The event took place in Ars, the capital of the Asura Kingdom; specifically, in the Silver Palace, in the Lily Garden.
At this location, a monster unexpectedly appeared right in front of the 2nd Princess of Asura, Ariel Anemoi Asura, who was strolling through the garden at that moment.
It was a dangerous monster, an Executioner Boar.
This creature threatened the princess's life,
although the princess's Guardian Knight, Luke Notos Greyrat, intervened in the beast's advance and managed to defeat it, thus protecting the life of His Grace Ariel Anemoi Asura.
This report was immediately sent to the king's ministers to recount the unprecedented incident in which a monster appeared in the palace gardens.
The strangeness of the monster was so striking that the news spread like wildfire throughout the court and its entourage, causing everyone in the palace to talk about it.
However, the existence of the little girl who appeared at the same time as the monster was kept secret by the decision of the nobles of the Second Princess's faction, whose goal was for her to succeed the king; They used the incident to declare the following:
"The fact that an Executioner Boar appeared at the precise moment the Princess was visiting the Lily Garden, inside the Silver Palace itself, can only mean that it was an attack against the Second Princess by one of the other factions."
"And the only person capable of carrying out such an act is Lord August, the commanding officer of the Royal Palace's defense and, as is well known, the leader of the First Prince's faction.
So, without a doubt, not only was it Lord August who allowed the occurrence, but also the First Prince's faction dared to attempt on the Princess's life."
But contrary to their expectations, their forced and rushed accusations, which lacked sufficient support once the case was investigated, caused the Princess's faction to receive criticism and be cornered, leading to its eventual collapse.
...
After the incident, Sylphy was allowed to rest in the palace until she recovered, mainly because she was literally the person who had fallen from the sky and saved the princess's life.
Although several of those who knew of her existence called the treatment excessive, considering her a potential danger.
"Not only did she appear out of nowhere, but she was also able to take down an Executioner Boar with a single attack... As if that weren't enough, the spell used was cast silently, something only the most renowned mages at the University of Magic claim to be capable of. Therefore, I believe it appropriate to consider her a dangerous individual worth thoroughly investigating." Derrick said in a conflicted tone.
As those words made clear, no one doubted the little girl's ability, but given her mysterious appearance, they decided to hide her from the rest of the Palace nobles, treat her cordially until she recovered, and finally interrogate her about what had happened.
They even wondered if it might have been better to end her life while she was unconscious, but the princess, aware of the treatment they intended to inflict on her savior, cried foul.
"Does it matter who she is or what she's capable of? She's still the person to whom I owe my life, so I won't allow acts that
might tarnish my honor, preventing me from treating her with due respect."
Luke, the princess's Guardian Knight, echoed her words:
"I think it's best to treat her as before. Because, on second thought, if she had been sent to attempt on the princess's life, I would have let the monster finish the job."
To the nobles of the princess's faction, it was clear that little Sylphiette had saved the princess and Luke's lives.
What they didn't know, though, was that if Sylphy had been a man, Luke would never have taken a stand in favor of treating her with respect.
And although his personal tastes favored much more pronounced curves than the girl's, her face was so beautiful that it was enough to win over that little philanderer.
"If you think so, princess..." Derrick murmured softly.
"And Luke's argument holds quite a bit of weight..."
"It's better to opt for other routes; it could be beneficial for us."
They managed to convince the nobles of their faction, and they agreed to interrogate her. And even if they concluded that she had been hired by other factions, they would leave her alive.
...
[Sylphie's POV]
I had a strange feeling.
I thought I had woken up from a long dream, but in reality, I was still sleeping, as the bed I was lying in was a luxury I could only imagine, and around me, several people dressed in luxurious clothes were watching me in a room filled with beautiful decorations straight out of fairy tales.
How could I have invented such a luxurious room? I've never seen half the decorations and robes before me...
"Hello, good morning..."
One of the strange observers spoke to me.
It was a young man a little older than me, dressed like a knight.
But what caught my attention and made me want to answer him was that he looked somewhat like Rudy, but when I finally woke up, I could see it wasn't him.
"My name is Luke, Luke Notos Greyrat. And what's your name?"
"...!"
For some reason, I couldn't reciprocate his pleasant smile.
My body refused to trust anyone other than my parents or Rudeus, so I curled up in bed, trying to protect myself with the sheets.
I can't trust myself.
He's probably trying to laugh at me or tease me... they all do the same. He's the same age as the village bullies...
"Oh? What's wrong? Why are you scared?"
The boy quickly lost his smile and became a little more serious when he saw my rejection; the rest of the nobles surrounding the bed burst out laughing.
"Hahaha! It seems that little girl isn't one to be swayed by flirtatious little darlings like you, Luke!"
"We let you start the conversation because you said no woman could resist you, but given what we've seen..."
"It's still too early to let you do something as serious as this. Let's stop fooling around!"
The voices were directed at the young man, who was probably a few years older than me, but the boy didn't seem to give up.
For my part, I still wasn't sure what was happening, so I remained
alert and silent.
"Please, let me try again. This time I'll succeed!"
I felt almost proud of his words when I thought about them later, but at the moment I didn't quite know what was happening.
"I'm so sorry I scared you like that. I just wanted to express my gratitude for what you did back at the Gardens. I'm so grateful that a girl with such beautiful snow-white hair like yours saved my life."
"Snow-white hair? What does this boy mean? Or rather, who is he?"
Still lost in confusion, his words managed to bring me back to my senses, and I looked more closely at my surroundings, until I could actually see my reflection in a mirror on the dressing table.
"How can there be something SO expensive as a mirror in this place?" That might even be worth more than my father's wages accumulated over several years.
"..."
It wasn't the first time I'd seen myself in a mirror, as several merchants passed through the village a few times a year bringing luxurious goods on their travels; but even so, it took me several seconds to realize it was me who was reflected in it.
The reason for this confusion was that the 10-year-old girl lying in bed... although she resembled what I remembered from her reflection, including her eyes and the rhythmic movement of her hands, had completely white hair.
"...Huh? W-White?"
Oblivious to my confusion, this Luke continued speaking to me in an affectionate and sweet tone, using very peculiar words I didn't know.
"White like the first snowfall in late autumn, bringing the winter solstice."
What did he say? What did he mean...? But my hair... my hair should be green! Why isn't it?! I've seen the hairs that get tangled in the brush when I run it through it! Why has it turned white?!
Although the confusion must have been evident in my eyes and thoughts, there was one thing I was sure of, even in my state:
I was happy that that hateful green hair was no longer there...
Ah...but Rudy liked it...
After that event, came the interrogation.
The nobles around his bed began to ask him questions.
After Luke, who hadn't received an answer, was removed from the situation, unable to understand how he could have failed after using the techniques that had given him such good results so far.
"Where do you come from?"
"Who do you work for?"
"Who taught you magic?"
I didn't understand the situation, but the faces of those around me were frightened, so I decided to answer honestly.
"I-I'm from Fittoa Province, and my father is a hunter from Bue a Village... I-I don't work for n-anyone, but I help the village doctor... And m-my friend Rudy taught me magic... The only thing I know is that I saw a l-light and... and I appeared in the skies... w-when I managed to get to land, I saw a monster and I attacked it to s-save my life, I didn't expect to succeed... W-Where am I? How did I get here?"
The nobles watching me seemed not to believe me.
But it's normal... a simple villager who knows magic, who appears in the sky and slays a monster...
"Now that I think about it... something she said struck a chord... If I recall correctly... a branch of the Boreas has hired a young tutor for one of their daughters, who apparently is capable of silent conjuring... I think that young man is also from Fittoa. Apparently, he's a prodigious mage who became a Water Saint at just 4 years old... Could you be that... prodigy?" a boy I discovered named Derrick asked me in a way that made my hair stand on end; it was clear he was also a mage, judging by his clothes.
"Isn't the story about a boy?" Luke asked, crossing his arms.
"It's not clear, and I think the important thing is that it wouldn't be so strange for a mage as famous as that to be in Ars, would it?" Derrick replied.
The nobles were unable to fully understand the situation, so they tried to question me about it, trying to figure out my connection to the rumors.
"Is it possible your real name is Rudeus, little one?"
"N-No! My name is Sylphiette! Sorry... Rudeus... Rudy... is the person who taught me magic," I said sadly.
"If what he says is true, that prodigy really exists! And he even left an apprentice in his village before becoming the Boreas' tutor!
We're talking about an apprentice capable of silent conjuring! Unheard of!"
"From what he's saying, it seems there's some truth to the rumors... and since Sauros has been keeping tabs on the information, it's possible that whether the prodigy is actually a boy or a girl is still open to debate, especially considering that this little girl has been proven to be a silent conjurer..." the nobles and the boy named Derrick debated while I watched them.
"With how rare mages capable of such an advanced technique are... even if the little girl turns out not to be the prodigy in question, it's more than likely that she's his disciple, as he said before... so it would be clear that he isn't that Rudeus Gre-Greyrat....??"
All the nobles in the room were puzzled when they realized that the genius's name was Rudeus Greyrat.
"What do you mean, his last name is Greyrat? Why does that child have the surname of one of the four most influential houses in Asura...?"
"There are many half-breed Greyrats in Asura, but things change if he's a prodigy in some field... He's probably been pulling strings to be accepted into one of the major houses... I have no doubt about it." Derrick's tone quickly turned suspicious as he looked at me.
"Considering he started out by getting close to the Boreas... I wouldn't be surprised if he was a bastard of Sauros himself... Besides, it's possible that his goal was to marry him off to that virulent granddaughter of his to try to connect him with the main family."
"I think we need to examine this matter in more detail."
"If that Rudeus decides to ally himself with any of the Greyrat families other than the Notos, we'll do our best to prevent him... Although if he decides to ally himself with the Notos... he might be of help to us..."
...
A week later, news reached Ars, the capital of the Asura Kingdom, about the disappearance of Fittoa Province.
The report arrived fairly quickly, mainly thanks to a knight of the kingdom who was fortunately located just a few kilometers from the range of the Magical Catastrophe.
Mom... Dad... they've... they've all disappeared?
"How...? Why...?"
"Well, well... We have a bit of a problem on our hands..."
"The palace can't accept people of a lower social class, and it doesn't have a house we can send them back to..."
"Do you have any acquaintances or relatives who could take custody?"
Communicating silently, the group of nobles smiled at each other, having reached a mutual consensus.
Until the Second Princess said some unexpected words that complicated her plans for the little girl.
"Since Sylphiette's family has disappeared, I think the least I can do for someone who saved my life is to give her food and shelter. Sylphiette, would you like to be my friend?"
"But... Lady Ariel... We must keep the young lady's identity a secret from the rest of the Palace."
"I understand. In that case, and to keep my friend Sylphiette close, could I... be my bodyguard, for example? Sylphiette, I would like to shelter you in the Palace and keep you company, but there may be dissenting voices. To resolve this problem, would you grant me the honor of joining my royal guard? Although the position of archmage is already occupied, we could still make an exception for you."
"Eh? B-But, I don't possess enough skill to fill that position..."
"To say you lack skill... Huhu... You're very modest."
"..." Sylphie was still undecided on what to do, she knew that if the rumors were true then her entire home had disappeared so she had nowhere to go.
Therefore the young elf generated a condition.
"I'll accept...I'll accept but if you promise to look for my family" she said.
"Heh, of course, while you're here I'll use my influence to search for your lost family, dear."
Ariel accepted without hesitation, which made Sylphie trust her a little.
"then I accept"
As expected, there was opposition from the nobles who wanted the princess to inherit the throne of Asura in the future.
But the opposition was baseless and was merely a formality on the part of those in support.
The little girl was too valuable and useful, so they had no problem accepting her as the princess's new pet. However, all protests were quashed by the princess.
"Sylphy is the person to whom I owe my life, in addition to being my friend from now on! What should it matter to me whether she's a commoner or not?! I won't allow anyone to dare belittle her for such a small reason!"
Luke and Derrick, who were present, could only see these words as a problem.
Part of the duties of the Princess's Guardian Knight and Archmage is to prevent insects and parasites from getting too close to the princess for their own purposes.
But even so, neither of them would dare defy the princess's wishes.
"I will abide by your decision, Princess Ariel..." they both said in unison with a bow.
That day, Fittz, Ariel's silent guardian mage, was born.