The Goddess of Darkness let out a hum. “I did try. But the pact made between us prevents us from killing each other. The only way is to bless a warrior of our choosing and have them hunt the specified god or goddess.”

“What’s your real name?” Kail asked, his curiosity not yet sated.

The goddess let out a hearty laugh. “You truly are a lover of knowledge. My real name is Izabella. I am the twin of the original Goddess of Light.”

“Why did you choose me?”

“Because the demon king who blessed you with the demonic arts is the former lover of my sister. I do not know why he chose you. That is something you will have to ask him yourself. I can find a way to contact him for you.” Izabella sounded happy.

“If you could, that would be great. I am quite curious.” Kail was about to ask another question but paused when he heard the door open.

His mother entered the library. Her blue-gray eyes landed on him. “There you are! Nanny Emily and I have been looking everywhere for you!”

Kail smiled. “I just wanted to read.”

His mother sighed when she saw the book in his hands. “Honestly, Kail. You’re not at that reading level yet.”

“Yes, I am!” Kail was not about to lose his access to the books.

“How? You’re five,” his mother retorted with a smile.

“So?”

“Then prove it to me.” She thought he was just being a stubborn kid.

Kail huffed and looked down at the pages he had the book open to. As he recited the words, his mother’s face became full of shock. She was in complete disbelief. Had the teacher they hired taught him how to read so well already?

“Okay, enough.” His mother waved her hand. “You win. Your teacher is amazing. I am quite happy that we hired him.”

Well, he didn’t really teach me. I already knew how to read thanks to the Goddess of Darkness. But Kail didn’t correct her. He had decided a while back to keep his connection to the goddess a secret. Especially after learning she was looked down upon.

Kail knew that his parents would be upset upon learning he was of the darkness element. The dark spirit formed beside his mother and waved with a smile. Kail spared him a glance. His mother didn’t catch it.

“Well, then.” She clapped her hands together. “Kail, are you ready to meet the prince tomorrow?”

“Prince?” Kail echoed.

“Yes,” she replied eagerly. “There is a chance you two could end up as fiancés.”

Kail was thoroughly confused. He had learned that there was royalty ruling over them and had assumed it would be run like any other royalty that appeared in history or novels. Clearly he was wrong.

Now that I think about it, it isn’t surprising that I have a chance at being paired with someone from royalty. His mind went over the information that he knew about his family.

His full name was Kail Phoenix. The Phoenix family was a grand dukedom. In terms of class, their family was right beneath the royal family. They were revered as the protectors of the kingdom. Since the family’s beginning, they have served the royal family and protected the kingdom from all threats.

Several of them were among the knights, guards, and adventurers. Each branch had a mix of high positions in the castle or elsewhere in the kingdom. Kail was always reminded of how different his life would be once his element was discovered later every time his teacher spoke about the great history of his family.

Their family name came from their forefather who had obtained the power of rebirth from the God of Fertility. It was not a power of immortality. Each family member had three uses of the ability. It was also paired with eternal youth.

At the age of twenty, their bodies stopped aging. There were several members who were over two hundred years old across the kingdom.

That information had made Kail want to shout with happiness the day that his teacher taught him about it. It would allow him to have a better chance to achieve his goal.

Kail looked up at his mother. “Is Teacher James here yet?” He had been in the library all morning. Surely it was noon by now.

His mother nodded. “Yes, let’s go. He’s waiting for you in your study.”

Kail followed her out, eager to obtain information about the royal family that he was to meet tomorrow.

Teacher James was a young man of twenty-five. He was a genius in his generation. He was an expert in many fields and was hired by several families, including the royal family. He had chocolate brown eyes and long moss green hair. The green hair represented his element which was earth.

“Hello, Kail. How are you today?” Teacher James greeted when Kail entered the study.

“I’m fine. I have a question,” Kail replied after shutting the door.

“What is your question?”

“Can you tell me about the royal family? I will be meeting them tomorrow.”

Teacher James smiled. “Ah, yes. It would be a good idea to learn about them before meeting them. Let’s see. Where to begin? I guess I’ll start with the current members.”

The royal family name was Skye. The king was Gerald Skye and the queen was Faith Skye. They had four children between them. The oldest was Gilbert. Gilbert was followed by Amanda, Keith, and Diacus. Diacus was the youngest and the one Kail would possibly become fiancés with.

The two were the same age. Upon learning this, Kail dreaded meeting the prince. He was an adult in a child’s body. He and the prince would have nothing in common. On top of that, Kail felt disgusted at possibly becoming the fiancé of a child. It was already weird that he was receiving one at such a young age.

But as a child, there was nothing he could do to stop the adults. Well, it wasn’t like he had plans to stay in the family. In ten years, Kail would run away.

In ten years, he would be given a private aptitude test with Prince Diacus. That test would determine whether or not they had an element and what that element would be. According to Teacher James, there was talk that Diacus would have the water element. This rumor was based off of his white hair and eyes.

Kail could already foresee how the test would go. While Diacus would be praised for his supposed water element, Kail would be shamed and cast out for his darkness element. Because of that, he needed to make sure to make a run for it as soon as the test date was determined.

Kail noticed Teacher James staring at him with a serious gaze after speaking about the aptitude test. “Your hair is black and your eyes are gray. Such a troubling sign.” He clicked his tongue in dismay. “I do hope you do not have the darkness element. Such a promising future will be destroyed if you do.”

It was rare to be able to tell someone’s element based off of their hair and eyes. Teacher James was one of those rare people.

There were specific colors: moss green hair with brown eyes for earth, white hair and eyes for water, black hair and gray eyes for darkness, red hair and eyes for blood, gray hair and blue eyes for sky, orange hair and eyes for fire, blond hair and golden eyes for light.

Kail was horrified to learn this information. My own DNA is ratting me out before I take the test? he thought, worried now about how he would be treated.

Teacher James made a mental note to speak about Kail’s future with his parents while he continued to teach Kail. He returned to the topic of the royal family.

The Skye family had taken over the kingdom five hundred years ago. The kingdom, named Cloud Kingdom, was originally ruled by the Azure family. The Azure family was corrupt and tyrannical. The Skye family led the rebellion that would end the Azure family and took over the kingdom.

As time passed, the Skye family proved they could rule a kingdom and their place on the throne brought nothing but prosperity for the kingdom. The citizens were well taken care of, including the poor.

Thanks to this, the crime rate was low and no one really complained. If they had suggestions or information, they were able to meet with a courier who would send the information in a scroll that was teleported by magic to another courier who would deliver the message to the king.

All of the work was divided among the royal family to allow for better management over the large kingdom. The Phoenix family helped with some of the work as well, solidifying the relationship between the two families.

This relationship was built on trust and had become one of friendship as time passed since the days of the rebellion. This year would be the first time they would attempt a marriage to combine the families.