The Encounter of Blue-Purple and Azure

In Wickel's wooden cabin, nightfall came earlier and earlier. It wasn't simply due to celestial mechanics; it gave the impression that darkness was growing faster. The stars were sparse, signaling the world's submersion into darkness.

[The weakened Allentia could not prevent the darkness from devouring the world, thus Rose Month was created.]

"Merlin, I want to control a wolf pack. Can you help me?" Fatenai sat at the table in her room. After gazing at the sky for a while, she turned to the man with long, lake-blue hair standing in the room. Her voice held a hint of pleading as she asked. While she was grateful to be able to summon such a powerful mage at this critical juncture, she also worried about her ability to control someone like him—the child of a dream demon and a human from the legends of King Arthur, and in a sense, the man who created King Arthur.

Merlin's expression was placid, unchanging. Perhaps there was nothing that could stump him. This also gave Merlin a sickly, lifeless appearance.

"Arthur... you want to use those two mages to enter that school?" Merlin asked, not answering her immediately.

Fatenai fell silent for a moment, then nodded firmly.

"You should be familiar with knightly etiquette," Merlin said, seemingly disagreeing with her actions. "Honesty is a virtue, and you are destined to be a king..."

"But I am not King Arthur." Fatenai interrupted him, then closed her eyes. She placed her hand before her eyes, and as the patterns on her hand flashed in and out of view, she reopened them. Her long-unseen blue-purple eyes were exposed—not crystal clear, but with a faint, sharp storm within. "I am Fatenai Frayton, and I need to become one of those mages."

She was no longer a noble. Marrison's scheme also reminded her that she could not become an adventurer, even though her lifespan was still long.

During this long period, was this her third choice? Those two mage guests had given her the answer—a mage would be her third choice.

Fatenai's true eyes were incredibly captivating. It was like when Duke Wisdom and his wife appeared at an event; people would always only notice Duke Wisdom. They were eyes filled with nobility, as if foretelling that their owner, even if not aloof, would never be utterly dejected.

"For what? You are not a mage." Merlin gazed into her eyes.

Fatenai breathed a sigh of relief. She was glad that this mage was willing to treat her as Fatenai and speak to her with that understanding of her identity, even though the process of achieving this goal seemed too simple. "As long as I can temporarily gather magic power, I will alter their impression—that's why I need your help."

"You only want to control the wolf pack?" Merlin asked.

"Of course," Fatenai said slowly. "It's that simple."

"But he's already here, and you have other schemes," Merlin looked up, his gaze pointed towards the door. Fatenai's expression shifted—there were things she was unwilling to clarify with this mage. Just as she was contemplating how to compensate, Merlin stood up. He patted his robe and walked towards the window. "Next time, please use less Gilgrass. Otherwise, someone will notice, Arthur."

Fatenai froze, watching Merlin's figure disappear through the window.

What exactly were the thoughts of this summoner... She couldn't grasp them for a moment.

=================================

"Lonai? Lonai!" Fatenai was pulled back from her thoughts by a voice suddenly growing louder. She blinked and saw the person before her clearly—Helise was looking at her, quite seriously.

"Ah? Sorry." Fatenai was still a bit dazed.

They were in a cave, with no light. In the endless night, only the crackling bonfire provided a sliver of warmth.

That battle had allowed Forresten to "see" Fatenai's magical talent. As she had hoped, she was about to go to Starlight Academy with them.

After a few days of recuperation and a few more days of travel, Fatenai realized that Starlight University might be located in the forest. It wasn't hard to imagine; it couldn't exist in an ordinary city, as cities were controlled by nobles who disdained commoner mages.

This was the sixth day.

"Are you resting well? I'm sorry, the Headmaster and Wickel are still busy investigating the forest and cannot head to the university immediately, so you'll have to endure your injuries for a few more days." Helise, seeing Fatenai finally come to her senses, let out a sigh of relief.

Ever since she "saved" Helise, although still speaking in her usual tone, Helise treated her with a completely different attitude. Fatenai had previously felt this kind of treatment when Helise interacted with Hubert, but that relationship had completely vanished now.

Hubert actively went out to investigate every day. When resting, he kept his distance from them. Even when he was close, the two acted as if they didn't know each other, let alone speak to her.

Fatenai had never had friends, no matter the time, so she couldn't fathom the friendship between these two, only finding it somewhat fragile.

"It's fine, it's bound to happen." Fatenai sighed softly. Every time she moved her wound, it caused indescribable pain, but to avoid appearing too strange, she had never used her master's skill to heal the injury that could have been instantly mended.

Fatenai herself admitted the influence of the Wisdom Family on her. Their harsh demands made her deliberately train herself, though it was somewhat horrifying in this environment.

"You really do consider yourself a Forest Hunter—your parents must not know you can use magic either. Don't be too surprised; some people are just like that. That ability is hidden and can only be used when it's triggered at the right time—that's what the Headmaster said." Helise continued, "Once you enter Starlight, you won't need to rely on swords as much."

Fatenai said, "Thank you."

In Fatenai's eyes, Helise was an incomprehensible person. She was the most innocent girl Fatenai had met since her birth in this world.

Brave yet reckless, shrewd yet easily deceived.

Contradictory yet straightforward.

Therefore, Fatenai didn't know how to approach her.

Helise didn't seem to care much about Fatenai's attitude and continued, "Today, the Headmaster is picking up his disciple. He will be traveling with us."

"Doesn't Master Forresten have many students? It seems he's quite special." Fatenai knew that if Helise didn't end the topic herself, she couldn't interrupt her, so she followed along.

"Not necessarily. There are things I must admit—noble-born individuals have much better magical talent than commoners. Thus, most mages at the university have mediocre aptitude. If someone possesses exceptional talent, they will be personally tutored by the university's esteemed professors." Helise's expression showed a hint of longing. "After all these years, the Headmaster only has this one disciple."

Fatenai paused for a moment, then showed a look of mild surprise. "Truly something to look forward to, a future Archmage."

In reality, she didn't want to meet this mage. Who knew if he might discover some of her little secrets? Although her manipulations hadn't even been detected by Forresten.

"That child is the most talented person I've ever seen. There are few in the academy who can be his match... Ah, they're back!" Helise was still introducing this future star among mages to Fatenai, unaware of Fatenai's inner turmoil. Suddenly, she sensed Forresten and his disciple through the alchemical tools placed outside the cave for defense against enemies.

Using her immobility as an excuse, Fatenai remained in the cave, while Helise happily went out to greet them.

A person with great talent among mages... Fatenai propped herself up with a stone, a hint of contemplation in her eyes. In terms of talent, he was worlds apart from her.

She was indeed a little curious...

"She's inside." Soon, Fatenai heard Helise's voice—it carried from a distance.

Fatenai stared at the cave entrance. Before she saw the person, she saw a ball of white light. Powerful mages would summon such a light in the darkness to illuminate the path and express their disdain for enemies.

The moment Fatenai saw the approaching figure, the action of brewing her "obviously curious but hiding a hint of ignorance" expression halted. Instead, her face turned to one of shock—genuine shock. She rarely lost her composure, and at this moment, her face was pale.

He was a dark-haired youth, his soft black hair making his sickly pale skin even more striking. His frail body was clad in a dark blue coat, and long eyelashes cast a shadow, revealing a sapphire blue light beneath them.

"Ed Ansendil!" Fatenai enunciated each syllable, her voice laced with near-uncontrollable anger.

"Ah, you know each other? You even know his name." Helise, who had just walked in, shattered Fatenai's last illusion – and simultaneously reminded Fatenai that she shouldn't reveal any past entanglements with Ed at this moment.

Ed flashed a pleased smile, his tone exceedingly friendly. "Of course..."

"Really? Where did you two meet?" Helise seemed somewhat surprised.

Fatenai's heart skipped a beat – she had lost control earlier, giving Ed the upper hand. She couldn't help but wonder what Ed would say and how she should respond.

"In the forest. I rested at her family's log cabin for a night. The salad was quite good; I still remember it fondly," Ed continued.

Fatenai's rapidly working mind ground to a halt. A flicker of bewilderment crossed her eyes; she hadn't expected Ed to say that.

He didn't want to expose her identity, but… why?

Fearless in her choice, she felt for the first time that the future was full of variables.

"It's great if you know each other. I've also had her salad; it's really good. Speaking of food, I'll get some for you," Helise said happily. "Lonai might find me boring – Mr. Ed must have many things that interest Fatenai."

With that, Helise walked towards the exit.

Fatenai paid no attention to Helise's words. Instead, when Helise turned away and was no longer looking at her, Fatenai stared intently at Ed, as if facing a formidable enemy.

"She called you Lonai? Is that your nickname? It's quite nice." Ed approached Fatenai with elegant steps, still wearing that smile that Fatenai found so detestable.

Fatenai looked at him coldly. "Don't call me that."

"Why?" Ed asked, genuinely curious.

"You know why," Fatenai replied.

"Heh..." Ed let out a laugh. Fatenai's palms were sweating, and her wound began to ache faintly. Ed drew closer, their faces almost touching, his voice echoing in her ear. "If I hadn't left the Eye of Simorely for you, would you have had a chance to infiltrate Starlight? On that point, you should be extremely grateful to me, Lonai."