Master of Minds, Master of Me

My pretty flower fell asleep right after the bath, so I’m heading toward the hospital. I don't know how long my father will keep breathing, so I want to see him as much as I can.

I drag a chair next to his hospital bed and just sit there, watching his chest slowly rise and fall. I wonder what my father would think about my illusion mana, or how he would react when I no longer have his blond hair or blue eyes.

I’m still not eager to be a King. All I want is to just live my life with Lo normally, even if only for a short while. But tomorrow I really will be the King. I know he is going to die, but I can't help wishing for a miracle. I mean, Jane's scars healed here way quicker than they should have, so maybe my father magically gets better too.

I lean back in my chair and let out a heavy exhale.

I wonder when Theodore is finally going to tell me about Jane’s magic. It’s still so odd that they are hiding it. It must be something new, something that doesn't exist here since she is from another world. But if her world didn't even have magic, what could it be?

The only time I have seen her magic is when she made that shield and went into the Dark Wild. My hand momentarily touched her shield, and it felt different. Normally, when you touch shields or barriers, they feel like they are rejecting you, like they are really pushing you away. Her shield didn't feel like that. It felt warm and kind, which is just super weird. And it shone so brightly.

Of course, the weirdest part was the fact that she walked through those flames. Of course, I can also block some of Theodore’s magic. But those flames were something way too potent for anyone to pass through. There really isn't any mana affinity that is superior in defense.

Well, I guess in ancient history, light magic would be something like that.

I halt as I linger on that thought. Surely it can’t be that?

No, surely not. If it were, there would be no reason to hide it. The whole world would go crazy if light magic really appeared after all this time.

Except that would probably be a nightmare for both of them. Theodore would hate that the world would suddenly want his woman, and Jane would hate the hassle.

I immediately spring up and go to my office to grab one thing and head to the Tower. I have a gut feeling that it is exactly that. And if it really is, it’s the answer I’ve desperately needed.

I burst inside Theodore’s office. I know it’s late, but he is still inside. Lucky for me, he is a workaholic. He looks at me with anger, like he is about to burst into flames any second now.

“Even if you survived yesterday, it gives you no reason to just burst in here.”

I ignore him and stand before his desk.

“Does Jane possess light mana?”

I see a tiny shift in his expression before he just stares at me, annoyed. That tiny shift is all I need to read him.

“Of course not. You could have just called if you wanted to ask something stupid like that.”

I take our contract concerning Florentia out of my pocket and slam it on the table. It’s still glowing.

“As the first punishment for breaking the contract, I order you to answer honestly. Does Jane have light mana?”

His eyes widen with surprise, clearly not expecting me to ever use the contract to punish him. He looks at me in a way that could kill me and grits his teeth before answering.

“Yes.”

I feel my whole body relaxing. I can't believe it’s true. It really is a miracle, since there are two things that light magic hopefully solves. One of course is Lo’s curse. But first, we need to tackle the more urgent one.

“I need Jane to try to cure my father.”

“No.”

“No?”

“No. We are hiding it for a reason. We don't want the world to know about it. But if suddenly the King gets cured, it’s impossible to hide it after that.”

“So you would rather stay in hiding than help me and the country?”

“Yes.”

“Are you going to hide it forever?”

“Even I know that's not possible. We will tell it when we are ready. We can, of course, try to help with the curse. No one else knows about the curse, so there is no harm in trying to cure it. Of course, Jane is still learning how to wield it, so we don't know how much help she can be.”

I place my hand on the contract.

“As a second punishment, I order you to force Jane to try to heal my father.”

Theodore stands and leans against the desk.

“Felix! That's unreasonable!”

The whole room suddenly grows hot, and his eyes light up in flames.

“You were ready to blow up the fucking country, killing me and Lo with it while trying to reach your happy ending. So I don't think you can call this unreasonable when I try to reach mine. This is pretty fucking mild compared to that!”

He is just about to argue back when the door opens, and Jane walks in.

“Jesus Christ, I feel the heat all the way up in our room, Theodore. What's wrong?”

“Felix figured out that you have light magic. Now he is punishing me for breaking the contract to force you to heal the King.”

“Okay? And you are fuming because?”

“If you manage to cure the King, the whole world will find out about the light magic.”

“Why would they connect it to me?”

“People saw your shield in the Dark Wild. There is bound to be someone who realizes it’s you. And probably every mage in the Tower will realize it’s you. It’s a known fact here that your mana is unknown.”

She sighs heavily before facing me.

“So what's exactly wrong with your father?”

“No one knows. But he fell into a coma yesterday, and it’s just a matter of days until he stops breathing.”

“I thought you were excited to be a King?”

“No. I hate it. I have never wanted to be a King. I, of course, will be when the time comes. But I’m willing to do anything to live with Lo even remotely normally for a while. She isn’t excited to be a Queen either. And if my father returns, it gives us more time to figure out Lo’s curse problem, in case your light magic can't cure it. And he is my family beyond all, I don't want to lose him.”

“You are being selfish, Felix!” Theodore bursts out.

“And are you really the one who can blame me for that after what you did? I still supported you even though you literally intended to destroy everything for her. Because I understood you. I would do anything for Lo. If you were in my place, would you not do exactly what I’m doing now?”

He falls silent, and Jane walks next to him.

“Relax, Theo. It’s okay. I’ll do it.”

“You will?” We both speak at the same time.

She shrugs her shoulders. “We can't hide it forever. Felix has done so much for us, so this is the least thing we can do for him. And I have no idea if I can even heal the King, but I’m willing to try. So I think it’s just time to let everyone know about it. I know you’ll protect me if people go too crazy over it.”

I walk to Jane and hug her.

“Thanks, Jane. I owe you.”

The room grows even hotter, and I’m yanked away.

“That's enough.” Theodore really looks like he’s about to burst.

“Sorry, sorry. No hard feelings, bestie?” I smile innocently.

Okay, I’m really starting to think his eyes could kill me.

“So where is your father?” Jane asks.

“At the Central Hospital.”

“Okay, Theo. Take us there.”

He just watches us in silence, clearly still disliking this. I grab the contract from the table and lift it into the air.

“You know you violated this thing so many times that I have a huge amount of punishments left to use,” I tease.

He grunts. What a cute, grumpy mage.

Soon, we are at the hospital and standing next to my father. I have my hopes so high that I’m not sure I can handle it if this doesn't work.

Jane sits next to the hospital bed and places her hands on my father. Her hands start to shine. Theodore and I just watch in silence.

“Jesus, his body really is all messed up. I think this is going to take a while. So even if I enjoy your eyes drilling into my back like knives, I would prefer that you wait outside.”

“Sure. Sorry. Just ask if you need anything.”

We both exit into the hallway.

“You better burn that contract,” Theodore says after a moment of silence.

“What? Why? I think it’s just right that you get punished when you violated it so many times. Shame on you, Theodore.”

He eyes me with anger, but I just keep smiling. I’m too hopeful to care about his little temper tantrums.

We wait for a long while. Time drags on, and I start to feel worried. Maybe she can't do it.

“Relax, Felix. Your sighs and weird noises are annoying.”

I glance at Theodore.

“Sorry. I know it might not work, so I’m just trying not to get my hopes too high.”

Then I clearly sense my father’s mind waking up, and I burst inside the room. Jane is clearly startled by my sudden appearance.

“Jesus, Felix. Are you trying to give me a heart attack or something?”

“I’m sorry. I just sensed my father’s mind so clearly.”

I stand behind her and see that he is still sleeping, but his mind really is more active.

“I think I’m almost done. Of course, his muscles are weak since he has been on bed rest for so long. But I do think I managed to fix his organs. I think he had some kind of cancer.”

“Cancer? What is that?”

“Umm… I have no idea what you call that in this world. But it means that some kind of tumor starts to grow inside the body, slowly spreading into other organs and eventually forcing them to shut down. I’m not an expert in medicine, so I’m not so sure how it works.”

Then my father’s eyes slowly open.

“Father? How are you feeling?”

He blinks and looks around for a while, looking rather confused.

“You are at the hospital. You fell into a coma, so we brought you here. But it’s all better now. You are going to be just fine.”

He spots Jane and Theodore, and Jane gets up and backs away.

“I guess my work here is done. I’ll leave you two to talk. It drained pretty much of my mana, so I probably need to rest for a couple of days before tackling that other problem, if you know what I mean.”

“Of course. Thanks, Jane. If there is anything I could do for you, just ask.”

“Don’t worry about it. See you later. And oh, I like your new look.” She gives me a thumbs up.

The magic circle appears beneath them, and then they are gone.

“Son? What is going on? What happened to your hair and eyes?”

I turn back to my father and hug him. He startles, but hugs me back. I honestly don’t remember when we have ever hugged.

“How are you feeling?” I ask.

“Just a little tired. Otherwise, I actually feel oddly good.”

I smile so widely it hurts my cheeks.

“So, are you going to explain what happened?”

“A miracle,” I smile. “I’ll explain everything later. I’ll fetch the staff to check on you now that you are awake. Your health comes first.”

I exit the room to fetch a doctor, still smiling.

I really can’t believe this is actually happening. He is really alive. It feels like a dream. Now I just have to hope that Jane’s magic is strong enough to cure curses too.

Our happy ending is already so close. I can already feel it in my fingers.