The Prince Of Magic

...

...

[... Vancouver, Canada - Morning ...]

Vibrant cyan eyes slowly opened, a dazed expression on his face as Hadrian stared up the dark ceiling of his private quarters.

He blinked, feeling the cobwebs of sleep fade away from his mind.

'What… what was that?'

He closed his eyes as he put a hand over them.

'Why am I dreaming about that now of all times? Wait… is this what they call being haunted?'

With no answer coming to mind, Hadrian let out a quiet sigh.

"Fou…"

A strange but familiar sound was heard near his ear.

Then, Hadrian felt something furry and fluffy softly brush against his skin, tickling him a little.

Opening his eyes, he put his hand away and turned his head a bit to the left.

He saw a small creature with the size and a slight resemblance to a squirrel's, but with ears as long as a rabbit's.

It has a pure white fur, a large fluffy tail and a pair of purple orbs for eyes. Over its shoulders is a white and blue capelet with a purple ribbon to hold it in place.

This was Fou, also known as Cath Palug. One of his familiars.

A few months back after the Holy Grail War ended, his wish was granted by the Moon Cell and the balance of the world was restored into its natural and healthy state.

It took quite a while for his wish to take effect. The process was slow yet steady that lasted for a few months, but it happened and that was what mattered to him.

While Hadrian did not originally belong in this world and there was no need for him to do such a thing, he felt indebted to the man who had been his father in this second life.

Arin von Aelfryth was a good man to Lucia, and the best father that any child could ask for. It was only upsetting that Hadrian had not manage to spend more time with him, but even that can't be helped.

The man had to join the war and he had a good purpose for doing so.

Therefore, Hadrian could hardly blame him for it.

A lot of innocent people had been dying, and the state of the world was on the brink of calamity. All of the clues they found had pointed to the Moon, and so Arin was left with no choice.

Win the war and restore balance to the world, or risk letting someone with malevolent intentions to win and ignore the needs of the world.

The choice was obvious, and Hadrian could not be more proud of him.

But of course, the outcome of the war was not expected nor was it surprising.

It was then around that time that Fou was given to him by his grandfather, who advised him to take care of Fou as she was entrusted to him by someone of great stature.

While he was grateful, Hadrian wondered if his grandfather simply gave Fou to him to distract him from the events of the war, especially about his father's death.

Hadrian often found himself accompanied with melancholic thoughts after the event was over and he returned home with Arturia in tow.

Needless to say, whenever Hadrian was left to his own devices, he would tend to stay quiet and loose himself deep in his thoughts, reflecting on his experience in the war.

Said negative thoughts disappeared when Fou came into the picture, but Hadrian remembered that she had an original owner.

When Hadrian asked who that person was and why Fou was given to him, his grandfather only said…

"Let's just say that she's someone who is interested in you. She knows what you did for the world, and Fou is your reward for your efforts without asking for anything in return."

…

Even to this day, Hadrian had no idea who Fou's original owner was.

He had asked his grandfather about it twice, but he did not pursue the matter any further after that, considering as the old man looked a bit uncomfortable when Hadrian tried to ask him more about Fou's previous owner.

What he does know was that Fou is not an ordinary creature.

He had never seen one like her before, and so he assumed that her origins must be related to the magical side of things.

Nevertheless, even without the old man's vague words and advice, Hadrian had every intention to take care of Fou.

He found her to be quite adorable and, whenever he feels down, Fou would never leave his side.

Usually, his retainers would be the ones to notice the changes in his mood, especially Arturia, but Fou was a lot quicker to pick up on his emotions than the others could.

The familiar bond between the two of them might have given her an edge compared to the others, so there was that.

Yesterday, Fou was with Arturia since Hadrian had been asleep.

When he woke up, he had seen Fou also look at him in concern like the rest of his retainers.

She even wanted to go and comfort him, but Hadrian reassured her through their familiar bond and she stayed with Arturia instead.

Fou was often there to accompany him, and Hadrian could not be more grateful for her presence in his life.

And the same can be said with his friends and family in this life, including his retainers.

Hadrian smiled.

He picked her up carefully with both hands, chuckling softly when she uttered her trademarked 'fou' before he laid her down on his c.h.e.s.t and closer to his face.

He nuzzled her and whispered his good mornings, smiling when she returned the gesture by cuddling back.

"How are you doing? Hm?" Hadrian asked her gently.

"Fou."

The cute little animal responded as per usual with a twitch of her tail and ears.

"Okay, good." Hadrian's smile widen a little.

With one last rub on her head, Hadrian slowly sat up and looked around the room after he settled her on his l.a.p.

His private quarters was spacious and well furnished: a king-size bed in the center, a 49' flat screen TV equipped with the latest consoles and gadgets, a mini fridge beside the table drawer that the TV was set upon, a master bathroom behind the wall of his bed, a spacious dressing room, a private study nearby and a veranda that has the best view of the ocean.

It was to be expected since they did made reservations in one of the most expensive hotels in the country.

'Well… it was more like opa made the reservations. Not me.' He thought wryly.

When it comes to Magi, displaying (wasting) their wealth was one of the things that was peculiar about his kind, along with ego-ribbing and playing politics in the high circles of their society.

His grandfather, Kischur Zelretch Schweinorg, was no different from the rest when it comes to matters related to wealth.

Even though they only need to stay here for no more than a week, the old man still went and purchased a penthouse in one of the best hotels in the country.

Hadrian can only wonder how much it cost, but he would not be surprised if the price to buy the penthouse went by millions.

'Magi and their weird sense of lifestyle…' Hadrian shook his head with a sigh.

Watching her master's strange actions, Fou tilted her head in curiosity as she looked up at him.

"Fou?"

Looking at the glass doors of the veranda, he can tell that it was still too early by the lack of sunlight from behind the midnight curtains that covered the entrance.

He turned to look at the digital clock by the bedside table, and saw that it was [3:30 AM].

His day usually starts [4:00 AM], but since he didn't feel like going back to sleep, Hadrian felt that he might as well start the day early and do something to distract himself.

'Speaking of which…'

Hadrian turned his head to the right, and saw a familiar lump that was somewhat hidden by the few layers of white sheet.

With a closer look, he saw that it was Arturia, still asleep and closer to the spot of where he had been resting before.

The only reason as to why they had not bumped into each other during the night was because of the pillow that he had been hugging before he went to sleep.

But, Arturia does not seem to have any reservations in sleeping closer to where he was.

Hadrian knew that he should not stare at her, but he did it anyways due to the sight before him.

Despite her reservations and doubts at the beginning, Arturia seems to have taken to wearing a nightie whenever it was time for them to turn in for the night.

During their time on the Moon, Hadrian would share his bed with her to let her rest as well.

Since there was no use to be on guard all the time while inside the privacy of their room, Hadrian had manage to convince Arturia to sleep beside him so that she can at least relax.

While the 'bed' was actually a couple of desks with many layers of blankets and pillows that an NPC had gave him, Hadrian thought to make the bed in the end since he does need to sleep to keep his magical reserves up to full in order to continue providing his mana for Arturia.

Hadrian had also thought to make another bed for Arturia, but because of the lack of resources in the area (and he had yet to gain access to the Armiger Arsenal, due to his temporary amnesia that time), he was left with no choice but to share the bed he made with Arturia.

The woman had been quite stubborn, that's for sure.

At first, she often refuted his words with her own reasons by saying "as a Servant, I do not require rest" to him and among other things.

It didn't even worked when Hadrian tried to offer the bed to her only, and that he can sleep on the floor if it had made her uncomfortable, but she still refused.

It was only when Hadrian came to know about how Arturia loves food that he found some success.

After convincing (bribing) her with promises of cooking some well-structured food for her, Arturia eventually relented and had taken to sleep beside him from then on.

Ever since then, the two of them had gotten used to the routine that they adopted during the events on the Moon.

And by the looks of it, it seems that that habit would not changing any time soon either.

But, what made Hadrian stare was due to her current choice of attire.

It was a nightie instead of her usual nightgown.

Even though Hadrian had training in s.e.x education, courtesy of the old man's insistence and the one in his first life, he still found himself affected by the opposite s.e.x when the women in question have relations to him in some way, such as Arturia and his other female retainers for example.

The first time she wore it, Hadrian found himself rendered completely silent.

It was the first time for him too, to have his mind shut down by such a… lovely sight.

By the look on her face that day, even he can tell that she was embarrassed by her outfit, and Hadrian did not want to dishonor her by acting like a fool.

He respect her too much, so he tried his best to act natural around her and purge his mind of any strange thoughts.

That night was the most sleepless night he had ever had in his life, in both lifetimes.

'Must be the other girls' influence. I think mama may have a hand in this too…' Hadrian mused, recalling the times Arturia went out with his mother and the girls for shopping.

Eventually, he had gotten used to her wearing it, but it still gets him every time.

It did not helped him at all when she brought different styles of nightwear, all of which were more tempting than the last, and randomly wear one of them to bed.

Last night though, the nightie she was wearing was made of white satin. It has thin shoulder straps, and it reaches down her t.h.i.g.hs midway.

Hadrian knew that if he were to tilt his head to the right, the angle would provide him a view of her p.a.n.t.i.e.s and a good glimpse of her rear.

It was a good thing that some of the sheets was tangled with her legs, but when one rose up and the sheets moved, he was given a perfect view of her smooth, creamy t.h.i.g.h.

During the night, Arturia's hair has splayed all over her pillow, creating a halo of gold above her head. The expression on her beautiful face was peaceful and relaxed.

The admittedly spectacular view of her smooth, flush tinted cleavage, and one of the shoulder straps that fell off her equally smooth, snow-white shoulder was already… quite tempting to look at.

He did the best thing that he can do in these type of situations.

Hadrian turned his head away and closed his eyes, taking deep breaths to calm his raging hormones after a few seconds of staring at the beautiful sight near him.

All the while, Fou was watching her master's funny actions in silent curiosity, her long ears twitching every now and then.

Once he was sure that his body had calmed down, Hadrian turned his gaze back to Arturia, who was (fortunately) still asleep.

With a calm facade that belied what he was truly feeling, Hadrian leaned closer and raised one hand.

Gently, he grabbed a hold of the sheets and raised it to Arturia's neck, so that she was well covered and can stay warm from the cold morning breeze.

'There…' Hadrian smiled in relief, feeling calm now that the temptation was no longer in view.

The smile slowly disappeared however, as his thoughts returned to the event that changed his life in this world.

Hadrian thought that he would never be involved in a war again after being born in it in his first life.

But, he did not expect to be involved in one voluntarily.

...

...