Formal Wizard (Part One)

The next day, Green set out on the road back to the Academy.

Before leaving, Green had intended to remove the Spiritual Imprints from Emily and the other two, but they refused. They wanted to keep that last connection to him. Unable to sway them, Green drove the carriage away.

Emily and the other two stood at the manor gates, watching Green's carriage recede into the distance.

A heavy gloom hung over the three of them. The maids nearby were terrified; the pressure radiating from Emily and the others made them afraid to breathe too hard.

"Come on. Let's go train!" Emily finally said. Without looking back, she walked deeper into the manor, determination in her eyes.

Isabella and Eina exchanged a glance, then silently followed Emily.

Once they knew Green would leave, the three had made up their minds. The slave traders had taught them about Wizards: they were powerful beings whom ordinary people had no right to approach. Only Grand Knights were qualified to become their servants.

Emily and the other two did not know what experiments Green had performed on them, but from things he had said, they knew that the legendary Holy Knights could live for four hundred years—almost as long as Formal Wizards.

If the three of them wanted to see Green again, they had to become Holy Knights.

After passing through the Pale Forest and the white walls surrounding the Academy, Green returned to find the Academy bustling again.

Green stood on the grounds, watching apprentices come and go around him.

The apprentices wore gray robes and walked past in groups of three or five, chatting nonstop about their public lessons. Their faces shone with smiles, and they laughed as they talked. But as Green watched them, he frowned.

Green used the