Mr. Enzo wants to see me

The next morning, I wake up late. It is quite unusual for me, but I also usually don’t stay up so late studying. I get a quick bath and then go back to reading the book I stole for Mr. Enzo. I am able to get a good hour or two of studying before mom calls me.

When I get downstairs, I see one of Mr. Enzo’s maids is here. Oh no. Did they find out I stole the book? It is still on my table. I forgot to hide it before coming down.

“Good morning, Miss Amelia.” The maid says. “I am sorry for bothering you, but Mr. Enzo requests your presence. The wound he has incurred last evening is in need of healing and Mr. Enzo believes your healing magic can be of help.”

Oh, thank god. It is just for that.

“A-alright. N-no problem. I-I’ll come with you.” I stutter.

Even though I am just going to heal him, I still feel nervous. How can I face a man I have stolen a Zrephian artifact from?

On my way there, I see Darx. He is training with his mom. Good for him. He will improve a lot under her guidance. But Mia is with them also. I … really wish I could be in Mia’s place. But Darx has already made his decision.

I continue following the maid all the way to the mansion and to Mr. Enzo. Once I am with him, I take off his bandages and take a look at the wound. It looks like it is infected, so I ask the maids for a bowl of water and some cloth. After cleaning the wound, I use my magic to make the wound close up. It is a pretty deep cut so I have to use my healing spell over and over. By the time I am too exhausted to cast another heal, Mr. Enzo only has a shallow cut left.

“Amazing.” Mr. Enzo says as he is checking out his wound. “You have really improved a lot, Amelia.”

“I have, Mr. Enzo. Thank you.”

“No need to thank me. I am just happy my books were able to be of so much use.” Mr. Enzo continues. “Did you know I once tried becoming a mage?”

I take come clean bandages and put them around Mr. Enzo’s wound. “No, I didn’t.”

“It all started when I was very young. Younger than you, in fact. I still lived in the capital back then and there was this tournament. Adventurers from all over were showing off their skills. It was amazing.”

“I think I heard Ilene talk about a tournament like that.” I say. “It’s where they put adventurers of each class against their peers. E versus E, D versus D. And at the end, each rank of adventurers has one winner who wins first place in their rank, right?”

“Exactly. Though usually they skip the S class because there are rarely enough of them who have an interest in competing. But that tournament was different. Both Syliana, the elven archer, and Aelbrecht, the lich mage, competed against one another.”

S ranked adventurers are famous throughout the land, so I have heard of both of them.

Syliana is an elven woman from the neighbouring kingdom of the elves. An archer, similar to Jax, except 3 ranks higher. She is known for being fast on her feet, acrobatic in her movements and has the ability to infuse her arrows with magical properties, like ice or fire.

Aelbrecht is an undead mage. Nobody knows how old he really is, but he possesses powerful magic, including spells that have been forgotten by all except for him.

“Seeing those two duel must have been quite a sight.” I say.

“Indeed, it was. It is then when I became fascinated with magic.” Mr. Enzo continues explaining. “I asked my dad to buy me as many books on magic as he could and I would spend so much time reading them. But no matter how much I tried casting spells, I never succeeded. Apparently, all I had was a fascination for magic, not the ability to use it. Though I never lost my interest and even today, I still feel like learning more about it.”

Wow, I never knew this about Mr. Enzo. It does explain why he has so many magical books in his library.

“When Kase suggested me to let you study from my books, I was a bit apprehensive at first. I mean, many of these books are quite expensive. But then I figured how much more useful these books would be to someone like you who can actually use magic, as opposed to someone like me.”

Mr. Enzo then looks at his bandaged arms and says, “Now that I see the results, I know I made the right decision.”

The happiness in his face then gets replaced with sadness and says, “Amelia, why did you stop coming over for studying? If you had continued, you might have healed the wound completely.”

Oh, no. He’s bringing up Kase. What do I say?

“I-I’m sorry, M-mr. Enzo. K-kase and I just h-had a falling out.” I answer nervously.

“Kase doesn’t need to be with you, you know.” Mr. Enzo then says. “As long as my books don’t leave the mansion, everything is fine. You can easily be in my library by yourself if you like. Didn’t he tell you?”

By myself? Wait, so he doesn’t demand Kase to chaperone me when I’m reading his books? But, Kase said Mr. Enzo demanded him to supervise me. You mean that’s not true?

“I-I’m sorry, Mr. Enzo. B-but I’m busy w-with some t-things at h-home. M-maybe another t-time.” I stutter.

“Alright, then.” Mr. Enzo says. “Just know that when you feel like continuing your studies here, you are free to come back here any time you like.”

I then thanked Mr. Enzo and returned home. On my way back I keep thinking back on what Kase told me.

“I also have to be present at all times.”

But Mr. Enzo just said Kase doesn’t need to be with me at all. Did Kase lie to me?

By the time I am out of the village and on my way home, I have come to a conclusion. Yes, Kase has lied to me. There was no need for him to be present when I read those books, but he pretended anyways. Then he made me feel guilty for making him waste his time with me and used that guilt to make me do ‘favors’ for him. And I … fell for it.

I bring my hands to my head and curse at myself. Amelia, you are such a dumb cow! There was never a need to do anything for Kase. But you were so naïve you fell for his lies and then you ended up stealing from a kind old man. Gods damn you, Kase! I hope you burn in hell!

Wait, did I really just wish someone to hell? Yes, yes I did. If Kase just did as his father told him. If he let me study without demanding any favors. Then I would not have anything to lie to Darx about. Then Darx would never have turned away from me. We would still be friends. Maybe he would have fallen in love with me instead of Mia. It is all Kase’s fault! He has ruined my life!! I hate him!!!

But most of all, I hate myself. Because I LET him ruin my life.