Julius walked into the castle gates and the guards all turned to him. Their eyes first went to Ray, who was beside Julius, and then they recognized him.
"That's Prince Julius."
"I can see that."
"He feels different than before."
"...his hair is white."
The guards began to wonder where Julius went, and then the young prince suddenly approached the two guards at the castle doors.
"How have things been since I left?" Julius asked, and the guards fell to their knees.
"Um, your highness, after you left?" The guard seemed taken aback by the question but he shook his head and maintained his composure.
"Prince Caster is finally in the Midgard Academy and there was a fight between the king and King Elizabeth a few days ago... And..." the guard narrated all he could remember and afterward, Julius was satisfied.
'Well, nothing out of the ordinary.'
He went into the castle and then made his way to his sister's room.
"You both should get some rest," Julius said with a smile, and Ray nodded before they left.
He soon got in front of Sasha's room and then let out a deep breath and knocked on it.
"The young miss is currently in the training fields, Prince Julius," a womanly voice came from beside him and Julius couldn't help but freak out inwardly.
'What the... When did she get to my side?' He was shocked but he cleared his throat.
"Thank you. Also, how did you know it was me?" Julius asked her with a raised brow, and she blinked.
"I have special eyes. That's how I'm able to always keep an eye on the princess, your highness." The person said, and Julius took note of her features.
Short black hair which seemed even darker than charcoal. Her eyes were a pale black color and her aloof expression made her seem cold.
She was dressed in a silver outfit which Julius seemed not to recognize and then he sighed, and his brows furrowed as he remembered her words just now.
'Did she just say special eyes?' He recalled, and he looked at her again.
'As far as special eyes go... Only the MC and that man had those things. They're considered a privilege to people, a blessing?' He frowned as he wondered why all these strong people he's meeting weren't mentioned in the novel.
Of course, there were villains who were simply even more terrifying than anything and anyone he had seen so far, but luckily he was born way before they began acting.
"I'm going to go see my sister now," Julius said, and then he walked past her.
The woman glanced back at the prince and her brows furrowed as she saw a pure energy residing within him.
It was the purest form of mana she had ever seen. Her aloof expression turned to one of curiosity as she tried to look further into Julius.
The presence of mana meant that he had magic, and she couldn't even begin to reason how it happened.
She suddenly turned around and walked away from her position.
...
Julius got to the training yard and saw wooden constructs going towards the princess, attacking her.
Her long jade-green hair fluttered in the wind like waves of water. She held a bright silver spear with a black body; each swing she performed seemed like a dance of grace, carrying power enough to shatter the dummies upon impact.
'What the fuck? She can manifest her aura?' Julius couldn't help but be shocked.
He was sure that during the one year where he trained with Ray, she never got any sort of training. For her to awaken her aura in this short period of time... She was talented.
'And it's this talent that even made the MC attracted to her. I thought that attribute was supposed to make me talented, then why did she get her aura within such a shorter time...' Julius couldn't help but think.
'That god's blessing gave me talent for everything I do. Or is the talent not absolute?' he questioned, observing his sister as she completely overpowered the dummies.
Noticing someone behind her, Sasha looked back and saw Julius there smiling at her.
"Who are you?" She asked with a frown, and then Julius shook his head and walked towards her.
She looked around and noticed that the guards weren't stopping the intruder and she glared at him suspiciously.
"Hey sis. How have things been?" Julius said with a smirk on his face, and Sasha couldn't help but be shocked.
"Ju... Julius?!"
...
"That doesn't explain why you left without telling anyone!" Sasha shouted at Julius, who sat on the floor explaining to her why he left.
"I knew if I told you, you would come looking for me, and Mom too. I had to do it alone."
At this point, Julius was just tired of his sister being angry. He only stared at her as she warned him not to do it again.
"You're still very young and you need to be looked after."
"Eh? You're only a year older than me." Julius looked at his sister and shook his head.
'I'm far more mature than you, though.'
"Hm, I'm calm now. Tell me how you got magic..."
The door leading into the castle opened and a silhouette suddenly appeared before Julius. It all happened in the blink of an eye and Julius looked up to see his mother in front of him with teary eyes.
"You made it back. I don't blame you, I don't blame you at all. I blame your father, he kept it away from me..." Margaret couldn't stop talking and kept on apologizing and Julius glanced at Sasha for help.
"I'm really fine, I'm the one that told Dad not to tell you."
Margaret released Julius and frowned as she heard his statement.
"Why?"
Julius sighed as he began to narrate how the world willed him to the Valley of Forgotten Dreams and he told her everything that happened while they were there.
Margaret was worried about him ever since he went missing. The king only kept on telling her that he was fine but she had to know where he was.
"That's quite the story. But you're so young, you shouldn't have to see the outside world," Margaret said with a warm smile as she caressed his cheek.
"Hey, now that he's awakened magic, we should check if he has an element," Sasha said, and Julius smiled.