The Reincarnated Archmage

My brother is now leaving our mansion today. He will leave early to go to the academy where the students will stay there until they graduates. I heard that it's hard to enter the academy he chose, but he passes the entrance examination with perfect score. This brother of mine is really a genius. As his little sister, I'm so proud of her. I wake up early today so I can see my brother and say goodbye. While I was happy for him, my brother is having a sulking face.

"Do I really need to go?" My brother asked our mother. Well, of course! A good child should study hard to achieve a good future.

"You have to, Cedric. Don't worry, you can go home during your vacation. Always think that we are all supporting you." Mother said affectionately to my brother. He nods his head obediently before looking at me.

"Aly, I'll miss you a lot." My brother said then walk towards me and give me a hug.

"Aly will miss brother too!"

It's the truth. I'll miss this kid so much. In a short number of years, he truly treats me with affection and care. He takes good care of me and protects me in every situation. This is my first time to have a sibling and unexpectedly, I love the feeling of it.

"Good luck with your studies, brother! Aly is too proud of big brother! He's really great and smart! Aly will also write a letter to brother regularly so he will not be lonely."

"Promise?"

"Promise!" I said and raise my little finger as a sign of my promise.

"Then I'll promise to reply to your letters. I also promise to study hard so that Aly will always be proud of me." My brother said then curls his little finger to mine and shake it three times.

"It's time to go now, Cedric." Father calls to my brother. Our father will come with Cedric to the academy to arrange some doc.u.ments regarding on his enrollment.

"Papa, take good care of brother, okay? You too! Stay safe always!" I reminded my father. When he heard what I said, he laughs and as expected, he runs towards me and give me a hug.

"What did I do to have such an adorable daughter? Of course, I'll take good care of your brother. And I'll stay safe too."

"My, my. Our daughter is also smart." Mother mused as she looks at us.

After that, father and brother ride the carriage and left. I wave my hands until I can't see the carriage anymore. I'll always pray that brother will have an enjoyable life in the academy.

-//-//-

A few months after my brother left, my father also started to teach me how to read. I soon mastered it all after two days. My father seems surprised by it and tell me that he has another genius child. He told mother about it and just like what my father's reaction, mother seems to be surprised as well. I wonder what is wrong? It's true that it's quite difficult to understand it at first, but you can easily memorize it once you saw the pattern of each letter.

Since I am just a kid, I pretend that I didn't know what they are talking about and smiles brightly as always. Since I promised father that I'll give him a kiss, I shower him with my kisses and hugs. Father sure enjoys it too much that he has a huge smile on his face until the end of the day.

After that, I am now regularly staying in our family's library. Instead of fairy tales, I usually read those big and thick books. They contain the history, geography and important details of this kingdom. Not only that, I also read those books about magic that father usually reads. When he caught me reading it, I told him that I just simply reading it, hoping to be just like him as an excuse. I just can't tell him that I'm studying it to gain more knowledge about magic.

I once tried to summon magic before. It seems like I can still use magic in this timeline. Well, it is expected from my family that can also use a high-ranking spell magic. The problem is, the magic I've known are the old magic or what this timeline called Ancient Magic. If I use my knowledge in magic to everyone, they will wonder how can a small child like me discovered such magic. That's why I am secretly studying the new and advance way to summon magic.

In just three months, I have read all the books in our library. I have also memorized all the magic spells in every book in this library. If you'll ask me, it's just an easy thing to do. Or is it just me?

-//-//-

A few days after, my mother called me in the living room. She shows me an envelope decorated with gold and silver leaves. She told me that the Royal family will be holding a tea party in the palace garden tomorrow. This party will be hosted by the Queen. It may be called a tea party, but it is also an unofficial gathering of the sons and daughters of every noble family. It is a good chance to find a suitable partner to their children and establish a good relationship with each family. And since my mother is a Duchess and I'm the Lady Vivione, we are obligated to attend.

This will be my first time to attend a party outside our house. I'm not against the idea of having a tea party outside, but I know that my mother will urge me to play with the other kids. I know that I've really been acting like a kid these past few years, but I don't want to go to a point where I will also play with those real children. The sad part of it, I can't go against my mother's instruction. How troublesome.

To avoid any suspicious, I just show my mother a smile and tell her that I'm happy to be invited to that party. My mother seems pleased with my reaction and instruct nanny Bella to prepare my dress for tomorrow. My nanny is so excited for my first tea party and starts preparing a list on what to do to me for tomorrow. I can guess what idea is running on her head. She will obviously treat me like a dressing doll tomorrow.

Nanny Bella, please have some mercy on this cute and adorable child.

-//-//-

Today is the tea party.

My mother and I were in the carriage. When I saw my mother earlier, I'm surprised to her beauty. She was usually wearing a simple dress and never wore a make-up since she's usually staying in our house. But today, she's wearing a pale pink off-shoulder dress. It was decorated with pearls and white ribbon shaped into roses. She also wears a pearl necklace and earrings. Her hair was tied into an elegant bun decorated with a pearl headband. My mother is like a goddess who came out straight from a painting. As expected of the woman with a title 'The Untouchable Flower of Society'.

As for me, I wear a red doll dress decorated with small diamonds and ornaments shaped like a blooming rose. My nanny brushes my hair and braid the end of my hair and tie it with a red ribbon. My nanny was really fired up to make me more beautiful today. She's murmuring 'My miss should be the most beautiful lady in the tea party. I will never let anyone to surpass my lady's charm'. I'll just say that my nanny is competitive and really adores me.

"Are you excited for your first tea party at the palace?" My mom suddenly asked.

"Yes, mama! Aly heard that a lot of pretty roses can be seen in the garden. Aly is hoping to see it with my own eyes."

Let's avoid saying that I wanted to have a new friend or else, mother will surely find a child with the same age as me and make it my acquaintance today. It's a good thing that mama didn't ask me another question and just look at me lovingly. After an hour, we arrived at the palace where the guards and maid greeted us then guide us towards the palace garden. When we arrived there, the noisy chattering suddenly stops and stares at us. Why? What is happening?

"Greetings, Duchess Vivione, you've arrived." A madam who wears a yellow dress suddenly greeted mother with a small bow.

"Greetings to you too, Viscountess Idel." Mother greeted her with a smile perfect for a lady like her. "My daughter and I just arrived in time."

The moment mother mentioned me, the madam called Viscountess Idel suddenly look at me. I saw a small twitch on her eyebrows the moment her eyes land on me, especially on my face. It's obvious that she's criticizing me. But she quickly covers it with a small.

"Oh my! This is the first time I saw Lady Vivione." Viscountess Idel speaks in a cheerful tone.

"How do you do? I'm Alyssa Lerei Elise von Viviore." I hold my dress and lift it to show a curtsy. A proper etiquette of a young lady.

"As expected of the Lady who comes from the family of Vivione, the little lady is surely a smart girl."

Yeah, yeah. Shower me with compliments, but I know what is really running in that head of yours, Viscountess.

"I shall give our greetings to Her Highness, so we'll excuse ourselves for a little while." My mother said.

"Of course. Let's have a chat later, Duchess Vivione." The viscountess said before bowing again in front of us.

I can feel the gaze of that viscountess on my back, but I didn't pay it more attention. It's just a waste of time. I walk beside mother until we saw the Queen standing in the middle. The Queen is also beautiful with her platinum hair and purple eyes. On her side, a boy is standing there. I think he was three or four years older than me. He also has a platinum hair just like his mother, but his eyes were amber with a mixture of tangerine on it. The boy and I suddenly lock eyes for a second. He looks surprised for a moment before composing his expression again.

"Greetings to Her Highness and the Crown Prince." My mother said and gracefully shows a curtsy in front of her.

So that boy is the only son of the King and Queen.

"Ah, Duchess Ester! Thank you for participating to this tea party." The Queen said with a smile. She looks more beautiful when she's smiling like that. When her eyes saw me, she asks my mother what is my name. I also show a curtsy just like my mother.

"Greetings to you, Her Majesty. I am Alyssa Lerei Elise von Viviore."

"My, my. What a polite child. Not to mention, she's really pretty! How I wish to have a daughter as cute as her!"

Did the Queen become one of my fans just now?

"And this is my son, Larson." The Queen introduced the boy beside her.

"I'm Larson Saviel Reliria, Prince of Kingdom of Lapir."

I curtsy once again in front of the prince. Rumors said that they discover his intelligence at the age of two. He looks pretty decent and an obedient child to me. I guess this kingdom will have a good future once he becomes a king.

The Queen and my mother chats with each other asking for this and that while me and that boy only stands beside our mothers. I don't plan to make friends today so I'm not showing them my cute smile. I only reserved that smile to the people in our mansion. I noticed that the prince is taking small glances at me. Why? Did my charm captured you too?

Then my mother said goodbye to the Queen and promised to continue their chat later. We both proceed to the table designated to us. I'm glad that our table was near the flowers so I can observe it quietly. Since it's a party, a lot of sweet treats were displayed on every table in the garden. These are the treats that are good to combine with tea. Then I grab my mother's dress and look at her, silently asking if I can eat those desserts today. My mother smiled and whispers 'Just don't eat too much.' and holds my cheek. Since I can't hide my happiness, I let out a happy smile to my mother.

Sweet and delicious treats, here I come!

As I indulge myself in sweets, my mother told me to stay on our table while she's going to socialize to the women that are also invited here in the party. Having a high ranking in society is really troublesome. But it's good that mother didn't push me to make friends with the children here in the party.

I am now choosing between chocolate cake and strawberry pie when I heard two girls chatting not that far away from my seat. I planned to ignore them thinking that they're having an exchange of pleasantries with each other. But the moment I heard 'Duchess Vivione' in their conversation, I suddenly stop and decided to listen to them.

"Did you see her? How come she's a daughter of the Duke and Duchess Vivione?"

"That's right. She's really different from them. I heard from my father that a silver hair is the sign of the bloodline of Vivione family. But that girl's appearance is far too different from her father and mother. I once heard my mother saying that maybe she's an illegitimate child."

"I met Lord Cedric before at one party and I heard that he's really close with his sister. Maybe he's just pitying her?"

Is that so? Hah. Even in this life, gossipers are everywhere. I'm completely aware that I'm different from my family. But to think they have the guts to gossip right behind me where I can completely hear them is disgusting even for a child. Do they think that I'll just ignore them and act as if I don't hear anything since I'm still very young? That's completely wrong. It's better to discipline those children while they're still young.

I get down from my chair and walk towards them. When the laughing children saw me, they stop and make themselves presentable. I think they have the same age with my brother if I'll base it on their appearance and height. But nevermind that. For me, they were still children needed to scold when they did wrong.

"Good day, Lady Vivione. I am the Viscount Idel's daughter, Fiora Idel."

"And I am the Earl Noral's oldest daughter, Linielle Noral."

They introduced themselves, then show a curtsy in front of me. So the girl who's wearing a yellow dress is the daughter of the viscountess who looked at me with negative reactions. What can I say? Like mother, like daughter. And I think the other one is her friend. I also lift dress and shows them an elegant curtsy just like what my mother did earlier.

"Nice meeting you two. I am the Duke and Duchess Vivione's daughter, Alyssa Lerei Elise von Viviore."

The moment they heard my introduction, they both showed me a smile. Or rather, a mocking smile. They are thinking that an innocent five year old kid can't grasp the situation right now.

"I heard the news that the youngest child of the Vivione family will be attending the party today." Lady Fiora said. "I was actually excited to finally meet you."

"That's right. And you are really different from the other children here. You really stand out, Lady Vivione." Lady Linielle added.

If I'm really a regular little kid, I would interpret their words into pleasantries and full of flattery. I'm sorry though. I may look like a little child, but I'm actually an a.d.u.l.t.

"Really? That was good to hear. By the way, I heard what you two are talking earlier. You two seem really excited to meet me in person."

"Of course, Lady Vivione. This is the first time you attend a social gathering." Lady Fiora quickly answered.

"Really? But that's completely different from what I heard." I said in a quite loud voice as I act like an innocent child thinking about something. "Since you two are just chatting behind my back, you were talking if Aly was an illegitimate child, right?"

The moment I mentioned that, a huge silence envelops the whole garden. The a.d.u.l.ts who thought that it was a simple chatting between girls were baffled from my words. It is well-known to the whole kingdom that the Duke and Duchess really loved each other. Me who is their daughter witness it everyday. So the rumor of me being an illegitimate child is a blunder and a rude accusation for my ducal house.

"You even mentioned that my brother is just pitying me. Then are you saying that my brother is taking care of a child who is not fully blood-related to him?"

I saw the faces of Lady Fiora and Lady Linielle falters. Hah. They didn't expect me to recite they're gossiping, aren't they? They really think that my head was full of play and having fun since I'm still a kid.

"Well... Aly knows that my appearance is different from my family since my hair is black. Papa and brother have a silver hair while mama has a golden hair. Aly is very unique from my family, right?"

No one answered to my question. I think the right thing to say is no one dares to answer me. Since I am a daughter of a Duke, of course, my status is much higher compared to them. It is also wide known that my family is close with the Royal family, proving them that Vivione family is much powerful than them. So if they managed to anger just one member of the family, they will need to prepare to face the wrath of Vivione household.

"Hmm... If Aly is not mama's child, then who is my real mother? Then, if Aly is not really papa's child, then who is my real father? Do you think you can answer me, Lady Fiora and Lady Linielle? It looks like you both can answer my question for you two are very sure that I'm an illegitimate child." I asked the two children in front of me while showing them an image of a child that is eager to know the answer.

I let out a tired sigh in my mind. This is why I'm awkward dealing with noble children. They can easily bully someone, but once confronted, they'll shut up and show you a pitiful expression.