"Who do you think the one that helped us?" Harry looked at Angus and several elders.
"Although the flare magic belongs to Herbiens family, but we can't rule out that other people can use it. Each of us knows that it's possible that certain person out there has unexpected talent."
"Yes, that's right. Judging by the area of effect, the one who killed the dark wizard should be a great wizard," one of the elders added, "This is my personal opinion since the person just leave after killing the woman. If this helper doesn't have a great strength, Angus should be able to locate this person in no time."
"Except Herbiens family, I really don't know who that person is. Being a great wizard needs great resources too. Without the steady foundation, I can't believe someone can advance to that rank."
"Do you think the royalty is involved?"
"There's a possibility. The holder of kingdom keeps too many secrets. Even with many eyes out there, a few things are still in the dark. Perhaps, they have wizard with flare attribute. Although it's just a hunch, there's not a concrete proof."
"Do we have to inform Herbiens family about this?"
"I rather not. Even though we don't know much about the person, people from Herbiens family will pursue until the end. It won't benefit us and moreover, it will complicate every thing. Their pride is very troublesome…"
"True… true… Let's just keep it secret for now. It won't do good anyway if the news about dark wizard suddenly appears in our territory spread far away. People will soon leave us and our society will be affected."
Alicia from the side could only listen the older people discussed with each other. Actually, she didn't have a place in this important meeting but since her information saved the family, Harry let her stood silently here in order to know better about the family. Every action they chose must complement with what advantages and disadvantages it could bring. The head of family wanted to raise his daughter into a good leader so the elders didn't have disagreement with it. She eventually warned them about the dark wizard, gaining a good amount of praise among them. If the elders decided to inform the kingdom, Alicia would get another merit for her alone.
The girl was calm, but she was happy inside. With enough merit, she could get her own authority in the kingdom. By then, she could
decide her own fate and the matter of Clark would be simply solved. Alicia then excused herself and went to find Baston in his room. Looking at the empty room, she thought he was in the library but he also wasn't there. Circling around the mansion for a while, there was no trace of the fat boy in the surrounding. The servants and the maids didn't saw him which made her baffled.
If he wasn't in the mansion, then the fat boy must be outside, but she didn't know where she could start from. Alicia went outside
and looked aimlessly. Who knew that she was quite lucky to find him sitting near the lake. He seemed pondering something so she sat beside him, but didn't dare to disturb. It stayed on like this for few minutes until Baston realized Alicia was beside him. He furrowed his brows but kept his calm.
"Is there something?"
"Yes… Thanks to you, my merit seems increasing once again. The information about dark wizard is very helpful to the family."
"I see…"
Both of them were back to silent once again. Different from many boys, Baston wasn't interested of having a nice conversation with
beautiful girl like Alicia. She rarely experienced this treatment so it slowly
made her interested on him. In the first time, she still felt disgusted of fat boys like Baston but his attitude toward her changed her perception completely. At least, she didn't mind to chat with him. For anyone else, she might have to revert back to her first behavior. Anyway, she felt safe if she stayed with him.
For Baston himself, there were many questions why Alicia suddenly talked to him like this. As far as he could remember, she was interested about the cult and that thing would be a point to talk between them. He felt strange that she took the initiative first without mentioning anything about it. If people outside looked at them, there would be a misunderstanding because they would think both of them were a couple. It was exactly what happened to Theodore who thought Alicia was chasing Baston crazily.
"By the way, are you the one who kill the dark wizard?"
"Of course, not…" Baston answered nervously.
"I thought so too. The one who killed her is using flare magic while you use ice magic. There's not any connection but I just feel
you're the one who finish everything."
"You're thinking too much…"
"Yes, perhaps you're right…"
It was just a simple conversation but deep inside his heart, Baston was shocked of her intuition. The first time he met her, he thought Alicia was simply overthinking. Yet right now, he could see the girl had deep
intuition if he looked closer. Despite of this, the misunderstanding that she created herself was also her disadvantage. Baston was glad Alicia didn't make it too hard for him at the first meeting. Anyway, Alicia gave him the first perfect result so he felt he owed her.
"By the way, I found you tend to be alone. Even in the academy, you always stay in your room. Don't you find it boring?"
"Not really. I was busy eating everyday whenever the food came by itself. It would be a sin to waste such free food…" Baston thought, unable to speak what was on his mind.
"If only you were like any other boys, you might become popular enough."
"I'm really not interested on it."
"Really? I wonder…"
After Alicia spoke to Baston, she suddenly made a drastic move. She suddenly put her head on his lap without saying anything afterwards. Baston felt flustered but he soon calmed down considering what she usually was like. Alicia wasn't a coquettish girl so this sudden couple-loving acting must be used to test him. At once, the fat boy ignored her. He had important thing to think rather than seeking a romance in his young days. Besides, it was simply a dream since there would be no way Alicia liked the poor boy like him.
The noble girl was still laying down while the poor boy focused on his pondering. It was very awkward, but both of them still insisted
on their position. Even Baston thought he should be the one who put his head on her lap, yet the reality was already like this so rather than complicating more, he decided to forget it. In the meantime, Alicia who made the first move was really embarrassed at this moment. She just wanted to give Baston a simple test, yet it continued until now.
When she took a peep, Alicia saw how serious Baston was thinking while ignoring the beautiful girl in front of him. She was annoyed but felt glad at the same time. At least, this one boy wasn't the same as other who only seek her beautiful face. Regardless her opinion, she wondered if Baston really wasn't interested on any girl. For the first time, she really wanted to know more about this fat boy. Although the mind insisted on doing so, but her heart was beating faster than before at the moment. Her reddened face showed that she felt something unexplainable at the moment.
Alicia slowly woke up from Baston's lap. Unable to calm down, she covered her face to no avail. If Baston saw the girl, it would be
quite beautiful to see such proud noble girl suddenly blushed. Too bad the fat boy was still pondering how to decrease the gap of different levels once he had to face harder opponent. For a few minutes, Alicia didn't dare to look at the fat boy while Baston himself didn't have any reason to look at her. When Alicia regained her demeanor back, she found Baston was still the same which
immediately made her dissatisfied. Deep inside her heart, she felt Baston didn't
appreciate her.
She unconsciously pinched his fat cheek, making Baston came back in sense. When he looked at who dared to do it, he was dumbfounded that Alicia was the one who woke him up. He looked at her then at her beautiful finger before going back to her. Looking at what she had done, Alicia quickly
retreated without losing her graceful manner. It looked like she never did something wrong even though Baston questioned what her purpose inside his head.
"Why are you pinching my cheek?"
"It seems you have a big trouble. You are going silent without saying anything, even though I talk to you so much."
"Well, I see… Thank you then…"
"You're welcome…" Alicia smiled, "Don't think about it too much. It will affect your health which leads your body to deteriorate."
Baston nodded, standing up to go back, "You're such independent girl. I can see you always try your best on effort so people won't
look down on you. It's such a beautiful thing."
"What?"
The sudden words from Baston made Alicia dumbfounded. It was just a simple heartfelt praise, yet she took it differently. Baston actually felt thankful because of her little advice that made him came back to his sense. He didn't have to think too much for now since there would be many ways to
finish the quest well. Rather than worrying about his future plan, it would be best to worry about what he would eat tomorrow. While he was walking away, Alicia stayed silent before accompanying him back to the mansion.
The fat boy was really interesting. He didn't fawn over her and just did as usual. Whether it would leave a good impression or not, Baston didn't care. His only priority must be about the cult so he didn't have time to
impress someone. At least, this was what Alicia thought about him. She didn't feel disgusted over him which left her a good score. Slowly, she felt she wanted to know him more. The girl even wanted to be his friend, but she knew it would cause many troublesome things later. If they became a couple, it could be worse for her impression.
"A couple, huh?"
Alicia quickly shook her head. There was no way she had a feeling for Baston. Her preference was very far away from fat body. Although Baston was different and had big talent, her father and the elders wouldn't
agree. After calming herself down, she went back casually with Baston to the mansion. Strangely, it was such a tiring day even though she didn't do anything too much.
Everything went to normal afterwards. The days continued until Baston had to go back to the academy. There was a hidden sadness inside his heart because he must part away with delicious dishes in the mansion. The tender meat, the soft bread, and many yummy and delightful food were really unforgettable. Despite of everyone looked happy, Baston just sighed and
retreated into his bed. Since he was the guest of Alicia, the Xavierius family surely wouldn't let him got uncomfortable in the journey. There were many cakes and snacks inside the carriage and it alleviated his stress a little at least.
"Alicia, I wish you found a true love even though the present one might be impossible," Theodore said before he hurriedly stepped into his carriage.
"Huh, what is he talking about?" Alicia was confused.
The misunderstanding continued but no one corrected him since Alicia didn't even know what Theodore was talking about. After getting in, the girl then began her trip back to the academy along with Baston and her personal guards. While Baston was enjoying some snacks, he looked over the puppets he
had at present. With 4 puppets, his strength would be much more. He even could feel the range of controlled puppets increased, making him able to give a command from far. It wasn't bad to get perfect result while living in paradise before.