The letter sent to the Northern Frontier was like a stone sinking into the sea; it would take at least ten days to half a month to get a reply. Meanwhile, Elisa's Coming-of-Age Ceremony hung over him like the Sword of Damocles, drawing closer with every passing day. Leon kept up appearances, going every day to the City Guard's barracks to "check in" for training (though Captain Hans still treated him with indifference, and the exercises were so brutal that he came back each time looking like a dead dog). At night, he still slipped into Elisa's room without fail to practice his unique "pillow cultivation technique." But his anxiety kept growing.
Money was the most immediate obstacle in his way. Without it, he couldn't buy a proper gift or maintain even a basic level of decorum at the Coming-of-Age Ceremony. Waiting for Karl to send money was too passive. What if his brother's military duties delayed him, or he simply wrote back to scold Leon without sending anything? (It wasn't likely, but it wasn't impossible.) Then Leon would bring shame upon both the Hohenzollern and Windsor families in front of all the nobles in the Imperial Capital.
He needed a backup plan.
After turning it over in his mind, there seemed to be only one person he could turn to—his aunt, Countess Margaret von Strauss.
Asking his aunt for a loan would take tremendous courage. Aunt Margaret was nothing like his indulgent mother, nor like his stern but ultimately family-minded brother. She was calm, rational, and unfathomable, and had always treated Leon with a distant sort of "guardianship," not unconditional affection. More importantly, she was extremely wealthy. As one of the Empire's foremost Grand Archmages and the Royal Academy of Magic's chief instructor, she had many sources of income: royal stipends, profits from the commercialization of magical research, and the Strauss family's own businesses. Two hundred Gold Roland might be no more than a drop in the ocean to her.
But the key question wasn't whether his aunt had money. It was whether she was willing to lend it—and what sort of price Leon would have to pay.
Ask outright? Try to wheedle or demand it like he had with his parents and brother? That would be humiliating. One icy look from Aunt Margaret would be enough to make him swallow his words.
He needed a strategy.
Leon carefully recalled his past interactions with his aunt, analyzing her personality. What did she value? Order? Strength? Or perhaps some kind of investment potential? Apart from their blood ties, had she taken him in at the Count's Mansion to observe him and... put him to some degree of "use"? After all, even a useless member of the Hohenzollern family might prove a useful pawn under the right circumstances.
Could he show her at least a little... potential worth "investing" in? Even the tiniest bit?
That opportunity arrived unexpectedly one evening, a few days later.
Leon finished a day of "torture" and dragged his leaden legs back to the Count's Mansion. He didn't go straight to his room. Instead, almost without thinking, he took a detour to the little garden behind the estate, where magic kept spring eternally in bloom. He needed a quiet place to recover from the exhaustion weighing on both body and mind.
The garden was peaceful, with only the trickling of the magically powered fountain breaking the silence. Beneath the white pavilion at its center, he spotted Aunt Margaret. Instead of working or reading a magic scroll as usual, she was sitting there—a rare sight—with a fine white porcelain tea set before her, apparently enjoying evening tea by herself. The sunset cast a soft golden glow over her stern profile, but her aura still warned everyone to keep their distance.
Leon's heart gave a sudden leap. This was his chance!
He took a deep breath and forced himself to calm down. Then he straightened his robe, rumpled from training, trying to look a little less disheveled, before walking toward the pavilion.
"Aunt Margaret." He stopped outside the pavilion and bowed respectfully.
Aunt Margaret raised her eyes. Her icy blue gaze swept over him, and she seemed a little surprised to see him there, but she showed no displeasure. She merely gave a quiet "Hmm."
"I just got back from training. The garden looked lovely, so I thought I'd come get some fresh air. I didn't mean to disturb your peace, Aunt Margaret," Leon explained, trying to sound casual.
"Not at all." Aunt Margaret pointed to the stone bench opposite her. "Sit."
Leon did as he was told. A Magic Puppet glided over silently and poured him a steaming cup of black tea. The fragrance mingled with the fresh scent of the flowers, making the atmosphere feel a little less tense.
They drank in silence for a few sips. Leon's mind raced as he searched for an opening. Asking for money outright would be too abrupt; he needed to lay the groundwork.
"Aunt Margaret," he said, setting down his teacup and looking at a magical plant glowing blue beyond the pavilion as if bringing it up casually. "Lately... I've been training with Captain Hans. It's hard, but I do feel like my body's gotten stronger."
Aunt Margaret didn't respond. She simply watched him, as though waiting for him to continue.
Leon pressed on. "It's just... sometimes I feel that training my body alone... isn't enough. The situation in the Imperial Capital is complicated. Like that sinkhole incident last time, there seem to be all kinds of dangers we can't see." He cautiously brought up the sinkhole, hoping to steer the conversation toward his desire for strength.
"Strength takes many forms, Leon," Aunt Margaret finally said, her voice calm and even. "Muscle is only the most basic kind. Wisdom, connections, resources—all of these are forms of strength, and at times they're even more important."
There it was! Leon's heart stirred. Her words fit right in with what he'd been thinking.
"You're right, Aunt Margaret." He agreed at once, then shifted his tone, letting just the right amount of embarrassment and hesitation show on his face. "It's just... gaining those connections and resources sometimes requires a few basic things to support you."
He paused as if the words were difficult to say. Then, as though he had finally made up his mind, he lifted his head and looked Aunt Margaret in the eye. "Aunt Margaret, I... I'd like to borrow some money from you."
Aunt Margaret's hand stopped as she held her teacup. For the first time, her icy blue eyes fixed on Leon, assessing him with a hint of... amusement? She must have expected him to ask her for something, but not this.
"Borrow money?" she repeated, her tone inscrutable. "How much? And what for?"
Leon's heart climbed into his throat. The crucial moment had come. He couldn't lie—not about the main reason, at least. It would be too easy to catch him out.
"Two hundred Gold Roland." Leon named a sum a little lower than he actually needed, so he wouldn't seem too greedy and would have some room to maneuver. "It's mainly for Elisa's Coming-of-Age Ceremony next month. I need to prepare a suitable gift for her and get myself a proper formal outfit. This concerns the reputations of both the Hohenzollern and Windsor families. I can't... afford to be too rude."
He once again framed his reason in terms of family reputation, the most legitimate argument and the hardest to refuse.
Aunt Margaret said nothing. She merely watched Leon with eyes that seemed able to see straight through him. The air in the pavilion felt frozen, with only the fountain's water continuing to trickle.
Leon felt sweat starting to bead on his back. He forced himself to meet her gaze, trying to make his eyes look sincere and earnest, rather than guilty or calculating.
After what felt like an entire century, Aunt Margaret slowly set down her teacup. She leaned back slightly and tapped her fingers against the stone tabletop, each knock measured and steady.
"Two hundred Gold Roland... is no small sum," she said slowly. "Even for your Hohenzollern family, it's not something you can spend at will. Are you sure every bit of it will go toward what you just said? And not end up in the pockets of the 'Canary' or some casino again?"
Her question was sharp and direct, mercilessly exposing Leon's sordid past.
Leon's face burned, but he knew he couldn't back down or try to argue. He took a deep breath and said solemnly, "Aunt Margaret, I promise you! Every last copper coin will go toward the Coming-of-Age Ceremony. I can... I can give you a detailed budget to look over! I behaved disgracefully in the past, but this time is different. I absolutely can't mess up Elisa's ceremony!" His voice carried a rare resolve.
Aunt Margaret's gaze lingered on his face for a long time, as if weighing the truth of his words and the strength of his resolve.
"Even so," she said, shifting the conversation, "why should I lend you the money? The Hohenzollern family isn't short of funds. You could ask your parents or your brother."
Leon had expected this question. He lowered his head, his voice growing a little quieter, with just the right touch of "embarrassment." "I... I've already written to my brother Karl. But the Northern Frontier is far away, and he's busy with military duties. I'm afraid... I'm afraid he won't reply in time. And I feel ashamed to keep asking my family for money. You're here in the Imperial Capital, Aunt Margaret. You're the elder I can rely on most right now." He played the "family" and "time is running out" cards at just the right moment.
Silence fell over the pavilion once more. Aunt Margaret's fingers stopped tapping. She looked at the young man before her, who seemed so unlike his station as her nephew, his vulnerability and entreaty laid bare. A complex emotion flickered in her icy blue eyes: scrutiny, consideration, and perhaps a faint, almost imperceptible hint of... interest.
"I can give you two hundred Gold Roland," Aunt Margaret finally said. Her voice remained cool, but Leon's heart skipped a beat!
"But," she continued, making his heart leap back into his throat, "it won't be a loan. It'll be a gift."
A gift? Leon was stunned. Just like that? There was no such thing as a free lunch. There had to be a condition!
Sure enough, Aunt Margaret continued. "I do have one condition."
"Name it, Aunt Margaret!" Leon replied quickly. As long as it wasn't too unreasonable, he could accept it.
Aunt Margaret's gaze grew profound. "After Elisa's Coming-of-Age Ceremony, the Magic Academy in the Imperial Capital will open a three-month 'Basic Magic Training Class' for the children of the nobility. Several Archmages will teach the classes themselves. I want you to enroll and stick with it until the end. You can't drop out partway through, and you must at least pass the final assessment."
The condition was completely unexpected! Leon had thought she might restrict his freedom or make him do something humiliating. He hadn't expected her to tell him to... study magic? And in a formal class at the Magic Academy?
This... this was a windfall from heaven! It perfectly matched his secret plans to practice magic. What's more, with his aunt's "requirement," studying magic would become perfectly legitimate. He could consult the books openly, ask questions, and no longer have to sneak around!
Suppressing his joy, Leon put on an appropriately surprised and... slightly "reluctant" expression. "The Magic Academy? Aunt Margaret, I... I don't know the first thing about magic, and I've heard the entry requirements are strict. I'm afraid I..."
"That is the condition," Aunt Margaret interrupted, her tone leaving no room for argument. "You can refuse, in which case the matter of the two hundred Gold Roland ends here. Or you can accept. I'll have a Puppet bring you the money right away, but you must see the Training Class through to the end. This will test your character and... give you a chance—a chance to shed the name of 'useless.' Of course, if you still turn out to be beyond help, that's none of my concern. It will simply prove that you weren't worth investing in."
After she put it that way, how could Leon refuse? His aunt was clearly offering him a ladder to climb.
He immediately stood and bowed deeply to Aunt Margaret, his voice brimming with "gratitude" and "resolve." "Thank you, Aunt Margaret! I accept! I promise I'll work hard in the Training Class and live up to your expectations!"
Aunt Margaret watched him looking as though he'd "seen the error of his ways and resolved to improve." The corner of her mouth moved almost imperceptibly, as if a mysterious smile had flickered across it, but it soon vanished. She waved her hand, and a Magic Puppet glided away in silence. A moment later, it returned carrying a heavy velvet money pouch.
"Here are the two hundred Gold Roland." Aunt Margaret gestured for the Puppet to hand the pouch to Leon. "Remember your promise. You can ask Elisa to help you choose a gift. She has a good eye for magical items. You'll be notified about the Training Class details in due course."
"Yes! Thank you, Aunt Margaret!" Leon took the heavy pouch, feeling as if he were dreaming. Not only had he solved his immediate money problem, he'd also gained a legitimate opportunity to study magic! His aunt seemed cold, but she was truly... unfathomable.
He bowed again, then left the pavilion with a mixture of excitement and complicated feelings.
Watching him walk away, Aunt Margaret picked up her now-cool teacup. Her icy blue eyes turned thoughtful.
"His magical talent is weak, but he has an extraordinary sensitivity to the elements... His Spiritual Power is growing at an interesting pace, too..." she murmured. "There seems to be a secret hidden in that Hohenzollern boy. Two hundred Gold Roland and a place in the Training Class. Let's see how far you can go. Perhaps... you'll bring about an unexpected change?"
She took a small sip of tea, her gaze turning toward the sunset sinking beyond the horizon, deep and unreadable.
Leon clutched the money pouch tightly in his hand, feeling a whole new path slowly unfurl before him. His money troubles had been temporarily resolved, and a greater challenge—and opportunity—awaited him: the Magic Academy's Training Class. He had to seize this chance.
Before you continue