I remember reading in the original novel about the royal family, although they weren’t really an essential part of the plot. Their power wasn’t absolute and, currently, the four dukedoms and the Saintess kept their power in check. The only thing the novel mentioned was that every member of the royal family had unusual golden eyes and they were talented mages, but that was about it.

The Carmella Dukedom was famous for handling earth magic, as well as for their wealth and the Academy. 

The Argentine Dukedom was a family of light mages, and specialised in healing as well as swordsmanship. 

The Aquino Dukedom was made up of people with extravagant blue hair who were, mostly, water mages. Their specialty was healing and medicine. 

The Brandt Dukedom, on the other hand, was famous for their dazzling blond hair and fire magic, being the most powerful of the four, when it came to brute strength. They were also the closest, in bloodline, to the royal family.

The Zephyrine family had also been a dukedom centuries before. They had been demoted to barons at some point, but the reason was kept a secret, and only the head of the family was aware of it. Now that my father was dead, I had little hope to unravel the secret, and thought it was forever lost.

Needless to say, I was more than astonished to find out that Levi was a member of the royal family.

‘Shhhh’, Levi urged me, because I was still shouting ‘Your Highness’.

There was no mention in the novel of the Crown Prince being undercover in the Academy. He was supposed to be a sickly prince, who never left the comfort of the palace.

It was a shock to see a member of the royal family so close. Even more shocking, however, was to find out the Crown Prince was a water mage. According to the author, the royals of this world were fire mages.

If my guess was correct, then Levi was able to yield two magical elements at once, much like our Saint.

‘Your name… it’s fake, right?’, I inquired.

‘Yes… it was a suggestion from my butler. I’m not very creative, you see. But Levi is indeed my first name. Anyway, you cannot tell anyone what you saw today, alright?’

I nodded my head in agreement like a little kid.

‘The reason I am showing you this is because I know for a fact you don’t like the Saintess. I can’t tell you much yet, but I am on your side. As you know, my family has been kept in check for a very long time now, and we are in danger of losing the crown’.

‘What are you saying…? What makes you think I am going after her? Are you crazy?’

‘I know for a fact that you will be going after her, because you can’t escape your fate’.

Levi had an authoritative air about him, as if he was completely certain that I was going to make this choice. My eyes fell upon his for a moment, and we just stared at each other. His pupils were blue again, and only very thin traces of gold could be seen. It wasn’t a perfect disguise.

What made Levi so certain? He spoke as if it was only right for me to go after the Saintess, putting my life on the line. Perhaps he knew about my parent’s murder? Or did he know something else, something bigger? Was Levi a transmigrator, like me and Ari. The silence was cut, and he said:

‘She killed your parents’.

‘I know’, I replied, unfazed.

‘She drank their blood while they were alive and then killed them. To be precise, she drank your father’s blood, and your mother was simply left to die. She wasn’t a Zephyrine in blood, but by marriage only. Her blood was… not good enough, I suppose’.

‘What the hell are you going on about?’

‘The reason you are a Baroness and not a Duchess. There’s something about your family’s bloodline that she considers important, or tasty, I don’t know. Apparently only the head of the Zephyrine family knows the truth. She has been killing the head of your family for generations now. Hasn’t your father mentioned anything? Ever?’

‘No, he hasn’t, he didn’t have the time’. 

It was a tall and strong figure who spoke, their olive hair and eyes quite familiar to me. Ari seemed different, as their body was not ethereal, but it was an actual physical, masculine body. Their hair was also shorter, around their shoulders, and they had made a half ponytail. I thought to myself that there was no way I was going to sword practice now.