2 Aunt Jenny

I woke up hours later on the bed I had sorely missed those last few years of the world. It was comfortable. It was so soft that I wished to melt into it like pudding. I honestly didn't want to open my eyes but I had. 

If I kept them closed for too long, memories of the battlefield would resurface. That...is not something I want to remember right now. I

It's better to open them. I already know they're waiting. 

I open them slowly as the room I remember so vividly presents itself to me. On the end of my bed stood the maid that has been with me my entire life. Her blonde hair was the same shade as my mother and I. Her emerald eyes were so full of life and so full of worry for me. 

Those worried eyes were the same as those of my mother who sat beside me. 

"Mother, I..." I say weakly my voice sounds a bit broken. My mother's face, which was so similar to my maid's, was even more distraught now. She heard my pain through the little words that could speak. 

"What happened dear?" she said with obvious tension. 

"I...I don't know. I was just gathering mana for my breakthrough as usual. I vomited blood all of sudden and I lost consciousness." I explained. I would never lie to my mother. 

This wasn't lying. I was gathering mana when my future soul merged with my current one. As for why I was coughing blood, I don't know why that would happen. It had something to do with the merging but I don't know exactly what happened. So I wasn't lying. I wasn't. 

"I see. Don't worry dear. Your father has already sent for Aunt Jenny. She should be able to check up on you." My mother was trying to reassure me but that wouldn't help at the moment as I could feel that my man core was damaged. 

"I'm not worried mother. You know I have never gotten sick or hurt in my life. It's all thanks to your care. You should be the one who worries less." Mother let out a small smile after hearing that. She caressed my face lovingly. The warmth from her wands was something else I dearly missed. 

"Is it that obvious?" 

"Yes, it is. You could never hide anything from me Mother."

"You silly girl! If I wanted to hide something from you, you wouldn't be able to tell."

"I don't believe you." Mother let out a small chuckle after hearing my accusation. Our usual banter should have relaxed her some. 

I looked over to my maid and signaled for her to come closer. She nodded her head and walked over from the end of the bed to my left side. 

"Did you have breakfast, Emily?" I asked her. My lovely maid always had the bad habit of skipping out on breakfast. She said it made her feel sick in the morning. 

"I did, young miss. The chef had made strawberry cupcakes." The only times Emily had breakfast of her own volition was on days when our chef made pastries or sweets. 

"Can you bring some for me later? I was gathering mana all morning so I need some sugar too."

"As you wish young miss." She bowed her head a little as all maids had to do when receiving an order. It was proper empire etiquette. 

Time doesn't take long to pass when you are with those you love. This saying is something that can not be proven wrong. 

I didn't even realize that an hour had passed and the intricately carved wooden doors to my room were opened wide with a middle-aged man and woman walking in.

The man and woman both had eyes similar to mine. They looked at me with more pronounced worry than that of my mother. 

"Good morning Father, good morning Aunt Jenny." I greeted them both with a bright smile. It certainly wasn't a good morning for them but I couldn't help it. Anything that might make them feel better. And for me, it was a good morning as I could see them once again.

My father hurriedly rushed his large frame towards me and sat right next to my mother. He made my oversized bed look like a baby's crib. 

"How are you feeling dear?" he asked the same thing as my mom while rubbing my head with his rough hands. Hands so large that they could easily palm my head.

His blue hair tied back in a bun was slightly messy today. It was obvious how fast he rushed to the other side of the city to get my aunt here. He could have sent a servant but no one was faster than my father in this house. 

"I'm okay father. I just feel a bit weak." Even though I was smiling he could hear the weakness in my voice. He had the same frowning reaction as his mother. These two are made for each other. 

"Aunt Jenny, can you give me a check up?" Aunt Jenny walked over calmly as she adjusted her curly green hair that went down to her waist. My parents moved as as they made space for the famous doctor who is also my father's older sister. 

She touched my arm gently with her index and middle finger. A green light seeped out from them as they spread through my body at a rapid pace. Aunt Jenny closed her eyes as she focused on her ability. Some people also called it a superpower. 

Her ability 'Check-Up' allowed her to scan the condition of anyone's body and find abnormalities or illnesses with ease. Added to the years that she spent studying in the Royal Medical School, she became one of the best doctors in the nation. 

This esteemed doctor had a scrunched up face at the moment as she did not find something good in my body. It only took half a minute for her to open her eyes again and look at everyone with a serious expression. 

My father reacted to this and asked "What's wrong?" He trusted his sister's ability and seeing this serious, he was bound to be filled with anxiety. 

Aunt Jenny sighed and said, "What I'm about to say cannot be shared with anyone outside this room."

All the people in this room glanced at each other and nodded in silence. "Go ahead." my father said as everyone in this room was family who could be trusted.

Even Emily was my mother's younger sister's daughter, my cousin. As for why she's my maid despite being a noble herself, that's a long story. 

"I know you guys won't share this with anyone else but let me warn you again. You can not tell anyone, not even the other members of the Zocraten family that live in this manor." She glanced at everyone again to make sure they were serious about this and they were. 

"Elina, your soul seems to have received some sort of extraordinary energy. The energy is attempting to enter your mana core. This energy doesn't seem to be harmful to you or your core. 

But, it is an overwhelming amount of energy that is overloading her body. Your physique cannot contain this unless we rapidly improve it."

"WHAT!!!" My father didn't take long to burst into anger as a red aura covered him and a silent pressure waved across the room. Everyone except my aunt started to feel uncomfortable. The room even started to shake slightly as the rumble was that of a small earthquake. 

Aunt Jenny sighed again as she waved her hand, dismissing my father's sword aura and letting everyone breathe comfortably. The room had also stopped shaking.

It's at times like these that I remember that my aunt isn't just a doctor and ability user. She also carries the Zocraten family bloodline and is one of the better mages in the empire. 

"Calm your anger, Alwin! This is not the time." Aunt Jenny's words seemed to be light but carried an invisible pressure on my dad who has always been scared of her since young.

"I...I'm sorry sister. You know why this happens to me." Father let his aura back into his body and apologized to us. 

"It's okay dear. You wouldn't have practiced that sword style if you had a choice." Mother comforted father as he really did not have much of a choice back then. 

"Now that you're calm let me tell you this. We have enough herbs to improve her physique somewhat but we will need to source better ones." My aunt then went on to list out the names of various herbs that my family currently had on hand. 

-----------------

"I'll have the butler get those but how long will they last?" my mother asked. 

"It should increase her physique by 3 points over the next 2 weeks. After that, normal magic herbs like ours will be useless. We need to see if any of the other families or auction houses have rarer ones available."

My aunt knew well about the availability of herbs the best. It was definitely going to be hard getting what I needed because-

"I don't think any of the families have the ice element herbs we need, neither do the auction houses. I asked them all last week for Elina's birthday gift." Mother broke the tough news to everyone 

"Ice element magic herbs are just too rare and oftentimes too dangerous to get." Aunt Jenny sighed as she had very few options.

"We can only try reaching out to our connections in other nations or the sects we have dealings with. We can easily afford the price if they have any to offer." Mother kept calm as we did have some other options, but they would be quite costly. 

Sects and foreign nobles never did trade without gaining as much as they possibly could. Nevertheless, we could afford it. We own one of the biggest herb farms in the nation. 

Wait..she just it was my birthday soon..SHIT!

BANG!

My door burst as the family butler ran in screaming. 

"MASTER!!! THE FARM IS ON FIRE!!!"