Invisible Crown

Crown Princess

Her words echoed in my mind as I looked at her, at the Nina I knew. The red-eyed Nina who avoided direct contact, who laughed sarcastically when I made mistakes, but who genuinely worried about me. How could that shy, sometimes irritable girl carry such an immense title?

"Kaluana..." I repeated, as if I needed to hear the sound to believe it. The name wasn't unfamiliar, but it was distant. I had read it countless times in the library books. The Kaluana Clan was one of the five great ruling clans of Elandor.

Like a rush of memories, I recalled every detail on those pages in the library. While I researched summoning magic, it was inevitable to come across all sorts of subjects, and of course, one of them was Elandor. I already knew it was Nina's homeland, a politically influential place. I just hadn't expected her connection to be so direct.

Elandor. Land of forests so tall their canopies kissed the clouds. Home to the Beast-Folk and to an intrinsic connection with nature magic. They didn't force it like humans, it flowed through them like a river. And that explained everything. Her astonishing ease, the intuitive way she understood the threads down to their smallest details. It wasn't just talent, but heritage. And, as the heiress of one of the ruling clans, Nina came from a lineage that traced back to the Primordial Masters themselves.

"So that's why..." I murmured, finally understanding. "Your skill with the threads..."

She nodded.

But there was something beyond that, perhaps the most crucial point. The books also spoke of Elandor's politics. A confederation of powerful clans, sometimes united, sometimes in dispute. Clans with influence that stretched across the world, thanks to Elandor's strategic location at the crossroads of sea and land routes. Being an heiress didn't just mean wealth or power. It meant being a piece on a gigantic chessboard.

"But... why hide? Why study here under a false name? The danger..."

This time, Professor Arven intervened. "The danger is precisely the point, Haru. Elandor, as beautiful as it is, has its shadows. Rival factions, succession disputes... for the heiress of a clan, a school in a distant kingdom can be the safest refuge. As long as her identity remains secret."

"So you let me stay because of Nina? Because if I were expelled, the attention on the school could compromise her?"

"Exactly," Nina confirmed, her voice firm. "Few people know I'm here. The professors decided that the best way to handle the incident was to fix everything internally. The punishment for you and Kael will be behind the scenes. Publicly, nothing happened."

"Wait, Kael will be punished too? Will he just accept that?"

"Yes, Nina told me what truly happened. It wasn't just your mistake," Professor Arven said. "And as for him accepting... let's just say his family was 'convinced' of the benefits of silence."

Arven let out a cunning laugh that didn't suit his academic face at all. He got up and went to the window, looking at the students in the hallway.

"Haru, even with the situation contained, the tension remains. Kael may be forced to be quiet, but his resentment won't just disappear. And other students, who don't know the truth, might see you as an aggressor who got away with it."

"What the professor means is that, even though you weren't expelled, you should keep a certain distance," Nina completed, her gaze softening with concern. "Avoid confrontations. Don't give reasons for new gossip."

"But what about the tournament? My upcoming matches?"

Despite understanding the logic, I was frustrated. The isolation could ruin my chances, preventing me from training and perfecting my techniques. It felt like a bad joke.

"It's a risk," Arven admitted. "But it's a smaller risk than a new escalation of violence. Use this time. Focus on your studies. The library is an excellent refuge. Deepen your knowledge of summoning. Victory in the tournament doesn't depend only on brute force. Strategy is crucial."

As if I hadn't been doing that all along.

In the end, I was practically being imprisoned, locked in a cage of books.

"Alright, I'll do what's necessary."

Despite being grateful not to be expelled, that sentence felt like a defeat. But at least I still had the tournament to look forward to. And, with the grimoire, maybe I wouldn't need anything else.

***

In the days that followed, I strictly followed the advice. My life was reduced to an inflexible routine: room, classes, library, Professor Arven's office, and back to the room. I was also avoiding the dining hall during peak hours and conducting magic training late at night.

The library became my home. I lived piled up in dusty books, hiding from prying eyes. It was solitary, but the privacy that, in another world, I had appreciated and wanted to maintain now felt heavier. With every whisper in the corridors, I flinched, thinking I was the target of the rumors.

But, to my surprise, the solitude didn't last long.

One afternoon, while I was reading a book about spices originating from Sahrad, I heard approaching footsteps. They weren't the solitary steps of a professor or the shuffling of the librarian's feet. It was a small group.

When I looked up, there were Lyra, Darin, and Nina, standing before my table like a rescue squad. Lyra wore that kind of challenging smile, while Darin looked a little lost, characteristic of him inside a library, and Nina... Nina seemed relatively calm, which managed to dissipate the fog of self-pity surrounding me.

"Looks like we found our hermit," Lyra said, pulling up a chair.

Darin, in turn, carried a pile of books that I clearly knew he would never open.

"Being alone doesn't suit you, Haru. We came to keep you company."

Nina didn't say anything at first. She just sat down opposite to me, her fox ears gently twitching beneath the hood, then she placed a book on the table.

"I just came to study a bit, don't mind me."

None of them mentioned the incident or my near-expulsion. Instead, Lyra opened a book on tactics and began to debate the weaknesses of each elemental magic. Darin, trying to be helpful, commented on an irrelevant historical fact and was quickly corrected by both of them. Nina just smiled, observing the scene, throwing in a perceptive comment now and then.

Little by little, it was as if that table, hidden in a corner of the library, transformed into our little sanctuary. Isolation had become an impromptu meeting spot, filled with low voices, contained laughter, and above all, friendship.

As I watched my friends. Yes, my friends. My thoughts turned to Nina. To the revelation that had changed everything and, at the same time, nothing. She was still the same person, but now I saw hidden layers, like the weight of an invisible crown she carried, or the courage to live hidden to protect herself. While I only wanted to find one person, I could hardly imagine the burden of being someone that even nations might worry about.

And then, like a spontaneous flash of lightning, a memory came to mind.

I had complimented Nina's ears...

A sudden heat rushed to my face. I had actually done that, and more than once. It was casual and unintentional, of course. But still, I knew the traditions of her people, meaning I had technically proposed marriage to the heiress of one of Elandor's most powerful clans.

I looked at Nina, immersed in a discussion with Lyra, completely oblivious to my internal panic. An involuntary smile appeared on my lips. The universe truly had a peculiar sense of humor. Of all the problems I could have, like being expelled or hunted by angry nobles, discovering that I had said that to a princess was certainly the most surreal.

The fear and loneliness gave way to a quiet warmth that I hadn't realized I needed. Maybe I wasn't just hiding. It was as if I was using the time not only to acquire knowledge, but also to acquire something beyond that. With friendship and, apparently, with connections I never thought I'd have.