"Another mage?! There shouldn't be any more mage in this world who is stronger than me!" groaned Quentin as he sat down on the sofa and loosened his collar.
Earth was currently very peaceful, too peaceful to be boring. It was as if every head of state had turned into a holy priest who was taboo to see blood. Despite the fact that every royal family still harbors rottenness, they cover it up well. They still kill, though not openly anymore. In the absence of war, the nobles and royal families are now slowly tormenting the commoners. Forcing them to pay taxes and work for their whole lives.
Quentin took it naturally. There were always rich and poor, rulers and oppressed. He was probably one of the royals who indulged in the hypocrisy of the palace. But his lifestyle and education made him immune and not guilty. It was their fault for being born poor. That's what his father the emperor always taught.
Quentin was already in the dining room, where all of his animal servants—except Penny—were seen busy preparing dinner. The cheerful servant girl quietly looked at Quentin. Then their eyes accidentally met.
Penny, averted her eyes uncomfortably—worried that the Prince might catch her who was secretly admiring his physique. Penny had just hit her teens and she was starting to know what a handsome man was. Her friends in the village often talked about it. They discussed the celebrities, or the coolest young men around them while shrieking with joy. It was their little pleasure in between their obligations to help their parents in the garden or while working in the factory.
Quentin Sigmarino was a noble, and he was no ordinary noble. He was a prince. Although not the kind of prince who would rule Arbavia in the future—or those who would make important decisions in his country—he was still one of the most important people in Arbavia.
Penny though was petite and looked as harmless as a bunny—sometimes daydreaming while imagining a little Opera in her mind. Often involves Quentin as the object of her romance.
Of course Quentin in his imagination didn't like to speak harshly let alone command or make selfish demands. Penny just loved seeing his handsome face and body as good as knights—even though Quentin rarely visited the training barracks. Quentin could be the perfect prince—if only his mouth wasn't mean and he wasn't so selfish.
"Call the girl, what's her name? Shirayuki," Quentin recalled. Penny gasped and came back down from her secret dreamland.
"Soon, Your Majesty," said Penny, a little nervously. Before long, the long-tailed monkeys came to Quentin carrying a trolley full of food.
Quentin was a fan of good food, but he had to contain his appetite. His body and face are assets that he must protect. Quentin only ate a mouthful or two from each plate in front of him then threw the rest away. Grumpy the gardener usually collects the Prince's leftovers, puts them in big barrels and lets them ferment.
Grumpy uses the organic fertilizer to nourish the Prince's rose garden. Some of the castle dwellers even swore that they sometimes smelled smoked bacon or vanilla cream from rose petals in Prince Quentin's castle.
"What is this? An auction event in the capital? Why did I just get reminded?" Quentin grumbled at Theo, the intellectual-looking sheep. Quentin reacted to the document Theo had just given him.
The sun was starting to set, Theo bleated for a moment, his voice a little small as if it had almost disappeared. Almost unnoticed, the bespectacled fleece began to disappear, its legs becoming longer. All the features of the sheep's body changed into another form.
A man without clothes now stood before the prince, he adjusted his glasses and tied his shoulder length hair with a cotton rope. Then he bowed to his master.
"I warned you two days ago, I think Prince Leonidas will suspect you if you keep rejecting. I finally agreed," Theo explained.
"Your clothes! Oh my! Where are your manners?" said Quentin who had lost half of his appetite.
Theo was handsome and young, but he wasn't Quentin's taste at all. The prince was still straight even though he had never dated. Penny the servant girl looked embarrassed and covered her face.
"Ah, I'm sorry, maybe I'm too used to living with those thick furs that I forgot that I'm still a human. So Your Majesty, when will we be able to return to our normal life?" Theo asked calmly while covering his lower body with a piece of dining tablecloth.
"I still have to do some more experiments, believe me this master of yours works hard for it," said Quentin casually as he chewed on a piece of blueberry pie.
The other animals that had been roaming around now also returned to their original form. The servants, the chef and his assistants and Grumpy the gardener who had been in the form of a horse.
It was because of this that Quentin desperately forbade other people to approach his castle. He placed many knights on the path leading to his castle. He also made various excuses to prevent his friends and relatives from visiting.
Quentin himself for more than three years was always seen with a gloomy macaw cockatoo. His friends would think he was crazy if they saw his castle filled with dozens of well-trained farm animals holding scissors and writing with their mouths. Quentin's reputation could be ruined and the royal family might question his sanity. The worst that could happen—he could have been driven into an area far and close to the forest where the mountain bandits would often pass and try to pounce on him.
The royal family can do bad things just to maintain their reputation and honor.
That was also the reason why Quentin did not yet tell His family about him being capable of using magic.