The Evil Emperor's Fragile Heart

Thanks to Mana's pointed questions, everyone was able to figure out that this magical instability wasn't a one-time thing as King Corvus had represented earlier. Mana immediately started a proper cross-examination session and started shooting questions at King Corvus, who suddenly seemed to be in a very good mood and cheerfully answered everything, with unusual honesty and detail.

"So, you're telling us that you still get magical surges at your age?!" Bella cried in disbelief, pointing her finger at King Corvus.

"Only about once in ten years these days, but yes," King Corvus replied. "It slowed down when I turned fifty. Between the age of twenty to fifty, it was about once every five years. From the age of fifteen to twenty – I had my first magic surge at the age of fifteen – in the first year, I had two surges, and from the second year onwards, I had one every year. And while every single magical surge didn't make me unstable, all the surges where my magical power improved significantly were followed by a period of instability where I would have magical bursts."

Everyone was appalled. Raven had a resigned expression on his face, and Mana immediately moved to hug him.

"I won't let you suffer like this, I promise. We'll figure a way out," she whispered in his ear so softly that no one except Azar, who was sitting on Raven's lap, could hear her words. She was determined to do whatever needed to be done to protect this boy who held her heart firmly in his hands now. She would even go and beg Azar's Elf Buddy on her knees for the magical potions – not just Azar's Elf Buddy, who was already their great benefactor – but anyone and everyone who could help Raven! Even if it was those awful people from the Moon Temple!

Azar nodded to show his agreement with his Mommy and nuzzled Raven's face affectionately.

A slow smile spread on Raven's face. With his Mana and their little Azar by his side – there really was no need for him to worry, was there? They would face everything together and overcome all hurdles together. With the three of them, the sum of parts was truly greater than the whole. Besides, they had Papa and Big Brother Jules and Big Sister Bella watching their backs, didn't they.

Raven really couldn't ask for more as he looked up at the concerned faces around him and warmth filled his heart yet again.

The hereditary condition was rather mysterious and troublesome, everyone had realised and it made them worry about Raven. If they were to take King Corvus's own experience as an example, wouldn't that mean that Raven was even more susceptible to this condition, since his magical power was much greater than that of King Corvus? And since he was even more powerful than his grandfather, and as King Corvus said, the higher the magical power and potential, the more (and longer) the magical surges, and the more frequent the bursts of instability…didn't that mean that Raven would have to suffer through even more of these episodes than his grandfather? How terrible would that be? None of them wanted their beloved Raven to go through such a painful and troublesome experience!

As for King Corvus, perhaps he had already figured out that Mana and Raven had access to incredible things – or, perhaps, he was simply convinced that Azar's Elf Buddy was actually Poison Expert Naver, and that this Poison Expert Naver would help him out, too, if he was on good terms with the two children and the little dragon. He even called Azar his "Royal Great Grandson Little Prince Azar" – and while Azar didn't show any of his usual exuberant affection like he did to his dear Grandpapa King Jaren, both Mana and Raven could see that their dragon child was a bit happy to be referred to like this.

King Jaren noticed it, too, and decided that he would add in an introduction for his dragon grandchild in the banquet announcements. So the little dragon would be called "Royal Dragon Prince Azar of the Emerald Kingdom" officially before King Corvus could announce his title in the Obsidian Kingdom. King Jaren didn't mind Azar receiving multiple princely titles at all – he just wanted to make sure that the little dragon got Emerald Kingdom's title formally before anyone else's. The announcements had actually been made in court when Azar had initially appeared, but most people referred to Azar as the royal dragon or the little dragon or the dragon grandson of King Jaren. Azar hadn't objected and he was always quite pleased whenever anyone related him to his beloved Grandpapa or Daddy or Mommy or Uncle Jules – but now King Jaren understood that Azar really liked the idea of being called a "Prince" too. And now that he knew that his dear little grandson wanted it, how could King Jaren not give it to him?

King Jaren and Mana exchanged a knowing glance – the same thought in both their minds. Father and daughter made a silent agreement. Little Azar would soon have a pleasant surprise!

King Corvus, meanwhile, oblivious to the silent exchange between the father and daughter pair of the Emerald Kingdom, continued talking about his hereditary condition.

"After my first surge, as I said, my magic was very unstable, and I often needed to be thrown into a cold pool to stabilise it," he told them. "Things improved a lot when I had my second surge, and the frequency of the sudden magical bursts reduced to less than ten percent from the first magical surge. It was only when I would get highly emotional or highly agitated that I would lose control – it's a good thing that I'm level headed and even tempered and that this condition only happens to the men in the royal bloodline – can you imagine Pica's situation if our females also started inheriting this?"

Raven frowned. "I think Enca might have it, actually," he said. "It could be that it's easier for men to be afflicted by this condition, but I don't think it would be exclusively limited to men. If I remember correctly, the twenty third King's seventh daughter, and the thirty sixth Queen's second daughter, could have suffered from this, but no one realised it. The records only mention that they died in magical explosions a few weeks after their first magical surge."

King Corvus's eyes widened in shock. "You may be right," he murmured. "I'll have the records changed when I go back. Even among men, it doesn't afflict everyone or even every generation. No one in your mother's generation has it. We have always believed that it is linked to their magical power – but there may have been other determining factors as well. Not every powerful member of the royal family gets it. My own father was far more powerful than myself, and yet he was never afflicted with this condition, while his younger brother, who, while roughly as powerful as Pica, wasn't as powerful as my father, suffered from it."

Raven nodded. "We should gather more data from the historical records before we can reach any conclusions definitively," he said.

"Will you help, Raven?" King Corvus asked eagerly. "And if you help, perhaps your friend the Poison Expert Naver will also be willing to lend us a hand? Maybe he could even find a solution for us…"

Raven chuckled helplessly. "All right," he said. "I'll ask him. I can't guarantee his cooperation, though."

King Corvus beamed at him. "That's all I ask for," he said.. "Thank you, Raven."