2. First Meeting

The ladies accompanying her were quite boring. She had tried to strike a light conversation with them but they just stared hard at the ground and pretended not to hear her.

'They must think it's beneath them to talk with me.'

Lili sighed. Alondos was a country at the pinnacle of technological growth. But for some reason, old aristocratic traditions had persisted. Or rather, they had been reinstated with the dawn of magic .

The reason was Blood Sorcery. Spells and charms inherited through genetics and cannot be acquired through practice or artifacts.

Families that lost their blood charms would be shunned and stripped of their nobility. So noble marriages went to extreme levels of scrutiny as to never diminish the magical potential of the future generations.

But since inherited magic was so elusive, some people began to research how to artificially create charms and bind them to a specific genetic line.

It was in the middle ages of the dawn of magic, that mass experimentation on sorceror subjects was widespread among the wealthy who couldn't bare not being a part of the elite.

Many of these experiments were dubious in nature, resulting in a surge in the number of missing sorcerors.

A lot more happened during that time, but the one the experiments did bear fruit and more and more families started declaring themselves noble.

The Layorn house was one of those families. And their speciality lied in a field that few highmagus were proficient in. The Layorn blood charms was an affinity towards spatial magic.

However, in recent generations, the genetic tie seemed to be getting weaker and weaker.

The current Mr Layorn could only perform teleportations and that too on a max group of 5 over a maximum distance of 5 km.

But Cassia was different. She was among the top graduates of the state university and had magical potential rivalling that of a highmagus. She was the phenomenal genius that brought a break through in the field of teleportation magic, which had been stagnating for want of skilled scholars.

She was a beacon of excellence coveted by many as there were few daughters of noble name who were of marriageable age.

So it didn't seem out of this world that the Grandmagus took interest in the Layorn house and proposed a betrothal.

Everything should have been perfect. But Cassia, for some godforsaken reason, decided it would be the best decision to hightail it out of this noble arranged marriage business. And well, Lili couldn't entirely blame her.

Her parents were awful. And the Grandmagus, if the rumours served him right, was a formidable person who had only schemes in his belly. Even if the same rumours also painted him as an adonis of a man.

The Grandmagus. Aiden Isord. Descended from the pioneer of magic. Heir to Anchor, the giant corporation that extended its reach to every sector of the economy and society. Youngest member of the board of chairman's. The second youngest person to be called Grandmagus. A man only three years older than her.

'It must be nice to be born with talent and a golden spoon.'

The world could be really unfair at times.

There was a knock at the door and the butler came in, the wrinkles in his face taut with tension.

'So it was time...'

"Milady, I think now is a good time to meet the Grandmagus yourself."

The ladies in waiting finally moved to do their duty as escorts but the butler gestured them to stay.

" It's also best if she goes on alone, the situation right now isn't the best."

"Oh?"Lili quirked an eyebrow in question to the butler.

The poor man winced in response.

"I think it would also be best if Lady Mielle and Fortusch leave right now. I'll discreetly ready the teleportation stone."

'Of he's taking a risk to send them back, the situation must be very bad," Lili pondered.

Getting killed in the fit of an enraged sorcerer was the last thing she wanted but she couldn't just run away either. That would be too suspicious.

'At least he's human. I have dealt with worse.'

... ... ....

Lili had barely stepped on the first floor, when the wave of aura hit her. It was like something invisible yet solid just passed through her body, with the intensity of a gust of wind on a stormy day. She clasped her hand on her mouth and gripped the railing to avoid tripping from the resulting nausea.

She hated when people put their magical energy on such shameless display as this. But usually, her symptoms weren't this bad. She wasn't even near the hotspot and she already wanted to keep over.

'They are arguing,' she thought. 'Maybe fighting even.' She groaned at the thought of barging into that environment thick with mana. Would the Grandmagus be offended if she threw up in front of him?

She took another cautious step and the nausea thickened inside her. It was like a forcefield forcing her to push back.

The reception room was twenty steps to the right.

One. She counted and nothing much changed.

Ten. She counted and her head throbbed with a searing pain, like someone was cleaving it apart.

Fifteen. Her headache worsened, but she got used to the constant nausea.

Twenty. She finally grabbed the door as she struggled to adjust her five senses amidst the dull ache hammering down her brain and the nausea that rattled her insides. She was close enough to hear parts of their conversation now.

"...I believe we had an agreement..."

"...what would you have us do!..."

"...no one could've predicted how Cassy ran away..."

" ...are you aware that these circumstances could brand her a fugitive and cause the downfall of your name?..."

"...good gracious sir! She is only throwing a tantrum..."

"...I believe her age is too much for tantrums to be a believable excuse..."

"...we have another daughter! If you would just look at her..."

"...the commoner you adopted? Can she even do magic? More importantly, is there any point in marrying into the Layorn family if I can't secure their genetics.?.."

"...you don't have to marry her! Just stay engaged for a while, just until Cassia returns. You don't have to perform any duties towards her...."

"...truly, this engagement is just an insurance to save the Layorn name. Cassia is the wife you'll be getting..."

"...I believe you overestimate the value of your daughter's too much. My patience has been tested enough. I'll be leaving."

And as soon as those words were spoken, the pressure disappeared and Lili almost gasped as she could finally breathe freely again.

"Damn sorcerors."

At least, the Grandmagus appeared to be righteously enraged and very disinterested in the idea of using her as a substitute fiance. Perhaps, she could proceed with the 'run away and change my name' plan after all. She could already imagine the scenarios in her head.

But the Grandmagus wasn't quite done with their household yet.

"Before I leave," wind blew out of nowhere, throwing open the doors Lili had been leaning on.

He was standing in the middle of the room. And the first thing she noticed were his eyes. They were an unforgiving blue, the colour of starless night skies, of deepest depths of the ocean.

And when they met hers, instead of narrowing in contempt, they seemed to widen ever so slightly.

That couldn't be. No no no. Anything but that.

"You..."

She gulped nervously and fell into a rushed curtsy.

"Lilian Isord at your service."