"Where the f*ck am I?!" I shouted when I woke up in an unfamiliar place.
Gigantic Bed. Check.
Luxurious Things. Check.
Expensive Paintings. Check.
When I looked at myself, I saw a prince-like attire. No wonder I felt so hot. I closed my eyes as I tried to calm my nerves. Images of my life flashed inside my head.
I was just sleeping from a tiring day and when I woke up I was in this place. Is this the infamous isekai? But there's no truck-kun. No saving a damsel in distress. He's not also the goody type of person. He's far from that.
But wait—
I died?! I freaking died?! Damn! I mustered my strength and stood up. I walked in front of the mirror and what I saw shook my entire system.
A handsome youth with blonde short hair, a pair of deep penetrating ruby eyes, thick manly eyebrows, and pinkish kissable lips.
A devilish smirk formed on my lips as I carries my handsome face. My eyes landed on the double door when it opened, revealing beauty in a maid uniform.
My eyes immediately sparkled but I composed myself when I saw how worried she was. The food trolley she was pushing was discarded when she ran toward me.
"Prince Elijah, are you okay? Do you feel pain? How's your injury?" she asked while helping me back to my bed.
While walking back to the bed, my mind was preoccupied with what I heard. First of all, I am no prince and my name was Carl and not Elijah. My face might be enhanced and looked younger but I saw the resemblance from my face before I came to this– where am I? Then, injury? Pain? I was injured before I woke up? But why do I feel so light? I feel no pain at all.
I kept my silence as I observed my surrounding.
I let the beauty do her job as my mind still wandered. I stared at the girl who helped me as if her whole life depended on it. I saw the warmth, care, concern, and... love?
Does she love me? Hmm... Interesting.
The nature of my work helped me read people, no matter how much they tried to hide it. And this beauty in front of me was easy to read.. and manipulate.
My hand stopped her hand from feeding me. Her body tensed as her face turned crimson.
I put on a confused look as I looked at her straight into her eyes, "W-who are y-you? Where am... I? D-do you know who I am?"
Her crimson face turned into a shocked one upon hearing my questions. Panicked followed as she started to walk back and forth.
"I... I... What should I do, Prince Elijah? Should I call the healer? Or maybe King Maximus? I–"
Before she could continue her monologue, I stopped her by grabbing her hands. I looked directly into her eyes, "First of all, I want you to calm down. Why don't we start with you introducing yourself? Tell me who I am, what happened to me, where are we, and everything I needed to learn."
"But Prince–"
"Ssshh. I don't want others to know about my situation. If I am a prince, then, this moment of weakness could be exploited and used against me. Do you want that to happen?" I asked with a determined look but using a soft tone full of sincerity.
I felt bad about using her feelings toward me but I needed to learn everything there was to learn to survive. There was no amnesia. None of that existed but the fewer people knew the safer that would be for me.
"I–"
"Do I need to beg you to help me?" I asked which made the girl in front of me panic once more.
"No! No! Of course not, Prince Elijah." she said as she composed herself. "I am Amena, your personal maid, Prince Elijah. I was saved by you when I was about to be sold as a slave..."
To sum it up, I am the fifth prince of the Kingdom of Petrasella and a bastard for that matter. My mother was a woman of unknown background and was impregnated by the king. I was 15 when my father found out about my existence and I was forced to live inside the palace away from my mother. Starting that day, my mother vanished from the thin air that devastated me and made me as someone timid and spineless. To make the matter worse worst when I turned 16 the Council of Magic found out that I have zero magic compatibility making me a laughingstock and the source of mockery inside the palace. That was two years ago.
I found out that I am in the world of magic. Panaroma. Mana was used in conjuring fire, calling a wave of water, and many more. The Royal family of Atkinson was known for their strength in conjuring fire. And I have none.
There are ten stages of a magician in the world of Panaroma. Stage Zero were mortals with zero affinity to mana. Stage One was considered trainees or novices. Stage Two to Three were called Junior Practitioners. Stage Four to Five were called Intermediate Practitioners. Stage Six to Eight were called Senior Practitioners. And Stage 9 was called the legendary stage, a mysterious stage that only three were recorded to achieve.
Your mana capacity will determine your stage. With each stage, you could only use a certain magic that corresponds to your mana capacity because once you tried a magic that was above your mana capacity, there was a big possibility of destroying your mana core and becoming a mortal just like him. No one liked that.
Mana core is where you store your mana. Aside from conjuring your element, one could also use magic tools as a catalyst. But those who could wield their element and could use their element freely were called geniuses. One of those geniuses was his little sister. Amelia. The only person who cared for his well-being aside from Amena.
Speaking of sister. My father, the king, was a Stage 7 Senior Knight. My oldest brother, William was a Stage 5 intermediate knight. My other brothers (Alexis, Theodore, and Zachary) were all Stage 4 intermediate knights with fire as their attribute. They're knights because they were using a sword as a catalyst to wield their magic. But Amelia was different. She was my younger sister, a few months ago when she turned sixteen, the Council of Magic found out that she was a dual attribute wielder, the element of fire and water, and her mana capacity was big enough for her to conjure both attributes freely making her a magician. The highest and the most respective class in the whole Panaroma.
Amelia was the daughter of Queen Elizabeth. The legal wife of his father and was Stage 8 water magician. Queen Elizabeth used to be a commoner, but because of the threat of the royal family and the greed of the king to have stronger offspring, Queen Elizabeth became a queen. To expand the influence of the king, two concubines were introduced making them the parents of his older brothers. Then, there was him who was a son of a commoner without any status.
Soon, Queen Elizabeth became pregnant. But she died during the delivery. Amelia was born and treated as a princess in hope of her becoming a strong magician just like her mother. The treatment of her drastically improved when they found out that she was a dual-attribute magician, even though she's a dual wielder, she's not a threat to the throne because she's a girl.
"Princess Amelia is now studying at Panaroma Academy of Magic and is already a Stage 3 Magician despite her age." Amena continued. When she saw him closing his eyes, worries washed over her face as she stood up and helped him lie down in bed.
"Prince Elijah, you should rest. I also need to inform the king that you are finally awake." she said after fixing the bed, "Don't worry, I won't tell him about your condition." she immediately added which made me sigh internally.
"Amena..." I softly called. "Thank you for everything."
A sweet smile formed on her lips as she bowed slightly, "It's a pleasure to help you, Prince Elijah."
With that, Amena left. The moment the door closed, my face turned serious. If Amena could see his face right now, she'll be scared. His face was devoid of any emotions, a pair of cold crimson eyes, and his whole body exuded a murderous aura. Far from the timid and spineless prince.
When he thought of her little sister, something warmth enveloped his heart and from that, he knew that her sister Amelia was someone special to Prince Elijah. Upon learning about his father's greed, he knew that he'll use her sister for his benefit. Maybe a political marriage.
Just thinking of it made his blood boil from anger.
Damn! So much for his first day as Prince Elijah.