The party had been going on without much disturbance after the event with Nathan Goodstay ended. People had been enjoying themselves, albeit they still kept their distance from us. I found that situation to be quite odd. After all, the house of Frye was one of the most powerful families in the kingdom if not the most powerful. And yet, people never greeted us of their own accord. They always tried to stay away as much as they could unless prompted by Anna Forde herself. While the other people kept their distance, Anna Forde stayed with us the entire time. Even to the point of neglecting other guests.

Some past I presume.

I shelved these thoughts aside and I focused on the blueberry pie in front of me. I had been sitting with other children as the food was being served. Sirius was sitting beside me and the lady of the day, Nora Forde, was sitting in front of us. Sirius was also focusing on the blueberry pie in front of him, while Nora was looking at Sirius intently. She was looking at Sirius as if she wanted to say something but didn’t quite have the courage to ask in front of so many other kids. Sirius also noticed this after a few moments. He slowly looked down at his blueberry pie and then looked at Nora’s face. He sighed softly and pushed his remaining pie towards Nora.

Nora looked flustered as she saw Sirius sliding his pie towards her. She flailed her arms around and the only words she could manage to irk out were, “N-no!”

“Sirius, I don’t think she wants your pie.”

Sirius looked at me and gave a confused expression as he whispered under his breath, “Then why does she keep staring at me?”

“I don’t know. Ask her yourself.”

“That is not very gentlemanly, Mehr. You ask her.”

“Are you saying that I’m not a gentleman?”

“Please Mehr, I will give you my pie.”

“I don’t want your-”

“Um, excuse me.” As we were whispering to each other under our breath, we heard a soft meek voice from across the table. We popped our heads up to see Nora fidgeting and playing with her spoon as she looked at us. Sirius and I looked at each other as we waited for her to speak. I noticed she had taken out a thick book with a light red cover that seemed quite well kept. She put down the book, which looked too heavy and big for a little child like her, with a thud and proceeded to open its cover. I noticed the title of the book that was written in a stylish cursive calligraphy, said-

‘Curses of the cult and how to deflect them’ by Maria.

“C-can you please get your mother to sign this book. Please?”

Nora looked at us with pleading eyes as she held her hands together on top of the table. While many questions were swirling in my mind, one of the most prominent was- where the hell did she pull the book out from?

“Why do you want my mother’s sign on it?” Sirius asked with a serious face as he eyed the book. I was also quite curious about the book. After all, literature was the mirror of a nation. You could know so much about the kingdom just by experiencing the literature.

“Mmm? Because Lady Maria wrote it. And if I have her sign on this book, then that would mean that I have the most special copy of the book.” Nora spoke at a rapid speed that I wasn’t expecting from her. She always seemed to get very excited whenever it was something related to Lady Maria.

“Why do you like Lady Maria so much?” I asked Nora as she was waiting for Sirius to reply with affirmation. She turned to me with an expression of bewilderment as she made exaggerated hand gestures.

“BECAUSE! She is THE Maria Frye. Don’t you know how amazing she is! Sigh, I wish she was my mother!”

Hey now, we are getting carried away a bit. I hope no one tells your mother that you said that.

“Can I take a look at that?” I asked Nora before sliding the book towards me. Nora was still going on about how amazing Lady Maria was and Sirius was listening very intently. After all, he was just as clueless about the world as I was. It was his first time outside the palace and he was getting to know about his parents and their image in the world.

I opened the book and read the title again. Curses of the cult and how to deflect them. I also noticed that the name written below was Maria. Not Maria Frye. That was quite odd.

Was it written before she got married. Even then, not writing your last name is very strange. Was she a commoner? Lady Maria?

I opened the next page where she was thanking a number of people who helped her in writing the book, people who helped her along the way, people she met that gave her invaluable life experiences, and so on. However, there was one phrase that attracted my attention instantly.

Maria, Master of the Astral Clock Tower.

“Hey, Miss Nora. What is the Astral Clock Tower?” I asked Nora, who I imagined to be quite known about these sorts of things. At the very least, knowledge related to Lady Maria. Nora looked at me as if she was looking at a strange, never seen before specimen. I wondered if the information about the Astral Clock Tower was just basic knowledge to people? Nora looked confused as she spoke to me.

“Astral Clock Tower is the place where the greatest of sorcerers and warriors gather. It is the beacon that stands as the proof that the cult will never win and we as humans will always stand at the top.”

Hoh. And Lady Maria was the master of such a place? Fascinating. Where the greatest of humanity gathers. Sounds like a nice place.

I gave the book back to Nora as there were many nomenclature and statements that I couldn’t understand yet. I had to get the basic knowledge first. I’ll need to ramp up my training and also train my mana utilisation in secret. I’ll have to keep it secret for now. The day that Sirius will be able to use mana, will also be the day when I’ll be able to use mana openly. I still wasn’t sure about the intentions of the Frye family. While Sirius was a kind child who probably didn’t know anything, the same couldn’t be said for the family. I knew for a fact that Maria, Erwin and even Blake were planning something. I had to always be a step above them. If not in strength, then in secrets. I’ll have to be more powerful than they think I am. Underestimation often creates a path to disaster.

I'm surrounded by people way above what I can handle right now, whose intentions are vague at best. I have to be prepared for everything.