"Umu. You two, please sit cross-legged, and join me.", Roselia said, beckoning us over to her side with a pat of her hand. We followed, and the three of us were now seated on the room's rug.
"What should we do first?", Aurelia asked. She had no clue what to do from here, and neither did I. Allowing a person to do Magic wasn't explicitly said in the games, so I'm basically going through uncharted territory here. Instead, we saw Roselia suddenly stand up.
From there, Roselia walked all the way to the windowsill. Its blinds were still open. She shut them, which darkened the room quite a bit. Thankfully each room in Valflame Palace has orbal lighting installed, so we weren't forced to use candles or anything. Such a convenience, right~?
But if I had to compare Valflame Palace and its surroundings, it'd be similar to Paris in my last life. Except it's a lot more red and vibrant.
After closing the blinds, Roselia's demeanor changed entirely. Well, the blinds weren't closed all the way. Shifting her head upward, she saw a glistening full moon.
"Ahh...basking in the moonlight is such a wondrous thing, isn't it?", Roselia said, musing to herself. At the same time, she smiled wildly. Her fangs bared out in the open. These fangs weren't something you'd see in humans. And there was a very good reason for that.
Roselia turned around, and kept her smile open, allowing to see her for what she truly was. Aurelia's eyes and Prince Olivert's eyes turned wide in shock. I remained indifferent, since I knew everything about Roselia at this point. At least to what the games showed.
"You aren't human...", Prince Olivert uttered, sucking in a cold breath of air.
"Congratulations, you've just answered the question of the day, little prince. Never said I was now, was I?", Roselia replied, grinning this time. "Which is why, starting from now, I will be laying out some ground rules for you two. My disciple is excluded from this, of course. Considering you know, Naoto is my disciple.", Roselia continued, only to shoot a glance my way for a moment. I played on, and nodded my head. What Roselia will say here is more for Prince Olivert and Aurelia, so I'll remain quiet during this.
"First rule. No matter what you see or hear within these walls, you are not to utter a single word of what you see here tonight. I will come hunt you down personally and kill you otherwise. No ifs ands or buts on the matter. Your social status means little to me. I've seen many Emperors rise and fall during my time.", Roselia said, squinting her eyes at the two.
"I swear upon Aidios's good name that I will abide by what you say.", Prince Olivert said, swearing upon Aidios's name no less. I could see he was being serious here. "For you to say such a thing, I am very curious as to how this will turn out. It may not have been a long time, but I already see you as my little brother, in a way.", Prince Olivert said, directing a smile at me.
"You must be joking, Your Highness. This boy is anything but your brother.", Aurelia retorted. "It feels like I have missed out on something here."
"Then let me ask you this, Miss Aurelia. What do you think of me?", I asked, deciding to play along. She shifted her head toward me, and pondered.
"A division commander's son who has those creepy eyes as if they had seen right through me?", Aurelia responded back.
"Ouch...", I retorted. Aurelia sure showed no hesitation while saying that, huh? Even Roselia played along and laughed.
"Haha! Well put girly. It does not look like I was wrong to choose you.", Roselia said. And yet, Aurelia just stared at us.
"...But that isn't everything to the story now, is there? I feel like I'm a missing piece to the puzzle.", Aurelia questioned again, still doubtful.
Hearing Aurelia say that, Roselia glanced my way, and I nodded my head.
"If we are swearing an oath of secrecy here, then I will do my part too.", I started, only to do a formal bow at the two. Not one of a division commander, but that along the lines of royalty. I informed Prince Olivert earlier in the day, but it is only right I tell Aurelia too. "Long story short, I am Naoto von Auslese, bastard son of my late mother to Liberl's throne. It is a pleasure to formally meet your acquaintance, Miss Aurelia.", I said, introducing myself.
"I can tell you're being serious here. You...really are the same like His Highness here?", Aurelia replied, this time she was on the receiving end of being shocked. It didn't take long for something to click inside her head. "Why in Aidios's name is someone of Liberl's royalty doing all the way out here in Valflame Palace!?
"Hahaha! I have been wondering that myself lately.", Prince Olivert said, smirking at us. "Things aren't looking too hot between Erebonia and Liberl right now. And yet, you have two princes of our respective nations present here, sharing one room together. If this isn't fate at play, then I don't know what it is."
"Fate my ass. I'm surprised Liberl hasn't done anything yet!", Aurelia retorted again.
"You needn't worry about that part, Aurelia. Grandmother gave me the freedom to do as I see fit. Basically, my mother is Grandmother's sister. I do have a rite to succeed the throne in the future. Only a select few know my true identity like this. Things aren't set in stone yet."
"This is still a lot to take in...", Aurelia uttered, and sighed. Roselia kept her grin on her lips seeing Aurelia react like this.
"Just so you know, if you would have walked out of this room with this knowledge intact and didn't swear an oath to secrecy, I would have wiped your memory right here and now, girly.", Roselia said, chiming in.
"I have already resolved myself the moment I stepped into this room, Roselia. This is such an opportunity to increase my battle strength if I can learn to wield Magic like you. I will take this conversation to heart. I too swear upon Aidios's good name that what is spoken here will not leave this room.", Aurelia said, nodding her head with a serious look. Her earlier stupor had vanished.
"Excellent. With the first rule out of the way, this ties rather nicely to the second one. This more relates to you Aurelia, rather than the prince over there. I will be tapping into your soul directly to unleash both your Mana Core, and Naoto's Mana Core. It is an excruciating process, there will likely be pain. I do not have a slightest care in the world if you perish here. I will only blame it on your potential and bad luck if you succumb to this spell of mine.", Roselia explained.
"I understand. My current Master, Master Vander, says I have no equal. If my potential is the one thing that nips me in the bud, then that would be such an ironic way to go, haha!", Aurelia responded, laughing.
"So the Thunder God has given you such praise, eh?", Prince Olivert mused, gaining interest.
"He did.", Aurelia happily replied.
"Umu. I don't really have a third rule in place, but have you decided, Naoto?", Roselia questioned.
"Hmm?", I replied, unsure.
"We would have left this part until you arrived at my village. In reality, it is no better than to do it now since we are situated above a Spirit Vein. Unlocking your Mana Core will be when your Mana is most pure. Creating a Familiar comes with that. As to what you want to make, that will be left to your imagination, Naoto.", Roselia continued to explain.
My eyes lit up hearing that. A Familiar. How exciting!
Will Roselia attempt to do both at once?
"I take it you will be doing both at once then.", I said.
"Indeed. If you have made your decision, I hope you are ready to play the part.", Roselia responded. She then glanced back at Aurelia. "And by the way girly, you will not be receiving one. Naoto is my disciple, only he and he alone will be receiving a Familiar."
"A Familiar...", Aurelia tried to say. "Are those related to Magic?"
"Take it as you will. There's just one slight problem to the process I'll be doing.", Roselia suddenly said.
"Even you have problems, Rose?", I asked, grinning.
"Umu. The two of you will technically be classified as Wandering Witches, considering you do not hail from my village. To ensure the quality of this process, I'll be inscribing the seal of the Hexen Clan onto your backs. As for you Naoto, I will also include my personal seal.", Roselia explained.
"So I'll be getting two seals while Aurelia receives one."
"That's right.", Roselia answered, nodding her head. The two beside us only showed more confusion in their eyes.
"I feel like I have heard something I shouldn't have heard...", Prince Olivert uttered. "I didn't think I would get to hear the name of the Hexen Clan like this, but now that I think about it, it makes sense.", Prince Olivert continued.
"As I recall myself, that name appeared throughout our history, right? I can't recall what the clan did exactly, though. Any research done on this clan has remained obscured from most eyes.", Aurelia said, chiming in.
"It would take all night to give you two a history of my clan. Time is of the essence. If you all don't have any other problems, I would like to start the inscribing process. There's just one more tiny little problem on top of my first one.", Roselia said.
"And what would that be?", I asked.
"Umu. I am in a state of recovery, as one would say. I currently do not have access to my full strength. I require...a certain amount of nourishment.", Roselia began to say.
I then saw Roselia shift her body toward me, and I suddenly felt a cold chill run down my spine...