a record when they started to go into hiding.

Hiding from whom, that was what she still had no idea about. Maybe the journal would have an answer to it.