Steward Kael's smile widens as he surveys the cozy haven. "𝑾𝒆𝒍𝒍, 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒄𝒆𝒓𝒕𝒂𝒊𝒏𝒍𝒚 𝒔𝒆𝒆𝒎𝒔 𝒍𝒊𝒌𝒆 𝒂 𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒕𝒂𝒃𝒍𝒆 𝒃𝒂𝒔𝒆 𝒄𝒂𝒎𝒑 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒖𝒑𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒂𝒅𝒗𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒖𝒓𝒆𝒔," he remarks, his voice warm. "𝑻𝒉𝒐𝒖𝒈𝒉, 𝒔𝒑𝒆𝒂𝒌𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒐𝒇 𝒂𝒅𝒗𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒖𝒓𝒆𝒔," his smile takes on a more playful edge, "𝑰 𝒘𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅𝒏'𝒕 𝒘𝒂𝒏𝒕 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒕𝒐 𝒎𝒊𝒔𝒔 𝒐𝒖𝒕 𝒐𝒏 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒇𝒊𝒓𝒔𝒕 𝒕𝒓𝒂𝒊𝒏𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒔𝒆𝒔𝒔𝒊𝒐𝒏. 𝑪𝒂𝒑𝒕𝒂𝒊𝒏 𝑨𝒎𝒆𝒍𝒊𝒂 𝒊𝒔𝒏'𝒕 𝒌𝒏𝒐𝒘𝒏 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒉𝒆𝒓 𝒑𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒆𝒏𝒄𝒆, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒂 𝒍𝒂𝒕𝒆 𝒂𝒓𝒓𝒊𝒗𝒂𝒍 𝒎𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕 𝒋𝒖𝒔𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒓𝒐𝒘 𝒉𝒆𝒓 𝒊𝒏𝒕𝒐 𝒂 𝒃𝒊𝒕 𝒐𝒇 𝒂… 𝒕𝒂𝒏𝒕𝒓𝒖𝒎."
The thought of a stern Captain Amelia throwing a tantrum conjures an image so ridiculous that a chuckle escapes my lips. "𝑨 𝒕𝒂𝒏𝒕𝒓𝒖𝒎, 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒔𝒂𝒚?" I ask, amusement flickering in my eyes.
Steward Kael throws his head back and laughs heartily. "𝑶𝒉, 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒈 𝑻𝒐𝒔𝒉𝒊𝒓𝒐, 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒆𝒏'𝒕 𝒎𝒆𝒕 𝑪𝒂𝒑𝒕𝒂𝒊𝒏 𝑨𝒎𝒆𝒍𝒊𝒂 𝒚𝒆𝒕. 𝑳𝒆𝒕'𝒔 𝒋𝒖𝒔𝒕 𝒔𝒂𝒚 𝒔𝒉𝒆 𝒕𝒂𝒌𝒆𝒔 𝒉𝒆𝒓 𝒕𝒓𝒂𝒊𝒏𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒚 𝒔𝒆𝒓𝒊𝒐𝒖𝒔𝒍𝒚, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒕𝒂𝒓𝒅𝒊𝒏𝒆𝒔𝒔 𝒊𝒔 𝒏𝒐𝒕 𝒂 𝒒𝒖𝒂𝒍𝒊𝒕𝒚 𝒔𝒉𝒆 𝒂𝒑𝒑𝒓𝒆𝒄𝒊𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒔."
The image of a fuming Captain Amelia is both comical and oddly endearing. It humanizes her in a way I hadn't expected. "𝑰 𝒘𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅𝒏'𝒕 𝒘𝒂𝒏𝒕 𝒕𝒐 𝒃𝒆 𝒐𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒓𝒆𝒄𝒆𝒊𝒗𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒆𝒏𝒅 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒕𝒂𝒏𝒕𝒓𝒖𝒎 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒏," I reply with a grin.
"𝑷𝒓𝒆𝒄𝒊𝒔𝒆𝒍𝒚," Steward Kael agrees, wiping a tear from his eye. "𝑺𝒐, 𝑰 𝒔𝒖𝒈𝒈𝒆𝒔𝒕 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒈𝒆𝒕 𝒔𝒆𝒕𝒕𝒍𝒆𝒅 𝒊𝒏 𝒒𝒖𝒊𝒄𝒌𝒍𝒚. 𝑷𝒆𝒓𝒉𝒂𝒑𝒔 𝒂 𝒄𝒉𝒂𝒏𝒈𝒆 𝒐𝒇 𝒄𝒍𝒐𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒔 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒂 𝒒𝒖𝒊𝒄𝒌 𝒘𝒂𝒔𝒉-𝒖𝒑? 𝑪𝒂𝒑𝒕𝒂𝒊𝒏 𝑨𝒎𝒆𝒍𝒊𝒂 𝒘𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅𝒏'𝒕 𝒂𝒑𝒑𝒓𝒆𝒄𝒊𝒂𝒕𝒆 𝒎𝒖𝒅 𝒐𝒓 𝒕𝒓𝒂𝒗𝒆𝒍 𝒅𝒖𝒔𝒕 𝒐𝒏 𝒂 𝒕𝒓𝒂𝒊𝒏𝒆𝒆, 𝒆𝒊𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓."
The playful glint in his closed eyeslids tells me he's enjoying my introduction to palace life, the stark contrast between simple comforts and rigorous training. With a newfound appreciation for the well-timed jest, I nod in agreement.
"𝑻𝒉𝒂𝒏𝒌 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒘𝒂𝒓𝒏𝒊𝒏𝒈, 𝑺𝒕𝒆𝒘𝒂𝒓𝒅 𝑲𝒂𝒆𝒍," I say, my voice filled with gratitude. "𝑰 𝒘𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅𝒏'𝒕 𝒘𝒂𝒏𝒕 𝒕𝒐 𝒎𝒂𝒌𝒆 𝒂 𝒃𝒂𝒅 𝒇𝒊𝒓𝒔𝒕 𝒊𝒎𝒑𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒔𝒊𝒐𝒏."
He claps me on the shoulder, his touch surprisingly warm. "𝑫𝒐𝒏'𝒕 𝒘𝒐𝒓𝒓𝒚, 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒈 𝑻𝒐𝒔𝒉𝒊𝒓𝒐. 𝒀𝒐𝒖 𝒔𝒆𝒆𝒎 𝒍𝒊𝒌𝒆 𝒂 𝒒𝒖𝒊𝒄𝒌 𝒍𝒆𝒂𝒓𝒏𝒆𝒓. 𝑱𝒖𝒔𝒕 𝒓𝒆𝒎𝒆𝒎𝒃𝒆𝒓, 𝒇𝒐𝒄𝒖𝒔, 𝒅𝒊𝒔𝒄𝒊𝒑𝒍𝒊𝒏𝒆, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒂 𝒃𝒊𝒕 𝒐𝒇 𝒉𝒖𝒎𝒐𝒓 𝒄𝒂𝒏 𝒈𝒐 𝒂 𝒍𝒐𝒏𝒈 𝒘𝒂𝒚 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒔𝒆 𝒘𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒔."
With a final wink, Steward Kael excuses himself, leaving me alone in my haven within the palace. The simple act of washing up and changing into clean clothes takes on a new significance – a preparation not just for physical exertion, but for the complex life that awaits me within the Imperial Palace walls.
Stepping out of the bedroom, the green hair clip glinting in my hand, I take a deep breath. Captain Amelia, tantrums, and rigorous training – it seems my simple life as a citizen has become a distant memory. But within the quiet comfort of this small house, a spark of determination ignites. I, Toshiro, am ready to face the challenges and embrace the mysteries that lie ahead. The path may be unknown, but with a head held high and a touch of humor in my heart, I step forward, eager to see what awaits me on the training grounds.
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Rise Of Royal Phantoms And Qixi Festival
FantasyThis story unfolds a tale of a young boy who trainees much as he can to become the best vision of himself no limitations
