New World, New Life: I Became A Bigshot In The Ancient World
Chapter 88: CONTROLLING AURA

Chapter 88: CONTROLLING AURA

"Your Highness." The butler bowed and opened the door.

Honestly, Aristia couldn’t remember his name; he was just one out of all the many butlers in the palace, so she just said.

"Thank you, Butler."

The butler nodded at him and smiled in return. He announced her presence to the people inside the study and ordered a passing maid to prepare some refreshments. Then, he closed the door to give them privacy.

Aristia saw her father seated at a desk in the study. She looked around the study and found that her uncle was not present.

There were two desks in the study. Wilson was seated on one and going through some files.

Aristia guessed that the other desk was the king’s. There were also files and folders on it.

That revealed to her the level of trust between the members of the Royal family.

[If I remember correctly, Vasily said something about the Grand Duke being the king’s Chief Personal Advisor.]

She greeted Wilson and sat down on the couch.

"Did you enjoy your time outside the palace?" He inquired. "Have you eaten?"

Just as he asked that, the door to the study opened and the Butler came in holding a tray of refreshments.

"Your Highness, Princess." He bowed, then set down the tray on the tea table in front of Aristia.

[That was fast.] Aristia thought, amazed at how quickly the maid had brought food.

She nodded in gratitude. "Thank you,"

"The princess mustn’t go hungry." The butler smiled knowingly before leaving after a respectful bow at Wilson.

Aristia was in the middle of nodding when she paused. [Wait... What the heck?!]

Her cheeks tinted pink, realizing the butler said that because of the way she had reacted on the day of the Kingdom’s anniversary where she had to spend the whole day without food.

So that was the reason the maid had quickly delivered the food?

She glared at the butler, but he had long left, leaving her staring at the door.

She huffed and turned to the Grand Duke who looked purely amused much to her disbelief.

"Yes, and yes." She replied in answer to his earlier question, clearing her throat. "I need your help with something, Papa."

"Of course," Wilson nodded, gesturing for her to continue. He leaned forward in his chair, showing her that she had his full attention.

Aristia took a deep breath and continued. "I need cooking utensils."

Wilson raised his brows. "For the restaurant?"

"No. It is for the culinary examination I plan to hold to determine people who are suitable to work in the restaurant. Their cooking ability and skill will be tested. Those who pass will be chosen. I have chosen a few people to be judges. I also need a building to hold the examination." Aristia explained in one breath.

As she spoke, Wilson listened attentively. He was gaining a different view of this daughter of his. Not only was she smart and decisive, but she was also very thorough.

He was about to respond when she spoke again. "Of course, you can take it as me renting the building. I will pay you back later." She said.

Wilson chuckled and shook his head in amusement. "Then, what about those who don’t?"

"They might be given other roles like cleaning and serving guests." She said. There would be opportunities for everyone. Not everyone could be cooks, and the cooks would cook, serve and clean at the same time.

Wilson nodded his head. She really had it all planned out. "I will arrange the building. When will the examination be held?"

"In about a week." Aristia replied.

"It will be ready before then." Wilson assured and Aristia nodded gratefully. This was the power her father had.

"Thank you, Papa." Aristia walked toward him, kissed his cheek and left. She felt he deserved it after all he had done for her.

Wilson chuckled with a doting smile. How long had it been since his daughter had kissed his cheeks? She rarely let him carry her now. He sighed and turned to the document he had been reading before she came in.

Aristia returned to her room. She took a bath, changed into her night clothes and lay on her bed. Her plan was progressing smoothly. Soon, she would become a successful businesswoman in this world. She slept with a smile on her face.

***

Birds chirped outside the window, signalling the start of a new day.

Aristia yawned and sat up on the bed. This time, there were no dreams or whatnot. She had to get ready as her classes had resumed.

Her always on time loyal servant, Adeline came in just in time, and pulled open the curtains.

"Good morning, princess." Adeline greeted. "It is time to prepare for your classes."

"So soon?" Aristia asked groggily as she rubbed her eyes. She still felt a little sleepy even though she had woken up on her own accord.

"Princess, you haven’t had any classes for about three weeks." Adeline said with a pointed look.

"Whatever," Aristia muttered with a sigh. She got up lazily and spread her arms, gesturing for Adeline to do her stuff.

After changing from her nightgown into training clothes, she headed to the training grounds of the royal palace. As had always been the case since she came to the palace for the banquet, she was training with Beatrix, Serina and Ivan. Alaric would also join as usual.

The truth was that Serina had no interest in training, but her father had said that she would have to join her siblings and cousins so that she also would be capable of protecting herself.

When she was told this, however, she hadn’t strongly objected.

The reason was because she had been together with her sister her whole life. They did things together, went to places together— even though it was still limited to the palace grounds— they even slept on the same bed their whole life. They had the same classes together, but if her sister started to train, she couldn’t join her sister anymore for that time of the day. That was why she willingly agreed to join her in the training.

"The only thing I actually appreciate about all this is the clothes." Serina repeated openly this time as she used her hands to smooth out the barely present creases on her training outfit.

The children were in the training ground with the captain of the Royal knights order, Captain Hugo Lancelot. His younger brother was also there for the training as he had always been throughout the time they had training classes before the banquet.

They were giving out instructions to the children.

Ivan was way ahead of them all in the training. But today, he was in the process of learning how to control his aura.

Aura and Mana existed in this world.

Aura was more common than mana. In the kingdom of Amberale, those with daemons had auras. Not all who possessed aura had daemons, but all who had daemons possessed aura.

Not everyone had daemons. It was only the nobles who were fortunate to be able to manifest one. There were a few cases of non-nobles having daemons but that was even rarer. But, there was no case of females ever having daemons.

Mana, on the other hand, was even rarer. Mana holders were mainly the sorcerers and mages; those who could use spells and magic.

"Concentrate, your highness. Feel the aura inside you. What do you feel?" Captain Hugo asked.

At this point, even Aristia, Beatrix, Serina and Alaric came forward and were watching with interest.

Captain Hugh considerately paused his training with Aristia for a minute.

"I feel like there’s an energy inside of me and it’s trying to burst out." Ivan replied, standing still and trying to concentrate just as the captain had instructed. His aura manifested.

Aristia almost gasped, but Alaric gasped outrightly. It was their first time seeing aura.

Ivan’s aura appeared visibly. It was a faint light blue colour around him; the usual colour of aura.

"We’ve seen his aura before," Beatrix whispered, leaning towards Aristia.

"Now, try to regulate that aura, Prince. Do not let it burst out. You have to restrain it until you master how to control it." Hugo Lancelot instructed.

"Alright, Captain." Ivan nodded his head.

Captain Hugh approached Ivan and adjusted his arms. "Relax prince, you’re too stiff."

Ivan took a deep breath and exhaled. Then he closed his eyes with a determined look on his face. This wasn’t the first time he was learning to control his aura.

He hadn’t succeeded in doing so during his previous attempts and had even always practiced privately. But this time, he was determined to get it right.

He could feel the aura inside him and he was going to control it. With that thought, he focused on the task at hand, pushing all other thoughts out of his mind. He stayed still and no one dared to make a sound as they watched him with bated breaths.

After a few minutes, Ivan opened his eyes with a smile on his face. "I did it, Captain." He could feel the aura inside him, but he no longer felt like it was trying to burst out, instead, it remained calm.

Captain Hugo Lancelot nodded in approval. "You did well, Prince. But, we are not done. This is the first time you’ve controlled your aura. It can still go wild, just as the sea has a moment of calmness but can still have ripples that develop into violent waves. You need constant practice. Your daemon will make it easier for you to control it."

Ivan nodded seriously. "I will continue to practice, Captain."

Hugo Lancelot nodded in satisfaction. "Well then, you are allowed to rest. The training is over."

"But Captain, I can still continue sword training." Ivan objected stubbornly. He didn’t feel like he needed to rest.

In a bid to prove his point, he walked forward confidently and almost fell, his legs giving out beneath him.

He watched in horror as his face was about to meet the dust.