Today is my birthday! I’m already really excited for today cause two main things are happening. One is obviously my party which will be bigger today since all of the high-standing nobles and mom and dad’s friends have been invited to the party. This is so that I can make my debut in noble society; I can’t be a good king in the future if I don’t make connections. Then secondly later on in the day, I will be taking the test for the fifth circle.
I recently took the test for the fourth circle but Master En said that I have a higher understanding of spells than normal students because I can use tower circles. He said that I should be able to do well on the fifth test because due to the nature of the test being spell creation. This would be hard for normal students as they were taught to just copy circles and incantations. This is easy for me however because I have been focussing solely on magic studies and theory. As well as lots of work that had to do with mana control so I should be able to slip by. However, Master En said that I won’t have as easy of a time for any of the tests afterward.
Talking with Ianna in the morning I learned that the nobles have also brought their kids. Hopefully, I can make a few friends because while I have tried playing with the worker’s children there was a barrier between us. I think it’s because I’m the prince and that I’m smarter than normal. As well, most of the people I know are grown-ups. This made it hard as they put up walls out of respect and even when I talked with them I didn’t know anything about normal games or what they did at school. Dad said that normally I would have met with kids and noble families a lot earlier, but because of the war, I have to be kept in the castle. I have actually never left the castle. I was born during the war and I’ve had to stay here the entire time. I am simply used to it since it’s all I’ve known so far. However, inside I can feel a sense of excitement and curiosity burning inside me wishing to experience the world.
Ianna, like always, works fast. Dressing me and getting me ready has been an everyday occurrence. However, our conversations have differed greatly from before. We have been talking a lot more since we started training together and I learned a lot about her. She was originally a soldier fighting together with mom. Due to this, she decided to follow mom when mom married dad. She originally just wanted to be a handmaid but was pushed by mom into becoming the head maid.
“You know you look better like this.”
“It’s really uncomfortable….”
“Come on let’s get going you spoiled brat, hee~.”
Looking into the mirror I did honestly think I looked good. The cobalt blue suit was slimming and went well with my silver shirt and blue pants. The suit itself was made of expensive silk with a silver design that looked like ice crystals falling from the sky. Put together with a nice looking cape and shoulder pad on my left side held with a small silver chain. All this made me actually look like a prince. I mean I never dressed badly, just that I never wanted anything flashy as it was uncomfortable. I usually just let Ianna decide and it works out. As long as it’s comfy she won’t hear anything from me and as long as it’s cute I don’t hear anything from her.
Walking down to the throne room where the party was being held I started to get nervous. Etiquette has been part of my classes since I turned three but I’ve never had to use it. Hopefully, I’ll be fine.
The throne room kept with the aesthetic of the rest of the castle. Grey walls with blue and silver accents led to a very serious look. However with the inclusion of gold on the tables, set up for the party, warm lighting from the chandeliers, and open windows allowed for a very relaxed feel.
Whispers filled the throne room as the nobles waited for the prince to come in. While many of the higher nobles met with the king before they weren’t able to see the prince. Even though it wasn’t the king’s intention the prince was clouded in mystery to the public. Rumors had crawled out of the castle about his excellence and intelligence but this just fueled the flames. As they were gossiping about prince Requile suddenly announced to the room from his throne, “ Greetings, everyone! I wish to say my thanks for attending my son’s birthday. We all know how hectic the days have been since the start of the war. This has led to many changes in the kingdom and with the protection of the royal family, you might never see the prince. So we are taking this day to introduce him.”
With that small speech, the herald moved to open the door to the throne room and with a shout announced, “ Welcome to the prince, Ellius Iceborn!”. The nobles saw a small child with a stoic face and cobalt eyes walk in. However no matter how straight his back, how hard he stared forward, and how hard he tried to look noble like his father. Everyone thought he was cute…The experienced saw how nervous he was and the children who saw his baby face and soft eyes were charmed. They all had a look of care in their eyes and flowers around their head.
It seems like they like me…but what is this reaction? I don’t have anything on my clothes or anything right? Ellius hurried a bit and stood next to his father’s throne before speaking, “ Hello I am prince Ellius and I hope you have fun today. To the glory Iceborn!”
Quickly the nobles bowed and shouted in unison, “For the glory of Iceborn!”. Turning to his father for anything else he had to do, “you’re free to do what you want after you receive everyone’s greetings El.” A line was quickly forming in front of the throne with nobles and their children waiting to talk with him. This is going to take a while…I haven’t even eaten breakfast yet since I thought I could eat at the party…
….
Two hours, there were just that many nobles who came to the party. If they didn’t bring their families it would’ve gone faster but because they did El had to talk to each of the children. He wanted to make a few friends so he tried his hardest to make a good impression. This just made it take an even longer time. Especially when it came to the girls that seemed weirdly interested in him. “What a dunce eh, can’t even see that the girls think he’s cute! Well he is five… eh wait, back to the narrator voice, sorry”. Looking around after he finished El went to find a drink. Talking for two hours had made his throat parched and it started to hurt. Before he could reach for anything he saw Ianna walking towards him with some fruit juice.
“Here, young master.”
“Ah, t-thanks Ianna, where’d you come from? You were with me till the door but when I looked behind me you suddenly disappeared.”
“You can’t walk in with a maid can you. Now I have work to do, we’ll talk later.”
With a slight laugh, she began to walk away. Looking around he was suddenly mobbed by the children. What were they asking of him? a simple game of tag. Thinking of the best place for such a thing, he decided to lead them to the garden. Quickly following him and the children were a few knights the king sent after noticing they were going to the garden.
“Come back here!”
“Never!”
Running away from a kid he remembered was named Ron he ran deeper into the garden with the other children. The royal garden had a mixture of open grass, white stone paths, trees, and flower bushes. There were many places to run around and hide behind. Due to the training and cheating a little bit by strengthening his body with mana he took off past them and hid behind some white rose bushes. Peeking through the bush he saw the kids running towards the tree next to him. However, he noticed something odd. The evening light cast long shadows and with the movement of the trees, the shadows seemed to be constantly shifting and moving. The shadows danced across the ground, so perfect was the display it looked fake, especially because one shadow wasn’t moving… What was that weird feeling?
FAST, that was the only way to describe it. If it wasn’t for his sensitivity towards magic his head would have a hole in it. Rolling on the ground he quickly moved out of the way. A shadow flew through the sky and impacted the ground he had been just a moment ago. The terrifyingly strong blow hit the ground throwing dirt and roses into the air.
“What was that!”
“What!”
“AHH!”
The knights of the palace quickly looked around to try and find where the loud sound came from. The weaker nobles were scared out of their minds and the children started to cry. “ Knights find El quickly!”, the most worried of all was the king himself as seemed to blink away in search of the prince.
Tumbling away El looked around. Where did that come from! Feeling the mana in the air fluctuate again he looked up. On top of a tree was a man clad in black holding a bow, “I didn’t think you’d actually dodge that. You won’t escape this one.” However, before he could fire the next shot the knights escorting El finally caught up. Due to the children running around so much the distance between them allowed the attack.
“Quickly get the kids and run!”
“Y-yes! Everyone stick close to me! Anyone who knows defensive magic, stay at the edges of the group!”
His quick thinking and tactics his father forced him to learn came in handy. Quickly deciding on a plan he decided to loop around the garden and head back to a veranda that was close to the throne room.
‘I have to get my friends to safety!’
