“Ville, do you really dislike Yuin that much?”
“This isn’t about whether I like him or not. As I’ve repeatedly stated, Lera is set to inherit House Duval. Her husband will be inducted into her family, so she cannot marry the heir to another house.”
Fezgahn was the only son of his house, inevitably making him the one who would succeed his father. There wasn’t anything to argue about here. Yet not even my mother seemed to understand or care.
What I said seemed to catch the crown prince off guard, but he needed only a second to recover. “Oh, that’s all?” He said it so casually. “It’s not impossible for two heirs to marry.”
“I beg your pardon?”
Huh? Really?
“It’s happened a number of times before. Of course, I won’t say it’s a common occurrence. There are ways to arrange for an heir’s child to inherit the house in their place.”
Did my mother give Fezgahn those conditions with this in mind?
“Marquess Fezgahn is still young, and I see nothing wrong with Sir Yuin’s child becoming the next heir,” Prince Lumers said.
“You think so too, Lumers?” his brother asked.
“Oh yes. And if this means House Fezgahn joins the royal faction, then all the better.”
Very cunning of you, Prince Lumers.
House Fezgahn had a fair bit of sway. They played a major role in kingdom affairs, and had produced several civil administrators. They would be a welcome ally to have on the political side. Though maybe that was all the more reason it would be better for them to stay neutral?
Frankly, when it came to playing politics, Prince Lumers surpassed Crown Prince Leor. However, Leor was the much more popular figure. Even if a king lacked a mind for politics, he could get by if his underlings were enough to support him.
But if the king didn’t have the charisma to attract supporters, then he was in trouble. In that regard, Leor had what it took to be king. At least, that’s how I saw it. It’s why I was serving at his side.
Still, I questioned his idea of fun sometimes.
“There you have it, Yuin. Aim for the stars.”
“You honor me.”
This is exactly what I was talking about.
“By the way, Yuin.”
“Yes, Your Highness?”
“Why Miss Lowell? I’m quite curious as to when and where you fell for her.”
He wasn’t the only one who wanted to know. When did this guy get the chance to fall in love when Lera so rarely went anywhere in the royal capital? Fezgahn looked at the floor as if deep in thought.
Is it something you’d rather not say?
After some moments of silence, he lifted his head. “She’s...not like other girls.”
“Huh?” we all replied at once.
What did that mean? Even His Highness looked dubious.
“Different how?”
“When she sees me, she doesn’t try to flirt or get close to me.”
What’s this guy on about?
“Of course not,” I said. “Lera was still thirteen when she first met you.”
She hadn’t even been to a friendly tea party, much less any part of high society. She wouldn’t know how to flirt. I couldn’t believe this guy, yet he had the nerve to snort at me. What was his deal? He pissed me off.
“How naive, Aspozat.”
“Pardon?”
“No matter their age, girls of the nobility will flirt and look for any inroads they can get.”
Why are you nodding, Your Highness? You too, Prince Lumers. Nedon, you don’t have the right to nod. Not when you’re always the one making advances.
Fezgahn wasn’t done yet though.
“Also...”
“Also? Is there another reason?”
Your Highness, why do you look so pleased? Can we take a moment to have a thorough chat about this?
“Miss Lowell has a nice scent.”
“Huh?!” I yelled in spite of myself. Actually—no, it was a normal reaction. “What the hell do—”
“Her mana is very high quality.”
“Wha?”
How did we go from scents to mana? I had indeed heard that Lera’s mana had a nice quality to it. Not that she seemed to care one way or another.
At the institute, they ran regular checks on her mana, which they did on account of her unprecedented pigment shift. She was the sort of research subject the people at the institute dreamed of. While I had been worried she might end up the subject of shady experiments, Lera ultimately ended up being a conductor of shady experiments, and there was nothing I could do to stop her.
They not only checked on the nature of her mana—they also watched for any and all changes to it. At this point, she was stable in both regards, and her mana was in excellent shape. Too much mana was said to be bad for the body.
When she was three years old, Lera’s mana capacity exploded over the course of an evening. As a result, her hair and eye color changed dramatically as well. Intense surges in mana were known to cause complications in the body, hence the regular checks. Though we didn’t let her know that.
I cast a suspicious glare at Fezgahn. Why did he know about her mana?
“Ville,” the crown prince said with a sigh, “keep what I’m about to tell you a secret.”
“As you wish.”
What’s he going to tell me?
“People born to House Fezgahn are often sensitive to mana. Many of them can detect it with one of their senses.”
“Huh?”
What’s this?
The crown prince went on regardless of my confusion. “Like he just said, Yuin can detect a person’s mana via scent. I’m told his father can detect it visually.”
“So just by looking, he can know the quality and quantity of someone’s mana?”
“I think it’s a bit different, strictly speaking, but that’s close enough. I’m told people with high mana capacities are blinding to him. The nature of their mana is expressed through color in his eyes.”