Chapter 6: The Astrologer
Emilia returned to the dwelling where she had spent thirteen long years of her life.
Though it had been, at first, a prison of confinement, the place still held fragments of precious memories, most of all, the days she had shared with her teacher.
Her teacher was an astrologer.
Astrologers were an exceedingly mysterious calling, capable of foretelling the future and grasping hold of one's very fate.
Beyond her mastery of the dark element, Emilia had been acknowledged by her teacher as a gifted astrologer in her own right, possessing extraordinary talent.
Yet, there was one immutable law for those who chose this path: to sever all ties to the past. The astrologer's life was best lived in seclusion, away from the eyes of the world.
The more an astrologer became entangled with karma, the more obscured their own destiny would grow, until the power to shape their fate slipped entirely from their grasp. Thus, Emilia's teacher had hoped she would abandon her claim as a princess, forsake her thirst for vengeance, and embrace the hidden path of an astrologer.
But Emilia could not do so. She betrayed her teacher's hopes, and chose a different road.
"No matter. The path I have chosen is vengeance!"
She turned her back on becoming an astrologer, and with that choice, severed ties with her teacher.
"Forgive me, Master, but this has been my resolve from the very day you chose to guide me."
She sighed, closing the door of the house that had been hers for thirteen years.
What Emilia did not know was that, as she turned away, a heavy sigh echoed from within.
"Emilia…"
Conflicted, he sat in silence. Part of him refused to be entangled in the perilous karma of royal blood, yet another part mourned the disciple he had nurtured for thirteen long years.
That forsaken princess had been his sole connection to this world—a world he had watched for countless years.
"So be it. Perhaps this is my fate as well."
The man sat in his chair, within the chamber that had once belonged to Emilia, gazing after her distant silhouette as it faded from sight.
He bore long black hair falling to his neck, and deep obsidian eyes, within which a hidden sorcery glimmered. If one looked closely, they could see starlight flickering in his pupils.
He was none other than the Ninth-Rank Grand Astrologer, Fenrith Malovar.
From the moment Fenrith had accepted Emilia as his pupil, her destiny had shifted. He was the one who had set her upon a new course, and now—even should he wish to—he could no longer cast her aside.
By another truth, his own fate, once untouched by karma, had itself been altered by Emilia.
He was ensnared, unable to cut those threads.
Emilia returned to the royal castle, where she was greeted by a company of royal knights, accompanied by two Sixth-Rank Mages of the Magician Tower.
These mages had been dispatched by Demian to assist Emilia in her training, a gesture that also served as the Tower's subtle declaration of support for her.
"Your Highness, I am Ellan, a Mage of Fire and Lightning."
"And I am Lili, a Mage of Earth."
Ellan and Lili were both young Sixth-Rank Mages, each with a retinue of students under their tutelage, brimming with promise for the future. By sending them to Emilia's side, Demian was paving the way for her to command a cadre of mages of her own in time.
"So it is true… He is exactly as mother once described, who is the only one that could support me unconditionally upon my return."
Demian D. Velarent had once shared a bond of rare closeness with Liliane within the royal house.
It was said that Liliane had saved Demian's life in his youth, and ever since, he had held her in the highest esteem.
If, in those days, Liliane had chosen Demian over the Emperor… would all have been different?
At the very least, Liliane might have gotten the true love.
The servants and royal knights escorted Emilia to the Moon Palace, which would now serve as her residence within the castle. The arrangement was deliberate: Caesar dwelled in the Sun Palace, symbol of the crown prince's station, while Milim had been placed with Empress Sophia in the Venus Palace.
The Moon Palace's head chamberlain was Helena.
Helena had long served in the Moon Palace, once attending Liliane herself. By restoring her to that place, the Emperor sought to soothe Emilia's heart.
"Princess Emilia!"
Helena's voice trembled as she gazed upon her. Tears threatened but did not fall, and she bent low in solemn reverence.
"Welcome home, Your Highness!"
The other maids echoed her cry:
"Welcome home, Princess!"
After thirteen years, the Moon Palace received its mistress once more.
Emilia acquainted herself with the maids who would attend her in the days to come, and arranged lodgings for Ellan and Lili.
Yet scarcely had she begun to set the long-deserted palace in order when a summons arrived which was an invitation from Empress Sophia.