"Good morning, Faustina." The king says, and smiles. Faustina blinked, and stared at the king—his hair was a bit tousled, and he looked like he just woke up. He wore a simple cloth which covered his body softly but his torso was a bit visible, his chest and abdomen peeking through.
"G-goodmorning, my king."
She sat in the chair opposite to the king. Right now, she's at the castle's garden. The garden was filled with blue roses, which are a rare breed of flower that only appears in cultured soil and cold areas. Faustina found it odd because Eula told her that blue roses only appeared in Eissturm Empire, a country counterpart of Feuersturm. Eissturm is a place surrounded with ice and experiences long winters on a daily basis. It is also the country wherein slave trading is not permitted; even so, the country is prospering due to its delicacies and its beauty.
Of course, Faustina knew this much. She spent days and almost her whole existence reading and studying every book Eula brought her, from theories of the creation of the world down to philosophers and sciences of medicine.
Now that she thought about it, how did Eula get such books?
"Aren't you hungry?"
Faustina jumped back to reality, realizing that she dozed off to her own thoughts. She eyed the king, who was looking with blue eyes unreadable.
"I'm..."
"You're still uncomfortable, Faustina?"
She didn't reply.
"Well, it's not that surprising." The king says as he drank his tea. "After all, your master died with her corpse taken, and then you're with this stranger telling you to obey his orders. You're stuck in a tug of war where you're not even allowed to choose which side you should go, because apparently you're only being pulled by something you don't even know."
Faustina stared intently. "Who... are you?"
"Oh, you noticed?" The king says, and munched on some scones. "I'm the late king—the fifth king—Dietrich. Well my name is actually Alexander Octavius too, but Dietrich's my nickname, so feel free to call me that. Oh, and it means 'ruler of the people,' by the way."
Faustina stared intently, confused to why this Dietrich appeared before her.
"Don't worry. I'm not like the first king," he says. "He still wants to live and get this body but I am not like that. I died a long time ago, and I'm only here to protect this child."
"Why did you summon me?"
"Oh," he grinned. "About that. It's not me, but it's Noah who summoned you."
"Noah?"
"That's the king's nickname," Dietrich says. "The original owner of this body's supposed name. His father told me that. It's Noah, and it has to be Noah. But they've gone and did it and named him Alexander Octavius to honor that selfish first king."
He continued munching.
"Anyways!" Dietrich grinned. "He summoned you but nightmare took place and so he fell asleep, making me awake. Good thing I got here first before that greedy Octavius."
"Why am I here?" Faustina asked. "Should I excuse myself? Knowing that you're not the one who ought to meet me..."
Dietrich laughed heartily. "You amuse me. You won't even bow to the fifth king? You're an amusing one!"
Faustina immediately bowed, uncertain what to do. She was not familiar with manners between nobles—could she be held treason for this insolence?
"Whoa kid, I'm kidding." The king laughed again. "Sit down, Faustina."
And so she did.
He stared at her with amusement evident on his face. He had a different expression from the amused look of the first king—he seemed so... harmless. Faustina cannot define the appropriate word to use in order to describe Dietrich.
"You are a Heilen," Dietrich says. "Do you know what that means? Heilen, in the Zuerst continent, means 'Healer'. You are of the Healer bloodline, long gone for years. A distinct black hair, and said to have both red and blue eyes."
"But mine is..."
"Yes, you aren't a pure-blooded one. Or maybe you are. I do not know, there is little evidence of what a real Heilen really looks like—only Octavius knows—and he does not tell. God, that selfish prick."
He faked a cough. "So where was I? Ah, yes. You are going to the academy, 'no? I can sense a great amount of mana from you, actually. I won't be surprised why you are going to the academy, but actually your prowess is sealed."
"What?"
"Aye. That's what Noah wishes to discuss with you." Dietrich says, "you see, that woman who is a clairvoyant, I believe her name is Sheila, told us everything. Your power is sealed by some sort of a great magic—even though your mana is great, you can actually unleash a bigger potential. You can actually be the genius of the century, mind you. I never saw someone like you in my lifetime—"
"Wait! Powers? I have no powers!" Faustina argued. There was no way she has one. She faintly remembers almost being sold, surviving in the slums, and getting picked up by Eula with only nothing but a body so thin and deprived of nutrients. There was no way she has magic.
"Well, how do you think the king suggested you to come to the academy?" Dietrich asks sarcastically. "When I close my eyes, I immediately feel mana coursing through your veins—but somehow, I feel like there is something—something blocking the pathway of mana to become magic. It's sealed. But the seal cannot contain it, creating an abnormality—that's why you have the 'devil' with you. Not possessed, but it's infiltrating the leaking mana and giving you hallucinations and such."
Faustina blinked, and for the first time, she understood. A question was answered.
"A leaking mana...? A seal?"
"Yes, yes." Dietrich exclaims. "Although we cannot remove the seal, since the seal requires the castor to remove it, we must train you to at least teach yourself to balance your mana. To avoid the devil. You cannot go to the academy yet, that's why we—I mean, Noah—planned to at least train you for a month before the Academy's entrance exam takes place."
"Train...? When?"
"Well, this night actually." Dietrich grinned. "His bedroom is the first phase you must go through for the first training."