The Prince Of Magic

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On the way home, Hadrian had experienced the weirdest evening as of yet.

Almost as soon as the silver haired siblings were out of sight, the young mage was bombarded with questions from his retainers, particularly from Astolfo, Charles and Kieran.

Yan Qing and Arash were more relaxed with their inquiries, but they were no less curious on his answers.

Hadrian's assumption that the two female siblings being not completely human were proven correct when his retainers questioned him on maintaining his usual composure while in the siblings' presences. From what he could discern in their line of questioning, the retainers find the older of the two as the most curious.

Granted, the siblings were born with magic, but they were far from the average standard in the wizarding society.

As Heroic Spirits, his retainers were s.e.n.s.i.t.i.v.e to magic, and what they felt from the two girls were… quite unique.

From what they described, there was something that pulled their attention to the siblings, especially to the older girl.

His retainers had a difficult time to describe what it was, but Kieran, being his usual blunt and careless self, had simplified it in one word.

L.u.s.t, pure and simple. That was the one emotion that the older blonde had evoked from them while she had been in the vicinity.

Based on what Hadrian had felt, what his retainers had explained made sense.

He had felt nothing from the two due to the automaton's work in nullifying the effects of the strange magic that the siblings were exuding. But even then, Hadrian doubted he would have felt the 'pull' from the two, considering his own natural defenses against mind-altering effects.

Magic that affects the mind had never been a problem to the members of the Lucis Caelum bloodline, and it was pleasing to find that it remained as it was.

Perhaps Hadrian had been affected for a few moments, but it was quickly shrugged off before it could take root and affect his mental state.

His retainers' inquiries were simply answered with a noncommittal shrugged that left some of them sighing, laughing and scratching their heads at their master's uncaring attitude.

The next day, the young mage found himself hanging out in the Flamel's private library.

Hadrian had a brief talk with the ancient couple during breakfast and told them of yesterday's events.

When he described the older blonde and his curiosity as to what she was, Penerelle and Nicolas shared a smile before the former answered him that he was approached by what was called a 'Veela'.

Then, they proceed to explain to him what a 'Veela' is.

Apparently, Veela are semi-human magical beings. They are beautiful women with white-gold hair and smooth, flawless skin that appears to shine moon-bright.

When angry though, the Veela would take on a less pleasant appearance; their faces elongate into sharp, cruel-beaked bird heads, and long scaly wings would burst from their shoulders.

Their looks, and especially their dance, were hypnotically seductive to almost all people attracted to women, which caused them to perform foolhardy and impulsive actions to get closer to, and to receive admiration from the Veela.

In addition, Veela has a special type of magic, one that Hadrian had experienced a little while in the presence of the silver-blonde siblings yesterday.

The magic in question was called as the 'Allure'.

The magic would create an 'entranced' effect, wherein men (presumed to be heteros.e.x.u.a.l) would fall into a trance-like or hypnotic stance, in which they would lose sight of their surroundings and focused solely on the Veela's dance or appearance.

Men would also be prone to experiencing thoughts of strong d.e.s.i.r.e to impress or be with the Veela in question, and were strongly attracted romantically.

Case in point, what the ancient couple had explained to him nearly happened to some of his retainers, particularly Kieran, who was admittedly the weakest among his retainers.

When the subject of Hadrian's calm encounter with the Veela siblings was brought up, however, the Flamels was rendered speechless.

His retainers then revealed how Hadrian behaved as he usually would in most cases, how calm and in control he was with his mental faculties, which seemed to have had left Penerelle and Nicolas stumped if their disbelieving expressions were anything to go by.

Their surprise worn off though, quicker than Hadrian had expected.

It seemed that hearing some of his accomplishments from his grandfather had given the ancient couple an idea of what Hadrian was truly capable of.

By that point, shrugging off the allure of a Veela was probably less surprising than seeing Hadrian's ability to teleport.

The flabbergasted looks of the Flamels when they had witnessed his special ability made Hadrian smile faintly in amus.e.m.e.nt.

Speaking of the Veela, the older blonde that he met yesterday was quite peculiar.

Fleur Delacour.

The older silver-blonde female was quite peculiar.

She was certainly kind to her younger sibling, this was already a given, but during her interaction with Hadrian, she acted almost strange.

When she spoke to him, she was polite enough and responsive, but maintained a certain distance.

She looked composed on the outside, but from what Hadrian could sense from her emotions, she seemed almost uncomfortable in his presence.

At the same time though, she had a healthy amount of curiosity towards him.

Not once did Hadrian failed to meet her gaze head-on, and yet she would always be the one to break eye contact during the entire time they spoke yesterday.

Hadrian frowned, brows furrowing as he adjusted the book he was reading closer to him.

From what he could gather on Veela so far, Fleur was most likely not used to being near males, which was understandable given the masses view on her kind.

To the wizarding society, the Veela race seemed to be viewed with awe and contempt at the same time.

The silver-blonde female's body language alone had hinted to him of her discomfort, and the fact that Hadrian was not the only male nearby might have also added to her tension.

Even though his attention had been on the female siblings that time, Hadrian was aware that his retainers were watching him interact with the Delacour sisters.

His retainers had been patient and silent during that time, but perhaps their guarded gaze and still postures had the opposite effect on the older Delacour's nerves.

The poor young woman might have been stumped that none of them, Hadrian and his retainers, had done something foolish while in her presence.

Instead of the usual reactions and treatment that she would receive from most men, all she got was a polite, if a bit stilted conversation from Hadrian and a group of calm, intimidating stares from his retainers.

Her younger sister, Gabrielle, on the other hand, was a joy for him to meet.

Despite their brief contact, the little girl was amusing to converse with. It doesn't hurt that she happened to remind him of his little sister from the first lifetime, Astraea.

His reminiscing came to a stop when he sensed a familiar presence nearby, and soon, the sounds of leather shoes scuffing against the carpet covering the marble floors were heard, echoing throughout the spacious library.

The owners of said footsteps slowed into a halt before the table that Hadrian was occupying, causing the young mage to look up at his visitors.

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