Before long, I finally turned four years old, and now it's my turn to go to the Capicastle and do a magic test! Another major event also happened, and that's the birth of the princess! Now, our kingdom has both a prince and a princess.
Alt-nii is currently studying hard so that he can get into the special class from his 3rd term –or second year forward. Besides that, he's often following Mom to the Magic Court, in order to research and train his [Void].
Even when his main attribute is [Void], not many weird rumors are going in his school. Could it be really true...? That the Harmonia Academy is the best school in terms of tolerance and secrecy. Not a lot of prideful nobles go there, too. The nobles there also mingle with students who are commoners. It's not a school exclusively for nobles—although they have an excellent national standard of education.
That's good for Alt-nii! I was kinda worried that his friends would judge him or even ostracize him for being out of ordinary.
Then again, Alt-nii doesn't seem to be someone who's bothered by that kind of thing. But since I'm bothered by what people say... then, I guess I should aim to go to the Harmonia Academy, as well!
Since going to school, his portion of special training has been reduced, but at this point, he doesn't seem to need any mentoring. Dad says that he can just experiment now that he knows all the basics of it.
Meanwhile for me, I can alter my whole body just fine, and I can hold with for a considerably long time. However, I still need to complete a more complicated transformation, for example transforming into a different built or aged body. I mean, I can transform to be a male version of myself just fine, but I can't try transforming into an adult.
Not yet, but I'm trying~ I'm optimistic I can be a cat by the time I enter school!
Please don't look at me with the eyes that say, "So, that's your goal all along?"!
Anyway, after lunch, Mom dresses me up in a casual dress and ties my hair into the usual twin tails.
After we're ready, we hop into the usual carriage!
"Is everything ready, Ophelia-sama?" asked the driver.
"Yes, we can go now."
And so, the carriage is moving steadily towards the Capicastle. Thankfully for us, even when we don't have any personal carriages, there are the kingdom-facilitated carriages for those working in the kingdom~
By the way, my mom is often called as "Ophelia" by other people and her coworkers. Cassie is her pet name, so only those who are close to her address her as Cassie.
It doesn't take too long for us to arrive in the castle.
As expected, and as far as I can remember, the castle is really huge!! The castle is divided into many sections. The core section is exclusively for the royal family, as it is their home. Nearby, there is a section for all the maids and butlers, and also every servant working to make sure the royal family's life is comfortable, and that the castle is in order. The front section of the castle includes the guest room, meeting room, the royal library, and audience hall. The huge garden is in the middle of everything.
There are also sections for various courts like Magic Court, Alchemy Court, etc… Well, I still don't know the whole map of the castle. To be honest, spatial thing is my greatest weakness...
But, the castle seems to have everything in it. It's like a small town with top-notch facilities, I guess? Must be hard to manage things here.
Before going to the Magic Court, we must greet the king in his throne room—not because of the formalities, but because His Majesty requested us to meet him, to discuss something.
"Greetings, Your Majesty," Mom bowed down, so I followed her and bowed.
"Haha, okay, let's drop all the formalities right away!" The king laughed, "happy birthday, Lyra! You really take after Cassie, huh?"
"You think so?" Mom smiles.
"T-thank you, Your Majesty," I was about to bow down again, but the king has ordered us to drop all the formalities, so… better not.
"So, it's finally your turn to get your magic tested? My son has done it the other day, too," the king left his throne and approached us.
Hmm? Has done it the other day... means that... he is also...?
"Right, the crown prince is at the same age as you, Lyra," Mom said, to clarify the fact to me.
I have never met the current crown prince, but I assume we'd meet when we turn 6, during his birthday. Hmm, what kind of person is the next king going to be?
And if our age is close... hmmm, will I have to experience all that competition to be the future queen?
Ah well... I don't want to think about that right now. But yeah, I will prepare myself to be ready for when that kind of talk might appear.
"Say, why don't you come and play with him?" the king patted my head.
Uuuu, what an honor to be patted in head by the king! His hand has similar feeling to my dad's.
But, wait, what?
Have my ears played a trick on me?
What did he just say?
"Huh, is that alright?" Mom asked, her tone is full of concern.
Is this... a plot to bring us together?!
"Well, I think he'd need a friend of the same age by now. Especially since my wife is quite busy with our daughter."
Whaaa, so it's his motive! ...Uhm, for me... to be the crown prince's playmate?
"Hmm, what do you think, Lyra?"
To my surprise, Mom asked me about what I want to do.
Errr, do I have any choice in this matter?
It's a personal request from the king himself, and I also don't want to be rude. I also don't have any close friend that's at the same age as me, though.
"I, if the king is fine with me…," I timidly muttered those words.
"Haha, no need to be that nervous! Just play with him like a normal friend! No need to watch your every action in consideration that he's the crown prince. I'd love it if you two can be friends just like how me and your dad are close," he said.
My dad is as old as the king, and the two were inseparable friends back then. Perhaps he wants his son to feel the same experience as he had.
Okay, sorry for having my suspicion about the adults plotting to bring the prince and me together, as I am the daughter of the duke who's closest to the king!
"A-alright, thank you," I replied.
With that, it's decided that I shall visit the castle to play with the prince some other day. I must thank goodness it's not going to happen directly after this conversation. That way, I will have the time to prepare my heart!
As Altaire is busy with his school already, he cannot come to the castle often and can't be playmates with the crown prince. That's why the king has his eyes on me, instead. Besides, it'd be a lot easier to be friends with someone of your age, so people said.
I am kinda worried, though. My mental age is not like any other normal kid, so…
But perhaps that way, I can accommodate to the crown prince's favor more?
After the short audience with the king and the sudden turn of events (which I'm already getting used to, as my life as Lyra has been full of unpredictable surprises), Mom finally takes me to her territory—I mean her workplace!
We have been walking in the hallway for quite a while, passing by some maids and servants on our ways. They were greeting Mom, as Mom replied every single person.
We finally arrived in front of a different looking door. The door is huge, as if it was a gate to another world. Strangely, the door has no handle.
So, how are we supposed to enter? （・□・;）
"Lyra, welcome to the Royal Magic Court," my mom smiles, as she chants some spell.
[Lybcræft benîdan] (Magic extract)
A little of her magic essence appears in the form of a faint "smoke" from her stretched hand, as it gently touches the door. The door shines for a moment, and suddenly, it's opened.
"Whoaaaa, magic!"
…Silly me.
Well, duh, literally, it's magic!
"Haha, this is the Royal Magic Court, after all. The door will react to the person's magical essence and if it's verified to be someone registered in the database, it will open. For people without magical power but they have some businesses to do inside, for example the maids appointed to do clean ups, they will be given a magical key to open the door."
Wow, what a good system! The security and confidentiality should be safe as long as there's no mole inside the court itself.
Walking inside the hallway, there are some people wearing robes and pointy hats. They seem to be the member of the Royal Magic Court. They also greeted my mom warmly. Some of them address Mom as "Ophelia-sensei", besides the majority who address her with "-sama" suffix. Even those who seem older than mom. Seniority here isn't based on age, but based on the power and hierarchy of structure.
I wonder how long did it take for Mom to get used to be addressed as "Sensei" or "Senpai" by people older than her?
Maybe it was a similar case as how I got desentisized to the surprises in my life?
Nevertheless, we stopped in front of a door. Seems like this is the room that has all magic testers.
"Are you ready?" Mom asked.
I gotta admit, I feel a little nervous. But, it's now or never, right? I have no other choice, since we've come all the way here! Sooner or later, I'm going to discover my magic, so what's wrong with knowing it sooner?
…nothing can be wrong, I hope?
After taking a deep breath, I managed to speak with all my determination.
"Yes."