Saved By The Mad Duke
Chapter 57: The First Snowflake

Chapter 57: The First Snowflake

Aideen widened her eyes in astonishment – she could genuinely feel it; the strange, round, and pointy outlines of complicated shapes that felt warm to her touch. It was a bizarre sensation that made her heart race like a galloping horse while her lungs refused to accept the air she breathed in.

Never, even in her wildest dreams, had the princess thought that she could "see" the writing with her skin, and the opportunity to do that was already nothing short of real magic.

Ahspid curled his lips into a barely visible smile and asked again,

"Seeing the look on your face and that wide smile, I assume you are happy with my little trick. So, are the shapes clear enough for you to understand them?"

The lady turned her face to the mage and nodded her head rather enthusiastically.

"They are! I can feel everything, even the tiniest detail of each rune! This is truly incredible, Ahspid! How did you do it?"

"This barely requires any magic, Your Highness. In fact, this is something I borrowed from alchemy––well, someone taught me this... Anyway, I wrote these runes using my mana which I then infused into each rune to make the writing palpable. The spell has the color of my mana, which is purple, and is warm to the touch. Blowing air on them ignited a simple texture exchange between my mana and the air in my lungs. Sounds easy, right?"

Though his explanation indeed didn’t sound that complicated, Aideen couldn’t help but feel her entire body shrink in confusion. Attentive to her expression, Ahspid released a tired sigh and shook his head, his long silver earrings jiggling like tiny chains as he added,

"Forget it for now. Today, your task is to simply memorize each rune in this spell and then... attempt to use your own mana to make the spell work."

"This still seems so difficult right now..."

The princess offered the man a somewhat intimidated and shy look, to which the latter only replied with another long exhale, moving Aideen’s fingers back to the first rune in that magic writing.

"The hardest thing is to start, Your Highness, and you are already halfway there. Now, trace the shape of the first rune with your finger, and let us resume the learning. In addition to simply memorizing the runes, you will also need to understand their meaning and the specific way of writing them to end up with a correct spell."

Aideen nodded and declared with utmost confidence,

"Yes, let’s do it, Ahspid!"

Despite Ahspid’s expectations of being disappointed with the princess’s ability to learn, he ended up pleasantly surprised – the lady was not lying when she declared that she was desperate in her pursuit of knowledge. She was attentive and curious, swallowing each of the mage’s explanations with such greed as if she had been starving for any kind of information her entire life.

Thus, in a surprisingly short period of time, Aideen was able to write her first magic spell using ink and paper.

"Very well, Your Highness. Your first simple spell. How do you feel about it?"

The princess moved her fingers over the warm surface of the mage’s writing on the desk, then touched the piece of paper she used for her own writing and stretched her lips into a happy smile.

"I cannot believe this, Ahspid... My first-ever writing... I really can write..."

Watching a thin veil of tears clouding the woman’s sparkling eyes, the magus stretched his hand out and stopped right above Aideen’s head. A strange feeling of satisfaction overwhelmed him for a moment, and he did not have another option but to admit that he was actually proud of her.

’Look at that smile; she does remind me of her, too much even. So fascinated about everything, even the tiniest thing, while she herself could have probably surpassed even someone like me. I am strangely lucky when it comes to having the most talented students under my wing...’

Resting his gloved hand on top of the princess’s head, he gently patted her a few times, then quickly removed it, cleared his throat with a growing sense of awkwardness, and continued,

"Well, yes. Well done, My Lady. From now on, this spell can easily materialize in your memory whenever you think of it without the need to write it, and this is how basic magic works. Now, however, comes the really hard part."

Ahspid took Aideen’s hand in his once again and opened her palm. Then, he snapped his fingers with a resounding sound, and a moment later, the princess arched her eyebrows and almost shouted,

"Snow?!"

Indeed, the mage’s small action caused a miniature snowfall – dozens of tiny snowflakes appeared out of nowhere, fell onto Aideen’s open palm, and disappeared the moment they touched her warm skin.

"That’s right, Your Highness. Since you love snow so much, I have decided that teaching you a spell that can create an illusion of falling snow would be the best choice for the first attempt. Right now, its degree is small, but you can expand it by infusing more mana into the spell, and once your powers are potent enough, you can even cover an entire city with snow this way."

"Incredible..."

The princess turned her palm over and felt the tiny snowflakes touch the back of her hand.

"And I can do this too?"

Ahspid nodded.

"Yes, but first, you need to focus really hard and force your suppressed mana to finally start flowing through your body. You haven’t used it in twenty-two years; therefore, do not feel discouraged if it takes time to work."

With a confident, resolute nod, Aideen placed her still-open palm on top of the wooden desk and closed her eyes, focusing all her attention on her own sensations. The mage continued his instructions,

"The only thing you are allowed to think about right now is the spell you have just learned. Imagine it, imagine each and every rune in a proper order, and trace them with your mind in the correct direction. Once the writing adds up to that spell, it will start attracting your mana on its own, and that is where you have to really pay attention, Your Highness."

The princess listened to Ahspid’s instructions as if she were enchanted; his low, calm voice slowly seeped into her consciousness, and it seemed that it was guiding her through every step of that peculiar experience.

"You will feel it and recognize it right away, My Lady. Once your mana starts moving, awakened by the spell, you will feel a slight change deep inside your body, as if something asks you to set it free. Do not be afraid and simply let it. Allow your body to feel and experience every change; embrace it, become one with it."

Initially, Aideen felt somewhat empty. Though she could now clearly imagine the runic spell and even repeat it correctly in her mind, nothing was happening.

There was no change at all.

’Could something be wrong? Was Ahspid mistaken, and do I actually not possess any mana? I feel too anxious and even scared. What if I end up disappointing everyone because I can’t use magic? No, it can’t be. He said my mana is sleeping, so it needs time to resonate with the spell. I need to try harder. I will awaken it no matter what.’

"Your negative thoughts are written all over your face, My Lady. Focus; you are not allowed to think about anything else, let alone have any doubts about your abilities. Keep trying. Welcome every single new feeling."

Aideen closed her eyes even tighter, mentally disposing of every single thought that wanted to nestle in her busy mind.

She could not tell how much time she spent sitting there, completely devoid of any thought or sensation that had nothing to do with her mana and the magic spell. The reading room seemed to be frozen in time while the lady felt like she was drowning in the silence surrounding her. She continued to mentally trace the bizarre shapes of the runic spell, again and again, knowing nothing else.

Suddenly, the princess felt a subtle, almost unnoticeable cold sensation spreading slowly, almost unbearably so, from deep inside her body, moving up to her shoulders, then dividing and flowing through both of her arms.

The sensation of cold began to intensify, and although at first, Aideen felt as if it were coursing harshly through each of her vessels, freezing her blood, she quickly let go of that unsettling feeling and simply allowed herself to observe it inwardly, just as instructed by Ahspid.

And then, everything reverted to the way it was before, as if nothing had ever happened.

Scared that she had failed, the princess opened her eyes wide, overwhelmed with frustration. She parted her lips, prepared to speak, when something small, no bigger than a round glass bead that Bella liked to use to decorate her knitted things, fell slowly onto her open palm, leaving a brief sensation of melted snow.

"What––what was that?"

Aideen widened her eyes at Ahspid, who released a soft scoff and patted her on the head once more.

"Well done, Your Highness. That was your first snowflake."