NOVPUBThe winter sun gradually rose higher, and the rays in the courtyard of the Lord’s Mansion had shifted from slanting to more vertical, bathing the entire room in a warm and gentle glow.
The slow conversation between Zestira and Lanci and the sound of turning pages mingled with the melodious rustling of tree leaves outside the window.
Every time Lanci raised a question, Zestira would listen attentively before sharing her insights.
Although Lanci found the study of magic skills difficult.
Zestira, however, taught him very patiently and did not find him clumsy because of this.
However, she didn’t take into account the question of magical affinity.
She was best at Fire Magic, so she started teaching Lanci about casting Fire Magic.
For Lanci, the elemental type of magic affinity was light greater than fire greater than other elements. In reality, his Fire Magic affinity was not much good.
As a result, two hours had passed, and Lanci’s progress in learning the First-order Fireball Technique had advanced about one-tenth thanks to Zestira’s efforts.
This rate of progress was already quite good for a typical First-order Magic Novice.
But Zestira did not know Lanci was a Fourth-Order.
As the town bell sounded melodiously, reaching their ears, Zestira noticed that the clock in the room was now pointing to exactly twelve o’clock.
Unconsciously, nearly three hours of the lesson had passed.
"You can go now,"
Zestira said.
She thought the time was about right, and this tutor should be able to go report to her father now.
"Thank you, but with my level of magic power, learning basic First-order Fireball Technique can only help light a cigarette for someone, thus wasting your precious time,"
Lanci sighed and said with a smile.
This was the cruel reality that his housemaid had once told him, and he was now convinced about it himself.
"Isn’t a magic to light a cigarette with your finger very useful?"
Zestira gave him a glance.
The sea winds were so strong, and Viscount Francis was a habitual smoker; indeed, having this magic to light his cigarettes might be very convenient.
For someone like her, who was not good at controlling her magic power, it was, on the other hand, impossible to use this sort of miniaturized magic so delicately.
When she was a child, the inability to control her magic power had burnt some of her house servants.
Ever since then, many servants in the house had begun to look at her with fearful eyes.
"Is that so,"
Lanci stroked his chin thoughtfully, then commented.
"Then, Miss Zestira, see you tomorrow,"
Lanci moved the chair back to its original place and when reaching the door of Zestira’s room, he smiled back.
At the desk, Zestira fell silent for a moment before giving a slight nod.
For some reason, she had no idea why wasting her morning and focusing on this "home tutor"’s lessons had any meaning.
But unknowingly, she had spoken a lot with him already.
...
In the corridor of the second floor of the Lord’s Mansion, Lanci was surprised to find himself in the gaze of Viscount Francis almost right after stepping out from Zestira’s room.
Viscount Francis was standing in the hall on the second floor, watching him with a complex look.
"Viscount Francis, I was not able to teach your daughter anything worthwhile today. In fact, she wasted more than an hour teaching me magic,"
Lanci bowed to Viscount Francis.
"No, no, it doesn’t matter,"
Viscount Francis waved his hand dismissively, then quickly stepped to Lanci’s side,
"As long as you can continue to communicate with her, I’m happy to see her willing to socialize. It doesn’t matter whether or not you are teaching, just treat it as being a friend and chatting with her,"
Viscount Francis’s weathered eyes were unable to conceal his deep relief.
He had assumed that Zestira would further close herself off the rest of her life, and he didn’t expect there to be someone who could gradually open her heart, even if just a little bit.
This young man from the South Continent who came across the sea, indeed, was a person of pure good.
Without sincerity, it is impossible to gain Zestira’s approval.
"Alright, I will do my best to help her so that she can pass the preparatory final exam of the Protoss Royal Magic Academy and then successfully advance to the first year,"
Lanci promised the Viscount.
"In that case, I’ll leave it to you, Mr. Rocky,"
Viscount Francis expressed his sincere gratitude.
He didn’t care about the rest anymore.
Hoping for Zestira to accept tutoring was too difficult; simply maintaining the status quo made him more than content.
...
In Zestira’s room, after Lanci left, she continued to sit at the desk quietly, gazing at her own book.
Just as it was in the morning, again she was by herself.
But by noon, the furniture had begun to appear brighter in the sunlight, adding an unobtrusive, gentle texture to the overall setting.
After the house servant delivered lunch outside the door, she stood up, ready to bring it in.
She only noticed after walking a few steps inside her room.
By the chair where Lanci had been sitting, a textbook from the Protoss Royal Magic Academy was left on the low foot cabinet.
"..."
She subtly diverted her path.
This guy forgot to take his book.
Zestira recalled that he had been writing something in it from the very beginning.
It must be some tedious knowledge.
Flipping it casually while thinking, she found his annotations to be normal.
However, it was somewhat surprising to her that this tutor from the South Continent, even with translation magic, used very little of the Protoss Empire’s language.
Instead, he had used several clear and beautiful Demon Magic Texts.
The Protoss Empire did not prohibit the use of Demon Magic Text, as the capital was already making extensive use of the Demon Race’s heritage.
Zestira’s bookshelf was filled with books related to Demon Magic Text.
"It’s not surprising that there are people on the South Continent who know this... Are there Demon Races there too?"
She mumbled.
As far as she knew, the number of demons scattered in the South Continent should be very few, and there were even fewer humans who were proficient in Demon Magic Text.
Unlike the Demon Magic Text popular on the Protoss side, his writing seemed to respect the works of the Demon Race ancestors more, integrating human wisdom, and had a style dating back to ancient times.
The breeze outside the window flittered in, bringing with it the natural sounds – far-off birdsong and the gentle rustling of tree leaves.
Unknowingly, Zestira had turned through the first few pages following Lanci’s handwriting.
Once she turned further, there were no more of his writings.
"..."
Zestira closed the book, looking out the door.
Initially, she kind of wanted to take the book and head out to return it to Lanci.
After some thought, she decided.
That guy should be back tomorrow.
In the more brightly-lit room, Zestira finally put down the book and opened the heavy door.
