Chapter Forty-Two: The Forest

                                    

                                          


                          
After looking into the magical beast attack, we found incidents all over the kingdom where beasts were attacking villages, however none of them were magical beasts like the one Charles and I had fought. While beasts were much more common than their magical counterparts, it was still strange for them to appear so often and cause so many casualties. Unlike the many stories of monsters in my past life, beasts in this world were ferocious, but they did not leave their territory very often. That's why the recent attacks were so unsettling. Something was causing the beasts to leave their territory to attack our kingdom's people, and we had no idea what it was. 
                          
As I read over a report on the recent beast attacks, my mind wandered to the strange mana I had felt when finding the magical beast. The memory of that feeling sent shivers through my whole body, causing goosebumps to appear on my arms. 
                          
"You okay Callista?" Prince Philip asked, leaning over and placing a hand on my forehead. The crown prince arrived at my estate two days after the fight with the magical beast. 
                          
"You're looking pale." He said, his emerald eyes filled with concern. Though he claimed to have come to the estate in order to investigate the recent attack, Ryland spilled the beans that he was extremely worried. When he heard the news that I had fought with a magical beast during a meeting with high ranking nobles, it took all of Ryland's strength to keep him from coming straight to my house. While it was nice to have him care about me, I was feeling a little guilty about distracting him from his work. The civil war in Cynth was only getting worst, so he had a lot of work to do when managing the nobles. 
                          
"Yeah, it's just-" I cut myself off, wondering if I should try and explain the strange mana I felt. Since it had only been a second, it was hard to even remember what I had felt, let alone describe it. With such little information, it would be difficult to explain in a way that wouldn't make me sound crazy. 
                          
"Just what? You can tell me Callista." The prince reassured, placing his hand on mine. I then remembered the conversation we had at the beginning of the summer. Prince Philip had heard my story and he had believed me, I could tell him. 
                          
"Ehem-" 
                          
I looked up to see Caden clearing his throat with an annoyed look while Charles struggled to focus on his paper. Ryland kept his usual stoic expression while Elaine smiled at us warmly, sending me a wink. My cheeks flushed and I pulled my hand away, turning my head in embarrassment. I may or may not have forgotten that they were here. 
                          
The six of us had gathered in my estate's library to discuss the recent events. Ever since the tensions about the civil war in Cynth had lead people to target me, the six of us had been meeting regularly to discuss the recent events and try to figure out who was behind everything. At times it felt like we were the Mystery Inc. gang from Scooby-Doo. Well, maybe the main trio from Harry Potter would be a better way to describe us since we are all magicians, or maybe the...
                          
... you get my point. 
                          
"What were you going to say?" Ryland asked, uncrossing his arms and stepping away from the bookcase he had been leaning on. It seemed like this guy really hated sitting, he was always standing up even when he wasn't officially on guard. 
                          
"Oh yeah, well," I struggled to find the words to explain the mana I had felt. 
                          
"When I faced the magical beast, I used my life mana-"
                          
"Callista!" Elaine squeaked looking at Charles with panic. 
                          
"Oh yeah, he knows now, he actually guessed it." I reassured, causing Elaine to sink back into her seat with relief. On the other hand, Prince Philip was a little on edge, looking at Charles with a grimace as the silver haired boy smiled innocently.