Master of Heart

"Master Aero, are you okay? Is the soup not to your liking?" Alfie asked with a tinge of worry in his voice when he saw Aero only staring blankly at the soup.

"No, it's nothing. Thanks for the soup," Aero replied while taking a spoonful sip of the soup. "Delicious!"

Alfie had a look of relief on his face. He thought he had failed the first task with this prince. He did not know the dark vision Aero had just seen but that did not apply to our Esper.

Through his Gift, Mind Eye, Master could read others' minds. With his high proficiency in that Gift, Master could also perceive what others were thinking. For example, if someone were daydreaming of an adventure on a dragon's back, soaring through the wide blue sky, Master would be able to see it too.

In other words, Master could also see the vision Aero just got. He did not point it out and just let the boy enjoy his first proper meal in a month in peace.

'Couldn't things at least let this boy rest first,' Master could only sigh in his mind.

He knew how fatigued Aero was and how desperate he was for a good night's rest. Still, things did not leave him alone. Master was determined to let Aero have his well-required rest even if he had to put him to sleep with a spell.

Aero slurped the bowl empty in no time. He had a satisfied look on his face.

"Do you want a second, Master Aero?" Alfie asked.

"Don't mind if I do," Aero replied without a second thought. Then something occurred to him, "Umm, Alfie… is it? Why do you keep calling me Master Aero?"

Aero tried to live in the moment. He did not want to neglect the people around him and dive into his memory that he could not make head of. Because deep down he knew, these memories were in the past. It was something that he cannot change.

"Alfie here is a retainer of the Vermilion house. His first task is to look out after you," Master was the one who answered Aero's question.

"Retainer?"

"Yeah. Though your family did not accept many, all of them always come out to be a powerful figure. It is actually an 'honour' in this era for someone to be a part of the Vermilion's retainers."

"I don't quite understand that but okay," Aero said blankly as another bowl of soup was served.

He tried. In the end his mind was still preoccupied with that dark vision. He could not make reasons of it because the vision was in fragments. They were not complete. His mind could not process the present and the past at the same time. He was still too underleveled for a task like that.

He just slurped the second bowl clean and decided to call it a night. Master insisted that Aero was to be put to bed under his supervision. He knew that Aero could not get even a wink of sleep if he kept thinking about that vision of his.

Aero just relented with Master's request as he was not in the mood to make any rebuttal. The three of them, Alfie included, made their way to Aero's room, the one Master showed to him earlier.

The two grown ups watched the boy get into bed from the side. Some may say that Master's appearance was that of a boy of Aero's age but let's not let his physique fool you.

{He was way older than you think.}

Aero tried to put his tired mind to sleep and each time he closed his eyes those fragments of memories came to him like a haunting nightmare. Each time they came, they got louder and louder. Since Master was also in witness of Aero's vision, in the end he had to put Aero to sleep with a spell.

"His mind and body are so tired yet he is not allowed to rest," Master whispered to Alfie, afraid of waking the sleeping prince.

"..."

Alfie just lent his ears for Master since he knew that Master wouldn't say someone else's weaknesses without any point.

"You may hate your mentor for tasking you to babysit him but believe me, you weren't even qualified for it in the first place if he was in his peak condition. Heck, maybe you will learn a thing or two just by watching him from the sideline."

"..."

Alfie still did not give out any comment. Even if he did not, Master would know whatever thought was brewing in his mind. So why bother?

He had to agree with Master there. He thought that he was finally a qualified adventurer when a Vermilion took him in under her tutelage. He never imagined that his first task would be something so trivial.

Alfie wanted to become stronger quickly but this task hindered him from going into the dungeon and raising his level. But, since he had accepted 'that person' as his mentor he could only relent and do the job to his utmost capability.

Alfie still had his pride as a noble after all. Whatever he had promised to do, we will do it regardless if it was to his liking or not. Still, if Master wanted to clear his inquiries about his first task, he would welcome it with open arms.

"Royals and Nobles. Two sides of the same coin. Both groups inherited something. While nobles had their ancestors' Gift flowed in their veins, Royals had something a little bit different. They inherit traits. You could say those traits were what defined the Royal houses."

Alfie listen in silence. Everyone who attended the academy would know of this basic fact. Five royal houses represented by five colours. Five colours with different temperaments or what the world called traits. These traits that they have were unique for each royal house but the general effect was the same. They were given explosive powers that exceeded the means of normal peasants or nobles alike.

With those powers, they could do things unfathomable by normal means. For example they had a larger mana pool so obvious that when they cast the same spell the output would be like the sun and the moon when compared to non-royal people. This meant that they could fire a spell repetitively to gain mastery over it. In general, their development as an adventurer would leave their peers of the same age in the dust.

Alfie knew all of this, that was why he agreed to this task. Maybe, just maybe, this boy who was younger than him could teach him a thing or two.

"But don't you find it strange, Alfie? You won't notice the traits the Reds were famous for from him."

'Now that Master had mentioned it…'

Alfie found Master's statement to be true. The first time his mentor came to find him and asked him to be her retainer, Alfie was beaten to a pulp first. The trait of the Reds was their very short fuse. Maybe they didn't even have a fuse in the first place.

Who would suddenly appear in front of someone and beat them black and blue before asking them to be their retainer. Maybe only the Vermilions would do that.

"I would only say only that much. You're still new in the castle. When you meet with royals from different houses, you would naturally understand why this boy is the way he is," Master ended his lecture and gestured Alfie to take his leave.

Alfie nodded and exited the room. When the door was closed, Alfie's calm face crunched. Though he acted like he didn't care, he was actually dying to know the answer to Master's question.

Obviously, Master knew this and decided to keep the cat in the bag for now. Learning is a continuous process after all. It's not good to feed someone everything by the mouth. They should discover it as they go in life.

Master sighed as he looked towards the sleeping boy. His brows were tense like something was chasing him in his dreams.

{Yes, like some of you may have guessed, Master could see others' dreams too.}

"They would not leave you alone even in dreams it seems… I could see why you detest that wonderful Gift of yours. I'm spent so I had no power to help you. But since you're here in the residence of Memoria Castle, maybe the master of heart can help you a bit."

Master smiled and flashed away, leaving the room empty of visitors. Though he was still worried about the boy, he knew Aero was in the right hand.

{After all, the Saint would not leave a wounded soul alone.}