After a moment of confusion, Faust immediately understood what was happening. He held his breath and proceeded with extreme caution.
"You are..."
Please don't tell me this is another hallucination. I'm honestly starting to lose it here.
[Child of man, set aside your doubts. I am no illusion, but the Fae who has bound himself to you through contract.]
As if to prove it, Faust felt the branded skin grow increasingly hot, a wave of warmth spreading through his body. He relaxed.
The prince let out a long breath. "Your Grace... forgive me for that pathetic display."
Though he'd inherited the brand from his adoptive father, Faust had never put much stock in it. He'd mostly treated the thing as a symbol of royal authority.
After all, the old king had only received a handful of revelations over several decades. That kind of frequency was practically useless.
Even if he possessed "the gift to be favored by the Fae," deep down Faust still hadn't expected much from them. Better not to get your hopes up about powers you couldn't control.
But to make contact with a Fae this quickly... it seemed this "gift" was legitimate after all.
Once Faust had collected himself, he asked about what had just happened. "What did you mean by 'enchantment' earlier? Did she hypnotize me?"
His earlier condition had clearly been abnormal. If she had some kind of mind control ability, that would explain everything.
Well, well! She actually had the nerve to hypnotize me!
Anger flared in the prince's chest. Though he had no way to deal with it himself, he'd now made contact with a Fae. No matter how insidious the spell, surely a Fae could handle it, right?
Faust immediately asked for help.
"Your Grace! Please help me. Being targeted by such dangerous magic is making me incredibly anxious!"
However, the Fae's response caught Faust completely off guard.
[A spell? Child of man, you should know this was no spell, but rather fate itself.]
"Fate?"
Faust froze. "What do you mean?"
He'd figured the Fae wouldn't agree to his request so easily, but he hadn't expected such a cryptic answer.
[In principle, I should not speak of these matters to a child of man, but you have awakened, so...]
After a moment of silence, the Fae whispered in Faust's ear.
[Do you believe in fate?]
Fate. The word wasn't uncommon at all. Everyone threw it around constantly.
To Faust, it was nothing more than an excuse for complaining or dodging responsibility. But hearing the Fae bring it up now, he sensed something deeper behind it. His brow furrowed slightly.
Without waiting for the prince's answer, the Fae continued.
[The Wheel of Fate exists. It is the ultimate truth that governs all things, the fundamental logic by which the world operates.]
"The Wheel of Fate?"
[In terms a child of man can understand, the Wheel of Fate is essentially a "script." Through trials, training, adventure, and turns of fate, one may receive its blessings.]
Faust replied immediately, "I do know about that. According to legend, the Fae bestow trials of fate upon mortals, setting up various challenges and obstacles."
This was common knowledge. The legendary stories created by those who underwent these trials were called [Heroic Sagas], an essential part of every nation's culture.
Even Faust's adoptive father, the founding monarch of the Kingdom of Aurum, had been the protagonist of a [Heroic Saga].
It was precisely because of this attitude of the Fae, acting as supreme arbiters of all things, that mortals held these ancient beings in such reverence.
However, from the Fae's own mouth, the situation was completely different.
[...Child of man, you always view us Fae as lofty beings, believing we are gods who manipulate fate. But the truth is otherwise.
There is no hierarchy between us and you, only different roles we play on fate's stage. Our duty is to provide guidance and blessings to those who walk the path of destiny.]
[Whether children of man or we Fae, beneath the surging tides of fate, we are all merely humble servants.]
Faust remained silent at these words, stroking his chin in thought. After a moment, he said with sudden understanding:
"I see. That's why I was drawn to that girl, why I developed such intense feelings for her, right?"
[You accept this quickly. Most awakened children of man initially struggle to believe in the Wheel of Fate. They'd rather chalk up their condition to some spell.]
Before this, Faust would definitely have been skeptical too, unwilling to accept talk of intangible "fate."
But... damn it, Cinderella had actually shown up. He couldn't afford not to believe. Fairytale worlds were all about destiny!
The prince had to fall in love with Cinderella at first sight. Otherwise, the "story" couldn't move forward!
Faust took a deep breath. "So I was chosen by you because I'm the protagonist of the next stage of fate?"
[Protagonist...]
The Fae's tone carried a certain ambiguity as they replied.
[Unfortunately, in the script of fate currently being performed, the true protagonist is the witch.]
"The witch?"
Faust hesitated. His first thought was "sorceress," but he immediately dismissed it. A concept the Fae specifically emphasized couldn't be so simple.
Fortunately, this Fae wasn't the type to be cryptic. They murmured softly in the prince's ear.
[You who are loved by a witch, these words I speak only to you.]
[Witches are destined to find happiness. They twist the boundary between reality and illusion according to their whims, fulfilling their burning passion.]
[They will not allow their pure and fervent devotion to go unrequited. To prevent this, they would overturn everything.]
[Even scripts of fate have hierarchies of importance.
Most fate scripts require guidance and supervision from us Fae, but fate involving witches cannot be interfered with or even perceived by any Fae. We can only comply and observe.]
[Borrowing the words of you children of man, this type of fate should be called a "Witch's Feast."]
Faust blinked. "So you chose to make a pact with me..."
[Even though you're only a supporting character on fate's stage, I thought that by staying near you, I might witness something interesting. That's all.]
The Fae's blunt words left Faust feeling deeply stung. The proud prince really didn't want to admit he was just a supporting character, or that the reason the Fae chose him was for entertainment value.
But thinking it over carefully... as a prince, he really was the ultimate background character in fairytales.
No name needed, no character development needed. The prince existed only to become the perfect companion for the heroine, the ultimate prize awarded to her.
God, how humiliating!
What made it worse was that he couldn't even argue back!
Faust sighed in frustration, shaking his head repeatedly.
[Why such sorrow, child of man? That you were able to awaken within a witch's fate is a miracle without precedent. You should take pride in this.]
Faust smiled bitterly.
"I'm just finding this troublesome. Suddenly learning all these secrets has raised the difficulty of achieving my goals by more than a few levels."
The Fae asked curiously.
[What are your goals?]
At this question, the prince answered without hesitation:
"What else? To conquer the world and reign supreme, of course!"