Saved By The Mad Duke
Chapter 54: The Runaway Magus

Chapter 54: The Runaway Magus

"The same eyes as mine? What does––"

Aideen sought more clarification, but she was unable to finish her question as the door to the reading room swung open, ushering in familiar heavy footsteps.

"What brings you here, Your Grace? As you can see, we are in the middle of our first lesson, just as you requested."

Ahspid leaned back in his chair, arms crossed, and offered the Duke a wide, arrogant smile. Tillian chose to disregard the mage’s whimsical behavior and strode toward Aideen, who had risen to her feet the moment she heard the magus addressing His Grace.

"Your Grace, why are you back from your patrol? Did something happen? Is it this late already?!"

Releasing a soft chuckle in response to the princess’s adorable shocked expression, Tillian gently placed his big, gloved hands on top of her shoulders and replied,

"No, Your Highness, it is only early evening right now; the sun has just set. However, I did not expect your lesson to start so late in the day."

He shot a disapproving glare at Ahspid, who only shrugged his shoulders and stretched his lips into another wide grin.

"It’s not like we have a schedule, Your Grace. We study when inspiration strikes, am I right, My Lady?"

The mage fixed his purple eyes on Aideen, who couldn’t help but furrow her eyebrows, unsure whether his antics were truly acceptable in the presence of the lord of the castle.

Dismissing Ahspid’s ridiculous remarks, the Duke gestured for Safie to enter the reading room, bringing with her a long fur coat carefully hanging over her left arm. Once the maid stood before the princess, he took the coat from her hands and continued,

"Regardless of your time spent here, I’ve come to invite you for a little stroll outside, Your Highness."

The princess couldn’t help but widen her eyes in excitement.

"Really? Right now?"

The Duke nodded and gently tapped the lady on her shoulders.

"I’ve left the Raven Knights to finish surveying the area without me; Sir Stanis is leading them today. The wind has subsided, and there’s a light snowfall at the moment. Knowing your fondness for snow, Your Highness, I thought I’d take you for a refreshing walk around the castle."

"Yes, of course, I would love to!"

Aideen could no longer contain her excitement. With a tiny jump, she clapped her hands, displaying her adorable, child-like enthusiasm that brought a happy smile to the Duke’s face.

He assisted the princess in putting on the coat, buttoning it all the way up to her chin, and covering her head with the wide, warm hood. The lady patiently accepted this over-the-top expression of care, her mind focused on the approaching stroll in the magical snowfall.

Tillian then nodded at the grinning Ahspid, who watched them with a somewhat dreamy expression on his handsome face, and concluded,

"Let’s continue the lesson tomorrow. And please, stop with the antics. I’ve heard from the maids that you keep scaring them with flying bedsheets. If I receive any more complaints, I might have to relocate you to the basement, guarded by your favorite Dobermans."

"Tsk!"

The mage clicked his tongue, then snapped his fingers, instantly summoning a thick red book from one of the bookshelves in the reading room. It materialized into his hands, and he opened it to the page marked with a long leather bookmark.

"I will be reading, alright? Now, go already, both of you, or you’ll miss your precious snowfall."

"Ugh, what a rude tongue! I can practically see black venom dripping from it every time he opens his mouth!"

Saife shook her head and stepped aside to make way for Tillian and Aideen when Ahspid snapped his fingers again, causing her white apron to flip up and cover her head. This unexpected gesture evoked a sudden frightened shout from her mouth.

"Ahspid!"

The Duke was already prepared to lunge at the magus, but the latter snapped his fingers one last time and disappeared, taking the red book with him.

"Goodness, a demon spawn, no less!"

Safie fixed her apron, offered the couple a brief, somewhat awkward bow, and dashed out of the room first. The princess released a long sigh and nodded,

"I have never met a person this arrogant before. Safie is right; sometimes it feels as if he borrowed his tongue from the devil himself."

The Duke took Aideen’s hand in his and started walking, agreeing,

"I am not happy about this arrangement myself, but one must admit that he is known as the most talented and knowledgeable magus in Geraldion. Therefore, his presence here is simply out of necessity."

"The most talented and knowledgeable? How come I have never heard about him before? Due to Prince Valon’s great interest in alchemy, his quarters were always flooded with magicians and alchemists, but Ahspid’s name was never mentioned."

The princess arched her thin eyebrows, turning her face to Tillian. The man allowed himself a few seconds to mull over his response and finally said,

"Ahspid is a runaway mage."

"I beg your pardon? Is he a criminal?"

Aideen stopped, which made the Duke pause as well. Sliding his thumb over the back of the lady’s hand, he shook his head and explained,

"I am not really sure what he is, to tell you the truth, Your Highness. Despite being an assigned Royal Magus, he left the Capital before the rebellion, and nobody has ever seen him ever since. I managed to find him by mere accident here. Apparently, he spent the last twenty-six years hiding in The North."

Tillian’s answer still failed to soothe the princess’s curiosity. Today was filled with questions, the answers to which only seemed to bring even more mystery into anything connected to Ahspid.

Continuing on their way towards the exit, Aideen decided to try again,

"So, is he such a skilled magus that not even the Holy Church was able to locate him through all these years?"

"That’s correct. He changes his appearance quite often and never uses his true powers unless absolutely necessary, which makes him practically invisible to the rest of the mages. Additionally, as you know, nobody really ventures to The North, making it the perfect hiding place."

"I guess it is true..."

The woman fell silent once more, contemplating the unexpected encounter with someone both powerful and mysterious.

"But why did he run away? Was it because he used to serve your family? Yet, isn’t that true for any other mage in the Kingdom? And how did you manage to find him if he was so adept at concealing his identity?"

Tillian couldn’t help but laugh again.

"So many questions at once, Your Highness! Not a single detail escapes your curious mind!"

Aideen lowered her head and playfully pouted.

"Lord Ahspid said the same thing about me before as well. Is it that bad to be this curious? I simply want to know more about the people I am now involved with..."

’The people you are involved with...’

Duke Valentine repeated these words silently, feeling slightly hurt by the cold and distant implication they carried. Still, he had to admit that the princess’s words, though dry, were not devoid of reason. If he wanted her to trust him wholeheartedly and not be afraid of her surroundings, he had to be completely honest with her.

For now, however, on demand.

"Let’s see..."

Tillian released a long humming sound, clearly meant to tease the princess’s soaring impatience to hear the answers. He then smiled and finally began,

"Like I said, I found him by accident. Well, it is true that I was actually looking for him for quite some time, but locating him was nothing but mere luck."

"What do you mean?"

"I found him thanks to my mother. I discovered a piece of paper in one of her gowns that explained how to locate a certain mage in case her son, me, needed him."

Aideen widened her eyes in astonishment.

"So he was in touch with your late mother?"

The Duke nodded.¹

"I am certain that he did, but even Stanis, who stayed with my mother during her last years here, cannot explain how it was possible, as not a single man has ever come to the castle while she was living here."

"How bizarre..."

"What was truly bizarre," Tillian continued, "was that when I came to see him, he recognized me right away, looked me straight in the eyes, and said that I did not need him. Not yet. What did he mean by that? With his awful personality, I might never be able to find out."

"Perhaps he simply wanted you to leave..."

The princess tilted her head to the right, trying to think of any other possible reason for such a response, but none came to mind. After all, Ahspid was a very strange man, and most of the time, his words had no real meaning behind them.

Or did he simply want everyone to believe they did not?

"Then what about his escape from the Capital?"

Aideen was still waiting for more.

"Well, the reason for his escape was undoubtedly connected to the rebellion. However, I am convinced there was more to it than a simple cowardly action. If he wanted to hide from the Ruans, he should have left the Kingdom a long time ago and settled somewhere far. But he stayed, and in The North, for that matter."

Suddenly, Tillian stopped. Completely silent, he hesitated for a few moments, his face turning darker with each passing second. Then, he released a long sigh and said, somewhat coldly,

"No, I guess I cannot be dishonest with you, Your Highness. Ahspid stayed in The North because he was waiting for you... He was waiting for the eyes of the dragon."