Chapter 89 - ’Tea’ Party

Chapter 89: Chapter 89 - ’Tea’ Party "I see. If what you’re saying is true, then it would explain why no doctors have been able to identify the cause of the illness." Grandma has a nice, soft voice. I wish she would talk more. Grandpa calls for the butler and then asks him to fetch the court wizard. Poor Gundmund. His knees and heart are too fragile for all this running around. The next minutes, Halinard stays silent, lost in thought, and Thieda takes the lead of the conversation, guiding it towards lighter matters. It’s a hard task to do, as both she and Jyllian are curious about my and Lillian’s lives over the past decade, and that life isn’t a light matter. "So Duke Addlington wanted to put a submission collar on you. The audacity!" Uncle Jyllian’s face is red from the anger. I think that if the Duke were in the room at this moment, he would be dead in an instant. "But I used that to escape." "Yes. Aurea only knew illusion magic at the time, but she managed to use illusion to switch the anti-magic collar for a normal one, so she could still use magic the next day." "That was three years ago, you say? She did that as a seven-year-old girl?" "Gundmund said that you have the title of arcane genius, and I can see it now... You are really blessed with natural talent." And the conversation goes like that for half an hour. Grandma is really adept at making the conversation flow, truly a skilled diplomat. When Grandpa is active, she takes a step back and lets him shine. When he takes a step back, she handles the spotlight deftly. It’s impressive. Grandpa is with his eyes closed and breathing evenly. I think that he napped. He isn’t that old, probably around the 60s. But the mana depletion has visibly taken a toll on him. There are two ways of depleting one’s mana. One is through exercise, casting so many spells or spells so big that your mana reserves dry up. When that happens, recovery is quick, and when you recover, your capacity increases. That’s because you are using it, so the flow is natural and comes from your body as a whole. The other way is by mana draining. It’s unnatural and forced and happens by pinching a hole on the surface of the magical body. That hole makes the mana flow in ways it shouldn’t, thus affecting the internal arrangements of the body. It takes longer to recover and makes your capacity decrease. It’s like the difference between straining your muscles with regular exercises and straining your muscles by putting you in a stretching machine and pulling your limbs all the way. Both hurt, but one will hurt for one day, and your muscular capacity will improve. The other will leave you bedridden for a longer time and will make you less able to do physical work. That’s the reason Grandma Thieda has been stepping in frequently, in the last months, to cover up for his health issues. But, when he is feeling able, she gives him the spotlight, and people can see the king being king. I don’t know if that’s exactly what’s going on inside her head, but if it is, I think that it’s commendable. Soon, the butler opens the door to our ’tea’ party. A tea party without tea is a bit sad, but at least the pastries are delicious. "Court wizard Gundmund is here, Your Majesty." "Please, let him in." Queen Thieda is the one answering the butler, then gently wakes up the king. "Dear, Gundmund is here." "Huh? Ah. Sorry, everyone. Today’s commotion seems to have tired me more than I expected. Gundmund, please, take a seat." "It’s okay, father. We know how much you’ve been suffering with that problem." The butler gently pulls a seat and helps the old man onto it. He looks even more frail now than he looked in the throne room. He sits and helps himself to some sweets that are on plates over the table, and one maid soon brings him some herbal infusion. "These sweets are great, Your Majesty, but I doubt that you’ve called out to me just to have tea with the royal family, have you?" "You’re right, Gundmund. Lovelace here has some input on my condition that I would like to consult with you about. Have you heard about beings that are capable of feeding on other people’s mana?" Gundmund freezes with a macaron almost reaching his open mouth, then closes the mouth and puts the macaron back on his plate. "I’ve read about some, yes... There are old legends about vampires, and it’s said that in the caverns under the Icy Spine live some beings called Siadine, who are the bane of any mage entering the place." Vampires? Did he say VAMPIRES????? My mind is filled with dandy figures of seductive women with crimson eyes and white fangs from the media I loved to consume. "It’s said that once existed an ancient beast who roamed the land, a giant scorpion who was a walking calamity, draining all the mana everywhere it would go. But it disappeared over a thousand years ago." Oh, that one is right here, next to you. Lovelace is acting very nonchalant, as if it isn’t about her. Nice. "But why do you ask that question, Your Majesty?" "Gundmund, we are in a relaxed conversation now; please, drop the formalities." "Very well, Halinard." "Good. So, Lovelace here presented the hypothesis that my present condition is actually the result of a being like that feeding on my magical energy." "Hmmmm." Gundmund’s face turns more serious than it already was, and his frown makes his face even more rugged. "It is not impossible. It had already occurred to me that the symptoms are similar to the ones a mage who went to those caves in the Icy Spine once showed. It’s just..." "Just...?" "It seemed too much of a stretch to me. Vampires are legends of old, whose existence was never proven. And the Siadine would be impossible to transport all the way up here." Huh? Couldn’t he just look at the king’s mana body and see the effects of the drain directly? "Gundmund, if I may..." "Yes, little princess..." "If you look at the king’s magical body, it’s visible that he has indeed been drained." "Look at his magical body? What are you talking about?" "Huh?" WHAT? You’re telling me the court wizard doesn’t know about that? Lovelace sighs and puts her face on her palm, then talks. "It seems that the knowledge of magic in the human realm has indeed declined over the centuries. Let me explain it to you..."