When they reached the Manor of Fang Jia, the three children immediately became quiet. Qing An Rong and Shen Ze Yu were both silently anticipating and nervous about what was to come. Curious and anticipated meeting the new member of Fang Jia, while Shen Ze Yu was nervous about the mental state of Xue Chengguang.
The door was opened by the guard, the maids stand on both sides bowing slightly.
"Greetings, Crown Prince and Young Master Qing. Welcome back, Young Master."
Fang Yu Zuan nodded in greeting, then gave his bag to his attending maid.
"Is Li Hua awake?" He asked the maids present.
"Anna took the young mistress in the garden." One of the maids answered.
"I see. Tell the chef the Crown Prince and Young Master Qing will join us for dinner." Fang Yu Zuan ordered before leading his friends toward the garden.
The garden is full of flowers that the Grand Duke's wife likes. It especially smells nice. The Young Mistress even hired a person who can control the plants and land. That's why everyone can see how healthy the flowers are and how the smells of these flowers were different from normal plants tended by a normal person.
Anna came in full view, carrying the newborn child. She was humming a song they don't know.
The other maids saw Fang Yu Zuan and his friends coming.
"Young Master." They greeted.
"What are you doing?" Fang Yu Zuan asked.
"Young Mistress seems to like the smell of flowers," Anna answered and slightly lowered the newborn child she was carrying.
After being taken care of, Fang Li Hua's skin was almost as white as her hair. With rosy cheeks, and pair of turquoise eyes. Li Hua looks like a doll.
"Woah. She looks just like you, Yu Zuan." Shen Ze Yu said in amazement as he got near Li Hua.
"Ha? I don't see any resemblance." Fang Yu Zuan disagreed.
"Yes, I saw your portrait painting when you were just born. It's just that, she has white hair." Shen Ze Yu answered as he stroked Fang Li Hua's skin.
Fang Li Hua's eyes kept staring at the redhead, making the crown prince smile.
"Nice to meet you, Young Li Hua." He greeted her with a big smile.
"Anyway, An Rong. Don't you want to see her? She's cute— are you okay?" Shen Ze Yu asked their friend who didn't follow them and remained standing a few feet away from them. They were all confused, Qing An Rong's eyes are glowing and he also seems shocked.
"Yu Zuan, your sister." He said and started to walk towards them. After reaching them, he raised a hand to touch the place where the heart is supposed to be. "Someone cursed her." He continued.
Fang Yu Zuan's reacted as if someone threw hot water on him.
"Are you sure?" He asked, frowning in disbelief.
"An elder from our family can confirm it. But I see a dark purple aura surrounding your sister's heart. The aura of your heart is blue, just like your father. But Li Hua's is dark purple, it's either someone cursed her, or a demon possessed her." He explained.
Qing An Rong looked seriously at Fang Yu Zuan. His eyes still glowing. "It's best to have her check."
Fang Yu Zuan wanted to deny or ignore what his friend said, but he can't. What if he's telling the truth? Not only would be Li Hua's life in danger, their Fang Jia too. He should report this to his father once he got home.
"From her appearance, she probably hasn't experienced anything life-threatening yet." Qing An Rong assured his friend.
"Oh no. If someone really cursed Young Li Hua, who do you think did it?" Shen Ze Yu asked his friend. Pure confusion was written on his face.
"Have Auntie met someone these past few days?" He continued to ask. Even if they all live in Anmae, the Capital of the Desilia Kingdom, it's not hard to find a fiend if you have a connection.
Fiend. They are the type of people who is in contact with a demon. Their magic was called black magic as their magic tended to be malicious and deadly. Fiend can imply a curse on someone. And sometimes, the fiend isn't a human anymore. There were some cases hundred years ago, where the body has been fully occupied by the demon, possessing and claiming the fiend's body.
"Are you implying something?" Fang Yu Zuan frowned at Shen Ze Yu.
"Well, I can't think of anyone who has such intent." Shen Ze Yu frankly said back.
The maids around them probably thought the same thing. The Mistress wasn't acting sane these past few days. She had been behaving weirdly, but they cannot blame her. Who would be able to accept that their husband who promised to be loyal would bring an illegitimate child to their home?
"I'd have someone investigate my Mother's actions these past few days." Fang Yu Zuan surrendered, even his own brain is telling him that his Mother's the one who did this.
"..Uhh. Wu wu."
"Young Mistress, why are you suddenly crying?" Anna asked as she began to rock the child.
"Wu wuu. Huh wuwu." But the child continued to cry, making Anna distress.
"Maybe she's hungry. Take her inside." Fang Yu Zuan ordered. Anna and the other maids obeyed and finally went in. After seeing them come in, he confronted his friend.
"An Rong, are you sure about what you saw?" He asked seriously.
Qing An Rong nodded, "I'm especially worried about how dark the aura was." He looked down at his feet, seemingly thinking about something.
"It was so dark. It's the darkest color of purple I've ever seen." He continued. Fang Yu Zuan was disturbed by what he heard. His father never let him be exposed to these things, unlike Qing An Rong, whose eldest sister is the current High Priest, whose magics are inherited from their ancestors. For many generations, the position of High Priest came from their family. He told them a few stories when he witnessed his sister performing an exorcism.
"I think, it's best to bring Li Hua to the church." Shen Ze Yu suggested seeing how Fang Yu Zuan froze.
"I'll bring her once I got Father's approval." Fang Yu Zuan sighed. "Let's go in now. It's time for dinner."
Because it was already dark when entered the Manor, Fang Yu Zuan released a sphere of light, making their surrounding lights up.
The sphere of light, other than candles, is where the light they used in their homes comes from. Everyone who has awakened their magic can do this simple thing.
Fang Yu Zuan took the Lantern Lamp that was hanging on the wall. After putting the sphere of light inside, the three of them continued, their path was no longer dark.
When they reached the dining table, he gave the lantern lamp to one of the maids. An unused sphere of light will extinguish on its own in a few hours. That's why the normal person in their Manor tends to ask for their sphere of light, so they can have some light at night. Saving the candle that was distributed to them.
Xue Chengguang was already sitting, and Shen Ze Yu began to release one of his magic. But it seems ineffective. The Mistress continued eating without looking at them. As if she was in a rush to finish her food.
They could see that the Mistress is in a poor state. She has dark circles around her eyes. Her black hair looks unkempt as if she just got up from the bed.
Shen Ze Yu shook his head at Fang Yu Zuan. They felt it when the Crown Prince released his magic, they felt calm and it also penetrate their core as if soothing it.
Fang Yu Zuan let out a sigh and also began eating his food. Already expecting that he would be busy starting tomorrow.