A new guest has arrived, and Claude acknowledges that he’s a “hyena following the scent of blood.” Basically, he knows that this guy is up to no good. So how did it all go so wrong in the other timeline? I guess not forming a connection with Athanasia meant Claude could easily be manipulated. Did he become a shell of a man who proceeded to go through the motions? Well, we’ll probably never find out. That was then, and this is now.
The duke suggests a study companion for Athanasia, especially where magic is concerned. Athanasia seems to imply that the duke is trying to curry favor with her this time around. In Athanasia’s mind, her father loves her now. Does he? Does he really? He sure does a piss poor job of showing it. Still, how does the duke know that Athanasia has a close relationship with her father this time around? Does he have spies within the palace?
Athanasia tries to embarrass the duke by putting her intellect on display. To be fair, she is well-read. She just can’t cast magic despite being the daughter of two magic users. I really doubt she really has no magic potential. After all, this is anime and anime panders to its target audience all the time. An anime protagonist surely can’t be this lacking. I bet we’ll find out later that something is preventing her magic from surfacing.
And just like that, we get a two-year timeskip. What has changed? Not all that much, to be honest. Claude has supposedly built a grand library for his daughter. Meanwhile, a mysterious man observes Lilian from a distance and remarks that the woman should be dead. The mysterious man thus looks for the one who has change the world’s fate. Well, we know who that is.
The duke is still harping about finding a study companion for Athanasia. Why is he even allowed to walk into the Ruby Palace willy nilly anyway? Shouldn’t he have to make an appointment first? Well, he’s right for the wrong reasons. He only wants to dig his claws in and manipulate the princess for his own ends. Nevertheless, she does need friends her own age. Forget a study companion; Athanasia should be attending school in order to learn how to socialize with kids her own age. Naturally, she resists because she just wants to survive peacefully to adulthood, but that’s not healthy.
Apparently, the princess can translate books now. See, with the duke, she’s a sharp cookie. She’s running circles around this hapless wannabe schemer. So where was this with Claude? I guess you could argue that Athanasia just wanted to be her father’s little girl, so she didn’t try to outwit him. Still, I would’ve liked to have seen her banter with her dad a little in the last few episodes. Instead, she often clammed up around him.
Eventually, our girl gets her hands on the oldest grimoire in all the lands, because it contains a spell that might kickstart her magical ability. She probably suspects she can’t hold off the duke forever. This leads her, however, straight to the mysterious man from before — a man who claims to be the greatest wizard in the world. His name is Lucas, and he warns her not to finish casting the spell in the grimoire before leaving as quickly as he had arrived. He’s trying to find someone who can change the world’s fate, but he instantly writes Athanasia off. Is it because her magic potential is lacking? More importantly, please don’t tell me he’s a love interest. He’s an adult. Claude really needs to tighten up the security. Weirdos keep walking in and out of the palace grounds.
When Claude wonders if his daughter could use a friend, this spurs Athanasia to try and cast the forbidden spell again. She actually seems to complete it this time around, so naturally, Lucas shows up again. This time, he seems to take her more seriously. He refers to her as someone who has shifted between worlds. He proceeds to try and draw information out of the girl. He uses a spell that compels people to tell the truth, but somehow, he doesn’t quite believe what Athanasia tells him. That’s weird, isn’t it? Isn’t he basically admitting that his spell isn’t working properly? Again, Claude’s security really sucks. Some weirdo is accosting his daughter and he doesn’t even know about it. Hell, this is the second time this has happened.
Lucas was going to straight up drop Athanasia on her head before some… black, cloud thingie swoops in and breaks her fall. Alright then. The girl awakens and puts up a barrier to prevent Lucas from going after her. So the forbidden spell worked? She can now cast spells? Huh. Well, she runs to her dad, but before she can tell him anything about Lucas, Athanasia suddenly coughs up blood and collapses. This might be the first time Claude doesn’t look either bored or irritated. Still, is this why she can’t use her magical potential? Because it’ll kill her? Has she been cursed?
Well, don’t watch the preview, because it basically spoils everything. I have a lot to say about what it shows us, but I’ll wait till next week. Y’know, as to not spoil everyone on what happens. Anyways, I thought we would meet Jeanette this time around. We see her in the OP hanging out with everyone, so she’ll clearly become one of Athanasia’s friends. We’ll just have to wait a little longer.
Stray thoughts & observations:
- Athanasia keeps saying how she doesn’t want dim-witted friends. I know she’s just trying to avoid a bad fate, so she’s preventing the duke from getting his way. But it still sounds bad to keep trashing people who aren’t quite as smart as her.
- Felix also believes that Athanasia needs a friend her age. Claude, for some reason, thinks that the adults around her should be enough to “soothe” his daughter? He doesn’t actually believe this; he seems like the sort of boss who likes to needle and provoke his employees just to see how they act under pressure. I hate bosses like that. Still, Claude seems to heed Felix’s advice in the end.
- Again, how does a child eat all this cake and not develop type-2 diabetes? See? She’s magical after all.
