Chapter 5: Butterflies

When Raziel reaches Infront of the rosewood door that was painted in white color, he just let out a sigh as he hold the door knob and opened it. lots of eyes stared at him fiercely, but he didn't mind it as his eyes fixated on the a man at the back, which was Lucas Earhart. He become anxious when he look at the sword he was holding before started to walk towards the first row and sat on the side, faraway from Lucas earhart.

Fhe examinees just kept looking at him, some of them were fierce while some of them were looking at him with admiration. But then again, Raziel ignores them.

Just like how he often does when he is still in his world, he just looks outside the windows and watches the scenery, waiting for the examination instructor to come and the remaining examinees.

meanwhile, sitting at the back, Lucas just stared at Raziel as he tried to check his skill using his eyes, but to his surprise, he couldn't see anything.

'he's hiding his power..? to do that, one must have a rank of 3rd segment arcanist first.' he thought to himself.. he's also hiding his true power until now for extra caution. he's a member of m16 after all, part of secret intelligence group who works for the queen, which is why he can't just brag his true skills Infront of the crowds as this might caught their enemy's attention.

".. that's interesting.." then his eyes diverted on the sword that Raziel was holding, for some reason, it gives him a familiar vibes, and when he saw the hilt of his sword donning in crimson butterflies, his eyes widens when he remember what happened last night. he felt suspicious, as he just keep staring at Raziel and observing him.

He was suddenly yanked back to reality when the door opened, revealing a charming young man with emerald green eyes and light brown hair. All of the other people in the room were looking at him, and some of them started to feel an intense pressure from where they were sitting.

As soon as Lucas saw him, he waved his hands up and smiled at him broadly, "took you long enough, cy!~"

They have been friends since childhood, and they are cousins at the same time. After all, Lucas Earhart was the son of a Duke, which was the current Queen's younger sister and Lucas'mother too.

Cyrus went on his direction and sat beside him, the others were still looking on them, but the two of them just ignore the eyes around him as they have been accustomed to this events. they have been involve at the political conflicts ever since they were still a child after all, and they all manage to confronted it by their own intellectual.

the prince also knew that Lucas was a member of m16 as he was originally working on the second prince itself rather than to queen victoria. in other words, he was some kind of 'spy' that the prince put inside the queen's den.

to make it more shorter and clearer, the second prince wishes to take the throne one day. That had been his dream ever since he still a child, and with Lucas on his side, he would be invincible. and then there's another person that caught his attention, up until now, no one has known yet that the marquis son was also a genius, but once the members of royal family found out a hidden gem like him, especially the first prince, he would surely pull him on his side to use him against Cyrus.

and he has to take Raziel before that happens.

".. the instructors from the aptitude test were quite talkative." his lips just twitched while remembering the lady from the tent earlier. then his eyes laid on Raziel sitting from the side as he observed him secretly.

"pfft, you mean.. that lady from the side tent? she's indeed talkative.. I can't stand her." Lucas complains while crossing his arms.

"but.. thanks to her, I have found another person I'm looking for, the only thing to do is to persuade that guy to be on our side." Cyrus glance at Raziel once more, and when Lucas saw him looking at his direction, he immediately realize what is he trying to do.

"that guy..?" he frowned while looking at Raziel with suspicious eyes then he thought to himself.

'this is quite interesting..'

---

krriiinggg-

When the bell signaling the end of the exam rang, Raziel got up from his seat quickly and left the room without looking in Lucas direction. As soon as Cyrus saw him heading out, he followed him. But just as he opened the exit door, Cyrus became confused when he didn't see Raziel around. He had disappeared like a bubble.

"eh..?" he asked himself and had no choice but to let out a sigh as Lucas came to him, and headed outside the building together. Raziel, who was already at the top of the rooftop building glanced below, as he saw Lucas and Cyrus going somewhere.

When he already made sure that they've gotten far, that's when Raziel decided to go down on the rooftop and started to walk alone.

He felt someone was staring at him earlier and he heard their conversation, that's when Raziel became aware.

He decided to walk around the academy first, as this was his very first time attending a magic school.

Raziel toured the school's various facilities, including the classrooms, faculty rooms, and office of the dean. the academy's architecture was similar to that of his home world - a gothic revival style - but with classes on fencing, music, etiquette, and other magical subjects.

Soon, Raziel found the forest at the back of the academy quite beautiful. He could hear the birds singing, the crows cawing, and the sound of the rivers. He could also see all the creatures around the forest and hear their noises.

He walked deep into the forest, not caring about the eyes that were looking at him with greed. Those eyes wanted to eat him, but because Raziel deliberately let out some of his crimson aura, the creatures from the dark couldn't help but to stay where they were, like an obedient puppet.

He was amazed by the beautiful scenery around him - surrounded by cedar trees and towering mountains. It seemed like someone was telling him to keep going until he found what he was looking for. So Raziel followed his intuition and soon found an idyllic scene of the lake. It was in teardrop-silver color and it was shaped like a perfectly flat disc of metal. There was no sound whatsoever emanating from the shimmering emptiness of space around it.

Everything was quiet, and it was lined with pine trees. One thing that caught Raziel's attention the most was the huge purple wisteria trees on the greenish hills that were situated at the center of the lake. Butterflies can be seen fluttering above, while there are wisteria flowers falling from its branch down to the lake as the wind blows his black hair.

He then flew towards the hills to observe the purple wisteria trees closely, smiling as he sat on the greenish grass while leaning against the trunks. He could feel the wisteria trees filled with spirituality, as if it were a real human being. He closed his eyes and tried to dig deeper within it.

A few moments later, he gasped when he heard a heartbeat coming from the wisteria trees. Using his skill "Perception," he scanned what was inside, and he saw a golden circle shining brightly to him. That made Raziel blink and stop his skill as though the trees were protecting it. After seeing this, he smiled once again.

"So you're alive, huh..?" he whispered in astonishment, leaning back against the trees. somehow he began to fall asleep, so he yawned, slowly closed his blue eyes and took a nap under the huge wisteria trees.

"Anyway, there are still 2 hours before the practical exam…" he finally thought.

Behind the wisteria trees, a blue glowing butterfly could be seen watching him. But then, it quickly flew away, as a swarm of butterflies started to fly towards Raziel as though it was protecting him from harm.

...

"I'm pretty sure I notice his trace here." Cyrus said while looking around. While Raziel was sleeping, he didn't realize that Lucas and Cyrus were only two hundred meters away from him. Naturally, the same as them.

"You must be persistent, aren't you?" Lucas asked him sarcastically.

"That person was really interesting. If I hadn't seen his trace earlier, we will probably still be looking at him at the academy. "

Cyrus has the ability to see the trace left by a certain person. It is one of the basic skills only for the members of the royal family like him.

"Still... of all places he was going... why does it have to be in the den of wild creatures." Cyrus' lips just twitched as he started to stretch out and look at Lucas with a grin.

"Should we follow him inside? It doesn't seem safe to stay out here."

"It's not my fault if you die." he replied before stepping inside.

"My, as if!" He replied arrogantly.

he could feel a multitude of eyes coming from the shadows, looking up at him, he could even hear the growling as well as the cawing of the ravens from above. he just keeps going deeper and deeper, being careful. but when he heard Cyrus giggling behind him, he arched a brow in annoyance before turning his back.

Lucas was startled when he saw all of the wild animals surrounding Cyrus. He laughed softly at them as they licked his face.

"I don't know if you're stupid or not.." said Lucas while giving him a poker face.

"Hmm..? I mean, aren't they cute?"

"Cute, you say? Those creatures..? For Pete's sake, they're beasts! And A+ rated!"

Hearing this, Cyrus cried out like a child to him and averted his gaze, "Che."

"are we going to find him or not?!"

"all right.. all right.. I talked about these creatures and they said that they saw him walking in the deep part of this forest." He smiled at him before standing up.

"The deep part of the forest..? isn't that quite dangerous..?" he said to him, but Cyrus just gave him a wink.

"now it won't."

As Lucas and Cyrus walked deep into the forest, they could see tall mountains in the distance, as well as cedar trees. There were bushes blocking their path, so Lucas had to use his sword to cut them. A few minutes later, Lucas frowned when a wisteria flower flew towards him. He just caught it before looking towards the tall bushes and trees blocking their way. When he cut them, his eyes widened in amusement as he saw a crystal-clear lake ahead of them, and at the center there was a greenish hill. On the hill, they saw a huge purple wisteria tree. Beneath the tree, they found the person they were looking for, surrounded by butterflies, and sleeping peacefully.

"I told you he was here!" Cyrus said. he notices a small boat on the side, so he just jumps in there. Meanwhile, when Lucas saw tons of butterflies swarming around Raziel, he just narrowed his eyes, looking at him suspiciously.

"butterflies.." He murmured to himself, but he was interrupted when Cyrus called him. He followed Cyrus and rowed their boat to Raziel's side. As they drew near the hills, Raziel's eyes opened when he felt someone's presence. As cautious as he was, he immediately instructed the butterflies around him to attack the presence he felt earlier. So the butterflies flew towards Cyrus direction that made them stop from rowing.

"what's wrong with this butterfly..?"

"idiot! stop moving, Lucas, we will fall!"

"but they are quite annoying!"

"spare them if you don't want to get wet—SPLAAAAASHH!!"

In the end, they all fell into the lake together, and when they surfaced, Cyrus glared at Lucas even though he was smiling, and Lucas avoided his gaze anxiously. Raziel was about to draw his sword, but when he saw the two familiar faces swimming back up the hills where he was standing, he lowered his sword and looked at them with a frown.

"I told you not to move, right, Lucas?"

"but they are really annoying."

"haa.. how childish you are...?"

"says the person who's talking the creatures with his sweet tone like a weirdo."

They stopped exchanging words when they realized that Raziel was still in front of them, so they just looked at him, he was still wearing his poker face, while staring at them as though he was waiting for them to speak first.

"Ah..haha.. what are you doing in this place..?" Cyrus started their conversation with awkwardness.

"Sleep." He replied lightly, began to pat his trousers with his hands, and put away the butterflies around Cyrus and Lucas. After a few seconds, they had completely disappeared, leaving only the three of them. When Raziel realized they weren't talking anymore, he just kept walking and passed towards them like he didn't see them or anything.

"Ah, wait! Wait! You're leaving? Let's go together!" Cyrus added, following behind him again, Raziel didn't care, pretended he didn't hear anything, and flew to the other side.

---

as soon as they reach on the middle of the forest, Cyrus let out a sigh as he glance up on Raziel beside him. he observe each of his move, and when Raziel notice this, he couldn't help but to feel awkwardness to him.

".. is there something you want from me?"

"nothing.. it's just that.. you are completely different to Mr. silver.." after hearing this, he squinted his eyes a little at him.

"I am..? are you close with him..?" he cautiously asks.

"everyone knows Silver Ravenwood. he's a kind person, you see. the royal family was quite close with him, that is why I approached you. Is Mr.Silver doing good right now..?" he asked with a friendly smile, Raziel couldn't find a right answer to his question as he also had no idea where he could be, in the end, he just nodded to him.

".. probably." 'after all, he already push all his problems to me.' that's what he added to himself.

soon he laid his eyes on Lucas using his peripHeral vision, he was still staring at Raziel with a suspicion, but then again, he didn't mind him at all as he just keep walking. at this point, Lucas had decided to confronted him.

"hmm.. your butterflies.. it's different from silver." he asked curiously, while hiding his suspicion from him but Raziel, on the other hand couldn't help but to glance at him before giving him a meaningful reply.

"Is it..?"

Lucas stare at him as a huge silence covers them whole. one, two, three, until ten minutes have passed.. he just give Raziel a wide smile before pat his shoulder which make his lips twitched. 'that hurts..' Raziel thought while looking to Lucas who's smiling to him.

"Nothing!~"

"uh, sure.."

and thus, Raziel who had been planning to ditch them once they reaches outside of the forest, now have no choice but to go with them back to the colosseum where the practical examination is being held. as they keep walking, his vision triggered when he felt someone was observing him from afar, so he glance on the back but didn't find anything. he look above, but there's no one in there. in the end, he just keep walking away from the forest along with the Cyrus and Lucas, who had been talking to him. however, he couldn't hear them at all, as his mind was still somewhere, trying to find the person who had been watching him since then.

but then, a blue butterfly flew above and passed him like a wind, he didn't mind it, but when they already far from the forest, it as if like there's a yellow bulb lights up his mind so sudden as he understand everything what's happening before glance to the forest once more.

"..hmm.. I see.."

...