(Charlotte POV)

The Inner Palace.

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.

Had Olivia and the others make their move yet? Mother might be a former swordsman, but she was still weak from the illness.

It pained me to see her break into a fit of coughs whenever I come talk to her.

The disease was barely manageable since many priests visit the palace everyday. I was hoping miss Erica could perhaps help mother but I was filled with hesitation.

Clyde made me promise to keep her being the Saintess a secret and I’ll keep that promise with him.

Something was telling me that she was hiding more power than she showed. 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 any of them in the eyes.

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. I could see that it was the blanket I made her three years ago when I learned to knit. It’s not even perfectly made but she still used it.

Her long blonde hair danced with the wind. The robe she wore emphasizes all her curves. I wished that I could become as gorgeous as my mother someday. She was 42 years old and yet she didn’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 didn’t have the mastery over all magic like the Great Sage did.

I was hoping that I could at least cast something similar. Maybe something with a lower rank, the same formula and effects but with a lower power output.

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 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.

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 didn’t know why they couldn’t detect Zero. Viria said 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 was that they were searching for.

I hope the god that made me reincarnate isn’t a shrewd and cunning piece of shit like a certain Human-God from a certain story I read on Earth. I was certain that Sol wasn’t the one who reincarnated me. Even she didn’t notice my existence until the day she called me to her realm. Old me was also excluded since he wasn’t a true god of the deity realm.

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

She said that training had been getting harder and harder each day. She had to dodge logs rolling down mountains and catch arrows blindfolded.

Could that even be counted as training?

I wasn’t a swordsman so I wasn’t 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.

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

“Yes, Brielle. 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 loved 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 was 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.”

Brielle gazed into my eyes with her ocean blue eyes.

“Young master...”

I gazed into her eyes and saw my reflection.

We gazed seriously into each other’s eyes. She put her forehead against mine.

She sighed deeply.

“Please be safe on your journey. We will be awaiting your return after vacation starts.”

Brielle turned around without another word and left the room.

◇◇

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. Brielle came for her duties early so it’s only her that’s awake. Mother and my sisters were still sleeping.

Father went to Hurge city to discuss some things with the duke.

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 couldn’t use any light abilities yet but I could 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...