Chapter 59 - Revelations

"Lily! How is this possible?" Margit asked with astonishment, pointing at the floating star.

Lily was torn. A part of her yearned to divulge the whole truth, but the fear of disbelief or, worse, losing Arakil held her back.

Would they believe her even if she explained she was the only one who could talk with him? Or might they believe her but think it's dangerous for her to keep a book with ancient magical knowledge?

Either possibility terrified Lily, and so she decided to hopefully obscure it with a few half-truths sprinkled in.

"I was playing around with Rose and asking her about magic," Lily nervously explained. "Then I felt something inside. Mana. And it seemed like I could do tiny amounts of magic."

"That's..." Margit began speaking. Clearly, she wanted to say unbelievable, but with a glowing magical star in front of her eyes, it was almost irrefutable.

Instead, she seemed to change her words to a question that Lily wasn't too happy about: "Why didn't you say anything about it? Tell me or one of the staff."

Lily gulped nervously, "I was worried nobody would believe me... Or someone would tell me to stop trying to pursue magic."

"Yeah... I'd definitely keep it a secret," Oz spoke up. It was so sudden that it caused Lily to flinch. "Who knows what people might say, especially as an orphan? No doubt someone would try to forcibly adopt her if word got out."

Margit frowned. "We do protect the kids from that. You wouldn't imagine the number of people who tried to adopt Rose."

The revelation about Rose's past left everyone in stunned silence.

"I had no idea... Huh... Guess this place wasn't so bad after all," Oz mused.

"Someone tried to adopt Rose!?" Lily yelled. "Was it Lady Desthu?"

"Multiple people... More so after her awakening," Margit answered. "And no, Lady Desthu was not one of them. Surprisingly, the woman tried to help Rose reject the offers."

"Why would she reject being adopted?" one of the boys asked.

"Yeah... Getting out of here sounds like a dream," the other added.

Margit opened her mouth to say something, but Oz was faster.

"Imagine you get forced to go to a family, and then they want to parade you around. In Rose's case, they would slap their noble name on her and brag about their family gaining a Dragia bloodline. Sometimes, it's better to just stick around and start your own life, free from social burdens."

The boys mumbled in agreement, although they still seemed skeptical.

"Quite," Margit spoke. "In some of the more pushier families, Rose said that she would only consider it if they adopted Lily too."

"Really? I had no idea..." Lily admitted, feeling a little sad that she was left out.

"No doubt Rose wanted to shield you from it," Margit spoke kindly. "She certainly has the strength to fight such things, especially with Lady Desthu's aid."

"I'm surprised none of the families just adopted Lily then," Oz spoke. "One more mouth to feed to get such a prestigious bloodline would be like a drop in the bucket for them."

"Some endeavored," Margit confirmed. "But they used some language that offended Rose so much that she almost torched the entire room."

"Woah!" the boys shouted excitedly.

"What ?" Lily exclaimed.

"What on earth did they say to set her off?" Oz asked.

"They called Lily ‘Rose's pet’, which infuriated the girl," Margit answered. "Rose was afraid of what they'd do to Lily outside her sight."

"Rose..." Lily whispered, sad that this had all been a secret.

Oz nodded, "Yeah, it's not like she could've defended herself. Which makes her desire to have kept this a secret even more plausible. I can imagine some families flocking at the idea of having the first Lagia mage."

Lily audibly gulped.

"I suppose that's right..." Margit admitted.

Lily felt some momentary relief at her story being bought. But then Oz raised his hand and continued the questioning.

"I thought you said you only had a tiny bit of magic?" Oz questioned.

Lily nodded meekly.

"You took down a Leonia who absorbed monster essence," Oz pointed out.

Margit gasped, "Is that what happened? That stupid, headstrong boy... It's much too early for him!"

Lily thought she might have escaped the questioning with Margit's comment, but to her dismay, Oz continued. "From the residue in the area and the fact you took him down by yourself, I'd say that was a bit more than a little magic."

"Yeah, it was amazing! She shot like dozens of fire arrows at him!" One of the boys explained excitedly.

Lily felt her heart sink, wishing she could shove a dirty sock in his mouth to shut him up.

"No way, it wasn't dozens," the other boy corrected. "It was like... Ten? And then she exploded him with a star!"

The boys' eyes sparkled with excitement as they turned to Lily, eager for an explanation.

"I'd never cast something that big before," Lily nervously admitted.

"A bloodline awakening?" Oz suggested.

"The first Lagia with Mana who happens to have a bloodline at the same time?" Margit asked skeptically.

"Hey... I know how it sounds, but what if the bloodline is the reason why she has magic in the first place?" Oz clarified.

Margit paused to digest Oz's words.

"That sounds so cool..." the boys whispered.

On the other hand, Lily felt like her heart would jump out of her throat; she felt so unnerved.

Margit sighed heavily, her breath carrying the weight of the situation. "In the end, I suppose it doesn't matter how. The real question is, what next?"

You could be reading stolen content. Head to NovelBin for the genuine story.

"I want to go to Regarth!" Lily blurted out.

"Woah, good luck with that," one of the boys chuckled. "I heard you gotta be a super genius to get in."

"Rose got in, though. She's not that smart," the other spoke.

"Ed, James," Margit spoke. "I'm sorry, but could you two leave the room? You can go grab dinner."

"Aww... But-" Ed tried to protest.

Margit held up her hand, interrupting him.

"No buts. Thank you very much for your cooperation. Please keep things a secret for now," Margit said sternly.

"Yeah, you don't want to ruin the big secret and surprise, do you?" Oz said with an exaggerated wink.

"Of course!" the two boys agreed. "Your secret's safe with us, Lily!"

After they left and closed the door behind them, Margit sighed while Oz whistled.

"Regarth though... That's a big step, although maybe you could get in on the fame alone!" Oz said positively.

"I want to pass the tests and get in on my own merit, not because I'm a spectacle," Lily replied.

"Ah... Sorry..." Oz stammered sheepishly. "Well, assuming the boys weren't overstating their story, maybe you have a reasonable chance?"

"Lily... Are you sure about this?" Margit asked. "It's a big deal. I don't want you to rush into things. I know you miss Rose, but you don't have to follow after her."

Lily shook her head, composing herself so she wouldn’t sound too desperate. "While I miss Rose and want to see her again, I want to become a Mage. I can't become a normal Lagia; I won't ever be as strong or fast as them, but I can do magic!"

"Very well," Margit agreed, to Lily's surprise.

"That's it?" Lily asked, almost unbelieving.

Margit smiled softly, "It's your life, Lily. You're clearly determined to follow through on this. I just thought maybe you'd prefer a quieter life making elixirs or scribing books out of the spotlight."

"Yeah, you could have kept the magic as a fun secret hobby, as boring as that sounds..." Oz confessed, receiving quite the stink eye from Margit.

"No, I want to become a proper mage," Lily declared again.

Oz looked happy, while Margit seemed conflicted.

"I'll need to speak to talk to the staff... This is going to be quite complicated," Margit explained. "And not to discourage you, Lily, as what you've done is outstanding, but to get into Regarth, you will need a much more impressive display."

"Sheesh! Kick a kid while she's down," Oz joked. "I'm sure you'll kick butt, kid; I'm rooting for you!"

"Thanks, Mister Oz," Lily replied softly.

"Just Oz! I'm not that old," Oz chuckled.

"I'm not discouraging her... I just want her to be prepared," Margit answered, looking rather upset by the accusation. "It's one of the top schools for a good reason. Graduating from Regarth would also put her out of the league of many nobles wanting to try to add her to their lineage."

"Yeah, nobody would dare mess with a Regarth graduate," Oz agreed.

"Don't worry, Margit! I'll do my absolute best," Lily replied enthusiastically.

"That's all I ask dear..." Margit sweetly said. "You'll need to be added to some of the magic lessons. Hopefully, our instructor will be able to help you because, honestly, I have no idea about magic."

"Yeah, what even is that?" Oz asked. "I would think it was light magic, but it seems different?"

"It's a star..." Lily answered. She wanted to outright say it was Astral magic, but she had no legitimate way of describing that.

"A star... Can't say I've ever heard of star magic," Oz shrugged.

"Neither have I, but like I said, I'm not versed on such subjects," Margit sighed. "Hopefully, our magic instructor will be up to the task. Or at least be able to offer you some guidance."

"Is that the same one Rose punched?" Lily asked.

Oz burst out laughing, "Wow, she sounds like a handful..."

"She was-" Margit began speaking before stopping and correcting herself. "She went through a very tough time; it was understandable during the circumstances. And yes, Instructor Richardus is the one Rose unfortunately scuffled with."

"Oh yikes, isn't he from the Magus Knights?" Oz asked. "Some of the guards gossip about him from time to time."

"Retired, but yes, he briefly served the kingdom before settling down into teaching," Margit answered.

He was a Magus Knight! Why the hell did Rose say he was a boring idiot? No wonder she lost...

"I can see how he managed to bring a raging dragon under control then," Oz spoke, repeating Lily's thoughts. "Sounds like you'll be in good hands then! Hopefully, he can figure out how to help you or give you some tips."

Lily nodded, "I look forward to learning."

"Man... I'm jealous, I wish I had magic back when I was a kid..." Oz sighed.

"Instructor Richardus didn't join us back in your time, but I understand the sentiment," Margit informed Oz. "The orphanage facilities have developed remarkably well in recent years. We get to offer our children much more variety in their paths."

"Hey, don't get me wrong, I don't regret my time or what the staff did for me at all," Oz replied. "It's why I stuck around in Ceedale rather than moving to a more lucrative post. I think what you're doing here is great."

"Thanks, Oz, that means a lot," Margit replied with a warm smile.

"Yes, Margit, you've been amazing for me, too!" Lily added. "I'm sorry for not speaking to you sooner and for avoiding you."

Margit giggled softly, "And to think I thought you were just going through your rebellious phase. Never did I imagine it was such a big magical secret!"

"Well, I better be off. I'll make my report and avoid mentioning the magical bunny," Oz said with a wink.

"Thank you, Oz, you've been a great help,"

"No problem, we're all family here," Oz replied with a cheesy grin before leaving the room. Lily and Margit both waved him off with a smile.

Lily was now alone with Margit. She felt oddly guilty and wondered if the woman would interrogate her more. Instead of speaking, the woman grabbed Lily into a tight hug.

"Thank the gods you're alright..." Margit whispered, her voice quivering a little. "I was so worried..."

"I'm sorry Margit... Please forgive me," Lily said, sniffling a tiny bit.

"Of course, dear, I understand completely... Who would ever believe such a crazy thing? I'm not angry at you for keeping it a secret; who knows what someone might have done if they found out."

"Um... Someone did find out," Lily admitted.

"Who?" Margit inquired. "I'm assuming Rose knows."

"Miss Camilla..." Lily revealed.

"That old witch knows before me?" Margit pressed.

"She... Kinda figured it out; she trapped me with a magic spoon," Lily explained.

"That..." Margit paused, and it sounded like she was holding back. "Crafty woman... I hope you're fine? She didn't do anything to you, did she?"

"Just potion lessons... But otherwise, she's actually been quite nice," Lily admitted.

"Really now?" Margit replied, sounding skeptical. "I guess I'll need to have a word with the woman myself..."

I wonder who's going to win that conversation... Lily thought curiously as she gave Margit another hug.

Her secret was partially out, and to her surprise, it seemed to work in her favor. She had new magic lessons to look forward to and a test to prepare for, and she still needed to help Arakil fix his book.

It sounds like it's going to be a hectic time...