With only two more days left of the break, Seungmin spent his time looking into Sion's past. There wasn't much to go off of, as there was nothing left behind. The obsession with cleanliness and perfection that rose from his desire to be better than Christopher at something, anything—it was the exact reason why Sion left no traces of his personal feelings. The fairies that were helping Seungmin look for a diary or any sort of personal belonging pouted at their failure to find anything.
Shin crawled out from beneath the bed and whined. It was a futile search for the mana beast as well. It hopped onto the bed with flattened ears, prompting Seungmin to chuckle lightly. With time, not only was Shin growing in size but in personality as well. In the beginning, it was quiet and rarely did anything more than sleep, but it began exploring more and playing with the fairies as of late.
Seungmin scratched Shin's head and went back to thinking about the situation. It was unfortunate that he couldn't find any memoirs, but the fairies made up for it by telling him their observations of the previous Sion. Supposedly, he had a kind soul similar to Seungmin's before he was overcome with jealousy. But there was something that didn't add up in this.
"You say my soul is still kind, but I made inventions I knew would kill thousands," he muttered. "How is it that Sion's soul was tainted when it was purely a sibling rivalry?"
The fairies looked at each other hesitantly before one fluttered forward and answered, "Too much black magic."
Seungmin narrowed his eyes.
"I thought Sion could only use fire magic," he countered.
"Don't need to use black magic to be affected by black magic," another fey replied. One by one, other fairies piped in.
"Jealousy and..."
"Hatred!"
"Selfishness..."
"They all feed black magic."
"So all those emotions fueled black magic nearby and corrupted his soul?" Seungmin asked, a hand raising to his chin as his eyebrows knit in thought.
"No no," a fairy explained, "black magic to humans with no black magic is no harm. But if human have bad bad feelings...it eats their souls."
Seungmin realized then that his soul must have ended up in Sion's because there was no more soul left in the healthy body. It was simply a perfect shell. Sion's body was built healthily, and it didn't seem like he fell ill often at all, so the collapse in school could have been an effect of the black magic.
Further, Seungmin now knew that black magic did exist to a certain extent around him, enough, at least, to eat away at Sion's soul. He wasn't too surprised since he knew that fairies of all different attributes were everywhere, but he hadn't a clue who could be the dark magic user around him, and like holy magic, he had never yet seen a black-clothed fairy.
With a sigh, he plopped backward on the bed and mumbled, "And that still doesn't answer why Sion cared for his Mother's garden."
According to Sophia, Sion never called his mother "Mother" but "Concubine Irene." She wasn't sure how they addressed each other in private, but to call to his own mother as if they didn't have any relation at all, Seungmin thought, made it seem like Sion was hiding that he at least cared enough to make sure her garden was always tended to. Even records of what Sion would tell the gardeners to do didn't exist when most activities the Imperial Family ordered were written for the treasury or safekeeping.
"If he was caring for her in secret, is it a stretch to think he might have been protecting her? He had a horrible relationship with other people and used to be targeted in assassination attempts..."
Seungmin wished that even a sentence of Sion's motives and feelings were left behind. If so, he would have at least some sort of guiding light for how to act around Concubine Irene. He always felt strained when having to act out a son who might not even have acted like a proper son, especially when she gazed at him with such sad eyes.
Yawning, Seungmin closed the curtains with magic and got under the covers of his blankets. It was already the last evening of break. Though dissatisfied with the lack of information he found, the lazy boy decided that he should cherish his last day of break by sleeping early.
And so, while Seungmin fell into a dreamless sleep, a page of the calendar flipped, and an unfortunate day befell the Hershian Empire.
School respite finally ended and classes resumed.
For Seungmin, this was indeed a very unfortunate day.
He was so used to spending his time leisurely in the gardens that he couldn't even process getting ready early in the morning, and by the time he came to his senses, he was already sitting in his old seat in the lecture hall, in the back, by the window. Though expressionless as usual, he couldn't help but be a little annoyed inside. Summer flowers were blooming on the tree outside. Could he not be out there with them? Or back in bed like he still would've been during the break? He was already missing the absence of school in his life despite the first bell not even ringing.
"You very much like the window seat now, my Prince."
Thinning his lips, Seungmin continued to focus outside, even when he could feel Alexander sit next to him. Besting to his own logic of keeping silent, he asked out loud, "Why are you sitting here?"
They were no longer working on a project together, so it was a given Alexander would return to his place beside the Crowned Prince in the front. Christopher, who was already sitting there, didn't even seem to bother getting his supposed best friend to sit next to him. Seungmin hoped that he would turn around and call for Alexander to go back.
"I believe I belong right next to you," the Duke's Heir chuckled, resting his chin on his palm. Seungmin continued to stare at Christopher, but the sociable boy was too busy talking to his other friends to notice the glare directed at him. After a while, Seungmin gave up and shifted the gaze of his eyes to Alexander. Alexander held back a laugh.
"You're looking at me with such a peculiar expression," he hummed. "Do you not feel that we make a great pair?"
"That's you and the Crowned Prince," Seungmin countered, standing his ground as Alexander leaned forward slowly.
"As best friends, yes," the platinum-haired boy smiled. "I'll admit we make an awfully nice duo too. But I feel that you and I are a little different."
"Because it's one-sided."
Alexander's lips perked upward as if everything Seungmin said was entertaining to him. He leaned back, and warmth left Seungmin's face with him. It was a strange feeling to want the warmth of someone he wasn't sure he liked.
He unbuttoned his collar, feeling stuffy.
"Look, isn't that the Holy Princess?"
Whispers arose from the class, and even Seungmin ended up turning his head. Marianne walked in after saying goodbye to Princess Analiese who supposedly guided her. Holding the straps of her backpack nervously, the Saintess stepped into the classroom and looked around. When she saw that the back corner seat was taken by Seungmin, she hesitated and scanned the room.
"Does she want to sit here?"
Seungmin didn't see an issue with her sitting near him. He felt calm around her, and she seemed to be on the quieter side, which he preferred. When she did another round of looking around as she slowly went up the stairs to stall time, she made eye contact with him. He bobbed his head to the row in front of him.
As if thanking him, she blinked slowly and slid down the row, to the seat closest to the window.
"Princess Marianne, good morning," Alexander greeted with a charming smile.
"Prince Alexander, hello," she turned around and greeted back. "The weather is nice today!"
Perhaps it was because she had grown up in the slums until she was found, but her words were less fitting for nobility compared to all others Seungmin had listened to.
"Yes, it is," Alexander answered. He looked at Seungmin, who mistakenly looked back at him. In the split second Alexander's eyes glimmered, the Second Prince could tell he was going to be dragged into the conversation. "What do you think, My Prince?"
"It's pleasant," Seungmin sighed quietly as he plopped his chin onto his palm and looked back outside.
For the Princess who had never seen the two interact closely before, the situation felt awkward enough for her to clear her throat and turn around. To her luck, there were other nobles eager to talk to her, and a few girls walked up to her table to chat. Seungmin drowned out their voices as he watched the fairies playing around like usual outside.
He felt a tap on his shoulder that he ignored.
"My Prince, did you finish the assignment?"
Seungmin lifted his chin from his hand, turning to look at Alexander.
"What assignment?"
Alexander looked surprised.
"My, did you forget? We had a pamphlet of questions from each class that we were to fill out by today," he explained, taking the said packet out of his bag and showing it to Seungmin. It consisted of math, language, literature, magic theory, and the sorts. And it was quite long—not something Seungmin could finish in the few minutes he had left before class would start.
The Second Prince looked through his bag, only to find the untouched packet in his folder. Suddenly, he remembered that he had put it in there with the thought of finishing it the day the break began, only to be swamped away by the emotional turmoil brought by his past. He frowned and put it back in the folder. There was no use in trying to complete it now; he would just have to be honest and say he forgot about it.
Alexander didn't bother to ask if the boy wanted to copy his packet, knowing that it would take more energy than he liked. And with the way his eyes were drooping down in the sunlight, it looked as if he was about to drift off to sleep more than worry about it. Alexander leaned in closer and shaded the Second Prince's eyes from the brightest of the sun's rays. It wasn't until the professor walked in that he lowered his hand.
"Well then, welcome back to Vivian everyone, and welcome Princess Marianne," Mrs. Wolfsheim greeted as she dropped a neat pile of papers on the podium. With the flick of her wrist, she sent each sheet to the students using her air magic. "First things first, please fill out this form and turn it in to me by the end of the day."
When the paper came floating right to the table in front of him, Seungmin glanced down and skimmed its contents. It was about doing community service for a month. There were options given, and the students were to rank which area they would most like to contribute to: soup kitchen, gardening, orphanage, guard patrolling, cleaning streets, or stitching clothes.
Seungmin didn't prefer one much over the other, but gardening seemed fine. He skimmed over the list once more. His eyes stopped at the third option.
"Orphanage...I would have been sent there with my sister if..." He stopped himself from thinking negatively.
Perhaps he would volunteer at the orphanage. The sentiment of his past still lingered—so rude it was to barge into his heart whenever it wanted—but it motivated him to live a better life for himself and for his sister. It was much like what he told Yeong-Su when they first met: it's important to live life proudly to not let down those who could've lived it with you. Since he could have been sent to somewhere like an orphanage, he felt slightly more inclined to help there than anywhere else.
Anyways, Seungmin was planning on doing a few things to pay tribute his past, slowly and heartfully. He was already sketching what he wanted the graves of his family to look like; the graves would not truly be tombstones but a large stone tablet with words he wished to say to them, in Korean, with their favorite flowers planted around it. He hoped to do this in his garden at Cambriage because he would most likely live there in the long term once Christopher ascended to the throne. It was also much more peaceful there, and he was sure his loved ones wouldn't want to be looked at by strangers. He just hadn't investigated the logistics of making a separate greenhouse for this and having letters sent once a week due to the distance (he could teleport, but he'd need someone trustworthy to know he'd be coming to not spread word of his magic).
Thinking of the sanctuary of a greenhouse, Seungmin looked back down at the page and began writing the ranking of his preference. First came the orphanage, then gardening, stitching, kitchen, guard patrolling, and finally cleaning.
There was a space where they asked for an explanation of the student's choices, and Seungmin looked at it for a while. The fairies around him sat down on the desk and on his still hand.
"Don't know what write?" a fairy asked.
Seungmin nodded his head, responding telepathically, "I cannot write about my past life."
"Soft heart is reason," another fairy piped in, but mint hair swayed side to side in disagreement.
"I am not kind. I have killed thousands, and this is not enough to think of as atonement. Besides, I'm doing this for myself."
The fairies' wings drooped as they looked up at Seungmin with sad eyes. A few of them fluttered up to Seungmin's head and ran their small hands down his hair. Seungmin thought for a while in silence. Then he looked down placed the tip of his pen gently on the paper. He gave a small smile.
"They deserve the chance to love a family."
•:•.•:•.•:•:•:•:•:•:•:•☾☼☽•:•.•:•.•:•:•:•:•:•:•:•
The rest of school was fine as they were lectures, but the dreaded physical education magic class was the final step Seungmin needed to take before the recess bell rang. Everyone was to change in two rooms where there were enough stalls for two classes to change in. The stalls had a velvet couch and hooks to set clothes on. And because nobles didn't fold their own clothes, there were attendants on standby to fold the clothes for them once the students were all out.
The outdoor uniform was looser than the indoor uniform, so Seungmin much preferred it. He walked out of the stall and nodded languidly at the attendant, signaling that it was alright to go in.
"It's been a while since we've changed into these uniforms," Alexander noted as he and Christopher walked toward Seungmin. He gave a sneaky smile to Seungmin when he looked up; it was quite obvious that he was bringing up the fact that the previous Prince Sion had collapsed the last they had the class.
Christopher shot Alexander a glance before smiling and saying, "Well, the weather was strange during that week, so it's only a given that it be canceled."
Seungmin didn't bother to respond and adjusted his collar. The fabric was more on the thicker side, so he felt nicely warm at the moment, but he worried he would get hotter once they started to do activities outside.
"Did the tailor use the wrong measurements when making your new uniform? It seems a bit loose," Alexander commented. His rough hands tugged on the sleeve of Seungmin's uniform.
Seungmin brushed away his hand and looked down at his clothes. The uniform was indeed on the looser side compared to how it fit Christopher or Alexander, but he didn't see an issue with it. However, by the way Christopher and Alexander looked concerned, he realized there was a difference in thoughts. He remembered when he first met the Emperor and thought that his outfit was on the looser end. Did Seungmin, too, look weaker? He hoped this wasn't the case as he didn't want people to think of him as an easy target.
He flexed his wrists.
"Maybe it's alright to show off every once in a while," he thought, earning the attention of all the nearby fairies.
"Hehe, boom!" a fairy in a red dress chimed, thrusting her arms outward.
"Yeah," Seungmin smirked softly as he began walking out of the changing room, "We're going to go boom."
The fairies wearing shades of red, indicating that they were of the fire element, all cheered. They hurried over to the boy and clung onto his hands, swinging back and forth with their little giggles as Seungmin followed the other students to the training hall.
"For someone who I'd think doesn't like physical education anymore, you seem awfully excited right now," Alexander hummed, catching up to the Second Prince.
Seungmin squinted his eyes when they made it outside where the sun was still the world's brightest gold. The warmth trickled onto his skin, and he took a deep breath of the fresh air. He was feeling a bit childish for wanting to show off to the others that he had superior magic. The fairies around him responded quickly that he wasn't being childish, eager to have some fun. Seungmin could only smile warmly at their antics.
"You're right. I'm only sixteen," he thought. "I'm not being childish."
Really, the fairies were always there to support him.
While Seungmin was feeling less embarrassed by his flying companions' comfort, the teacher was explaining the purpose of that day's training. It seemed like typical target training, except the targets acted like beasts and would charge toward you in certain cases. There were two assistant teachers who seemed to be in charge of the air magic for the activity.
"For those of you planning on participating in the annual Hershian Hunt," the teacher noted, "it would be helpful to hone down on aiming."
Beside Seungmin, Christopher smiled, "Ah, the Hershian Hunt is in a month. It is the fiftieth year since we established ourselves as an Empire instead of a Kingdom, so I expect this hunt to be grand!"
"Will you go for first place?" Alexander asked.
Christopher chuckled, "Is there a man who doesn't try for King of the Hunt?"
"I think we do have someone here," Alexander lightly remarked, pulling Seungmin closer to them by his waist. Before Seungmin could say anything, Alexander's hand disappeared like he hadn't done anything.
Brushing back his bangs, Seungmin continued to focus on the first two students completing the task. Nothing noteworthy was shown so far—truthfully, their magic was so bland that Seungmin second-guessed the powers nobles possessed. Wasn't the difference between him and them too great?
"Brother? Are you really choosing not to be crowned King of the Hunt?" Christopher questioned, his crimson eyes widening. Seungmin wasn't sure why the boy was surprised; he made it plenty clear that he wasn't interested in any sort of fame. He simply nodded and went back to observing the lesson.
Both the students had water attributes and took about a second or two to conjure each water ball out loud. Seungmin frowned. It took far less time to think of the spell in one's head. In addition, conjuring multiple at once would knock out multiple targets far more easily than trying to do one at a time. One student formed a tornado of water and managed to swamp in three targets on the ground, but they were are small.
Hearing the fairies laugh, Seungmin averted his attention from the mortals to the spirits.
"Silly Seungmin," one was saying, "you're not like humans."
"We like you this much more!" another said, stretching their arms as much as it could.
"I thought that just my unique magic spells like teleportation would be the difference...Is it because I haven't seen magic only combat?" Seungmin tilted his head in thought.
When he had watched Yeong-Su spar with the other soldiers, he had allowed only beginner-level magic and the match revolved mostly on their swords; knowing this fact, he didn't bother comparing his own magic to theirs. It seemed like his baseline for what others could do was biased.
As the first team finished up and got critique from the teacher, Seungmin's lips thinned. He was doubting his decision to show off when it would draw more unnecessary attention than he was aiming for. As his mood dampened from his inability to truly play with magic, Alexander stared at him blankly.
"My Prince, you were so excited," he said, tapping Seungmin's hand with the tip of his fingertips to get his attention. "So why are you suddenly upset?"
"Huh? Sion's upset?" Christopher whispered.
"If the students' abilities here are not up to par, I'm afraid you're mistaking yourself to be on their level," Alexander hummed quietly enough for no one else to hear. Seungmin's mint eyes looked into his curiously. Truly, it felt like he was as if the Duke's Heir could read his mind.
"Oh, Sion...If, um, you're feeling like doing a large-scale spell, I suggest doing it in a facility that can withhold it, such as the Imperial grounds," Christopher spoke up, lacing his words with caution. Did he think Seungmin was going to pass out again?
A small smirk graced Seungmin's lips as he replied, "I won't go all out."
At some point, Alexander was called up with another student. He was quite skilled at using his air attribute and used chantless magic. He used a storm to win against the teachers' magic and hold multiple targets in the air at once before breaking them all neatly.
"What did you think, Prince Sion?" was the first thing he said after the practice was over. Seungmin just shrugged.
Christopher was called up next. Since he had a dual-complementary of fire and earth and a large mana pool, many more fairies were circling him compared to the student next to him. He made the training ground into large waves of the earth, keeping the "land-type monster" targets stuck in the tides. A sharp and precise beam of fire was enough to knock them out.
Finally, it was the Second Prince's turn. Seungmin was well aware of the murmurs going through the class as he walked to the center. He paid neither those students nor his partner any mind, however, rolling his wrists slowly. The fairies around him were practically swarming around him like bees, excited to do whatever he bid.
He looked at them and communicated some orders while the teachers were finishing the preparations. Therefore, ready with everything beforehand, before the student next to him could finish chanting her spell, blue flames circled Seungmin's body. The normal eye wouldn't be able to catch the spheres inside those flames where Seungmin had compacted methane. Methane comes from the natural air and has a significant amount of oxygen, meaning it burns significantly, causing the hottest flames to glow a beautiful cerulean.
Some fire and air fairies landed on Seungmin's shoulder, and he glanced at them. Their eyes were glistening with excitement. Seungmin gave them exactly what they wanted.
He snapped his fingers in the general direction of the targets.
"Go."
With a squeal, the fey sent each and every flame toward a target, allowing the bubble to pop and expand the small flames into a precise explosion. Targets dropped one by one.
Seungmin's eyes softened as he lowered his hand, thanking the fairies telepathically until he heard the main teacher call out his name. Wondering if he should have left some targets for his poor partner (who was standing there with one water spear in her hand), he linked his fingers in front of him.
"Your Highness, that was truly amazing," the teacher said in a stern yet admiring voice. "To be able to control fire to the point of creating the hottest of them all, you have made much progress since I last saw you."
"Thank you," Seungmin said with a modest bow, hand on chest, before going back to where he was standing before.
Students had mixed expressions: some looked at him with awe while some—like the friends he had separated from—had scorns etched into their faces. By chance, Seungmin made eye contact with the Holy Princess standing in the middle of the crowd. She was in the former cluster, eyes widened and a hand covering her mouth as other girls whispered to her.
In the end, his gaze landed on the Duke's Heir
"You never fail to impress me," Alexander said with a whistle.
"I don't try to," Seungmin answered back. His mint eyelashes swooped as he turned his attention from the ground to Alexander again, somehow unable to avoid the boy's gaze. His eyes were as calm as usual, but there was a speckle of stars in them. For some reason, Seungmin could hear his heartbeat clearly in his head.
"I know." Alexander was smiling. "And somehow, my eyes don't want to look at anything but you."