(Alice POV)

"uh...o...ah?"(Alice)

Where... am I?... Everything is hazy...a carriage...a contract...ma...ma...mama...mama!?!?!

"Mama!? tsu!?"(Alice)

It hurts!? Why?! What the hell happened!?

I haven't experienced this kind of pain before; it hurts a lot. But on the verge of panic, I didn't care about my injuries as I forced myself to look for any sign of mama. Only to find her sleeping peacefully at my side, covered in bandages.

Knowing that mama was completely stable lifted a massive weight off my heart and made me cry in relief. I kept crying silently for a long time while trying not to wake up mama, as I was still shocked by what we experienced.

When I calmed down, I became curious about the place where we were. It looked like we were in a small room with the essential commodities, a window, and the bed where we slept.

Although this place looked simple, the furniture here was extravagant. While I enjoyed myself with the softness of the bed, a woman wearing a red dress entered the room while holding a cup of coffee.

"oh? So you are finally awake...."(????)

Awake? Isn't that obvious? I was completely confused by the woman's words; who was she?

The woman ignored confusion and sat on the sofa near the bed while looking at me with a troubled expression. For some reason, I felt like I knew that woman from somewhere.

As I struggled to remember, the memories of that night flashed through my mind. As I remembered she was our benefactor, I bowed my head at the woman, trying to thank her for everything.

"Thank you so much for saving me and my mom...as I promised, I will do anything you want."(Alice)

Honestly, I am a little scared of the deal I made with this unknown woman, but I can't retract my words; a deal is a deal. Feeling anxious from the silence, I tried to peek at the woman's face for an answer, only to see her troubled expression.

"Well... How do I say this? Your mom is healed... but simultaneously, she isn't. If she doesn't receive my medical assistance at least once a week, she will die."(????)

What did she mean by medical assistance? Didn't we have a deal? With a lousy omen growing in my heart, I tried to ask the woman about my mama's condition while suppressing my panic.

"Once a week? What do you mean by that?"(Alice)

"You see... The injuries in her body are completely healed; I can guarantee that. But on the other hand, an unknown power damaged her soul. I was able to regenerate her soul and suppress the unknown power, but that was all.

To be honest, her condition was a great surprise for me. When I tried to expel the unknown power, that power stubbornly fought back, so I did my best to suppress it with my flames. If my calculations aren't wrong, my flames can suppress that power for a week until I need to reapply them."(???)

Hearing the woman's words felt like a judgment for a sinner. Instinctively, I knew I was responsible for my mama's current condition. I could feel myself hyperventilating and on the verge of passing out. The woman looked panicked by looking at my condition and hurriedly continued.

"Calm down, little girl. Thanks to my flames, your mother can still have an everyday life. If you want to save your mother, then we need to find the source of that power.

Once we know more about it, we can make the caster remove it from her soul or completely eradicate it. There was a big incident with an unknown creature that night, and you were nearby. So, Do you know anything about that creature?"(????)

"Yes... that creature was me."(Alice)

That's right, the caster was me. The power I used that night affected mama without me noticing anything. After learning about the truth, the woman choked a little while drinking her coffee before looking at me, with her eyes asking for answers.

I knew I needed all the help I could get to save mama, so I told her everything I knew without hiding anything.

"My name is Alice; I am a commoner who lived alongside mama in a village near the kingdom's border. That was until the stampede appeared and forced us to leave.

While we were fleeing, our carriage fell off the mountain. Before the chaos wolves killed us, I managed to make a contract with a spirit. From that point forward, you know the rest.

Honestly, I don't know how that contract was possible. I learned that I was starless with no affinity towards any element when I was five years old.

But I can tell you that I felt like recovering something precious when I signed the contract. I don't have the slightest idea where that power came from, but my spirit could be the answer for that."(Alice)

From start to finish, the woman looked at me with an empty expression while trying to find a lie in my words. Only when she didn't find any lie did she look perplexed.

"What are you saying? Who is the imbecile who told you that you are starless? I measured your affinity while you were unconscious. The results said you have four stars and an affinity for two elements.

I can't say that your star numbers are exceptional, but your dual affinity is a coveted treasure. I don't know the rank of your spirit, but based on what I saw that night, it has to be at least a sixth-rank spirit.

Your spirit seems to be able to control two attributes like you. This makes him or her an immeasurable treasure for you. The only drawback I can think of is the true essence of your contracted spirit."(????)

I felt like we were taking turns to surprise each other because it was my turn to get confused. I have lived my entire life knowing I'm starless, and now you tell me I had four stars with an affinity for two elements!?

"If you can't believe it, then see it by yourself...by the way, you may also want to take a look at your current appearance; something tells me you are going to be surprised by it."(???)

With a face seemingly enjoying my reactions, the woman took a star rod and a mirror from a magical device. She forced the star rod first on my hand and hurried me to test my affinity, and the result was the same as she had said: four stars and an affinity for the light and devil elements.

Not waiting for me to calm down, she held the mirror before me, giving me the biggest surprise of my life. My left eye and the left half of my hair got a dark purple color while the other half remained with my silver color.

"What is happening? Why has my hair and eye changed color? Why do I have stars and affinity!?"(Alice)

With more questions than answers, I was overwhelmed with many speculations. I didn't know for how long I got lost in my thoughts, but before I knew it, the woman had already stored the mirror and star rod. Furthermore, she continued drinking her coffee without any care in the world.

"I don't know the cause of your change, but now that we finished talking about your powers, let's start with the basics. What is your true identity? Why did you say you were starless and without affinity? Why are your looks so similar to Princess Talia's? Don't worry about the last question if you don't have an answer, but don't dare lie to me."(????)

There was something strange about this; the woman was questioning me like before. But I couldn't help but notice the peculiar sense of hostility in her voice. Before I was about to answer her questions the best I could, a pair of arms hugged me from behind. Feeling the warm hug, I instantly knew mama was awake.

"I'm very grateful that you saved our lives back in the mountains. But I don't think this gives you the right to pressure my daughter for answers. Sorry for saying this, but I heard the entire conversation. This made me wonder, who are you? What do you want from my daughter?"(Orie)

Mama is being rude!? If you are wondering about my reaction, this is the first time I've heard my mama be rude to another person. She looked at the woman with fear and wariness while hugging me tightly, as if she did not want to let me go.

Seeing my mama's reaction startled the woman, but maybe she found it interesting as she had a big smile on her face.

"Where are my manners? I am Fayna Arcon, the principal of the Cross Academy and one of the strongest spiritualists in the Cross Kingdom. I dislike formalities, so you can call me Fay if you want. As for your second question, I had a deal with your daughter. I plan to let your daughter enter the academy to participate in the next tournament.

Fortunately, the academy tournament was postponed because of confidential events. If you don't have any other questions, can you answer mine now?" (Fayna)

Fayna Arcon!? I was expecting her to be an important figure, but I didn't expect her to be that Fayna Arcon! When I heard about her proposal, I felt my long-lost dream of becoming a spiritualist and studying in the academy wasn't impossible. Sadly, my happiness wasn't shared at all, as my mama became even more terrified. She hugged me even stronger while looking between me and Miss Fayna.

I felt something very odd about her actions. I didn't know why she was acting like that or why she was so scared. With her sight stopping on me, I could see how her eyes were filled with a sea of emotions, and she was on the verge of crying.

"I didn't believe this day would come so soon. Alice, my beloved daughter, I'm sorry for hiding the truth from you all these years. I hope you don't hate me for it."(Orie)

Her words made me speechless; I couldn't understand what she meant.

"My name is Orie, and my daughter's... this girl's name is Alice; she is currently seven years old. I named her Alice seven years ago because her former parents didn't give her a name. As she told you before, we used to live in a small village at the kingdom's borders before fleeing from the stampede.

Alice was indeed starless and without affinity when her parents tested her with the star rod when she was born, and this fact didn't change at all when she retook the test at the age of five...

For the final answer, I need you to swear with your contract that you won't use Alice for your benefit or leak any information about her. Otherwise, you won't get a single word out of me even if it cost my life."(Orie)

I couldn't catch up with the conversation. This was so abrupt... I... wasn't her daughter? But contrary to my loss of words, Miss Fayna didn't seem surprised by my mama's condition. She immediately expressed an idea of what was happening.

"I knew this would be interesting, but I didn't believe it would be more than I thought. Ok, you won; I swear in the name of my contract that I won't use or leak any information about Alice for my benefit. Otherwise, my contract will be severed, and I won't be able to make another contract for the rest of my life."(Fayna)

When Miss Fayna finished her words, the emblem of her contract appeared behind her. I was amazed, as the emblem of her contract was a red bird with the outside circles looking like a ring of fire. I could appreciate it only for a second before it disappeared.

Seeing this, my mama continued her words with a trembling voice.

"... Alice is the second daughter of King Chris Hol and Queen Aiya Hol; to put it bluntly, she is the twin of Princess Talia Hol. Seven years ago, I worked in the castle as a maid when the queen gave birth to the twins.

After learning about her lack of talent, they wanted to dispose of her in secret, but the soldiers at that time were busy with the security of the place. That is why the task of disposing of her fell on another maid and me. I couldn't bring myself to do anything to this child, so I fled from the Holy Kingdom through the forest. After reaching the Cross Kingdom, I adopted Alice as my daughter."(Orie)

"Wha-!?"(Fayna)

"Eh!?"(Alice)

Are you saying I'm a princess?! Leaving my surprise aside, Miss Fayna was so shocked that she dropped her cup. I didn't know what to feel about my origins, but I knew that mama was anxious.

I slowly turned around at my crying mama and hugged her as tight as I could. Surprised by my actions, I could feel her shoulders trembling before hugging me back. When everything calmed down, I took a little distance from her and looked into her eyes.

"Mama, I know there are many things I don't know about or can't comprehend. But to be honest, I don't care about my real parents or my true identity. All I know is you are my mother, and I am your daughter; anything else is irrelevant to me."(Alice)

Touched by my words, mama smiled and hugged me with more strength. Miss Fayna somehow recovered from her shock and smiled at our interaction.

"That idiot... I'll take care of him later. Leaving aside the HUGE impact of your identity, we need to talk about our part of the deal."(Fayna)

Our hearts were at peace; we focused on Miss Fayna's words, knowing everything would change from here to now.

"First, I want to enroll Alice in the academy and let her participate in the next tournament. Second, I want you, Orie, to work as my exclusive maid.

I can't die because that would break my promise to the girl... I mean Alice, and finally, I want you, Alice, to master that mysterious power inside you."(Fayna)

Miss Fayna got up from the sofa and walked towards the door without saying anything else. Before exiting the room, miss Fayna looked back at us with an awkward expression.

"I forgot to mention this, Alice. You can apply for the entrance exam at the age of ten, so I will be training you for three years.

Of course, this also includes both of your elements; by the way, remember to hide your devil attribute. Although I don't believe in the superstitions about the devil's attributes, others may not think the same. Rest for today; tomorrow, we'll start training."(Fayna)

With Miss Fayna leaving the room, I looked at my mom with a smile as we were excited about the future. Still tired of what happened, I sat on the bed with my mama and entered the dream world with a smile.