Just as Cardan had said, two days later a formal invitation arrived from the master of the mage tower, asking her to come for a more precise examination.
And so Emilia made her way to the mage tower, the most elaborately built structure in the entire empire. There was the royal palace, and then there was the mage tower. Where the palace gleamed with gold, the tower was dark and cold, with barely any light managing to slip inside.
Emilia was even more struck by its otherworldly atmosphere. She reached out, wanting to touch the things around her, only for Cardan to pull her away, warning her not to touch anything carelessly. Touch the wrong thing and she would be trapped there for life.
"Papa, I'm scared," Emilia said.
Cardan could not help but sigh, telling her not to make that face in front of a child anymore. So he let Emilia sit on his shoulders and carried her along.
Emilia asked with a laugh, "Wasn't I doing a good impression of you just now?" As she spoke, she reached up and ruffled his soft hair.
The sight left everyone around them staring wide-eyed. Was that really Duke Cardan? It was the first time any of them had ever witnessed such a scene, and that poor child had to be completely baffled.
Just then Tatau burst out of the crowd, calling loudly, "Duke. My lady."
Cardan snapped irritably that the noise was giving him a headache. "If I wanted to, I could make all of you quiet for the rest of your lives."
At those words, the crowd instantly fell dead silent. Tatau, who had just been shouting a greeting, flinched and shrank back too, stammering that he had come to escort them.
And so the three of them made their way into a room together. Emilia stared, stunned. Oh my goodness, why does this look like a pigsty?
Amid all that mess, a laugh suddenly rang out. "This little one really is the spitting image of the old man when he was young."
It turned out to be a strikingly handsome, youthful man. To Emilia's shock, Cardan bowed respectfully and greeted him. "Master, have you been well lately?"
How could a teacher look this young? It finally dawned on her. Could it be that the more mana a person had, the slower they aged?
The man continued. "It's been quite a while since I had guests as distinguished as you."
With a snap of his fingers, the whole room was instantly spotless. He then had someone bring out a clear orb along with the box from before, and told Emilia to place her hand on it.
Emilia glanced at Cardan, and seeing no reaction from him, placed her hand on it, since he surely would have stopped her if there were any danger.
The moment Emilia touched it, the orb instantly shifted into two colors, swirling together. All three of them stared, dumbfounded.
The master broke into a smile at once. "Hard as it is to believe, the young lady carries both sources of power within her."
Cardan quickly explained to Emilia that this was not an ordinary mana measuring tool. It only reacted to those who possessed divine power.
The man went on. If the orb reacted, it meant she carried divine power too. "While going through some old records, it occurred to me this might actually be possible, so I brought the device along to test it. Even having witnessed it firsthand, it's still hard to believe."
Cardan asked anxiously whether it was dangerous for mana and divine power to mix within one person.
The master smiled. "Even I don't know. This is the first time I've ever encountered a power like this myself. But if word of this got out, it would cause quite a stir. The palace would almost certainly be the first to react. And once the royal family knew, other nations would soon find out too. And after that would come a war."
Everyone fighting to claim Emilia for themselves.
For that reason, the master warned everyone to keep it strictly secret.
At age ten, the young lady would receive a ceremonial mark as her official representative sigil. By tradition, the child of the highest status was the one chosen to awaken as representative, which meant Emilia was certain to become that representative, and once that happened, everyone would find out anyway.
Worried, the master asked Tatau if he had any thoughts on the matter.
The young man quickly told Emilia to place her hand on the orb from earlier once more. Inside the orb was nothing but darkness, scattered with countless tiny specks of pale purple light.
Tatau concluded that her mana was wrapped tightly around her divine power. If Emilia could learn to master her mana, she would eventually be able to draw on her divine power as well.
Hearing this, the master quickly told Tatau to take Emilia on a tour around the tower, since he still had something he needed to discuss privately with Cardan. Reluctant as she was, Emilia was led away regardless.
Tatau brought her to his research room, every bit as messy as the master's own, and pulled out a pendant to give her, explaining that he had made it himself a while back.
When Emilia opened it, a swarm of colorful butterflies fluttered out, every one of them conjured by magic. Tatau said he had woven a layer of protective magic into it, in case it ever came in handy for her.
"Emilia, think of this as my very first gift to you."
Seeing how happy Emilia was, Tatau felt his heart melt at her adorable reaction and rushed off to find even more little trinkets for her.