In the Kingdom of Cheon-u, mana was synonymous with status.

Not everyone is born with mana, and only those possessing it can impregnate a partner. Conversely, those without mana cannot impregnate others but are capable of bearing children. Gender is irrelevant.

However, being born with mana does not mean one can automatically use magic. Magic is a skill that must be learned, and such teachings are permitted only to the Imperial Family and select noble houses. Consequently, those who can actually wield magic are extremely few, and lineages with strong mana are considered all the more precious.

At the pinnacle of this hierarchy stood the Imperial Family.

The members of the Imperial Family have inherited powerful mana for generations. The current Emperor is also one of the most powerful mana users, even among their kin.

Of course, that wasn't the only reason the Emperor was loved by the people.

In the subjugation wars against magical beasts that take place in the north every year and a half, Your Majesty always stood at the very front. No matter how many rumors circulated about the Imperial Family's extravagance and corruption, the people believed in the single fact that the monarch personally protected them.

Serician adjusted the collar of the child standing in front of the mirror.

Today, that monarch returns.

It had been a year and a half.

"Let's make you look a bit neater."

He tidied the child's hair and checked his own appearance again.

This was the son he would show to the Emperor.

Long ago, Your Majesty had said offhandedly:

That if he bore a son, you would cherish him.

Serician still remembered those words.

It might have truly been a joke. But to him, it wasn't.