New Hope

Thanks to Meredith's soothing hug, Ailen could ponder with a cool head.

Irma joined them in the study room, claiming she finished cleaning up The Empress's chambers that now belonged to Ailen.

Ailen told Irma about his worries, and then Irma said,

"It's a great crime for a royal to murder another royal, Your Highness. It is known that if a royal killed their own family, the penalty would be death. Everyone may detest you, but they stand by the regulations," Irma stated in a tender voice. "Your Highness, when I said everyone detested you, that doesn't mean everyone in the kingdom wanted you to get killed by The Emperor— or by anyone. They're restless because you're sick and unable to wake up for years, thinking that you might not be able to survive to take over the throne and protect the empire. You're still the Crown Prince, a rightful heir of the throne,"

"So that's why he didn't kill me," Ailen whispered. "Then why he still wanted me dead when I'm finally awake?"

"That— I'm not sure," Irma admitted. "The Emperor never expressed his affection towards you since you're born. We're not sure why,"

"See? That's the thing," Ailen huffed. "I know he wanted me dead, Irma. He didn't care if I'm alive; he still wanted me dead. A prancing monkey can tell he hates me. I just needed to find out why without getting killed by him,"

"We won't let him," Meredith quickly jumped in, eyes wide in determination. "I'll protect you with my life,"

"You mean we," Irma smiled. Meredith smiled as well, nodding her head. Ailen gave a lopsided smile, but it faltered quickly.

"Thank you, Meredith, Irma,"

Ailen went back to reading. He skimmed the books to find essential points on how to control magic. Magic existed in everyone, even commoners. The only difference is the capacity. Everyone had magic but in different measurements. Irma gave an example to him.

She said everyone had a different amount of water in their cups.

The Emperor's cup was full of water; some were half-filled, some had only a teeny tiny bit. Like Irma and Meredith.

To find out the amount of magic Ailen had, he needed to go to the chapel and get assessed by the priests.

"That's it! We're going to the chapel to get my magic assessed!"

Irma and Meredith widened their eyes, looking at each other at the same time before looking back at Ailen.

"I suppose it's alright. The palace has its own chapel and priests," Meredith said.

"Great. I'll go there, found out about the amount of magic I had, go back here and try to learn a protection spell. I'm a genius," Ailen beamed, bouncing off the study chair.

"B-But, Y-Your Highness— I told you before, you can't learn a spell in a matter of three hours!" Meredith frantically followed Ailen who's walking toward the front door.

Irma followed with a sigh.

"He's twelve, let him do what he wishes,"

"Irma!" Meredith whined.

Ailen grinned. His anxiety flowed in sync with relief. Once he found out the amount of magic he had, he'll quickly try to use it before dinner time.