The luxurious Rothschild carriage ca to a halt before the academy entrance, and Ambrose erged with his two companions. He stood for a mont, taking in his first glimpse of a school in either lifeti. His expression held a peculiar mix of wonder and bewildernt that didn't escape Adelaide's notice. She understood his reaction - after all, the Rothschild heir had reportedly never left his family estate due to his chronic illness. This must all seem otherworldly to him.
With a casual gesture, Ambrose lifted his hand, and a walking cane materialized in his grasp. Adelaide's eyes widened at the sight. While spatial storage devices weren't uncommon among the nobility, their size directly corresponded to their value. A ring-sized storage device was astronomical in price - even her family's trading company possessed only one, a royal gift to her father that had beco a treasured heirloom. Then again, she reflected, this shouldn't be surprising given that Ambrose's mother was Victoria Lancaster, a spatial mage whose achievents were literally recorded in history books.
Leaning on his cane, Ambrose proceeded at a asured pace, flanked by his companions. The Rothschild knights, barred from entering the academy grounds, withdrew after receiving their dismissal. As they crossed the threshold, the true scale of the academy revealed itself. The grounds teed with more people than Ambrose had encountered in both his lives combined, creating a vibrant tapestry of motion and sound that left him montarily overwheld.
Noting his wide-eyed fascination, Adelaide spoke up. "Since we arrived three days before admissions officially begin, why don't we take this ti to explore the academy?"
"Can we do that?" Ambrose asked, his voice betraying childlike excitent.
"Well, not really," Adelaide began, watching his expression fall before adding with a knowing smile, "But if the heir of Rothschild wants to tour the academy, I'm sure the principal will allow it."
"Let's go then!" Ambrose's enthusiasm proved infectious.
Their impromptu tour proceeded with Adelaide smoothly handling any guards who tried to stop them. She'd speak briefly with them, and their expressions would transform from stern authority to shock and horror as they realized who stood before them. Their hasty bows and apologies beca a recurring source of amusent.
However, Adelaide soon found herself feeling less like a guide and more like a nursemaid. Both Ambrose and Hualing displayed an unrestrained curiosity that kept her constantly on her toes. Every ti she turned around, they'd vanish into so new area of interest, leaving her to track them down. Just now, she'd lost sight of them again.
As she turned to search for her wayward charges, she collided with soone. The woman before her wore white robes and a distinctive blindfold marked with a cross - the attire of a religious devotee, though sothing about her presence suggested deeper significance. Had Ambrose been present, he would have recognized her as the second woman from the book's cover.
"Oh my! Forgive ! Ah! What a sin!" the woman exclaid, bowing repeatedly with exaggerated distress.
Adelaide offered a perfunctory bow in return. "No, it's okay. It's my fault for not paying attention," she replied hastily before practically fleeing the scene. Once she'd put so distance between them, she spat out a venomous "Tch! Holy Church bastards!" before spotting her companions in the distance and hurrying to catch up.
The robed woman watched Adelaide's retreat with calculating eyes. "That scent... is it from her or soone she's close to?" she mused aloud. Turning away, a cold smile played across her lips as she added, "Either way, I'll have to pay attention to her." Her final words carried an ominous weight: "It seems this year's recruitnt will be worth watching."
...
In the principal's office, a striking woman with fla-red hair sat behind an ornate desk, reviewing docunts with focused intensity. The freshman admissions were re days away, and the mounting paperwork demanded her full attention. Her concentration might have held if not for the irritating presence across from her - a woman who seed determined to test the limits of what an office chair could endure, swinging back and forth while making an array of increasingly annoying noises.
"What do you want?" the principal finally broke, abandoning her strategy of pointed ignorance. "Victoria Lancaster... no! It's Victoria Rothschild now," she corrected herself, unable to keep a note of exasperation from her voice.
"Oh! Finally decided to acknowledge my presence?" Victoria practically purred, rising from her chair with predatory grace. Her eyes blazed with supernatural blue light, and the very air around them began to tremble with barely contained power.
The principal's own eyes flared crimson as she watched Victoria's approach. Her mind raced through mories of the woman before her - Victoria had never fit the mold of a proper noble lady, acting more like a rogue elent that no one could control. Even when her family had essentially sold her to the Rothschilds in a political marriage, they'd failed to ta her wild spirit. If anything, she'd grown more unpredictable, more dangerous.
As Victoria drew closer, the principal debated striking first to improve her odds of survival. With a heavy sigh, she let her eyes return to normal. After all, she thought grimly, who would seek justice on her behalf if this madwoman decided to retaliate?
"Oh! Your control over your emotions has grown over the years," Victoria observed, her own eyes dimming as she perched casually on the principal's desk, scattering carefully organized docunts. "Actually, this ti I ca to ask you for a favor," she added, her voice deceptively soft.
The principal felt her stomach sink at those words - nothing good ever followed when Victoria asked for "favors." Still, she forced herself to ask, "What favor?"
Victoria's smile widened. "My son will be enrolling in the magic academy," she began, turning to gaze out the window. Her eyes seed to pierce through space itself, focusing on sothing - or soone - far beyond the office walls. "He's probably within the academy by now."
Returning her attention to the principal, she continued, "Since my son is weak, I hope you take care of him."
The principal sat in stunned silence, her mind racing through implications. Having the Rothschild heir at the academy was like hosting royalty - no, potentially even more complicated. The number of people who might target him could turn the academy into a battlefield. A bead of sweat traced down her cheek as she contemplated refusing, but one look at Victoria's serene smile conjured vivid images of being bisected by a spatial blade.
Drawing a steadying breath, she ventured, "Since this is a favor, what do I get out of it?"
Victoria's response ca with the casual air of soone discussing the weather: "As long as you do this, the academy will continue existing."
The principal stared at her in disbelief. "Isn't that more of a threat than a favor?" she managed to ask.
"It's a favor because I'm giving you a chance to save the academy," Victoria clarified, her logic as twisted as ever.
"Yeah, save it from you!" the principal scread internally, though she dared not voice the thought. With a resigned sigh, she reflected that Victoria hadn't changed at all - she was still the sa unreasonable force of nature who twisted reality to suit her whims.
...
A/N
What titles should I give the Rothschild couple?
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