Elana was waiting for the Professor near the entrance of the academy. A large bag rested in her hand as she gazed up at the tall spires rising above the grounds.
She was going back ho today, planning to return tomorrow. Although her examinations were already over, she wanted to spend the rest of the month here so she could see Adrian regularly.
She knew her parents would ask her to stay with them since she no longer had classes to attend. And they would be right. However, if she agreed, she would be away from Adrian for months, and that was unacceptable.
She understood that a short separation was inevitable, but she didn’t have the courage to face it now. That was why she intended to lie to her parents or sohow convince them to let her co back here.
"Elana." A soft voice reached her from the left.
She turned, her lips already curling into a smile as she saw the man who had beco the very reason she had grown so attached to this place.
Her ntor, her teacher, and the love of her life.
"Professor," she greeted, her eyes bright.
"How do you feel now?" he asked. After returning from Scarlette’s world, she had been quite exhausted.
When he returned that morning, Ariana had told him that Elana woke up last night and went back to her room since she wanted to take a bath and rest on her bed.
"I am perfectly fine, sir," Elana replied with a nod. "No fatigue, no changes."
Adrian humd thoughtfully. He wanted to suggest that she get checked by a dic, however, seeing her usual cheerful self made it seem unnecessary.
"Back then...you really went against my words and attacked that plant, huh?" Adrian said with a faint smile.
Maintaining that Void, which had created the battlefield for them, was already a considerable effort on her part. Extra support had been unnecessary, since it could have put her under imnse strain, potentially causing internal damage and even collapsing the Void itself.
However, fortunately, nothing bad happened. Thanks to Elana’s overwhelming strength and precise spell control, she was able to take down the enemy without allowing a single casualty on their side.
Truly marvelous.
Elana grew flustered. "Ah...well...I thought that thing was going to hurt you, so I had to do sothing."
Back then, when she noticed that all of Adrian’s attacks were failing to land and that mutant plant was about to launch its final strike, she couldn’t stop herself.
She knew she had to do sothing.
Yes, her body had been under the severe burden of a sixth-tier spell. It wasn’t sothing she could simply cast and withdraw. Sustaining the spell required a constant drain of energy, and she wasn’t very used to it. However, when she thought about her beloved getting burned by that thing, sothing inside her changed.
"The armant responded to my desire to protect you," she reported, her gaze lowered to the ground. "It shared my burden and guided through the correct direction to chant the spell. And because of that, the worst I suffered was exhaustion."
Adrian crossed his arms, his eyes narrowing. "Interesting."
There were many things he wanted to ask, but before that, he said, "Let’s start walking."
They were already getting late. They could reach the Dukedom through teleportation, but not directly to the mansion, since Elana didn’t have the permit to use that portal.
Why was that so? Because Elana had only gone back ho twice since joining the academy. Because of that, she had never bothered asking her father for a permit.
"Elana...really. You should pay more attention to your family. They must miss you a lot."
Elana shook her head. "Not that much, sir. My mother adopted a child when I was eleven. She is usually busy taking care of him."
Adrian had never been inford about that. Canonically, Elana’s family had always been limited to her father because of his significance to the plot.
That was why he didn’t know.
Tilting his head, he asked, "Do you not get along with him?" As he spoke, he took the bag from her hand.
Elana was about to protest, saying she was fine carrying it herself, but the bag vanished from his grasp the very next mont, reminding her that her Professor possessed a pocket dinsion where he could store things.
Truly, he was one of a kind.
"I do get along with him, but I feel like there’s a wall between us. His behavior around and my mother feels...different."
Adrian nodded in understanding. "It’s always difficult to accept new people into your life. And you joined the academy only a few years later, so it’s quite understandable."
Reaching the foot of the hill, they entered the teleportation portal, where Adrian paid the fee for their journey.
Elana wanted to contribute, but Adrian simply said, "Don’t worry about it."
Elana didn’t know why, but being taken care of by him felt strangely warm. It almost felt as if they were a married couple.
Soon, they stepped onto the altar with their destination in mind.
Stronghart Dukedom.
....
Calebenia was the central city of the Dukedom, known for its production of wax and wooden goods.
Traders from all across the nation ca here to strike deals with the producers, after which the wax products were distributed everywhere.
When they stepped out of the portal, they found themselves on the outskirts of the Dukedom.
"Let’s book a carriage first," Adrian said as he walked beside Elana toward the rows of carriages parked nearby.
At the end of the year, the sun hanging above them felt pleasantly warm against the skin.
Adrian was about to take off his coat when Elana suddenly warned, "You might catch a cold from the sudden temperature shift. Please be careful, Professor."
Adrian knew this much wouldn’t make him sick, but since she spoke with such sincerity, he listened and kept his coat on.
Soon, they reached one of the carriages, where a man was reading a newspaper.
"Excuse , could you take us to the Duke’s residence?"
The driver frowned and lowered the paper from his face. It wasn’t common for soone to use a regular teleportation portal to visit the Duke.
However, the mont he saw the silver-haired girl standing beside Adrian, whose hair matched the Duke’s, the driver stiffened.
"Umm, excuse ?" Adrian called out again.
The man hurriedly nodded. "Ah, yes. I was wondering...is this lady a relative of the Duke?"
Elana didn’t answer, and the man didn’t press the matter further. Instead, he quickly opened the carriage door and gestured politely. "Please step inside. It will be a smooth ride."
Adrian chuckled softly. Elana was always so gentle and warm around him that he sotis forgot how her usual presence could make others nervous.
He then offered his hand to her. Elana took it a little shyly and stepped into the carriage.
Once they were seated, the driver confird that they were comfortable before the scenery outside began to shift as the carriage set off.
"Have you inford your father about your arrival?" Adrian asked, leaning back against the cushioned backrest.
The carriage was spacious, and the seats were broad enough to prevent discomfort during long journeys.
"No, Professor," Elana replied. "I intend to surprise them with this visit."
A faint smile appeared on her face as she said that.
Originally, she had planned to visit during her father’s birthday, but many things had happened and she couldn’t return ho at the ti. Right now, they were surely not expecting her arrival.
So yes, it was sothing new for her...to surprise her parents.
Adrian nodded, smiling in response. That showed that despite the distance, she was still quite close to her family.
Then he returned to the topic that had been on his mind ever since he first heard about it.
"Tell about the armant, Elana. How did it contact you? Or what did it say?"
Elana thought back to what had happened.
Her eyes grew slightly dazed as she spoke. "It wasn’t verbal. I couldn’t hear any words or sentences, and yet I could understand its intentions...almost like looking at myself in a mirror."
She folded her hands over her knee before continuing, "It actually adjusted the burden my body was experiencing through its presence. During the spell chant, the armant was receiving far more mana than it had in a dormant state. But when I decided to go beyond what you had told , that burden lessened, allowing to charge at that plant without sustaining any damage."
Adrian ntally noted everything she said. While she appeared completely fine, what she described was anything but ordinary.
If not for her imnse mana reserves, forget about casting a second spell. The Void alone could have crushed her within seconds.
When it ca to wielding a fifth tier armant, four things were essential: mana reserve, tolerance, control, and experience.
And Elana had managed to fulfill all of them, even pushing past that limit with sheer grit and determination.
Just to be on the safe side, once they arrived, Adrian would have a look at her Gate to ensure she didn’t receive any minor injury which she couldn’t feel right now.
However, before that, Adrian must cross a hurdle. And that was the Stronghart couple.
°°°°°°°°°°
A/N:- Thanks for reading. If you are enjoying the story so far, drop a comnt or leave a review since the story is actually dying. But I don’t wanna drop it...
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