War Is Approaching

The next day, Hekate returned to the Academy with Betty.

"Lady Audrey is so good to me. Your family is so kind," Betty said happily the whole way.

Whenever Audrey was mentioned, a smile bloomed uncontrollably across her face.

Hekate was speechless. My mother is so nice to you because she wants you to become her daughter-in-law. Did you think she treated everyone that well?

Perhaps affection within the royal family was truly cold and distant. Her mother had merely shown Betty a little concern, yet Betty remembered it so fondly. How strange.

"Come on, or we'll be late for class," Hekate urged.

Betty caught up and asked, "Can I still visit your home next time? Lady Audrey said I'm always welcome."

"Whatever you want."

Once Betty learned her mother's intentions, she definitely would not go again.

As a royal princess, she could not possibly marry the son of an earl. Even if Hekate inherited the earl's title, she still would not be qualified to marry a princess.

Before long, the two arrived at the Meditation Academy.

They were somewhat late, and there were not many empty seats left. Just then, Puli waved at them.

"Why didn't you come to class yesterday?" Puli asked curiously.

She had noticed that Betty had entered with Hekate, but neither of them had been home yesterday. Had they taken leave and gone out together?

Betty felt Puli's gaze, calmly ignored it, and sat down beside Hekate.

"My family came to Lundria. I went back to meet them yesterday," Hekate said with a smile.

Puli nodded, then tugged at her sleeve and whispered, "Then why did you come back with Betty? Do you and Betty have some special relationship?"

"No."

One month later.

Hekate's Magic Level had reached 4-Star Formal Mage.

Every time a Formal Mage advanced by one star, their lifespan was reduced by twenty years. It was truly terrifying. Without the Longevity Talent, there was no way to pursue this path.

After becoming a Formal Mage, apprentice-level knowledge became much easier to understand. It felt like looking at elementary school lessons after entering middle school.

Half a year after enrollment, most of the new students in Meditation Studies had advanced two stars. Sweet was still publicly recognized as the highest-level student in the class, a 7-Star Apprentice Mage.

Just when Hekate thought the day would pass peacefully as usual—

A strange piece of news appeared in Star Speech.

Soldiers from Roho City on the border of the Uruk Kingdom had clashed on a large scale with soldiers from the Chaos Kingdom. King Uruk, Brul Klett Is Akanya, had dispatched troops to the border.

"How does this have anything to do with me?" Hekate was full of doubts.

No, taken alone, this conflict really had nothing to do with me. But what if it was viewed as an issue between nations?

Border clashes were frequent and normal, yet Star had listed this information. That meant it was connected to her. If one conflict could affect her all the way in the royal capital, then it had to be the fuse for a future war.

Only war could drag everyone into it.

Thinking of this, Hekate recalled her father's sudden decision to settle in the royal capital.

It seemed some people in the kingdom had long guessed that war was coming and had prepared early.

"If that's really the case, then it makes sense that Father abandoned the Carilance family business." Hekate rubbed her chin and sighed at the coming troubled times.

After being born, once she understood this world's systems and level of technology, she had guessed there would be war in the future. After all, the Middle Ages on Earth in her previous life had been a complete mess of warfare. This life also had magic, so the fighting would surely be even more outrageous.

"It's more important to speed up my training. A Formal Mage on the battlefield has no better odds than an ordinary soldier." Hekate returned to her bed, closed her eyes, and meditated.

She had broken through three times in a row this month, and the magic power within her was like an unstable wild bull.

She had advanced too quickly, without steadily cultivating her way up, so her foundation was extremely unstable. She needed to spend time taming that bull. Otherwise, she could easily suffer backlash when casting magic.

The next day.

Hekate emerged from her Meditation State and performed her usual draw.

Duang~

Gift of Fate: Knowledge related to Basic Magic: Summon Thunder has been raised to the mastery level.

Hekate perked up and said happily, "I finally got a formal spell."

Basic Magic was magic that only Formal Mages could master. Apprentice-level and trainee-level spells did not even count as magic; they were merely toys.

The reason the apprentice-level Fire Curse Technique had possessed such immense power back then and burned an assassin to death was due to several factors. First, the spell had reached the mastery level. Second, it had been enhanced by the Star of Magic. Third, she had burned a great deal of lifespan.

She immediately accepted the gift, and complex knowledge rapidly flooded into her mind.

The Summon Thunder Technique was a spell for direct combat, renowned for its tremendous power and speed. However, its consumption was equally immense.

But that was not a problem for Hekate. Infinite lifespan meant infinite magic power. As long as her body could withstand it, she could keep squeezing her lifespan for magic power.

After breakfast, Hekate left the house. Betty's maid was waiting outside, and the moment she saw Hekate emerge, she stepped forward. "Good morning, Mr. Hekate. Miss Betty has family matters to attend to and will not be going to the Academy for the time being. She asked me to tell you not to wait for her."

Hekate nodded. "All right. I hope everything goes well for Betty."

It seemed the war truly was about to begin.

Hekate continued with her usual routine, attending school and training.

After breaking through to Formal Mage, her mental strength had grown much stronger. Even while receiving the constant stream of knowledge surfacing in her mind, she could still maintain her normal daily activities.

In any case, even if war came, it would not affect the royal capital for the time being. Rather than worry, she might as well increase her strength as quickly as possible and prepare for future crises.

Another month passed.

Hekate's Magic Level successfully broke through to 5-Star Formal Mage.

During that time, she also triggered a Gift of Fate for Physique Enhancement. To her surprise, Physique Enhancement could even help her tame the magic power within her. It was an unexpected delight.

Large numbers of soldiers had gathered along the border between the two nations. War could practically break out at any moment.

Such matters could not possibly be hidden from the public, so prices in Lundria tripled in a short period of time.

If even the capital was like this, other places might be in even worse shape.

But it did not have much impact on the Carilance family. Hekate still got up and went to school as usual.

If it had any effect on Hekate, it was that many conversations at the dining table and within the Academy had turned to matters related to the war.

Hekate arrived at the Meditation Academy. Not long after class began, a teacher called her out.

This teacher was Hubbard Gregory, the one who had received her when she first enrolled.

He adjusted the enormous hat atop his head and said, "Hekate, a girl was seriously injured and collapsed in front of our Academy. Before she passed out, she called your name. You need to go take a look."