It took a while for Sylus to get ready for breakfast.
To his surprise, Zani had picked out a well-thought-out choice of clothes for him, which made him wonder if it was the maid who did it instead.
Fully dressed and bathed, Sylus stepped out of the room with Zani, leaving the bird behind.
A butler was waiting outside just to greet him.
"Good morning, Young Prince. Your father awaits you in the dining room."
The butler in question was the king's Mystero, Alfred Limberg.
He was old and yet more physically fit than most younger people. His white hair flowed down his back, and his eyes radiated years of experience, earned from serving the king for years.
While the king is away, he is usually the one looking after everything that goes on in the castle. Without him, the entire place would probably be a mess.
Sylus paused, a nervous look playing on his face, before looking the butler's way.
"Is my father upset? I know I'm attending to him late."
Alfred smiled, the kind of smile an old man would give a child.
"I assure you, His Majesty can't be upset with you."
Sylus sighed internally.
"Thank you, I'll be on my way now."
And with that, Sylus walked away, Zani trailing behind him as best she could.
As they walked, a glint appeared in Alfred's eyes the moment he saw Zani.
"Oh? The king is going to be quite speechless. His Highness has brought yet another surprise to the family."
…
Walking down the castle halls, Sylus couldn't help but notice Zani was practically shaking in fear as she followed him,
almost as if she felt the ground would swallow her whole if she fell too far behind him.
"There's no reason for you to be so tense; no one is going to abduct you here."
Zani quickly toughened herself up, an act Sylus was not fooled by.
"Yes, Your Highness, I apologize."
Sylus sighed.
Nothing he said to her would make her feel any less comfortable, not unless he showed her no one in the castle was planning to hurt her.
Though, he already intended to do so from the start.
Whatever it was, Sylus just wanted to protect her. Weird, he was used to thinking about himself alone.
Suddenly, from the corner, Erica and her servant walked out, blocking his path.
"Erica?" Sylus halted.
"Well, hello there, brother. You look like you've just seen a ghost."
"What do you want?"
Erica swept her white hair behind her.
"I heard you were going to meet Father, and I wanted to find out why, so… why?"
Sylus rolled his eyes, fighting the urge to facepalm.
"I don't have time for this, Erica. Father is waiting. I'll tell you once I'm done."
With that, Sylus walked away, expecting Zani to do the same, but then—
"You can go. She stays."
Not even a second later, Sylus turned around, only to see Gilgath, his sister's Mystero, standing in front of him.
Gilgath was more mature-looking than any of them present in the hall at the moment, so much so that his body was completely covering up everything that was happening at the back.
"Erica! Don't do anything stupid," Sylus yelled, stretching his head left and right in order to catch a glimpse of them.
"I'm hurt by your tone, brother. Could it be that you're upset because I'm touching your so-called maid?"
Erica was right before Zani, her hand rubbing her cheeks as she evaluated her.
Zani didn't react; her cold gaze simply looked to the side.
After a while, a somewhat surprised look played on Erica's face.
"She's actually pretty," Erica blurted out.
Just when she was about to touch Zani's hair, Sylus grabbed her hand from behind.
"Enough, what are you trying to do?"
Sylus knew is sister, nothing good ever comes from her acting this way.
Calmly, Erica noticed Sylus had pushed her servant to the side to get past, a small smile playing on her lips.
"Now I see why you picked a peasant as your Mystero. You are a boy after all. Mother did say puberty worked like that."
'What? Mother is already teaching her about that?'
Erica spoke again, this time with a bit of mischief in her eyes.
"Tell me, brother, who do you think will come out victorious in a fight against our slaves? Do you want to know?"
A disgusted look played on Sylus's face.
"You have a sick mind."
"Do I? You do know Father will run a test on your pretty girl here. If she's incapable of protecting you, he'll have her relinquish her role."
Sylus already knew this.
Martins never cared for their age; all he wanted to see was results and potential.
So far, both Erica's Mystero, who had been trained in the way of the sword at a young age since he belonged to a family of knights, and Lucas's Mystero, from the same background, had proven themselves worthy.
The same couldn't be said for Zani.
She had no background of such; the best she probably knew how to do was run away from danger.
Releasing his hold on his sister, Sylus replied,
"When the time comes, I'll take care of it."
Erica was smiling, an eerie one.
"You'll handle it. I like that. So why don't we put on a show for Father, one that would make him proud."
Sylus didn't quite get what she meant until he made eye contact with her.
Her eyes now had a blue hue.
Then…
"You're weak, and you'll remain weak until I say otherwise."
Before Sylus could understand what was happening, he had fallen to the ground, every single muscle in his body falling asleep under Erica's compulsion.
'Dammit, she really used her own ability against me! How has she mastered it already?'
Sylus panicked, his eyes darting toward Zani's way, urging her to run.
Zani was about to move toward him when Erica grabbed her by the neck.
"Where do you think you're going?"
They locked eyes.
"You are protective and don't want your prince dead."