The Moment I enter, I keep my head low and curtsy.

  “Thank you, my lord, for granting me this audience.”

  “You may rise and drop the Courtesy. I don’t like it.”

  So, this is why the man guarding Lord Yuwen’s office wasn’t used to being called Ser.

  I, of course, am more than happy to drop some unwanted politeness. I get enough of those for my taste in Otto’s lessons. Even Janus doesn’t care about court etiquette. And speaking of the devil, only now do I notice Janus sitting in front of a coffee table on a big couch, mirroring his father. I try my best not to be surprised and perform another small curtsy towards Janus. Not that I do this whenever we meet, I just didn’t want to leave him out. Janus in kind replied with a small nod.

  Lord Yuwen watched our antics without a single emotion on his face. But in his deep blue eyes, I saw amusement but also wariness.

  “So, what is this audience about, Miss Ruby?”

  Still standing, I reply, “It is about Benjamin, my Lord. May I sit down? This might take a while.”

  Again, the man’s face was emotionless, but his eyes conveyed surprise and interest. It seems he thought I would ask for something else.

  “You May.”

  I sit down right next to Janus, who seems to be a bit uncomfortable under his father’s gaze, but I try to ignore it.

  “Thank you, my Lord,”

  “Now, could you eborate on what you want to discuss?”

  “Of course, my Lord. To be frank, Benjamin is the most talented mage I have ever seen or heard of. And I’m sure no one in this world has more talent.”

  Wilhelm’s Side:

  Now this is the Woman my son keeps talking about. I must admit, she is the second most beautiful Woman I’ve ever seen. But Janus has never before cared about appearances, so there must be something else. I can’t even count how many splendid young Noble Ladies Janus has ignored over the years.

  And now look at how he behaves around her. It’s like she is the first Woman he has ever seen. With her short stature and thin arms, she looks harmless. But for some reason, I can’t expin, she feels more dangerous than any Monster I have ever faced before. But before I can further dwell on this discomfort, her next words rip me out of my thoughts.

  “Of course, my Lord. To be frank, Benjamin is the most talented mage I have ever seen or heard of. And I’m sure no one in this world has more talent.”

  Knowing full well that the boy could barely heal a bee’s sting, I wanted to ugh. But something in her eyes kept me silent, unlike my son, who couldn’t keep his ughter in.

  “Did you really come in for an audience to tell my father jokes? Ruby, this is too much even for you.”

  The Little Woman shot a deathly gre towards Janus, who instinctively shrank back.

  “Hey! What do you mean by “too much even for me”? I wouldn’t joke in front of His Lordship.”

  Does that mean she has no qualms about joking around with Janus? It seems she at least sees him as a friend.

  “S-sorry”

  “It’s Ok, even for me, it was hard to accept. Now, for how I came to this conclusion. I was trying to teach Benjamin how to form a magic stone inside his body and increase his Mana capacity, when...”

  I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. Was she trying to create a monster? Both Janus and I almost jumped on the table.

  ““What!?””

  “Sigh, it is not dangerous. Dwarves, elves, dragons, and a few other races are born with Magic stones in their bodies to cast Magic. I have one too.”

  Both of us breathed a sigh of relief. I was ready to cut her down if she was starting to turn people into monsters.

  “What does that have to do with Benjamin, though?” Janus asked a bit out of breath.

  “Well normally forming a magic stone takes years. I personally have the worst talent for Magic imaginable. It took me fifteen years of constant training to form mine.”

  Janus and I looked at each other. There is no way that is true. Already, she can regrow limbs, which is on par with the Pope. What would you even be able to do with more talent, resurrecting the dead? Yeah, no way.

  So, I ask, “How long did Benjamin take?”

  “Well, most people would need four to five years at most. Benjamin formed his Magic stone six hours after I taught him how to do it.

  I do my best not to look surprised, but Janus just stared sck-jawed at Ruby. He stammered

  “S-six Hours?”

  “Yes, and that is not even the full extent of it.”

  ““It’s not?””

  “No, now he has even more Mana than I do, and it keeps increasing. If I had to put it in numbers, he has about 25% more Mana than I do. So, with the right teaching, he will be the most Powerful healing mage in this world. Even Dragons might not be able to touch him.”

  Not even a dragon? The ultimate apocalypse, the destroyers of empires? I didn’t want to believe it, but for some reason, I did

  But before she continued, I must confirm, “Does he know this?”

  “Of course not. He still believes that I’m more talented than he is and that he just has a small head start. If I told him, I fear he would become arrogant and sg off, never reaching his true potential.”

  Good, I wouldn’t want an information breach about potentially toppling the dragons. They don’t take too kindly towards potential threats. But Janus didn’t seem to share my caution.

  “I mean, all this is Good news, isn’t it?”

  “Except for my hurt pride, it is extremely good news.”

  “But didn’t you come here for an audience for a proposal? What’s that about?”

  “Oh, right, I almost forgot. My Lord, with your approval, I would like to open a magic school. In exchange for my freedom, in case I’m still considered a prisoner, and a sary.”