Dinner was a little awkward, but nice. All of my brothers and sisters were out on a routine monster clearing excursion with Father, so the dining table was left mostly empty (aside from our guests + Mother and me). Mother led most of the conversation, utilizing her natural yet unique beauty and unrelenting affection to chip away at the Princess' nervousness.
Even Emma Morin wasn't able to escape the occasional compliment from mother, though she handled it as well as one would expect from a knight and Marchioness. I sighed in her stead.
Though it was interesting to meet more of the characters from the book, my sleepy mind drifted away from the nearly one-woman conversation into my current obsession.
Magic.
Only three months and twenty eight days ago, I was finally allowed to practice the mystic arts. A human's seventh birthday, at least in this world, marks the day the internal systems within their body become developed enough to handle the strain of the practice.
Sadly, my teacher got "sick" last month, and hasn't returned yet, much to my disappointment.
Thankfully, I was left with a veritable mountain of homework.
My first lesson was simple, she assessed my affinity. I already knew what it should be, but I was surprised to find that, somehow, something changed.
Johan, myself, should only have one affinity: darkness. To understand what that means, I would need to explain the system behind the magic of this world.
As in many fantasy settings, an energy (called… mana) serves as the fuel for the phenomenon known as magic. Mages act as conduits and catalysts for spells; mana given form and purpose.
Mana itself is most commonly found in its neutral state, and can be manipulated in said state to enhance the body.
To perform elemental magic, however, a catalyzing force (affinity) is required. If an individual possesses, for example, an affinity for fire, they will be able to convert neutral mana into fire mana, which will allow them to form spells relating to that mana.
Elemental darkness is a force with two sides. On one side, it controls the shadows, allowing one to manipulate them in a way that cuts out the light, which can be used to conceal something/someone or even temporarily blind opponents. It can also be made physical to be used to bind or defend (it is not well suited to attack in this form).
On the other hand, darkness can be used to conceal. This may sound similar to one of the uses aforementioned, but this use is a bit more nuanced.
Mana is something that can be sensed by any being above a certain threshold of power (said threshold isn't too high). Elemental darkness can be used to hide this, and in some cases, seal it off. Be it to seal off magical beasts or prevent criminals from utilizing mana, or to conceal magical attacks or one's magical signature, elemental darkness is quite useful in this regard.
This leads to the baffling second affinity. Void affinity, sometimes referred to as "Spatial affinity", has to do with the manipulation of space. Teleportation, portals, spatial expansion, gravity, etc.
Affinities for darkness are quite rare, but affinities for void are in an entirely different category. Outside of Father, Mother, and my teacher, nobody else but me knows of my possession of this affinity, else it would have caused quite the stir.
My working theory is I (as in the entity that inhabits the body of Johan) have brought over an affinity. Maybe I always had such an affinity, or maybe whatever process transferred my soul influenced the natural affinity of this body, I might never know for sure.
Either way, it was a welcome development. Sadly, my teacher wouldn't allow me to learn anything regarding elemental void just yet.
"...Jo…"
I already learned some of the basics, and have been practicing what my teacher said was an "overly advanced" spell to "overexpose" me to the complexities behind magic.
"-an…"
Called [Shade Split] it is a spell that splits a shadow from the object that it originates from, allowing the caster to control said shadow's movement. My teacher told me to learn how to move around my shadow as if I were walking where I split it to. It was difficult, but it came naturally.
"...han…"
By the end of today, I should probably be able to move my shadow even without looking at it. Maybe I'll be able to shrink my duties and practice for the rest of the day?
"Young Master Johan."
"!!!"
A large, calloused hand was placed on my shoulder seemingly out of nowhere, jolting me out of my thoughts. Immediately, I noticed it was the head butler Friedrich, who had a concerned look on his face.
Ah, I see.
It wasn't just him with a worried expression. Mother, the other servants, and even the Princess looked a bit concerned. It seems I was a bit too far into my own thoughts.
"I apologise for my silence, it seems I did not get enough sleep last night," I said truthfully.
Mother seemed to want to scold me, but held back. The rest of the dinner passed by without incident.
"Johan, the Princess will be staying in the guest room next to yours. Would you take her there?" Mother asked. "I have some things to discuss with Marchioness Morin."
"Yes, Mother," I said, dusting off nonexistent crumbs from my clothes. "Follow me, your highness."
Her actions mirrored mine as she followed me out of the dining room.
Our walk was silent. I figured her trip was likely draining, paired with my mother's forward nature and my general inability to hold a conversation, it seemed the best choice. The soft taps of our shoes on the carpeted floors were the only noise either of us could hear, as most of the servants had other nightly duties near the fringes of the manor.
Suddenly, the Princess stopped walking.
"W… what's that?" she asked, wide eyed.
I turned towards the window she was facing, "Ah, aurora borealis. It is caused by the interaction between our planet's magnetic field and solar flares from our star. Oftentimes, it's also referred to as the Northern lights," I explained.
Wait… was this information known in this world? Maybe I shouldn't have-
"They're beautiful…" she said, mesmerized.
Well, my explanation seemed to go over her head, so all's well that ends well. "Your room has a balcony facing the lights, Princess. Let's continue."
"Un," she nodded, practically having to peel her eyes from the phenomenon. I couldn't blame her, as the lights are even more vibrant and dense than my original world's, but I didn't want to spend more time gawking at something she'd see tomorrow, and the next day, and the next.
.
.
.
POV: Princess Annelei Claire Marie-Pierre Doisneau
I never imagined the North would be so beautiful!
Despite the cold, I laid down outside on the guest room's balcony, staring at the sky with wide eyes. Maybe I'll ask sister if she'd paint this… if she has time to visit.
At first I was angry at mother and father for sending me to the North for the next three months. It was cold, dangerous, and I didn't have any friends here.
But… maybe it wasn't so bad.
Creeeeaaakkk~
My eyes shot left, but I quickly realized it was just Johan. Maybe he was acting uninterested in the lights to appear mature?
Out of everyone my age that I've met, he's definitely the weirdest. He has dark circles under his eyes, barely talks, and seems permanently stuck halfway between sleep and boredom-
"!!!"
What is he doing? I nearly yelped in surprise, but something about the situation made the words get stuck in the back of my throat. Without warning, Johan had climbed up on his balcony's railing and just…
Stood there.
Is he going to fall off? I checked earlier, and the railings have a bit of ice under the thin sheet of snow! Should I call for a servant?
All these thoughts calmed down slightly when he sat down. He was still dangling his legs over the edge, but at least he was in a safer position than before.
"..."
The cold wind bit against the little exposed skin I had, threatening to send me shivering back inside, but he barely had two layers on. Not to mention his bare feet and slightly unbuttoned top.
How is he not freezing cold? Even northerners can get sick from this weather, but he's just sitting there like it's a nice spring evening!
"Sigh~"
He looked up, and I found myself again in awe. The edges of his hair that danced in the wind, which I had originally thought was pure black, glistened with a purple hue. His skin was paler than mine, but with the northern lights illuminating it, it looked like he had taken a bath in rainbow paint.
His eyes turned down and he raised up a hand. To my surprise, a black energy began to form around his wrist and just past his hand.
He's using magic?
Both parts of the black energy slowly formed into intricate circle shapes, the one on his wrist slowly rotating while the one just past his palm held its position. It was hard to see what he was doing, but I was surprised to see the shadow behind him wiggle and… walk away?
It was strange, seeing a shadow move without a source, but from my position, I quickly lost track of where it went. Looking back at Johan, I was again surprised.
His smile…
It was beautiful.