The Reincarnator's Inauspicious Route to Finding Love Chapter 33: Keeping Flies Away (2)

Adrien made his way to the forest after his classes ended for the day. Much to his relief, he only shared that one class with Mikyle for the day. Unfortunately, he had two classes with Mikyle the next day.

Adrien veered off the path by the pond once he ca across a parting in the trees. Over the weekend, he had decided to start practicing his Elentalism outside of his room. He had stumbled on the perfect spot the day before, a quiet place that was out of sight and it even had a small creek running through it.

He followed the path, if it could even be called that. He soon ca upon the spot where he had practiced the day before.

Setting his satchel down, he unbuttoned his outer shirt and folded it neatly before placing it on top of the satchel. He had learned during his earlier practices just how much he could sweat while tapping into his Mana.

Adrien made his way over to the creek. He sat down on a clean spot and closed his eyes. He then inhaled a deep breath, holding it in for a few seconds before releasing it.

Inhale and hold.

Then exhale.

And repeat.

Envisioning his Mana circulating through him as a pure, living entity, Adrien started to feel a tingling sensation rise within him. Opening his eyes, he raised his arm with his fingers outstretched. Using his will alone, he forced the Mana to flow into his hand.

The Mana flowed into his hand, building up like a slowly rising stream. He willed the Mana to leave the confines of his hand. The Mana surged forward, striking against an unseen wall where it fizzled out before it had the chance to escape its confines.

Adrien fell onto the leaf and grass covered floor, his chest rapidly rising and falling with every breath. Sweat trickled down his face and the rest of his body, causing his hair and clothes to stick uncomfortably to him.

Why was it so hard to release the Mana from within him? Was he missing a step? Was he not trying hard enough? Or was he trying too hard, making things more difficult than what they really should have been? Or could it be that his soul still hadn’t assimilated into this body? But didn’t the Original Adrien have a hard ti using his Mana as well?

After spending a few minutes lying down on the ground trying to catch his breath, Adrien finally decided to get up. After dusting off his clothes, he put his outer shirt back on, then he picked up his satchel, slinging it onto his shoulder.

The walk back to the dorm was quiet and surprisingly lonely. The walkways and gardens were rather deserted for this ti of day. But since most of the classes were over for the day, most of the students have probably already retired back to their manors or were out getting sothing to eat from the academy’s cafeteria or one of the many restaurants out in the city.

The rumbling of Adrien’s stomach caused him to change course. He headed for the cafeteria in the main building. He just hoped that he didn’t look bad enough to garner unwanted attention.

Unfortunately, he attracted the attention that he had wanted to avoid as soon as he stepped inside the room. Maybe he should have just asked Alia to bring him a sandwich and so tea while he was safely tucked inside his room instead of going out. But was he really in such a state to gather that many eyes on him?

As he made his way to the register to place his order, the room, which had grown quiet, erupted. It was a repeat of this morning.

Amidst the chatter, Adrien found himself an empty table to sit down at.

"Is that him?"

". . .Prince Mikyle. . ."

The attendant ca over with the set he had requested soon after. Adrien picked up the fork and started digging into the dium well-done steak, trying to ignore the not so subtle whispering going on around him and the even more obvious stares pointed in his direction. Did he look that bad? Was his hair that ssy, or maybe his clothes were dirtier than he thought?

"I heard that he’s the one the second prince is chasing."

"Who?"

"Did Prince Mikyle do sothing again?"

Oh. Oh! They weren’t staring at him because of his slightly disheveled appearance. They were staring at him because of what Mikyle had done this morning, or more precisely, what he had said.

Adrien’s grip tightened around his fork as he silently shoveled food in his mouth, food that was suddenly tasteless.

He didn’t mind the attention since he knew it would flock to him once word got out that he was dating Prince Mikyle, but wasn’t this too soon? What would happen if this got back to the Count? Adrien had a feeling that the man wouldn’t take it well since he hadn’t taken anything in the Original Adrien’s life with a calm heart.

Maybe he could make enough money through selling his paintings before that could happen? And until then, he’ll just find ways to remain on campus, or at least avoid going back ho.

He quickly finished his food as he listened to the conversations around him. What should he do to punish Mikyle for this, push back their first date to a later ti, or save it till their second date?

Making his way back to the dormitory, he ca to a stop when he saw impeccably dressed servants unloading trunks into the unoccupied room that was down the hall on the floor he was staying on. Alia, the maid tasked with taking care of this floor, was standing by, watching as well.

"Soone’s moving in?" Adrien asked, believing that there may be a student who was unable to arrive before then due to so unforeseen complication during their travels.

Alia turned to greet belatedly, shock and amazent making her eyes wide and her face flushed. "I heard from the attendants that the second prince has decided to stay here instead of at the Palace. This is the first ti we are having direct royalty stay on Academy Grounds."

Did she just say the second prince? As in Prince Mikyle?!

* * * *

"Do you have to leave? Your Palace is far more comfortable than the dorms that the Academy provides." His mother was looking at him with wide, watery eyes and a pout twisting her lips.

Mikyle placed a comforting hand on her arm, his smile soft and reassuring. "I have sothing I need to do, and staying at the Academy will help ."

He could understand where his mother was coming from. The Academy was less than an hour’s carriage ride away and its security, which was decent, was more lax than what the Palace had.

"And pray tell what it is that you need to do?" The Queen Regent narrowed golden eyes onto him, amusent flickering in them. Mikyle had no doubt that she had already heard the rumors floating around about him that had circulated from this morning’s events.

"Sothing that requires my direct attention," Mikyle answered vaguely. He still didn’t want his family to know about Adrien, not until he was sure that the boy wouldn’t run off in fear.

The Queen Regent narrowed sharp eyes onto him. "I see."

Mikyle felt himself gulp involuntarily. He had the sinking feeling that she had caught onto what Mikyle was vaguely hinting at.

The Queen Regent’s stern gaze softened. "Are you confident?"

She definitely knows, Mikyle sighed inwardly. This second mother of his was just as cunning, if not more so than he was.

"I am," he answered her.

His mother, the Queen Consort glanced between the two of them, confusion clouding her blue eyes. "Why does it feel like you always leave out?"

Mikyle gave his mother a small hug and a kiss to the cheek to comfort her. "That was not our intention. I promise to tell you more about it later."

"Fine," his mother agreed, the pout finally fading from her lips.