Magicapita

The next day, Cæ immediately signed the agreement with the Vritra Family after verifying it with his corporate lawyer, confirming that there was nothing that could be used against him. Lord Leonul had already returned to the Durmen Principality, leaving Cæ to sign pre-signed agreements in the presence of an official from the Vritra Family.

The moment he signed it, he had locked himself into an agreement with the Vritra Clan that would require him to show up for testimony. His life was now officially in danger because of the Walyn Family, and, perhaps until the trial was over, he would need to keep an eye out for any attempts on his life.

The agreement specified providing witness protection to Cæ with two senior mage bodyguards assigned specifically to him from a neutral but reliable security group based in another city, so that they were away from the influence of the Walyn or the Nelnmont Family.

"We will ensure that you are safe, sir," the man told him at the front of the gate of the Elendir Institute of Magic.

"We will keep you secure at all times outside of the Elendir Institute of Magic and will cooperate with the security team of this magicademy to ensure that all parameters are accounted for, sir," the woman beside him added with a serious tone.

They wore a white cloak covered in runes and magic circles atop their black artifact raiment, also glowing with encrypted runes and magic circles, brimming with magic power. The crest of the security group that the Vritra Family had hired from was embroidered on their magical attire.

Their faces were hidden beneath a black mask, part of a skin-tight suit beneath the raiment.

The man was rugged and muscular, possessing several scars across his face and what little of his arms were exposed. With a single glance, Cæ could tell that he was a martial mage who likely specialized in defense, the shield-enchanted item in his right hand notwithstanding.

The woman beside him possessed a lean body, holding a staff with a giant magic crystal in her hands. According to the data that he had received from the Vritra liaison assigned to him, the woman specialized in long-range and wide-scale magic, something that he wouldn't expect from working as a bodyguard.

Their demeanors were serious and alert. He could instinctively feel that their attention lingered on their environment even as they gazed at him, signifying that they took their job very seriously.

It appeared that Lord Vritra had not taken any risks in terms of the quality of security that he assigned to Cæ. He couldn't imagine just how much money hiring these senior mages for a year must have cost the man. But he had hired them even before Cæ had signed the contract, from the looks of it. Cæ could only admire his dedication to ensuring that his daughter got the justice she deserved, no matter what.

Of course, Cæ was not naive enough to believe that these senior bodyguards were absolutely trustworthy. If outnumbered, he highly doubted that they would sacrifice their lives to protect him.

However, he highly doubted that he would find himself in such a situation in the first place.

"Thank you for your commitments, Sr. Savil and Randi." Cæ nodded to them with a grateful expression nonetheless. It didn't help to build goodwill with the people who were tasked with protecting him, after all. "Rest assured that I don't travel around all that much and have fairly standard and recurring travel paths."

They nodded at him. "We are aware. Headmistress Lenolia has generously guided the security department of the Elendir Institute of Magic to extensively lend us their surveillance and threat analysis services to ensure that we are more aware of any anomalies and threats, along with any intelligence that she and the intelligence division get their hands on."

It appeared that Headmistress Lenolia was serious about leveraging what she could to protect him better. He definitely owed her one, even if she was just doing her duty as the Headmistress. Normal people in her position in universities were not tasked with protecting the students to such an extent, but the Elendir Institute of Magic was different.

The students who went to this magicademy were extremely precious strategic national assets.

It was the fundamental reason that the thirteen branches of the Elendir Institute of Magic were headed by none other than master mages. Only such powerful individuals could serve as powerful deterrents to those who sought to attack the future elite mages of the country.

"Big bro Cæ! You never told me you're getting bodyguards! You've become quite the bigshot, eh?"

Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

Cæ broke out of his thoughts as his mind returned to his environment.

A stream of students passing by the front gate, heading to their morning class, stole glances at him with curious and intrigued eyes. His gaze shifted to Kelton, who grinned at him while Natana stood behind him, curious.

Only Melia gazed at him with concern and worry, as she had a greater cognizance of why he would need bodyguards under the current circumstances. An expression of guilt appeared on her face while a hint of remorse lingered in her eyes.

Cæ turned back to the bodyguards with a nod. "I'll see you later then."

"Yes, sir."

Cæ turned back to the three of them.

"Why do you need bodyguards, Cæ?" Natana asked with a tone of concern, gazing at him with pigtails of her brown hair in her hands.

"Nothing particularly risky," he lied. "Just some precautions in case. Better safe than dead. Shouldn't the three of you be in class by now?"

"Right back at you, big bro," Kelton replied smoothly.

"I had some important business, as you saw." He gestured to the bodyguards, who made their way into the Elendir Institute of Magic personnel wing.

The Elendir Institute of Magic allowed private bodyguards, as demanded by the Thirteen Great Families of Elendir, who helped in founding and funding the institutions. Their children were much more likely to be targets of violence and kidnapping, and thus, an entire division meant to manage these bodyguards within the institutions was set up.

"Get going." Cæ gazed at his watch. "We'll all be getting late."

Natana and Kelton reluctantly agreed, heading back to their classes. Only Melia remained, hesitating momentarily.

Cæ gazed at her with a raised eyebrow. "What's the matter?"

She had grown a lot since they first met in a combat training class. She had grown a little taller while her body matured, making her seem closer to an adult than a child.

She had also changed since the unofficial separation from her family. The clothes she wore used to be perfect in accordance with the dress code, while her hair was groomed in a professional manner each day.

Ever since the separation from her family, however, she had worn her clothes more loosely; her skirt was shorter than her family would have tolerated, while her hair was simply combed, rather than subject to professional grooming.

He could see that she had even worn her clothes more clumsily than when she had a personal slave maid who would dress her up perfectly. There was no doubt that she had gone through a lot since the separation from her family, almost as if several layers of protection in some ways had been stripped away, exposing her to the world for perhaps the first time.

Still, she looked a lot healthier than before, certainly less stressed.

"I…" She hesitated. "I wanted to apologize."

Cæ simply gazed at her with a slightly perplexed expression. "For what?"

"For the fact that my family is causing you trouble once more," she continued with a severe tone. "They have already caused you many problems in the past, and now they have accepted being legal counsel for the Walyn Family and will no doubt be extremely problematic to you."

Her voice was pained, even a little frantic. She truly felt a burden of responsibility that her biological parents were once more going to be making life for Cæ much harder.

"I truly am sorry for—"

PAT

Cæ's big hand patted her head gently as he softly stroked her head, almost as if he was comforting a child. It wasn't even too far from the truth, considering that she was only seventeen years old, a full eight years younger than him.

"Melia…" His tone was uncharacteristically gentle. "You don't need to feel responsibility for what your biological parents are doing. Their actions do not reflect on you and are not your fault. They are bad people who have hurt and harmed you in horrible ways. You don't need to feel at blame for whatever they do. They are no longer your family."

His stormy gray eyes bore deep into hers.

"You are truly free, and the only actions that you are responsible for from now on are your own."

His words made the weight she felt on her shoulders disappear. She had been worried sick that the actions of her parents would make Cæ hate her subconsciously, something that would break her heart.

But the way Cæ treated her immediately dissolved any paranoia that she might have harbored over the issue. His big, warm hand made her feel safe and warm.

Even loved.

The very thought of it caused her pale cheeks to flush red as she blushed at the thought, lowering her head to hide her embarrassment, stealing a glance at him while he simply comforted her.

Her disappointment could have been greater when he finally stopped.

"If that's all, then don't worry and get back to class, it's not good to miss them. It can be a pain to catch up later," Cæ told her, before walking away.

"Wait…!" She stopped him once more with an urgent tone, drawing his gaze once more. "Are the… are the rumors true?"

Cæ raised an eyebrow. "What rumors?"

"The rumors that you and Serulia are…" She blushed, "…are dating."

Cæ heaved a sigh. "They are false."

Her eyes lit up at those words with a hint of delight and relief. "Nice! Ok, bye!"

She hurried away with a renewed vigor while Cæ simply stared at her retreating form.

He wasn't as stupid or blind as his imagined version of Lilia would tell him in his dreams. He could clearly see that Melia harbored a deep infatuation for him. Everything about her behavior indicated that she had a big crush on him, likely because he gave her hope and made her feel safe when she needed it the most.

That didn't mean he had any intention of accepting or reciprocating her feelings. She was a cute kid, but far too immature for him to possibly ever regard romantically. Her feelings, as far as he was concerned, were even less substantial than Serulia's. She was an adolescent who latched on to one of two people who made her feel safe, good, and warm in a time when she felt unsafe and sad.

He was sure that as she grew up and gained more experience with the world, made more friends like Kelton and Natana, she would outgrow her feelings for him as she realized that she didn't like him, but only how he had made her feel at a time when she was most emotionally vulnerable.

Cæ heaved a tired sigh as he returned to class, eager to get to his magic training.