Shit, have we awakened someone perilous?
I took a deep breath as I felt his mana surging all over the place. I was already able to stand up, but it was just for a short while since his mana was dense enough to make me fall back to the ground. I never felt this mana before. It was chilling, and at the same time, hot. But what prevails the most was... evil?
My mana was insufficient to defend myself, and from a glance, I noticed that Daddy and Teacher Kathleen were affected by this mana.
My goodness!
I tensed when someone carried me like a princess, but I immediately relaxed when I saw Daddy's face.
"What was he doing to you, Yllaria?" Daddy's voice was low, and someone would probably tremble in fear if they heard him. I sighed and patted Daddy's cheek. "He wasn't doing anything bad to me, Daddy. He's the third imperial prince, Cain Lewis Vistronde. The prince was asking me to heal the wounds of that woman, even though we both knew she was dead." Daddy froze for a while, probably shocked by the fact that he struck a prince with his magic and there was a dead woman. I didn't tell him that the woman was his mother, because that would shock him more and I don't want anyone to be too distracted in our situation right now.
Anyways, hurting a member of an imperial family is considered treason... right?
Ah, that's not the time for this is not the time for that!
"He was already releasing his mana at that time, but I managed to calm him. When he was struck by your magic, his mana core was probably unsealed, and now this is the result." I continued explaining and Daddy's expression turned grim. I wasn't blaming him, but I just told him the truth.
"Can we do anything?" He asked and I shook my head. "I don't know, Daddy. I didn't learn anything about handling awakened magicians, and my mana was already drained from calming the prince and healing the woman's wounds." I felt every hair in my body rose as the prince's mana grew stronger and deadlier. I turned to his direction and he was just standing still, but one wrong move and we knew we'll get killed.
What do we do?
"Well, well. What do we have here?" As if an answer to my question, a blonde-haired man appeared in front of me. I immediately noticed his blue eyes and his grown appearance. "Ambrose!" He frowned when I called him and turned his back on me. This magician!
"Ah, lady. You really are something. How can you awaken such a dangerous being?" He wasn't facing me so I can't see his expression, but from the tone of his voice, I knew that he was a distressed. I was about to answer him when he cut my words off. "Explain later, lady Yllaria. I'll take care of this. I didn't imagine that I'll be using my power again for someone who'll awaken. See you soon, lady." Then he and the prince immediately vanished in thin air. He must have brought the prince to the 'space' where Ambrose brought me before.
"Who was that, Yllaria?" I turned to Daddy's direction and his brows were furrowed, probably worried. "That was Ambrose, Daddy. My mentor when it comes to magic." His expression darkened but I was too tired to decipher his emotion. After the disappearance of that scary mana, I felt my body getting tired. I was probably still conscious due to the adrenaline rush, but after the danger has passed, I can feel the exhaustion consuming my whole being.
"For now... Let's go.... home..." After whispering the last word, I lost my consciousness.
- - - - -
"Hah, after helping a dangerous kid, I'll be taking care of another one? How troublesome." I groaned when I heard a familiar voice. I tried to adjust my senses as I slowly recovered my consciousness. "Oh, you're finally awake? You really are something. Replenishing a ton of mana after a day, quite impressive." I covered my ears upon hearing his voice. He has a nice voice, but I really get annoyed when someone talks too much whenever I just woke up.
"I can hear you, you know. And I don't know if I should be grateful or be insulted." I huffed out of annoyance when he talked again. "Shut up for a while." I mouthed the words but I was sure that he was able to understand that. He probably considered my words and went silent. I was still closing my eyes as I focused on my surroundings, and on myself.
A scent of paper and ink, mixed with mint, was wafting on the air. I guess it's my room? It was silent, if not for Ambrose's breathing, and I can't sense other presences. I tried to concentrate on my mana core and it was quite shocking to see it was almost full. If I wasn't mistaken, Ambrose told me that I only slept for a day. And I already recovered this much mana?
I opened my eyes and saw Ambrose's child form staring at me. I also confirmed that we were on my room. "Did you give me a little of your mana or something?" He sighed and shook his head. "Of course not, you dummy. To start, the mana you awakened within that little prince was too troublesome for me to deal with. It was dangerous as hell if it was left alone. I was quite impressed that you didn't die after being exposed to such mana." His eyes were serious, clearly not giving humor in his words.
"Was it really that dangerous?" I asked him, though I already knew that the mana Cain had would have killed us at that time. "Yeah. His mana was huge and strong to begin with, but the magic affinity he had made it more perilous." His last statement piqued my interest. "Magic affinity? What was his magic affinity?" Ambrose was quiet, and I felt the tension in the room rise.
"Commonly, people with the Vistronde bloodline have the affinity to the fire element, and that little prince also had affinity to fire. But... what made him dangerous was his affinity to the element of darkness." Element of darkness? "Yes, element of darkness. It's a rare magic, and at some point, it was considered as a forbidden one. You could easily tell that when it comes to darkness, it would relate to misfortune and curses. Unfortunately, that's true. The dark element is a strong but evil magic, and it is usually used for afflicting curses or for killing. Once its user becomes affiliated with strong negative emotions, darkness could consume him and his body would be taken over by an evil being." My mouth gaped with what he said. This is... too much information.
"Wait, I don't know what to feel about this, but before I dive too much on that, where's the third prince?" As if on cue, the door opened and it revealed a dark-haired boy wearing simple clothes. Despite the simplicity of his clothing, you could never resist the fact that he's breathtakingly gorgeous, even just by staring at his amethyst eyes.
Aside from his looks, I immediately sensed that something was different from him. His once stagnant mana was now flowing throughout his body and I could feel it despite the our distance.
Cain Lewis Vistronde, Third Imperial Prince of the Nycasia Empire. He was once an emperor, but now he acquired the magic of fire and darkness.
I can't help but stare at him with eyes full of sadness and regrets. I have no idea on what's happening or what would happen in the future, and I already felt like crying.
Ah, fate. Did I really change it for the better... or for the worse?