Piece 15 (part 2)

BAKKK!!!!!

The loud sound of a smack was heard throughout the hallway of the south-east building of the middle castle. It is the most eerie place out of the entire castle where the royal family lives, and it is also the most agonizing. Because those who lived here, they don't have much to live for.

"Stupid little girl dares to raise her eyes towards me!?" An angered squeaky scream of an old man was heard throughout the hallway, followed by the swing of a hand.

BAAKKK!!!!!

Another smack landed successfully on the target, and this time it caused the opposition to fall on the floor. With her entire body on the ground, the fat chubby old man realized that he can no longer use his hand. So, he proceeded with using his feet.

BAAKK!!!!

BAAAKKK!!!!!

The beating continues. A massive boot the size of her arm has landed multiple times onto her body, causing undeniable pain onto her. However, the beater did not care, and the sound of hitting kept on going.

Finally, he calms down. He turned around and left the little lady that he was punching and kicking on the floor, bleeding and bruised all over. Her clothes were completely messed up, and her eyes were empty as it stared onto the floor.

The little lady stayed on the floor. She did not get up, nor did anyone help her. The emperor had told any butler or servants to avoid the building so he could have a proper 'conversation' with his daughter, which resulted in nobody else existing in the building.

But, that is also a wonderful thing. Since no one is around, I can do anything I want without anyone looking.

FLICK!!

The sound of magic being activated was heard, and the nine year old girl laying on the ground found life once more.

The red haired girl lifted her body and studied her arms and legs, which are all looking quite bruised. She touched her mouth that was bleeding badly, but she did not feel the pain in the slightest.

"Wow. The magic actually works." I muttered while touching my bleeding lips, feeling so amazed that the pain simply doesn't exist.

I tried standing up, but my legs felt rather numb. My sense of pain was completely removed, so I didn't know just how bad of a condition my legs had gotten.

"Damn. He broke my leg again. I really need to gain weight." I muttered while studying my right leg that looked so limp, and I realized that the pain is already starting to return.

Very quickly, I took out an item from my pocket. It's a piece of paper, and written on it is a handwritten note. I knew right away what I needed to do.

" 'Elsia's Might… Heal.' "

I focused my thoughts and read the contents of the letter aloud, and in that instant, my body felt so much better. The bruises all disappeared in an instant, and I can feel the bleeding on my mouth disappear. I never felt the pain before, so there wasn't really any change.

"It all genuinely disappeared. This is amazing! So, this is magic!" I excitedly praised the letter in my hand, and I realized that I should thank the person who wrote me this letter.

To the mysterious kid who healed my wound on my older brother's birthday… You are the most amazing person in the world.

"So, the magic worked?" The mysterious boy asked after he appeared mysteriously on my balcony that same evening, and I gave him a big smile and a thumbs up.

He was wearing a black robe that seemed to fit his body, and I realized there was a reason why he had to dress like this. He is a child prodigy with many talents and capabilities, and he desires to sneak into one of the most protected places in the entire empire. Such a thing won't be easy, even for a prodigy like him. So, he had to prepare everything so that he wouldn't be found.

This is also our second time meeting. Our first time was in the open park in the middle of the south-east building, which is where we first got to know each other.

"Come inside. You don't mind having a little talk?" I invited him in, and he looked quite comfortable with that.

"There's nobody in the building right now aside from us. I think we'll be okay." He said before following me inside, and I turned rather surprised.

"How did you know?"

"Magic, my lady. It's a type of scanning technique that my father taught me."

"That's amazing… Teach me."

"I'll teach you, I'll teach you…" The boy proceeded to laugh after hearing my wish, and his eyes landed on my bedroom. His gaze turned rather terrified right away, and I can only imagine why.

"For a princess's bedroom… this place seemed so empty." He expressed after studying the appearance of my room, and I only nodded proudly.

There's not that much furniture in this gigantic room. It's the most important place in the entire building, and yet there's not that many objects in here. There is a chair, a table, and a bed. There's also a wardrobe for where I kept all of my clothes, but I made sure there's nothing like a mirror or a hanger stand.

"You wanna know why there's so little furniture?" I asked him to pique his curiosity, and he turned to me with a confused stare.

"It's so that he will have nothing to beat me up with."

Instantly, his eyes were opened wide. I started laughing immediately from how shocked he was, and I can't help but enjoy this so much.

Suffering is suffering, but it's so funny to see how other people perceive the way I live.

"Should I just kill the emperor for you…?" The boy said with such a cold gaze, but I only chuckled at him.

"You're willing to go that far for a girl you just met? I still won't marry you." I jokingly said while walking to my table, and he simply followed behind me.

I picked up an item from the desk and gave it to him, and he studied the object closely. It's a magic testing tool, and he gave it to me alongside the letter that he sent only yesterday. He wanted me to use it, and now he gets to look at the result that came out.

And his face doesn't look… that great.

"Your talent is mid."

"How dare you…? So, I can't study magic?"

"I'm kidding! Your talent is great!" He laughed immediately, and he turned the checking tool to me. 

It's a large crystal in the shape of a plate, and the text that came out of the crystal is the result of the test.

"Fire magic and light magic! The score is also above 250%! You can burn the whole world down once you train enough!" He told me while showing the result onto my face, but I still don't quite understand it.

"What does the percentage mean…?"

"Well, the score refers to how great of a talent you have according to the person this testing tool is based on. This testing tool uses an actual person as measurement, and that person's score will always be 100%. 

If you get higher, that means you are a lot more talented than that person. If you get lower, that means you are less talented. And for context, the person who was used as this measurement is the arch-mage of Veldonia!

And guess what? Not only did you double his talent, you're also capable of using two kinds of magic! That is already quite rare!"

Melvin explained to me long and wide about how the magic system works, but I'm not exactly here to listen about nonsense.

"I… just want to know if it's possible for me to learn magic." I expressed this to him, and he nodded firmly at me.

"It is very-very possible for you to learn about magic. In fact, I'd kill so that you can learn magic! I'll make sure you become a powerful mage!" He firmly promised to me, and I can feel my heartbeat getting a lot faster. It doesn't just come from the excitement, but also from just how blazingly nice his appearance is.

Need I say that this child is quite literally the prettiest boy I've ever seen? He had long eyelashes and a nastily good-looking face. It's simply unfair to exist with this kind of appearance and be incredibly talented at magic. He's more handsome than the most handsome prince.

"A-And what about you? What is your talent score?" I tried turning the question to him, and he turned quite uncomfortable very quickly.

"Oh. I got slightly higher than you. Don't worry about it."

"How high?"

"Not too high~. Just don't worry about it."

"300%? 350…?"

"Around… 400-ish."

He is just insane. An existence like him shouldn't exist.

Nevertheless, I'm so glad he existed. Because to me, he wasn't just my hero. He's a character that I aspire to be, a teacher who teaches me, and a rival I wish to one day defeat.

And someone… that I'm just so deeply in love with.