Auspicious Mana

'So he's the guy who dared to go against the emperor?' The mysterious guy thought as he sat across Helena.

It was not just because of that reason that he had a sudden interest in her, it was due to Helena's strange mana that was similar to his that he decided to play with her. Spiraling his finger, he also directed eye magic similar to what she created, making it obvious as he made it appear in front of her.

Helena gasps when she saw it. The black aura surrounding the eye magic imitated what she did in the first place.

'this guy! he's doing it on purpose! Damn it, can i counter his mana?' She thought nervously, finally meeting his eyes.

She shook her head, as she tried to convince herself that she's an archmage for a reason. She finally fights back, extending her arms in front of her. Just as she tried to dispel his mana, she fails miserably. Helena's mana dissipates once again

He smirks at Helena's stiffened reaction.

'This is impossible, how could anyone counter my mana?!' Helena grits her teeth beneath her mask.

'this isn't the first time, just who the hell is this guy!?'

Feeling threatened, she hastily turns away from the mysterious guy that was obviously challenging her. It took no time before she runs away from her spot, fearing any troublesome encounter with the person inside box 1.

'I can't get involved in a dispute with a strong person, i still haven't started my revenge!' She thought as she drags her feet away.

As the guy in the box 1 sees his plaything running away from its spot, he frowns.

"Master, do you want me to send someone to catch him?" His servant speaks, seeing his master's expression.

He shook his head. "Let it run, i'll give it a chance of freedom."

"..?" His servant tilts his head in confusion.

"This is the first time i absorbed such strong mana, who would've thought that after searching from land to land, this is where i'll find you?"

At the moment that the mysterious guy kept wondering about the red magician's identity. Helena on the other hand, was still running away from that place. She pushes anyone from her path desperately before she finally leaves by going through the portal, making her exit from the auction.

As she steps outside near Kaletha, she huffs out in exhaustion.

'Thank god he didn't confront me.' she straightens her back, 'It wouldn't end pretty if we fought.'

Not hesitating any further, she teleports out of Gregohar, she lands softly on the soil as she arrives near the gates of their residence in Portcour heights, her disguise already dispelled.

After a few miles of walking, a knight quickly spots her, opening the gates for her, he bows towards her. "Lady Helena, your father asks you to go to his office upon your return."

She tilts her head in confusion. 'Why is father summoning me? did i do something wrong again?' She thought as she went ahead her father's quarters.

The butler, already anticipating her appearance led her to his office, he opens the door for Helena.

As soon as she steps inside, she bows in respect. "Good afternoon father, i just came back from training."

"Helena," He stands up, ushering her to come towards him as he opens his arms.

"..?"

Regardless of the reasons, Helena did what he wanted. She comes close and wraps her hand in her father's embrace, feeling the warmth that he gave her.

"How was your training? did you encounter any trouble?" He says with a worried tone.

Helena pulls away then smiles. "I did magic training, my control in mana is getting better than before father!"

"That's good, forgive me for not being able to supervise you in your training lately, the emperor is giving me so much work." He sighs.

Helena shooks her head. "Don't worry, i'm not a daughter of an archmage just for nothing, i can handle my training by myself."

He sighs, "I will never doubt your capabilities child, but you should still have some knights protecting you while you go out. It's very dangerous for you to be going out at this moment."

'At this moment?' She thought confused.

After a minute of pondering about it, she realizes what her father's intentions were right from the start.

'So he was just really worried that some people might cause trouble for me while i got outside? Well since i had a disguise, it wasn't a problem.'

"I understand father, i'll at least take William with me. But only after he finishes his training for the Winter hunt."

".."

She notices that her father still looked uneasy towards her decision so she decided to hug her father once more, his hands patting her in the head. "What am i going to do with you?" He sighs.

Helena laughs, "I promise i won't go out. Not until the Winter competition comes."

He nods.

"Oh right, is Arthur and Charles participating in the hunt?"

"I didn't want to but they kept insisting so i had to give my permission." He facepalms himself. "I can't believe i'm blessed with three troublesome kids."

Helena pulls away, laughing at her father's remark.

She also decided to stay for a while in her father's office, aiding him with his work, she also gives her own father a piece of advice regarding some important figures, for it may help in his future negotiations. At first, Duke Enilde was confused as to why Helena spouted such words towards the people of the empire, but as years gone by, he started to believe it.

She sips the chamomile tea in the cup, its content going down her throat. She says,"We must secure a good position in the winter hunt, this will be a great opportunity to scare off some evildoers."

"That might be a bit difficult than we thought."

Helena turns her head towards her father worriedly. "Why? is it something our knight is lacking? or there's a strong rival?"

'No, that's impossible. I have assessed every knight in each residence, there's no way someone is stronger than the Enilde knights as of the moment. After all, we also have the first knight with us!' She thought anxiously.

Her father shakes his head. "No, it's something about the tower suddenly deciding to watch the hunt."

My eyes opened in horror, my hands trembling in anger. "What? how?! what is the emperor thinking? why did he approve of such a visit?!"