It was raining again, and Tinea was sick of it. She wanted to go outside, but instead she was bundled up in the library with a book. It rained all the time in the spring here, and she was sick of the bad weather. Monsoons were rolling in, and she stared up at the ceiling in silence as rain pattered on the glass roof. It was beautiful in here, at least. She had missed it during her time in prison. With a sigh, she slumped down in her seat and continued reading her book on advanced magic, flicking from one page to the next. Her eyes scanned over the text. She didn’t have enough mana for these spells yet, but she could do a simplified version of them. That would burn her mana out faster.

She flicked to the next page and scanned over the words there. She already knew this magic, but it would be good to refresh her memory. The storm spell was difficult to do, requiring a lot of moving components, and she could do it, but…

Well. She couldn’t do it. Not until she was at least five rings. She skipped to the next page, reading over the text on the teleportation spell. That was a fourth ring spell, and she could be at fourth ring in the next two years or so. That was her ticket out, she thought as she drew her hand over the page, scanning over the words written there.

If she couldn’t escape when her father returned from the capital, she would escape in two years with a teleportation spell.

“My lady?” Samanatha called from down below, and Tinea closed the book and got up, leaving it on the end table as she made her way down the stairs. “Ah. There you are.”

Standing next to Samantha was a thin man of average height, with his hair in a mess and eyes peering out from behind a pair of gold wire rimmed glasses perched on his nose. He had messy brown hair and green eyes, and he was handsome in a sort of scholarly wall. Tinea’s heart relaxed at the sight of him. Liam Magistro. Oh, how she had missed him.

“Are you my tutor?” she asked, and he nodded.

“That I am, my lady,” he replied. “Shall we sit down at the table?”

There were a variety of books stacked on the table, two inkwells and two glass pens, with a stack of paper, and Tinea made her way over to the table and sat down. Liam joined her and adjusted his glasses as Samantha made her way away.

“You may call me Liam, my lady,” he said. “I will be your tutor for the next few years on mathematics, history, literature, art, and modern politics.”

“It’s nice to meet you, Liam,” Tinea said, and Liam set a book in front of her.

“Let’s start on history, shall we?” he asked. “Can you tell me the history of the founding of the empire?”

“The Queen Goddess, Jaleta, gave a spirit animal to the emperor to end the civil war that was raging,” Tinea replied as she opened the book. “The spirit animal was a lion, if I recall. That’s why the image of the imperial family is the lion.”

“That’s correct,” Liam said, looking a little relieved. “Jaleta gave the spirit animals to the best of the emperor’s warriors and they were able to quell the infighting and unite the empire.”

“And then the emperor ascended to his throne and named the nobles that fought with him as nobility,” Tinea said, and Liam nodded.

“Yes. That’s absolutely correct, my lady. Do you have a spirit companion?”

Tinea paused, because no one had told her not to tell people yet, and Liam was trusted. She knew that after going through this five times now. There was no way he would spill her secret, but even so… She probably shouldn’t. She really shouldn’t.

“I don’t think so, no,” she replied and Liam nodded.

“They’re rare, even among nobility. They got bred out,” he said, and what a peculiar turn of phrase. Bred out. He talked about them as if they were animals, but she supposed to Liam and his history, they were little more than animals. He had been treated terribly at the Institute for being the fifth son of a poor baron, and only Beau was kind to him. He had been there on scholarship, and they acted like he was nothing but a plaything there to suit their desires.

“I wonder what mine would be…” she said wistfully. Beau had spirit animals, butterflies, and so did Lord Father. He had brown recluses. Elric didn’t have any spirit animal, but Tinea had it. She wondered, idly, if that ever bothered him that he didn’t have one when the illegitimate child did. It was as if the gods were believing that she was the result of a correct union.

“Well, given your ancestry, it would probably be an insect. Perhaps ladybugs?” Liam replied, and she hummed.

“Ladybugs would be nice,” she said, and looked down at the book. “Should I go ahead and start reading now?”

“Yes, please,” Liam said, and she flicked to the first page and quietly started reading. This was all information she already knew, but she was willing to read it again. It had been years, after all. Countess Amalia would be furious, but she placed her chin in her hand just to spite the woman as she read.

The history of the empire was a bloody one. It only quelled after the appearance of Oracles, two hundred years ago. There was war after war, constant expansions of their territory, constant harassing of the lands on the sides of them. The empire was made of conquerors, and Tinea didn’t like to read the history. Imperialism was not something she liked, and she liked being a noble even less. She preferred to choose her battles carefully, not have someone tell her which battle to choose. She didn’t believe in following orders unquestioningly. It was a horrible habit the people of the empire needed to break themselves from.

She flicked to the next page of the book, intent on finishing the chapter, as Liam quietly read his own copy of the book. She liked that about Liam. He was always reading with her, so as to better understand what he was teaching her, and she felt comforted in his presence. Gods, how she had missed him. He had always been kind to her. He never visited her in prison, but he had been kind to her. She still recalled the viciousness of upper society and how he had been a welcome respite from it. Her music teacher was going to be arriving soon, and she wasn’t looking forward to that.

Baroness Juliet Harmon was just as bad as Countess Amalia. She didn’t strike her, ever, but she had a cutting tongue and seemed to be disgusted by Tinea’s very existence. Tinea didn’t like her. She was bothered by Tinea’s presence, and didn’t want to be around her. She hated that she was teaching an illegitimate child, and Tinea couldn’t help but wonder why she took the position in the first place. Ah, well. It was fine. Tinea was only with her an hour out of the day, not like she was with Liam for three hours and Countess Amalia for two. It was fine. She just had to put up with her four hours a week.

Tinea turned the next page of the book and glanced up at Liam. He was reading intently, and she smiled back down at her book. Ah, it was nice to be with Liam again. He was the only one she liked to spend time with. Ah, well. Countess Amalia and Baroness Juliet would be gone soon, anyway.

Lord Father would make sure of that.

….

Tinea had to do concentration spells. So, she was making her brush float in the air. This would go a lot faster if she was able to cast big spells, but it would be better if everyone thought she couldn’t do magic. She didn’t want to deal with Ivan, after all. He had only come in in one of her lives, and he was annoying. Not that she had any problems with him personally, but he was aggravating. He did better as a researcher than he did as a teacher.

The brush danced in the air, and she couldn’t concentrate any longer. It clattered to the floor, and she let out a breath before she got up to pick it up and put it back on the vanity. It was slow going to level up her magic, and she kind of just wanted away now instead of wait. She knew she wouldn’t get far on Molly, but she wanted to try. With another sigh, she made her way to the wardrobe and started to change into her riding clothes. The sun was shining outside, and she could go riding. With a grunt, she pulled on the smart little jacket and got her boots on, and then she made her way to the door and pushed it open.

There was no one in the hall, and she made her way down the hallway towards the stairs. Honestly, there was so much climbing stairs in this massive house. Her thighs were constantly aching. The magic tower would have more stairs, though, so she couldn’t complain.

Tinea headed down the stairs towards the back, where the stables were, and passed a group of maids, who all gave her measured looks. They did not greet her, which was incredibly rude, but Tinea was used to only Fran being kind to her. The rest of them saw her as an interloper.

She pushed out into the back and made a beeline for the stable, pushing open the door and startling the stable boy there stacking up bales of hay.

“My lady!” he said, and she studied him.

“I would like to go riding,” she said, and he blinked at her.

“You know how to ride?” he asked, and she sighed angrily. Why were people always surprised when she knew how to do basic tasks?

“Yes, I know how to ride, my mother was a mercenary,” she said, and put her hands on her hips. “Please get a smaller horse tacked up.”

“I’ll call for a knight to escort you,” he blurted, and then he was out the door. Annoyance rose and crested, because she didn’t need a knight escort, but he was already gone before she could even argue with him. With a sigh, she slumped against the door and waited patiently for him to come back. The knight training yards were close to the stable, so it shouldn’t take him too long.

Really, he was completely ruining her plans. She wanted to ride so she could practice her magic. This was annoying. But, she should have known better. Of course they would call a knight to go with her. She was ten, and horses were dangerous animals. If she fell off and hit her head, no one would be able to find her. It was only right that she have adult supervision while she was riding.

She eyed the horses in the stable. There were a lot of them. Molly was in the corner, sticking her head over the stall door to eye Tinea, and Tinea made her way over to the little dapple gray horse. She stroked her face, murmuring hello under her breath, and Molly snorted and butted her head into her chest. The mare wasn’t quite small enough to be considered a pony, but it was a close thing. Tinea rubbed her head and the white stripe there, and Molly pawed loudly at the stall door, banging her hoof against the solid wood. She wanted to go out for a ride.

“Soon,” Tinea promised, and the stable doors opened again to betray the stablehand and a knight. Oh, it was Eric. She hated Eric.

“My lady, I’ve retrieved a knight for you,” the stablehand said as he approached her. “Do you want to ride this one?”

“Yes, please,” she replied, and the stable hand disappeared into a room to get the tack. For a moment, Tinea stared at Eric, and he stared back blankly. It was probably his first time seeing her.

“Hello, my lady,” the bumbling oaf who would cheat on his wife in three years said and dropped into a bow. “I am here to serve you.”

“Hm,” Tinea hummed and turned aside as the stablehand came back out with a saddle, halter, and reins. He pulled open the gate leading into the stall and started to get Molly tacked up.

“This is Molly, my lady,” the stablehand said. “She’s a grand little thing, real gentle and sweet, about five or so, so she’s got several years to go! She likes trail rides, so she’ll be perfect for your outing.”

“Thank you,” Tinea murmured, and he finished getting her all set up with the tack.

“Shall I help you into the saddle?” he asked, and Tinea shook her head no.

“No, I’ve got it,” she replied, got her foot in the stirrup, and swung astride the horse. She settled down, and the stablehand darted away to get the tack for Eric’s horse.

Tinea led Molly out of the stable and waited patiently outside, letting the sun bake down on her. She was annoyed, but at least she had time to get Molly used to her. She patted Molly’s neck absentmindedly, eyeing the trail leading outside the paddock. It led to the main road, and she could probably get away that way. Elric would probably catch up to her, but that was fine. She could probably beat him in a fight. She knew cancellation.

It didn’t take long at all for Eric’s horse to be ready, and he came out with her, sitting in his saddle and looking around. He wasn’t in armor, but he had a sword at his hip. She could defend herself, but it was fine.

“Let’s go,” she said, and urged Molly into the pasture for the horses. They rode in silence, and Eric cleared his throat.

“I’m Eric, my lady,” he said, and Tinea hummed.

“Okay,” she said and looked around. She didn’t really care what his name was. It was unfortunate enough that she knew it already.

“I didn’t realize you knew how to ride,” he said, and she hummed.

“I learned on a big draft horse. Stick,” she said, and she frowned. Stick was probably working on a farm or horse meat by now. She wished she could have saved him.

“... I see,” he said after a pause, and she inhaled sharply.

“I’d rather ride in silence, if you don’t mind. I was hoping to go alone,” she said, and he blinked at her.

“... Yes, my lady.”

“Thank you, Eric,” she said as they reached the end of the pasture. She leaned over, opening the gate and letting Molly shuffle through, and they were off down the trail. Ah. She really would have liked to go alone. There was no way Eric wasn’t going to report back on her using magic, and she did not want to deal with Ivan. Ivan was annoying.

No, it was better to save her magic for the tower. There would be other chances to train alone. Once she proved herself a competent horsewoman, they would surely let her go alone for her rides. And she knew for a fact that she was a competent horsewoman. She could stay seated through anything.

Tinea settled more deeply into the saddle and now that they were on the trail, urged her horse into a trot. Molly sped up the pace and trotted along with her bouncing on her back, and Eric urged his horse to follow her. Gods. Why did she have to get stuck with Eric, of all the people? Cheating womanizer hiding behind a veneer of reliability. Oaf of a man, she thought angrily.

It was fine. She would be able to ride on her own soon enough, and she rarely had to interact with Eric at all. It was fine.

Gods, this was annoying.