Preceded by Zoltan, the missing members of the Imperial Family made their entrance and were immediately received by the Emperor.

  Rising, he said, “Allow me to introduce my wife, Meriel, and my two children, Raeran and Deleys.”

  We all solemnly bowed to greet the newcomers.

  Princess Deleys, still an infant, was cradled in the arms of the Empress, who wore a long, immaculate white dress, which contrasted starkly with her fiery red hair, gathered into a long braid.

  Her eyes were the same color as her hair, perhaps slightly lighter.

  A few steps behind his mother, Prince Raeran followed. He had chosen to wear a formal brick-red outfit, matching both his hair and eyes, identical to his mother’s.

  “It is an honor to make your acquaintance,” Father spoke on behalf of all of us. It seemed that even for him, this was the first time meeting the whole Imperial Family.

  “The honor is ours, Lord Velya. My husband has spoken very highly of you. I am certain that without you, the Empire would not be as magnificent as it is today.”

  “You flatter me, Empress,” he bowed. “I am most pleased to know that His Majesty holds me in such high regard. Please, allow me to introduce you to my family.”

  None of them carried something that could identify them as mages, but given the fierce intent I felt earlier from the Emperor, I thought it was safe to assume they had all awakened as mages.

  As Mother exchanged a few polite words of introduction with the Empress, a tingling sensation at the nape of my neck tugged for attention.

  Turning, I caught Prince Raeran quickly averting his gaze, pretending not to have been staring.

  “If I’m not mistaken, today shall be your birthday, Prince. My sincerest best wishes,” I said with a smile, stepping tentatively towards him.

  The prince blushed, stammering a few confused words of thanks.

  Witnessing the awkward exchange, the Empress ruffled his hair before cutting in. “Forgive him, Arda, he is rather shy, but I trust that you two could become good friends.”

  I nodded. “I could not ask for a greater honor, Your Grace,” I replied cheerfully. “Prince Raeran, would you mind having a chat with me?”

  He looked toward the Emperor expectantly, who in return gave him a little nudge. “There’s no need for me to tell you what to do, Raeran. If you wish to go, then go. It’s your birthday after all. Think about enjoying yourself.”

  His words seemed to give the prince some confidence.

  “W-with pleasure,” he responded, steadying his voice.

  “I’m glad to hear it! Please, this way,” I said, leading him a few steps away, near the curtains separating the entrance area.

  “I am sure we have many things to discuss.”

  — — —

  We moved aside from the others, so we could talk without causing too much noise.

  Much to my surprise, it was the prince himself who started the conversation.

  “T-that’s a very n-nice dress you have.”

  “Thank you. Yours is also quite lovely, it suits you,” I replied.

  Raeran huffed. “Thanks, but I think it only makes me look like a giant strawberry.”

  I stifled a laugh. Yeah, I can see the resemblance.

  “I hope you won’t hold it against me, Prince,” I hurried to say when I caught him pouting. “If not for your remark, I wouldn’t have even noticed.”

  He narrowed his eyes to a fissure, clearly not buying it.

  A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

  “I swear, it’s not that bad,” I added. “Even Archmage Baal’hor, the Keeper of Flames, always dressed in red. Not a bad example to take inspiration from, don’t you think?”

  “Baal’hor was a great mage; no sane person would have ever dared comparing him with an overgrown strawberry,” the prince replied. “No one had second thoughts about Fred Red-beard, though.”

  “Oh, please,” I scoffed. “The story of Fred the Lobster was made up.

  “There was never any solid proof that he disguised himself as a giant lobster to infiltrate Wethil-did’s court as the main course, only to assassinate some lowly noble.”

  “By all means,” Raeran conceded. “Still, I might still look odd, dressed entirely in red as I am.”

  This last exchange marked the end of our lively debate, leaving an awkward silence lingering in the air.

  “How did we even get to talking about this?” I asked, rubbing the base of my neck in confusion.

  “You tell me. You’re the one who brought up Baal’hor,” Raeran replied.

  “Oh, right,” I remembered. “It’s impressive for you to know of Archmage Baal’hor at your age. My compliments.”

  The Prince did a lousy job stifling his smirk. “You talk as if you weren’t my age as well. You’re the first person I can talk to about this. Everyone else changes the subject before I even start.”

  Yeah, that sucks… I thought before asking, “Are you, by any chance, into chronicles as well?”

  “I’m more like… very invested.”

  We ended up talking for a while, sharing our favorite heroes and the strangest stories we could think of.

  It was probably too soon to have a clear picture of him, but he seemed like a good guy. He was just very shy. That probably hadn’t helped him make many friends.

  Lelya and Bianca soon joined us, tired of listening to my parents rambling about state affairs with the Imperial Family.

  “Pleasure to make your acquaintance, Prince Raeran,” they both spoke in unison, as if they had rehearsed it.

  Naturally, that made the timid little prince turn bright red.

  “P-pleasure is a-all mine,” he stammered. A sigh accompanied his hand as he tried to cover his crestfallen expression.

  The two girls looked at me, perplexed, as if asking if something was wrong. I shook my head to reassure them and stepped closer to the prince.

  Gently, I started pulling his hand from his face.

  “It’s okay to be shy, you know? But if you want to change, you have to start somewhere. Think of how proud your father would be of you.”

  I didn’t know where those words came from, but it felt like the right thing to say.

  Maybe I shouldn’t have brought up his father, I regretted it immediately. But if it helps him improve, a little push won’t hurt.

  He gave me a sharp look, but after a deep breath, he regained his composure. He made a deep, elegant bow.

  “As I was trying to say, pleasure’s all mine.”

  This time, he was much more convincing.

  What’s with the sudden change in attitude? I widened my eyes. Are two girls and a motivational talk enough to loosen your tongue?

  Bianca and Lelya had him chatting for a while, bringing Raeran to open with us.

  Every day, he was training with a different Imperial Guard.

  With Zoltan and Kers, he learned to fight and fence; with Boelong, he studied the basics of magic, etiquette, and everything else befitting a prince.

  Although he found Boelong’s lessons enlightening, he had to admit that the training sessions with Zoltan and Kers were “crude but effective.”

  “Which style have you chosen?” I asked, intrigued.

  “At last, I chose Master Kers’ style, the Dawn style,” he revealed. “Do you, Arda, practice with swords as well?”

  I frowned in surprise. Given his non-combative nature, the Dawn style would have been the last of my guesses.

  “I only started recently, but I’m learning pretty quickly,” I said. “I have some basic knowledge of the other two styles, but I’ve yet to start training into the Phantom style.”

  “I wish I could tell you when your master will arrive, but, unfortunately, I don’t know,” Bianca commented with a sigh.

  “From your father’s description, he sounds quite the oddball. I’m not surprised he’s also that unpredictable.”

  All the while, Raeran had fallen silent, watching our exchange with a pale face.

  “Are you alright, Your Highness?” Lelya asked him.

  “Yeah, but… the Phantom style? Are you serious?” he whispered in a faint voice.

  I gave him a friendly flick on the forehead. “Prince Raeran, such prejudices don’t suit you. You mustn’t jump to conclusions so quickly.”

  As I scolded him, I caught Zoltan tensing up from the corner of my eye. He looked like he was about to step forward, but stopped when Raeran responded.

  “You’re right. I’ll be more mindful,” he apologized, rubbing his forehead.

  I nodded in satisfaction. If he kept that up, I was sure he’d become a truly respectable prince.

  I saw my father gesturing to me with his hand.

  “Let’s go,” I said, getting up from the ground. “The show is about to begin.”