Light from the Shadow

Chapter 10

"What the hell do you think you are doing?!!" An angry voice came from the entrance.

Ayna, who had not recovered from the shock, turned to the door. "Jya... Jyaga...?"

The royal knight charged forward and punched the librarian in the face. He pulled him by the collar and threw him to the floor.

Ayna watched in horror and quickly grabbed the knight's arm as he was about to hit the librarian again. "Jyaga! Wait!!"

If look could kill, Rishi might be dead now. "How dare you attack the princess like that? Who do you think you are?"

Rishi adjusted his glasses and wiped away the blood on his lips. "It was just an experiment." He replied calmly.

"You!!!" Experiment he said?? He dared to touch a royal family member and still acted as if he did nothing wrong. Jyaga would not let him get away.

"You can go back now, Your Highness. Our lesson will start tomorrow." He lowered his head and turned his back to them.

"Jyaga, let's go back." Ayna persuaded him.

"But, Princess!" Jyaga looked at her, bewildered.

Ayna was equally confused, she did not know what was what anymore. For now, she just wished to leave the place.

"If I didn't come to find you, who knows what this bastard will do to you?!"

Ayna used all her strength to pull the angry knight out. She glanced back into the room before she closed the door. Her cheeks flushed.

Rishi was sitting on the sofa, thinking about what happened this evening. The cut wound on his lips had been treated. He touched it and winced at the pain. He then remembered the wound inflicted on his cheek. My whole face will be ruined if I keep provoking them. His fingers traced along his lips. They were warm. He got up from his seat and noticed the unused tea cups on the coffee table. He went back sitting and slowly poured the leftover tea into the dying plant in front of him, watching the straight dark line going down from the tea pot.

***

"What is this?" Rishi asked as he arrived in the study room the next day.

Ayna smiled nervously.

"I am here to ensure the princess' safety. Don't mind me." Jyaga said, leaning against the wall in the room.

Rishi smiled. "You are wasting your skills and training, My Lord, but that's fine by me. Do whatever you like." He walked around the table and started opening his books.

A few minutes into his lecture, Jyaga could see the librarian was actually a good teacher. Not Qwentine level but good enough to be a royal instructor. He was intelligent, had vast knowledge in various topics, and could explain everything in simple terms. Rishi knew Jyaga was watching him closely as he delivered his lesson. He would sometimes sneer at him, making the knight hating him more.

At the end of the lesson, Rishi closed his book and let out a long sigh.

"Are we really going to do this? I have nothing to teach. You know everything..."

"Mr. Rishi!" Ayna put a finger in front of her lips. "Nobody knows about what I did in the previous tests." She said as she turned her head to check if Jyaga heard their conversation. Looked like he did not.

He frowned. "Well, you promise me you won't mess with the test again. Make sure you keep your word." He touched his cheek. "It's fading, but if I find you cheating our deal, I will force your magi out again to attack myself, bad enough to make the King send you to the tower." He spoke in a low, soft voice. Almost whispering.

"You... crazy bastard." Ayna bit her lip. How could he just casually use others' trauma to threaten them??

He ruffled her hair.

Jyaga almost drew his sword out before she smacked his hand. "Aren't you being too casual with me? I'm still the king's daughter, you know."

"Try graduating this year and I may change my view about you." He smiled and slowly moved towards the door. "Ah, I almost forget."

He turned back to face Ayna. "If you do well in the test, I will give you a present."

"Present?"

Rishi nodded. "Look forward to it, Your Highness." He ended their conversation and left the room.

Their lessons continued until the day of the national exam. To everyone's surprises, including Qwentine and the king, Princess Ayna of Remblan passed all the tests with perfect scores. The Royal household celebrated her graduation by holding another party for her. Even the formidable Lady Fusia cried at the news. Rishi, the miracle instructor, was showered with compliments by the King and received a special recognition from the Royal Academy. Ayna wanted to throw up when she heard that.

Ayna shoved her hand out to Rishi. "You promised me."

"You'll know soon." Rishi smiled. Ayna had a bad feeling.

After the party, King Ekua called both Ayna and Rishi into his private office.

"Ayna, my dear daughter, now that you have passed the national exam. It's time for you to go through your magi training to prepare you to be a queen one day. About that..." the king glanced at the young Head of the Grand Library. He cleared his throat. "I've told Mr. Rishi here about your condition. How you cannot use your magi..."

Ayna's heart sank. She knew her father was still affected by that incident. "I see..."

"But no worries. He told me that he will help and look after your magi training!" The king said with relief.

Ayna thought she misheard. "What..."

"I'm honored to be trusted by His Majesty as your guardian, Your Highness." Rishi smiled at her.

Honored, my ass. She cursed at him inside her head. He was obviously happy to do it, worse, he might have boasted his achievements and offered himself as her guardian to her father.

"I trust you can bring out the sleeping magi in my daughter." The king looked at his daughter lovingly and shifted his gaze back at the librarian. "After all, you are the miracle instructor!" And he laughed.

Ayna wanted to throw up again.