Lucian startled. The voice was unfamiliar to him, yet there was a faint warmth to it that stirred something old in his memory. Before he could make sense of it, a voice rang out from behind, sharp with alarm.
"Alicia! Why would you do something so reckless?!"
It was Cecilia, rushing to catch up with her sister.
Alicia? The Winter family?! Why are they still here? Lucian’s thoughts spun in confusion.
The worry etched into Alicia’s face left him momentarily speechless. But in that same instant, a suffocating wave of killing intent flared from Lumina’s direction. A cold, crushing aura pressed against every inch of Lucian’s body, raising the hair on his arms.
"Ah... Lady Alicia. I’m fine. Thank you for your concern." Lucian gently pulled his hand free from her grip, trying to steady himself against the terrifying pressure radiating from Lumina.
Before he could even catch his breath, another set of footsteps approached quickly, followed by a warm embrace wrapping tightly around him.
"Are you still hurt?" the voice asked, breathless.
The embrace felt achingly familiar, full of a protector’s worry. From the scent and the shape of it, Lucian knew exactly who it was.
"Sister Jeanne... what are you doing? I’m already fine," Lucian murmured.
Jeanne loosened her hold, letting out a breath of relief once she’d confirmed her brother was unharmed.
Meanwhile, Lumina’s expression darkened further. Displeasure flashed clearly in her eyes as she glanced toward Bishop Owen.
The Bishop approached, whispering nervously that Alicia had somehow found a weakness in the Sanctuary’s barrier and shattered it from outside. Lumina answered him only with a cold, sharp look, one that could have crushed the life out of him on the spot.
Sensing the growing crowd, Lumina slipped back into her serene, saintly mask for the public.
"Huff... very well. Since everyone has gathered here, I’ll make it official: this match is won by Lucian. And his Awakening result... I can confirm it is white!"
The silence in the cathedral shattered into uproar. Whispers and heated arguments broke out among the nobles and Order officials.
But no one could deny it. Every person in that hall had witnessed with their own eyes the pure, overwhelming radiance that had poured from the winged figure Lucian had summoned.
Before the crowd could grow any wilder, Lumina stepped closer to Lucian. She leaned down, close enough that her whisper cut cold against his ear.
"Starting now, your life is going to change... but let me remind you once more, my Lucian, don’t draw too much attention to yourself. You need to be ready to fulfill your duties as my servant soon."
Without waiting for a reply, Lumina turned gracefully on her heel. "Well then, everyone, please excuse me, I still have urgent matters at another cathedral to attend to."
She was gone as quickly as the wind, slipping away before anyone could press her for further details about the incident.
Servant duties?! Damn it... I’m actually going to end up as her servant?! Lucian cursed inwardly, his face twisted in misery.
In the middle of his inner turmoil, another set of hurried footsteps broke through his thoughts.
"Ah! Young Master! Are you all right?!" Rumelia came running, her eyes glistening, ready to throw herself into his arms.
Lucian quickly caught her by the shoulders, holding her back. "Enough... my body’s had more than enough hugging for one day."
Even so, he paused, noticing something odd. The pain in his body was fading fast. His strength was returning at a startling rate, thanks, apparently, to whatever Lumina had forced down his throat. Was that thing actually medicine after all?
"Congratulations to Lady Jeanne Sarnel, whose brother carries such an extraordinary gift. It seems House Sarnel’s fortunes are about to rise considerably." A voice, calm and full of authority, greeted them.
Duchess Amelia approached with a graceful smile.
"Thank you for the kind words, Duchess Amelia. But honestly, I’m not sure whether to call this good fortune or not," Jeanne replied, her tone edged with something close to nausea.
Jeanne’s eyes flicked sharply toward the crowd now clustering around, eager to curry favor and forge connections with her brother, the very same people who, only moments ago, had dismissed Lucian as a failure. The hypocrisy of it turned her stomach.
"In that case, perhaps it would be wise for Lady Jeanne to take the Young Master away from here quickly. I worry that crowd will keep you both far longer than you’d like," Duchess Amelia advised.
"You’re right, Duchess Amelia. Then allow us to take our leave."
Jeanne took hold of Lucian’s hand, preparing to guide him out of the cathedral. But his steps were held back once more, this time by a gentle grip on his other hand.
"Will you... be attending Orvis Academy too?"
The voice belonged to Alicia, looking at him again with unmistakable hope in her eyes.
"A-ahh... Lady Alicia... about that..." Lucian stammered, unsure how to answer.
"Young Master! This letter was left for you from Orvis Academy!" Rumelia cut in, holding out a thick envelope sealed in gold ink.
Lucian took the letter. His fingers traced the wax seal, shaped like a magnificent dragon, the official emblem of Orvis Academy, unmistakable and impossible to forge.
A flicker of joy crossed his mind, only to collide instantly with a heavy uncertainty. On one hand, he was now bound by a promise to become Lumina’s servant, meant to watch her closely and undermine whatever dark scheme she was building. On the other, his greatest dream, a place at the most prestigious academy in the empire, now sat within his grasp.
Just then, Bishop Owen, still lingering nearby, spoke up in a hoarse voice. "Lord Lucian. If you wish to pursue your education at Orvis Academy, you are welcome to. But remember, the moment the Saintess calls for you, you must come at once."
Lucian’s expression froze. Lumina... she already knew I wanted to attend Orvis Academy? How far does that woman’s reach actually go?
Though Lumina’s methods were nearly impossible to predict, Lucian finally let out a long breath and gave Alicia his answer. "Yes... I might join, assuming I pass the entrance exam."
Duchess Amelia let out a bright, amused laugh at his modesty. "Hahaha! Young Master Lucian is far too humble. What are the odds a bearer of the White Awakening wouldn’t pass the exam?"
Lucian bowed his head politely. "Thank you for the kind words, Duchess Amelia. But I still believe it’ll take real effort to earn my place there."
Duchess Amelia nodded, clearly impressed. After exchanging their formal farewells, Lucian, Jeanne, and Rumelia made their way out of the cathedral grounds.
As the cathedral emptied behind them, Duchess Amelia watched her daughter, whose eyes remained fixed on Lucian’s retreating back.
"All right, Alicia. Would you care to explain to your mother why you were so desperate to burn through your own energy just to break that Sanctuary?" Duchess Amelia asked, her tone gentle but probing.
Alicia turned to her mother, then to her sister, her eyes bright with certainty. "Mother... Sister... I’m absolutely certain he’s the one who saved me during that incident twelve years ago. That’s why... I have to see him again at Orvis Academy!"
Duchess Amelia and Cecilia both went still with shock. Neither of them had ever imagined that the young man the world had spent years dismissing was the very person who had once saved Alicia’s life.
Elsewhere, inside an ornately carved, luxurious carriage racing down the road, the atmosphere had grown suffocating.
***
Across from Lucian, two women, Jeanne and Rumelia, sat side by side, fixing him with stares sharp enough to strip the skin from his bones.
"Uhhmm... why do I feel like you two are about to eat me alive?" Lucian murmured, shrinking back against the seat with a shiver.
"No more excuses! Tell us right now, what kind of power was that back there?!" Jeanne demanded.
Lucian winced. "Ah... about that..." He hesitated, still tangled in his own uncertainty over where that white light and that winged figure had come from in the first place.
Stalling for time, Lucian turned toward the carriage window. "W-wait a second... where are we actually headed? Why aren’t we going toward my mansion?"
Jeanne crossed her arms, rolling her eyes. "You idiot! Have you already forgotten the way to the Sarnel main estate? Of course that’s where we’re going!"
Lucian’s eyes went wide. It had been seven years since he’d last set foot in the Sarnel main residence, not since he’d been cast out to that isolated mansion.
"Why do I need to go there, Sister? Don’t the Elders hate me?"
"They do," Jeanne answered flatly. "But every member of the Sarnel main family has been summoned to appear today. So don’t try changing the subject. Answer me right now, what was that power?"
Damn it, Sister Jeanne isn’t easy to fool, Lucian cursed inwardly.
He scrambled for something believable. "Um... about that... back when I still lived at the main estate, Uncle Sebast taught me something once. He gave me a strange old book. I tried studying it in secret, but honestly, I still don’t understand what kind of magic it actually was."
Jeanne studied her brother closely, weighing whether he was lying or telling the truth.
"Hmm... if even you don’t know," Jeanne said at last, a crooked smile forming, "then maybe only Nora can figure out the answer. You can ask her yourself once we’re there."
N-Nora?!
Lucian’s blood ran cold. His fourth-eldest sister was the single greatest nightmare of his entire life. Nora was a researcher consumed by an insatiable hunger for anything rare or unexplained.
If something strange caught her interest, she wouldn’t hesitate to turn anyone, or anything, into an experiment, right up until it broke apart completely.
"A-ah, you don’t need to be that tense about it," Jeanne reassured him lightly. "I heard her methods have gotten a lot more stable lately. Last month, out of the ten servants she usually uses for testing... only eight are still around. So really, don’t worry about it."
DON’T WORRY ABOUT I.. WHAT HAPPENED TO THE OTHER TWO, DEAD OR CRIPPLED?!
Without a second thought, Lucian lunged for the carriage door handle, ready to throw himself out of the moving vehicle.
But Jeanne was faster. She grabbed him by the collar and hauled him back into his seat.
"Hey! Where do you think you’re running off to?! Aren’t you curious about your own power? Why are you trying to run from it?!"
"Damn it, Sister! I’d rather stay curious for the rest of my life than end up as a corpse on one of Nora’s experiment tables!" Lucian shouted, thoroughly rattled.
Jeanne only laughed, satisfied, patting her brother’s shoulder as if his fate had already been sealed. Their carriage rolled through the massive iron gates of the Sarnel main estate.
Lucian slumped his head against the carriage wall, groaning inwardly in resignation.
"Didn’t you just earn a rare White Awakening? Why so lacking in confidence all of a sudden?" Jeanne teased. "Oh, or maybe you’re regretting turning down that strange Grimoire Bishop Owen offered you earlier?"
Before they’d boarded the carriage, Bishop Owen had indeed tried to hand him a mysterious Grimoire, though Lucian had politely declined, having caught the unmistakable scent of something sinister behind the Order’s gift.
While he sat drowning in his own thoughts, Lucian’s gaze drifted, almost by accident, toward the window.
There, in the dim corner of the estate grounds they’d just passed, someone stood perfectly still, staring straight at the carriage window.
A young man stood in the shadow of the trees, his gaze unnervingly familiar.
"I didn’t expect it... that you’d still dare show your face here, after the beating you took yesterday."
A voice suddenly rang clear in his ear, low and mocking, as though the man had leaned in and spoken directly against his cheek.
Lucian froze instantly. Every hair on his body stood on end the moment he recognized that dangerously familiar tone.
Well, isn’t this wonderful, Lucian thought, his inner voice dripping with sarcasm. Barely arrived, and already welcomed by the local troublemaker himself.