4:

  Lucan Velmoria was absolutely terrible at spending money, even by commoner standards. His housing was taken care of by the Velmoria Estate, his food was already paid for and Lucan had never been one for going out. His wardrobe was never lacking for choices, which he was pretty sure was the work of the Duchess, ironically enough— she wanted nothing more than him meeting an untimely death, but she could not have him besmirch the House by dressing in anything but the finest of cloth.

  Today, he had opted to dress into a midnight blue doublet that was coupled with trousers stitched out of the same Moonweaver Moth Silk, the rare mana beast having been hunted down to near extinction due to the sheer softness and comfort the treated fabric offered, while remaining remarkably flexible and resistant to staining. There was nothing overtly magical about the dress, otherwise the Duchess would not allowed it to come into his possession, but Lucan was certain he could pawn it off for more than a few mana stones if he wanted to. Hypnotic whorls were stitched into his collar and cuffs with black thread, most likely by hand and painstakingly at that, adding to the air of refinement the outfit was designed to project.

  A short cape, hued as black as a starless night, was cast over his shoulder, fastened by a silver clasp that bore the crest of House Velmoria— an icy-blue petal flowed with a green stem drawn with a gray brick wall serving as the canvas. HIs boots were the same ones he always wore, fashioned from a soft leather whose exact specifications Lucan had not bothered to remember.

  Whether he wanted to or not, Lucan’s outfit would draw eyes and once Lingdon’s people caught sight of his face, they would spark a wildfire of rumors. That would happen no matter what he did, so Lucan wasn’t too concerned about any fallout. A bastard inheriting the position of heir apparent of the most powerful house in the North because all the other eligible candidates died and that too under mysterious circumstances that were never clarified—- what other situation could be more rife for rumours to spread.

  It was time to spend the money he had been sitting on for most of his life, even if it was mostly limited to coin. His allowance had increased tremendously since inadvertently finding himself in the position of Heir Apparent, but of course the Duchess had found a way to influence even that. Few would side with a bastard son whose status could be taken away at any moment over the Duchess of the North and only a fraction of a fraction of the Mana Stones earmarked for his training ever reached him.

  Still, the administrators in charge of the distribution had left themselves a way out in case the Duke ever found out and had made sure to compensate him for every Mana Stone they had withheld, at twice their market value in Imperial Gold Coins. Now that Lucan had the perspective granted to him by a man that had stood at the pinnacle of the Kingdom in terms of strength, he saw the intentions behind the Duchess’ actions with much greater clarity.

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  The Duchess’ intentions were never to keep him away from buying Mana Stones or learning magic. He could purchase Mana Stones if he wished, though doing so in bulk would undoubtedly catch the ire and interference of the Duchess while they were in Velmoria Territory. No, her true intentions from the very start were to drive him into despair, as ruthlessly as she could without having to ever get her hands dirty. Making him give up was a lot easier and cleaner of an outcome for her than trying to make a move against him.

  Aggravating her now would only make things harder for Lucan, so he would withhold himself from purchasing Mana Stones right now—- he had waited a lifetime, so a few more days wouldn’t kill him. And besides, Imperial Gold Coins wouldn’t give him access to the level of resources he truly wanted. One could buy much with Gold, from a county’s worth of supplies to as many lavish luxuries as the heart desired, but when it came to the world of Aura Knights and Mages, the hierarchy of currency changed. Lucan could spend his entire wealth in Gold and still fail to acquire even a single Second-Circle Attuned Magic Spell for one of the common Mana Types and he wouldn’t be surprised. After all, monopoly over Magic was what truly allowed the Nobles to maintain their hegemony over the commoners, even if most people were never capable of progressing beyond the First-Circle Apprentice Rank.

  Generalist Spells had been allowed to circulate freely without interference from the Imperial Family, at least up until the Third-Circle Adept Rank, to allow the citizens to make their lives easier through the use of magic if they were capable of it, but the true power that Mana Type Attuned Magic Spells possessed was guarded closely by the Nobles of Nostura and any trace of their spells leaking out into the world was met by the most ultimate of all consequences— Death.

  That said, Noble Families were not an allied front and each of them had their own ambitions and goals and trampling over the commoners ambition would offer them little in gains when they could use that ambition for their own use. If the commoners wanted the secret of the Nobles, they could have it in exchange for their lifelong fealty. The most common method to ensure long-term cooperation was usually to make sure that the qualifying mage’s family resided in the heart of the Noble Family’s territory and no doubt watched for the rest of their life. Nothing would happen as long as the sanctity of their secrets were intact, but in case the prized spells of a Noble Family leaked out, a price would be paid in blood.

  House Velmoria, as the Guardian of the North, used a different, far more elaborate method that was also incredibly efficient when it came to preserving their secrets— the Contract Magic Spells of an Esoteric Mana Type Affinity, Empathy Affinity. The House had a few Empathy Mages under employment, though their faces, let alone their rank, was largely unknown to Lucan.

  No, instead of purchasing Mana Stones, Lucan would purchase something far more interesting. No doubt the Duchess would catch wind of it, but that was fine. She wouldn’t be able to make sense of his purchases anyway.

  Maybe she’ll think I’ve finally lost it. Well, whatever. As long as it works in my favor, who cares?