The next day, Draven woke up to a bright and early morning.
After a little washing up using the small attached to the chambers of the guest room, he changed from his combat attire into casual clothes stored inside his storage ring.
His plans for today were to educate himself on the landscape and the power system of this new world.
For that, he would have to gather information from the Emilia and the maids—preferably Roswaal.
After all, who would be more informative than a court magician?
Pulling the door of the guest room open, he saw a certain blue haired maid already standing outside.
"Hmm?" Draven was confused, but only for a second before he understood what she wanted.
She's probably doing her early morning rounds of cleaning, which now includes this guest bedroom.
Obvious from the new sets of sheets and baskets at her feet.
"Good morning, Mr. Aurelius." She gave a small bow before craning her neck to look at him.
"Good morning to you too, Miss Rem." He smiled down at the young woman. "Are you the only one on cleaning duty this morning?"
"Mhm." She nodded. "My sister hasn't left her room since last night… So I'm the only one on duty now."
Even though she tried to be nonchalant, she couldn't hide the faint trace of worry on her cute face.
"Oh…" He remembered the pink haired girl from last night.
"Well, in any case, is Sir. Roswaal at the mansion at the moment? I would love to have a conversation with him," Draven asked.
Rem shook her head. "No… Master left earlier. Said there were pressing matters to attend to."
"Bummer… How about Emilia? Is she here?"
"She is out in the courtyard practicing her magic."
Hmm?
Draven eyes squinted as he noticed that when the topic of Emilia being brought up, Rem's voice hardened.
There seems to be some history between the two…
Regardless of their experiences, they will have to get along in the future.
"Well then. I will not take up too much of your time."
With that, he walked off, leaving Rem to her cleaning.
She watched Draven's back as he disappeared down the hall before she entered the room.
Nobody knew what was going inside her but it came to an abrupt stop as the heat and scent inside blasted her.
The room was musky.
"Ugh~" she covered her nose as she felt small pricks against her skin along with her body slowly heating up.
…
Soon after Draven stepped into the courtyard, he spotted the silver-haired girl sitting quietly on the grass.
Tiny ice crystals shimmered above her palms, forming and dissolving like delicate glass.
Curious, he walked up behind her without making a sound.
Then he leaned slightly forward and whispered,
"Whatcha doing?"
"Eeee!?"
Emilia jumped so hard she nearly lost balance, instinctively throwing her hands forward. Several blocks of ice formed in midair, trembling as if ready to launch.
"Woah, woah—hold on!" Draven said quickly, raising both hands in surrender. "Easy!"
Emilia turned around, eyes wide.
"Eh!? Mr. Aurelius—it's you?"
"Yes," Draven said calmly. "It's me."
The ice froze in place for a second before dissolving into mist.
Her face flushed instantly.
"I-I'm so sorry! I didn't notice you at all! I thought someone was sneaking up on me and I just—!" she rushed out, words tumbling over each other.
"It's fine," he said lightly. "I probably shouldn't have done that."
She looked down, still embarrassed. "…I really didn't mean to almost freeze you."
Draven chuckled softly. "Wouldn't have been the worst way to go."
Emilia looked up in alarm. "Please don't say things like that!"
He laughed once more, then nodded toward her hands.
"So," he said, "what were you doing just now?"
Emilia blinked, then glanced at her palms where faint frost still lingered.
"Ah… I was practicing," she explained.
"Practicing what?"
"Ice Brand Arts," she said.
"Ice Brand Arts?" Draven tilted his head slightly.
She nodded. "It's a type of magic where I shape ice into different forms. Weapons, tools, or just… simple shapes."
He looked at her hands with interest. "Is it difficult to do?"
"Yes. It's kind of like sculpting, but with magic. I'm still not very good at controlling the details, though."
"Looks pretty good to me," he said, before turning back to her. "So… do you practice every day?"
Emilia nodded without hesitation. "Yes. Usually in the mornings or whenever I have time."
"That's not all," a familiar playful voice chimed in.
The small cat-like spirit popped into view above her shoulder, arms crossed proudly.
"Puck!" Emilia exclaimed, surprised but smiling.
Puck puffed out his chest. "Emilia doesn't just practice magic, you know. She studies every day too."
Draven raised an eyebrow. "What kind of studying?"
Puck began counting on his tiny fingers. "Law, politics, history, geography… and a bunch of boring documents that make my head hurt just thinking about them."
"P-Puck, don't say it like that!"
But Puck only grinned wider, as he began talking about her like a proud father.
"It's true though. She works really hard. If anything, she's too serious for her own good."
Draven glanced at Emilia again. "That's… a lot."
She laughed awkwardly, brushing a strand of silver hair behind her ear. "I'm just trying to learn as much as I can."
Draven looked at her for a moment, then asked casually,
"So… with all that studying, are you trying to work in the upper ranks of the kingdom or something?"
Emilia blinked. "Eh?"
Puck tilted his head. "That's a pretty sharp guess."
Emilia hesitated for a second, then nodded softly.
"…Kind of."
Draven raised an eyebrow. "Kind of?"
She clenched her fist.
"I'm preparing for the royal selection," she said quietly. "I'm going to become a candidate."
For a brief moment, the courtyard felt still.
"A candidate, huh," Draven said, having no idea what that title entails.
Puck crossed his arms proudly. "Not just any candidate. Emilia's aiming high."
Draven nodded slowly, taking that in. He had plenty of questions, but instead of interrupting, he listened as Emilia and Puck explained the situation.
In simple terms, they told him about the royal selection—how the kingdom would choose its next ruler, how several candidates would be chosen, and how Emilia had decided to participate despite the risks and prejudice she faced as a half-elf.
Puck spoke with open pride, while Emilia explained everything more quietly, almost as if she were still unsure whether she deserved to stand on that stage.
By the time they finished, Draven leaned back slightly and looked up at the sky, silently piecing together what he had heard.
"…So that's how it is."
A quiet silence settled between them.
Emilia stared at the grass for a while, fingers lightly brushing the frost she had created earlier.
Then, hesitantly, she spoke again.
"Um… Mr. Aurelius?"
Draven turned his head. "Yeah?"
She hesitated, her voice softer now.
"…You're not afraid of me?"
He blinked. "Afraid of you?"
She nodded slowly. "Most people are."
Puck didn't interrupt this time.
Draven thought about it for a moment, then asked simply,
"Why would I be?"
Emilia looked surprised. "…Because of how I look. Because of what I am."
"And what are you, exactly?"
Her lips parted slightly. "…A half-elf."
Draven shrugged. "Okay."
She froze.
"…Okay?"
"Yeah," he said calmly. "Is that what they say you are?"
She nodded.
"And do you think that what they say is true?"
She shook her head immediately. "No."
After all, she's never done anything bad. She's not a bad person.
"Then what's the problem?"
Emilia stared up at him.
For a moment, she didn't know what to say.
Then her lips slowly curved into a small smile, and her cheeks became flushed.
Puck sighed dramatically. "I knew it. Another weird person attracted to Emilia."
Draven glanced at him. "You always talk this much?"
Puck smirked. "Only when I like someone."
Emilia quickly looked away, still smiling faintly, while Draven leaned back on the grass again as if nothing unusual had happened.
But to Emilia—
something about his words lingered longer than she expected.
…
He then turned to Puck. "So what exactly do you do?"
Both Emilia and Puck paused.
The latter blinking. "…Eh?"
"Are you a mascot or…"
Puck gasped in mock offense. "Excuse me? I'll have you know I'm a highly respectable Great Spirit."
Emilia nodded quickly. "Um… Puck is a spirit who made a contract with me."
"A Great Spirit," Puck corrected proudly. "One of the four major spirits of this world, to be exact."
Draven looked mildly impressed. "So you're not just a floating cat."
"Hey!" Puck snapped. "I'm not 'just' anything!"
Emilia tried to smooth things over. "Basically… Puck protects me and helps me with magic."
"And keeps her out of trouble," Puck added cheerfully. "Which is a full-time job."
Draven let out a quiet laugh. "Got it."
Chapter 4 end.
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To be completely real with you guys, I have no idea what I'm writing.