Strongest Noble's Daughter Uses Water Magic Book 2

Realization *Leia*

It was night time when the mock exam ended. All the first-years were at their respective dorms, recovering from the unexpected trial they had gone through during the second half. Well... Most of them were, as one certain class was at one dorm partying the night away. It was not a school night, and the particular dorm was quite far from everywhere else, so what they do would be nothing bothersome to the others. Even if someone were to make a complaint, that class's homeroom professor was with them as well; any group activities with a teacher supervisor at present was an activity that can be overlooked.

In one other dorm, though, one Leia Anberibca sat in her room, on a desk by the window in her sleepwear. If anyone else- mainly a noble- was in the room with her, they would definitely call her out for being unladylike. And if they were any one of her family servants, they would undoubtedly have her correct her posture, at least into that of a noble's. Well, not that it would matter to her. Especially not with the thoughts roaming around in her head. Specifically... ones concerning a certain Water Mage commoner.

'Levi... Just who are you...?' After everything Levi has done and accomplished during the mock exam- particularly with her fight against Edward- it became impossible for Leia to just write her off as any normal commoner. Managing to get accepted into the academy with her magic was one thing, but what she did during the mock exam? Just saying that she was special or that she had trained extremely hard for this day would not cut it. Even more so, when she spoke about their place as a noble and commoner respectively, even though Leia was a commoner just like her. The questions revolving around that girl was far too much, and the answers to those wonders were far too little.

'Could she be... like me?' That option had been roaming in Leia's mind for a while, especially given how abnormally strong Levi's Water Magic was.

She had seen magic of that affinity be used by commoners in her home village, but never were they used in the way Levi had done it. Levi had to be born with a mass amount like Leia was. At least... she wanted to believe that, but the possibility of two commoners being born abnormal from the same kingdom? More so, of the same generation? That sounded too good to be true for Leia. She highly doubted Levi was born in a noble family, as there was no record of there ever being a noble bloodline using Water Affinity Magic, much less marry a commoner who possessed such affinity. The mere thought of that last one was practically unspeakable.

A knock was heard by her door, grabbing the female Fire Mage's attention. "Who is it?"

"It's Kataline, Lady Leia. Are you awake?"

Upon hearing the voice of her one friend, Leia quickly stood on her feet, not wanting to deal with any sort of fuss over her 'commoner action'. "I'm awake. You may come in."

Once permission was granted, the female Earth Mage opened the door and allowed herself entry. "Do excuse me."

"This is quite the surprise, Kataline. I thought you would be taking things easy in your room like everyone else," Leia said, as Kataline closed the door shut behind her.

The girl did not say anything in response to that. In fact, she was not even looking at her mistress in the eyes; just looking down with a saddened expression on her face.

Leia has never seen Kataline act that way before, and grew worried about her. "What's wrong? Are you feeling okay?"

The girl still said nothing in response, which worried the Fire Mage even more. "I..." she spoke at last. "I don't believe... I have any right to be near you any longer, Lady Leia."

Out of everything that could've come out of her mouth, those were the last words Leia has ever thought she would hear. Kataline... does not think she should be around her? Why? Why would she ever think that?

Leia thought back to when she regrouped with Kataline and Mindy during the mock exam, when Levi had her leave while she handled Marduk. She specifically recalled when she made her outburst about how tiring it was for her to be a noble she was expected to be. Something no nobles would ever do.

'It can't be, can it?' she began to wonder. 'Could she have found out? That I'm really a...?'

"I... Recently it has come to my attention, how I haven't been the reliable follower I should be," Kataline continued, relieving Leia in realizing that the girl has yet to truly know about the truth about her. "As you know, Lady Leia, I come from a low-class family in the countryside, an area that was looked down upon by many nobles in the cityside. Not only that, but I am also... a mere half-blood; while my father is a noble, my mother is his maid. More so, a commoner. Because of that, many people treat me like some low-life scum, even my own father, who is partially responsible for my being here. Because of that, I was normally forced to refrain from attending any and all sorts of noble parties, until one day, when you came to my home to attend a party one of my sisters was hosting. Unlike them, when you saw me practice my magic, you praised me for my creativity in using it. Out of everyone I have ever known, you were the only one who saw me, a low-class illegitimate noble child, as someone whose life has some worth, and I was really happy for it. But... it was because of that joy that I had become so narrow-minded, thinking that if I continued to do my training- no, if I trained much harder than any noble would have ever done- I can be someone worthy enough to stay behind you. Today's mock exam, however... proved otherwise."

As relieved as Leia was that the conversation was not about her secret, she still did not like where this talk was going at all. "What are you saying...?"

"... Lady Leia. As you know, many of us nobles often speak to others about knowing their place in society. You especially scolded the more... immature ones about how a noble should act. I, a weak noble who got outdone by a monster, and could not be there to help my mistress when she needed it most, have no right to call myself follower to the strongest duke's daughter after what happened today."

Leia widened her eyes at those words in shock, and shook her head in disbelief. "No... Kataline, you don't mean-"

"I am well aware of what my action will mean to my family. Then again, considering my place in that household, they will most likely pass it off as... 'an obvious act for someone like me', as will everyone else. Likewise, my leaving will also have very little effect on you, especially as you have many other people more worthy of being your respected follower."

"That is not true at all! Kataline, what happened in that mock exam is far from your fault! Mindy is just a smarter opponent, and no one could have ever guessed my brother adding on to the exam in secret."

"Except that's the thing!" Leia was taken aback by Kataline's shout, as she had never raised her voice like she did before. Especially not at her. "Lady Leia, when I resolved myself to being your follower, I vowed I would do anything and everything in my power to protect you from whatever adversaries would harm you. That I will always watch your back from any and all sorts of enemies. I have had such strong resolve as your follower... But after what happened in that exam, after seeing for myself where my strength lies in the real world... It is clear where I truly belong. And it is nowhere near you."

Leia shook her head, not believing the choice Kataline was making. "Kataline... You don't mean that."

The female Earth Mage only gave her a sad smile. "You always were kind, milady. That is both your strength, and your weakness." She took something out of her pocket and placed it in Leia's hand. "Here. You can choose to throw it away if you wish. It's a handmade charm. I've read how charms can be made in a book, though I'm not so sure if I did it right. It may not have much of an effect at all, for all I know. I only made it in hopes that it could be of help to you in some way. With such a vague thought, it probably doesn't have much of an effect at all. I will always cherish our time together, Lady Lei- I mean... Lady Anberibca." With that, Kataline hastily ran out the room, slamming the door shut behind her.

Leia could only stand there, speechless with what occurred, especially just before Kataline left. A simple change it may be, in the world of nobility, referring another person by their last name symbolizes that they are not particularly close to that person. It was not only because of the difference in nobility class, as they were practically nothing more than strangers.

She looked down at the charm Kataline gifted her, which was a bracelet, with the beads each having a letter on them, spelling out 'LEIA ANBERIBCA'. Many thoughts flowed through Leia's head as she looked at the accessory. She was already frustrated enough with the mock exam- with the questions it brought about one commoner. Now she learned it also forced her friend- or at least someone she thought was her friend- away from her?! The Fire Mage was so irritated, so angry, with everything that happened since attending the academy, her mana started to overflow. So much so, her fire affinity leaked out and burned the string binding the charm to ash. As a result, the beads all dropped to the floor, snapping her out of her thoughts, as she hastily went to collect them.

's**t! I need to pick them all back up!' Leia thought, gathering the beads in her hand.

Once she gathered all the beads, she set them down on her desk. Just as she was about to search her drawers for a string or even a ribbon to bind the beads together, Leia took a pause, noticing something about the beads she had set down.

'Hm? These letters...' Abandoning her search, Leia arranged the beads, spelling out a name from them. A name that was not hers. As she spelled this name out, her mind began to recall the several conversations she had with this person, as well as this individual and her friend's hostility towards her and her family.

Once she was done setting up the name- at least one part of the name- Leia looked at the remaining beads and shakily spelled out the rest of the name with them.

"N-No way..." she breathed out.

It was one thing to be able to spell out a name- any name at all- with her characters, but piecing this one name together with everything that went on with this person during the exam, she couldn't help but think of the possibility now.

Shaking her head in disbelief, she quickly rushed out of her room. 'I need answers! Only he can tell me the truth... He has to! There has to be a connection between them!'

The name she spelled with her characters? LE∀I CARIBBEAN.