The Divorced Duchess

Chapter 12: TRAINING AND TENSIONS

THALIA followed the direction of the carriage until it disappeared. After two days of staying at the mansion, Senior Qurique and Esmeralda returned to the countryside, while Alice stayed one more day before going back to the dormitory. As Duke Noxton didn’t have the time to send off his parents because he was deployed in the second district for inspection. Remembering what happened yesterday, Thalia took time to unwind and reflect on her surroundings. In addition to that, she met Lady Iris.

“Where is Alice?” She asked Simone.

“The young lady is in her room.” Thalia dismissed Simone and the other guards and went on her way. On the way to the Prime manor, she encountered an unexpected woman. Right, she had forgotten the woman’s existence. Though she didn’t pay attention to her presence, the woman unmannerly shouted Thalia’s name. She even approached Thalia with a bright smile.

“Thalia! Klarine is so happy to see you here!” Selia blocked the woman, but Thalia halted and wore a poker face. “Did your visitor leave? What a pity. If Klarine had the chance to see them, Klarine would be glad. When are they going to visit again?”

“If you want to enter an elite society, you should fix your manners. Refrain from calling higher nobles informally, and anyone would misinterpret your disrespectful behavior towards the Chauverthier.” Thalia’s remarks abruptly made Klarine embarrassed, apparently shamed, and speechless. Klarine’s servant interceded on her behalf, begging the Duchess to forgive her master.

“Forgive My Lady’s impertinence, Your Grace. She is still lacking in manners, please understand.” Then Thalia’s expression grew bland again, and she passed them without imparting a word. At the same time, Klarine’s head hung low as she hid her countenance.

****

“My Lady, are you alright?” Klarine’s maid asked anxiously.

“Klarine is perfectly fine. Let’s continue our walk.” They resumed wandering until they reached the huge fountain. She played with the water in her hand. “It’s so cold and beautiful.”

“Who are you?”

Klarine paused, turned around, and saw a young lady wearing a uniform standing before her. The maid slightly bowed her head; thus, Klarine realized she was not an ordinary person. She must be the guest of the Duchess. She thought. “Pleasant to meet you, and Klarine is staying in the annex manor.”

“Sister Thalia’s guest?” Klarine knew it; the lady was the Duchess's sibling.

That information brought a grin to her face.

“No, Klarine is the Duke’s special guest.”

The lady gave a surprising look. “Brother Noxton hasn’t mentioned you to us. Are you sure you’re his guest? Not a thief or rogue?”

Klarine felt displeased, hearing the lady’s indirect accusation of her. “Klarine will never do that! How could you say that to the Duke’s lover?! When you are merely a freeloader here, even though you are the Duchess’s sister.”

Suddenly, a cold and hard slap stung Klarine’s cheek, and she gasped. She scrunched up her face with anger. “Elena, did you see it? She slapped Klarine’s face. If the Duke finds out this happened, tell him the truth so that the lady will be thrown out of the mansion.”

“My Lady, I cannot do that.”

“Why? Aren’t you Klarine’s servant? Then perform your task.” Her maid was tense as the young lady's eyebrows raised. “No, My Lady, I cannot report young master Alice to her brother, the Duke.” That very shocking revelation stunned her.

“How could you raise your voice to the noble lady, the relative of the Duke? I was wondering how my brother brought an unrefined woman compared to the Duchess. Next time, if I were you, I would use my head first.” With that, Alice turned her back, leaving Klarine stupefied by ignorance.

****

Thalia changed her dress into casual clothes. After thinking a thousand times whether to refuse the prophecy or follow the will of Goddess Enah, in the end, she made up her mind to be the vessel of Goddess Enah.

“Your Grace, I’m so amazed to see your cool side.”

Thalia gave a half smile. “Enough with your compliment, and tell the coachman to prepare an ordinary carriage.”

“May I ask where we are going?”

“You will find out later.” Selia complied with her order. Several minutes passed, and Selia informed her about the carriage. It was indeed an old carriage, properly for disguising passengers. They sat in the carriage and rode out from the Duchy to their destination. It only took half an hour when they reached the tower of Mage because they had passed through the forest instead of the central downtown. On the threshold, Thalia saw Aiden with flasks and vials.

“Little Aiden, can you guide me to Kayne?”

Aiden managed a slight bob of his head, “Please follow me, your grace.”

She asked Selia to wait for her outside and followed Aiden until they stopped on a single shelf. Aiden reached out to the unfamiliar staff, then chanted a spell. Later, they were magically teleported to the upper floor. To Thalia’s curiosity, she asked about the teleportation staff. “What do you call that thing?”

“Master Kayne called it his genius teleportation device to teleport without using mana energy.”

Thalia couldn’t help cackling with laughter. “He loves himself so much.”

“Always. Before starting his day, the master will always look in the mirror and then compliment himself.”

“Your Master was born to love himself. Oh, are we here?” Thalia asked Aiden as they stopped in front of a wooden door. He knocked, but no one answered, so he opened the door, and a weird person came into view. They watched Kayne absorb into his work. His research workshop was helplessly disorganized, some magical items were floating around, and a mix of smoke from the containers swirled and became thicker in the air. Kayne wasn’t only a mage, but also an alchemist. That was why the Imperial family acknowledged his sterling intelligence. The great Mage was murmuring something under his breath while standing in the magic circle. He was good at concentrating, but at that moment, the spell failed.

“Damn, it failed again,” he groaned, and depression overtook his face.

“You’re too eager to have another spell, great Mage.”

“Hiraya… I mean Duchess. You have visited without writing a message.”

It was true. Instead of sending him a letter, she preferred to come personally. And to learn the Hiax and elixir, she required Kayne’s assistance. “I need to tell you my answer, but you also have to comply with my request.”

“And that is?"

“The great Mage should teach me how to control mana energy and help me awaken my Hiax.”

“I commend your bravery, Hiraya.” Kayne genuinely beamed.

“When do you think the full bloom of Hiax? Do I need to suffer a lot when the time comes?”

“The first Hiraya bloomed her Hiax when she became the war hero of their empire. Although in the historical record, she made her stamina and mana energy stable. However, the war hero’s Hiax was different from yours, totally different. The war hero was the daughter of another goddess, the sibling of Goddess Enah, and she served a different purpose in the Empire.”

So her returning to the past had a purpose for Goddess Enah? She used her as a vessel to save the Empire and the cursed child. Although Thalia wasn’t knowledgeable about the Goddess, she was aware of their existence.

“Let’s go to the training area. I will show you how to control your mana.”

In a split second, they were in the open space of the forest. Aiden climbed up and sat on a huge limb of a tree. Kayne positioned himself beside Thalia and sat down.

“Remember, every creature has a modicum of innate mana, at least to the record of developing it by being connected with the powers of nature.” As Kayne closed his eyes, like meditating alone in the forest, he revealed a tremendous amount of mana and white aura spread around the space. His spirits expanded to feel his spatial skills. Invisible nerves were absorbed by the wind and swept around as if escalating.

“Have you observed my mana? And nature? We have connected to be one and employ each spirit to strengthen our body, mind, and soul. Now it’s your turn to train your mana.”

Like a habit, Thalia emptied her mind and focused only on nature and herself. She tried Kayne’s technique by grasping her surroundings. At first, she felt the wind rustling with the leaves and, eventually, sensed the forest animals chattering and moving. Fortunately, there were no wild beasts around them.

“Surprisingly, you’re emitting quite a bit of mana. If you continue training your stamina and balancing your diet, there is a big possibility of faster blooming of Hiax.”

“How can I use my other senses in this training?” Thalia expressed her concern for Kayne. As Kayne was known for being generous, he taught her.

“Heighten your state of awareness and use your five senses in focusing while managing your mana." Kayne stood behind her and put his palm to her back as she breathed quietly while keeping up the meditation posture that Kayne taught. Again, she tried to keep her pace in the training and stayed in the forest for a long time.

It was already a quarter to twelve when she reached the Duchy estate. She had a good deal of time in the tower of the Mage. She was exhausted and drained due to the training she had undergone. She even asked Selia to bring her meal into the chamber.

“Where have you been?!”

Thalia was about to enter the bedroom when Noxton’s thunderous voice echoed in the hallway. “Do you need something from me?” She asked calmly.

“Answer me, where have you been?”

Thalia hated scandals that would be spread among the nobles, so she urged Noxton to talk in his study room.

.

“Now answer me.”

“Your Grace, should I remind you again about our contract? Rule number one in the contract stated that both parties should not have to interfere in each other’s affairs as long as we have performed our duties as the Chauverthier's head.”

Duke Noxton clenched his fist, suppressing his anger. He has been acting weird towards the Duchess since the accident in the central downtown. “Aren’t you afraid of what people might think about the Duchess’s late-night activity?”

“Do I need to report my activities every day? If you want to do that, then you can ask Simone because he knows my work very well. And I …, too myself, will never find fault with the Chauverthier name.”

Thalia’s expression hardened as she spoke her mind. As Noxton observed, his wife was becoming bolder and bolder. He stared at her, where her eyes were full of remorse. As time went by, Noxton gradually fell into oblivion. He does not even know how to approach the Duchess. Compared to Klarine, she was stiff and cold to him, even though she handled the estate well.

“Alice was mad at me. She found out Klarine’s existence.”

Right now, Thalia sniggered at the sight of Noxton being frustrated. He must fall into his own grave. She had insisted on a divorce so that he could declare his infidelity. She helped him, but he discarded her suggestion. This was the thing she learned about Noxton.

He became greedy.

“What do you want me to do?” She responded with gentle sarcasm.

Looking at Noxton, fatigue and trouble were written on his handsome face, yet she couldn’t feel any affection towards him. Could it be that she stopped caring for him?

“Help me explain to Alice.”

“Your Grace, there is one thing that I could ask. Stop dragging me into your mess. Though I can do you a favor…”

Noxton gave a grateful look but was still expectant with hope. “Tell me what favors you can do for me.”

Thalia's lips held a faint smile, and her eyes twinkled, hoping that her husband would do her a favor. “Signed the divorce papers.”

“No, I can't do that!”

She hid her disappointment when she heard his answer and shrugged her shoulders before looking at him blankly. "Then forget that this conversation happened. I will not meddle with your affair and try to stand up and face your fear, Duke." Even though she was tired because of the confrontation with the addition of training, Thalia managed to walk into the bedroom.