Chapter 228: He Could Not...
After sending him an invitation to Adeline’s graduation celebration, she hadn’t been entirely sure he would reply, let alone accept.
To her surprise, Dimitri had written back promptly. He accepted her invitation and confirmed that he would come. Isabelle leaned back in her chair, the letter still in her hands. She hadn’t expected it to be this easy.
She knew about the Mage Tower’s strict rules and how reclusive its members could be, especially someone like Dimitri, who held the highest position as the Archmage.
Still, she supposed it made sense. As Archmage, Dimitri wouldn’t be restricted like the others. If he wanted to visit, no one could stop him. That thought reassured her, though she couldn’t shake the nagging curiosity about why he had stayed away for so long.
Later that day, as they exchanged a few letters back and forth, Isabelle found herself asking a question she hadn’t planned to.
"When did you become the Archmage?" she wrote.
His reply came quickly, stating that he had taken the title a few years ago. Isabelle couldn’t hide her surprise. She had heard rumours about his talents, but to achieve such a position so young was extraordinary.
Her next question was harder to put into words, but it had lingered in her mind for too long. Finally, she wrote, "Why didn’t you ever come to visit?" Was it even her place to ask that? No, they were not familiar.
She was asking on Adeline’s behalf though. She heard from her sister how close those two used to be.
When Dimitri’s reply arrived, the tone was different. The usual straightforwardness of his letters seemed to falter.
"There were... circumstances," he wrote.