"Amm… pardon?,How may I help you, Miss?"
Aurelian tilted his head, looking at the lady.
The woman was of elegant stature.Her face was above average, framed by light blonde hair and crimson eyes.She seemed to be in her mid-twenties.Those crimson eyes were glued to Aurelian's face and his refined mannerisms.
"My, such a beautiful boy,"–she commented.
Sitting near the window with his clean appearance and soft, delicate features,Aurelian truly looked like a young scholar.
"Amm… thank you, my lady.
I'm Aurelian, an orphan of Thornridge Village.
How may I help you?"
Aurelian bowed respectfully.
He felt a pressure radiating from the lady.He couldn't explain why,but it was there —and judging by her appearance alone,she was far from ordinary.Her attire alone could cost enough to support a family for a lifetime.
"I'm Evelyne Astren," she said, lips curling into a small smile."And I'm here because I've heard something… about you."
Her crimson eyes scanned Aurelian — calculating, assessing.A bead of sweat trickled down Aurelian's forehead.
"Child Aurelian, don't worry..My niece always says things that make people uncomfortable,"
Father Ralnr said in an assuring tone.
Aurelian's pupils twitched as he looked up at Father Ralnr.
"Your… niece?" he muttered in disbelief.
In that moment, Aurelian became acutely aware of something—he had always thought of Father Ralnr as nothing more than a caretaker in a forgotten little village.
But to think he was connected to someone this lofty,
this noble,
this powerful…
It was simply unfathomable.
"Ah, yes… I may have an idea of what you're thinking, child.As is tradition in Luminor,the first child of any noble familyshall be offered to the divine Sun as a priest.
Far from luxury.
Far from the material world.
I was not given my name by my parents,but by the Holy Pope himself.And I was raised as a priest
without my family name 'Astren.'"
Father Ralnr spoke with great pride.
Aurelian barely held onto his expression.He didn't know whether to laugh or cry at Father Ralnr's fate.
He wasn't a very religious person,yet he felt grateful —he hadn't been thrown out like a street dog.
He had always been well-fed and well-dressed, so he had no complaints toward the Church of Light.
"And I thought my luck was bad,being born an orphan…I shouldn't think like that…it's..it's a sin…"
He looked at Father Ralnr with pity.
"Look at you!"
Lady Evelyne chuckled at Aurelian's blunt expressions.
"I was just passing by from the Southlands,
and I realized… the last time I visited my uncle was twenty-five years ago.
I was nineteen back then,and I barely had the chance to stay for more than half an hour…
But now, I can finally see my lucky uncle
— the one chosen by God himself!"
Aurelian, with absolutely no sense of self-preservation,finally lost his calm.
He looked at Lady Evelyne… then at Father Ralnr…
words forming but refusing to leave his mouth.
"N-nineteen years old…?
Twenty-five years ago…!
Is she… really that old!?"
"Hm? Young man, do you want to say something?"
She tilted her head, watching him.
Behind her back, her fingers trembled with anticipation —
her crimson eyes barely containing excitement.
"It's true, Uncle!
I can't read his thoughts!"
she finally burst out, biting her lower lip a little
as she stared at Aurelian with growing interest.
"Read my thoughts…?
What does she mean…?"
Aurelian froze.
"Indeed… this child has affinity with the Consciousness Path."
Evelyne's lips curled even more, like a crescent moon,her eyes locked onto Aurelian with great interest.
"Uncle… can I take him?I want to know what kind of potential he has.
Just the fact that a Rank 3 Consciousness Path Seeker like me cannot peer into an ordinary boy…I see great potential in him!"
Father Ralnr's face turned ashen,as if he had heard something devastating.
The warm smile Aurelian had known since childhood vanished.
What stood before him was an old man with squinting eyes…missing the piece that made him "Father Ralnr."It was like that person no longer existed.
"Aurelian, child…"
Father Ralnr chuckled dryly, placing a hand on Aurelian's shoulder.
But Aurelian was completely lost.
"Take… me?
A noble lady like her… wants to… take me…?"
*His mind went blank
for several moments.*
Genuine tears gathered in his eyes.
Father Ralnr understood Aurelian better than anyone.
He knew exactly what storm was happening inside the boy.
Aurelian was kind,but hot-blooded.
He was smart,but arrogant.
He was pure,but ambitious.
But above all,
Aurelian was a good child —one who would never hurt or toy with anyone.
Father Ralnr had hoped to choose Aurelian as his inheritor —the face of the little Thornridge Village,
a priest,
the next caretaker of the orphanage.
But…
Aurelian was young and ambitious.
He was a bird longing to fly.
He never wanted to be trapped forever in this small life.
He wanted to attend the academy,
learn magic,
become a scholar,
travel the world.
Father Ralnr knew he was old,with only a decade or two left.
He knew that eventually Aurelian would choose his path —just as he had accepted Lucian,not as a burden,but as a sworn brother.
But fate is unpredictable.
His niece — someone he barely knew,
someone he had not seen in twenty-five years —returned without warning.
During their tea,Father Ralnr had accidentally spilled a thing or two about his pains regarding Aurelian.
She didn't care much at first,
listening with detached emotions.
But the moment Father Ralnr mentioned
Aurelian's affinity with the Consciousness Path—Her eyes shone like the bright sun.
As the saying goes:
"Hitting your own foot with an axe."
Father Ralnr sighed.
"Hm, Uncle… I wish to speak to him for a moment.
Can you give us some space?"
Lady Evelyne asked in her elegant, composed tone.
"Ah… yes, child, why not?
But I will speak with him afterward,"
Father Ralnr chuckled nervously,
finally realizing that things were going south.
A spoon of gold or a spoon of clay…
Even someone like Lucian would choose a spoon of gold.
Father Ralnr knew there was no hope now.
He looked down —never in his life had he felt so sad.
With heavy footsteps,
he finally left the room.
Aurelian stood frozen, his mind barely processing anything.
Lady Evelyne walked closer, waving her hand in front of his blue eyes,which now looked glassy—like frozen ice.
"Hm… a mental wall. And so thick, even as a mortal…" she mused,her fingers running through his long golden hair.
She attempted to push her consciousness into his mind—only to feel it repelled.
Her pupils shrank to pinpoints.
"A mental barrier?
As a mere mortal? No…somewhere between a mortal and an Initiate."
She realized at once:
Aurelian's condition was because of her own actions.
His consciousness instinctively defended itself against her intrusion.
"This boy… is truly interesting!"
She chuckled, finally releasing her consciousness pressure.
Aurelian's eyes slowly returned to normal.
He blinked, opening and closing them in confusion.
"Miss— I mean, Lady Evelyne…
what did you do to me?
What is going on?"
Aurelian's back was drenched in cold sweat.
He felt something was terribly wrong.
Lady Evelyne only smiled, ruffling his hair,
while Aurelian stared up at her with trembling, teary eyes.
"A mortal is as blind as an owl in daylight,
and as vulnerable as a sheep without a herd."
Her warm smile didn't fade as she gently pushed him into his chair.
She rested her knees on the wooden floor in front of him,
crimson eyes filled with maternal warmth and profound wisdom.
"An Initiate," she began softly,
"is a mortal who senses the Path to which he belongs.
It is like a bird feeling a twitch in its wings.
It senses something… but cannot yet move it."
Aurelian held his breath, absorbing every word.
"Once the bird feels that twitch enough times,
the feeling grows stronger…
until one day it understands how to flap its wings.
This first breakthrough—
this first controlled movement—
is the state called Adept."
Her voice flowed like a lecture from a master scholar.
"And when the bird finally jumps from its nest,
moving its wings for the first time—
not knowing if it will rise or fall—
but if it manages to soar,
then it becomes a Seeker,
a true Practitioner."
"A Seeker…
So that's how someone becomes a Seeker?"
Aurelian's eyes shone with curiosity.
Seekers were rare among common folk—almost mythical.
Lady Evelyne lightly gasped, then continued.
"In the road of Seekers, there are a total of nine ranks.
Rank One is the Initiate,
the one who first senses their Path.
Rank Two is the Adept,
the one who makes the minor breakthrough.
And remember, young man—
these early stages are more like states than ranks.
Most people will never reach the level of a Practitioner."
Her smile grew wider with pride.
"Practitioner is the first true rank.
It is the stage where one understands fragments of universal Law
and can move between them freely.
And right now…"
She placed a hand proudly over her chest.
"…I am a Practitioner."