─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───
Hansol furrowed his eyebrows and placed his hand over his mouth, looking away. He closed his eyes and shook his head.
"There must be another way… You have a few young mages with many years of experience and talent… Having a talented mage train the princess is one thing. However, having the imperial mage train the princess is a bit too much. His majesty will end everyone's life if you even think of the idea… that is ..." Hansol froze, unable to finish his sentence.
The imperial mage rolled her eyes, looking away.
"I see you have trust issues. Very well, have a restful night, Chancellor." The imperial mage responded with a sorrowful tone as she turned back around and began walking away.
"I will let his majesty know about … the princess. For now, please go back and do not speak of this situation to anyone for now. That is an order from the imperial family." Hansol commanded in a nervous tone.
"She needs all the rest she can get. While she is fully recovered in terms of her wound, her mana is still unstable. I will weaken her mana for the time being to avoid sudden internal injury. However, if my mana is not strong enough, that is your problem. Leave me out of it if you want to obey your emperor so badly. Once again, I wish you a good night." The imperial mage replied with an irritated tone.
Hansol crossed his arms as he watched the imperial mage.
"I can read everyone's mind, except for hers. Something seems a bit off."
.
.
.
What is that noise? Who in their right mind is making such a ruckus while I am sleeping?
I slowly opened my eyes. While my vision was adjusting to the bright room, I could see Marina and Hansol whispering to each other.
I sat up from my bed while rubbing my eyes.
"Princess, You are awake!" Marina ran up to me with excitement.
Hansol smiled gently and walked towards me as well.
"I apologize for waking you up, Princess.." Hansol stated as he stood in front of me by my bedside.
"May I speak to the princess in private, Marina?" Hansol faced Marina with a tender smile.
Marina nodded and exited the room.
Tired and confused, I stared at Hansol with a blank expression, waiting for his announcement.
"How are you feeling, Princess?" Hansol questioned with deep concern in his voice while he sat on my bedside.
"I feel fine, just a little tired." I responded while I leaned against my pillows.
Hansol slowly nodded while he studied the floor in thought.
The room got awkwardly quiet by the second.
Did something happen? I hope it isn't bad news. Did something happen to daddy or uncle Ezra? I will just wait patiently and wait for him. Maybe it is nothing. It must be about my fall last night.
"You see, Princess… As I have mentioned before, as an imperial member of the Giodivonian empire, we are blessed with different...well, unique abilities. Our abilities are controlled by our own mana that manifests from our own bodies. While you have pre-existing knowledge of our abilities, you still have quite a bit of learning about how "it works." Hansol explained.
Why is he talking about this now? What does having abilities or mana, whatever that is- have to do with me? It is way too early to give me an educational talk about this.
I scratched my cheek as a sign of confusion.
"Hah, my apologies if this all seems overwhelming to you, princess. If there was a simpler way of breaking it down for you, trust me, I would. I will make it brief to lessen the confusion. Every imperial member has their awakening once they have reached the adolescent stage in their life. However… that is not the case for you, Princess." Hansol said nervously as he scratched the top of his head.
"What do you mean?" I asked while I looked up at him.
He grabbed both of my small, child-like hands while facing me.
"The imperial mage came to check on you several hours ago. From her assumption… She believes that you may have had your… awakening last night. While It is still not set in stone, she mentioned your symptoms being alike of those who have their awakening. I can say, with personal experience, that it is indeed similar to symptoms. However, your age is what makes me doubt all of this altogether. Can you tell me in your own words what happened last night?" Hansol gently squeezed my hands while displaying a concerned look.
I looked at his tired gaze. Poor Hansol. He must not have slept a wink due to my accident last night.
A guilty conscience suddenly came over me.
Why am I always causing trouble? In my past life, I was always alone. I would hide any struggles or problems I had to avoid confrontation or have others worry about me. In a world where I am the only princess in the entire empire, I am naturally an icon to millions of citizens. I am loved by so many people who worry about the most minor things. Did I become greedy from all this attention, wealth, and love?
"I was thinking of daddy. I was wondering if he was injured or if he was okay after the war. I was worried. Out of nowhere, my chest began to throb from the pain. I felt like I could not breathe, and my vision was blurry. It felt like I was being burned alive from the heat. I felt like throwing up but couldn't because of my difficulty breathing. I tried getting out of bed to get help, but I fell from the bed. It all happened so fast… I do not really remember much. Just the pain. The pain made everything move in slow motion, Han han." I explained as I looked outside my balcony window.
Hansol closed his eyes while nodding.
"I remember when I had my awakening. I remember it vividly. As if It happened yesterday. I was sword fighting with his majesty when a sudden sharp pain came to me. My head felt like it was going to explode. I was in pain for what felt like days. I fainted from the pain, apparently, just like you. Princess, I believe you had your awakening, after all. However, for now- do not mention anything about the imperial mage coming to visit you. It will cause a serious issue if his majesty finds out. Please tell me you understand and will keep this a secret. Yes?" Hansol pleaded as he held my hand.