The Evil Emperor's Fragile Heart

Once Azar went back to his normal, cheerful dragon self, everyone was much relieved.

"How did you turn into a human baby, Azar?" King Jaren asked.

"Magic, Grandpapa," Azar said, his little face condescending and adorable in equal measures.

King Jaren chuckled. "Did you like it?" he asked.

Azar shook his head resolutely.

"You looked very cute, though, just like your Mommy and Daddy," Jules said. "Why didn't you like it?"

"No talk, Uncle Jules," Azar replied crossly. He had been awfully frustrated as a human baby because whenever he tried to speak only a gurgling noise would come out! Human form was not good! He couldn't talk to his family! How tiresome!

"Well, that's true," Jules could only agree with the pouting little dragon. "Maybe you can try turning into a human baby again when you have brothers and sisters in the future, then you can baby talk together."

Raven blushed furiously and Mana glared at her Big Brother.

"That's not happening for the next ten years, at least," King Jaren said firmly. "In fact, I'd say the next fifteen years."

"Mum had me when she was eighteen," Jules pointed out.

"We've raised the age of majority from sixteen to eighteen since then," King Jaren retorted. "None of you are getting married before you turn eighteen – or even better, twenty!"

"It'll be many years before Azar gets any siblings," Mana said with a smirk. "But, Big Brother, you're nearly sixteen…why don't you give Azar some cousins to play with instead?"

Jules turned as red as a tomato.

Raven chipped in, "Mana is right, Big Brother. After all, your children would be as dear to Azar as ours!" He reached out and tickled the little dragon's chin. "Won't you like some playmates, little one? Tell your Uncle Jules."

Azar turned his big, round eyes to Jules. "Uncle! Azar want cousins!"

Jules buried his face in his hands and groaned.

Everyone burst out laughing.

"Now that Azar is fine, shouldn't you all start attending classes at IMARI?" Grandma came to Jules's rescue.

Mana resisted the urge to roll her eyes – Grandma tried to be impartial, but occasionally, it was quite obvious that Jules was her favourite. Mana didn't mind – in fact, she thought it was quite natural, because Grandma and Grandpa had brought up Jules by themselves with very little outside interference.

"Yes, that makes sense," Raven piped up. He was as excited to start attending lectures at IMARI as Jules!

Mana eyed the two boys fondly. She knew both of them were really looking forward to it – if the royal family hadn't been worried sick about Azar, they'd have already attended several classes by now.

"You can go tomorrow," King Jaren said. "I've already informed Ana. She'll meet you tomorrow morning at her office, and then one of the professors will take you to class."

"Do we need to take remedial lessons for the classes we missed so far?" Mana asked.

Everyone stared at her in confusion, and Mana suddenly realised that the education system in this world was completely different from the structured, syllabus-based system of her original world. After all, this was a magical world – they probably picked up whatever they wanted whenever they wanted. Suddenly, she was quite curious as well about how things were taught at IMARI.

"Why should you need remedial lessons?" Grandpa asked. "All three of you qualified for the entrance test, right?"

"Perhaps Mana thinks she needs to work harder because her score was much lower than Jules and Raven," King Jaren muttered. "Little Mana, don't worry. You're younger than them, and your score is pretty good for your age."

Mana was grateful for the prompt cover-up by her Papa and smiled at him. "But didn't Professor Bella take the test at the age of seven and score 98.5%? She held the second spot until Big Brother took over recently."

"Professor Bella is a rare genius," Jules said dreamily.

King Jaren and Mana exchanged a meaningful glance.

"Have you met her before?" Mana asked Jules.

Jules shook his head. "I only saw her from a distance when I was visiting Fox once," he said sadly. "But I've known of her for a long time. She's a legend among IMARI aspirants."

Mana wanted to tease her Big Brother more – he clearly had a massive crush on this Professor Bella – but she was stopped by Raven, so she let it be. There was no hurry. She'd wait until she had met Professor Bella herself and then, if Mana deemed her worthy of her precious Big Brother, she'd help him win her heart. After all, she couldn't just let anyone have her dear Big Brother, could she?

Mana tried to remember if this Professor Bella was mentioned anywhere in the original book she had read or the partial 'corrected' version the ancient master had given her. The former didn't have much information on IMARI since neither Mars nor Astra even attended the institute; it was simply mentioned in passing in relation to King Jaren.

The new version did have a little bit more about IMARI and Headmistress Ana, which had become accessible to Mana after their earlier visit to the institute. Mana skimmed through the contents in her head, and suddenly a new page opened up and a pertinent line caught her attention.

'Professor Bella, who went on to become Queen Isabel of the Sapphire Kingdom, was one of the most popular teachers at IMARI despite her aloof nature.'

That definitely rang a bell. While there wasn't much information about her in the original 'incorrect' version that was prevalent in Mana's world, it did mention that Queen Isabel had been the monarch of the Sapphire Kingdom at the time of that horrible Mars's 'glorious' victory over Raven. Mana remembered her imperial tutor telling her that the Sapphire Kingdom was matriarchal and the throne was passed from mother to daughter. The Amber Kingdom was a strict patriarchy, while the Emerald Kingdom was quite neutral – and the eldest child inherited the throne unless he or she was incompetent. The Pearl Kingdom and the Obsidian Kingdom were generally patriarchal, but not too strict about it. For example, Raven's mother, Crown Princess Pica, was actually the chosen heir of King Corvus.

The Sapphire Kingdom had remained neutral throughout the war, siding with neither Mars nor Raven. Not that the Amber Kingdom hadn't tried their best to woo them!

But this time, Mana thought, perhaps they had a chance. If Professor Bella and Big Brother really did get together…wouldn't that be amazing? Of course, only if they truly liked each other and were sincere in their affections – Mana would never, ever try to push anyone into a political marriage!

But, first, they had to get to know this Professor Bella.

As luck would have it, when the three royal children appeared at IMARI the next morning, Headmistress Ana promptly introduced them to Professor Bella, who would be in charge of their lectures!

Mana glanced at the young professor curiously. She was only a teenager, but she looked very sombre. Her face was largely hidden behind oversized glasses, which made her blue eyes look rather hazy. Her honeyed skin tone was quite smooth, though, and her sparkling silver hair was pulled into a severe bun. She wore loose, shapeless robes that made it impossible to gauge her figure. It was as if she had made every effort to look as unattractive as possible!

Nonetheless, Jules looked absolutely smitten. It reminded Mana of the first time they had met Fox, and how Fox had been like a superfan chasing their favourite celebrity when he saw Raven!

Still, Mana had never judged anyone by their appearance, and if anything, Professor Bella's deliberate attempt to hide herself made Mana wonder if she was actually a beauty that chose to hide it because she wanted to focus on her work. Anyhow, the air of competence around her was something that couldn't be faked.

Professor Bella smiled slightly at Jules and Raven when Headmistress Ana mentioned their scores.

"Congratulations," Professor Bella said. There was no hint of resentment in her voice at all. If anything, she appeared to be quite happy (in a rather reserved fashion) to meet the two boys – one of whom had toppled her score and other of whom had tied with her score.

The small smile remained on her lips when she turned her eyes to Mana.

"I've always admired Queen Dora's work very much," she said quietly. "It is a privilege to meet her children."

"It is our privilege to have a chance to learn from you, Professor Bella," Jules said with a shy smile.

"I often feel that our Bella is the real successor of Dora's work," Headmistress Ana told the three new students. "I hope all three of you will try your best to learn from her. She is one of our finest researchers."

Jules, Mana and Raven nodded enthusiastically.

"We admire Professor Bella very much," Raven said. "Her work is most impressive!"