Once Elder Roman was satisfied with his ability to hide from casual inspection, Wolfe returned to his room to begin working on his mana capacity.
At first, the growth had been very easy to feel since he had very little mana, so even a small increase could improve his total mana capacity by a quarter or more. All he had to do was push in as much mana as he could and then wait for results.
Wolfe had just gotten his mana pouch filled to its new limit when there was a knock at the door, and a soft shuffling of feet could be heard from outside. He considered ignoring it, but it might be someone important as he was at the Noxus main house and had just spent the morning learning family secrets.
He straightened his clothes, opened the door and stood up tall, expecting to be facing one of the Family Elders, but instead, he was met with the light brown hair and shy smile of Cassie Noxus, the Family's hope for a new Witch in the lineage.
She was holding a tray of assorted meats and cheese with crackers and a letter in an ornate red envelope.
"What brings you by this afternoon? Please, do come in. I will take the tray for you." Wolfe welcomed her into his tiny room.
The only place to put the tray was on the dresser, and Wolfe realized just how awkward this situation was. With the dresser covered in food, the only place to sit was on the bed, which was a mess from him sitting on it to meditate.
"Oh, the letter is from Grandma Maria. She gave it to me when I said I was coming to see you." Cassie whispered.
"We need to work on your confidence. I learned a little about the culture of the Witches Academy from your Grandma today, and they will crush your very soul if you don't stand up for yourself." Wolfe told her, guiding her to sit on the bed and taking a seat beside her.
"I'm much better with other girls, but I get so nervous around men that I can't function." She whispered with a blush staining her cheeks.
"So your grandmother sent you with food to work on your human interaction issues?" Wolfe asked.
Cassie shook her head. "My mother said if you were my friend, you might help me at the Academy. But the only thing I know that all boys like is food. I asked my sister, but well, she wasn't useful."
She covered her mouth in shock at what she said, and Wolfe wondered what Melody had suggested. Based on his first impression, it could be almost anything.
"Why don't I read the Elder's note first?" He asked, taking the letter from Cassie's hand.
[Wolfe, as I said, please take good care of my granddaughter. She is very bright when she's not too nervous to talk.
Or you could skip the talking and move straight to getting to know each other much better than words could teach. I only expect seven great-grandchildren, preferably soon.
It's Your Call.
Maria]
"I think your grandmother misinterpreted your reason for coming to see me." Wolfe laughed, placing the letter on the dresser by the snacks.
Cassie nodded. "She's a bit different. When she was at the academy, one of her rivals and a Guardian broke into Grandmother's room and attacked her. The injuries to her head made it impossible to use Magic properly even after she healed."
She seemed pretty normal to Wolfe, but Cassie knew her better, so maybe she wasn't always like that. Or she was in a situation like Uncle Ivan and had been forced to hide away from the world by putting on an act for those who weren't in the inner circle of her trusted allies.
Wolfe stacked a cracker with meat and took a bite while he considered the answer, noticing how nervous Cassie was.
"Did something happen that made you afraid of men?" He asked.
Cassie shook her head. "I don't think it was one thing. My sister has always hated me, and she would turn the other kids against me with lies to make her look like a victim. Even our older brothers fell for it.
I live with Grandma Maria now, but she still found ways to get them to beat me up and pick on me at school."
In Wolfe's experience, at least one kid at school always got picked on for no particular reason other than that they were the kid that got picked on. It was basically a universal law. Since Cassie was that person, she would need a bit of work with her self-confidence, but Wolfe was willing to help.
"I don't know how much interaction the Witches and Guardian candidates will have at the academy, so I will help you prepare to become the sort of Witch that nobody can pick on," Wolfe assured her, setting his hand on her thigh.
Cassie looked startled for a second, then realized that Wolfe wasn't going to bully or hit her and began to blush even more deeply than she already had been.
Wolfe decided that growing up without friends had left her far too innocent, but her blush was very cute, and he wanted to see more of it, not teach her how to keep it hidden. In his opinion, the best thing he could do for her in the next few days was to change the way she looked at the world.
Right now, she saw everyone as a danger to be avoided, but if Wolfe's guess and her Grandmother's praise were correct, she was actually far more powerful than any of them, just lacking the knowledge to apply that power.
"The first thing is confidence. You need to show it. Even if you're actually terrified inside, put on a front. Think of how your sister pretends she's some prize catch that every man should want. That false confidence that she exudes is a valuable skill." Wolfe tried to explain.
"But she is. She is heir to the family business as the strongest daughter, she has Witch blood, plus she's rich, thanks to our mother spoiling her." Cassie pointed out.
"Riches at that level mean nothing to a real Witch. But Witch blood? You have that too, and you are the stronger daughter. By rights, you could claim leadership not just of your branch of the family business but the entire Noxus Family once you finish your second year at the academy.
Inside, you are an adorable and kind young woman whom any man would be proud to be with. But she is the town bicycle. Everybody has gotten a ride. When she marries, it will only be for influence to a man who can hardly stand her." Wolfe offered, making Cassie giggle at his description of her sister, then look horrified and cover her mouth in shame.
"You don't need to hide your smile. It's a good smile; anyone who sees it will be drawn to you. I guarantee it." he added.
If he was going to keep spending time here at the main house, he could see that hanging out with Cassie was going to become his favourite pastime very quickly.