Croix Family

"...Ayunda?" called Ernacht, mesmerized by the events that had just played out before him. As Lucifer said earlier, his sister cast a fatal murder spell at him, but it seemed the man had survived.

"How dare that man point his weapon at my brother?!" Roxus asked angrily.

"He promised not to do anything strange—the Purple Firebird of the Ocean of Clouds—" A black cloud gathered over the heads of everyone on the practice field. A roar of thunder filled the air. "Lend it to me the Elemental Eye of the Transitional Heaven—"

"Ayunda!" called Ernacht quickly. The young man touched Roxus's arms, stopping her from preparing for her next attack spell.

"I-I-I'm sorry, Ayunda, I've done something wrong!" said Ernacht almost biting his tongue. "I'm just asking Sir Lucius to be my Teacher! Really! I'm asking him to teach me—"

"And he is willing to train you?!" Roxus asked. "I made him swear not to train you in his terrible techniques so that he doesn't affect you to become devillike—!"

"R-R-Roxus, my daughter, please calm down first!" Eoin approached his daughter quickly from the other side. "Have you forgotten that Lucius loves you so much with all his heart and that you are the only woman he wants in this world to be his life partner—" the middle-aged man took a quick breath. "Roxus let's talk about all this without killing anyone—"

There is an old story in Croix County's circles.

Little Roxus once poured hot water on the hand of a maid who deliberately spilt hot tea on Ernacht's thigh because the maid thought Ernacht was not of Croix descent.

Teen Roxus had also made three aristocrats who spread gossip and rumours of Ernacht shaving off their hair—and then sending them wigs made of their real hair.

One day in a social season many years ago, a palace guard in charge of announcing the names of the nobles who would enter the party room announced Ernacht's arrival as Young Lord Ernacht, and not Young Lord Croix, while announcing Roxus, Eoin, and Amaranth with their respective family names, Lady Croix, Lord Croix, and Madam Croix.

After that, young Roxus sent three "special" gifts to the King in person, in the form of a dull knife, an expensive perfume bottle filled with plain water, and an old mirror that was faded. After that, the King always called Ernacht by the name of Croix after his first name, making the aristocrats start to be careful when calling Ernacht's name.

Of course, that was also what made Roxus' reputation so imprinted among the nobles, as a terrible woman who was so far from everyone's expectations of her. A perfect noble lady who can get whatever she wants, without stutter, gasp, or flinch.

Amaranth runs closer. She was not as fast as her husband who immediately jumped to Roxus' side, and she was wearing her dress. While running over, she also ordered the swarming servants and knights to leave there quickly. Seeing the huge burst of power that Roxus gave to Lucifer, she was indeed shocked, but she immediately returned to her calm self.

Amaranth stood before Roxus while giving her best smile. "Daughter, we are the ones who have wronged Sir Lucius. If you want to get angry, you should be angry with the three of us, not at your trusted bodyguard," said Amaranth in a soft and deep voice.

Roxus lowered her hand. "What is the meaning of what Mother said?" Roxus asked.

"This naughty brother of yours has said something nonsense to Sir Lucius. And then challenge him to a duel just because Sir Lucius doesn't want to train him!" said Amaranth then.

Roxus furrowed her brows and then turned to Ernacht. "That's right, Ayunda. That's why I'm sorry—I'll ask for forgiveness to Sir Lucius when he comes back, so don't kill Sir Lucius," said Ernacht quickly.

Roxus looked at her family uncomfortably. "Why are you so worried that I will kill Luc? I'm not going to kill him," said Roxus with a cold gaze and clear temple veins popped angrily.

The three Croix family members stared at Roxus with scared expressions. "Good! Father will promise not to say anything about your decision regarding Lucius again. I won't try to tie Lucius to the Croix family somehow," said Eoin.

"Right, right, Ayunda, I'm also not going to try to do absurd things like challenge Sir Lucius to a duel, or doubt the agreement between you again," Ernacht said later.

Roxus realized something afterwards. She realized when Ernacht said about the agreement. She sighed. "So is that what you are worried about, Adinda?" Roxus asked dryly.

"There is no agreement between us. Right now, I intend to protect Croix with my strength as an Archmage, so I don't need Luc's help. After we officially announce this, Lucius will go to the battlefield in the North as the Honorable Knight of Croix County, because there is something he needs to achieve his own goals."

Roxus lied. Lucifer doesn't need anything from the war. He wanted to disappear from this place after raising some money, and Roxus had helped him collect the money he needed during the few weeks he was here.

"Wait a minute. You say too much information at once," said Eoin.

Ernacht tilted his face because he still had to digest it all. "Wait. So am I right, that Sir Lucius doesn't love you?" he asked.

Everyone fell silent. Roxus sighed softly and turned around. "Of course, everything will go smoothly if he doesn't love me," Roxus said, in a flat voice, but with an expression that was a little too hard to read.

After Roxus left, Ernacht furrowed his brows deeply. His sister's words seemed to make Roxus admit that Lucius did love her. Ernacht could sense something suspicious, but he wasn't sure what.

"Roxie, we have to talk more about what you said," said Eoin and quickly followed Roxus' fast steps. However, Roxus sighed and shook her head softly at her father. "At least explain to me about your status as an Archmage!"

The father-daughter pair left the practice field. Amaranth comes close to her son and touches his arm. "I know you're worried about your sister, but right now, Roxus is an adult. She can decide the best things for herself," said the woman.

"Mother knows, right, that Ayunda often sacrifices herself to make sure we are all happy. I'm afraid the deal she made with someone as strong as Sir Lucius will put her in a dangerous situation," continued Ernacht.

"Don't worry," Amaranth smiled. "Seeing her attitude towards Sir Lucius, and seeing Sir Lucius' attitude towards her, I know that at least the two of them trust each other. Moreover, this is indeed surprising, but it seems, it is true that your sister has become an Archmage," said Amaranth.

Ernacht narrowed his eyes. "...are you sure?" he asked.

Amaranth nods slowly. "To cast a spell like that, ten Magus of the highest order would have to chant it at the same time, and even so, the spell wouldn't have formed into a lightning strike that fast. I have never met an Archmage before, but I know someone who can do things your sister just did."

Hearing what his mother said, Ernacht opened his eyelids a little wider. "You mean, only a dragon can do something like that?" asked Ernacht.

"Hmm. Mother wasn't sure either. A dragon could cast spells like that over and over with ease, but from the looks of it, Roxus seemed to be able to do it too easily. She didn't run out of breath at all," murmured Amaranth.

Ernacht fell silent. "How has she been able to hide her power from us all this time... moreover, Mother will be aware too, right?"

Amaranth chuckled. "I won't notice if Roxus is hiding her strength. An Archmage can hide their power and even a Dragon won't notice if an Archmage is around them," Amaranth explained. Amaranth is someone who can sense Mana but is not gifted to be a Magus. It is also what made her involved in all kinds of problems in the past. It is said that a person like Amaranth will give birth to a child who is extraordinarily strong and talented. Ernacht is the proof.

"But," Amaranth tilted her face with a serious expression. "There's no way she could hide her mana from me when she wasn't yet an Archmage," she continued quietly. Ernacht, who heard it, became worried. "Don't worry. If there is something strange, I can feel it," said Amaranth.

The two of them decide to enter the mansion, but if Amaranth has eliminated some of her worries, Ernacht is quite the opposite. His sister's expression made him feel more than worried. Because the last time he saw such an expression on his sister's face was—Oh. He can't remember when.