The Great Empress of Riona

I’ve lived practically my entire life in a hospital bed. I’m not in much pain, I’m just so weak that I can’t really do anything, I can barely manage to even turn my head.

They say I’m supposed to die soon...God, I hate my parents. They just left me here by myself, I hate my older sister and my little brother too; they’re too busy doing other shit to worry about their dying brother...Bonnie’s already married with kids, and my brother’s about to start his first day of high school soon. I hate them.....If I had the strength, I’d kill them...then kill myself.

I don’t have any friends, I can hardly sleep, and nobody’s here with me. I hate it here. Usually when I’m alone like this I would watch a movie, TV, or read a book...but I don’t even have the strength to do that.

I’m supposed to die any day now. I just want to get it over with. I close my eyes...Only death awaits me. I’m not sure if I believe in god, but if heaven exists, I hope it’s better than this...those were my final thoughts before drifting into an eternal slumber, a slumber which everyone must take eventually.

It’s warm...no...More like hot!!!

Also, it feels like I’m surrounded by something...but I can’t tell what it is. My hearing is muffled, I can barely move, and I can’t open my eyes...or maybe it’s just really dark here so it’s the same as having my eyes closed. I have no idea.

I was like that for a while...a long while, it made me wonder if this is what hell actually was...until the day, when I was born.

So bright and Loud!!

“Ah...miss Jazlyn, you’re so cute.”

I look up at a woman who appears to be a maid, from the uniform she is wearing. She has orange hair and blue eyes.

She’s looking at me...Jazlyn, who’s that?

I make a wondering expression as I look up at the...gigantic woman who seems to be holding me in her arms.

T-To be able to carry me like this!! I didn’t know girls like this existed...

I could still barely move my body, but I could at least make a little more movement than before using some effort.

The maid woman started to clean me with water.... It’s a good thing I’m used to this...

After she finishes cleaning me, she passes me on to another woman...Who is, really beautiful!!! She has long blue hair and bright pink eyes to go with her girlish features. Looking at her whole entire body, she had to be around the age of a high school student...but she still looked huge. Wait, maybe they’re not huge, I’m just really small...

The girl takes me into her arms and wraps my body in some kind of cloth. After that she holds me tightly against her chest, I can see tears welling up in her eyes.

“Jazlyn...I’m glad. You look just like me.”

There’s that name again, and she’s looking at me while saying it...I think that’s what they’re calling me. But that’s not my name, my name is J-

“You would have turned out beautiful either way. Whether you inherited your father’s features or not.”

The young girl makes a truly happy expression as she looks at me meaningfully.

H-Hey...this is kinda heartwarming, it reminds me of birth scenes in movies...does this mean...I’m a baby?

Well, honestly it’s the only logical explanation at this point. What is this? Do people reincarnate like this when they die?

...And this woman’s hair and eye color is really weird. I mean, even though neither of them look fake...maybe she dyed her hair and is wearing contacts?....Actually...I don’t think that’s the case.

“You really do have strong genes miss Julia! To think that a child of his majesty would turn out to look so much more like her mother.”

......A...child of his majesty?

The girl with blue hair proceeded to gently kiss my forehead.

H-Hey this is kinda embarrassing!!

I attempt to protest the girl’s actions...but all that comes out of my mouth is gibberish, and this high pitched voice...I guess I really am a baby huh?

“Jazlyn...I love you.”

Jazlyn, huh? It sounds like a girl’s name...have I been reincarnated as a girl?...I’ve never even got a chance to talk to girls who were around the same age as me, how should I act? Well, whatever. This life can’t be any worse than my previous life. I already have a head start here, this place seems to be an english speaking country after all.

Nine years have passed since I first came to this world. Yeah, I figured out a long time ago that this world is completely different from the one called earth. My new name is Jazlyn Riona, daughter of the king of Riona. Although I am the king’s daughter and have his family name, I’m technically not a princess since I was given birth to by the king’s mistress rather than the queen. Also, although Jazlyn Riona is my real name...in order to keep me a secret from the queen, I am only ever called by my mother’s family name; Lancaster.

I learned that the reason why my mother was glad I didn’t inherit a lot of the king’s features was because that would make it a lot easier to conceal me.

Right now, I live in a place only a simple walk away from the royal capital, because of that, I don’t get to go outside much...but to be honest I wouldn’t really want to do that in the first place. I have everything I could want here...a loving mother, and a cute younger sister. Oh yeah, I forgot to mention that my mother gave birth to another girl two years after me...Of course the two of us look pretty similar; blue hair and bright pink eyes...I was really shocked the first time I looked in a mirror!!!

I even have an uncle in this world, I’ve heard stories that he’s actually one of the strongest swordsmen in this country, and he’s a knight who directly works under the king.

To have two secret love children with a royal knight’s sister...The king is something else.

He comes to see me almost every day, far more of a father than my previous one.

My new parents are Julia Lancaster and Harold Riona V. So far, all of my time has been spent reading this world’s books and playing with my mother and little sister.

My days here have been very leisure all the way through....Until one day I noticed that my mother was doing something strange.

Jazlyn: “Um...mama...what are you doing?”

Julia: “Oh, I’m heating up some water, to make some of the tea your father brought us.”

Heating up water huh? I’ve never really paid attention to it much before, but I don’t think I’ve ever seen mother use a tea kettle before ...and right now she’s just holding a large metal cup filled with water.

Jazlyn: “Don’t we need fire mama...?”

Julia: “I’m making it now.”

I look closely at my mother’s hand...and notice...flames are shooting out of it!!!

Jazlyn: “Mama!!! Y-Your hand’s on fire!!”

Julia: “C-Calm down Jazlyn...it’s just magic.”

Magic ...huh? What’s she talking about?

Jazlyn: “Magic...?”

Julia: “Yep. Just like in those books you always read.”

Jazlyn: “B-But aren’t those all fiction and tall tales?”

Julia: “No way. Those books I collected for you two all tell the true stories of this country’s great warriors and heroes.”

Jazlyn: “N-No way...”

My expression darkens.

“Are you okay big sister..?”

I look down at my side to see my little sister tugging on my clothes.

Jazlyn: “Yes, I’m okay Jade...”

Julia: “Jazlyn...I’ve never seen you make that face before...do you have a fever?”

My mother places her free hand on my forehead.

I blush slightly...This is embarrassing.

Jazlyn: “No, I’m fine mama. I just thought...maybe I could learn magic?”

My mother makes a difficult to decipher expression.

Julia: “...I guess it’s fine. I started learning magic when I was a few years older than you, but it’s fine to start at a young age.”

Jade: “Mama!! Can you teach me magic too!?”

Julia: “Of course!!”

......

Julia: “First, we can start off with pure body enhancement magic, it’s the most basic kind of magic...but it is also by far the most important. Any magic user can do it, and no one unable to use body enhancement magic could ever hope to defeat a magic user.”

My mother took the two of us outside to our backyard and began channeling magic into her right hand, I could see small glimmers of some kind of aura surrounding it.

Jade: “Whoa...That’s so cool mama!!”

Julia: “You girls try it.”

T-Try it..? How am I supposed to do that!? I look over to my left to see my little sister already focusing magic in her right hand. Amazing...she knew exactly what to do and how to do it.....just from seeing mama do it.

I’m more of a logic based person, so I ask my mother about the mechanics and inner workings of magic and how it actually works...

She has no idea....

Julia: “You have to feel it in your soul, it’s like a big pot of water. You just have to heat up that water with your spirit, then when it starts boiling you just put it in your right hand.”

Her explanation was so vague, it left me even more confused than before.

Julia: “I-It’s okay if it’s hard to understand coming from me, I’m not a real teacher after all.....That’s right!! We can ask your father to get a tutor for the two of you so you can learn magic.”

......

Harold: “Hmm...magic...okay, I’ll get a tutor for you girls.”

Our father came an hour later. He is a fairly burley middle aged man with blonde hair and bright green eyes. Although he is a middle aged man, he looks fairly young for his age...that’s a king for you; truly a handsome man who exudes an atmosphere of being a heroic figure.

I thought that kings and rulers were just rich people who were intelligent and charismatic enough to gain followers, but apparently, in this world most of history’s world leaders were people who were considered some of the strongest warriors of their time, and won glory and status using that strength. I wondered how it was possible for the difference between a king and commoner to be battle strength...but now that I know magic actually exists...it makes a little bit of sense.....If all of those books I read were real, then there are people out there who can take on entire armies by themselves...Judging from my father’s position as king, he’s probably one of those people.

Julia: “Thank you dear!!...Also, I have an announcement to make...”

Jazlyn: “Hmm..?”

Jade: “W-What is it mama..?”

Julia: “As you know, it’s been quite a while since I have bled.”

Jazlyn: “Ah...yeah! You said we might get a new little brother or sister.”

Jade: “R-Really!?”

Julia: “Y-Yes...so I went to the fortune teller yesterday to confirm it...we’re gonna have a little boy!!”

Harold: “W-Wha..?”

Harold was clearly caught off guard...but in a good way, a truly delighted expression made its way onto his face as he embraced our mother, and shrieked almost like a fangirl meeting her favorite boyband for the first time.

Jade: “Huh ...huh..?”

Jade looked on at the two of them with a confused expression.

Jazlyn: “Aren’t you glad, Jade? We’re gonna have a little brother.”

Jade: “F-For real ...!?”

Jade looks really exited too. I don’t know what to think...my first family was two boys and one girl, but this one’s two girls and one boy. Maybe it’ll be fun to have a new family? I don’t know...

.....

The very next morning, me and Jade are in our rather large backyard playing about.

Y’know, despite the fact that we live pretty close to the capital and we can’t actually go out as much as we would want to, we can play in the backyard at any time. Trees, plants, and bushes obscure a clear view of the backyard, and our nearest neighbor is so far away that you’d need to squint just to see their house from out front. In addition to all of that, there’s even an illusionary barrier which surrounds our entire house, so normally it’s impossible to see or hear us.

Jade and I are playing catch with a red rubber ball, but really we’re just killing time waiting for our tutor to show up. Our father said that he would be here at 9:00 a.m. right? We got out here at 8, and it should have been an hour already.

Right now, our father and mother aren’t here. My guess is that they don’t want our tutor finding out about their relationship...that’s....understandable...

We do have Mine here though. Oh, I forgot to mention that Mine is the first person I saw when I was reborn. She is the person who attends to us whenever mama is busy or sick, at this point she’s almost like a really loving aunt. Currently she is inside waiting for our tutor to arrive, then she’ll bring him back here so the two of us can start our training.

Then, just a few seconds later, Mine finally comes in ...along with a fairly tall man who looks to be distinguished.

???: “So these are the children that I’m supposed to teach magic?”

Mine: “That is correct.”

I approach the man and outstretch my hand to him.

Jazlyn: “Hello. My name is Jazlyn Lancaster, and this is my younger sister, Jade Lancaster.”

Gerill: “Oh...you’re well mannered. My name is Gerill Hunt.”

The tall man, apparently named Gerill, shook my hand gently. I forgot, I am a 9 year old girl ...normally 9 year olds don’t greet adults like this...well, it doesn’t matter. I haven’t met too many other adults in this world, I don’t really get the opportunity to introduce myself like this.

The tall man has black hair and green eyes with an almost child-like face. Looking at him up close, I can tell he’s a pretty young man despite being so tall. He displays a wide smile.

Gerill: “So...I’m the person who’ll be teaching you two magic. My knowledge of magic is pretty advanced, so you don’t have to worry. By the time you two graduate from my teachings, you’ll be ready to go to Riona Academy and be truly accomplished mages.”

Jade: “R-Really?”

Gerill nods.

Gerill: “Well first, I want you two to show me any magic techniques you can currently use.”

Jade: “Okay!!”

Jade goes first, she once again coats her right hand in a kind of magical aura.

Gerill: “Body enhancement magic...impressive.”

Jade produces a wide smile, and proceeds to dance about while humming a soft melody.

Jazlyn: “Yeah, she’s way better than me...I can’t use any kind of magic at all.”

Gerill: “...Hmm...well, what do you think is the problem?”

Jazlyn: “Well...It’s just hard for me to get the theory behind magic. I’m not sure I can ever use it if I don’t understand it.”

Gerill: “I see ...Well I’ll explain it a bit then, and then you can practice from there.”

Jazlyn: “Okay...”

Gerill: “There are 4 kinds of ways to cast magic spells. Chant Magic, Shortened Chant Magic, Chantless Magic, and Crest Magic. Each are completely different in execution and ability.”

Jazlyn: “..I didn’t know there was that much to magic.”

Gerill: “Yes, to cast Chant Magic you must release mana from your body while speaking a special phrase or sentence.”

Gerill then begins.

Gerill: “OH MAY ALL POWERFUL ASTAL HEAR MY PLEA. GIFT ME WITH THE FLAME OF VENGEANCE AND VANQUISH MY ENEMIES!!!”

At that moment, a ball of fire shot out from Gerill’s left hand as he outstretched it. Despite the fact that it was about as big as a cannonball, it still moved faster than any bullet.

Jade: “Wow!!”

Jazlyn: “A-Amazing....”

Gerill: “That was a basic chant spell.”

The fireball quickly disappears from sight, as Gerill had shot it up into the air.

Gerill: “It’s possible to create the same exact spell with Shortened Chants and Chantless Magic.”

So, from my understanding; Chants, Shortened Chants, and Chantless magic are essentially the same thing...with the only difference being how long it takes to chant and amount of power in the spell.

Although Chantless magic is apparently very diverse. Things like body enhancement magic, and that fire element magic my mother used falls under Chantless magic spells, because there isn’t a chant for them...it’s really quite a simple concept.

Jazlyn: “So, what about crest magic?”

Gerill: “C-Crest magic?”

I nod.

Gerill: “T-That one’s a little bit difficult...do you see this?”

Gerill points to a small symbol on his left breast. It looks like one of those fantasy magic circles that alchemists and wizards draw on the floor before casting a powerful spell, except this symbol is sewn into Gerill’s clothes.

Jazlyn: “Yeah...I see it.”

Gerill: “This is a crest.”

So... that’s it?

Gerill: “It’s my family’s crest. A lot of nobles have family crests like this, however, crest magic is something that hardly anyone can actually cast successfully, in fact, I’ve never met a mage who managed to unlock the secret of the crest and cast crest magic.....So, I’m sorry, I’m useless when it comes to that.”

Jazlyn: “It’s okay..”

Gerill continued his explanation of the history of magic and mages throughout the world. Apparently, mages used to be called wizards and witches...however the name shifted to “mage” when most of the world became able to use magic proficiently; mostly because the words “Wizard” and “Witch” kind of have negative connotations in this world.

Also, in order to get into Riona Academy, I would have to already be a licensed mage and be between the age of 13 and 20. I would take a 4 year course which would guarantee a luxurious life after I graduate. If I want to become a holy knight, athlete, military officer, a famous adventurer, guild leader, alchemist, or champion fighter...I can learn exactly what’s needed to achieve my goal.

Honestly, I’m not all too sure what I would want to be in this world. I guess it would be nice to be some kind of famous adventurer....

Jazlyn: “You really told me a lot...thank you.”

Gerill: “Well, I am a tutor after all.”

I try and try to conjure up some kind of magic spell, Gerill even tells me some easy chants to say...but it just won’t work for some reason. Even after his explanation of magic, I can’t seem to pull it off at all...and Jade has already managed to cover her entire body in enhancement magic, from what I can tell she became even faster and stronger than what would be considered an athletic adult man in my previous world.

Gerill: “It was nice to teach the two of you, I’ll see you tomorrow and we can pick it up from where we left off.”

Jade: “See you!!”

Jazlyn: “Bye...”

Jade and I, along with Mine, see Gerill off at the front door. Mine bows her head at Gerill before speaking.

Mine: “Truly, thank you for taking good care of these girls.”

Gerill blushes slightly.

Gerill: “I-It’s no problem, I’m just doing my job. They are wonderful students.”

Then, Gerill simply disappears from our sight...my guess is that he used some kind of teleportation spell.

Soon after, our mother comes home and we begin preparing to go to bed.

......

.......

.......

However...months and months pass by, and I’m still completely unable to use magic.....W-What the hell’s going on!? Jade can use magic perfectly fine, so why not me?

My mother has bought me plenty of books to read in the meantime. All of which concern magic, information concerning it...and its uses.

No matter how much I try and try and try and try and try and try and try and try and try and try and try try and try and try and try and try and try and try and try and try and try and try and and try and try and try and try and try and try and try and try and try and try and try and try and try and try and try and try and try and try and try and try and....I can never do it...I-I have to do something though, i-it can’t be completely useless....right?