Cæ studied the luxury hotel with a raised eyebrow, studying the bright name lit up at the very front of the extravagant part of the central districts.

[Lumens Luxury Hotel]

It was owned by the Lumen Family, a prominent, affluent family based in Colohen City, and was quite popular because they were the best place to go if one wanted to enjoy the highest of what the luxury hotel industry had to offer. Cæ wasn't surprised that the head of the Vritra Family had managed to get their hands on a luxury suite on short notice when booking had to be done a year in advance for most people who weren't absurdly wealthy.

But the Lumen Family was not about to deny one of the most powerful dignitaries of the Durmen Principality into their abode. Cæ even suspected that they kept a large number of luxury suites just to accommodate rushed requests from powerful individuals who could potentially visit Elendir and Colohen City in particular.

The place was in as much of a rush as Cæ would expect it to, with numerous other luxury cars in front and behind them, and chauffeurs opened doors for wealthy, powerful people garbed in ostentatious attire. They were escorted inside with personalized guides and helpers who tended to their every need.

Many were even accompanied by bodyguard magetants who stood in alert, ready to cast spells at the blink of an eye. The warm, bright lighting of the luxury hotel contrasted sharply with the darkening sky of the late evening, making it feel like a magical place on Alaria.

The air was charged with anticipation as many people entered and exited while the sounds of elegant and posh laughter echoed in the air.

It felt alien to Cæ.

It also made him feel under-dressed despite wearing.

"Let us go." Serulia nudged him. "Father does not like to be kept waiting."

The two of them exited the limousine, opened by their chauffeurs as they were protected by mages on both sides, making it impossible for anybody to assassinate them.

Cæ had to admit that he felt entirely out of place in such a location. He had seldom experienced such luxury in his entire life; the most luxurious place that he had ever been was the Elendir Institute of Magic, which had just enough luxury to appease the rich boys and girls of the institute to approve and tolerate.

However, this hotel aimed to maximize luxury to the absolute pinnacle of what could reasonably be offered.

Cæ's attention was drawn down as he felt a touch.

Serulia averted her gaze before mumbling in a lowered tone. "…It would look weird if we entered together looking like strangers…"

Cæ stared at her with a puzzled expression, growing more certain of his hypothesis that being hit in the head had changed her personality. "…Okay?"

"A-Also, it would look bad for me and taint my honor as a maiden."

"…Really?"

"O-of course. Ladies in high society without a partner are regarded as undesired."

That wasn't strictly true, but Cæ couldn't possibly know better.

He simply took her hand, much to her delight, before walking with her as they climbed up the long set of stairs to the main reception. He prepared himself for what he hadn't seen as he escorted Serulia through the expansive luxury hotel.

Meanwhile, deep within that same luxury hotel, Lord Leonul sipped a glass of krithir; a traditional alcoholic beverage native to Elendir made from honey and flowers.

It was considered mild with a rich, floral, and sweet taste to it, warming one's throat and belly with a single sip. He sat at the study in his luxury suite, with several documents scattered before him.

They were intelligence reports and background checks on one individual.

Cæ.

The burly, rugged man shifted his gaze to the image of Cæ in the profile.

It was one from before he had undergone an accident roughly two years ago. His face was not covered in the scars that it had now, while the iris of his left eye was not damaged to be as light as it currently was.

He looked younger, too, with a slightly smaller face and more youthful and vibrant skin.

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However, what stood out the most to Lord Leonul was his expression.

It was so radically different from the kind of face that he made now that he looked like an entirely different person. His facial muscles were more relaxed, causing his face to change slightly.

His eyes were wider than the sharpened slits that they normally were with him. His eyes were serious, certainly, but they didn't contain what was a maestrom of darkness that swirled within the depths of Cæ's stormy, gray eyes.

One could even detect hope, optimism, and even happiness within the eyes of his image of old, which sharply contrasted with his new image that reeked of anger and hatred.

A rather radical change.

The kind that did not happen with an extreme event.

Lord Leonul had narrowed it down to the death of his partner and the ruination of his life as he had built it over seven years. What Lord Leonul found interesting was that Cæ decided to take the magic aptitude exam as late in life as he did. He had never heard of someone applying for the magic aptitude test at the age of twenty-three, almost twenty-four.

By that age, most people had long forgotten any fantasy that they had about becoming mages and wielding the godly power of magic. They usually found other paths in life that were worth pursuing and brought them a degree of self-esteem and sustenance that could allow them to build a better path.

Life would move on from a rather disappointing result on the magic aptitude test.

And yet, for Cæ, it appeared to be the opposite. The fact that he had aptitude twenty-three meant that he undoubtedly had aptitude for it by the age of sixteen, when the test was usually taken.

However, in Cæ's case, he appeared not to care about his aptitude, likely because he didn't know about it due to living in the slums. And by twenty-three, his partner had died, he decided to give the magic aptitude test a go.

The man frowned, taking another sip of his krithir.

What he did not understand was why Cæ took the magic aptitude test at the age that he did.

Was it simply out of curiosity?

If so, why did he not take the test when his partner was still alive?

There was nothing that was stopping him in any way; he simply had chosen not to do it until she died. Had he taken the test for some simple reason such as curiosity, making sure of his talent or lack thereof, or a whim, to be unsatisfying answers.

The only thing that truly explained why Cæ had chosen to take the test for his partner died was that he knew he had some talent for magic and he desired something that only magic could give him. Something that he likely did not want before his partner died, otherwise he would have checked his magic aptitude before.

Of course, the actual truth eluded him, but he had managed to grasp some of the finer and more subtle details of what Cæ was like as a person.

He was driven by something.

Something that was far beyond his means at the moment.

But what could it be?

He highly doubted it was something material like wealth or luxury.

He could easily achieve that by virtue of his elite talent. He highly doubted it was something like power or prestige, either, for similar reasons.

Lord Leonul's red eyes shifted to the report that mentioned Lilia's death as a hint of realization dawned on him.

"Revenge. He wants revenge."

In his gut, he knew he was right. He did find it odd that the police report featuring the death of Lilia and the investigation that had gone into it was not easily accessible and was, in fact, behind a lot of barriers through regular investigative methods.

"Something that only someone in power can possibly keep hidden to this extent."

Lord Leonul grew convinced that Cæ must have tried finding the man responsible for killing his lover by driving that truck and hitting a hard wall, realizing that he would need more money and power to find him.

He must have realized exactly what Lord Leonul had concluded: that somebody powerful was responsible for Lilia's death and cover-up. That would explain why he sought the power of magic after his partner died and not before.

He must have enrolled in the Elendir Institute of Magic and even started his business to get all the money and power needed to get his revenge. Instantly, the man gained respect for Cæ. He had immense respect for the will of fire that it took to seriously resolve oneself for revenge and see it through like Cæ had.

That hypothesis explained almost everything, as far as Lord Leonul was concerned.

It didn't make sense why Cæ would even bother trying to test whether he had magic when the probability that he had magic was very low. Very few people got to be mages in each generation, and even fewer got to be elite talents like Cæ.

It was strange that he would even humor the possibility unless he had some reason to believe that he had magic.

Desperation was also a viable answer, but it wasn't as satisfying to Lord Leonul. Thankfully, he could speak with Cæ to probe into him when he finally got to see him a second time.

He directed a sweeping gaze across the rest of the documents gathered on the table.

They detailed Cæ's achievements in the past year and a half or more.

To say that it was impressive was an understatement. Lord Leonul almost felt stupid for thinking of him as incompetent or failing to realize just what kind of man he was dealing with. The sheer list of achievements in just eighteen months was hard to believe. It was as though he had forty-eight hours in a day with the list of feats in various fields and aspects of himself.

He aced his magicademics with stellar performances, mastering everything that the Apprentice Program had to offer in just a year, multiple times faster than the norm.

Then he built a successful company from scratch, all while being a student in one of the most challenging programs that mages could be put through. Then he displayed great merit as a member of the student council, serving as Director of a program that proved to be extremely successful.

He went on to win the combat selection process, defeating even his daughter Serulia in combat.

Lord Leonul felt a pang of regret for how he had treated Cæ.

That did not mean that he now suddenly trusted Cæ on every single matter. It was still possible that he was trying to exploit Serulia and manipulate her and play with her feelings. But at the very least, he had much greater trust in what he was capable of.

He planned on accepting Cæ's proposal for the sake of his daughter's justice, but he soon realized that he could actually be moved by the young man's proposal based on its merits alone. That was how impressed he was with Cæ's resume.

KNOCK KNOCK

"Sir, they have arrived."

He swept the documents into a neat stack before getting up, looking forward to meeting Cæ for the second time.

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