Chapter 28 - A Visitor from the Royal Capital

Nathan Evenhart:

After playing around the castle with Chloe for a while, I returned to my room to take a bath. My mother scolded me to get ready and dressed up. Apparently, the kingdom has a device that makes a painted portrait in less than a second, and they call this portrait a 'Photo.' My mother wants me to look 'cute' for the photo.

Chloe got scolded too since she also needs to update her photo. The photo she has on record is from when she was a baby, and the kingdom takes a photo of an important noble every 5 years until they reach 20, then updates it every few decades.

Through these photos, the kingdom can determine if someone has awakened a 'Special Eye' due to the change in eye color, which is why the record includes more photos from childhood to adulthood.

My aunt told me it’s so they can have a better record of the person and also to monitor who awakens a 'Special Eye'... this kingdom is concerned with those who have power. If they are the king, why would they worry about being overthrown? When I became emperor, I wasn’t worried about my subjects becoming stronger than me… I doubted they could. I became an Emperor by killing a God. I was the first human to do that and didn’t need to worry about another human challenging me.

What human would challenge someone who stole the power of a deity? I hope this royal family is powerful, because if they are a bunch of weaklings, I will be disappointed.

I look at my hand as an old reflex and try to concentrate Aura in it.

Unfortunately, the Aura is gone… I can’t wait to start using mana and try playing with it.

I had tried asking my mother about magic and mana, but she said I wasn’t ready to know yet, as it was dangerous and better not to rush things.

Makes sense, imagine if a small child suddenly started casting fire.

I look at the small child sharing the room with me who can cast fire. The phoenix was eating its meat.

'Squaak!' it says to me.

“I already apologized for being away, you don’t need to scold me again. I went to play around the castle. You should also leave the room and fly around to get to know the area.”

Cylla goes back to eating her meat.

I had a plan to try adapting the usability of mana according to what I did with Aura, but I needed to understand how magic in this world worked. I saw mages casting spells and also mages like Hugo who just made his hand catch fire.

There are magics that cast out of the body and those that stay within it…

I had to use my knowledge of Aura in magic and try to replicate what I did, although I knew it would be impossible. Aura was a layer of energy that functioned as armor and gave great physical power to the person, besides the most skilled being able to manipulate that energy and send it out of their body. It was also possible to channel Aura into a weapon you touched, although I preferred to go with punches like the great user Hercules.

That's why that old man’s teachings don’t work for me. How am I supposed to learn to have gentle fists if I lived centuries concentrating all my strength in my hands? I'm screwed…

“I urgently need to learn magic!”

'Knock, knock' “Young master, are you ready? Your aunt is calling you to the throne room,”.

“I’m ready, I’ll be there soon. Thank you for letting me know.”

“I’ll inform her that you’re on your way.”

I forgot to finish dressing!

I hurriedly put on my shirt and went to the mirror to check how I looked. I straightened my hair.

“Luckily, my hair is straight.” I licked my hand and smoothed the ends back.

I turned around and saw an annoying woman watching me.

“You look quite cute, and what do you think of me?” the Goddess Athena asked.

“You look the same as always, you crazy woman,” I said, ignoring her.

I ran to open the door, and the phoenix jumped from the furniture onto my shoulder.

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“I know you’re a lady, but you’re getting a bit heavier, you know? Try to jump more gently next time, I’m just a little kid.”

'Squaak!'

“I have no idea what that means…”

I petted the phoenix’s head and headed to our destination.

***

I was walking through the corridors of the place with the phoenix flying around and following me. Some people passed by and looked at her in awe. My aunt had told them that we had a magical 'bird' as a pet. Only the Legacies knew about the existence of a phoenix thanks to the stories they heard from Sifu, so it was safe to say we just had a magical bird.

They were already used to a panther, and I doubted that anyone would reveal it even if they discovered it was a phoenix. These people were loyal, having lived here for generations. Their children lived here, their siblings, their spouses, their parents. Everyone here was related in some way due to marrying among themselves.

I found out that our organization maintained relationships and marriages between close and trusted people. Unfortunately, the only ones who needed to take risks and marry someone from outside were my family due to their status as high nobles. Generally, my relatives ignored this and married whoever they liked and were close to, not feeling obligated to marry someone from outside since we were in a great situation within our territory. My mother was an outsider soldier whom my father liked, but she had to join the organization to be part of the Evenhart family.

The losses from the war weakened our power, and we became dependent on the workforce from outside our army, causing the crisis that opened the possibility of claiming Chloe's hand.

My aunt explained that political marriages were common among the nobility and were even encouraged to further strengthen the power of the noble family. This is why no one quite understood why the Evenharts married 'common' people.

They preferred to choose whom they loved and also opted to marry only trusted people to avoid leaking information about the organization.

So in the future, I'll only be able to get involved with someone from our trusted circle? I guess not, my mother was an outsider, and she married my father. I'll just need to choose a trustworthy person that they accept.

I'm a bit nervous thinking about these things; I've never been one to think about relationships. What will my future wife be like?

“You took too long!” Chloe shouted, pulling my ear.

“That hurts! Why are you doing this?” I asked her.

“I’ve been waiting here forever!”

I sighed.

Poor guy who marries this brute girl.

“Just go in, the throne room will be yours one day, and you need to get used to it,” I said.

“I’m nervous about going in alone…”

We were standing in front of the door. Usually, soldiers would be there, and sometimes there would be public audiences, but due to recent events, they weren't letting anyone into the castle.

The door opened.

“I heard you, you should have just opened it and come in,” Hugo said, calling us in.

The phoenix appeared from the corridor, and Hugo quickly backed away from her.

“K-Keep that thing in a controlled area,” he stammered as he distanced himself from Cylla.

We entered, and the door was closed behind us. My aunt stood talking to my mother and Sifu.

“Children, come over here,” Aunt Margie called.

We approached, and my mother pinched my cheeks.

“Where is the suit I picked out, Nathan Evenhart?” she asked, smiling, but I could tell she was a bit angry.

“I left the jacket in the room; I don't want to wear it,” I replied.

‘Squak!’ Cylla squawked as she flew around and landed on the floor.

“I want my son to look adorable for this photo!” she said, pinching my cheeks even harder.

I tried to speak, but my words came out distorted.

“It’s okay, Katie. The photo will only capture from the neck up, focusing on his face. You know how obsessed they are with someone having a Special Eye,” my aunt said.

My mother released my cheeks.

“Next time, you will wear the full suit, no matter if the photo is just of your face,” she said.

I nodded, afraid she might tear my cheeks off if I protested.

“The envoy from the Royal Capital has arrived!” announced a maid entering the throne room.

Everyone looked at each other nervously, and my aunt sighed.

“There’s nothing more to be done. We’re prepared for this, and today will mark the end of our worries. Once those… ‘documents’ receive the Royal Family’s seal, this pathetic betrothal dispute will be over,” my aunt said.

Chloe looked sad and stared at the floor. I had discovered she felt very guilty about what was happening.

She’s just a child; she shouldn’t be burdened with this kind of worry.

My aunt looked at us.

“Follow Martha and welcome the Grand Duke. He’ll want to get to know you better; it’s tradition for him to be received by the heirs,” she told us.

“I get to leave the castle?” Chloe asked happily.

My aunt nodded.

“Yes, my child. From today, this period of confinement ends,” she said.

My cousin smiled widely and hugged my aunt.

“Thank you, Mama!” she said, tears streaming down her face.

Aunt Margaery looked a bit surprised and patted her back.

“Don’t thank me… one day… you’ll understand what I did for this…” she said with a heavy heart, looking sadly at Chloe. But quickly, her expression turned back to that of a queen.

“Take them to the Grand Duke, Martha,” she instructed.

“Yes, ma’am,” the maid responded.

Chloe ran off, and just as I was about to dash after her, I felt a hand on my neck holding me back.

“Where do you think you’re going, Nate?” my mother asked, looking at me.

“I’m supposed to go there too, right?” I replied.

“Aren’t you forgetting something?” she asked, pointing to Cylla.

I looked at the phoenix on the floor, staring at me.

“Ask your little friend to return to your room. According to Sifu, she understands you and knows the way,” my mother said.

“She’s right, Nathan. We can’t risk them seeing the phoenix. It would be too suspicious for the missing heir to reappear with a domesticated magical animal. It would draw too much attention. We’ll keep her existence hidden until the right time…” Aunt Margie added.

I looked at Cylla, who was staring back at me.

‘Squaak!’

"You heard them..." I said.

The phoenix, irritated, flew out of the throne room. Hugo ducked as she flew close by.

"Are you sure she'll obey? We can't risk her appearing while the Grand Duke is here," Hugo said.

"It's fine. The phoenix understands the danger she faces if exposed. Remember, before she was here, she was captured by humans who knew of her existence and even bound her with that infernal chain. So, she'll be careful not to show herself too much," my aunt assured.