Chapter 16: Side effects
"I don\'t know what to say... I just feel proud of my son" Luciana replied.
"You should . I am proud of him too, but.... listen to me carefully, Luci. Every time I looked at Fiona during the Awakening Ceremony, I didn\'t like the expression on her face, and I\'m afraid she might harm Ethan" Isabella said, lowering her voice even more.
"Are you sure? I don\'t like Fiona much either, but I don\'t think she\'s crazy enough to go that far" Luciana said.
"I\'m sure, Luci. I\'m just telling you to take precautions... Now I need to go. I have a tea party with some noblewomen, and among them is Viscountess Maria, whose daughter has just awakened" Isabella said, and I heard her get up from the chair she was sitting on.
"Oh yes, I\'ve heard of her daughter. I believe she\'s a genius, and is it true that she\'s engaged to one of Fiona\'s sons?" Luciana asked curiously.
"Yes... But maybe you should consider her for Ethan. After all, she will be a great Kaizer of the future, and I\'ve even heard that the Chief Wizard is interested in her. If you want, we can talk to her mother and arrange an engagement for Ethan" Isabella said firmly.
"No... Ethan can choose his own spouse when he grows up, and I don\'t want to ruin our relationship with Fiona for now" Luciana replied firmly.
"Alright, as you wish. Congratulations again" Isabella said, and I felt her approach and kiss me on the forehead.
"See you later" Luciana said, and I realized Isabella had left when I heard the door close.
After Isabella left, I was alone in the room with my mother. I didn\'t want them to realize I was awake, so I kept my eyes closed and regulated my breathing.
My mother waited in silence for a while, then took a deep breath, walked over to me and took my hand. "Ethan, I know this process has been challenging and painful for you too, but I\'m proud of you, my sweet son," she whispered. She paused for a moment and then added, "I\'ve always trusted you." I felt her stroking my hair for a few minutes, and after she kissed my forehead, she got up.
I heard the door open slowly and my mother talking to someone. Shortly after, someone entered, and I cracked my eyelid so that no one would notice. When I saw Emilia\'s increasingly beautiful face, I relaxed and closed my eyes.
My mother had left the room, and I began to think about the conversations I had heard. This thought sent a chill down my spine. At that moment, I saw a light seeping from under the door. I slightly opened my eyes and noticed that the door was ajar. A shadow appeared outside and slowly slid inside.
"Welcome, Your Excellency, Princess Kayle" Emilia said, and thus I understood who had come.
"Thank you," said Kayle and approached the bed I was lying on. When she suddenly pulled the blanket, I was quite surprised.
"Y-Your Excellency!?" Emilia asked in a startled voice.
"Is there a problem?" Kayle asked harshly.
"N-no... Your Excellency," she said. Although I couldn\'t see her, I could feel that Emilia was turning her head away.
The blanket over me was pulled a little more, and I heard Kayle lying on the bed. Fortunately, the bed was very wide, so there was no problem, but a few seconds later, when I felt Kayle approaching, I sighed inwardly with fear. Kayle placed my head on her shoulder and began to stroke my hair with her right hand.
I could feel her looking at me, and I tried to act as normal as possible, but I wasn\'t aware of how sweet I looked from the outside...
"Most of the time, I feel you\'re more mature than me, but seeing you in such a vulnerable state now is very enjoyable." Kayle whispered.
When she lowered her left hand to my tomach, I would have definitely screamed if I weren\'t pretending to be unconscious. Fortunately, her right hand stopped on my stomach and didn\'t go any lower. Kayle rested her head against mine, and soon I felt her regular breaths. Kayle was becoming bolder day by day, and this girl\'s nature was definitely straightforward. Too straightforward.
She always said what she wanted, did what she wanted to do, and even if what she said would offend the person in front of her, she would still say it, but she never talked about her feelings. Kayle had such a nature, and frankly, I liked this side of her. She was someone you could trust without a second thought...
A little later, as the sound of Kayle\'s steady heartbeat started to lull me like a lullaby, I was about to fall asleep, drowning in my thoughts. My plans definitely needed to change....
°°°°
A few days later, after finally convincing my mother that I was fine for about half an hour, I returned to my normal life. In the meantime, today, my father came to my room and asked if I wanted to use a magical stone to find out the level of my Kaizer power, but after thinking for a bit, I immediately refused. There were many elements and power levels in this world.
If Fiona somehow found out about my Kaizer power, she would definitely use all her powers to kill me.
Especially since I am still a six-year-old child, I need to hide the fact that I have great potential for now. It is likely that Fiona will attempt to assassinate me, but I don\'t believe this will happen soon. After all, killing a prince who had just awakened a few days ago would make suspicious. Besides, Fiona will probably want to see me grow up and her want ses my otential.
Despite all these reasons, I\'m not foolish enough to take risks. First, I need a few weapons and I have to obtain them secretly. Of course, given my position, I can get any weapon I want, but there\'s no need for the assassin who will try to kill me to know this. For now, I will ask for help from Emilia, the only subordinate I trust....
.
.
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When I finally finished my plans and preparations, I was walking in the garden. I was heading towards Isabella\'s palace, and as I walked through the long corridors, I saw Lugoar in front of me. He was Fiona\'s youngest son, born about five months after me. I immediately changed my direction to avoid confronting him, but when I heard the quick footsteps behind me, I realized I wouldn\'t run away.
"What do you want, Lugoar?" I said in a tired voice.
"You will address me as His Excellency, Prince Lugoar" he said with an arrogant grin.
"I don\'t have time to waste with you, kid, get lost" I waved my hands back and forth and told him to go away, but of course this idiot with the potential to be a big third class dumb villain didn\'t go away. Of course!
"I heard you completed your Kaizer awakening, but don\'t be arrogant, when I awaken in five months, no one will even talk about you, even your whore mothe-" Before he could finish his sentence, I grabbed him by the throat so hard that his eyes widened in horror.
I slammed him against the wall, and amid the servants\' screams, I remembered that the person in front of me was still a small child. Still, my anger was not abating. How dare he speak such vile words about my beloved mother?
"Who?" I shouted.
"P-please," was all he could barely say.
"Who taught you these vile words?!" I asked. At that moment, I hadn\'t realized how authoritative and frightening my voice sounded.
"A-a-a-mom said my mom! Please... Cough!" I set him down firmly and waited for the anger to pass.
"What just happened to me? This is not normal," I said to myself. The anger and hatred I felt inside... The urge to rip out Lugoar\'s intestines and put them in his mouth.... all followed by a great instinct to protect my mother. This is not normal.
Even though Lugoar\'s words made me angry, I shouldn\'t have lost control like that, I almost killed a child and it was completely unnatural for me to react in such an exaggerated way. The only guess I could come up with was the Element of Darkness.