Pov Midas
Now I am in the mansion of the Ramon family, in particular their head Mustang. The problem that has arisen with the emperor is serious, he has joked in different ways before, but he has never gone missing. I don’t have a single clue where to start searching for him. And as if this were not enough, the news about the sudden heiress of the Reymon family makes me sadly drained. Do I really have to decide everything again? I have always been an insecure person, Adam constantly told me about it. And now I have to pull myself together.
(Midas listened to the report from the inspectors) What happened was what I was afraid of, a hidden child. But the situation is much more special, the heir was a slave, and also possessed the cursed wheel mark on his face. Different curses work differently. But the wheel mark is one of the unpleasant ones. The curse of the wheel spins magical energy in a cycle, helping to endlessly move it throughout the body. This is one of the few curses that was useful for magicians. But it's a girl, Tenma. She just received the gift yesterday, her appearance shows it. The blood in her body moved unnaturally, circulating through her head. Another couple of years, and some of her body parts would have shut down from lack of blood. I need to interrogate her.
Pov narrator
Tenma sat on a chair drinking tea, she always only drank water in the morning. But now they began to treat her as a person. The servants who saw her bowed, and the look of the people around her changed. He is no longer judgmental. She easily noticed these changes. She understood that they were still treating her unpleasantly. But now they at least hide their attitude towards her. And she was happy with it.
She told the inspectors enough about who she was. A well-deserved rest is just right for her. Suddenly there is a flash in the room and a silhouette appears from the light. A man of average height, small muscles, a very feminine face. You can tell by his clothes that he is related to the inspectors. After looking around the room, Midas approached the table where Tenma was sitting. He used magic to create a chair from light, sitting comfortably, he silently watched Tenma. He would like to know what to do with it, the rule states that magic should be sealed away from unwanted magicians with questionable backgrounds. But Tenma is not an ordinary magician, she was chosen by Astoria himself, Adamant fought with him during the revolution. They were good friends and perhaps this incident would have piqued his interest. However, if you do nothing about it, it will also become a problem.
“Tenma, do you know why the emperor imposed a limit on possible children with magic, up to three?” Tenma was at first surprised by his feminine voice, but did not delay in answering. “I don’t know what’s going on in his head, but according to my logic, he did this; people didn’t give birth to a huge number of children, and didn’t use them as soldiers in the future?” Tenma didn’t see any other reason.
“Close. The Emperor despised this kind of attitude towards children. He considered it unacceptable. The Emperor used his morals wherever he could. Sigh That’s why I like him.” He said the last words more quietly than the others. “Even though Adamant is praised as the greatest emperor, his farm boy side hasn’t gone anywhere.” Tenma didn’t understand what Midas was leading to, but without waiting, she still asked a counter question. "Can I end up using magic?" Tenma was rude, but she was tired of wasting time with empty dialogues. Midas sighs and decides to answer. "When he is faced with a problem, he always chooses a solution that will bring more benefits in the future. However, he has never made a decision that requires someone else's sacrifice. And this is what I consider weak in him." Midas directed a cold gaze at Tenma. "Tell Tenma, are you loyal to our country?"
Midas knows Adamant. He would leave her alone just because he was interested in her potential. But Midas couldn't risk it. Without Adam, he has no way of doing anything with impunity. Sooner or later the people will learn about the disappearance of the imperial family. Therefore, Midas cannot make any mistakes. Any mistake, and influential families will strangle him.
"This country has done nothing for me to earn his loyalty, but I can assure you, staging a coup is the last thing I want in this life." Tenma's answer was what Midas expected. “You are not an official child in the Raymon family, and you still have a year left before you come of age. I don’t trust you, but I understand that if I try to deprive you of your gift, it will turn out much worse for me.” Midas tiredly reached into his pocket, taking out a cigar. “In a month, the academy accepts people with magical potential. The law obliges any teenager with magic to study at the Fier Academy. You are also no exception. Good luck.” Midas suddenly disappeared from the room, he needed to inform the head of the family, Mustang, about this decision. He expected what a hassle it would be.
In an expensive hotel, in a VIP room, a Mustang was lying on the bed with the maids. Lately, he has been experiencing headaches from stress. His older brothers and sister will wage a hidden war against him. Bringing him minor troubles in every possible way. He didn’t touch them for a long time, and there were reasons for that. Supporting them families, he was able to see only one, he knows for sure that they have allies ready to fight against him. And to be honest, he didn’t want to touch them. Before his death, his father asked him to protect them. Although Mustang didn’t like them, he respected his father and was ready to fulfill the request. However, now he has doubts. Previously, he believed in himself, he understood that the whole world revolved around him. But these couple of days showed him the truth. I have to be ready. Luke will never leave me alone in my life. Especially after that incident.
He activated his aura. A pentagram appeared in the air, inside of which was a sword. He reached out with his hand to the portal and with a sharp movement broke through it. This was his inner space. He could create a space in which he could store any non-living object. From the portal he took out a small notebook. In the notebook itself, he wrote down the names of all his possible enemies. Mustang often forgot things that were uninteresting to him, and therefore often wrote down something or someone important. He quickly wrote down the name of Arthur, the man he saw yesterday with his family. He would need to get rid of them, but Mustang's main problem was his daughter.
He had confidence in his son Thomas. Even if Arthoros refused to give the gift to his son, he would accept it. But the fact that Astorius arrived instead ruined everything. Mustang knew the nature of the gods, they don't care about moral standards or any of that crap. Reputation is important to them. It is important for Artoros that his chosen ones win battles and cause fear in others. The gods will introduce a game with each other. Depending on whose chosen ones are stronger, by nature, they are gamblers betting on their favorites. Human lives are indifferent to them. And so Arthoros could choose Thomas. But he didn't come.
Mustang didn't know which parts of Astoria's story were true. But he definitely understands that a person like him was dissatisfied with his life values. He also understands that he cannot openly complain to anyone. God, who gave the gift to someone, could hear what he was talking about. This doesn't mean they're always eavesdropping. It's more likely that if he says something about Astoria, Artoros might take it as an insult. Mustang has already suffered punishment once, and does not want to repeat it again.
Now he needs to decide what to do. What to do with this daughter, and finding out what her name is also wouldn’t hurt. "Such a pain in the ass."
