When Sylvia stirred awake, her eyes flashed open with the remnant panic and pain still visible in them.

"Easy there, pumpkin. Everything is alright. Calm down." A familiar voice comforted her, someone stroking her head.

Grandpa Cadmus was sitting beside her, his kind and warm gaze lingering on her in concern.

"Your highness…" Sylvia tried to sit up, but her body was still considerably weak and she slipped, her head falling back on the pillow.

"Wait. Don't strain yourself, pumpkin." Cadmus smiled. "And you forgot to call me Grandpa."

"Did you try to shift again? Aha ha ha. This is Grandpa's fault." He stroked her head again lovingly.

"I was planning to tell you this over breakfast and I didn't think you would try to shift before that."

"What happened… grandfather?" Sylvia asked, too tired to even speak properly.

"Nothing to worry child. Don't strain yourself. The thing is… as draconian descendants, we have strong bloodlines."

"Sometimes, the purer the bloodline the more toll it takes on the body."

"Especially in your case because you haven't shifted even once since your birth."

"Am I… weak?" Sylvia asked, closing her eyes, rather dreading to hear his reply.

"No, pumpkin." The old man leaned forward and kissed her forehead. "It is, in fact, the opposite. You are too strong for your body."

Hearing his words, Sylvia could only smile bitterly. It looked as if he was just softening the blow so that she wouldn't feel bad.

She hadn't even been able to transform fully into a complete beast up until now. She had only partially shifted and just for that, she had already collapsed.

At this rate…

"Eh? You don't believe this old man, pumpkin?"

Sylvia didn't say anything.

"This is not at all a big deal, pumpkin. Don't worry about this." Cadmus coaxed her gently like she was a small child.

The four personal guards standing beside him were absolutely dumbstruck.

They had never seen the old man be so lenient or loving with any of the other royal descendants.

Right in front of their eyes, one of the strong and majestic figures of the beast Kingdom was turning into a mushy puddle.

"Have you ever heard of beast cores?" Cadmus muttered, tucking away some of her errant silver strands.

"We beasts are naturally strong, but more importantly we are also able to absorb and channel mana through our body."

"We can condense this mana, the condensed energy assuming the form of a solid crystal called beast core."

"This is the main pillar and center of our power and magic."

"This helps us excel in magic both when we are in our human form and beast form, and it also helps us temper our body."

"If you are able to do this, then no matter how powerful your bloodline is your body will still be strong enough to handle it."

"I know you want to become strong, pumpkin. This Grandpa will teach you everything. Rest assured."

Seeing that the old man was patiently explaining everything to her, even things which others probably knew at the back of their hand, Sylvia was touched.

"Thank you, grandfather." She nodded.

"For now, just take some rest and eat well. We can later on test your affinity, talk about everything in detail."

"Gruger will also be here today evening and she can teach you how to form your beast core."

"Everything will happen in its own time. Don't rush things, pumpkin."

"Take rest now. Grandpa will come back again in a bit and visit you."

Cadmus Akhekh adjusted the blanket covering Sylvia and stood up from the bed to leave.

Her eyes trailed behind the old man, silently grateful for his kindness and support.

At the thought of mana affinity, Sylvia honestly did not have many expectations.

She had only ever been able to perform chore magic that was nothing but parlor tricks.

Could she actually use that sort of weak affinity to form something like a mana core? It seemed improbable.

However, Sylvia didn't care. She clenched her fists and tried to sit up again, this time succeeding.

It didn't matter how long and arduous her path ahead was. She was done being weak. Even if she had to claw her way up, she would do exactly that.

Seeing her sit up, the maids immediately rushed over to her, buzzing around her like bees.

Evie ran to the kitchen and brought over some food for her, while Coral and Lola helped her drink some water.

"Your highness, Patriarch has given this herbal tea for your health. Would you like to have some?"

Sylvia nodded. She took the teacup from the maid and sipped on the warm liquid.

Instantly a wave of energy swept through her body and nourished her, relieving some of the tiredness and weakness.

Her heart as well felt warm.

Evie soon came back with piping hot food and being completely starved, Sylvia gorged on those, feeling more stronger by the minute.

The meat was extremely nutritious and within an hour, color returned to her cheeks and she was able to stand up.

"Your highness. Would you like something else?" Coral asked.

Sylvia shook her head. She was not interested in resting any more than she needed.

"Lead me to the patriarch's quarters." She muttered.

Two maids accompanied her to the adjacent quarters where Grandpa Cadmus resided.

He was in the middle of a meeting when Sylvia's presence was announced by a guard.

The old man waved his hand, wondering if something had happened, but as soon as Sylvia walked in, he knew that that was not the case.

The girl had clearly recovered and was even up and about!

He gazed at her curiously for a moment, then breaking into a loud burst of laughter, his long beard and potbelly shaking.

One look at her face was enough for him to understand why she had come here.

"What a good child! What a good child!" He muttered and stood up. The young girl continued to amaze him every single day.