Chapter 192: An Imperial Invitation

By the time Ilya left Professor Nordberg’s office, he had acquired another problem to add to his growing collection.

Vera’s suggestion that his death might not be as inevitable as she had originally claimed was certainly encouraging. Unfortunately, she had also refused to elaborate much further, insisting that there were several things he needed to understand before they could discuss the matter properly.

Which was an irritating way of telling someone that they might survive after spending months preparing for an early grave.

Still, Ilya had learned enough about his senior to recognize when further questioning would accomplish nothing. If Vera intended to explain something, she would eventually explain it. Until then, pressing her would probably earn him another cryptic remark and a headache.

He had enough of those already.

For now, there was a considerably more immediate problem demanding his attention.

His engagement.

Or rather, the engagement that Princess Liselotte Bismarck had apparently arranged on his behalf.

Ilya had spent enough time thinking about the matter to understand that the announcement could not simply be ignored. His sister had been quite thorough in explaining the consequences, and although her methods left much to be desired, most of her concerns were reasonable.

A marriage between House Belozersky and the Imperial Family would inevitably affect the political balance of the Empire.

He had no intention of allowing himself to become a convenient instrument for someone else’s ambitions.

Then again, he wasn’t particularly interested in becoming an enemy of the Imperial Family either.

That would be an impressive way to ruin his academic career.

Fortunately, there was a much simpler solution.

He could ask Liselotte what the hell she was thinking.

The difficulty was arranging that conversation without creating another scandal.

As the Emperor’s daughter, Liselotte was surrounded by people whose entire profession consisted of interpreting every word and action of the Imperial Family. If Ilya suddenly appeared at the palace demanding an audience, someone would undoubtedly find a way to turn it into another political development.

Likewise, sending an angry letter would be foolish. Written correspondence had an unfortunate habit of surviving long after its author regretted sending it.

Ilya eventually settled on a formal request for a private meeting.

It was straightforward, respectful, and unlikely to cause unnecessary trouble.

He could leave the more colorful language for when they were actually alone.

* * *

"Belozersky, you’re late."

"I apologize, Professor."

Professor Hakon Vinter stood near the center of the training grounds, supervising several students as they practiced their casting sequences against reinforced targets.

Ilya had nearly forgotten about their scheduled session.

Fortunately, the professor appeared more interested in beginning the lesson than interrogating him about his absence.

"Warm up. We’re working on your movement today."

Ilya deposited his belongings near the edge of the field and joined the other students.

Ever since accepting Hakon’s offer, he had discovered that the man’s idea of personal instruction involved considerably more physical exertion than he had anticipated.

That was saying something for someone who had spent most of his childhood training under House Belozersky.

Hakon’s approach was straightforward.

He wanted Ilya to stop relying on the same handful of methods whenever a fight became difficult.

During the Hunting Grounds examination, Ilya had demonstrated an unusual ability to accelerate, change direction, and exploit terrain. His movements were effective enough that most opponents struggled to follow him.

However, Hakon had identified a problem.

Those methods depended heavily on favorable conditions.

If Ilya encountered an opponent who could restrict his movement, disrupt the terrain, or force him into a prolonged exchange, many of his advantages would disappear.

And unlike ordinary students, Ilya had something else to consider.

Niflheim.

His Domain could accomplish things conventional magic couldn’t, but relying on it carelessly would only worsen his condition.

Hakon didn’t know the details, of course.

He simply understood that Ilya possessed an unusual ability with limitations that needed to be accounted for.

"Your objective is simple," Hakon announced once Ilya had finished preparing. "Cross the field and touch the marker behind me."

Ilya glanced toward the wooden post positioned several meters beyond the professor.

"And you’ll be stopping me?"

"Obviously."

"Are there any restrictions?"

"Standard defensive magic. No attacks intended to cause serious injury."

"Understood."

Hakon raised one hand.

"Begin."

Ilya immediately moved.

Mana circulated through his First Circle as he accelerated across the training ground, using a basic reinforcement spell to increase the strength of his initial stride.

A translucent barrier appeared in front of him.

Ilya changed direction.

Another barrier intercepted him.

He adjusted his approach again, only for Hakon to produce a third obstruction that closed the remaining opening.

Within several seconds, every direct route had been blocked.

Ilya stopped.

"That’s it?" Hakon asked.

"I’m considering my options."

"Your opponent won’t necessarily give you time to do that."

"Then it’s fortunate this isn’t a real fight."

Hakon smiled.

The next moment, a compressed burst of wind struck Ilya in the chest and sent him stumbling backward.

"Consider faster."

What an unpleasant professor.

Nevertheless, the exercise accomplished precisely what Hakon intended.

Ilya had grown accustomed to using Niflheim’s frozen terrain to manipulate his movements. Against ordinary opponents, the resulting acceleration was enough to overwhelm their reactions.

But Hakon wasn’t attempting to keep up with him.

He was controlling where Ilya could go.

Every barrier appeared in response to his movement, meaning greater speed alone would accomplish little.

There was another problem.

Ilya was allowing Hakon to dictate the direction of the engagement.

Once he recognized that, the solution became much simpler.

Rather than attempting another direct approach, he deliberately slowed his movements and began testing the professor’s defenses with ordinary spells.

A weak projectile struck the nearest barrier.

Another followed from a different angle.

Hakon blocked both without difficulty.

However, Ilya had already noticed something useful.

The barriers weren’t permanent structures. Hakon continuously adjusted their positions according to the direction of the incoming attacks.

Which meant the professor’s attention could be divided.

Ilya released three more projectiles in quick succession before suddenly accelerating toward the left.

As expected, Hakon shifted another barrier into his path.

Unfortunately for him, Ilya had already changed his objective.

A concentrated gust struck the ground beside the wooden marker, scattering loose dirt into the air.

Hakon’s attention shifted toward the disturbance.

Ilya used the opening to accelerate in the opposite direction, passing around the outermost barrier before making one final dash toward the marker.

His fingers came within inches of the wooden post.

Then the ground beneath him rose.

"...Seriously?"

A wall of earth appeared directly in front of his face.

Ilya barely managed to stop himself before colliding with it.

"Not bad," Hakon remarked. "You finally stopped trying to outrun me."

"I was pretty close."

"You were."

"Does that count as partial credit?"

"No."

"Cruel."

Hakon laughed before dismissing the barriers.

Nevertheless, his evaluation was favorable.

Ilya had recognized the limitations of his initial approach and adapted without relying on the unusual abilities Hakon had previously criticized.

For a first-year student, that alone was commendable.

More importantly, he had done so without exhausting his mana.

"Remember this, Belozersky. A superior opponent isn’t necessarily someone you can defeat by becoming faster or stronger. Sometimes, the only way forward is to change what you’re trying to accomplish."

Ilya nodded.

It was a useful lesson.

Although he couldn’t help wondering whether Hakon had chosen that particular wording deliberately.

After all, he was currently dealing with an opponent considerably more troublesome than any professor.

The Imperial Court.

And unfortunately, he doubted throwing magical projectiles at its members would improve his situation.

* * *

By the time Ilya returned to the academy’s main building, the letter requesting an audience with Liselotte had already been dispatched through the appropriate channels.

He had deliberately avoided involving House Belozersky in the correspondence.

The engagement concerned him personally, and allowing Anastasiya to handle the matter would probably result in an entirely different conversation from the one he intended to have.

He also had no desire to give his sister another reason to interfere.

Fortunately, the Imperial household was remarkably efficient when dealing with matters involving its own members.

Ilya had barely finished collecting the materials for his next lecture when a member of the academy’s administrative staff approached him.

"Lord Belozersky, there’s a message for you."

"Already?"

"Yes, my lord. It arrived through the Imperial courier service."

That was fast.

Ilya accepted the envelope and inspected the seal before opening it.

The contents were brief.

His request for an audience had been received, and Her Imperial Highness had agreed to meet him privately.

A date and location had already been arranged.

Apparently, Liselotte had anticipated that he would eventually contact her.

Ilya read the message once more before folding it carefully.

Well, at least the Princess was willing to talk.

Whether their conversation would resolve anything remained to be seen.

For now, however, he had accomplished what he intended.

He could return to being an ordinary student.

Or so he thought.

"Lord Belozersky?"

The administrator was still standing there.

"There’s one more thing."

Ilya looked up.

"Her Imperial Highness has also requested that you attend the meeting without a representative from House Belozersky."

"...Oh?"

Now that was interesting.

It seemed Liselotte had no intention of allowing their families to control the conversation either.

Perhaps this engagement would prove more complicated than he had initially expected.