Illumina gazed at the wand for nearly a minute before shifting her gaze back to Ethan.
“I didn’t know that my scale would be used as an ingredient to create this… wand,” Illumina stated. “This is the first ti I’m seeing sothing like this. Do you use it to harness the Aether of the world.”
Ethan nodded. “Yes. I use it as a dium to use magic.”
“Then, has it been useful to you?” Illumina inquired before returning the wand to Ethan’s hands.
“Yes,” Ethan replied. “It has saved my life on more than one occasion.”
A faint smile appeared on Illumina’s beautiful face after hearing that a part of her had helped the young man in his ti of need.
“But I still don’t understand,” Ethan said. “Why did you give your rainbow scale away if it’s that precious to you? I’m not complaining or anything. I wouldn’t be where I am now without this wand.”
“It’s because of a selfish wish,” Illumina replied.
“A selfish wish?”
“Yes. A selfish wish of a young, innocent, and naive rmaid, who believed in the prophecy of a seer.”
“Can you tell more about it?” Ethan inquired.
“It’s a boring story, are you sure you want to hear it?” Illumina asked in a teasing tone.
“I do.” Ethan nodded.
The two little girls, who were also inside the room, perked up after hearing this because they didn’t want to miss this juicy gossip.
“Three hundred years ago, when the Tidebringer visited our kingdom under the sea, a rmaid Princess fell in love with him.
“Fortunately, he also developed feelings for her, so the two of them married. Many years passed, and the rmaid Princess had beco the Queen of her Kingdom, with her consort by her side.
“When their two twin daughters were born, they invited the other rmaid Kingdoms to celebrate their happiness.
“That was when I t the Tidebringer. I was still a little girl back then, just as old as these two girls here. The Tidebringer and the rmaid Queen were like a match made in the seven seas.
“Every rmaid and rman who saw them wished to find the sa happiness. And I, when I was young, wished to have that kind of happiness as well.”
Illumina paused as she recalled the events that happened three hundred years ago.
“The rmaid Queen’s mother was a seer, and a very powerful one at that,” Illumina continued her tale. “Her visions were very accurate, and it had helped their kingdom evade the calamities during that era, where the Progenitors and the Colossi were always at war with each other.
“When she saw , she had a vision, and told that there was a possibility that my wish would co true. However, there was a price that I needed to pay, and that is none other than my precious scale.”
Illumina’s face reddened a bit, which made Ethan unable to take his gaze away from her.
The rmaid Princess, who was already very beautiful, rose that beauty even further in the span of a few seconds due to her bashful appearance.
“All rmaids have a special scale that only grows once in their lifeti. That scale holds a fraction of our power, and life force, which we only give to our special soone. The rmaid Queen had given her Rainbow Scale to the Tidebringer.
“It is a token of our love, trust, loyalty, and devotion. Sothing that is very dear to us, and that was the thing that the Seer told to sacrifice, if I wished to find the person, who would make a part of their world.”
The rmaid Princess gaze softened as she looked at Ethan, who was holding the wand, which contained the scale that she had given up, in his hands.
Ethan suddenly rembered the first ti he saw Illumina after getting his wand from Sanders, who sold wands in Liburgh Town.
Illumina had said “Finally, I am now a part of your world.”
It was one of the turning points in his life because he thought that he would never find a wand that would suit him.
Soone who didn’t have any magical powers was chosen by a wand, who also took his first kiss from him.
But, Ethan thought that back then that the kiss didn’t count as a first kiss because that would be weird, since he kissed a wand instead of a girl.
“What did the Seer say?” Ethan, who suddenly beca curious about Illumina's Prophecy asked.
“I can’t answer that question,” Illumina smiled faintly. “It is one of the things that I am unable to tell you because, if I answer it, I will turn into sea foam.”
Ethan’s body stiffened after hearing Illumina’s reply.
She was smiling, and said those words in a teasing tone, and yet, for so reason, Ethan knew that she was telling the truth.
Because of this, he no longer insisted on the topic, and changed the subject.
“Do you know that I live in the future?” Ethan inquired.
“I learned that only a few weeks ago,” Illumina answered. “Your sister told about it.”
Ethan glanced at Joanne, but the latter was leaning on the couch with her eyes closed, pretending that she was taking a nap.
The young man once again shifted his attention to the rmaid Princess, and asked another question.
“Do you think we will et each other in my own tiline?” Ethan asked.
Princess Ramona lowered her head, and looked at her hands that were resting on her lap. Ethan’s question made her feel sad because she knew that she wouldn’t be able to et him in his own tiline.
Their worlds were not only far apart, but were also separated by hundreds of years.
The princess knew that no matter how hard she tried, she would be unable to live that long.
Humans weren’t like Elves and rmaids.
Their ti was finite and, at most, they would only be able to live up to a little over a hundred years.
But, what was the point?
Even if she lived that long, she would already be a wrinkled old lady.
She wouldn’t want Ethan to see her in such a state, which made her very sad.
The young man, who wasn’t aware of what Princess Ramona was thinking, waited for Illumina to answer his question.
“rmaids can live up to ten thousand years,” Illumina replied. “It is also the reason why so races want to eat our flesh, and drink our blood, thinking that they will be blessed by immortality, or a longer lifespan by doing so.”
The rmaid Princess’ smile dimd a bit after rembering these vile practices, which the refolk abhorred the most.
“Right now, I’m still considered a very young rmaid,” Illumina stated. “We are only treated as adults once we are two-
thousand years old.”
“I guess we will be able to et each other then,” Ethan smiled.
“Of course we will,” Illumina nodded. “After all, I paid the price for it.”
Illumina narrowed her eyes, which made Ethan shudder.
For a brief mont, he felt like a fish on the chopping block that was about to be hacked in two.
The rmaid Princess’ choice of words made him think that since she had paid the price, she would get sothing in return.
As for what that thing was, Illumina couldn’t say until the promised ti arrived.
“I-Illumina, your eyes are getting scary,” Ethan smiled stiffly, feeling a bit intimidated by the rmaid Princess’ sharp gaze.
“Scary?” Illumina’s smile widened. “Why would you find my eyes scary? Did you do sothing bad? Are you guilty of sothing? Did you perhaps have more than five wives and one concubine?”
Ethan didn’t know how Illumina learned about the five wives, and one concubine promise he made with Lily.
However, for so reason, the beautiful rmaid, who could cause the downfall of a nation, made him feel as if his little Ethan was about to face a battle that he absolutely had no way to win.
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