The Prince Of Magic

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After leaving his friends and Flat to their fates, Hadrian and his retainers walked away from the office, ignoring a certain foolish blonde's cries behind.

With his mind occupied with the recent conversation, Hadrian's body went on autopilot as he led the group to the west side building of the Clock Tower where his mentor's office was located.

As he entered the building with the others, there were many people in the lobby.

The west side of the Clock Tower were mostly inhabited by mages of prestige, usually professors and wealthiest mages with prestige.

However, there were also students and freelanced mages among the crowd.

The students were obviously there to chat amongst themselves, while the latter group were seen going in and out of some rooms.

Hadrian recognized some familiar faces too, such as Rani, Rin, Sakura and Luvia in the distance.

"Master, I see your friends there." Charles pointed out.

"And the two cousins are still arguing, I see." Dia added, almost dryly.

"Want to go talk to them, master?" Charles asked.

"No, we should go. No need to bother them now." Hadrian decided, a bit nervous to be seen by the four girls.

"Agreed." Arturia said with a small sigh, recalling the scene that Rin and Luvia had caused earlier.

In order to avoid gathering attention from the quartet, Hadrian ducked in the opposite direction with his retainers in tow.

As much as he wanted to talk to them, it would have to wait on a later time since the day was nearing afternoon.

Hadrian would rather not want to be late for dinner, and neither would his retainers as well.

The last time it had happened, his mother was disappointed.

She understood his reason that time and forgave him, but it made Hadrian felt bad nonetheless.

Seeing his kind and caring mother, Lucia, sitting by the garden on her lonesome and staring sadly at the various flowers and plants after that day was enough to pierce through Hadrian's usually calm façade.

With that in mind, Hadrian went up the building, alternatively using the stairs and the elevator when it was convenient, and made his way to his mentor's office.

Few minutes had passed and he found himself standing in front of two doors made of dark polished oak, staring at the sign above the doors.

Written on the thin rectangular plaque of gold metal was the name that magi of the Mage's Association and the Clock Tower feared and respected: 'Vice Director, Lorelei von Barthomeloi'

With a hand on each door knob, Hadrian opened the doors and went inside.

The Queen's office consisted of four rooms: a lobby, lounge, study and laboratory.

The lobby would be the first room that would be seen as it was occupied by a young woman with long brunette hair and clear blue eyes, who looked up from her desk to see who entered. On the right side of her desk was a silver nameplate: 'Secretary, Ilsa Dianthe'.

Upon sighting Hadrian in the front of the group, she stood up in surprise and drop the papers she was reading onto the table.

"Young master Schweinorg! You've returned?!" Ilsa uttered in surprise, mixed albeit with relief.

"Hello to you too, Ilsa." Hadrian greeted with a faint smile.

Ilsa Dianthe was his mentor's assistant and secretary.

The brunette female dressed in a formal attire was a member from a small mage family, which had been a close ally of the Barthomelois for centuries.

She knew Hadrian due to his relative association with her mistress (boss), Lady Lorelei Barthomeloi. She also happened to know his father as well in the past.

The Barthomeloi, Dianthe and Aelfryth had been allies due to their similar beliefs in religion. From what Hadrian knew, the three families were followers of the Christian faith, which might sound odd given that they are all magi. Mages being followers of the church wasn't exactly normal in the moonlit world, considering what happened in the past regarding the witch hunt events and purges.

But, even then, the Barthomeloi and the Dianthe families remained firm believers of the Christ.

The Aelfryth, on the other hand, were not exactly as devoted as the two, but they were deemed as one nonetheless.

That was in the past, of course, since Hadrian was the only one living member of the Aelfryth family.

His mother, Lucia, cannot be counted as one since she was only part of aforementioned family through her marriage with his father, Arin.

Still, the Church was not happy with the three families' relation to the Mage's Association and the Clock Tower, despite being recognized as firm followers of the Christian religion.

Ilsa, like most people in the Mage's Association, had taken to calling him 'young master' due to his status as the scion of the Schweinorg family. And like with the others, Hadrian had lost count in how many times he had to convince the brunette to simply call him by his name.

Sensing that he would get nowhere in talking her out in being formal with him, Hadrian left the matter alone.

"Is Lady Lorelei present?" He asked, gesturing to the single door that was the entrance to his mentor's office.

"She is currently doing paperwork, but she has specifically asked me to let you enter in case you visit." Ilsa answered, walking around her desk.

With that confirmation, Hadrian turned to his retainers.

"You three should stay here. There's something I wish to discuss with lehrer in private." Hadrian suggested, gesturing to the sofas available to the right side.

"Sure, boss. We might as well be here in case Rider shows up." Charles shrugged.

"We will wait for you, milord." Dia said, bowing his head slightly towards him.

Hadrian's gaze shifted to Arturia, who seemed reluctant to leave his side.

"I won't be long, Saber." Hadrian reassured with a small smile.

Reaching out, he touched her hand briefly, snapping her out of her thoughts as she turned her gaze upwards and met his.

Giving her hand a soft squeeze, Hadrian pulled away and walked pass the female knight, who called by Charles to join him and Dia by the seating area.

"Oi, Saber! C'mere! Let's chat while we wait for master!"

"I can hear you just fine, Charles. There's no need to shout that loud."

Hearing the subtle annoyance in Arturia's response, Hadrian doesn't even need to turn around and see the stern expression on her face.

Imagining it in his mind did brought a smile to his lips though, as faint as it was.

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