One Michael put aside his reservations, the two hour training session had been fruitful. Though it was obvious that it would be quite some time before they were able to come up with a functioning spell, they had made some progress.

Since there were thousands of runes within the compendium and almost countless combinations to choose from, the task seemed daunting. Yet the ease in which he could test those combinations was what gave Michael confidence of achieving his goals.

With a mere touch, runes could be erased or populated perfectly upon the artifact, allowing for a much higher volume of spells to be tested.

Yet even after using the training room for two hours, he still had no idea how it actually worked. But it was obvious that this training room would be instrumental in his research moving forward.

He and his friends had decided to use the training room on the days when they weren't required to meet with their new tutor Professor Stark. Essentially this meant that every night after class they would be either researching or doing additional studies.

Rudy had been vehemently opposed to the idea, ready to fly the flag of rebellion upon hearing the decision from Michael and Melody. He couldn't blame the guy since they would essentially have no free time—especially with his current supplementary inscription classes this semester.

Yet this seemed to change after Michael explained his plans.

He had planned on bringing Rudy into his noble house as and adviser of sorts. It was a position that was high enough within the establishment to give someone power—yet it lacked any real responsibility.

Once he verbalized this, his friend became thoughtful, not yet jumping at the opportunity.

"I have some stipulations…" he had replied seriously, taking Michael aback at his sudden change of demeanor.

"I want Shirley to join us, or at least someone with the same capabilities in the kitchen."

Michael blinked incredulously, resisting the urge to slap his friend upside the head for making him worry. Instead, he couldn't help but laugh jovially and nudge the guy—quickly agreeing to the demand.

Rudy was a mage with amazing potential, especially after he'd been fed the soul pill in the first semester. Noble houses would bend over backwards to obtain such a mage, yet all he needed to do was make sure he had a good chef?

Yet upon seeing his friend's face, he could see that the guy was teasing him. While he was probably serious about wanting a good chef, Michael could tell that even if he didn't get one, the guy would probably still agree to join him.

Such was their relationship.

Melody on the other hand had seemed a little distant lately. Though she had still been present during the subsequent lessons and research sessions, it appeared that something was weighing on her mind.

At first he thought it was because of the advances of the noble scions once more since she was now no longer "betrothed", but this didn't seem the case. In fact, they had been together every day and no one like that had even approached her.

He tried broaching the subject a few times, but to no avail. Finally, after almost a month of being given half-hearted excuses, Michael had had enough.

One evening after returning from the training room, he cornered her in the lounge after Rudy had gone straight to bed. Michael blocked the door to her room, preventing her from retiring for the night.

He received a glare in response, "Move, before I make you," she threatened.

But who was Michael? How many times had he been threatened by the blue-haired beauty in front of him? Too many times to count.

"Go sit down, we need to have a chat." He instructed in an even tone, trying not to come off as too demanding. He knew her well enough to know that would only have the opposite effect.

Her sapphire eyes evaluated him for a while before she let out a sigh, slowly moving towards her usual arm chair. Judging by her demeanor, it was clear that Melody knew what this was about and was not looking forward to the discussion.

Michael resisted the urge to chuckle, finding his own chair.

He looked at the girl whom he'd known for three and a half years now and thought back to their friendship. It had certainly had its ups and downs, and Michael was pretty sure that he'd seen every side of her—emotionally speaking.

She was petty, a little stuck up and quick to anger at times. Her teasing had been a little mean spirited in the beginning, but as they got to know each other she began to mellow out.

Once they arrived in the academy, he began to understand her even better. Melody was more warm and perceptive towards him, and though her and Rudy still butted heads thanks to their different personalities, he could tell that she still treated him as a close friend.

Which was why he instinctively knew what was bothering her.

"Are you jealous?" Michael asked, almost conversationally.

"Huh?"

The girl stared at him blankly, her eyes narrowing into an incredulous expression.

"Just where the hell did you get that idea from?"

Ignoring her question, Michael continued. "Do you remember the way your parents acted in that last week before we left for the academy?"

Melody frowned, clearly confused as to why he would bring up such a seemingly random subject. However, instead of attacking him, she just nodded—deciding to humor him.

"Well, that's because I told them my plans…" Michael stated, feeling his face heat up slightly. He knew what he needed to say, but it wasn't easy with Melody's sapphire eyes staring at him.

"I… I told them I would establish my noble house and—" he stopped, raising his gaze to see her still evaluating him.

Damn it, this is so embarrassing. Kill me now…

"And?" she asked, clearly beginning to lose patience.

Michael resisted the urge to pull his hair, instead exhaling deeply. "And I said that I would fight for your hand in marriage once I did so…"

Melody stared at him in stunned silence. He got to watch in real time as her cheeks reddened, not unlike a tomato.

Then without warning, she rose from her chair and walked past him into her room, all the while avoiding his gaze.

He was left alone in the lounge wearing a confused expression.

"Ah damn… did I ruin it?"

He had thought that perhaps Melody was feeling left out since he constantly had to reassure Rudy he would have a place in his noble house. Since her situation was so tumultuous, she would probably never ask him to take her in.

So he had wanted to give her some peace of mind and verbalize his plans.

I didn't even get to tell her about her father approaching the King… he thought, letting out a small sigh.

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