The Prince Of Magic

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Feeling that his peaceful time for research has been interrupted by the two retainers' arguments, Hadrian frowned as he watched Kieran and Astolfo b.u.t.t heads, something that did not go unnoticed by the cheeky retainer that stood nearby at his side.

With a sigh, Charles squared his shoulders and walked towards Kieran and Astolfo, catching them by surprise as he picked them up by the back of their upper blazers like a misbehaving cat and dog.

"Ah!"

"Oi!"

"Quiet, you two." Charles reprimanded, tone tinged with authority. "You're disturbing master's time to study. If you're going to argue, then do it outside and far away from here."

"Ah, wait!"

"Lemme go, bastard!"

The two retainers tried to resist being manhandled, but due to Charles' superior strength, their resistance was all for naught as the cheeky knight's hold upon them remain firm while he calmly walked towards the entrance doors, throwing them out of the room in a heap unto the marble floor.

"Ooof!"

"Grah!"

*SLAM*

After one stern glare at them, Charles closed the twin doors before turning on his heel and made his way back at his master's side, who looked on with a calm expression but his eyes glinted with a hint of amus.e.m.e.nt that the cheeky retainer can only chuckle sheepishly in response.

"Ahaha, apologies, master. At least, this way, you can eat your lunch in peace and continue your study after." Charles reasoned, scratching his cheek with his index finger.

Accepting his response, Hadrian chuckled softly with a slight nod.

"Fair enough, though I won't be surprised if those two returns here once more." The young mage said idly as he focused on his meal.

"Yes, that is the likeliest scenario to happen." Charles said with sigh.

"Speaking of which, where are the others?" Hadrian asked, chewing his own food as he fed Ryu and Fou alternately, who woke up at the smell of his lunch.

Glancing briefly upwards, Charles took a few moments to think before responding.

"Well, I know that you know that Yan's outside, making good on your orders. King Hassan is at the courtyard, drinking his favorite matcha tea and just taking in the scenery like always. Arash is scouting the grounds, patrolling. The two idiots that were here just now were already done with their rounds. That's why they followed me in here." Charles answered in a thoughtful tone.

"And the argument they had recently? When did that happen exactly?" Hadrian asked, one brow lifting in curiosity.

"Ah, well, that happened right after they completed their patrols. By the time I found them, they were already like that." Charles said in a flat tone, sighing at the end.

"I see…" Hadrian said, unable to restrain himself from sighing along with the knight standing at his side.

Looking at his master's books, Charles had decided to change topics.

"How are your studies going along, master?" He asked as he refilled his master's drink, to which the latter murmured his thanks to him.

"It's going fine. The subjects might be different at first, but surprisingly, I found a lot of similarities with their methods here to our world." Hadrian said, bright emerald eyes narrowing slightly in thought.

"Oh? Is that so?" Charles asked, tilting his head a bit in curiosity.

"Hmm…" Hadrian hummed with a nod. "Visually wise, the applications are different, but at their core, the similarity is undeniable. The only difference what the magical people here do from the magi in our world is that all of them need a wand to cast their spells. Of course, there were some capable of casting without a focus and chanting, but Nicolas told me that those certain individuals are the ones that made their marks upon history. In other words, people who are most likely dead by now." The young mage added when he noticed the blank expression on the knight's face.

"Ah!" Charles nodded his head knowingly, pausing as a curious thought came to mind before he asked. "Then, the ones in this generation?"

"It is possible that they all have the potential to gain access to such a trait. However, chantless and wandless casting is a pair of skills that must be met with utmost determination, patience and perseverance, and to acquire it, one must either do so through hard work, talent or ingenuity. But, due to the modern wizards and witches' lack of motivation and creativity…" Hadrian trailed off, looking to Charles who caught onto his meaning quickly.

"Ah, many of them are too lazy to work for it." Charles finished, smiling wryly.

"Exactly." Hadrian huffed as he nodded in agreement. "With the exception of the Flamels, a lot of wizards and witches became too dependent on the idea of using wands to cast their spells, almost forgetting the fact that many in the early generations of their race that such focus are only meant to augment their magic and spells. Such a pity…" Hadrian shook his head with a disappointing sigh.

"Yeah, that sounds too bad." Charles agreed, frowning slightly.

Hadrian laughed, wryly amused by his comment.

"The wizards and witches of the modern era got it in their heads that they need wands to cast magic, Charles. If you ask me, their situation is already worse than 'bad'." Hadrian chuckled at the dumbfounded expression on the knight's face, who blinked before shaking his head in resignation.

"Shit… What we saw in Place Cachée makes sense then. Hmm, I wonder what that guy would say…" Charles mused aloud.

"That guy?" Hadrian repeated, raising one brow in question.

"Merlin." Charles answered with a small grin, blue eyes glinting with nostalgia. "He might be a troublesome dude, but boy, did that guy had pride in his magical prowess."

"From what I recall, 'troublesome' is not the word that Arturia chose to describe him." Hadrian said with a chuckle, recalling the former King of Knight's stories about the Mage of Flowers that she would share with him before and after the war on the inner side of the moon.

Upon his right shoulder, Fou's rabbit-like ears perked at the mention of a certain someone's name.

Sharing his master's line of thinking, Charles laughed.

"Yeah, yeah! While many respects him for his good will and achievements, his infamy is also well deserved. I would say that he's someone who was liked and disliked at the same time." Charles grinned.

"Fou! Fou!" Unexpectedly, the fluffy white familiar on Hadrian's shoulder voiced out her agreement, nearly standing on her hindquarters as she did so.

The master and servant shared a laugh at the expense of a certain mage of flowers.

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Somewhere far and beyond, a man with a long mane of white hair and in an intricate set of attire suddenly lurched forward as sneezed aloud.

"ACHOO!"

Sniffing, the man held his black staff closer to him as he rubbed his nose with an index finger.

"Hmm… someone must be talking 'bout me. I wonder who…" He mused aloud.

Receiving no answer in return, the man shrugged to himself before returning to the large glass floating a few feet away from where he was sitting.

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