Chapter 23 - 23: Stacys' pass 2

"Well, that's fine. I was about to go to the castle to show you in person anyway." Mother shrugged.

"That's a great idea. Why don't we go to the castle? We can talk all we want there."

"Come, sweetheart, let's go." Mother waved her hand at me.

"I am coming, Mother." Standing up, I ran toward them, forgetting that I still have the robes on.

"Wait, you need to change first." The head priest said before I could go down the stairs.

"Ooh, yeah" Looking down, I started to rip the robes off.

"Don't change here!?" Father shouted hurriedly.

"It's fine. I never changed my clothes; I just put this over it," I said, taking off the robe showing my dress I was wearing beforehand. Picking up the ripped robe from the floor, I gave it to the head priest.

"..." Not waiting for him to say anything, I ran towards my Father, that was standing next to the King.

"Okay, let us take my carriage to the castle." Said the King, walking towards his carriage.

Taking my Fathers hand, I whispered to him. "Father, what did he mean about a weapon."

"Not know, Stacy." He said, pulling me at hand and following behind the King and Mother towards the carriage.

"Stacy, sit here with your uncle." The King said, patting his ŀȧp. Looking at him, confused, I looked at Father.

"Un." Seeing him nod, I went and sat on the Kings' ŀȧp.

"Well, Stacy, how does it feel sitting on a Kings' ŀȧp." He said with a voice full of amusement.

"Weird." That was all I said.

"I see. Sis, how has it been." Seeing I wasn't going to say anything more, he starts talking with my Mother.

"It has been great. I am close to having another breakthrough in my training." Mother said with a smile.

"That's good to hear." They kept on having small talk until we arrived at the castle. Having never seen the castle up close, I was stun at how big it was. I always thought our Mansion was too big for just our family but seeing the castle, that was easily 10 or more times bigger than our mansion. I knew it was just for show. Looking at the King, I ask.

"I knew the castle is big, but why is it this big?"

"Haha, it is to show that the King is almighty and how important he is. You can almost say it is to compensate for something, hehe." It wasn't the King who answered but Mother. Looking at her, I saw with her usual amused smile.

"Ugh... why do you have to be so mean, sis." The King said, looking like he was wronged.

"Can't we move on? I wanted to start with Stacy's training today." Father said, annoyed.

"Hmm? Yeah, let's get to business." The King said with a raised eyebrow. Dismissing his thought, he started walking to the castle.

Sitting down next to my Father and Mother on the couch. We all looked at the King and waited for him to talk.

"Do anyone want something to drink? Stacy?" He asks.

"No, thank you." I decline politely.

"If you say so." He dismissed all the maids in the room and looked at us seriously. "Now moving to the business talks. You both know the deal we had."

""Yes"" Both my parent answered in unison.

"Then we understand that Stacy becomes the property of the kingdom from today onwards."

"Your majesty, she is just 5 years old. I know you want to use her Soul link skill, but she is too young to be effective with it." My father said with worry.

"You don't need to worry about that. I will have one of the older ones teach her."

"Brother, you should not be rushing this. There is no way that a 5-year-old will survive mentally after using that skill on traumas." Mother said with no emotion in her voice.

"IO! What are we talking about? Can someone explain it to me?" I said, taking all the retention in the room.

"Well, Hunny. Your parents were not really allowed to marry, but I made a deal with them." The King said, not changing his expression. "The deal was that if one of their children have an outstanding skill. I the King can take one of them for myself."

"I see. If you take me, my siblings won't be taken away?" I ask with a frown.

"Yes. I only get one child."

"I see. I understand you want me because of my soul link. But what is mana fortification? Isn't that also a rare skill?"

"Now that you mention it, what are all your skills? I stopped reading after the Soul link." The King said nonchalantly. All three of us looked at him like he is dumb. "What?"

"Really, Brother? You have not even changed after becoming King. Still doing things before thinking." Mother said, shaking her head. She looked at me and started explaining. "Well, she has 3 skills. Illusions it's rare, but Mana Fortification is rarer. It is almost at the same level as Soul link. Mana fortification, fortify your speels and all your mana that leaves your body. Still, the problem is that you don't have an element, so mana fortification is useless in your hands."

"That's not always true. What if she infuses her weapons with her mana? What then?" Father asks.

"That's impossible. If she wants to do that, she must have perfect mana control, which will take years. She also would need weapons that can take her mana power. That will most likely be high as well." Mother explained. While they were talking, I was in my thought.

'I will offer myself up to save my siblings, but I need insurance. I think with harsh training for 5 years. I can do it. I will be strong enough mentally to take most traumas. How am I going to get my self for 5 years, though.' Looking up at the king, I made a plan.

"I have an idea." Retaking the attention of the room. I continued. "There is no way that I will survive mentally if I use my skill for traumas. I will be useless in no time if you force me to start now. But there is a way to make me more useful. If you give me 10 years and work on my mentality, I will hold longer than anyone else. I promise you that." Looking at the King, I saw him in thought. Moving my head towards my Mother, I saw she still had her emotionless face, but her eyes were full of calculations. My father just had his mouth open, looking at me.

"10 Years? That is a bit too long. I presume the next war will start in the next 6 years. Do you have a better plan?" The King said, looking at me. Before I could talk, my mother started speaking.

"5 years of intense training. I think that would work, and we will be training her."

"Hmm, that sounds better. Let the 2 best Knights of the Federation train her intensely might make her strong in combat as well as a good psychologist. that will work. See Stacy, that's how you make a good deal." The King laughed and said. I just smiled at him.

""I will like a contract about this."" Mother and I said at the same time. We looked at each other and chuckled.

"That's fine." Snapping his fingers, a maid walked in with a gold plate with paper and ink on it. "I am too lazy to the writer, so you write." He said, pointing to the maid. The maid asked what she should write and started to write it down.

After the contract was made and signed by all parties, we left the castle. Standing outside the castle gates, my father came back to us and asked.

"What just happened!?"

"You are so slow. We got Stacy for 5 years." Mother said and looked at me and continued. "That was a great plan you had there. You really are my daughter. Thinking about the future, even when you are only 5 years old." She said, rubbing my head.

"Thank you, mother," I said, smiling.

"Well, no time to waste. We need to start with your spartan training." Mother said with a smile I had a bad feeling about.

"Are we going to tell her about it?" Father asked my mother with a raised eyebrow.

"Weapon Master?" Mother asks, confused. receiving a nod, she looked at me and back at father and said.. "We can tell her on the way back."