"Please marry me!"
The enthusiastic proposal caused silence over the practice field. Many turned from their sparring partners to stare open mouthed at the handsome young man who smiled while kneeling on the ground. Erin looked on silently for a moment. She would have found the whole situation amusing...
If he hadn't been kneeling in front of her.
"I'm sorry, who are you?" Confused, she reached out to help him to his feet. She was fairly tall, usually standing above the boys of the same year, but he towered above her. He gave her a good natured grin and bowed formally, again startling her.
"Forgive me, I should have introduced myself. I am Prince Gerald of the Ellurine Alliance." He reached out to kiss her hand, but she shook it instead.
"Erin."
"Nice to meet you!" He straightened up, looking her in the eye. "So... will you marry me?"
"Umm... no."
Gerald frowned. "Why not?"
"A better way question is why do you want to marry a girl you just met, and know nothing about?" Erin sighed, trying to ignore the piercing stares all around her.
His face lit up, the handsome, cheerful expression causing multiple sighs of admiration in the surrounding crowd. "I know enough!" He was practically bouncing with delight. "My parents told me that I had to marry the strongest woman at this academy to continue on the family line properly. I've been over the entire school, and I'm absolutely certain: You're the strongest person here!"
There were a few moments of stunned silence before everyone in the practice yard broke out in laughter.
"No way!"
"Is he joking?"
"The Worthless Princess? This has to be a prank!"
Erin stared at him in shock, unsure of how to respond. "How..."
"Gerald!" A young, graceful woman walked up and patted him on the shoulder. "You've made a mistake, but I'll help you out!"
Gerald looked disgruntled. "I am the strongest in my family at Insight. I know what I'm talking about."
He had the power to accurately determine people's skills and abilities? Erin raised an eyebrow. The admissions overseer had a Level 3 Insight grade and had not even bat an eye at her. Just how powerful was his Insight ability?
"You don't understand," The "helpful" girl continued, rolling her eyes. Erin recognized her as Wilhemina, the vice president of the student council. She was ranked as the third most powerful student in the school. "We very accurately assess every student's magical ability on arrival to St. Julienne's Academy. You are a new student so you may not be familiar with the process."
Gerald shook his head. "I'm aware. Everyone is given a score based on the Level of each of their magical abilities. The more abilities you have, and the more powerful those abilities are, the higher the score."
"Exactly. For example, I have a score of 87, which is the second highest in this academy." Wilhemina gestured grandly at herself, "This is because I possess higher level fire and wind magic, along with a lower level physical reinforcement magic."
"Two high level magics? That's very impressive." Gerald shrugged. "I myself have three high level magics, including a Level 5 Insight."
The surrounding crowd that had gathered broke out into disturbed chatters. If he was telling the truth, with the highest known level for insight and multiple high level magics, he would be a top contender for strongest student in the school.
