The Prince Of Magic

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A soft chortle snapped Hadrian out of his musing, causing him to blink and turned his head to the left.

Currently, they were inside the same café his retainers had become fond of.

He and his retainers were seated at their usual spots at the second floor of the café, waiting for their meals to be delivered at their table.

The café owner was generous enough to provide them some appetizers and beverages as they wait for their orders, to which Astolfo, Kieran and two certain fluffy familiars were more than happy to devour.

When he turned his head to the left, he found Charles, but the knight's gaze was not on him.

Instead, the dual colored haired knight was looking over his shoulder and observing the approaching newcomers that Hadrian had just noticed.

Said newcomers were a trio of silver-haired females, ranging from an a.d.u.l.t, teenager and child.

Leading the small group was the child that Hadrian had become familiar with since last week.

It was the young girl he met, Gabrielle Delacour, and following closely behind her was her sister, Fleur Delacour.

"Well, here comes your admirers, master." Charles muttered to him, grinning slightly.

Giving the knight a subtle but firm nudge by the ribs, one that caught the cheeky knight off guard as he gasped at the slight force behind the movement, the young mage turned his attention to the female trio.

Glancing briefly at the tallest of the three, who mysteriously does not look older than in her twenties, Hadrian can only assume that she is the mother of the two siblings.

How he came to such a conclusion? One would only need to look at the facial features that she shares with Delacour siblings.

That, and also due to the tall, beautiful woman's expression as she took brief glances at the Delacour siblings, smiling as she followed the pair. She wore an expression that his mother, Lucia, would always wore whenever she was around him, the kind that only mothers would often wore whenever they were in the presence of their beloved children.

If Hadrian's assumption turns out to be incorrect, then the next possible thing would be that the silver-blonde haired woman was either the Delacour siblings' aunt or a distant relative.

The young mage blinked as a gentle chime rang in his mind, quickly followed by a small translucent window that only he can see.

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[… Notice …]

[… The probability of the woman being the mother of the Delacour sisters is at 99.9% …]

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'I didn't really need to know that, but thanks, I suppose…' He deadpanned as he read the content of the window.

The automaton's unexpected notice was quickly discarded from his mind as the silver-blonde trio arrived at his table.

The little silver-blonde child, Gabrielle, dashing towards him with a wide smile on her face, displaying none of the shyness she showed before.

Hadrian couldn't help but return the smile, smaller but genuine.

Ever since they met, the blonde child never failed to check on whether or not he was in the second floor of the café.

The blonde child was observant. She had managed to discern that the table he and his retainers were seated on the second floor was the one that he would always return to whenever he was present in the café. Also, from the things that he got out of from the small talk he had with the café's owner, Gabrielle made a habit of checking the second floor of the café whenever she visited the magical district.

The little girl was nothing if not persistent, that was for sure.

"Good afternoon, Hadrian!" Gabrielle greeted happily once she stood in front of him.

"Good afternoon as well." Hadrian returned, giving her and her sister a nod.

Her sister, Fleur, blinked, as if caught off guard by his greeting before she let out a small smile, shoulders relaxing slowly.

"Ah, good afternoon to you too." The silver-blonde haired young woman said, bright cerulean eyes softening as she met his gaze.

Idly, Hadrian noted how the woman standing behind the two sisters glanced between him and Fleur, looking bemused before a mysterious smile appeared on her lips.

He doesn't know why, but there was something strange about the woman's smile.

For some reason, she looked… pleased when she saw the brief interaction between him and Fleur.

Hadrian broke out of his musing when Gabrielle spoke again.

"Ah! Yes, this is my maman!" The little girl introduced, gesturing to the tall woman behind her and her sister with a bright smile.

"Appoline Delacour. A p.l.e.a.s.u.r.e to meet you." The woman, Appoline, said with a small smile.

"Hadrian, and a p.l.e.a.s.u.r.e to meet you as well." Hadrian said, sending her a slight nod.

Feeling a mild tug on his sleeve, Hadrian turned to the side and met Gabrielle's wide baby blue eyes staring back at him.

"Er, yes? Can I help you?" The young mage asked, feeling a bit awkward by the close proximity.

"Can we sit with you here for lunch?" She asked, bottom lip protruding a little.

Hearing a slight gasp of surprise, Hadrian glanced up at the top of the little girl's head and saw Fleur's surprised expression.

"Gabby, don't be rude. We might be intruding on them!" She admonished, fair brows furrowing as she looked at her sister with slight disapproval.

The little girl turned to her with a pout on her small face.

"But I wanna eat with him and his small friends!" Gabrielle argued, pointing to Ryu and Fou, whose ears perked up in attention.

"Fou?"

"Kyu?"

Fleur and Appoline blinked, suddenly noticing the two familiars that were loafing in front of Hadrian

Their mouths parted open a little as Ryu and Fou turned their little heads to them, ears twitching as they cooed their greetings.

The woman and teenager didn't deign the fluffy familiars with a response, obviously taken by the pair's cuteness by surprise.

Chuckling under his breath at their astonished expressions, Hadrian turned back to the little girl, who was still waiting for his response.

"Sure, you can eat with us." The young mage answered, smiling at the little girl's joyful expression.

"Yay!"

Gabrielle's cheer broke Fleur and Appoline out of their astonishment, looking a bit embarrassed as they try to regain their composure.

Trying to be polite, Hadrian turned to his retainers, who had been watching his interaction with them by the sidelines in silence.

He gave them a nod and they moved, getting another table and three more chairs for the three Delacours to use.

Once everyone was seated and the Delacours made their orders, everyone at the table were chattering with each other.

When introductions were made, the names his retainers gave caused Fleur and Appoline to raise their brows, but both made no additional questions.

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