Chương 8: Chapter 7: Crownspire

Elizabeth waited until the study door closed behind her before touching her cheek. The skin was warm and tender, but the swelling remained minor. Her father had struck hard enough to hurt, not hard enough to leave an injury that couldn't be concealed before dinner. A maid waited farther along the corridor, though she made no attempt to approach. News travelled quickly among servants, and the woman had probably already guessed what had happened inside. Elizabeth lowered her hand.

"Elizabeth." She turned to find Alexander leaving the study behind her. The door shut once more, leaving their mother, father and Julian inside. Alexander glanced towards the maid.

"I'll escort my sister to her rooms." The woman curtsied and withdrew without question. He waited until her footsteps had faded before looking at Elizabeth's face. The formality he had maintained in front of their father disappeared.

"Let me see."

"It's only bruised."

"That wasn't a request." The words sounded enough like Alistair that Elizabeth nearly refused on principle, but Alexander's expression contained concern rather than authority. She turned her head slightly. He examined the mark without touching it.

"It won't last," he said.

"Mother will send something for the swelling."

"She didn't help at all."

"No." His mouth tightened.

"She rarely does." They began walking. Without their father present, Alexander's posture loosened. He no longer looked like the polished heir who had stood beside the awakening platform. He looked younger than he had during the reception, though still far older than Elizabeth.

"You really chose an unknown class over Prismatic Magician?" he asked.

"Yes."

"Why?"

"It had greater potential." Alexander gave her a sideways look.

"That sounds like something you prepared to tell Father."

"It is also true."

"I'm not Father." Elizabeth studied him. His expression was open, or at least less guarded than those of everyone else in the household. She still knew very little about him. The fragments inherited from Elizabeth White contained admiration, distance and a handful of memories in which Alexander had returned from school bearing gifts. Nothing suggested they had ever been close.

She could not tell him about Mechanistic Replication, nor could she explain that the class had been generated from the experience of a scientist executed in another world.

"It rewards discoveries," she said.

"Not only study. Actual experiments, verified results and useful applications." Alexander's eyebrows rose.

"That does sound like you." It did not sound like Elizabeth White. Apparently, he had not noticed the distinction.

"The class can develop in more than one field," she continued.

"Prismatic Magician would have limited me to elemental magic."

"Most people wouldn't describe three elements as limiting."

"Most people do not see the world as I do." Alexander stared at her for a moment, then laughed. The sound surprised her. She had not heard anyone in the family laugh naturally since awakening.

"You're going to have an interesting time at Crownspire," he said.

"You believe Father will follow through?"

"He will once he calms down. Sending you away allows him to claim he planned it all."

"He didn't."

"That has never stopped him from claiming something." They turned into a quieter corridor overlooking the inner courtyard. Rain had begun to fall, darkening the stone paths and scattering the gardeners beneath covered walkways.

"Was the Harcourt arrangement truly that important?" Elizabeth asked.

"To Father? Yes. To the family?" Alexander considered the question.

"Useful, but not irreplaceable. Duke Harcourt wanted a mage who could support Adrian's advancement and eventually strengthen their children's affinities. An unknown research class is harder to value."

"He withdrew quickly."

"Dukes can afford to."

"And Adrian?" Alexander shrugged.

"He wasn't consulted any more than you were." That matched Elizabeth's impression of the boy.

"Did you know I didn't want the marriage?"

"Everyone knew." She stopped walking. Alexander took another step before turning back.

"Everyone?"

"You weren't subtle."

"I never objected."

"You went silent whenever his name was mentioned, avoided every event where he might be present and once spent an entire dinner speaking to his younger cousin instead of him." Elizabeth White had apparently possessed fewer talents for concealment than Elliot Black.

"Father believed I rejected Prismatic Magician to end the engagement."

"I know."

"Do you?" Alexander's expression became more serious.

"No. I think you saw an option you wanted more and took it. The engagement ending was convenient, but you wouldn't throw away an Epic class simply to avoid one boy." He resumed walking, and Elizabeth followed.

"You appear remarkably confident about that."

"I grew up with you." Technically, he had grown up with someone else. The reminder was uncomfortable in a way Elizabeth preferred not to examine. They reached a small sitting room near the family apartments. Alexander opened the door, checked that it was empty and gestured for her to enter. The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

"You should know what Crownspire is actually like before Father fills your head with speeches about honour and duty." Elizabeth took one of the chairs near the window. Alexander sat opposite her and rested an arm across the back of his seat, abandoning the rigid posture expected in their father's study.

"First," he said, "don't tell anyone more about your System than you have to."

"I thought academy records were private."

"They are officially private. That doesn't stop students asking, teachers guessing or families paying for information. Class name and public skills are usually enough. Keep everything else to yourself." That aligned with her intentions.

"What about appraisals?"

"The entrance assessment confirms your declared class tier and name, but it won't display your full skills without consent. Some specialist courses require additional disclosure. Read every agreement before accepting it."

"Father said the academy would investigate my class."

"It will, if you allow it. Don't mistake an instructor's curiosity for an order." Elizabeth filed that away.

"Second," Alexander continued, "make friends outside our family's allies."

"Why?"

"Because Father will already expect you to speak with their children. Those relationships belong to House White before they belong to you. People he didn't choose are more likely to be useful when your interests differ from his." That was more cynical than she had expected from the heir.

"Does Father know you think this way?" Alexander smiled.

"What do you think?" He leaned forward.

"Third, don't challenge instructors in front of their classes unless you're certain you can prove they're wrong."

"What if they are wrong?"

"Ask questions until they realise it themselves. Teachers forgive curiosity more easily than humiliation." Elizabeth suspected that would require practice.

"And finally, avoid the eastern laboratory after midnight."

"Why?"

"The ventilation fails whenever the exterior temperature falls below freezing." She waited. Alexander's smile widened slightly.

"That is disappointing."

"What did you expect?"

"A forbidden experiment. A sealed creature. At minimum, a death."

"There was a death. Poor ventilation was the cause." Elizabeth reconsidered the warning.

"Then I'll avoid it."

"You're going to like Crownspire." His confidence appeared genuine.

"Did you?"

"Sometimes." Alexander looked towards the rain beyond the window.

"It was the first place where Father couldn't decide every hour of my day. Of course, the academy replaced him with dozens of rules of its own, but rules shared by several hundred students are easier to work around than the attention of one determined parent." That was the first time he had acknowledged their father's control so directly.

"Why did you help me?" Alexander looked back at her.

"Because he was going to hit you again."

"That explains interrupting him. Not Crownspire."

"You need somewhere equipped to develop the class you chose."

"A practical answer."

"You were expecting something sentimental?"

"I wasn't expecting anything." He was quiet for a moment.

"When I first left for the academy, you cried for an hour because you thought I wouldn't come back." Elizabeth had no memory of it. Alexander continued before she could respond.

"You were four, so I'm willing to overlook your lack of dignity. I brought you a clockwork bird when I returned." A faint image surfaced: silver wings moving between small hands, Alexander kneeling to wind a key in the bird's back. The memory disappeared almost immediately, leaving behind an emotion that did not feel entirely borrowed.

"I remember the bird," Elizabeth said.

"Good. You broke it within two days."

"I don't remember that."

"I suspected as much." He stood and moved towards the door.

"Study for the assessment. It isn't difficult, but Father will be intolerable if you perform poorly."

"How did you score?"

"Third in my year." Elizabeth raised an eyebrow. Alexander placed a hand against his chest.

"Your faith in me is touching."

"I was wondering who placed above you." His expression flattened.

"Princess Evelyn and a boy who could calculate artillery trajectories in his head."

"So you were first among ordinary applicants."

"That is how I prefer to remember it." He opened the door, then looked back towards her.

"You'll be fine there, Elizabeth." It was probably intended as reassurance. Elizabeth found herself believing him. The entrance assessment arrived four days later in three sealed volumes. The first tested mathematics, language, history and natural philosophy. The second examined magical theory, class development and mana safety. The final volume contained situational questions intended to evaluate judgement, social knowledge and compatibility with academy life.

Elizabeth completed the mathematics section in less than half the allotted time. The material extended beyond what an eleven-year-old on Earth would normally have studied, but it remained elementary compared with the mathematics required for physics and chemical engineering. Several questions used unfamiliar units, and the geometry section incorporated magical storage dimensions, yet the underlying operations were straightforward once she translated the terminology. Natural philosophy proved more interesting.

The kingdom's scholars possessed a developed understanding of anatomy, chemical reactions and mana-assisted manufacturing. Some explanations differed from those of her former world because magic altered the available evidence. Most appeared incomplete but were not obviously foolish. She resisted the temptation to write objections in the margins. The magical-theory section relied heavily on Elizabeth White's education.

She answered questions on elemental exposure, class formation and skill advancement by combining inherited memories with the lessons of the previous week. One question asked why children from noble families received high-tier classes more frequently. The expected answer cited bloodline, superior preparation and the System's recognition of inherited responsibility.

Elizabeth wrote that controlled upbringing, specialised training and sustained mana exposure increased the probability of relevant options, while wealth allowed noble families to reinforce desirable experiences from infancy. It was accurate. Whether the examiner would appreciate the phrasing remained uncertain. The situational section was the least scientific and therefore the most troublesome. A baron's son insults the dignity of your house during a formal dinner. What is the appropriate response?

Elizabeth considered poisoning him, arranging his social isolation or documenting the insult for later leverage. None appeared among the multiple-choice answers. She selected the option involving a polite correction followed by a private report to the senior family representative. Another question asked what she should do if a classmate revealed a dangerous skill without permission. Reporting them immediately seemed excessive, while ignoring it seemed wasteful.

She selected the answer that advised warning the student before approaching an instructor if the danger continued. She completed all three volumes before sunset. Two days later, the academy returned its decision. Elizabeth had placed first among that season's late applicants. Her mathematics and natural-philosophy scores were perfect. She lost three marks in noble conduct and one in magical history after misidentifying the reign in which the western academies had been consolidated. Alistair read the results twice.

"You should have achieved full marks in conduct." Elizabeth suspected that he was being unbearable on purpose, but she remained silent. Alexander sent a note from the capital consisting of a single sentence. Try not to become unbearable before you arrive. Elizabeth stored it in the same drawer as her crystal fragment. The next two weeks passed in preparations. Seamstresses altered academy uniforms in the colours of House White.

Servants packed books, formal clothing and enough personal items to suggest Elizabeth intended to establish a second household rather than occupy a student room. She quietly removed half of them. Mrs Harrow returned the discarded dresses when she discovered the attempt.

"You cannot arrive at Crownspire with three outfits."

"I'll be wearing one." Elizabeth eventually negotiated the number down to eight. Her father arranged accounts, introductions and letters to several instructors. Her mother provided a list of noble daughters Elizabeth was expected to befriend, along with a separate list of students she was advised to avoid. Elizabeth memorised both and packed neither. More useful were the academy guides Alexander sent from the capital.

They included maps, course lists, laboratory rules and a handwritten page naming several instructors. Professor Merrow: excellent with mana theory, vain about his publications. Doctor Vey: competent healer, dislikes nobles who assume competence is inherited. Instructor Hale: former soldier, notices lies but rarely cares unless they create danger. At the bottom, Alexander had added: The library's restricted section is easier to enter with permission than without it. I recommend trying permission first.

Elizabeth placed the notes inside her Research Log after confirming that the skill could preserve written information she had personally read. On the final evening, she stood in the centre of her bedroom while servants carried the last trunk downstairs. The room looked larger without the books and clothes accumulated across eleven years of Elizabeth White's life. Only the mana crystal fragment remained on the desk, wrapped in cloth and ready to be hidden among her personal effects.

In the morning, she would leave the estate. Crownspire offered laboratories, awakened students and hundreds of skills she had never observed. It also placed distance between her and a father who regarded her as property that had failed to develop according to specification. Elizabeth picked up the crystal and slipped it into her traveling case. For the first time since her execution, her immediate future contained more opportunity than confinement.