FTMR 27

Chapter 27

“Our Princess Can Tear Even a Beast Apart with Her Bare Hands”:

“Damn… it was real.”

Seeing the tree uprooted, he had wondered if it was some ability to move objects, but he hadn’t been certain.

Kardin clicked his tongue when he saw Lucius’ face harden at the tentative question.

It would have been better for ruling the empire if it were an ability to control nature.

Of course, even that would be welcome only from a subject’s perspective; from a family perspective, it was far from desirable.

The power of the royal family relied on the user’s life force, and the greater the ability, the heavier the toll after using it.

“Yes… it’s better that it’s a power we don’t need to use on a large scale. I’m still annoyed it turned out to be that ability, though. And Mikhail… he’s on a whole different level from the former Emperor…”

Even if he had just recently awakened his powers and lacked control, he had knocked over a tree.

The former Emperor had only been able to slam doors or move a glass of water—there was no comparison.

Lucius, whose expression had stiffened at Kardin’s remark, twitched the corner of his mouth slightly.

Truthfully, he was relieved. Because the gap in their powers was so large, seeing Mikhail use his ability didn’t make him instinctively freeze like he did with the former Emperor.

And though he had thought privately that his son’s awakening wasn’t something to celebrate, seeing Mikhail’s exceptional ability made him feel proud and satisfied.

But soon Lucius’ face darkened again.

“Kardin, you’re right. I was surprised he had the same ability as the former Emperor. But… the reason it was kept secret was because of me.”

Since his son had awakened far earlier than expected, he hadn’t known how to train him properly.

Moreover, he didn’t want to force the strict procedures meant to awaken, control, and strengthen royal powers, like those used by the former Emperor or passed down as royal protocols.

From Lucius’ perspective, those methods were too harsh and inhumane, especially given Mikhail’s young age.

So he initially tried to control the power through meditation techniques, but they had little effect on a child with short concentration.

Lucius felt at a loss.

Above all,

“I worry… am I doing something wrong to Mikhail without even realizing it?”

Usually, power awakenings happen under desperate crisis. Lucius and Kardin had gone through similar experiences, feeling the power grow stronger under extreme stress.

But Lucius wanted to raise Mikhail more like an ordinary child than as royalty. In truth, Mikhail was composed and mature, yet he still retained his innocence—or so Lucius believed.

“Maybe Mikhail awakened so quickly because…”

Had something stressful or psychologically taxing happened without him realizing it? Was his parenting somehow flawed…?

“Our queen always says it—everything else goes as planned, but children never do.”

Kardin, the main culprit, laughed playfully.

“Our nephew is just a genius.”

If it weren’t for preventing him from meeting the marquis’ daughter, Lucius probably wouldn’t have worried so much.

So Kardin confidently stated that it wasn’t Lucius’ fault at all.

“But how did Mikhail awaken his powers?”

Lucius felt embarrassed at the question.

“Well… he was studying until dawn, then lay down to rest for a bit. The window was open, and he wished it would just close without moving his fingers….”

“……?”

“The window frame was torn off and blocked the window.”

“C-cough.”

Lucius couldn’t help but laugh at the mental image of his seemingly composed child’s cute reaction.

Had he not gone to check on Mikhail after work, the awakening could have been exposed to the world. Lucius felt a wave of relief remembering this.

Kardin asked,

“Did you handle it with your power?”

“Yes. I was too surprised… so I just rewound the time in that room.”

The shattered window repaired itself, the board that had blocked it returned to its place, and the child, wide-eyed, realized his father had used his ability—and that he himself had awakened.

The curious boy’s eyes sparkled, but he fell asleep almost immediately after using his power for the first time.

“He woke up a few hours later, and after some training, he should be up by morning.”

“You said you fainted for three days after your first awakening, right?”

“….”

“Keep going.”

Lucius gave Kardin a sidelong look and continued.

“When he wakes, we’ll talk properly, but after yesterday, he should understand why I told him not to meet the marquis’ daughter.”

Without proper control, using his powers could endanger himself and others. Lucius breathed a sigh of relief recalling the potential disaster from earlier that day.

“If it weren’t for the princess, it would’ve been a huge problem.”

“Our princess really is amazing.”

“Yes… which is why I plan to explain the situation to her as well.”

Kardin nodded. Having seen Mikhail’s powers firsthand and helped resolve it, he thought Anette deserved to know.

“Also about my abilities.”

Lucius’ next words made Kardin pause.

“Of course, it’s good to understand the root cause and solution. But I owe her a debt, and I cannot just watch my benefactor in danger. If it were beyond my abilities, maybe I would leave it be.”

Lucius, who could manipulate time in specific places or on specific people, had already tested briefly whether his power worked on Anette.

He accelerated her time by about a week while passing her the purification stone. He even noticed her hair growing slightly as he used the ability.

“If the princess wishes to return to her original form immediately, I am willing to use my ability.”

At minimum, to restore her adult form would require accelerating over ten years of time—a taxing feat even for Lucius, draining his life force.

Whether because of this or because his plans for caring for the younger Anette might be disrupted, Kardin stayed silent.

Lucius smiled, imagining Kardin’s grumpy expression behind the mask, and lightly tapped his shoulder in encouragement.

“Ugh.”

“Kardin?”

Lucius was startled as Kardin groaned and grabbed his shoulder.

“What’s wrong? Are you hurt? From training or battle?”

“No, it’s not that.”

“Not that? You look like you’re in serious pain!”

Alkan royalty possessed extraordinary strength and recovery, even Lucius. He realized he might have misjudged the force he used.

“Did I miscalculate my strength…?”

“No, it’s not that, brother.”

Kardin hurriedly admitted the truth, not wanting Lucius to keep digging in the middle of the night.

“Our princess is much stronger than we thought.”

“The princess… do you mean the royal lady?”

“Yes.”

Kardin nodded confidently at Lucius’ skeptical look.

Earlier, when Lucius carried Anette despite her protests, she had struggled with her surprisingly strong fists.

Recalling her embarrassed trembling, Lucius couldn’t help but laugh.

“She really hates being treated like a child… but it’s also adorable.”

“Could it be that she struggled with controlling her strength because she’s young?”

“No, she’s just very strong. Our princess can tear even a beast apart with her bare hands.”

“I’d heard the rumor… but it was true?”

Lucius had assumed it was exaggerated. Though the princess was a renowned knight, he didn’t expect such raw strength in the small girl before him.

“Why are you surprised? You already knew she was special.”

“That’s true, but…”

Lucius frowned at Kardin’s teasing, still nodding at the reality.

“The princess… shouldn’t she have been more careful?”

Just moments ago, Lucius was willing to drain his life force to help her, but now he was displeased she had hurt Kardin.

Kardin shrugged.

“This is the first time she’s ever clashed like this with someone. When she saw me hurt, her eyes went wide—it was cute. Wait… are you scolding our princess now?”

Kardin’s suddenly fierce glare left Lucius exasperated.

Seeing that cheeky expression, Lucius realized why the seemingly gentle princess had used her fists on him in just one day.

He gripped Kardin’s shoulder firmly.

“Ow! Brother!”

“Stop whining. You deserve it anyway.”