The Romantic Trials Of A Transmigrated Empress-Chapter 216: Awaken your wisdom.

The head mage said nothing in response but the air grew colder with each rude remark the princess made. Thalassa was a fool because she was yet to realize just how much she was angering the Lord mage.

"I always thought that your company was boring and unbearable but I never thought that I would find other things to dislike you..."

"Shut up Thalassa." Sigrid intervened. Her voice was loud and ominous. "You are an ungrateful person that bites the very hand that feeds her. You may have awakened your magic but you have yet to awaken your wisdom. It would do you well to listen to the words of the Lord mage."

"What do you know you simple noble?" Thalassa thrust harsh words that she hoped would hurt Sigrid. "I am of royal blood, I do not have to listen to him or you. Just because you were wise enough to scheme your way into my brother’s bed does not mean that you are queen of wisdom."

She pulled herself up off the bed and continued, "There will be some changes around here. I will be in charge and you....you either get on board or stay away from the affairs of all Eldorian mages."

"I am afraid that you will be disappointed child." The Lord mage murmured. "You have no knowledge on magic or mage affairs. I would advise you to advise your attitude, apologize and heed my reminder. Beware, your magic is unnatural, if you wield it with a dark heart, one day it will turn against you."

Thalassa scoffed in response and she said to him, "I have I came for. My father is going to reward you heavily for what you have done for me. Do not try to use this awakening to leverage me in any way. I owe you nothing."

Ignoring the advice of the Lord mage and Sigrid, Thalassa left the room and the mage estate, disappearing into the snow in her carriage that was pulled by magical horses. The tree people she left in the tower watched from a window until she left and then they spoke.

"It was a mistake to give her the gift." Alistair said. His low voice dripped with hidden anger and disappointment. Magic was something he considered precious, a gift that that one ought to cherish. Thalassa did not cherish the gift. To her, magic was a means to an end.

The Lord mage closed the window, he raised his right hand, flames flickered in them and he directed them around, bringing warmth to the cold room. "I don’t agree with Alistair on much but in this particular case, I am afraid that I stand with him." He looked at Sigrid with lost eyes. Inside them, she could read the question why.

He had questioned her before they started the awakening and he was still questioning her about why Thalassa had to be a mage.

"It is the fastest way to get her and Firron to the altar. Even after I hid Mauve away at The Vale, he continues to visit daily to talk about magic with her. Roland and I fill in but we can see it in his eyes that it is not us he is interested in." She walked back to the bed slowly with her hands behind her back.

As she sat down, the Lord mage and Alistair stood in front of her.

"I am not a fool Alistair. do you really think that I can give Thalassa power that she can use against me later on?" She is a selfish woman capable of turning on Eldoria and selling us out to Solandor if it benefits her. I have taken measures to deal with her."

She raised her hand and before them, an insect appeared, it was in a small bubble of air. It looked like a small multicolored butterfly with shimmering wings.

"What is that?" The Lord mage asked her.

"A soulmoth." she replied. "It is a special insect that is quite possibly one of the most dangerous magical predators in the world."

"That butterfly!" Alistair exclaimed.

Sigrid nodded. "This little beauty is no larger than my thumb but its feeding habits outdo those of a large cat. This is because it does not feed on flowers, fruits or vegetables, it feeds on magic."

The Lord mage and Alistair gasped in surprise. Alistair even went so far as to take a step away because he did not want the beautiful butterfly anywhere close to him.

"It attaches itself to the soul of a magical being and hypnotizes them into becoming its willing host. From then on, it slowly siphons magic from the soul without raising the awareness of the host. Of course the host is not a fool, he or she will notice their power slipping away, becoming unsteady and weaker.

When it happens and they show signs of fighting off the hypnosis, it puts them to sleep and continues to feed until it has exhausted all the magic.

Then it moves on and leaves one completely ordinary in most cases. For others, those born with natural magic, sometimes after it feeds and leaves, their dormant undiscovered potential is stimulated and they unlock greater power."

"But Thalassa is not a natural mage." Alistair muttered.

"Exactly." Sigrid smiled. Her smile akin to that of a predator, the king of the jungle that was controlling all the other animals. Nothing could escape his eyes and hands in his territory.

"I am so afraid of you." The Lord mage shook his head. "Here I was, thinking simply that we could kill her off somehow before she becomes a threat to all of us and here you are, planning ten steps ahead of us all."

"Because I know Thalassa." Sigrid said in a sure tone. "I know that she hates me. Only a fool would elevate their enemy."

She was going to put away the Soulmoth but the Lord mage was practically drooling and staring at it as if it was his new beloved pet.

"Would you like to keep it for a while?" she asked him.

He nodded eagerly. "I would like to study it and see how its feeding mechanism works. Maybe there is a way to change its diet from magic to fruits."

Sigrid let the bubble float to him. "There are only two of these in the world, one is already attached to Thalassa’s soul and this is the other one. Be careful with it, if it gets lost on the estate we will have to fish it out of a mage no doubt. Remember, it is a predator, not a prey."

Sigrid left the mage estate after that conversation. Alistair and the Lord mage watched her leaving with more respect and reverence for her in their eyes. Her knowledge on magic was deeper than theirs and her decisiveness, frightening.

The king would never imagine that she had outsmarted him, again and neither would Princess Thalassa.