"Just like you."
Alexia said abruptly, standing beside Jenkins.
"What?"
Jenkins blinked, only then realizing she was referring to his earlier thoughts.
"You're the most transparent person in the world, Jenkins. If everyone were as simple as you, life would be so much easier."
She repeated the phrase she had used so many tis before, then casually took his hand and led him to the sofa.
"Miss Alexia, Mr. Williams, you've arrived so early!"
The princess greeted them politely before making a move to flop forward onto the table. Julia imdiately stopped her, the maid's eyes stern:
"Elegance, Your Highness."
Jenkins and Alexia were rely guests at the banquet, with no particular objective or task. Their only purpose was to mingle, so after spending half an hour on the first floor, they returned to the upstairs study.
Dolores was gone, having returned downstairs with Julia. Alexia dismissed the remaining maid to stand guard at the door, and soon, only the two of them remained in the room.
"Show your new ability."
Alexia requested serenely.
"Of course. It's quite simple."
As he spoke, he reached into his pocket and pulled out a small wooden tube. He opened it, revealing it to be filled with bone powder.
His Creation Pencil couldn't create living things, but it could theoretically draw inanimate objects like bones. Unfortunately, bones created that way were useless for necromancy, which ant he had to carry the material for his White Bone Body spell with him.
Fortunately, the ability didn't require whole bones—otherwise, he couldn't have summoned all those fragnts from the seabed earlier. Grinding them into a fine powder and carrying it in a tube was the most practical solution. He just had to be careful not to open it in a strong wind, lest he get a face full of the stuff.
Drawing the curtains and pulling the stopper from the tube, he rolled back the rug and stood in the center of the study. He carefully tilted the tube. As he chanted a strange incantation, the fine particles inside began to drift down in a slow, steady stream.
But the falling dust didn't simply pile up. Instead, manipulated by so unseen force, it began to assemble on the floor in an orderly pattern, gradually forming a complete skeleton.
The volu of bone powder was far less than the mass of the resulting skeleton, a clear violation of the law of conservation of mass. But such was the nature of this world.
"Creating this skeleton warrior costs almost no spirit," he explained. "To be more precise, the drain is slower than my recovery rate. Look, I can control it completely..."
As he spoke, the skeleton perford a perfect backflip, added a hundred-and-eighty-degree spin in midair, and landed with its arms spread wide in a dramatic pose. Not even Chocolate could manage a feat of such agility, and for Jenkins, controlling it was effortless.
"Does maintaining its existence consu a lot of spirit?"
The petite woman asked, clearly fascinated by his new ability.
"Maintaining it doesn't take much, but controlling it actively costs a lot of spirit. Since this one is so small, though, it's easy for to handle."
Saying this, he had the skeleton make a pouncing motion toward Chocolate. The cat, currently perched by the fruit bowl and ticulously selecting a piece of fruit, utterly ignored Jenkins's prank. It rely offered a lazy flick of its tail in response.
"I'm familiar with many necromantic abilities, but I've never heard of this one. It's undeniably powerful. It's a pity you aren't willing to delve deeper into necromancy; you could build an incredibly potent set of skills around this core ability."
"I suppose so. I've always been wary of powers related to death, even..."
He hadn't told Alexia the full story of his encounter with Augustus, as it touched upon his unusual affinity for the spirits of the dead—a detail that might lead back to the truth of how he ca to "inhabit" the body of Jenkins Williams.
Alexia didn't seem to press the matter. She simply glanced at Jenkins's slightly pointed ears and added in agreent:
"You're right. You shouldn't get too entangled with the powers of death. Our energy is finite; it's enough to specialize in one area. Still... Embrace of Death... I feel like I've heard that na sowhere. I'll keep looking into it. I'm sure I'll find sothing soon."
The rest of the banquet passed without incident, except for one thing: at the end, Dolores formally introduced Jenkins to all the guests. It was a pointless gesture, really. He would only wear this face once; even if he tried, his Black Robe was unlikely to conjure the exact sa features again.
"This is Mr. Herkly Pollo, who rescued and my friends from the 'robbers' last week."
Jenkins was genuinely surprised Dolores rembered the alias he had only used a handful of tis. But that wasn't what mattered. The real question was, what was she planning?
"You'll find out."
The sixteen-year-old princess said playfully before they left. It was hardly proper royal etiquette, but Julia, standing beside her, pretended not to notice.
He shot Alexia a questioning look, but she rely maintained her elegant smile, clearly unwilling to offer any explanation. After a brief hesitation, Jenkins leaned in to kiss his petite companion goodbye, then departed for Nolan with his cat, who was now full and sleepy.
Alexia smiled and raised a hand to her lips. She squinted at the princess and her maid, who were sitting on the other side of the carriage. Dolores wore a guilty expression.
"Miss Alexia, about that information you wanted on the All-Seeing Card - Angel... I've found so things. I can put it all together and give it to you in the morning, if that's alright."
She was clearly trying to change the subject, but Alexia wasn't about to be diverted. She gently picked an apple from the fruit bowl secured in the carriage and, with a subtle squeeze, snapped it in two.
"Dolores, did your etiquette tutor, Mrs. Tiffany, not teach you the proper manners for a lady?"
Her voice was very gentle, but to Dolores, it sounded like a clap of thunder on a sumr night.
"All's fair in love and war."
The princess braced herself and recited the famous line Jenkins had written in *Frozen*, the early spring air of Ruen suddenly feeling as sharp as a knife against her skin.
"Is that so?"
Alexia murmured. With a flick of her finger, a small sliver of the larger apple half broke away. She offered the piece to her student.
Dolores didn't understand the gesture's aning until Julia nudged her with an elbow. She took the slice of apple, still confused, and put it in her mouth.
It was sweet, but she wanted more.
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