Magic Apprentice

Chapter 20: Celebration II (5/5)

A while ago, the moment when Elric stepped out into the hall, Siren was absolutely floored to sense the lodemark on him. She couldnt tell what was going on inside the parlor so she had to rely on the lodemark to at least keep track of where she was going. For a while the lodemark remained in the parler before she felt it moving far away enough to be in another room. 

Now why is that? She wondered. What reason was there to return to the halls from a different room?

The answer came in the form of a not yet fully matured male. This was especially shocking to Siren for two reasons alone. Not only was the lodemark on him, but Siren recognized him! This was the person that walked stupidly into their trap in the Forest Nymph, Elric! 

The person and cause for that scarlet night of new experiences and pleasures. A pleasurable night. A night of extreme stimulation and adventures. Everything about that night was forever engrained in her mind.

Her only regret that night was not being able to successfully brainwash that pervert since Monisa let her go without even lifting a finger in resistance. Siren had been extremely irate when she found out, but the wine hath spilt, as was commonly said, and Elric was gone. She couldnt even try to escalate the matter since it would reflect badly on Monisa, her superior. Hope was the only thing they had going for themif a fish leapt into her net once before, whos to say it wouldnt happen a second time? All they had to do was to make sure the fish was secured firmly.

It was with that in mind that Siren did everything she could to search for the fish herself. But it was like Elric vanished into thin air after that. No matter how hard she looked, Siren couldnt find any traces of him, how could an foreign magus possibly be so hard to find? She never expected him to appear in front of her with the lodemark planted on Fantasia to boot! 

She didnt know what to make of the situation, at first. Several ideas were considered and disposed of before she could think of a logical answer:

Did Elric transpose Fantasias lodemark onto himself? 

Beads of sweat threatened to show on her face. The rumors of him certainly painted Elric as a very capable magus. Able to survive a confrontation with Archmagister Kebrilio and then ward off the effects of the Oculus? Shed be foolish to act rashly against that magus.

Siren fished another lodemark out from her clothes and channeled mana into it. Lodemarks used this way had a more situational usage. Though limited in range, energy emitted by the lodemark would change whenever activated, thus allowing for another method of finding the target. And to make sure Elric wouldnt be touching the lodemark this time, Siren was prepared to stick it deep into his body this time. This way, Elric wouldnt be able to remove it even if he found out about it.

Siren already had a way to do it, too. She strode toward the area where Elric was atthe refreshments table, and slipped the lodemark into a nearby mug of cider to melt. She drank the other two mugs of cider as returned to her seat in the corner. Only one mug remained now, and Siren was highly confident no one else but Elric would drink the sole remaining mug of cider. She would confidently say that she had a good grasp of his character. 

Monisas report on Elric mentioned that he couldnt even handle a single mug. No one else at the banquet would touch a paltry drink like cider when there was fine wine and liquor to be had. It was only there as a custom, and no aristocrat would risk being known as someone incapable of handling their liquor by drinking it. 

Therefore, Siren was fully confident the last mug of cider with the special lodemark would without fail enter the fool Elrics stomach.

It took some time for Elric to make his way over to the beverage section, but it eventually went as Siren predicted. The fool had unwittingly picked the magically-prepared mug of cider and drank it without noticing a thing.

Giddy satisfaction danced across Sirens eyes at the sight of a successful endeavor. In her excitement, however, she failed to notice the three pairs of eyes staring right at her.

Each of the three were equally confused by what they were watching. Was this an assassination attempt? Not a single explanation seemed reasonable enough for them. Hughesin and Somiret both understood from Fantasias cute reaction that she recognized Siren, a woman both terrifying and brilliant. They also understood that Siren didnt seem to recognize Fantasia, on the other hand. Fantasia was a lady whose very being was unforgettable to the memory. Neither of the two believed Siren would forget such a lady like her.

Hecaris III, the third person, was the only person to know a crucial fact: that Siren knew about Fantasias alter-ego, Elric. It was a bargaining chip the emperor was unwilling to part with. He was no fool. The Union had the sharpest ears on the continent and assuredly had heard about Elric recently. Given the boys recent events, Hecaris III could easily understand why Siren would be so highly interested in him.

Though the emperor understood the fundamental reasoning why Siren was going after Elric, he had absolutely no idea why she was being so obvious about it. Her actions clearly meant that the Rheidyn Union had yet to even contact Elric (Not that he knew how familiar Siren got with Elric). Why else would she so brazenly show interest in Elric here otherwise?

What stumped the emperor was why Siren was doing this here and now. If she was so familiar with Elrics habits and could easily kill Elric, then why do something so unsuitable in the most unsuitable moment at the most unsuitable location? The emperor refused to believe that an experienced intelligence specialist would so readily expose themselves like this without having reason for it.

Elrics potential death was met with consternation from the emperor and bated breaths by Hughesin and Somiret. To them, Elric was a magus of unknown power and a potential roadblock to their futures. If the vicious and unreasonable Rheidynian agent was going to assassinate him, then may she do so while they bear witness.