Deep inside the royal archives, a certain someone was wandering, looking for something. His golden hair bounced slightly with every step he took.

“Sareid… Sareid… Not this one… Is it further back?”

The man was Julient, the Third Prince, otherwise known as the Scholar Prince. He wandered into the royal archive in search of a certain scroll belonging to someone.

Ignoring the dust particles floating in the air, he continued to pace through several shelves, eyes darting between the names etched onto the metal plate below the racks. 

His eyes lit up as he spotted the word “Sareid” on one particular metal plate.

“There it is!”

He rushed to grab a nearby folding ladder to gain some elevation. Reaching up towards the shelf, he could feel several old scrolls and books. Carefully choosing several scrolls and books, he gently descended the ladder.

“Hup!” He landed with a small jump. “Now then!”

Without wasting a breath, he walked back to the empty desk near the entrance of the archive. This archive wasn’t something people could just enter willy-nilly, one needed an explicit permit from the royal family to even step foot inside, let alone read anything contained inside.

But, since Julient’s a member of the royal family, he treated this place as his personal library. With no one inside besides the two knights guarding the door outside, Julient could lean back, kick up his feet, and began to read the scrolls to his leisure.

“Now, what do you have for me, Sareids…”

The first scroll he opened was the current head of the Sareid House’s Talent Scroll, Kyrat Sareid. The scroll itself had aged over time, but the symbols could still be deciphered. With twelve distinct Talent Symbols, Julient couldn’t help but let out a whistle of amazement. 

Kyrat wasn’t a well-known general for nothing after all. 

Putting his scroll aside, he leaned forward to grab another. This time, it was that of Reina Sareid, the wife of Kyrat Sareid. With nine or so symbols, she had quite a few Talents of her own. It was typical of Sareids to marry those who were their equal in terms of strength, this scroll proved it for Julient.

Two Talentful individuals, common sense dictates that a child born out of them would bear the same greatness. However, this world was unfair, it was something Julient knew deep inside his heart.

He reached for the last scroll, opening it slowly. It belonged to Carine Sareid, the girl he wished to mentor in the future. She was the reason he bothered scouring for half an hour looking for the Sareid records. 

He needed to know what her Talents were, and there was no more accurate way of knowing than looking for it in the royal archive.

When Julient unfurled the scroll, his eyes narrowed.

Two.

There were only two symbols inscribed onto the scroll.

A Talent is deduced by deciphering a combination of two or more Talent Symbols. There exist Talents that could be deciphered with only having one Talent Symbol comprising it, but they are very rare.

That would mean, the most likely scenario was that Carine…

“…Only has one Talent.”

The truth, instead of confusing Julient, gave him some clarity instead. A slight smile formed on his lips, his eyes eyeing her name on the scroll once again.

“Weakness breeds strength… you truly are the perfect ‘proof’ of my theory.”

—

I peeked out from behind Mother, my eyes locked on ‘Sebastian’. His creepy “gentle” smile didn’t waver, not even a twitch even after Mother had his throat in her striking range.

Mother wasn’t having it either. She pressed the sword forward, her arms tense. “How do you know about my daughter’s symbols?” she demanded.

‘Sebastian’ didn’t flinch, in fact, his smile seemed to grow even wider.

“I assure you, Your Grace. I mean no harm to the young lady. My only intention is to protect her.”

His words all sounded sweet but they all felt slimy. Seeing the way he talk reminded me of a typical door-to-door salesman, the stubborn kind. My years of experience dealing with countless numbers of them led me to believe this guy was untrustworthy.

I would’ve rolled my eyes if I wasn’t so mindful of his movements. I sensed that something wasn’t right here, and not just the fact that this guy was acting like a villain from a cheap stage play.

“So, sneaking into my house was the best way to do that?”

Sebastian’s smirk didn’t waver. “Ah, forgive me for the… unorthodox approach,” he said. “I needed to confirm if the intel I received was accurate before making myself known.”

Mother’s eyes narrowed, the sword hovering closer to his throat. “And did you find what you were looking for?”

I nodded slightly, curious as well. Of course, I didn’t believe a single thing he said ever since he brought me breakfast this morning.

If that were to be true, and it seemed so judging from Mother’s reaction… then aren’t I weak? Curiosity enveloping me, I strained my ears, waiting for ‘Sebastian’’s answer to Mother’s question.

“Answer me,” Mother demanded once more.

‘Sebastian’ let out a small chuckle. “Well… let’s just say, there’s still much to observe.”

That’s vague!

“But,” he continued, raising a hand with an open palm like he was swearing an oath. “I swear upon my own life that I harbor no ill will. None at all.”

Yeah, right. I glanced at the guard beside me, his face etched with doubt. But there was something else there too. It was as if he was… considering it. 

Seriously dude? Are you buying this con man?

I looked up at Mother. Her face was still cold, still sharp, but she hadn’t moved the sword an inch. She wasn’t dismissing him either. 

Mother?! Not you too?!

For some reason or another, these two adults seemed to buy some of this creep’s words. Was it similar to how old people were more likely to be pulled into a pyramid scheme? Or was there something I was missing?

I knew that I wasn’t great with politics and words in this world, but even I knew this guy had a sly tongue!

Not able to bear to look at it further, I nudged Mother with my elbow. “Mother! Snap out of it! He’s spouting nonsense!”

Mother’s gaze turned to me for a brief moment, her cold demeanor dropping slightly. “R-Right, of course, he is.” She turned her attention back to ‘Sebastian’. “Enough games!” she snapped. “You have until I count to three before I deal with you myself. One—”

‘Sebastian’ let out a light, amused sigh. “This Talent really is limited, isn’t it?” he muttered to himself, just loud enough for me to catch.

Talent? Is he talking about his own? Was he using one this entire time?

“Fine, fine.” He took a step back, then another, his hands still raised in mock surrender. “I’ll take my leave. But remember, Your Grace, my offer still stands,” he added before striding out of the room like he owned the place.

As soon as the doors closed behind him, I let out a breath I didn’t realize I had been holding.

Without wasting a beat, Mother tossed the sword back to the guard who barely caught it as he stumbled forward. She was furious, I could see it in her eyes.

“Yeremiah,” Mother commanded the guard.

“Y-Yes, ma’am?!”

So that’s his name…

“Bring my husband. Now. And find out who let him into the house… along with Leila.”

“Yes, Ma’am! B-But, before that… Lady Carine?” He turned his head to me.

“Hmm? What is it?” I asked in a strained tone, still tense from the earlier encounter.

“H-Hiegh?! I’m sorry! I-I’ll get going right away!”

He rushed out the door after displaying quite a display of terror. What? Did I say something wrong?

It took a while for me to piece together what he was looking at me for, but I eventually did.

Oh right, his promotion…

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