Bloody from the waist down. Devoid of life and only cold. Had it not been for her husband's warm touch, Lady Zigvolt would've remained motionless in place for the entire time with a blank mind. Even now, she could remember the cold touch of the child's skin when she decided to help bathe her and had kicked out the men from the bathroom. The mana that came from her was so cold to the touch that they had to change out the water in the tub twice because they were turning cold!
If it hadn't been for Maisey that followed her secretly, they wouldn't have known the entire situation!
Later, the number of lives that were involved shocked the entire country as they had to report this to the queen. The queen, knowing that the incapacitating of the psychopath was this princess's doing, grew alarmed and quickly had Lady Zigvolt's father go find Maisey to speak with the fairy king and queen. As it would turn out, despite being locked in a place with no mana, the psychopath was able to kill a large number of people with magic that should not have been capable of being conjured. However, one explanation from the couple drove them into shock. She and that man were from a world where one can store mana inside their own bodies!
So, it didn't matter if they were in a place of no mana, as long as they have mana in their bodies, they can retaliate as much as they want. According to the last report, even after receiving a large number of requests to restrain him completely, they simply threw him into a cell filled with other dangerous inmates!
In the end, a large number of people there died and the number of innocents that were taken amongst them angered the visiting princess so much that she basically turned him into a mangled and broken doll and let him continue living in this manner. However, when they had one of the strongest magicians secretly look into their minds, they could only uncover the fact that their world was that of survival.
Putting the matters into her mind, the queen had decided to place the child into the general's care seeing that he was one of the first outsiders to have interacted with the princess and one of those she trusts the most next to Lilia. It wasn't until a couple years later when she decided to see the princess in person due to an overwhelming quantity of work to be done.
Since then, the situation has quelled and the princess found a place within their household in their country. However, to say that she was someone from their country was still a little bit of a stretch.
"However, the demonic cat is unharmed as of now, correct?" Lady Zigvolt pointed out, "Since you've contracted him, you should understand that he is well and, even when the time comes where your dorm leader returns to his world, you can take him in."
Lotus looked to her in bewilderment, "Take him with me? However, Grim might not like to be dragged around with me."
"Didn't you say that he only remembered being in a cold and dark place waiting for someone to pick him up, but they never did." Lady Zigvolt explained, "Since the two of you have cared for him, you should properly take responsibility over him. Moreover, you are a beast master too and tamed this cat yourself. Take responsibility for taming him. After all, you can't break the contract now, right?"
"Take responsibility?" Lotus hummed in deep thoughts, "However, after graduating, I won't be staying in one place anymore..."
Hearing her sad tone, Lady Zigvolt sighed in dismay, "I'll leave that to you. You can think what to do on your own. Now, the question is... Will we be invited to the fairy gala this year or not?"
"The fairy gala?" Lotus looked to her in surprise, "Did you not receive the invitations?"
"Naturally, I have received it." Lady Zigvolt stated firmly, "However, word has it that the prince would be invited this year. Father is worried."
"The fairy gala." Lotus hummed in deep thoughts, "I see. There is chances that somethings could go wrong, even if the percentage that everything would go smoothly would be high."
"The fairies had never been open to the faes either till your arrival sparked a change."
Lotus nodded, "Not much is known about the fairies in the eyes of the outside world. The only countries that knows the most about them is the Valleys of Thorns, also known as Briar Valley. Even then, the relations between the fairy kingdom and faes are strained. Fairies are pure minded, albeit mischevious. They would not hesitate to single someone out without mother's orders if they feel hostility. The only ones that wouldn't act so quickly would be those who served mother and father for so long. Then, there are those who had been assigned to be around me and educate me, a human."
"The prince has never left the castle till this opportunity to study in night raven college." Lady Zigvolt added, "Though this should not hinder him, it should still cause suspcious rumors regarding him."
Lotus frowned, "That's true... My mother has seen the queen once in the past, so she would not try anything against them. I've sent an invitation to her grandson, so there might be rumors or misunderstandings that would occur. Though I'm a princess by name, I wouldn't have all of their respect because I'm also human and not related by blood."
Shaking her head casually, she sighed, "How annoying..."
She thought for a bit before continuing, "I'll extend an invitation to master as well and relay this to my mother to notify the others, so there wouldn't be a scene. It'll put him at ease if he attends this event in person. Of course, I've mentioned in the letter I'm planning to send to him that he could bring his retainers along for the trip... However, Sebek and upperclassman Silver seem to have an exam coming up on those days. Do they usually plan matters in this way?"
"Really?" Lady Zigvolt frowned, "It must be because those kids don't usually get to be in a setting where they can associate with others around their age or worry the most trivial things in life. Hah... Sebek is also around your age. I was hoping that the two of you would be able to meet officially at the gala."
Lotus chuckled, "If that were to happen in the setting, Sebek would most likely assume the position as though the room is filled with wolves. He's so funny sometimes, but his dedication to his job is also impressive. Nowadays, he seems to place the prince as first priority as naturally. Then, there is Mister Vanrouge and finally Silver. Every time Silver dozes off, Sebek would become overly concerned and, when someone points it out, he strongly disagrees and acts annoyed at Silver instead."
"Silver, is it?" Lady Zigvolt sighed hiding the relief from her expression.
"Yes, it's the person that you must be thinking of. Mister Vanrouge's son." Lotus nodded, "He... has this strange symptom of falling asleep no matter how hard he struggles to stay awake. From working and studying to eating and walking."
"Symptom?" She looked to her in surprise, "Do you think that you can cure it?"
Lotus hummed in deep thoughts and clarified, "If I could cure it, I would've studied this more. However, it would seem that what's troubling him is curse of some kind."
"A curse?"
Lotus nodded, "If it was a regular curse, the prince and his father would've seen through it, but I don't think this was that simple."
"You've seen through his case, then?" She questioned curiously. For a long time, Silver's drowsiness has always been a problem. She couldn't believe it before, but now it might just be another story.
Lotus hesitated, "Partially, I'm afraid. When I took a look at him, I could already tell that this curse was one that was placed on him shortly after birth, but... there seems to be some complicated matter, such as there has already been a curse placed on him before birth or one that was passed down in his bloodline. The second curse that was used after his birth triggered the first one and this is the current problem. The first curse should either have been weak or was a residue of some powerful curse that wasn't completely dispelled and could be carried down the bloodline. I've seen such a case before, but that one was more severe and reacted faster than this one. However, I don't know the entire story to be certain of this diagnosis. Also, curses aren't my specialty. I can see through a curse as long as it's not too difficult, but breaking it is another problem for me. I'll need to examine it further before I can conclude any thoughts. Silver has a lot of time too. As much time as humanly possible, that is. If he was to lift the curse... I don't know the current circumstances of the two curses to help him."
Her teacher hummed in deep thought before continuing, "Then, who do you think can help him?"
Going through the people in her mind, she listed, "The answer to this... Someone who is familiar with curses and know how to break it... A number of them belongs to other royalties and officials.