(Charlotte POV)

The Inner Palace of the Royal Palace of Colchis.

I stood in front of the door to my mother’s bedroom.

The maids that led me already left to give me private time with my mother. I spoke to her immediately after coming back but that was not enough for me.

I wanted to hear her voice again. To feel her touch. To gaze at her beautiful visage. The last time I visited, she was sitting on her bed with a warm smile. Her skin was still so milky white and pure from blemishes despite being sick. The same as it was a decade ago.

The tears that I held in fell down and I ran into her embrace while tugging her clothes.

She only patted my head with a smile.

I told her all the things that we’ve been through on the other part of the continent.

From the beginning until the end. I was so invested in letting her know what we did, that I lost track of time. When I finally finished talking, it was already past midnight. Mother didn’t even seem to mind.

I really dumped all that info on her despite not asking her how she was doing.

Has Olivia and the others make their move yet? Mother might be a former swordswoman, but she’s still weak since she has TB.

It pains me to see her break into a fit of coughs whenever I come talk to her. What if she dies?

The disease is barely manageable since many priests visit the palace everyday. I was hoping miss Erica could perhaps help mother but after experiencing that conversation with her, I knew I couldn’t trust her.

Clyde-sama made me promise to keep her being the Saintess a secret and I’ll keep that promise with him. There is also the likelihood that miss Erica could come and murder the entire royal family if I revealed her identity to someone.

Something is telling me that she’s hiding more power than she shows. We were all called in for questioning at the Sky Fortress as a group.

Despite the members of the White Order exerting that much pressure on her, she never once changed her expression and calmly answered their questions.

A normal human would choke under their aura. I also found it hard to stare at the leader in the eyes. The person I look up to the most.

The bottom line is that she’s dangerous. I recognize her strange personality which makes her so dependant on Clyde-sama. I’ve noticed how she acted during our journey together as well.

As long as nothing happens to Clyde-sama then the rabid dog will stay on her leash. I’ll think of a way to get her in check once I become queen. My attempts in recruiting her wasn’t sincere. There was a part of me that wanted her to join my faction and another part of me just wanted to get rid of her before she causes damage in the future.

Creak

I opened the door after calming myself down.

Mother was drinking tea by the porch of her room, overlooking our kingdom.

A white blanket was thrown over her legs to block the chilly wind. It’s the blanket I made her three years go when I learned to knit. It’s not even perfectly made but she still uses it.

Her long blonde hair danced with the wind. The robe she wore emphasizes all her curves. I wish I could become as gorgeous as my mother someday. She’s 42 years old and yet she doesn’t look a day over 30.

Father usually sneaks to the Inner Palace a lot to spend time with mother. Not to make love, though. Mother always gossips about these sorts of things about the two of them.

I wonder, if she gets cured, does that mean I’ll get a new sibling?

If that’s what will happen then I’ll look after him or her properly once I become queen. Not even a strand of hair on their head will touched by anyone.

“You came, dear.”

Mother’s sweet and melodious voice flowed into my ears. Her warm voice instantly made me relax of some of the tension I felt.

I sat on the opposite chair to her and gazed at her. She was looking at me as well.

She smiled warmly.

“Now, let me hear what you’ve been up to this week.”

◇◇

(Clyde POV)

I practiced my magic all day and depleted all of my mana for the first time in awhile. It’ll take a few days to recover completely so I can only rely on spirit magic at the moment.

There’s a spell I’ve been trying to cast.

It’s a God Rank spell. And as expected, I couldn’t cast it. I don’t have mastery over all magic like the Great Sage did.

It’s alright, though. I was only trying my luck. It was said to me that I have a high ceiling for growth. That means that I might be able to cast it one day. That’s wishful thinking, I know.

The spell’s name is Graponia. This was the first ever god rank spell in the history books before others were recorded in ancient times. It’s not the strongest but it’s the most famous one.

It was used by the Saintess and Great Sage to kill the Demon Battle God, Rodion, after all. It’s an old legend of the past.

Graponia is a word from the old language of the continent meaning [Accumulation of Elements]. The spell uses all attributes as its fuel source and main power. Thus, creating a new attribute. Dark matter. Dark Matter makes up most of deep space. About 80% of space. That’s what my science teacher told us during a lesson.

The spell uses that dark matter and turns it into a weapon of destruction. An entire ocean was destroyed after the spell was thrown on the all powerful Demon Battle God.

They say it took nearly two hours for the ginormous gaping hole to be filled with ocean water again.

By the way, ‘Graponia’ is the name of the Royal Academy as well. The Great Sage was born in this kingdom back then so we had rights over the name of the spell.

Not much is known about the strongest spell in existence.

Ragnarok. That is the name. The phrase associated with the name is “Destroyer of Worlds.”

They say the Spirit King casted this spell to kill the Aliens or Immortals that invaded this planet. Legends depict that this spell could actually destroy worlds if the [Spirit King] decides to call for Celestial Spirits. I’m not sure what Celestial Spirits are but I can guess that they must be as strong as gods judging from the name alone.

The immortals must be the reason why the Dragon Lords had no choice but to come to this planet since their world was destroyed. The seven’s locations are unknown but they are still alive and only appear when an immortal appears.

I don’t know why they couldn’t detect Zero. Viria says in the article that it was thanks to Laura’s abilities that they were able to sense Zero’s strong presence.

I wonder what this Star Core is that they’re searching for.

Immortals are powerful beings. And by powerful I mean sneezing an entire star into nothingness if they’re part of the higher deities. I can’t be sure how strong that Zero guy is. He might be mid tier.

The Primordial was the vaccine, the immortals the disease and the spirit king the cure.

What I mean by that is that the Primordial sent the Spirit King to deal with those known as Immortals. They can also be called his own children as well. Well, naughty children.

Gods would be the bacteria. Some are good while others aren’t.

I hope the god that made me reincarnate isn’t a shrewd and cunning piece of shit that wants to use me for their goals.

Aside from my ramblings, I received a letter from Arielle.

She says training has been getting harder and harder each day. She has to dodge logs rolling down mountains and catch arrows blindfolded.

C-Could that even be counted as training?

I’m not a swordsman so I’m not sure.

A month already passed by before I received the letter. The Rusa Empire is far from the Kingdom so it’s understandable.

°

“Are you ready, young master?”

When I was busy putting on my new second year uniform of the academy, a voice came from the door.

Aisha came inside and checked to see if I packed everything.

“Yes, miss Aisha. I’m ready.”

She came up to me and began fixing my hair.

“Why don’t I cut your hair? It’s been a while ever since I did that.”

She brushed my bangs a little out of my face and tied my hair tighter at the back.

“It’s fine.”

I actually love the look. Long hair, green eyes, a handsome face. Aren’t I the full package? Now my face just needs to mature. I still have the baby fat of a little kid since I’m still 14.

Well, I’m only a child who’s still growing.

“Hm... you’ve grown a lot while I wasn’t looking, young master.”

Aisha gazed into my eyes with her ocean blue eyes.

“Young master...”

I gazed into her eyes and saw my reflection.

“Miss Aisha...”

We gazed seriously into each other’s eyes.

“I need to pee.”

“Eh?”

“I can’t hold it!”

I hurriedly shook her off and ran to the bathroom. Drinking mountain dew all night was not a good idea.

“A-Ah...”

I left her behind in the room and went to go wet the flowers.(Pissing but said in a PG-13 way.)

◇◇

After I wrapped my staff with cloth, I took my bags and went out the door. It was still 6am in the morning so it’s fairly early. Aisha came for her duties early so it’s only her that’s awake. Mother and my sisters are still sleeping.

Father went to Hurge city to discuss some things with the duke. I bet it’s to appoint father as a knight under his service.

I hope he agrees though. The money I received from the King and the money I got from the subjugation of the red dragon will be used for my and my sisters’ future. Father’s job as a village guard only brings pennies home.

I walked down the village with my suitcase. Many of the people greeted me as I passed by them.

‘Still?’

When I boarded the carriage, a little white light was flickering around me.

‘Isn’t this going too far, Erica? What danger can I possibly run into at home?’

If I talk to her about this then there’s no hiding the fact that I can use light magic too.

I can’t use any light abilities yet but I can still see light spirits. They play hard to get since they’re not the same as the elemental spirits.

I’ll just leave it be for now. It’s not like she’s stalking me or anything. It’s just for my safety. Yeah...