The Capture Target Only Loves Magic

30. Gossip

It was in the afternoon. After my confrontation with Mother, I was in the library, reading a book.

The Record of Ancient Magicks and their Ways. An interesting book, filled with stances of magical theory, dating back to centuries ago- not. It was the most boring book that I had ever read, though apparently about the history of magic, it was more about self-bragging.

And yes, Kai is the only one who got the better books. The library I snuck into when I was a baby just happened to be the 'Royalty only' library for Mother and Kai.

I placed the awful book back on the shelf. The librarian bowed as I left. I started to walk back towards my room. I should have just reread the book on basic magic I swiped when I was two, I thought. The history book was worse than anything I had ever read before.

And then I started to hear the sounds of footsteps. Multiple footsteps. I stopped walking.

A bunch of maids were at the entrance, gossiping. There was a freckled redhead with an apron, three brunettes and a black haired girl. I would go past them, but they were blocking the way and they looked busy. I didn't have anything better to do anyway, and I was bored. Observing maids made time pass quicker.

"Ahhh!" a girl cried out angrily. I stood behind them, in the hall, next to a stone pillar, unnoticeable due to the bend in the hallway . "I only dropped a plate! Why did I get demoted!"

It was brunette 1, or that was what I was calling her now. I didn't know any of the girl's names. The redhead shrugged. "It was in front of the first prince." She reminded the other girl in a neutral tone. "He doesn't like mistakes."

I watched as the brunette started to fire off again. I felt a bit amused. I better get moving, I told myself as I tidied up my clothes and fixed my sleeves. Brunette 1 dusted her apron and dropped her mop in indignation. Brunette 2 helped her pick it up. "The first prince? The first prince? So picky!" she said unhappily.

The other girls sighed, as though they had already seen her rant many times. She didn't seem like a pleasant character. I had no idea why she seemed to have a vendetta against Kai, but then again, I didn't really want to know.

I yawned slightly, eliciting a reaction from one of the maids. I should get going now. I was just about to step forward, ignoring the maid's gossiping, when I stopped.

"He isn't even a proper prince!" The last part was mumbled, but I caught on. A frown formed on my face. Kai. I had never heard of anything like this before. Brunette 2 looked uncomfortable, but the conversation continued.

The black haired girl nodded. "I heard he's the son of the Wester duke." she whispered. She looked around nervously, as if afraid of being noticed saying this.

I stiffened.

"Not even an illegitimate! A..." she hesitated. "Bastard child! Don't you think it's kinda dangerous? The king doesn't know about the affair, and the queen's trying to mount the prince on the throne."

"He has brown hair, just like the duke's-"

"The king's grey eyed, and the queen has green eyes..."

I could only hear snippets of the conversation, but I already felt as if I needed to hear no longer. This... so it was Kai. Or maybe the forces behind Kai who tried to kill me. Why hadn't I heard of anything like this before?

I dunno, maybe it was because I was so interested in goddamned magic that I forgot all about the politics that were very important to my royal status? Or maybe it was because I was so introverted I spent most of my time cooped up in my room, writing poems and solving self-made math problems. Or maybe it was because-