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Fragrantia nodded slightly in approval. Then she said, “Val, it is time to go, you can come here in the future. Flos will be here for you.”

The child gazed at the tree, he was very reluctant to leave. Hearing what his aunt said, the boy nodded. He closed his eyes and recalled the promise he made to Flos when he met her astral projection. His breathing calmed down, the slight tremble from sadness in his body vanished, and the boy stood up straight.

When he opened his eyes, there was a resolve in them. Fragrantia could sense that his aura has undergone a qualitative change. The two people turned around and they moved back to the carriage. Illusio had jumped back to Valerian’s shoulder.

The child also liked this little kitten. Valerian asked, ‘Your Excellency, you said that the soldiers cannot get close to that tree, you said that this area was protected. Why?’

Fragrantia looked at him and with a frown, she asked, “Child what mistake have you made?”

Valerian realized, she had asked him not to use the royal address when it was just two of them. He scratched the back of his head and thought calling someone aunt was not a big deal. He asked again, ‘Aunt, can you tell me, how is this area protected?’

The movements of hands made all the difference. Fragrantia smiled and said, “The tree line around the clearing is all magically enchanted by me. They are the guardians, if I am not going over, no one can get closer to the clearing.”

Valerian nodded and asked, ‘Then, how will I go visit her?’

.....

Fragrantia patted his head from the side and said, “I have modified the spell already. Do not worry.”

The child was surprised but recalling that she was an Arch-mage, his doubts were justified. He asked a question again, ‘Are you an Arch-mage?’

The empress nodded with her eyes flickering with pride, she said, “Do not tell anyone about this. My identity is known to your Uncle only. Even my children do not know.”

Valerian nodded, after all, an Arch-mage could completely turn the tables if a country was in trouble. They were the hidden cards held by the Emperors. He asked, ‘Why did you let me beat the second prince?’

Fragrantia smiled and said, “Who asked him to bully you? If he cannot keep his underlings in line, then how will he serve the people? I have found that in my absence he had begun to think of himself as the only honest and righteous person in the Empire and we all are tainted. So he needed a wake-up call.’

Valerian nodded and asked, ‘What if I told you that the first prince almost died at my hands?’

“Oh, that, I already know, Ignis narrated it all to me in great detail. I also like how you used the blunt side to hit Vertex, he actually thought that he was dead. This will make him stay grounded for a long time.”, said the empress.

Valerian nodded, the two had reached the carriage, and the soldiers were still guarding the sides. Fragrantia said, “Increase the speed of the convoy, and send a rider back, deliver a message to His Excellency, we will be spending the night at the academy.”

The guard captain nodded and immediately, a mounted rider was dispatched from the group. Valerian helped Fragrantia get on the carriage and followed in after her. The convoy began to move again, but it could be sensed that the speed was fast.

Valerian did not say much after they had come, but his gaze was locked on Fragrantia. After a few minutes, the lady asked, “Trying to find your mother in my visage?”

The boy subconsciously nodded, he was surprised, at how similar the face of the two people looked, only the eyes of the empress were different, but if you change the hair color to silver, she will look almost similar to Flos.

Earlier he never took notice of the face, he was concentrated on her eyes. He said, ‘I never noticed earlier, but you look very beautiful aunt.’

Fragrantia chuckled and said, “Thank you, my dear. Why else do you think your uncle did not dare to expand his harem?”

Valerian smiled at her remark. The royals usually had more than one companion, and watching this lady commenting in such a manner was funny. He realized that the calm and cold-looking Empress on the surface was still a thriller-seeking girl.

Fragrantia talked to him about a few things, and then she asked, “I should ask Azu, to show you around the city. There are a lot of things that you might like.”

Valerian shrugged his shoulders, the two did not chat much afterward. The convoy moved, and both sides of the roads were covered with green trees. The carriage was shaking a bit more than before and Valerian understood that they were now treading on a dirt road.

Looking outside the window, the sky had already become darker, Valerian cast a spell, ‘Luminare.’

Fragrantia smiled at him and said, “Do not worry, this carriage has Solaris Lapis in the ceiling, it will start glowing in a bit.”

This stone would only shine when the sun has set. The inside of the carriage lit up, but what attracted Valerian was a huge building that he saw from the window. He gave up the constraints and came closer to the window, with his nose pushing against the glass.

He was going bonkers over the fact that the huge place in front of him was floating in the void. He could not digest how this building was floating. He turned his gaze to Fragrantia, who said, “That is the secret of the Imperial Academy, even the emperor is not qualified to know. Let alone me.”

The boy turned his gaze back to the building, as the convoy grew closer the details of the building became profound. The building was a castle and Valerian could not see the complete layout.

Fragrantia said, “The outer buildings you see, they are the warrior academy. The warriors with exceptional skills are selected from all over the empire and then trained here. Some of them go on to become a pillar of strength of the empire, while some go wander around the world, however, wandering comes at a high risk of death.”

Valerian nodded and the empress continued, “The second layer of this castle is called the Mage towers. These towers are managed by the seven Arch-Mages of different attributes. Some of them have two elements, but only one of the elements is mastered to the levels of an Arch-mage. The academy has a lot of students, even some of the neighboring empires have also sent their children here to study because that is the standard of this institution.”

The convoy was not riding on a bridge, made specifically to connect this flying castle to the rest of the world. Valerian spotted a lot of people in armors, and Fragrantia said, “Joint forces of the empire and the academy guard this place. In the center stands the tallest building in this facility, the tower of Battlemage. They did not have any disciples in the pasted five years after Vertex. Also, remember one thing, not everyone inside the academy is a friend of Lumen Empire.”

The convoy was allowed to pass smoothly because the Empress had a special status. They approached the door and the guard opened it quickly. Valerian looked out of the windows with great fascination, he could even see training fields in a distance. The architecture was a clear sketch of simplicity. The path inside was made of cobblestones.

Fragrantia knocked on the ceiling and the carriage stopped. Valerian opened the door and helped Fragrantia climb down. She said to the guard captain, “Ensis, have the rest wait, only will follow me. Do not raise a ruckus in the academy.”

Ensis was a strong woman, wearing azure blue plated armor, and her face covered with a similar colored helmet, with only her dazzling sharp eyes exposed. She was not less than Quies when it came to skill and the surprising fact was that her age was at least two decades less than the old man.

Ensis nodded and relayed the instructions. Valerian stood beside the Empress looking around the place, the pathways were lit up with flame torches, yet some of the people in the distance could be seen using illumination spells.

After the guard detail was sent off, Fragrantia was about to make a move to the battlemage tower, when hearty laughter sounded behind her and the lady stopped.

Turning back she found an old man with a pot-belly was walking over to them, the old man bowed slightly and said, “What wind blew over you here today?”

Fragrantia bowed back, “Arch-mage Silvae, nice to see you again. What wind allowed you to get down from your high tower?”

She did not reply to him but asked why he came over. This was because she did not want everyone to know that Valerian was a battlemage. At least not yet. The man was wearing a green tunic and looked very happy. He said, “The work was finished early today, such a rare occurrence, how can I not enjoy the winds? What about you?”

Fragrantia nodded and said, “I have recovered from my ailment, so I decided to consult Old Sir Felis once.”

The man nodded and said, “Oh, pardon me for keeping you then, please go ahead.”

While they were talking, he could not help but look at Valerian. However, he did not find anything peculiar. Valerian spotted his gaze and bowed in return, he could tell that the person was not good, so to avoid conflict, he bowed to show timidity.

Fragrantia nodded and with a polite bow, she walked ahead, with Valerian and Ensis following her on the side. Valerian had encountered an obstacle as soon as he set foot inside the academy, and he was yet to face the elusive old man, panic was brewing in his heart.