Moulin closed his eyes, smiling faintly as a tender kiss was placed on his head. "Honestly... one would think we wouldn't be seeing each other for a long ti."
Silver eyes opened, revealing a glint of amusent. Breakfast lightened his mood even more, and he was more than satisfied seeing that Snow would be entertaining himself in the bedroom instead of going with him to the library with Calanthe.
Golden eyes deepened, gazing at the youth reflected on its dark irises. Standing before Moulin, Hadrian wrapped his arms a bit tightly. "Several hours will feel like years-"
"Shut your mouth and go to work." Moulin rolled his eyes with a smirk on his lips. He pushed away from the golden-eyed man's embrace and walked away into the hallway, giving a little wave without turning back.
'He's too busy to be staying here all day,' Moulin thought. The smile on his face gradually faded. Although he wanted Hadrian to finish whatever work he had left unfinished in Falowright, he was glad Hadrian took so ti to see him, knowing it would be too dangerous for Moulin to visit Hadrian himself.
While he went away to attend his sessions with Lady Calanthe, a certain golden-eyed lord remained standing in the hallway until Moulin's figure disappeared. The man's once warm aura and soft eyes imdiately vanished, replaced by a haunting oppressiveness that could suffocate people in a breath. Golden eyes darkened significantly while his perfect countenance turned expressionless.
Then, he turned around, making his way towards Moulin's bedroom with steady steps. Once he arrived, he closed the door and lifted his eyes.
"Your Excellency..." Ordan bowed respectfully with a hand over his heart. If one had a superb hearing, their ears would hear the pounding beating of his heart. However, the man's face was devoid of panic and fear, like a criminal ready to accept his deserved punishnt.
Lord Hadrian did not speak, eting his firm gaze. The tension in the air thickens without a word being said. When the lord approached him, a strong, oppressive aura suddenly filled the entire room.
Ordan almost toppled over, feeling a powerful force pressing against him from all directions. His body trembled, and his pupils shook. He felt like a brittle stone being crushed in one's palm.
Golden eyes glowed with silent ferocity, "I have let your relentless gazes on him pass. I tolerated your seeming 'kindness' towards him. For him..."
Ordan felt the pressure grow stronger but continued eting the man's gaze. He felt like prey, vulnerable and helpless before the jaws of a horrifying monster...
Hadrian's eyes dangerously narrowed, "But it seems instead of eliminating your emotions, you chose to nurture them..."
"I have... never had the thought of pursuing him, My Lord." Ordan managed to speak, barely able to breathe. "... I will always stay true to your commands."
"You desire him..." Hadrian spat. The golden glow in the lord's eyes was almost monstrous. His voice was frighteningly colder. "Do not think I did not see it in your eyes."
"My loyalty has never wavered." Ordan lets out a shuddering breath, feeling his muscles grow weak and vision gradually failing. "I... am ant to take care of him and protect him. I swore I have never have I acted for my gains. You, my lord, of all, bore witness to my faith and allegiance. My... kindness is rely an act to be companionable before the young master..."
"See that I do not doubt that..." Hadrian narrowed his eyes. "You are already testing my trust. If you lose it, do not bla for destroying all that you are worth."
Suddenly, his aura vanished. Finally, Ordan took in large gasps, breathing desperately. His knees crashed to the floorboards with a loud thud.
Hadrian looked down at his worthless figure. The fury in his eyes hardly receded. As he turned to the door to leave, Hadrian reminded him. "You are lucky to be irreplaceable... but that soon that will change. You know well not to cross ..."
"Yes... My Lord." Ordan hoarsely replied. His eyes are drier than normal, redding the corner of his eyes while the last wisps of the High Lord's mana disappear.
He never knew an energy so dark and nacing had co from Lord Hercullio. It was terrifying and... strange.
.....
Warm sunlight radiantly fell over Moulin's figure as he rested his chin on his palm while endlessly tapping the end of the pen on the table surface. When he looked down on his writings, his long lashes fluttered elegantly like a butterfly's wings. Writings on the book of Orchaedia glistened as his fingers lazily caressed them.
Lady Calanthe slightly narrowed her eyes, pausing from assessing the runes on the book. "You have been in a daze three tis for the last hour. If you have anything stuck in your mind, it is best to express it before you fail to control the mindforge once more."
Moulin flinched at her words. His face reddened in embarrassnt while his finger gently scratched his jaw. Ah, he made her grumpy again...
Moulin mulled over her words for a few seconds before deciding to tell her about what Hadrian, and he did in the garden. Of course, like a dutiful student, he didn't forget to convey the findings he discovered by testing the arcan relic with Ordan. The elder sorceress calmly leaned on her wooden staff while listening intently as she sat beside him.
"A golden dragon?" Lady Calanthe's eyes widened slightly. "How peculiar..."
It seems she was more interested in the golden dragon of energy Hadrian made. Moulin kept a smile.
"Ah, I recall the Hercullian lineage possessed the gifts of the Golden Dragon of War." Lady Calanthe's thoughtfully spoke, lifting her gaze in wonder. "The news regarding Lord Hercullio's gifts reached far and wide. And as everyone expected, he grew to beco a very powerful man... However, their gifts weren't wholly limited to influencing weather and their power. Before, they could communicate with the dragon and deities themselves..."
Moulin blinked. "They could speak to deities?"
Lady Calanthe nodded, "The golden dragon was mighty yet very expressive. It was the source of light and hope as the heavenly realms were lively. But as magic was able to be corrupted and used maliciously, our connection with the realms gradually weakened."
A crease appeared between the young man's slender brows. It was not the first ti Moulin heard of such stories. His eyes settled on the book of Orchaedia, revealing worshippers and altars. "Evil always finds its way into people's hearts... most find it the easiest way to satisfy and grant their desires."
Such as how easy it was for people to be drawn to death to end their misery. Moulin took a deep breath, trying to soothe the faint tightness of his chest.
The older woman observed him silently before she spoke, "It is why we fight to give hope... At tis like these, people are helpless, scared, and desperate. Many would turn to the darkness when one's lost all hope. The Kron has reigned too long, and with our weak relationships with the other realms, there is little to be done..."
Moulin nodded. His fingers stroked the writings on the ancient book carefully while his dejection filled his eyes. He shouldn't mope about it too much. Even Dileans, Corhan's priest and priestesses, found it very difficult to communicate with their Gods, and at tis like these, when the Kron ravaged the land, taking the lives of most templar followers, it was even tougher.
A few hours into their lessons, Lady Calanthe left him to his study and research, leaving the library so he could focus. However, not without leaving him one passively warning glance. Moulin reminded himself not to daze away anymore and continued to study.
'My visions seed to get hazier and hazier.' Moulin thought, reminded as he assessed the drawings of magical dreams in the ancient book. His progress with Lady Celeste was far from being fruitful. He achieved the sa drowning result every ti he tried to venture and reach behind the wall of ice.
He was always stuck.
"Honestly..." He mumbled.
Everything in the mystical fra of mind was too confusing for him to investigate. Moulin buried his head in his arms, deciding to rest for a few minutes...
"..."
Hopefully, Lady Calanthe wouldn't co back suddenly...
...
A faint sound reached his ears. At first, Moulin thought it was the breeze desperately trying to enter through the gaps of the windows. But the next ti it sounded, it hinted more like paper siding against each other.
Moulin slowly lifted his head. Curiosity filled his bright silver pupils...
The pages from the Book of Orchaedia began to turn on their own as though so invisible hand were flipping the pages. For many weeks, Moulin had obsessively studied the book. It was safe to say that he was familiar with everything written in it.
However...
The new pages seed to materialize before his eyes. Forming from the mana lingering within the air... It was his mana...
Moulin swallowed, afraid of moving lest he'd disrupt the book's work. The ancient book seed to be using his mana to form new blank pages. After a few seconds, the production abruptly stopped, with the last of the pages falling into place. Moulin was faced with a pair of blank pages, clean and mysterious...
...
"It stopped..." Moulin changed the angle of his vision, examining the open book closely. The silence from his surroundings turned awkward and deafening.
"..."
Was he supposed to do sothing?
Hesitantly, the youth reached out a hand and lightly brushed the tips of his fingers against the paper surface, allowing a sliver of his mana to fill his touch.
Whoosh!
"...!"
In an instant, gold writings and drawings ford on the paper, revealing a hidden knowledge. The air thrumd with energy as cold mana filled the entire pages. A layer of frost even ford in the corners of the paper. Astonished silver eyes reflected the magical transformation. New sketches and diagrams, both simple and complex, revealed themselves before him, flashing bright gold and silver lights.
If Moulin didn't blink his eyes enough, he would've been blind.
When the lights faded, a title presented itself.
Curiosity grew with burning anticipation. The youth's lips moved.
"Arcan Shrines?..."
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