A normal day
The two were wearing dark, short-sleeved shirts with a light-coloured design along the edges and up the sleeves. Looking at the two, Merlin smiled and said, "I was in the library just moments ago, and didn't realize that you came to visit. You are all welcome to enter my home."
He's so young and yet so well-spoken. It's like I'm speaking to an adult. It must be hard for him, having to be raised all by himself. So cute as well...' Mereoleona's mother thought to herself, with a motherly expression on her face as she glanced at Merlin.
She smiled and said, "You are so polite for a child your age. I have other matters to attend to so I will have to decline. I only came by to drop these two off. Now, don't cause too much trouble for lord Caliban, or else." She sent a slight glare to her children, who stiffened and nodded quickly.
With that, she separated from her children and left, like Merlin, Mereoleona, and her younger brother, Fuegoleon, entered the mansion together, with Merlin's hair turning back to white once more after having escaped from the sunlight.
Entering her carriage, the mother of the two took one last glance at the estate's door and closed the door. Inside, her attendant bowed and welcomed her back, not saying anything.
Sighing, the mother muttered, "What a poor boy, having to live all alone in that empty house, with the burden of his House all on him."
"Madam?" The attendant asked, confused as to her lady's comment.
"Nevermind, just ignore what I said." She said, thinking to herself, 'Although he's alone, House Caliban has never backed down and still has managed to maintain its stature as one of the strongest Royal houses in our Clover Kingdom.'
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"Were you really just 'occupied'? Or was it that you didn't want to see us?" Mereoleona said, arms akimbo on her hips as she interrogated Merlin.
Merlin shook his head and said with a smile, "Of course, I was occupied. Why would I not want to see you two? It can get rather lonely in this estate."
Mereoleona grinned alongside Fuegoleon as they rushed into the living room where Sebastian had already prepared snacks and tea, which the two would always look forward to when visiting their friend.
"Thank you, Sebastian!" Mereoleona said, jumping onto the large couch.
"Yeah, thank you!" Fuegoleon mimicked her, also jumping onto the couch next to her and grabbing a cookie with his hands, almost the size of his face.
Merlin shook his head and followed them, entering a Victorian styled lounge where 2 large couches surrounded a table next to a fireplace. On the table next to them, plates of snacks and pastries were spread out, enticing the two kids.
Since it was almost the beginning of winter, Merlin pointed a finger towards the fireplace, causing the timber within it to instantly catch fire.
"Whoa!! How can you do that so easily?" Fuegoleon said, as crumbs of the cookie fell from his face.
Merlin smiled and sat next to them, using a napkin to wipe his mouth, saying, "It's as easy as breathing for me. You, however, will need to practice if you want to control your powers and do stuff like me."
Mereoleona grinned after she stuffed her face with pastries and said, "Just you wait, in the future when I get my Grimoire, I'm going to become even stronger than you, Merlin!"
Merlin smiled saying, "I look forward to that day, although, we might die of old age by then, hahaha."
Mereoleona glared at him and scoffed, pouting. Merlin merely laughed and leaned back on the sofa, relishing in its comfort. That was until Mereoleona interrupted him and said, "It's so boring in here! Let's go out and practice our magic! I want to start doing what you do!"
Merlin yawned and said, "It's so nice in here though. Besides, you do know that practising too much is harmful to you, right?"
Mereoleona said, "Why are you trying to act like a grownup? Let's just go and practice some magic, it will be fun!"
"Yea, let's go!" Fuegoleon said as he stood up, shaking Merlin's arm.
"You two are so full of energy it's practically suffocating and what's wrong with the way I talk? If you want to be a respectable Noble, you'll have to learn to become more articulate." Merlin said as he stood up.
"There! You talk too much like a grownup, it's practically creepy to the other kids!" Mereoleona said bluntly, pointing at Merlin's face.
"Well, being the current lord of House Caliban, I'm forced to adapt." Merlin sighed and said, "Whatever you say. Let's go then, but let's go somewhere where you two can't burn down my lovely garden."
"Hey! That was just the one time!" Mereoleona said, punching Merlin's arm as he held it.
`It was actually 3 times… you scorched my garden 3 times' Merlin thought but kept quiet so as to not further provoke her.
The 3 went outside to the wide-open backyard and found an open area to practice. After a few hours of playing around with their magic, with Merlin watching the two trying to control their magic, the Vermillion sibling's mother came to pick them up, leaving Merlin alone in his mansion once more with his butler Sebastian and the few maidservants that would clean the mansion.
"Is there anything urgent for me right now, Sebastian?" Merlin asked his butler as he walked up the stairs of his estate towards the second floor.
"None, young master Merlin. All of the minor inconveniences have already been taken care of on your behalf." Sebastian said with a stoic look on his face.
With the two next to each other, it creates a striking image. The old and gruff grey-haired Sebastian that loomed over Merlin, with his luscious white hair, only coming up to the man's waist.
Entering his library, Sebastian bowed and left Merlin to his activities.
Merlin waved his hand and a pile of books floated out from the shelves and followed behind him as he took a seat on an armchair by the window. The moonlight shone through the window and onto Merlin's figure as he immersed himself in his books once more, a smile on his face as he thought back to the time he spent with the Vermillion siblings, his friends.
Compared to the noble's that would push their children to interact with him, these two kids took the initiative instead and rushed up to him after seeing his hair change under sunlight.
Other kids would be sceptical and overly inquisitive of his hair, but these two merely treated it as a feature of their newfound 'friend', as they so boldly declared him right after meeting him.
From the doorway, Sebastian opened the door a little and peeked inside to make sure that his young master was okay, before leaving him alone and tending to his tasks.
Raising his head from his book, Merlin glanced over to where the door to the library was. The corner of his mouth raised as he looked out the window and onto the night sky.
'I searched through every book that I could, and still couldn't find anything that's related to curses or even my aptitude to magic. I can use every type of magic that has been recorded so far, but from what I know there have been no records of someone being able to do so.
Closing his eyes, Merlin focused on a familiar type of Mana. Opening his eyes, they glowed slightly in the darkroom. In front of him were 2 long trails of red mana that stretched out of the library and the estate towards the direction of the Vermilion residence.
Running his hands through the red Mana trail, Merlin muttered, "I wonder if there is anyone that can see Mana as I do. So far, I haven't encountered anyone that could do so, nor any sources in any of the books I have read so far."
Blinking, his eyes stopped glowing as the surrounding turned normal once more. 'Oh well, that's something future me can be responsible for. For now, I'm getting tired. Those two really drained my energy. *yawn*'
With that, Merlin waved his hand and disappeared from his position on the chair, reappearing once more in his bedroom. Snapping his finger, the clothes on his body 'broke' apart, as particles of mana shaped like flower petals returned back to the air, and onto his body once more, shining brightly for a moment.
On Merlin's body were his pyjamas, replacing his robes as he tucked into bed and slept.
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Authors Notes:
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