“Focus, princess. You can play with the dogs after,” I spoke, gently chiding the young girl whose eyes were straying to the door again.

  Pavetta looked at me with her best attempt at puppy dog eyes.

  I wasn't moved.

  “Do you still want to do magic, or did you change your mind?” I coaxed.

  The child pouted, “Magic is magic. This is just… numbers!”

  I rolled my eyes, “You cannot expect to alter the world according to your will without a strong-”

  “Foundationnnn,” Pavetta cut in.

  “Well, if you know, then let's return to the differential equations.”

  Pavetta looked around the room, as if seeking inspiration. The room was mostly empty, with two desks and chairs, both for me and the princess. An impromptu classroom made out of one of the empty rooms in my tower.

  “Mama never had to learn that!” She exclaimed triumphantly.

  “Her Majesty is not a sorceress,” I dashed her hopes mercilessly. Not that a bit of math wasn't useful for a monarch either, but I wasn't about to imply such a thing to Calanthé's daughter, even if the Queen was a tad too muscle-brained.

  The girl pouted, but acquiesced.

  Hours passed quickly as I taught the princess. She was a good student, though she sometimes needed an initial push to focus.

  Eventually, a knock resounded on the other side of the door.

  Pavetta immediately perked up.

  “Ah, your gift is ready, Princess,” I said.

  “Gift?” She spoke with shining eyes.

  “It is your birthday, is it not? Did you think I’d forgotten?”

  “Noo…” she looked away, “I did.”

  I suppressed a snort, “Come in.”

  The door opened, and in strode Marianna with Viktoriya by her side.

  Viktoriya looked normal, at first glance. If you looked closely, you might notice that her fur was a bit too soft, her eyes and ears a bit too keen, and her speed just beyond the natural.

  She was my best work yet. Everything I had learned was utilised in Viktoriya’s creation. While her strength and battlefield utility were heavily limited by her size, making her rather unsuited to warfare, she could still chomp through metal armour easily enough. Better, she could stay with the princess day and night, never leaving her side. A perfect bodyguard.

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  The dog’s tail immediately began wagging, but it did not move. I smiled in satisfaction at the discipline.

  Pavetta looked confused at first, spotting no obvious gifts, before her face lit up in understanding.

  “REALLY?!” Her voice resounded throughout the small room, making Marianna wince.

  The princess did not wait for a reply, barreling out of her chair and practically jumping the dog, much to the surprise of my apprentice.

  I chuckled as the girl began petting the dog immediately.

  “Marianna,” I spoke, attracting the girl's attention. She was a child still, though a teenage one, unlike the princess. Her magical potential had been a surprise, but at least assigning people to watch her hadn’t been a complete waste.

  “Everything fed?” I continued.

  “Most of them, Lady Degurechaff,” the girl replied quietly.

  I had initially hesitated about taking her as an apprentice, but having someone around to handle the more menial tasks of my work was a great boon.

  Mariana’s eyes strayed towards Viktoriya and the princess.

  “Do you want to play with Viktoriya?” I asked.

  The girl jolted, “I wouldn’t dare!”

  I waved my hand, “Go on, the princess likes you. I’ll finish up.”

  Marianna looked at me with wide eyes, before timidly moving beside the princess. She awkwardly patted Viktoriya’s head, receiving a lick in return, which caused her to giggle.

  I didn’t see anything more as I exited the room, leaving the two girls to their fun.

  I moved through my tower quickly. The original rat room had long since proven insufficient for my needs, resulting in a significant expansion underground.

  Opening the heavy steel door, I strode in, the gentle light of my spell, Tor Aine, following behind me.

  The first thing that greeted me was, unsurprisingly, the Sentinel. The creature towered over me at nearly twice my height, its frame unnervingly lanky and elongated. All its limbs were slightly too long, with joints that bent unnaturally, while its fingertips were tipped with steel claws. Its head was bald, staring at me with two pairs of eyes, all four unblinking, yet seeing with perfect clarity even in utter darkness. Though it possessed a mouth, the vocal cords did not survive the transformation process intact. The jagged teeth that lined its maw would have made speaking impractical regardless.

  “Monck,” I greeted it, using the Sentinel’s former name, since there was no one to overhear.

  The figure did not respond.

  “Did you enjoy your daughter’s visit?” I asked. The creature, the former man, twitched.

  I moved past the Sentinel, and it followed.

  “You know, she refused my offer to move to Aretuza, even when I explained that she could receive a much better education there,” I spoke conversationally, appraising Monck of his daughter’s affairs, as our contract dictated, “She said that she might miss you if you returned if she went. You raised a good daughter,” I praised sincerely.

  “Still, though I cannot devote my full attention to her, you can rest assured that I will raise her to the best of my ability,” I turned to my head back, towards Monck, giving him a soft smile, “I am not someone who would renege on a contract.”

  Well, at this point, it’d be a waste to send her away even if Monck wanted to break the contract, but whatever was left of the man didn’t need to know that.