The Evil Emperor's Fragile Heart

The three youngsters settled into a routine soon enough. Jules was indeed more powerful than the appointed tutors, but he was still very well-behaved and polite. Mana proved herself to be a model student, much to the delight of her new tutors and her grandparents. Naver, on the other hand, remained quiet and unassuming, but paid full attention to whatever was being taught.

A few days later, Mana and Jules pulled Naver into a secret spot they had discovered in the garden. It was a nice, remote place where they had complete privacy.

"You're not just a water magician, are you?" Jules asked Naver. "And, from the colour of your eyes, you should be far more powerful than you're showing in class!"

Naver turned white as a sheet. "How did you know?" he asked in a trembling voice.

"Big Brother, don't scare him," Mana said calmly. She patted Naver's arm soothingly. "Look, we're just concerned about you, that's all."

Jules nodded, agreeing with his sister. "Both Mana and I have multiple magic, as you already know. We know it is more difficult to develop dual or triple magic, and that's why we're worried. If you're already trained and simply hiding your strength, we don't mind helping you hide it. But if you're stuck because you don't know what to do, we'd rather that you be honest with us so that we can figure out a way to help you progress!"

Naver was silent for a long time. Finally, he said in a small voice, "I'm stuck. I don't know how to use my magic properly."

"What attributes do you have?" Mana asked curiously.

Naver hesitated. "I…I'm afraid you'll hate me if you knew."

Jules and Mana exchanged a glance. Then both of them moved closer to Naver and held his hands.

"Do you even listen to what we say?" Jules scolded. "Haven't we told you over and over that you're our friend? We know you, and we know you're a decent fellow. Why on earth would we hate you for your magic?"

Naver hung his head and refused to look at them. "All of them," he mumbled.

"All what?" Jules asked.

Mana gasped. "Naver – do you mean you have all five magic attributes?"

Jules gasped as well. "Seriously? You have earth, fire, wind, water and dark magic?"

Naver nodded despondently, still not raising his head.

Mana squealed in delight, and Jules guffawed.

"That's so cool!" the siblings intoned together. Their eyes shone brightly and they were breathless with excitement.

Naver looked up at them finally, the bewildered look on his face making them laugh even harder.

"You moron! Do you even know how absolutely awesome that is?!" Jules cried excitedly, clapping his hands. "Oh, man, I can hardly believe it! I'm jealous!"

"You really are a heaven-defying genius," Mana told Naver, beaming at him. "Poison expert and five magical attributes! Amazing!"

Naver looked at their happy, shining faces for a while. Then he buried his face in his hands and burst into tears.

Jules and Mana panicked.

"Naver? Naver! What's wrong? Did we upset you?" Jules asked anxiously.

Naver shook his head.

"Don't cry, please!" Mana pleaded, patting his back. "I'll personally make dessert for you today if you stop crying!" They had discovered that Naver had a sweet tooth.

That made Naver cry harder.

"I swear I'm not a bad cook! I can make pretty good pastries, I promise!" Mana rambled.

"Er…maybe I'll send someone to buy cakes from the best bakery in Verdant Hills, instead," Jules suggested.

Naver continued to sob. His thin shoulders shook.

Mana looked at Jules helplessly. "Big Brother…what do we do?"

Jules looked equally floored. "Naver…tell me what you want to eat, and we'll get it for you immediately!" he said, trying to distract the weeping boy.

Naver hiccoughed, caught between a sob and a laugh. He finally looked up at the siblings with swollen eyes and a reddened nose.

Jules handed him a clean handkerchief wordlessly.

Naver wiped his face clean.

"What happened? Are you all right? Were you hurt? Did we say something wrong?" Mana asked anxiously.

Naver shook his head. "Sorry," he mumbled. "I'm ok. I was just…overwhelmed."

Jules and Mana peered at his face. "Are you sure? Do you feel unwell?"

Naver smiled and shook his head. "I'm not used to anyone caring about me, that's all," he said quietly. "You two took me by surprise."

"That's it," Jules said, hid voice firm and determined. "We're keeping you. If your biological family members are too stupid to see how precious you are, it's their loss and our gain. From now, we're your family and you're going to stay with us."

"You don't even know who my parents are," Naver said softly.

"I don't know and I don't even want to know and I most definitely don't care!" Jules declared.

"Big Brother is absolutely right," Mana said. She had an inkling of Naver's true identity, but since he wanted to keep it a secret, she would respect his decision.

Naver flushed. Then he stepped forward and hugged both of them. "Thank you," he whispered.

"Don't frighten us like that again," Mana told him. "I was going through cake recipes in my head!"

Naver smiled at her. "Can you really cook? Aren't you a princess?"

Mana huffed indignantly. "Just you wait, I'll show you!" she said and ran off to the kitchen, determined to show off her baking skills.

Jules shook his head fondly. "Eat it even if it's terrible," he told Naver. "I'll get some stomach medicine for us in case we need it later."

Naver laughed and agreed. The two boys slowly returned to the main building.

"Let's take a look in the library while Mana is cooking," Jules suggested, and dragged Naver off.

Two hours later, an enticing aroma wafted through the window, making the two boys abandon their books and run out.

"Could it really be Mana's cooking that smells so good…?" Jules wondered.

"She wields earth, fire and water magic…isn't that perfect for cooking?" Naver pointed out.

The two boys practically floated to the dining hall. Grandpa and Grandma were already seated at the table, waiting for them.

Mana was instructing two servants on how to slice and serve the delicious looking cake on the table.

Jules and Naver quickly took a seat.

"What is this?" Jules asked curiously. "It smells so good…but I've never seen anything like it before!"

"It is a strawberry and cream cake," Mana said smugly. "I picked fresh strawberries from the back garden for it."

Grandma scooped up some whipped cream and tasted it. "It's lovely, my dear," she said, licking her lips. "How on earth did you make the cream so smooth and fluffy?"

Looking at Grandma's delighted face, Grandpa couldn't control himself anymore and took a big bite of the slice on his plate.

"Oh, heavens," he moaned, his eyes closed in content. "This is the best dessert I've ever tasted!"

Jules and Naver exchanged a look and dug into their own slices in front of them. Their reactions were quite similar to Grandpa.

Mana giggled, pleased with the outcome. In this ancient world, whipped cream didn't exist – but there was plenty of fresh cream and sugar in the kitchen, so it was child's play for her to twist some thin metal wires into a makeshift beater and have one of the kitchen assistants whip it up. And while there were no ovens, there was magic. Mana might be new to magic, but she had always been a quick learner, and she used her magic to bake the cake to perfection.

"Where did you learn this from?" Grandma asked curiously. "Do you cook often, Mana?"

Mana only smiled in response.

It was her maid who replied, "This is actually the first time Princess Mana cooked something."

Everyone stared at her in shock.

"Then, my little sister is the goddess of desserts!" Jules cried. "My dear little Mana, when are you making the next one?"

Mana pretended to think deeply, and then said teasingly, "I heard Big Brother makes fantastic roast meat…I'll make another cake when you cook next time!"

Jules agreed immediately. "I can go hunting right away and we can have roast meat for dinner," he offered.

"There is plenty of meat in the kitchen," Mana said. "We can set up a barbeque in one of the smaller courtyards."

"Good idea!" Jules was quite excited. "We can sit around the fire and enjoy our roast!"

"May I help?" Naver asked shyly.

"You don't have a choice," Mana teased him. "Big Brother and I insist that you help us!"

Thus, the three youngsters invaded the kitchen, much to the dismay of the cooks and kitchen staff. However, they were surprisingly well-behaved and organised, and that evening, the entire household, including all the staff members, sat around a roaring fire in one of the courtyards, feasting on roast meat and potatoes, and unique desserts they had never seen before. Someone even opened a bottle of wine and passed it around.

Mana tried to get a sip of it sneakily, but Jules caught her just in time and refused to let her drink no matter how much she pouted. Naver, too, was firmly supported Jules, and wouldn't let Mana take a sip.. In the end, everyone other than the three youngsters had some wine.