Chapter 4: Permission

Professor Luis

The meeting went on, as usual, addressing problems within the empire, building relations with other countries and empires, taking note of suspicious movements of enemies, trading, providing loans to noble families, donating, and other matters.

I found myself fidgeting and impatient to tell the council about the young miss of the Valencia house. I distracted myself by looking at the mosaics and decorations around the meeting room.

The clear, white, and gold-colored paints contrasted nicely with the rainbow mosaics and paintings. The room was lighted by rays of sunlight shining through the clear and mosaic windows. It had a divine look, truly beautiful.

As the meeting finally came to an end and the members of the council were talking amongst themselves, I stood up. The chatting slowly died down as I laid down the homework sheets that the young miss had completed.

I spread them across the huge table made of clear crystal and asked, "What do you all think this is?".

"Im assuming it's more than what it seems since it was important enough for you to have prepared for us," the head council member chuckled.

I smiled, "You're right, Elder Lurace. This is evidence of something impossible.", I felt my grin get wider.

"Impossible? I understand that division is hard to understand for some people but what makes these sheets of homework impossible?", Marquis Miel asked, visibly confused. The others nodded, all questioning the meaning of the sheets of paper in front of them.

"I'll tell you what this is. You may not believe me as it was impossible until today.", I explained. "This...this is the work of a 2-year-old child from the Valencia *Duchy."

"..."

"WHAT!?", the council erupted. "You're not playing a prank on us, right? Because if you did, you got us really good Count Luis.", Count Marbelios said in disbelief.

"Im not joking. The child did these exact questions right in front of me. I was blown away too, just like you guys are.", I responded c almly. "As I said, It's impossible, right? You won't believe it until you see it with your own eyes!"

"So...you want to bring the child here and show us? Im not against it in any way but...are...are you sure the child is only 2 years old?", Elder Ronja frowned.

"Positive. You do remember the news of another child being born in the Valencia house 2 years ago yes? That's her.", I reminded them of the big announcement the Valencia Duchy had made 2 years ago about a new child.

"I do remember that...Lurace...what do you say? Let's give the child a chance to show us her skills hm? I think it'll be quite entertaining for us.", High Priest Sora smiled with an excited tone.

"...hm...I guess there isn't any harm in doing so but Count Luis if this appears to be a waste of our time, consider yourself banned from the next 2 meetings.", Elder Lurace agreed surely yet strictly.

"I won't let you down Elder Lurace.", I assured him confidently.

I exited the palace quickly and headed straight for the Valencia Duchy. It was 3:00 pm when I noticed something on my way to their mansion. It looked like preparations for a festival.

If I tell the Duchess about the festival and she agrees to let them go with me, I could try to persuade the child to come with me to the Council! It's obvious that the child was no ordinary one so it's worth trying at least once right?

"Stop the *carriage!", I called out to the coachman.

I stepped out of the carriage, glanced around, and spotted a bakery.

"Wait here for a second. Im going to get something real quick.", I told the coachman as he nodded.

I made my way to the bakery covered in vines of ivy. Bean's Bakery was its name. It had a very pleasant scent wafting out from the opened front door.

It was a cute bakery, a small one at that but it was very nicely decorated and painted. the walls as a nice shade of tan and a chocolate brown covered the nicely laid-on roof. Cute animals painted on the glass and a small chalkboard-stand with the day's specials and the main menu written on it.

I bent down to get a closer look at the board.

'Today's special...jelly-filled cream puffs? Sounds like a very sweet treat, not to my liking but the children might enjoy it.'

I smiled to myself.

'It's decided then, jelly-filled cream puffs it is.'

As I entered the bakery, the bell jingled, letting the store employees know I was there. The people inside stopped what they were doing at stared at me. Some confused, some surprised, some scared, some just looking to see who came in.

I walked towards the surprised and somewhat freaked-out cashier, ignoring the stares and whispers. She had dirty blonde hair and common dark-brown eyes with freckles dotted all across her face.

"H-how can I help you sir?", She stammered.

"Hm. I would like today's special please.", I smiled warmly at her.

"Today's special...?", She seemed confused for a moment then snapped out of her daze, "A-ah yes, today's special. You mean the cream puffs right? I'll get that right away."

"Sir! I mean-I'll get that right away sir! I apologize for my slip of the tongue!", She bowed and apologized frantically as she realized she had made a mistake, seemingly on the verge of tears.

I could understand why she behaved this way, most nobles despised everything about commoners and beat them for the littlest mistakes with no consequence as the commoners had no background or political power. They could be hung or beheaded if they fought back or disrespected a noble of any kind. This kind of fear is rational, very much so.

I disliked those kinds of nobles that took their anger out on the powerless commoners. Bullying the smaller and the weak, how pathetic, those who did do such things were cowards. They tarnished the image of Aurora and its people.

I let her lift her head and assured her, "It's alright, you need not apologize so much as you did no harm. And yes, I mean the cream puffs. The jelly-filled ones."

She looked at me with tear-filled eyes and nodded her head furiously. "T-thank you, sir. I apologize for my actions, it's just that we don't get many noble customers in this humble bakery of ours so I was a little scared." She paused, "...Are you...going to shut us down?".

I shook my head and smiled again, "I have no reason to. This is a lovely bakery, it'd be a shame if it were gone. It seems very popular too. I assure you, I am not here to cause trouble of any sort."

She brightened up immediately, "Yes sir! Thank you, sir! You are very kind! I'll get the special right away!" She bowed again and rushed away to get the cream puffs.

The other customers in the store resumed their chatting and I checked my watch. It's been a while...do they fresh make the pastries here?

My question was somewhat answered when the cashier girl had been dragged back into sight by who I could only guess was her boss/manager. The girl looked like she was trying to explain something to her boss and her boss seemed to be scolding her.

"I am so sorry for my granddaughter's behavior sir, she doesn't know proper manners as she should. I do hope you can forgive her.", She bowed deeply.

"Grandmama! He said it was ok already! I was just going to get his order, we mustn't keep him waiting too long!", The girl said, very upset.

"Oh? Thank you, kind sir, we won't forget your kindness towards us.", She bowed again, "Now go get that order, Nadia! Dont just stand there!"

Nadia nodded and rushed off again, "Yes grandmama! Right away!"

The grandma sighed, shaking her head. "I apologize again, we dont get many noble customers here so she doesn't know how to deal with them very well. Thanks for letting us off the hook though, I don't know what we would do if the shop was closed down."

"Of course, she did nothing wrong. It would be unreasonable of me to shut down this lovely bakery for just a slip of her tongue.", I chuckled, "If it were any other noble, things won't have gone as easily as they did. Be careful."

The grandma nodded as Nadia handed me the box of cream puffs, "Do take care, sir, you're always welcome here."

I got back on the carriage and arrived at the beautiful big gates of the Valencia Duchy in 10 minutes. I thanks the coachman and made my way to the doors.

I was greeted by a butler, "I am here to see the duchess, I have a gift for the young masters as well.", I showed him the box of cream puffs.

He nodded and escorted me in.

The entrance itself to the manor never ceased to take my breath away, every part of it screamed elegance, wealth, and pride. As we walked past the drawing-room, I saw gold chandeliers tipped with diamonds, expensive silk curtains, artifacts, *heirlooms, spiraling pillars, portraits and paintings, and priceless decorations displayed everywhere you looked, yet all of this was styled neatly and organized. The ceiling was patterned and polished in white and gold, making it pleasing to the eye.

I couldn't help but marvel at the beauty of the mansion every time I visited. Even the light coming in from the windows seemed to illuminate everything it touched, giving the room a heavenly aura. Truly worthy to be a part of the Valencia Duchy.

After walking a bit more around the extravagant mansion, we arrived at the Duchess's office where she spent most of her time working on paperwork and managing the Duchy's business.

"Lady Valorie, Count Luis is here to pay a visit to you and comes bearing gifts for the young masters.", The butler called out.

"Let him in.", She responded.

I entered the room as the butler closed the door silently behind me. I scanned the room, it hadn't changed much since I had last been here.

It was a simple yet neat little room with organized bookshelves, decorations, notes, and tools. It was quite a comfy place, the warm lighting of candles on the walls made it have a calm and comfortable air to the room.

The Duchess even had an expensive magic-powered lamp set on her desk in a way to give her workspace as much light as possible. She had a few piles of papers stacked on her desk but she didn't look tired at all.

I bowed and greeted her politely, "Greetings, Duchess Valorie. I have good news and something I would like to discuss with you. I require your permission for something."

"Raise your head, you dont need to be so formal with me, you are the childrens' teacher after all.", She responded cooly, "Speaking of which, I heard something big happened this morning but I never had the chance to ask you about it since you had rushed off to the council meeting."

"Yes, that is what I'm here to talk about.", I admitted, "It's something quite fascinating indeed."

"Oh? Is that so? Please, do tell me all about it. I'm quite curious as to what could have fascinated you, Count Luis.", She chuckled and waved her hand signaling for me to continue.

Ash Valencia

As embarrassing as it is to admit, I had fallen asleep while brother Elrich had been reading a storybook for me. I was woken up by the sound of brother Elijah barging into the room rather violently.

"Elrich! Is Ash here!?", he seemed a little frantic until he spotted me sleeping on the couch, "Ah! There you are! Ashy, your big brother Elijah is here! Let's go outside and have a picnic together-"

He was stopped as brother Elrich pushed him away from me and they started arguing about who I should go with. I silently thanked him and closed my eyes. How barbaric, If Melissa saw them bickering like this, they would be chastised and starved for 3 days.

"Arguing isn't going to do anything!", Elijah concluded.

'Pleased that you realized that. Now, let me sleep in peace, my infant body requires a lot of it.'

"Fine. Then let's have Ashy decide who she wants to be with! It's her choice after all!", Elrich declared.

'...Excuse me?'

I quietly sighed to myself.

'That's right, it was my fault I had thought they had matured a bit, they are still children after all. That was just my wishful thinking. I can say goodbye to my peace and quiet. Farewell, I won't be seeing you in quite some time. Or... I can just pretend to be asleep, those two fools wouldn't dare interrupt their cute sleeping sister.'

"...Ashy?", They asked in *unison.

"Ack! She's asleep! Hey, we've been yelling this entire time, quiet down you idiot!", Elijah whisper-scolded Elrich.

"You were the one who barged in without warning and started shouting like a madman!", Elrich retorted whilst whispering.

"Whatever! That doesn't matter right now! We have to move her onto the bed or she might be uncomfortable!", Hissed Elijah.

"What? You mad that she's in my room and not yours?", Elrich bragged, "You're just jealous."

Elijah didn't respond, instead, he picked me up carefully and tucked me into Elrich's bed, and kissed my forehead, "Sleep well, Ash.".

*****

Ash Valencia

...

...I expected this would happen sooner or later but...not to this extent. I know my abilities would've been a big deal but...this seems a little too soon. It's best to just go with the flow then, I don't want to appear rude to these people. If memory serves, these are head council members, they have quite a big influence on the empire's people. They might be of use to me later on if I get on their good side. Impressing them might be the best course of action to gain their favor.

I sighed. But isn't this a little much? I glanced at the three intimidating figures sitting at the other end of this huge glass table. Or is it crystal? That doesn't matter right now... Why are they just staring at me? Are they attempting to judge my worth?

I stared back without flinching, refraining from showing any weakness or emotion. If they find me intriguing, I might be able to grow closer to them and get them on my side.

I observed each of them. They each wore a white robe with gold lining and odd-looking runes written in silver. Each of them also wore masks with elegant crystals and gems embedded in them. On each of their foreheads seemed to be a different *rune engraving...how peculiar.

I noted things I saw about each of them. The one on the right seemed to be a female due to her more slender appearance. I could see only a bit of her lavender-colored hair as her hood was pulled up on her head. She had a more relaxed posture than the other two yet she still had an elegant aura surrounding her, something quite hard to pull off in the modern world since proper etiquette wasn't practiced as much. She seems more friendly but I'm sure she's more than what meets the eye, she had a warm smile but her eyes seemed to be trying to look through my deadpan poker face. She had a comfy air to her, probably making her someone anybody could be comfortable with. Something about her makes me think she could sell snow and ice to an *Eskimo.

The one on the left side's outfit seemed to be a little different. He wore a necklace shaped like a golden cross with jewels in it and had multiple crosses all over him. A priest perhaps? He also wore a hood but his long cyan-tinted silver hair flowed out of his hood and down his chest. It seemed long to the point where it nearly touched the floor. He seemed like a somewhat carefree person from his lazy way of sitting, his posture was incorrect and he seemed to care little for etiquette as well. His choppy bangs covered a bit of his diamond-encrusted mask. He looked genuinely cheerful to the point where I could almost see pink flowers floating around him. He also seemed oblivious to the tense mood of the room but he could be ignoring it on purpose. Despite his lazy posture, he looked like a hyper child on a sugar rush.

Lastly, the one in the middle. Despite the cheerful mood of the two beside him, he seemed unaffected by them. He had an intimidating aura and always seemed to look down on you, it made me somewhat irritated. His gaze would have made any other person tremble nervously in fear but I doubted he would do anything bad, he was a high council member after all. He looked to me like your typical wise elderly man except he had a harsh air to him.

Professor Luis had been sitting beside me looking quite worried with the silent tension between the head council members and me.

After what seemed to be a forever-lasting staring contest, the head council member in the middle suddenly spoke, "So, Count Luis, is this the...prodigy infant you told us about?"

My right eye twitched slightly at the word "infant". Shouldn't you already know I'm not a normal child since Im here in front of you? But then again, what respect would a High Council Member have for a puny infant? I should lower my expectations from now on.

"My, my, don't be so harsh on them Lurace, the child might become scared if you continue acting like that!", The member on the right scolded the member named Lurace.

"Hm...Ronja does have a point but...the child looks quite fine to me. In fact, she looks a little...bored?", The one on the left put his hand up to his chin and smiled, "Are you tired little one?".

"It doesn't matter if she's tired or not, she's here so she must take the test.", Lurace declared.

They nodded to each other then took off their masks and hoods so I could get a clear look at each of their appearances.

Before I could study them further, the high council member named Lurace boomed, "Let the test commence."

Glossary:

Duchy - A duchy is a medieval country, territory, fief, or domain ruled by a duke or duchess, a high-ranking nobleman hierarchically second to the king or queen in the European tradition.

Carriage - a four-wheeled passenger vehicle pulled by two or more horses.

Heirloom - a valuable object that has belonged to a family for several generations.

Rune - Runes are the letters in a set of related alphabets known as runic alphabets, which were used to write various Germanic languages before the adoption of the Latin alphabet and for specialized purposes thereafter. Used as an ancient language adapted into use for magical purposes in the world of "Yuri Enchanted".

Eskimo - Eskimo or Eskimos are the indigenous circumpolar peoples who have traditionally inhabited the northern circumpolar region from eastern Siberia to Alaska, Northern Canada, Nunavik, Nunatsiavut, and Greenland. The two main peoples known as Eskimo are the Inuit and the Yupik of eastern Siberia and Alaska.