The Villain Wants to Quit

To the Palace

While Scourge napped, Theo studied a magic circle Vin had shown him earlier.

After enough time practicing the theoretical aspect of it, Theo was ready for practical training.

"Um, I'm going to practice my magic now," Theo said to his escorts. "I won't be trying to attack anyone, but I occasionally lose control of my spells."

"You can't use magic," The female knight assigned to Theo, Leanne, said. "We will consider it hostile action."

Leanne's grip on her wand tightened as she warned Theo.

"That's not possible," Theo replied. "Dullahan will be searching for me, and I need to be able to defend against him unless you want a tragedy like Athenelly to happen."

The knights shifted uncomfortably. Some wore murderous expressions.

Theo wondered if he had slaughtered any of their loved ones during the tragedy of Athenelly.

His gaze strayed to his feet.

"Defend against Dullahan or collude with him," one of the knights muttered.

Theo didn't see who it was, but it wasn't like he would have argued with them.

This much dissent was to be expected.

"Was that you, Charlie?" Marie shouted toward a knight in the back of the group.

Charlie, a somewhat panicked looking blonde, shrunk under Marie's attention.

"Go ahead. Voice your paranoia. I'll hear you out even though you are cluelessly speaking about things you know nothing about."

The other knights avoided making eye contact with Marie.

"See, you just need more of that energy you had earlier," Marie patted Theo on the shoulder. "Be assertive, and they back off. Feel free to practice your magic."

"No fire magic, though," Carrot warned Theo in consideration of his coat.

He had continuously complained about the one time Theo singed his coat since the incident occurred. Theo suspected he would never hear the end of it.

Theo nodded in agreement and drew a magic circle that Vin had taught him during the day's ride while enduring dirty looks from his fellow knights.

It was a simple magic circle, and Theo's drawing was a tad crude, but it looked about right.

Theo poured mana into it, and a semitransparent shield materialized before him and Carrot.

He nodded in satisfaction.

It looked like the spell worked.

"Hey, can you throw a weak attack at the shield?" Theo asked the two knights in charge of accompanying him.

They each raised an eyebrow at him.

"It's not like I can hurt you with a shield," Theo said, barely resisting the urge to roll his eyes, "and it would help keep everyone safe if Dullahan attacks."

Leanne sighed and hit Theo's shield with her staff.

The shield instantly shattered.

A couple knights who were observing Theo's practice chuckled at his failure.

"You sure you can take us all?" One of them called out while smirking.

"Oh, don't worry," Theo replied while studying the magic circle he had used. "A lack of defense makes me more deadly,"

"Looks like I got something wrong," Theo grimaced once he realized he had made a mistake on the part of the magic circle denoting its strength.

Learning to construct a shield was a good thing to prioritize, but all the magic Vin used demanded greater precision.