Waver Becomes Lord El-Melloi II
Nov. 9th, 2022 07:36 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
ask_whydunitContent Warning: Abduction, guilt, someone taking advantage of said guilt
(Also I apologize for the length, their conversation spans most of the episode and I cut like the first half out)
To be fair, Waver had sometimes wondered how he hadn’t been confronted by the El-Melloi family when he returned to the Clock Tower and purchased his professor’s classroom with Melvin’s loan. Instead, for about three years and one change from Mineralogy to Modern Magecraft Theory, his life had been fairly peaceful… He was getting the hang of teaching, figuring out how to keep a poorly funded classroom afloat with its minimal income, and finding some confidence in his own abilities. Helping to mould the minds of the future, to introduce them to new approaches to magic that differed from the traditional, was quite agreeable to the man.
So, unfortunately, he had let his guard down and only realized after a bag was shoved over his head and he was dragged off to an unknown location that he had seriously fucked up. The hapless professor panicked, struggling to both loosen the grip on him and figure out who the hell he’d pissed off enough to instigate this.
What followed was eye-opening to say the least, between being hung upside-down to be introduced to the young girl who’d had him abducted and learning that she was Kayneth’s sister by inheritance line, and successor by choice of the El-Melloi family after his death during the grail war. The young professor had been sure then and there that he was about to die for his theft of the relic that would have allowed Kayneth to summon a spirit who would have undoubtedly won him the war at best, or extended his life at least.
Instead, it was none of that. If anything, Reines El-Melloi Archisorte seemed to be enjoying his anxiety and the chance to speak with the man who had survived the war that had killed Kayneth. To see what kind of person Waver Velvet was to have bought his professor’s classroom, to find out what had led him to the decision. To find out why.
And because she deserved that answer, and his predicament had put him on something of a time crunch considering his situation... He had told her.
And that was how they’d found themselves now. Waver back on his own two feet after being dropped without warning to the floor, discussing the state of the El-Melloi family and the other reason that Reines had him brought before her as Waver acknowledge his sin for having been so foolish when he ran off to the grail war...
“I only ask that you spare my life!” The professor ended, tone serious rather than fearful. He couldn’t die now. He had been told to live. It had been his king’s request, and the duty given to him.
The child clapped her hands lightly, knitting her fingers together with raised brows. “What’s this? Aren’t you supposed to say, ‘If you’re not satisfied, you can kill me?’”
Eyes narrowed, the man cut her off with surprising strength in his voice. A sharpness that hadn’t been there before bled through, betraying the strong emotion he felt on the subject. “It’s because there’s something I need to do in the name of that King.”
Reines’s eyes widened, and something akin to childish wonder entered her expression... Something not often seen on the girl’s face, likely enough, considering her upbringing. Taking a breath, she smiled. “Understood!” Her tone regained some amused excitement. “Then, since we’re here, I think I’ll exploit your sense of guilt with several demands!”
Raising his head slightly, the professor blinked, but remained silent. There was still his guilt, and he did... owe the child’s family. So he let her continue, “Right now, the El-Melloi faction is suffering from crushing debt. The amount is equivalent to the budget of a Hollywood blockbuster.”
“You’re telling me to take over that debt?” He found himself asking, slight anxiety entering his tone again. “Yes.” She waved a hand with a satisfied grin. “If you’re going to take responsibility, it has to start with that debt.” She stifled a small giggle, falling silent while she waited for his answer.
“All right.” Came out perhaps more quickly than even Waver expected, if he were to be honest... But what else could he say in his situation, he wondered? “Seriously??” the child exclaimed, surprised herself.
“Would I accept a sum like that as a joke?” He countered, brows furrowing slightly with a frown. If he didn’t watch that, he was going to end up with wrinkles...
Reines stuttered slightly, holding up a hand and a second finger. “Th-Then, the second demand!” Waver couldn’t help but wonder what was coming next. It was clear she was trying to push through this conversation before he got cold feet... Which was honestly rather fair, he supposed. “What is it?”
“You heard, didn’t you? About my elder brother’s Magical Crest... or the El-Melloi Family’s original Magical Crest... Only approximately ten percent could be recovered.” A mage family passed down the Magic Crest from one generation to the next. It was the result of their training and research. Their hard work that spanned generations. To lose any of it would be a dent in the family’s magic... So only having recovered 10% of Kayneth’s? That was bad. He nodded, though, indicating his understanding. “Yes, the essence of a mage. And it was destroyed...”
“Even if our family Tuner works on restoring it, it will take three generations. At this rate, the family will be finished.” She ended, watching Waver carefully from her seat. “Got it. I’ll do something about that, too.” Was the professor for real? It was hard to say, but his tone was rather confident... Or at least determined to see all of this through.
Reines leaned forward in her seat, expression slipping to something rather uncertain... And perhaps like she was trying to figure the man in front of her out. To discern if there was something wrong with him. “W-What?” Waver stuttered at the sight, watching her with some obvious confusion.
Resting her chin in her hand, finally, she tilted her head. “Are you sure? Aren’t you making promises without due consideration?” She shifted again with a dramatic, animated motion. Her tone becoming a hushed, conspiratorial whisper. “Maybe bugs got implanted in your brain during that Holy Grail War!”
Reines was teasing, of course, and the reaction she got was exactly what she’d hoped for... The girl really did get the most amusement out of people she could get a rise out of!
“Not at all!” Waver stamped a foot, shoulders hunched and annoyance entering his tone. The mature, collected tone leaving him entirely to slip into something dramatic and frustrated at the very absurdity of the suggestion. “I told you I would take responsibility!”
Straightening, the girl raised a brow. “I see. All right. I’ll move on to the most important thing.” She finally continued, tone shifting to something more serious again, her eyes closing as she considered how to proceed. “You know about the Lords, right?”
“Mages of the highest rank who rule the Mage’s Association. There’s no way I don’t know about that.” He responded rather quickly, brow furrowing again. It was an odd subject to bring up, after all.
“Yes. To the El-Melloi Faction, the position of Lord is absolute.” She continued, winding ever closer to the point she was getting to.
“Because if you lose the entitlement to the Lordship, you won’t be considered part of the Clock Tower’s inner circle.” It was the position of power, and with the clock tower? Power was everything to the great families.
“As a compromise resolution, I’ve been chosen as the new head.” She continued where Waver left off. “But obviously I’m too young, right? So, would you keep my seat warm as Lord of the El-Melloi until I reach a suitable age?”
It... Didn’t quite connect at first what he was being asked, perhaps still caught up in his thoughts about the other agreements already made. The professor responded with some uncertainty, though. “I don’t mind doing it, but what exactly do you want me to do?” To tutor her, perhaps? To help with the duties that had been put upon her until she was old enough to handle them herself?
And Reines? She was delighted to see it, to hear his agreement without being entirely sure of what was being asked. She grinned with a little chuckle, “Until I grow up and reach adulthood, I will have someone do the work of a Lord in my stead.”
And then, the second time she said it, it connected properly and Waver’s eyes widened. Panic rising in his throat as the weight of her words settled into his brain. “Wait! So, you mean...”
“That’s right! I’m sure that diplomacy with the other Lords will be super boring, but I’m counting on you... the new Lord El-Melloi.” She ended, steepling her fingers with a devious smirk behind them. Slipping off the chair finally, her tone delighted as she continued. “Or... Shall I call you... my dear elder brother?” She ended with a little tilt of her head, putting on a rather cute ‘childish’ tone again.
Waver wasn’t quite listening to that, though... No, instead he was still coming to terms with the very idea that had been posed to him. The decision that he’d somehow agreed to a bit carelessly, all because he believed had something to make up for. Everything else? That had been easy enough to agree to... This?
This was something else entirely. A shaking hand reached up to cover his face, “I’m to become... Professor Kayneth’s successor?” He closed his eyes, trying to quell the anxiety before he continued. Instead, words continued to slip out. “I have one condition.” Surely he could at least have that much... right?
“What is it?” The girl asked with some obvious curiosity, considering Waver had agreed without question to everything else.
“I want you to add ‘the second’ to ‘Lord El-Melloi.’ Otherwise, the name is too heavy a burden for me to bear. One that is only suitable for my teacher.” He ended with a soft tone. The name would be too much. There was too much tied to it, after all. The guilt alone weighed upon him...
(Also I apologize for the length, their conversation spans most of the episode and I cut like the first half out)
To be fair, Waver had sometimes wondered how he hadn’t been confronted by the El-Melloi family when he returned to the Clock Tower and purchased his professor’s classroom with Melvin’s loan. Instead, for about three years and one change from Mineralogy to Modern Magecraft Theory, his life had been fairly peaceful… He was getting the hang of teaching, figuring out how to keep a poorly funded classroom afloat with its minimal income, and finding some confidence in his own abilities. Helping to mould the minds of the future, to introduce them to new approaches to magic that differed from the traditional, was quite agreeable to the man.
So, unfortunately, he had let his guard down and only realized after a bag was shoved over his head and he was dragged off to an unknown location that he had seriously fucked up. The hapless professor panicked, struggling to both loosen the grip on him and figure out who the hell he’d pissed off enough to instigate this.
What followed was eye-opening to say the least, between being hung upside-down to be introduced to the young girl who’d had him abducted and learning that she was Kayneth’s sister by inheritance line, and successor by choice of the El-Melloi family after his death during the grail war. The young professor had been sure then and there that he was about to die for his theft of the relic that would have allowed Kayneth to summon a spirit who would have undoubtedly won him the war at best, or extended his life at least.
Instead, it was none of that. If anything, Reines El-Melloi Archisorte seemed to be enjoying his anxiety and the chance to speak with the man who had survived the war that had killed Kayneth. To see what kind of person Waver Velvet was to have bought his professor’s classroom, to find out what had led him to the decision. To find out why.
And because she deserved that answer, and his predicament had put him on something of a time crunch considering his situation... He had told her.
And that was how they’d found themselves now. Waver back on his own two feet after being dropped without warning to the floor, discussing the state of the El-Melloi family and the other reason that Reines had him brought before her as Waver acknowledge his sin for having been so foolish when he ran off to the grail war...
“I only ask that you spare my life!” The professor ended, tone serious rather than fearful. He couldn’t die now. He had been told to live. It had been his king’s request, and the duty given to him.
The child clapped her hands lightly, knitting her fingers together with raised brows. “What’s this? Aren’t you supposed to say, ‘If you’re not satisfied, you can kill me?’”
Eyes narrowed, the man cut her off with surprising strength in his voice. A sharpness that hadn’t been there before bled through, betraying the strong emotion he felt on the subject. “It’s because there’s something I need to do in the name of that King.”
Reines’s eyes widened, and something akin to childish wonder entered her expression... Something not often seen on the girl’s face, likely enough, considering her upbringing. Taking a breath, she smiled. “Understood!” Her tone regained some amused excitement. “Then, since we’re here, I think I’ll exploit your sense of guilt with several demands!”
Raising his head slightly, the professor blinked, but remained silent. There was still his guilt, and he did... owe the child’s family. So he let her continue, “Right now, the El-Melloi faction is suffering from crushing debt. The amount is equivalent to the budget of a Hollywood blockbuster.”
“You’re telling me to take over that debt?” He found himself asking, slight anxiety entering his tone again. “Yes.” She waved a hand with a satisfied grin. “If you’re going to take responsibility, it has to start with that debt.” She stifled a small giggle, falling silent while she waited for his answer.
“All right.” Came out perhaps more quickly than even Waver expected, if he were to be honest... But what else could he say in his situation, he wondered? “Seriously??” the child exclaimed, surprised herself.
“Would I accept a sum like that as a joke?” He countered, brows furrowing slightly with a frown. If he didn’t watch that, he was going to end up with wrinkles...
Reines stuttered slightly, holding up a hand and a second finger. “Th-Then, the second demand!” Waver couldn’t help but wonder what was coming next. It was clear she was trying to push through this conversation before he got cold feet... Which was honestly rather fair, he supposed. “What is it?”
“You heard, didn’t you? About my elder brother’s Magical Crest... or the El-Melloi Family’s original Magical Crest... Only approximately ten percent could be recovered.” A mage family passed down the Magic Crest from one generation to the next. It was the result of their training and research. Their hard work that spanned generations. To lose any of it would be a dent in the family’s magic... So only having recovered 10% of Kayneth’s? That was bad. He nodded, though, indicating his understanding. “Yes, the essence of a mage. And it was destroyed...”
“Even if our family Tuner works on restoring it, it will take three generations. At this rate, the family will be finished.” She ended, watching Waver carefully from her seat. “Got it. I’ll do something about that, too.” Was the professor for real? It was hard to say, but his tone was rather confident... Or at least determined to see all of this through.
Reines leaned forward in her seat, expression slipping to something rather uncertain... And perhaps like she was trying to figure the man in front of her out. To discern if there was something wrong with him. “W-What?” Waver stuttered at the sight, watching her with some obvious confusion.
Resting her chin in her hand, finally, she tilted her head. “Are you sure? Aren’t you making promises without due consideration?” She shifted again with a dramatic, animated motion. Her tone becoming a hushed, conspiratorial whisper. “Maybe bugs got implanted in your brain during that Holy Grail War!”
Reines was teasing, of course, and the reaction she got was exactly what she’d hoped for... The girl really did get the most amusement out of people she could get a rise out of!
“Not at all!” Waver stamped a foot, shoulders hunched and annoyance entering his tone. The mature, collected tone leaving him entirely to slip into something dramatic and frustrated at the very absurdity of the suggestion. “I told you I would take responsibility!”
Straightening, the girl raised a brow. “I see. All right. I’ll move on to the most important thing.” She finally continued, tone shifting to something more serious again, her eyes closing as she considered how to proceed. “You know about the Lords, right?”
“Mages of the highest rank who rule the Mage’s Association. There’s no way I don’t know about that.” He responded rather quickly, brow furrowing again. It was an odd subject to bring up, after all.
“Yes. To the El-Melloi Faction, the position of Lord is absolute.” She continued, winding ever closer to the point she was getting to.
“Because if you lose the entitlement to the Lordship, you won’t be considered part of the Clock Tower’s inner circle.” It was the position of power, and with the clock tower? Power was everything to the great families.
“As a compromise resolution, I’ve been chosen as the new head.” She continued where Waver left off. “But obviously I’m too young, right? So, would you keep my seat warm as Lord of the El-Melloi until I reach a suitable age?”
It... Didn’t quite connect at first what he was being asked, perhaps still caught up in his thoughts about the other agreements already made. The professor responded with some uncertainty, though. “I don’t mind doing it, but what exactly do you want me to do?” To tutor her, perhaps? To help with the duties that had been put upon her until she was old enough to handle them herself?
And Reines? She was delighted to see it, to hear his agreement without being entirely sure of what was being asked. She grinned with a little chuckle, “Until I grow up and reach adulthood, I will have someone do the work of a Lord in my stead.”
And then, the second time she said it, it connected properly and Waver’s eyes widened. Panic rising in his throat as the weight of her words settled into his brain. “Wait! So, you mean...”
“That’s right! I’m sure that diplomacy with the other Lords will be super boring, but I’m counting on you... the new Lord El-Melloi.” She ended, steepling her fingers with a devious smirk behind them. Slipping off the chair finally, her tone delighted as she continued. “Or... Shall I call you... my dear elder brother?” She ended with a little tilt of her head, putting on a rather cute ‘childish’ tone again.
Waver wasn’t quite listening to that, though... No, instead he was still coming to terms with the very idea that had been posed to him. The decision that he’d somehow agreed to a bit carelessly, all because he believed had something to make up for. Everything else? That had been easy enough to agree to... This?
This was something else entirely. A shaking hand reached up to cover his face, “I’m to become... Professor Kayneth’s successor?” He closed his eyes, trying to quell the anxiety before he continued. Instead, words continued to slip out. “I have one condition.” Surely he could at least have that much... right?
“What is it?” The girl asked with some obvious curiosity, considering Waver had agreed without question to everything else.
“I want you to add ‘the second’ to ‘Lord El-Melloi.’ Otherwise, the name is too heavy a burden for me to bear. One that is only suitable for my teacher.” He ended with a soft tone. The name would be too much. There was too much tied to it, after all. The guilt alone weighed upon him...
