Adelade had fallen asleep still in the former baron’s bedchambers. Fang was still on the bed resting. She glanced to the right, where the hero had been sitting, and found only a small note. With a sense of dread, she picked it up and read it.

Lady Adelade,

I thank you for your assistance and brief lessons last night. Knowing how to wield magic will surely help in my endeavors. I can tell that both you and the prince wish to utilize my skill as a doctor for the good of the country. While I would like to assist you, there are still some things that I need to see and experience before I can commit to such a task. Please inform the prince that nothing he can say or do will change my resolve. I do not know where my journey will take me, so I am leaving before you all attempt to join me. Perhaps our travels will allow us to meet again before I return to the capital. Until then.

Dr. RH M.D.

Adelade sighed. She had only shown the hero the basics of magic as they sat and talked, but she had picked up magic so quickly and easily it was even more clear now to Adelade that she was a hero. With such ease, it was possible that the hero would not even need any further lessons, which gave them one less thing to tempt the hero with.

Reluctantly, Adelade made for Wyen’s quarters to inform him of what had happened.

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Quinn woke in the later hours of the morning after having exhausted himself from the previous night’s events. As he sat at the desk in the Royal Room, there was a knock on the door.

“Enter,” he called out.

Wyen appeared, slightly haggard, and made his way to the other side after shutting the door.

“There is much we have to do to stabilize the Graywolf territory before we head out.”

Quinn looked curiously at his friend, noting the tone in his voice.

“What happened? Is it Fang?”

“No. Fang is fine.”

“Then what is it?”

“Well…,” Wyen paused.

And it dawned on Quinn, “Adelade didn’t succeed and the hero is gone.”

Wyen nodded. Quinn started massaging his forehead as he thought of what had to be done here. It was imperative that they resume the pursuit of the hero to both protect her and try again to convince her to join them. From just the speed that she had exhibited last night, she could travel far in short amounts of time.

“We should switch to horseback to continue our journey. With fewer people we can make up some of the lost ground as well.”

“Agreed. I sent for an administrator to be sent here from the capital.”

“You want to leave Lady Felicia in charge of the Graywolf territory?” asked Quinn.

“She is less than a year from adulthood. The administrator can oversee the territory until then and teach her so that she will be capable when the time comes.”

“There will be numerous nobles that will move to influence her, or even get her to marry. The fact that we will have had a direct hand in her ascension, even if we don’t promote it as such, will undoubtedly cause her more trouble.”

“True. And the administrator can deal with that too. I’ve specifically sent for someone I trust in these kinds of matters. I was trying to come up with a solution to that issue but I found no satisfactory conclusions.”

“If we present her as my mistress…”

“As I said, no satisfactory conclusions,” Wyen interrupted Quinn loudly.

“I’d be satisfied,” Quinn whispered to himself.

“That’s part of the problem. You are only thinking of yourself.”

“I am not! Just before you burst through the door last night, she offered herself to me! She wanted me!”

“And how much of you did you show her? You said nothing happened. Were you acting like Adelade and I warned you to or were you yourself?”

“Like you said.”

“Then she didn’t want you. She wanted the image you presented to her: the noble prince rescuing her.”

Quinn was caught off guard. Image was an important thing to represent as a ruler and leader. If those in charge remained calm during a crisis, then those who followed tended to likewise be calmer for example.

He thought about the image he had presented towards Felicia last night. Instead of being himself, he had put on the image that Wyen had told him to. While it had led to a fruitful conversation, and did reflect Quinn when he could be serious, it was not who he was in private moments like one would share with a lover.

“You have the capacity, but lack the control.”

“Shouldn’t they want me though? Just as I want them?”

“You know the answer to that already.”

Quinn sighed. While he understood logically that the women he pursued were under no obligation to either acknowledge or reciprocate his advances, his emotions were what drove him in those moments.

While sensing that perhaps Quinn might finally be on his way towards a break through, Wyen reluctantly turned the conversation back to the Graywolf territory.

“We should wait until my administrator arrives before setting out. We’ll root out as best we can the remnants of the former baron’s corruption. It is also a bit of an opportunity to go through the records more thoroughly so as to give a satisfactory answer when the nobles come asking for our deposing actions.”

“But first, breakfast.”

Wyen gave a smirk, “Indeed.”

The two descended to the dining room where both Adelade and Felicia were already partaking of an equally late breakfast. Quinn gestured for the two to remain casual as they attempted to rise at his presence.

“Your Highness, I failed in the task you set for me,” Adelade somberly stated.

“So Wyen told me. We will be continuing to follow her, though we will be few so as to make up time. You will be among that number.”

“I shall prepare right away.”

“Wait,” Quinn stopped Adelade as she tried to exit, “First, tell me what you discussed with the hero.”

Resuming her seat, Adelade retold the conversation she had with the hero.

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“Thank you again for your assistance in making the potion.”

Adelade smiled at being praised by the hero.

“It was insightful in its own way for me too. Thank you for allowing me to assist you.”

“He should make a full recovery. Honestly, potions and magic are cheating in my work, but they do have their uses.”

Adelade seemed confused.

“Potions and magic are the best options. You will make a fortune by utilizing them.”

The hero looked at her and shook her head.

“One should of course be properly compensated for their work, but the prices by alchemists, healers, and physicians is too much. I know there have been efforts to bring better healthcare to the masses, but I’m sure many nobles are somehow lining their pockets because of it.”

“Do you know how to stop that?”

“Specifically? No. I have some ideas is all.”

“The prince would love to hear your ideas.”

The hero was silent for a while, causing Adelade to shift uncomfortably. She had a task to do: bring the hero back to the capital.

“So… you want to utilize magic?”

“Yes. Though I said it was like cheating, it would be useful to have the skills.”

“Why is it you have not been trained? You clearly have the capacity for magic.”

“I haven’t found a teacher I liked enough to ask them for training.”

“You did not receive training in your far-east country?”

“Far-east country?”

“Where you came from.”

“I have lived here for some time now.”

“You live in Sengar?”

“Yes. I do like it here.”

“Um. I know this is a little rude, but how old are you?”

“Seventeen, though I often feel like I have lived another thirty or so.”

“That’s a strange way to put things.”

The hero laughed.

“But you didn’t come from a far-east country?”

“No.”

Adelade went silent as she thought of how to engage the hero.

“I could teach you.”

“Magic? Alright, please start right now.”

“Now? But what about Fang?”

“I’m monitoring him.”

“Okay. Well, I don’t know how much you’ll get right now, but sure.”

With that, Adelade started to demonstrate magic to the hero. She started with feeling the flow of magic within oneself, as the hero had not yet experienced control of it. Magic within oneself went by many names among the countries of the world. Some called it simply magic power, while others called in mana, but the technical name that mages had come to agree on for the organized study of magic was arcanum. The presence of arcanum within a person varied due to numerous factors, many of which had not been identified, but was not the fully decisive factor of a powerful mage. Certainly those with a higher internal reservoir of arcanum benefited, but being able to control the intake of surrounding, environmental arcanum as well as efficient usage of arcanum were just as important.

After just a moment of helping the hero feel the internal flow of arcanum, Adelade was shocked at the speed that the hero picked up the feel and even as she started to manipulate it. It made the next miniature lesson on arcanum manipulation good even faster. As the hero, seemingly effortlessly, continued to surpass Adelade’s abbreviated lessons, she began to worry that the hero might not need proper lessons.

Regardless, showing the hero how to cast a spell was the next step. Casting a spell involved envisioning the desired effect and applying arcanum to cause the effect to manifest. While not required, casters usually utilized key words or chants to aid them in envisioning their desired outcome. Applying arcanum was a complex process because it relied on two factors: clarity and complexity. Clarity, when it came to magic, referred to the general envisioning of the spells outcome. If a caster were to, for example, create water, they could envision enough to fill a waterskin or a lake, with an obvious trade off of larger quantity requiring more arcanum. Complexity, when it came to magic, referred to how the outcome was achieved. Therefore, greater understanding of the world could lessen the complexity by making the arcanum do less. Back to the water example, drawing the water from the air or underground would expend less arcanum than creating it from nothing.

Yet again the hero exhibited little effort as Adelade watched.

“Amazing,” she let slip.

“This Is harder than I thought,” remarked the hero.

“But you’re doing it so easily.”

“I am? It was only a year ago that I learned I could do magic, and like I said, I’ve never been trained.”

In Adelade’s mind, it was settled. This young woman was definitely a hero.

“Please come with us back to the capital!”

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“And at no point did you ask her name?” asked Quinn.

Adelade started panicking.

“You taught her some magic and didn’t get her name during the entire thing?” said Wyen in disbelief.

“She was really good at it. I got caught up in the moment,” she

confessed, hanging her head.

“Phillippe and Vivette! They must know!” Quinn slammed a hand on the table.

The two Shadows were summoned but had equally disappointing

Reports.

“The carriage she used to get us back here so quickly left me so stunned that I didn’t think about it. It went faster than a horse.”

“I stayed out of her way so as to not interrupt her process. If she gave her name to anyone, I did not hear it.”

Quinn was shocked. This failure extended to everyone close to him,

so he could not blame any one of them. He was just as guilty in this respect

too. Then an idea struck him.

“The contracts for the location she has in the capital! Surely those have a name on them!”

“I looked into that when we were still watching her,” said Wyen,

“But the name on the contract does not start with an R or an H.”

“Well what was it?”

“Ascle Pius.”

“Is it some sort of code?” asked Adelade.

“Not that I know of,” answered Wyen.

“Why is she so nervous about us knowing who she is?” wondered

Quinn.

“I could understand if it was you,” remarked Adelade, “But it is a little strange since she does not know you yet. Does she?”

“No. The other day was the first time I have ever seen her.”

“Um, Lady Adelade? What do you mean about ‘if it was you’ in reference to His Highness?” asked Felicia, intending to whisper. Unfortunately she hit at just the right time so that the entire table heard.

The others paused, having forgotten momentarily that Felicia was present given how quiet she had been for some time. Of course, her silence could only be expected since she was not present at the particular events and, in the presence of Quinn, her place as a new baroness prevented her from broaching the subject with him.

“Well…” started Adelade.

“I’m sorry Lady Felicia, I’m going to have to ask you to forget about that,” interrupted Wyen.

“Uh, okay then?” Felicia said, though she clearly wanted to know more.

Surprisingly to the others, it was Fang who brought the conversation back around.

“You’re all thinking about it too hard,” he stated.

“What do you mean?” asked Quinn

Fang sighed.

“All you’ve done is call her the hero.”

“She is one.”

“Yes, but you said she keeps asking us not to call her that.”

“Ah, I see,” said Wyen as he caught on to Fang’s point, “We have not tried to get to know her, but have been applying our preconceptions on her. She has interpreted hero as a title that she does not believe she has earned.”

“So this ‘doctor’ is?” Adelade asked.

“Yes. Wherever it is she learned these skills she demonstrated must have conveyed the title of ‘doctor’ on her.”

“She is proud of it,” said Quinn, “Thus why she keeps using it herself.”

“And since I am guessing that she has not encountered another bearing the same title, she finds it enough for now,” concluded Wyen.

“We need to become friendly with her first then,” started Adelade.

“And only then will we convince her to join us,” said Wyen.

“It does sound like she is open to working with us already. She did mention that she likes what you’ve been proposing for the country,” Adelade continued, “It’s just that last step.”

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Although Fang was back on his feet and at Quinn’s side again the next day, he still needed a lot of rest over the next few days. The antidote and healing potions did not heal the mental trauma of the experience after all. He even started teasing Quinn that he was the first among them to benefit from the hero, which quickly got under Quinn’s skin as he still had every intention of bringing the hero into the royal family.

Otherwise, the next few days passed by fairly quickly. They spent most of them pouring over the documents the hero had retrieved from the former baron’s secret mine. Once Wyen’s administrator arrived, Quinn held a simple ceremony which installed Felicia as the new Baroness of the Graywolf territory, pending her sixteenth birthday, and a feast was held at the estate to celebrate. News from the mining town indicated that everyone trapped had been rescued, and due to the efforts of the hero, would survive, giving more reason to celebrate.

When the day arrived for their departure, six horses stood ready for their respective riders. It was risky to have the group be that small, given who was traveling, but they would more easily make up the ground that the hero had covered in the week since she departed. Though they were not sure entirely how far that was, given the apparent capabilities of her magical carriage.

“Baroness Graywolf, we thank you for the hospitality you have shown here in the Graywolf territory,” said Quinn.

“Your Highness, it has been a pleasure to have you visit. House Graywolf stands ready to assist you in any manner possible in the future.”

Felicia bowed gracefully towards the prince.

Quinn turned and mounted his waiting steed, while Adelade, Fang, Wyen, Phillippe, and Vivette mounted their own. Together, the six rode out of Gray Den.

“We determined that at least she headed back northward,” called out Quinn as they rode.

“Something she said while treating Fang caught my attention. Paired with the note that she left Adelade, I think she might seek out the races besides humans,” determined Wyen.

“Your home village is not too far to the northwest from here, is it not Wyen?” said Adelade.

“There are multiple elven villages within the forests, but the main settlement where I was born is there.”

“What about the dwarves?” asked Fang, “That would take her northeast instead.”

“It would. There is a large population of dwarves in the capital though with the smithies. The elves are more reclusive,” said Quinn, “So let’s go check on Wyen’s hometown first. There’s got to be some beauties there!”

The other five tried really hard to ignore Quinn’s final remark.