Former Crown Prince favors the Villainess

As morning arrived, the Empire announced a piece of devastating news. 

“The Empress of Zemira, Helena Zemira has passed away.”

Not much detail was given...but a single sentence threw the entire Empire into a state of frenzy. Nobles from all over the continent rushed to the capital. Royals from neighboring kingdoms, Pope from the Holy Kingdom all departed their journey to the Capital of Zemira, Plona.

The subject of Zemira all rushed to the palace...which was opened this morning. Various Knights worked relentlessly to ensure order throughout the whole ceremony. 

Millions of people rushed...all pushing each other...hoping to get a chance...a final chance to see the Empress’s face. 

The Empress was placed in the garden on a bed, surrounded by a monstrous amount of flowers and jewelry. 

The people were allowed to circle the bed from a distance once...letting them see her for the longest possible time. It was chaotic at the gates...but the garden was almost frozen in time. 

People silently went around the bed, all having their eyes locked at the black-haired lady...some of the visitors even believed that she was sleeping...all because of how peaceful she looked. 

A pathway has already been made, for the nobles to get much closer to the bed...thousands of VIPs and Nobles arrived at the palace. But none of them were allowed to get any closer to the bed. The only ones allowed were the immediate family and close friends of Helena. 

Arthur and his father, Augustus Zemira...were there with Helena the whole day. Alden and the grandparents of Arthur too stayed in the vicinity of the bed for the majority of the day.

All of them were extremely tired...but none of them wanted the night to come. But contrary to their desires, time remained the same...the day passed quickly welcoming the dark night.

As midnight inched closer, the entry for the people was denied. With the gates closed, only the most important VIPs stayed in the palace. 

Ethel, Alden’s Daughter, Arthur’s Cousin.

“Arthur…”

“Ah...Ethel…”, the crown prince snapped from his trance and replied.

“You...alright?”

“Well...I’m a bit angry...she forced me to sleep...and...I wasn’t even…”, his voice soon cracked, no words came out. His desperation was as clear as day, so was his frustration.

“It’s okay...everything is alright...I’m pretty sure she had her own reasons…”, Ethel tried her best, but she too...didn’t have much to say.

“No, I know...I clearly know what she had in mind while putting me into sleep…”, he said while placing his hands on Helena’s hand.

“...she missed you too, you know?”, he continued.

“Yeah...I heard. If only I had been at the capit-”

“It’s okay...not everything works the way we want it to…if I learned anything these past few years...it would be that.”

“Yeah…”, Ethel couldn’t say anything anymore, after all, there isn’t much an 11-year-old girl could do.

“You haven’t eaten anything yet, right?”

“...Yeah, you too right?”

“Yeah...Head maid, could you bring us something light to eat? Something liquid would be better.”

“I will be here in a moment, Your highness.”, as the head maid departed, all of the adults came back.

“Is everything ready?”, asked Arthur to his father.

“Yes...all we have to do now is get her to the sanctuary.”

“Hmm.”

The adults too were busy… the death of a royal...and that too of Zemira Empire is not simple. The funeral for the Imperial families of Zemira Empire is conducted in a special way.

Unlike traditional burial, the bodies will be handed over to the spirits. It is believed that by this method, the soul of the owner will be directly handed over to god.

“Knights?”

“Have been sent away.”

“Good...let’s wait for the head maid to return. Ethel here hasn’t eaten anything...”

“Oh...sure.”, the Emperor said while patting Ethel.

After having a quick refreshment Arthur started the headcount.

“So it will be just…Me, Grandpa Rio, Grandma Ava, Uncle Alden, and finally Ethel...it will just be us five.”

“Yeah.”, the Emperor replied sadly.

“Father...don’t worry...I’ll make sure everything goes alright…”, Arthur said to his father.

It really was frustrating, that people with no blood connection can’t enter. Arthur tried his best to reassure the Emperor who was down due to this rule.

“Arthur...it is the truth, that Helena loved you more than anyone else in the world...so, I’ll leave it to you...make sure she is handed over safely, okay?”

“Of course...make sure to eat, okay?”

“Yeah, I will. Now go…”

With just an hour left until midnight, all five of them started to move. 

The bed was moved to the transport portal with the help of magic by the Emperor. The Previous Emperor, his wife, Alden’s wife, and other major nobles accompanied them to the portal.

All of them stayed near the portal even long after the group of six disappeared into the portal. Waiting for five of them to return.

**********************

Going through the portal is always a weird experience. You can literally feel yourself breaking apart only to be re-assembled the next moment.

The first warp is always scary...I still remember holding Mom’s hand the first time I warped. Back then, her hand was full of energy...but what I am holding onto is a lifeless...cold hand.

It’s okay...you can cry all you want tomorrow...just today...don’t cry!

Steeling myself, I opened my eyes to see the new environment. 

Beautiful...is what a person would say seeing the scenery around. But the ones to emerge out of the green portal never enjoy this scenery...after all this is the place where we would have to part with our loved ones.

Walking along the flowery path...which had beautiful trees on either side, with pleasant pink colours and refreshing smell, didn’t really relax me. Rather it was…

Frustrating.

Frustrating that I couldn’t do anything to let father see mom being handed over.

But it is the law….there isn’t anything I could do.

We reached the end of the path, with uncle Alden carrying mother in his hands. Her long pitch-dark hair swayed to and fro...all most like during the time when we all used to play together.

At the end of the path, there were stairs leading to a platform. This whole area, from the portal to the path all the way to this elevated platform were mid-air...with blue sky at the top...and endless water past the platform.

This place is truly magical...as expected of a place which is inhabited by the spirits.

As we reached the bottom of the stairs, all of the flowers lying in the ground nearby started accumulating together. After a few moments, a being with long pointy ears and translucent wings formed itself in front of us. It took the form of a girl.

“Greetings, Dear humans.”, it spoke with a sweet voice.

“““Greetings, Great Spirit.”””, we all said in chorus.

Spirits living in the sanctuary are known to have much more pride than the ones living together with us humans. If they feel disrespected, they will just disappear...and we won’t be able to do anything but return.

“What is this dear human’s name?”, she said while patting my mother’s head.

“Helena Zemira”, Uncle Alden said.

“Oh! A person from the Zemira Empire? It’s been such a long time since I’ve seen a person from your Empire...Oh!...little boy, what might your name be?”

“Arthur Zemira...son of Hel-”

“Oh..it’s okay...I can clearly see you are her son.”

“...”

Should I say something else?

“Alright...before the ceremony begins, we have some procedures to follow.”

The spirit made a bed of flowers with a wave of her hand.

“You can place the lady here.”

After Uncle placed Mom on top of the bed, the spirit brought five golden plates. One for each of us.

“You see...it is believed that anything you place on these plates will reach the soul residing in heaven. So don’t hold back and place anything you want on these plates.”

Of course, we all knew about this. Each of us moved to our respective plates.

I placed a necklace that had half of a Raven. It was pitch black and had red eyes. But upon further inspection, it had beautiful and intricate details, as if it was based upon a real Raven. The other half of the Raven is with me, hanging around my neck.

“Arthur!! Arthur!! Wake up~~!!”

“Mom? Come on...it is early morning. Let me sleep…”

“No!! Look! It finally arrived...the necklace finally arrived!!”

“What?! You mean the one you were supposed to give on my birthday...but it never arrived?!”

“Ah..Ahem...Yeah...that one. But look!! It is absolutely stunning!! I could spend a whole day just admiring it for its beauty!! Here...you will have one half...and I will have the other!”

“Yes...Yes...It really is beautiful though...guess the wait was worth it...but why a Raven?”

“Because it is a Raven!!”

“Seriously? Well...thank you...it really is beautiful…”

“Haha... in the end, I never really understood why it was based upon a Raven.”

Then I placed the ones handed over to me by Father and his parents. Father sent a picture book that had photos of them ranging from their first confession all the way to our recent excursion. He also sent me a phone...in which he had various text documents. And even more photos and videos.

You really want her to remember everything…

Every one of us...placed at least one device...which had photos and videos. Of course, I too did the same. I placed a phone in which I stored the diary I wrote every day for the past few years. It had a lot of photos and videos of us having fun too. It might not be much...but if it really gets to her...these can be the best gifts she can ever receive.

I also placed her phone which she had been using on the plate.

Grandpa sent me a shall which he personally made for her, it was meant for her birthday next year. But fate is truly mischievous…

Grandma on the other hand sent a dagger for me to place on the plate….it had the name Helena carefully engrained into it.

Ethel, looking sad placed a puzzle on top of her plate.

“She was the one who taught me how to solve this...so…”

She also placed a bo-

A bomb?!

“A small smoke bomb...I usually put this under father’s desk every now and then. These were sent to me by her...I was supposed to plant this under his desk this morning...but…”

The spirit came closer to the Ethel and patted her head…

“It’s alright, sweet child. These will all reach the Lady without fail. Okay? So don’t worry…”

“Mmmhhh.”

Uncle Alden looking at this situation chuckled and lifted Ethel, she too without any resistance let him do it. 

“Your Aunt will surely love this gift…”, he said.

“Yeah…”

Grandparents were done too. 

“Alright, then! Seems like we are all ready...these plates will be carried by the spirits along with the body. Now then, Mr.Brother...please go up the stairs.”

Huh? I thought everyone can go…

“Oh? You don’t know?”, the spirit tilted her head sideways.

“I thought we can all go together?”

“Nooooo~~~ Only one person can go up the platform...the number of spirits called will depend on the amount of mana the person has. So, Mr.Brother here has the highest amount of mana.”

“Hmmm…”, Uncle Alden hesitated.

“Don’t worry...I will lift all you up into the air...so you can see everything.”

“Thank you, Esteemed spirit. But I think Arthur here should be the one to go up the platform.”

“Like I said...the one with the highest mana-”

“It is him…”, Uncle persisted that I should be the one to go.

“Phew...but...Ahhhh...whatever….fine! Little boy, you can go! But don’t complain if only a few spirits are called!!”

“I thank you for the opportunity...now then everyone…”, I said turning towards the other four.

*************************

After all the four were done with their final farewell to Helena, they were all lifted by the spirit...up into the air. Everyone including the spirit was silent.

The four of them who accompanied Arthur were sad about but also happy that Helena will be sent directly to god. But the spirit on the other hand…

Haah...seriously, I did say that the quantity of mana will determine the number of spirits called. The higher the number of spirits, the better the respect the Lady will get. Since she is from the Zemira Empire...I wanted her to get the best treatment. But the little boy is too confident. It’s fine!! Once he fails, I’ll send the Mr.Brother here to finish the ceremony...with the amount of mana the little boy has...not even a single spirit should come. Because if one did arrive, that would start the ceremony and I will not able to stop it!! 

“Dear Spirits of the Sanctuary, please do not reveal yourself to the calls of the little boy...wait for this man here to start the ceremony.”

With the response the other spirits gave, she felt relieved and waited for Arthur to fail.

But contrary to the spirit, Arthur on the other hand went up the steps, with Helena in his arms as slowly as possible.

It was especially painful for him because unlike others, with his exceptional memory...he still remembers the day when Helena had Arthur in his arms and went up the stairs of the palace.

“Arthur~! My cutie pie! My god...Sebastian, look how cute he is!! Even as a baby...look how he is always focusing his eyes on me. Toooo adorable~~!! Maybe I should build a museum...yes a museum to let the world know of his cuteness!!!”

“Your majesty, the prince might complain….or even hate you for doing it when he grows up”

“Ohhhh...so no museum...honestly, parents really become childish in front of their cute little children. Right, Sebastian?”

“It’s the most correct statement you have said in a while, Your Majesty.”

“That is definitely not a compliment…”

“Haha~~”

As Arthur reached the top of the platform, he was greeted by an endless endless sea of water below. The platform was at least a hundred feet above sea level.

The sky all of a sudden became dark once he reached the top, but it still was bright because of the countless stars illuminating the whole area. The calm sea below reflected the sky above. 

It was truly an other-worldly area. 

“You can start anytime you want…”, said the spirit with a smug face.

“Okay…”

Mom...this really is goodbye huh...even if you put me to sleep...you couldn’t do anything about this part...it’s okay, this is a duty, I as your son should carry.

Arthur then released his mana, a truly big amount for a boy of his age. But it was nothing spectacular, not worth even call a single spirit.

*SILENCE*

“Little boy, I admire the love you have for your mother, but-”

“Silence, Esteemed Spirit.”, Alden all of a sudden whispered.

“Excuse me?! How dar-”

“Look.”, Ethel pointed with her finger.

As the spirit focused on Arthur again, something felt different.

Huh...was the air current in the platform always this strong? Why is his dress fluttering so much?? 

*GRIT* *GRIT*

Arthur gritted his mouth, his eyes were glowing bright red as he released all his mana. But nothing apart from the change in airspeed felt different.

“Arthur...remember...never release your mana completely out in the open...okay?”

“Hey, Mr.Brother...what his happening?! Why is the boy trying to struggle so much?!”

“Ehhh….why though?”

“Watch, Spirit...this is the person you were looking down upon.”

“Because...not only is there a possibility of others getting hurt...it’s even worse if you get hurt…”

“Hmmm...fine then...but what is this shackle for?”

“What are you talking about? His amount of mana he has is insuff-”

“These are...well...you might come to hate it later...but...this will help you control your mana better.”

“AHHHHH!!!!!!”

*CRACK* *CRACK*

“He...Hey!! What is that thing on his left leg? It’s glowi-”

*BOOM* *BOOM*

“What the hell?!"

The spirit caught a rogue piece that flew towards them.

“A mana restraint? Why in the wor-”

“Feast your eyes upon the pride of the Empi...No...the pride of Helena, the one she took care of for a decade with all her effort!!”

Alden proudly declared with his eyes set on Arthur who let out a completely different aura compared to before.

Waves of mana spread out everywhere...it was violent...as if a wild beast that was held in a cage is all free...the mana relentlessly attacked everything in its path...the calm sea was nowhere to be seen, enormous waves were continuously being released with Arthur as its center.

“Just what is he?!”, the spirit had no words to explain the situation that unfolded in front of him.

“He is Arthur Zemira, Crown prince of the Zemira Empire, son of Augustus Zemira and Helena Zemira.”, replied Ethel.

On the platform, where Arthur is standing. Spirits started appearing after the massive outburst of mana.

Helena’s beautiful black hair danced in the air.

However, Arthur was rather disappointed.

“Is that all?”, he calmly asked the spirits that had revealed themselves in front of Arthur.

“Human child...there are over 46 of us here. This is the highest number of spirits to ever gather for a mere human. Be glad and hand her over to us, we will take care of her with utmost care.”

Though rude, what the spirit said was correct. This was the largest gathering of spirits to send a human. But Arthur was nowhere near satisfied.

“So, you lot need more, huh?”

*BOOM* *BOOM*

The density of mana in the sanctuary rose even higher due to Arthur.  The waves in the sea became even more ferocious.

“Human! Stop this! Anymore, then-”

“Then what?”

“Then-”

“Then, even more spirits will arrive...fine...that’s what I want too.”

The air around Arthur started vibrating...this was the power Helena wanted to hide. The quantity of mana Arthur has is not just abnormal but downright crazy. 

“You see...Mom always warned me not to let myself go wild like this...but it’s fine, isn’t it? It’s all for her after all!!”

*BOOM* *CLASH* *BOOM*

“This...is he crazy?! Anymore, then he will hurt himself!! Tell him to stop!!”

The spirit put up his own barrier to counter the wild mana running around all over the sanctuary.

Hundreds of spirits gathered...they all had no choice, for it’s their duty to gather when a high mana source is released. 

An elder-looking spirit came forward to Arthur.

“Child, is this not enough? The amount of mana you’ve spent now will already take you weeks to restore...not only that, you have already started hurting yourself.”

What the elder spirit said was true...various scratches have started appearing on Arthur’s body. He is spending all his energy to protect Helena from the outburst.

“Esteemed Spirit...I have no clue about the emotions spirits have...but for humans...no, for us mortals...the love we have towards our mother is unimaginably strong. After all, she is the goddess that not only brings us to this Earth...but also the one to take care of us from start to end...I’d rather die than not to give the end my mom deserves...the respect she deserves is just not enough with the current amount of spirits spawned.”

“Haah...you are really strange creatures...but this the most we can do...I’m sorry child but you will have to rest…”

Saying so, the elder spirit placed his on Arthur’s forehead.

What commendable will...but any more than this will be too much…

The spirit started looking through Arthur’s memories to put him to sleep. This obviously caused confusion in the other four...but they had to stay silent.

Hmmm...let’s see...yes...this will do...I can follow the same method as his moth-

*BADUMP* *BADUMP*

Huh...what is that...what is that lump of darkness?!...why is it scaring me?!...I an elder spirit who has lived for a tho-

"What the hell?!"

All of a sudden, the spirit found himself in a pitch-black space with no others in it. And there was a lump of darkness a few steps away from him.

Ju...Just what is that thing?!

The spirit could not understand the being that made him shiver to his very core. There was only twice when the spirit felt such fear...

No way...it just can't be.

As the spirit tried to run away with all his might...

*WHIP* *CATCH*

It could feel a strong thread-like thing pulling it inside the darkness.

"No! Please stop!! I'll call them! I'll call all the spirits in the Sanctuary!! Please!!"

It was the first time the spirit level felt physical pain. 

"...it...Elder Spirit?!"

"Ah!..."

"Is something wrong? You're sweating buckets."

Coming back to reality, the spirit quickly removed his hands from Arthur's forehead and wiped his own sweat away.

"No...nothin is wrong. As you want, all the spirits will be called for the ceremony. Your mana quantity is more than enough.", to not lose face, the spirit quickly composed itself and ordered every spirit in the sanctuary to take part in the ceremony.

It truly was a glorious sight that the spirit with the other four had never seen. Thousands of spirits with various colors and brightness arranged themselves on either side of the platform in a uniform straight line extending outwards to the endless sea in front of Arthur.

Looking at the scene, Arthur chuckled and stopped his outburst. 

“Mother, this is the most I can do...I really love you...so look over me, okay?... if I ever went on the wrong path...make sure to correct me...just know that I will always remember you...forever and ever…”, both of his eyes were filled with tears but his face had a kind and tired smile.

He handed over Helena’s body to the Elder Spirit who carried her with utmost care.

“I will take care of her, Child of Helena. Rest assured, she is in good hands.”

With Arthur’s nod, the spirit turned towards the sea and started walking. When Helena passes, the spirits behind her will start following, this will go on till the end...until no more spirits are left.

It truly was a beautiful sight, a lady being carried by an Elder Spirit who is followed by thousands of other spirits. Arthur really felt relieved and satisfied...happy that he was able to do this for his mother. 

The spirits walked for a long time...after reaching the end...he turned back towards Arthur who was looking at his mother from afar and announced.

“Helena Zemira, Daughter of Rio Prorin and Ava Prorin, Sister of Alden Prorin, Mother of Arthur Zemira will now be handed over to god. May God take care of her until the end of time!”

*FWOOSH* *FWOOSH*

All of the spirits slowly dispersed into golden vapors...along with them disappeared Helena. 

[Goodbye, Arthur...Thank you for everything.]

It was the last sentence Arthur heard, before almost passing out. As his body rolled all over the steps, he smiled and said,

“Goodbye, Mother.”

“Arthur!!”, the quick Ethel stopped Arthur from slamming into the ground by breaking his descent.

“Hey, Arthur?! Are you okay?!”

The adults too rushed over to Arthur. The spirit on the other hand was still dazed due to the incident that occurred now. 

“Ethel…”

“Arthur?!”

“She...really is gone...it still doesn’t feel real you know?”

“...it’s okay, Arthur...I’m sure Aunt is happy, and she will always be with us…”, Ethel said while tightly hugging Arthur.

“Yea…”

“Arthur...Arthur?!”, Ethel frantically screamed after Arthur fell silent all of a sudden.

“It’s okay Ethel, he just passed out due to excessive mana depletion.”, said Rio.

“Grandpa…”

Alden looking at the scene thought…

Hey, Helena...these kids before us, their childhood is gonna be vastly different from the ones we had…

The five started to leave, passing the golden plates which were now empty...they reached the green portal and left the sanctuary.

Little did Alden know...that not only these kids, but quite a number of children in Arthur’s generation are gonna have childhood vastly different from the one he had.