Chapter 351: The Better half

After the eventful introductions, the meeting returned to a relatively controlled manner, although it took a bit of effort to get the girls, Scarlet and Lily to return their attention to the task at hand.

Still, in the end, everyone managed to return their attention to the important tasks at hand. Pushing his chair behind, Aiden stood up, as he addressed his friends.

When Aiden explained the situation fully and his desire to get into the academy and free his friend from there, Sara gasped in shock. A full-frontal assault on them, whilst not impossible, it would have been too big of a bite even for someone like him. Not even the royal family would dare to act without caution. The Academy in Higrove, while not the biggest, was just a mere branch of the one in the capital.

Holding many powerful spellcasters in their ranks, the  Academy's strength cannot be looked down on. Their highest-ranked Elders the High Elders are old fogeys. One by one, they lived for several centuries already, extending their lives by whatever horrific, ungodly, and taboo rituals.

Some say that the reason they preferred to gather young boys as their servants and turn them into willing familiar was to slowly siphon their lives away. This was never confirmed obviously, but the fact that they constantly looked for families in need of financial support, was surely telling a confirming tale.

Anyway, it wasn't likely that any force would be willing to call them out on this, without clear and undeniable evidence. The fact that they were also present in several other neighboring kingdoms, made the true forces behind the Academy a force not to be trifled with.

Sara explained as best as she could, what dangers would such a frontal action would hold, and that what they should do is to not act so haughtily, but instead devise a plan. Still, being as Aiden the hotheaded, emotion-driven person as he is, he wasn't keen on sitting still and letting others have their ways with his friend.

After an arduous battle of wits they eventually, after several hours of back and forth they managed to make Aiden acquiesce and let the other prominent figures of their rising 'team' give their suggestions before taking any sort of action. They agreed to reconvene and meet at the Mistress mansion in the evening and together with the rest of the family, devise a plan that could perhaps yield positive results, instead of just spelling doom for everyone involved.

—

"What are your plans now brother? Would you like to meet with Granny and Master?" As they left the room, Lily clinking on Aiden's left asked him.

"We could, but didn't you say that they are busy investigating the attack? Should we bother them?" Pondering on his question, Aiden returned the question with one of his own.

"Hehe…" However, Lily chuckled at his question with a mischievous glint shining in her eyes. "I have already contacted them. They should be coming to us, maybe they are already here."

Hearing her, Aiden could only sigh with a pleased and slightly relieved smile. Sure enough, his sister, while has grown considerably stronger, was not much different than when he left them. 

As if understanding his brother's look, Lily puffed her growing chest proudly and looked at his brother in the eye.

"Brother, would you like to see the progress I made why you were away?" She suddenly asked, bringing Aiden out of his thoughts abruptly, causing him to look back with a mixture of shock and confusion.

"What do you mean?" Just now did his brain process what he was asked, his shock only increased adding a hint of stun to the mixture, causing him to look with even more confusion than before. "Are you planning to… duel me?"

To his further astonishment, Lily nodded at his question with a wide smile curving on her adoring milky white face.

"Yupp! But not just me! I want Sam and Biggy to join us as well! You should see how much we have grown in this short time! Hihi!" She giggled at her own words, already looking forward.

"But.. Wait up, don't pull me…" Before Aiden could argue further she grabbed his right hand and rushed forward, down the stairs pulling him behind. Aiden could do nothing but turn his head to the side and look at Sara and the Scarlet with a pleading look. Whilst the former looked at him helplessly, the latter grinned back with a face that clearly showed that she was already looking forward to the upcoming show.

Sure enough, just like Lily said, by the time they got down from the stairs to the ground level, the familiar sight of the elderly woman wrapped with several thick layers of tattered red clothing hiding every nook and cranny of her body including her face, and the exotic-looking mature woman with the black faceless mask covering her face was already at the desk, surprisingly conversing with the same brown, curly-haired Mary. Two large black war hounds were resting at their sides panting happily.

However, what surprised Aiden once again, was the faint feeling of energy converging around their lying figures. It was small, but there clearly was some internal energy conversing inside them. 

"What the…" Aiden looked at the two canines with shock as he was pulled by her sister to them.

"Look who has finally shown himself!" Granny standing slightly behind and mostly just acting as the silent spectator while Number 3 seemed to be deep in her discourse with the attendant girl, was the first to address the incoming duo. Her eyes also glanced at the prince, and her sister who already had their hood back on covering their faces, and also on Sara who was hiding behind her magic-enhanced gear as well. 

Still, from the curving smile that pushed her aged wrinkles higher, it seemed that she saw more than what they wanted to. Still, she said nothing and returned her attention to the boy in front of him. She reached out with the back of her right palm, giving a gentle caress on his cheeks as she spoke.

"Dearie, how are you? Is everything okay? No, silly me, of course, it's not." She asked, answering her own question at the same time, with a wry smile. "Anyway… Don't be so agitated, you know what your Master had taught you, do you not? As a family, your problems are ours as well, we will work together like always!"

As they were speaking, Lily stepped closer to Number 3, silently bowing behind her, greeting her with a respectful tone.

"Master…"

Number 3 raised her right index finger towards Lily as she was still busy with Mary before turning around a minute later and looking at her hooded blonde apprentice. Since she was hiding behind her mask, it was impossible to tell what she was thinking, her voice was calm and did not carry any of her potential feelings to the outside.

"We got your call, Lily. From what I could feel, you seem to have quite a few mixed, controversial and opposite emotions within you, troubling your heart and hindering your cultivation. Tell me, what is the problem? I thought you would be happier to meet up with your brother."

"Master…" Lily mumbled again, not sure how to start to recount the tale. In the end, she shook her head and looked at Aiden who was still being 'handled' by Granny behind them. "It's about brother… His friend was taken to the Academy…"

Number 3 raised her hand, putting an abrupt stop to Lily's speech. 

"Don't continue. I understand it now, but this is not something we can discuss in the open. Then she turned to the hooded Sara, who jumped in shock in the next second when she heard an unfamiliar voice in her mind. 

"Miss Rox, please show us to your office room, and please call your mother immediately. Tell her that her better half is back and is requiring her debt to be paid back in full. She will understand."

Luckily, her face and with that her expressions and pale, shocked face were covered behind her magical hood. One had to know that being gifted with the power of the mind due to her unique bloodline power, nobody besides her mother managed to get through her mental barriers before. So for her, to suddenly hear another voice, sending her a message without her knowledge or consent was a frightening revelation. 

Still, it didn't take more than a glance to understand who the owner of the intrusive voice was. Knowing the severity of the situation, she only nodded, and silently walked forward the group, behind the counter, and hurried to the back office door without saying another word.

As she walked away, Number 3 turned towards the royal siblings and spoke to them normally. Her voice however carried a slight concern, and a hint of familiarity as she addressed them. 

"You two could either wait here or explore the city for the time being. I presume you all have a meeting point already set. I'm sorry but for the time being, we will have to leave you."