Regnum Aetern: Dual Rebirth

Chapter 146: Five years of effort (2)

Evangeline hurriedly wore the golden bracelet and channeled mana into it.

Moments later, a vortex of wind began swirling around her hand. It was almost near-instant. She tried to control the vortex and manipulate its shape, and it all worked just as smoothly as it did when she cast the spell.

And when she stopped channeling mana into the gold bracelet, the vortex disappeared.

’It really worked...’

She shifted her gaze to the other three gold bracelets.

"..."

After a while, Evangeline was wearing all four gold bracelets, two in each hand. Wind, water, fire, rocks—they were all dancing above her palm.

She had sealed tier-one manipulation spells for each of her elements in one of the bracelets.

’Master Avalon said that these tier-one manipulation spells will always remain ‌useful no matter how high a Phase I’m on.’

She stopped channeling her mana into the bracelets and shifted her attention to the only thing left on the ground. The beautiful silver tiara.

’Time to attempt something harder.’

She once again materialized two spells, one above each palm. The sealing spell was the same, but the spell on her left palm looked more complex than the previous ones.

It was a tier-two water element spell, Ruler of Waves.

After she was done, she sealed the spell in the tiara.

This time, it took way more effort. After the Ruler of Waves spell was successfully sealed in the tiara, she wore it on her head and channeled her mana into it. The next moment, a crown made of water materialized above her head.

It was a spell that greatly amplified her control over water.

Channeling mana into the gold bracelet sealed with Water Manipulation, she gathered a ball of water above her palm.

’Let’s see...’

She increased her focus and changed the shape of the ball of water, turning it into a long and thin stick. She was surprised to find that the stick was held in shape without too much effort from her.

She even swung it a few times, and it felt no different from swinging a normal stick.

’Wow, this is really amazing. I would’ve needed a lot more focus if I had to perform this task by casting spells. If only there were spells like Ruler of Waves for the other elements too.’

It would’ve been so awesome.

She stopped channeling her mana, causing the stick made of water to dissipate.

Then she leaned back on the tree trunk and closed her eyes.

’Ah, I’m so damn tired now.’

But the moment she closed her eyes, she heard the sound of clapping coming from the side. It didn’t take a genius to guess that the one clapping was Master Avalon, who had only been observing silently until now.

"Good job. I never expected you to fail, but to think you wouldn’t make even a single mistake!"

Evangeline yawned.

"Yeah, yeah, it’s not a big deal. And the advantage is not that significant since I’m now a Phase Three and have elemental infusion."

Having ascended to Phase Three just a few months ago, experiencing elemental infusion had shocked her greatly.

She could now cast low-level spells with just a thought, so the advantage provided by these magitools—speed—would not be that significant after she practiced spellcasting a bit more.

Suddenly, Master Avalon sat down on the ground near her and spoke.

His tone was different from before. It was gentler and calmer. The kind of tone her father used with her when they talked.

"When I first saw you up close during that banquet five years ago, you were such a cheerful little girl. Childish and energetic. But looking at the current you, I can barely find the girl I saw back then. I feel that the Evangeline from that time would’ve been jumping with joy right now."

He paused and then asked in an even gentler tone.

"Just what happened back then that changed you so much? Won’t you share it even after all this time?"

Evangeline clenched her fists as her chest suddenly felt heavy.

She had never gone into detail about what happened after the teleportation, and nobody had insisted that she tell them either. Details like how Adrian’s body had suddenly begun releasing an absurd amount of mana, which helped turn things around—such details were known only to her.

And she didn’t really have the courage to share everything with them. Especially with her parents. She didn’t think she would be able to meet their eyes if she did.

But...

’Maybe it’s ‌time to stop running...’

She slowly opened her mouth. For a while, no words came out. Master Avalon didn’t rush her, waiting patiently. And then she finally started speaking.

"...Teacher, did you know? I-I... I abandoned Adi to save myself. I left him to die. B-but, but that’s not even... the worst part. Adi had expected me to do just that. I had thought that we were fighting together to save both our lives, but he... h-he had never trusted me with his back. And I-I proved him right."

She pressed her hand against her chest.

"I didn’t mean to do that! I never wanted to leave him behind! I-it’s just that my body moved on its own before I could even think! Please believe me, I’m telling the truth!"

"..."

"Huff... huff...’

Suddenly realizing she had raised her voice by the end, she lowered her head and went quiet as her breathing slowly stabilized.

Master Avalon didn’t say anything for a while, which made her feel even worse. But when he calmly asked...

"If you could go back in time to that exact moment, would you make a different choice?"

Evangeline froze.

’I-I...’

Would she make a different choice?

But then what choice would that be?

Back then, there was only a single teleportation scroll, so only one of them could’ve escaped to save themselves. The other would’ve had no choice but to die since there was no way to escape the radius of the blast in that short amount of time.

So the question was... if she really had been thinking back then, would she have sacrificed herself so that Adrian could live?

’I...’

She couldn’t answer. But she had an inkling of the answer.

And so she remained silent. Master Avalon didn’t press her to answer either. Maybe he could also sense the answer she would’ve given.

After sitting under the tree for a long time, Evangeline tried getting up to leave.

But just then, Master Avalon spoke once again.

"Are you prepared? Only one year is left before you start attending the Imperial Academy. I have taught you all I could about sealing magic; you will have to learn the rest on your own. And seeing as you haven’t made any friends until now, you are going to struggle in the academy."

Evangeline tried to smile reassuringly, but it probably came out awkward.

"You don’t have to worry, teacher. I am going to do my best there. What is struggle? It’s nothing more than snacks that I eat to grow up faster."

Even her casual joke seemed to sound strange when it came out of her mouth.

But as she was occupied with her thoughts, Master Avalon asked something else.

"By the way, do you know how much longer you can come here?"

She furrowed her brows.

"What do you mean, teacher?"

"What I mean is..." He sighed. "Since your fiance is now dead, you and the Florivelles have‌ lost your connection to House Ravenshade."

Evangeline froze, and her eyes widened in realization.