I never found the chance to talk to Sera.
I tried. Spent the next few days searching for opportunities. Waited near Diamond Dorm between classes. Lingered in areas where Council members gathered. Even considered asking Lucas where I might find her.
But every time I got close, something stopped me. She'd be surrounded by friends. Or deep in conversation with other Council members. Or moving too quickly for me to catch up without running after her like a stalker.
And honestly? I was still a coward.
The words were there, rehearsed a hundred times in my head. But actually saying them, actually facing her disappointment and anger head-on...
I kept finding excuses to wait. For a better moment. A better time. When things were less tense.
Then midterm break arrived, and the decision was made for me.
"One week break," Master Torvald announced on the last day before the holiday. "Academy grounds remain open for students who can't or refuse to return home and have nowhere to stay. Dining hall will serve reduced meals. Training facilities available but unstaffed. Dismissed."
Students flooded the exits immediately. Excited chatter about going home, seeing family, visiting friends in other cities.
I stayed in my seat until the classroom emptied.
"You're not going home?" Asura asked.
Ravenhold is three days away. Six days of travel for one day at home. Not worth it.
"What about your father?"
What about him?
She didn't push. We both knew the answer. My father had made it clear where we stood. Or rather, where we didn't stand.
Back in my room, Maya was already there, floating near her usual spot by the window.
"You're staying?" she asked.
"Yeah. You?"
She laughed. "I'm dead. I'm not going anywhere. Literally. I'm bound to the Academy grounds. Can't leave even if I wanted to."
"Wait, you can't leave?" Asura stood beside me, "At all?"
"At all. I died here. My spirit is tied to this place. I can move around the campus freely, but if I try to pass the gates..." Maya made a motion like hitting a wall. "Invisible barrier. I'm stuck."
"That's awful," I said.
"It's existence." She smiled, but it was sad. "Could be worse. At least I have company now."
Over the next two days, the Academy emptied out. Students departed in groups, nobles with their guards and carriages, commoners pooling resources for shared transportation. The halls that had been bustling with noise became echoing and empty.
By the third day of break, I was fairly certain I was the only student left. Dining hall confirmed it when I showed up for breakfast and the cook looked surprised to see anyone.
"Just you, Lord Ashford?"
"Just me."
"Lonely week ahead, then."
"I'll manage."
The weather had shifted too. The warmth of early autumn giving way to something cooler. Late October by Earth calendar standards, though this world used different names for months. They use the traditional twelve month calendar, but the months were named after the founding emperor's siblings, and the February equivalent in this world has thirty days, so the year has 367 days. I never bothered learning the name of months because they overlap in my head with earth months. The air had that crisp quality that promised winter wasn't far off.
I was heading back to my room when Asura ambushed me.
"I want to see the capital."
"What?"
"The capital. The city. I've been stuck in your room for weeks. I want to actually see things." Her red eyes were pleading in that way only a ten-year-old's could be, even if she was centuries old. "Please? Everyone's gone. No one will notice if we leave together."
"Asura, if any of the staff sees me leaving with a little girl, going into the capital, I'm pretty sure they would have a lot of questions."
Asura says that she could just hop the fence while he's talking to security
"Everything fun is against the rules. Come on! I haven't seen a proper city in who knows how long. I want to walk around, see what's changed, eat things." She grabbed my hand. "Please?"
I looked at Maya. "What do you think?"
"I think she'll drive you insane if you say no," Maya said. "And honestly? You could use a break. You've been wound too tight since the assessment."
She wasn't wrong.
"Fine. One afternoon. We stay together, don't draw attention, and come back before evening."
"Yes!" Asura punched the air. "I'll be good. I promise."
"I wish I could come," Maya said wistfully. "I'd love to see the city again. But..." She gestured at the general direction of the gates. "Stuck."
"We'll bring you back stories," I promised.
"And pastries," Asura added. "Lots of pastries."
Maya laughed. "Just be safe. And Aldric? Keep an eye on her. She might be a demon, but she has the impulse control of a toddler when it comes to sweets."
"I do not!"
"You ate an entire box of pastries that didn't belong to you in under twelve seconds!."
"That was different. Those were special occasion pastries."
"They were mine." Aldric yells. "They cost 2 gold coins! They were fucking expensive!"
Sneaking Asura out was surprisingly easy. With the Academy mostly empty, guards were relaxed.
"Purpose of departure?" the guard asked, barely looking up from his paperwork.
"Just exploring the city during break."
"Return by sunset. Gate closes at dark."
"Understood."
Shortly after I crossed the gate, Asura climbed over the fence and landed with a soft thud on the ground.
And we were through.
The capital of Altiligo was overwhelming.
Even having seen it on arrival, experiencing it from street level was different. Buildings towered overhead, some six or seven stories tall. Magical transportation systems—floating platforms that carried people and goods through designated paths in the air. Street vendors everywhere, selling everything imaginable.
And people. So many people.
Asura's eyes were huge, trying to take it all in.
"It's so different," she breathed. "Before I was sealed, cities were smaller. Simpler. This is..." She pointed at a floating platform gliding overhead. "That's mass transportation magic. We didn't have that. And those lights, what are they.
"Those are street lamps powered by crystals which absorb mana from the surroundings to release light Those are a somewhat recent innovation, they've been around for roughly sixty years."
"How long were you sealed?"
"I'm not really sure, eighty? a hundred? Two hundred? Time gets fuzzy when you're unconscious." She pulled me toward a vendor selling roasted nuts. "Can we try those?"
"Sure."
We walked for hours. Asura wanted to see everything, try everything. Roasted nuts led to fruit skewers, which led to meat pies, which led to.....
"Pastries!" Asura's face lit up like she'd found treasure. A small bakery with a display of cream-filled desserts. "We need those. All of those."
"Asura, we can't buy all of them."
"Not all of them. Just... umm a few of them."
I checked my coin purse. Then checked again. Then felt my stomach drop.
"Asura. How much have we spent today?"
"I don't know. A few silver coins? A few gold too?"
"A few we've spent nearly all our money!"
She blinked innocently. "You can just ask for more, right? You're a noble. Don't nobles have near infinite money?"
"No! And I'm... I'm not good with money. I don't really like.... umm overspending." I gestured at the bag of snacks she was carrying. "It feels sorta wrong spending on anything you see."
"Why save it? You'll get more."
I stopped myself. Took a breath.
Asura was watching me with surprising understanding. "Oh, I get it. In your past life. You were poor."
"My mom worked herself to death barely keeping us fed. I never wanted to be in that position again. Never wanted to need money and not have it."
"But you're a Duke's son now. You're not poor."
"I know. But I can't just spend without thinking. It's wrong. It feels wrong."
"Okay. I understand. We'll be more careful."
"Thank you."
"But can we at least get one pastry? Just one?"
I looked at my remaining coins. Looked at the bakery. Looked at her hopeful face.
"One. The smallest one."
"Deal!"
We bought a single cream puff, which still cost around 20 silver we shared it while walking.
"Why are pastries so expensive?" Asura asked around a mouthful of cream.
" A lot of nobles and wealthy merchants have sweet tooths, and they choose to monopolize the best at baking pastries. They do this because some among them believe in noble supremacy, and that anything they enjoy should not be shared with "lowly commoners, so they actively ummm reduce the amount of people with that knowledge in circulation, this in turn makes the demand for people with the ability to bake pastries and such very valuable resources that only the wealthy can afford."
"That's the singular most dumb thing I have ever heard. Everyone should have access to sweets."
"Agreed."
We passed a merchant selling raw goods. Flour, salt, spices. And there, in large sacks...
"Sugar," I said, stopping.
"What?"
"Raw sugar. In bulk." I approached the merchant. "How much for a twenty-kilogram bag?"
"Twenty kilos?" The merchant looked surprised. "That's a lot for personal use. Thirty silver."
I did the math. That was most of my remaining money. But twenty kilograms of sugar versus buying pastries...
"I'll take it."
"Aldric, what are you doing?" Asura whispered.
"Solving a problem."
Getting a twenty-kilogram bag of sugar back to the Academy was interesting.
The guard at the gate stared at it. "What is that?"
"Sugar."
I thought the guard would be in the security building, I didn't think he would be outside. I didn't have time to separate from Asura
"Why do you have a massive bag of sugar?"
"Personal use."
"That's... that's a lot of sugar for personal use."
"I like ummm eating sugar."
He looked at me. Looked at the bag. Looked at Asura, who was trying very hard to look innocent.
"What about the girl?"
"She's ummm.... My friend's sister, she's staying with me for the mid terms."
"You know what? I don't get paid enough to question the exotic tastes of nobles. Go ahead."
We smuggled Asura and the sugar bag back to my room. Maya was there, practicing her telekinesis with random objects.
"Welcome back! Did you bring...." She stopped. "Why do you have a giant bag of sugar?"
"I'm going to invent something," I said, setting the bag down.
"Invent what?"
"Candy."
Both Asura and Maya stared at me.
""I think that candy already exists." Asura replied.
"Not the type I'm going to make."
" Sweets are expensive pastries or candied fruits. But on Earth, we had candy. Simple sugar candy. Lollipops, hard candies, things that were cheap to make and lasted longer than pastries."
"And you know how to make these?" Maya asked skeptically.
"No. But I'm going to figure it out."
"This is going to be a disaster," Asura said.
"Probably."
"I'm so excited to watch."
The first attempt involved fire magic and lots of optimism.
I melted sugar in a metal bowl using controlled flames. Stuck a wooden stick, stolen from the dining hall into the melted mass. Let it cool.
The result was... technically a lollipop. Ish.
Asura took a lick. Made a face. "It's sweet. But it tastes wrong. Too... pure? Just sugar. That's it."
"What do we add?" I asked.
Maya floated closer, using telekinesis to examine the failed lollipop. "Flavor, probably. Something to make it taste like more than just sugar. What did Earth candies taste like?"
At first I thought..... How does she know I was from Earth. Then I realized that she has been in the same room with Asura for days. Of course Asura would yap when she was bored.
I replied:
"Fruit flavors, mostly. Strawberry, lemon, cherry."
"Try lemon," Maya suggested. "The kitchens have some."
Second attempt: melted sugar with lemon juice squeezed directly in.
This time, it had flavor. But also lemon seeds. And the texture was grainy.
"Better," Asura said diplomatically. "Still not good."
"We need to strain the lemon juice," I said. "And maybe adjust the ratio."
"Do you have any idea what you're doing?" Maya asked.
"Absolutely not."
"Good to know we're in expert hands."
Third attempt: strained lemon juice, better sugar-to-juice ratio.
The texture was better. The flavor was closer. But something was still off.
"It's too sour," Asura declared.
"It's a lemon lollipop. It's supposed to be sour."
"It's TOO sour. My whole face is puckering."
"That might just be your face."
"Rude."
Fourth attempt: less lemon juice, more sugar. Added a tiny bit of salt—something I remembered about flavor balance from watching cooking shows in my past life.
Asura licked it. Considered. Licked again.
"That's... actually good. Not perfect. But good."
"Really?"
"Really! Make more!"
We spent hours experimenting. Different fruit flavors. Different cooling methods. Different shapes and sizes.
The room became a disaster zone of sugar residue, fruit peels, and various failed attempts.
"Alchemy students could probably help," Maya observed after our seventh attempt. "They know about chemical processes and reactions."
"Good idea. I'll ask..." I stopped. "Wait. They're all on break. Everyone's gone home."
"Whoops."
"Guess we're doing this the hard way."
Evening came. We'd made progress, had several successfulish lollipops, a few hard candies, even some experimental fruit-flavored attempts that were edible if not perfect.
I was exhausted. Covered in sugar. Slightly burned from multiple fire magic mishaps.
I sat at my desk, pulled out paper and pen.
"What are you doing?" Asura asked, licking her fifteenth successful lollipop.
"Writing to Clara."
"Your maid?"
"She's more than that. She's family." I started writing. "I haven't even written to her since I left. I forgot that she said I should write."
Dear Clara,
I hope this letter finds you well. I'm writing from the Academy during midterm break. Most students have gone home, but the travel time makes a visit impractical.
I wanted you to know I'm doing alright. Classes are challenging but manageable. I've made some very unusual friends, but friends nonetheless. The food isn't as good as it was back at the manor.
I got into some trouble early on. Nothing I couldn't handle. But it made me realize how much I've been taking your patience and kindness for granted. You've been there my entire life, and I never properly thanked you.
Thank you, Clara. For everything. For not giving up on me even when I gave you every reason to. For being family when I needed it most.
I miss you. Miss your lectures about behaving properly. Miss having someone who knew me before everything got complicated.
I'll write again when I can. Please take care of yourself.
With gratitude,Aldric
I sealed the letter, set it aside to mail tomorrow.
"That was sweet," Maya said softly.
"She deserves to know I'm thinking about her."
"She sounds wonderful."
"She is."
Asura had finished her lollipop and was eyeing the bed. "I'm tired. Physical bodies are more exhausting than I remember. How do you humans do this every day?"
"Practice."
"Well, I'm going to sleep now." She climbed onto the bed, curled up on her side.
I looked at the single blanket. "How do we only have one blanket?"
"Because the Academy assumes one student per room?" Maya suggested.
"Right."
Asura was already half-asleep. "Just share. It's cold. Stop being weird about it."
I grabbed the blanket, spread it over both of us. Careful to keep distance she was physically ten years old, even if she was an ancient demon. This was already weird enough.
Maya floated above the bed, watching with a gentle smile.
"You two look like actual siblings," she said. "It's sweet."
"We're not siblings."
"You act like it sometimes." Her expression became wistful. "I used to share a bed with my little brother before, I turned thirteen and finally got my own room ."
"You have us now," Asura mumbled, already drifting off. "Found family. Better than real family sometimes."
Maya's smile brightened. "Yeah. Found family."
The room settled into comfortable silence. Asura's breathing evened out into sleep. I felt my own exhaustion pulling at me.
"Thank you," Maya said quietly. "Both of you. For saving me from imminent boredom. It's been so lonely, being dead. But now..."
"Now you're not alone," Aldric finished.
"No. I'm not." She paused. "I wish I could sleep though. It looks comfortable."
"You can't sleep at all?"
"Spirits don't sleep. We just... exist. Continuously. It's peaceful but also exhausting in its own way. I'd give anything to just close my eyes and drift off for a few hours."
"I'm sorry."
"Don't be. At least I'm not alone anymore." She settled into her floating position above us. "Goodnight, Aldric. Goodnight, Asura."
"Night, Maya," Aldric mumbled.
Asura was already asleep, making small snoring sounds that sounded almost human.
I closed my eyes, warm under the shared blanket, full from our day of experimentation, surrounded by the two strangest companions anyone could ask for.
A demon trying to steal my body.
A ghost bound to the Academy where she died.
And me, a reincarnated dumb ass trying to figure out how to make candy and be a better person.
My life was absolutely insane.
But lying there, warm and comfortable, listening to Asura's soft breathing and sensing Maya's peaceful presence above us, I couldn't help but feel...
Content.
For the first time in a long time, I was exactly where I needed to be.
I drifted off to sleep with that thought, dreams of sugar and second chances swirling through my mind.
Above us, Maya floated in the darkness, watching over her strange little family, wishing she could dream too.