My Disfigured Duke Husband Helps Me Plot My Revenge
Chapter 41: Reunion

Chapter 41: Reunion

Most daughters of noblemen would have trouble being forced to get ready by themselves. However, Leonor lost her father’s favor for years by then, so she could function perfectly fine without a maid.

Retrieving water and bathing herself was simple, oiling her naturally wavy hair and braiding it half up was her standard hairstyle so she didn’t have to fuss, and getting dressed without someone else tying up the dress for her was a piece of cake. All it took was the willingness to lift her finger.

Many noble women couldn’t do anything for themselves simply because they didn’t want to and Leonor fully believed that truth. They had men taking care of them and didn’t need aspirations.

At times she was envious, but she didn’t think she would be at the Academy if it weren’t for her tenacity to take the reins of her own life. The Prince kickstarted her attendance and she would do what she could to prove herself capable.

After putting on the dark grey robes, Leonor looked down at herself with a small smile. It felt like the first day of freedom. No one knew who she was; all she needed to do to prove herself was gain control of her mana.

Considering she was always at the top of her studies, it would be hard to accept that she wouldn’t be good at everything immediately. There were mages as old as her who had studied magic for longer. Quinn was only two years her senior and he had been in school for nearly four years.

Her only anxiety was making sure she didn’t drag him down.

Most of her classes would be without him but she had practical labs later in the week where she would be able to reunite with Quinn again.

For the time being, Leonor put her head down and listened. She took notes diligently and determinedly.

After exhausting herself on the first day, she found they would work on finding their familiars the second day. Until they managed their mana better, they couldn’t take the placement test to determine their mana category.

For sake of ease, she hoped she would be an offensive user like Quinn. He would be most useful in teaching her how to attack. However, being a healer like her mother didn’t sound bad either. Healing types of mages were valuable to the war raging on in the north. If someone was found to be an adept healer, they might be drafted as a soldier to join in on the battle.

However, she knew deep down she didn’t belong in a battlefield environment. The wishful thinking of a star-crossed meeting with Valerio was heavy in her thoughts.

She often sighed at herself for getting distracted. She would have to make herself useful to Valerio in other ways. The most important thing was proving herself capable so her father may be easier on her. Getting into the Academy was difficult. Mages were valuable for any family to have.

For Leonor, things got interesting on the day the first year students were able to start calling upon their familiars.

It was just as the Prince had said. Many hadn’t ever seen them before. Many students talked amongst each other, daydreaming about what their familiar might present itself as. Someone joked a fish and another joked a monster.

Leonor simply hoped that Eve was still willing to follow her after all the years of neglect and not realizing who she was.

All the students sat on the floor in a somewhat dark room. Luckily, Leonor had learned quickly that wearing riding clothes to certain classes was the only way to give her all in participation.

For a few days, they had been learning to listen to their mana and what it felt like inside of them.

To Leonor, mana felt like warm water inside of her. Before, she had only felt it outside of her hands but if she focused, she could move the mana from her core to wherever she needed it.

It caused Quinn to suspect specifically which type of mage she was, but he didn’t want to say anything so she wouldn’t focus on his words when she finally tested for her category.

During the test of finding their familiars, the students were to shut their eyes and feel for their mana. They were supposed to try and reduce the flow of their mana so that they would use less of it.

It was strange to push it inward instead of outward. Leonor had only recently learned to hold it back so she wasn’t tired so often. Once again, she had to relearn something she thought she had a decent grasp on, but it wasn’t the first time she had to do that.

As she tried to focus, Leonor took a deep breath to calm her racing thoughts.

The moment she relaxed, she felt purring against her stomach and her focus was immediately broken.

Her blue eyes opened and she looked down to see a beautiful, fluffy black cat on her lap. The cat’s blue eyes matched hers and her eyes began to water.

"Eve," she whispered practically silently.

The last time she saw the creature was just before her mother died then never again. It felt like she, once again, had someone in the world who understood her even if it was a creation of her own mana.

However, something unexpected happened.

As Eve’s eyes stared intently at Leonor’s, she started to have a memory pushed into her mind as if it was one of her own.

In her mind, she saw Valerio lift the cat to eye level and stare in shock. He placed the cat down on her bed and left the room. The last thing seen was his charming smile as the cat settled against her neck and fell asleep.

It was enough to push the tears that had been gathering out of her eyes.

Before she could fall into the feeling, one of the professors walked over and put a hand on her shoulder. When they had her attention, they helped her to her feet.

"My lady," the mage professor whispered. "You are the first."