“Young master, Adion,” Marli greeted Adion as he stepped inside his grandfather’s mansion.

“Hello, Marli. Is my Grandpa free?” Adion asked, but he had already investigated the mansion and saw that there were no guests there at the moment.

“Of course, he should be in his study,” Marli answered, “I’ll go prepare something to drink.”

“Thank you,” Adion nodded and started walking to his grandfather’s study.

Nothing serious seems to have happened after Bishop Amelia’s visit, at least. That’s good. But just what is Grandpa’s story with these people?

Adion had questioned his grandfather after the auction two weeks ago, but he declined to answer anything at the time. He said he needed time to think things through. Now, Adion felt like he had held his curiosity long enough.

“Grandpa?” Adion called out as he knocked on the door to his grandfather’s study.

“Adion? Come in,” His grandfather called back.

Adion stepped inside and noticed his grandfather leisurely reading a book in his armchair.

“What brings you here?” His grandfather asked with a smile.

“I don’t have any classes today and was already going into the city, so I thought I should stop by. I was here a few days ago, but I heard Bishop Amelia was here at the time, so I left. I didn’t want to risk her looking through my aura,” Adion said.

“Oh,” His grandfather said, his smile disappearing, “That was probably a good idea.”

“What did she want?” Adion asked, taking a seat opposite his grandfather.

“Well,” His grandfather hesitated. But after a few seconds, he sighed and put down his book, “I suppose I should tell you. You can keep a secret, and it might do you good to know.”

“A secret?” Adion asked.

“Yes,” His grandfather nodded, “I don’t know exactly what those people from the Fire Phoenix Church wanted. Their behavior confuses me somewhat. Especially that Amelia. But, there is a good chance that the old man called Bishop Derman truly recognized me. As for if he knew exactly where he recognized me from, I’m not sure. Hopefully, he is too distracted to give me much thought.”

“Is there anything for him to find out?” Adion asked, “Did you do something bad when you were in the Fire Phoenix Empire?”

“I wouldn’t call it bad,” His grandfather awkwardly muttered, “But it wasn’t something the Imperial family liked, that’s for sure.”

“The Imperial family? You’re in trouble with the Imperial family?” Adion asked, surprised.

“I am,” His grandfather nodded, “And it’s quite serious, which is why I’ve never talked about it. You should remember not to mention this to anyone. Even if you are the disciple of the Headmaster now, this can still cause our family a great deal of trouble.”

“I promise I won’t say anything,” Adion said with a serious expression. Then he thought about it for a moment and added, “Except for Sell.”

His grandfather gave Adion an amused look. He sighed and continued with a slight smile, “Very well, tell your girlfriend. It’s not like my story is anything great, considering all the secrets you’ve already shared.

“The truth is that I was born in the Fire Phoenix Empire.”

“What?” Adion asked, stunned.

“Is that so shocking?” His grandfather questioned, “You should know I only settled down at our Remori manor when I found the formation there. The reason I was traveling was to escape the Fire Phoenix Empire.”

“I just thought you came from somewhere else on Shiora, maybe the Alago Empire. You always said you didn’t come from a family clan. Was that a lie?” Adion asked.

“Well, I don’t believe I used those exact words. In truth, I did come from a family clan. A Noble family, at that.” His grandfather revealed.

“A Noble family?” Adion repeated, once again confused by his grandfather’s revelation.

“How is this such a surprise?” His grandfather grumbled, “I had to sit through and accept all your crazy adventures. I still haven’t gotten used to it. So just sit and listen if you are curious. It’s nothing compared to what you have been up to anyway.”

“I…Okay, you’re right. Continue, please,” Adion urged.

“Right, I was born into a Noble family called the Fellissi family. It is a much older family than our Remori family. As such, it was countless times bigger. Generations of children had spread the family to several different branches, and I was just the third son born in one of those branch families. My status wasn’t anything great. Even if I came from a Noble family, there were countless others like me.

“I trained hard to become a mage, just like everyone else did. If things had carried on as they should, it was likely for me to take up a position as an elder in the future. If I were lucky, I might have had the opportunity to advance to the Soul stages and have more of an impact on the family clan. Those were my dreams and ambitions from a young age. Grow in power and grow in status.

“But then, I met your grandmother.” His grandfather paused for a moment, looking out the window with a gentle smile. “She was the most beautiful girl I had ever seen. Talented, righteous, and gentle. She was adored by many men. I had no business of dreaming of being with her. She was far from my reach.

“But Ganta was on my side. When the Fellessi family sent out a few mages from the younger generation to fight in a competition in the Outskirts, I was chosen to be one of the people representing the family. The goal of the competition was to temper the younger generation through battles against beasts, with their lives on the line. Great prizes were available for those with the best results.

“I separated from the other young men of the Fellessi family to find my own luck. I was sure that if I could receive a good placement and stand out from my fellow family members, my goal of rising in status in the future was guaranteed.

“One day, a few days into the competition, I stumbled upon a peculiar scene. A young, beautiful woman was peacefully resting by a Life Birch. I thought I had begun hallucinating, because how could anyone rest so peacefully in the Outskirts with beasts around every bush?

“But as I walked up to the woman, I noticed something strange. She didn’t move a single finger. I didn’t sneak up on her, so surely she should have heard me walking up. But she didn’t move a muscle. Even her breathing was so soft that it almost appeared as if she was dead.

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“Then I saw her eyes. And her eyes were very much alive. Fear, wariness, and a hint of anger. Her pupils shrank as they looked at me, seemingly warning me not to take a step closer.

“I couldn’t understand what was happening. But as I looked around, I noticed that not far away, there was a bush of Derossi Berries. They are quite delicious berries, and they are known to have a particular adrenaline-inducing effect. Eating a few of those berries will let you go days without sleep and fight with twice the energy. One of nature's many wonders.

“But what would have been a treasure was not so in this circumstance. Because below the bush was a type of flower called Remori Roses. They are beautiful to look at, but should you be stupid enough to eat one, you would die before you knew it. No one would be that stupid, of course. They don’t exactly look edible. But what the beautiful girl didn’t know was that those flowers had affected the berries because of their proximity. Even if she didn’t die, she still turned completely paralyzed from head to toe. The only thing she could move were her eyes.

“I was at a loss of what to do. I didn’t have any expertise in alchemy. I didn’t know how to heal her. But I also obviously couldn’t leave her alone to become food for beasts. So I excused myself and took a seat next to her. I told her that I would wait for her to regain her mobility.

“I thought that in a few hours, she would be fine to move on her own again. But it turned out those flowers were a lot more potent than I could have imagined. For three days, I sat there, waiting for her to begin moving. She couldn’t even talk, so I ended up in a one-sided conversation with her to fill the silence. I talked about my family and my dreams. My thoughts about the competition. What I liked to do during my free time. I asked her questions once in a while, too. She couldn’t respond of course, so I made up answers in her stead. Hypothesizing what kind of girl she was and the life she lived. I could see the cold and fearful eyes slowly melting away to reveal a cheerful and bright light.

“After waiting for three days, the girl finally started to regain control of her body. I was very curious about who she was, but I had been awake for three days straight, so right as she started moving, I relaxed and fell asleep.

“I woke up many hours later to her voice. Just like I had done for her, she was now talking to me without any response. Narrating her life. Even if I was awake, I pretended to be asleep to keep hearing her thoughts.

“It wasn’t until many hours later that I reluctantly opened my eyes as the sound of the horn sounded, signaling the end of the competition. We had both wasted the opportunity given to us, returning with quite shameful results.

“When we returned, we both discovered that something had bloomed between us. We immediately decided to see each other again. She was from a Noble family in the capital, and I was from a city many weeks north. Blinded by love, I decided to stay in the capital even as my family summoned me to return.

“Days passed. Weeks passed. Months passed. We saw each other at every opportunity we had. I was convinced she was the one for me. I summoned the courage and asked her to marry me. She said yes. I immediately hurried home to my family clan to arrange things. I still needed my family’s approval, after all. I planned on using up all my savings to buy a magnificent betrothal gift to hand over while I asked her family for their blessing.

“But when I returned to the capital after a few months away, I was met with some dreadful news. The son of the Arch Bishop, the nephew of the Emperor himself, had taken a liking to the woman I loved. He had asked her father for her hand in marriage, and even to his daughter’s protests, he had agreed.

“I was not deterred, however. I knew I couldn’t let go of her that easily. I managed to meet with her before the wedding, and she asked me to take her away. I agreed, of course. The world was a big place. We could go anywhere we wanted. Far away from the influence of the Imperial family.

“But when have things ever been so easy? We were discovered while trying to escape, and word reached the Arch Bishop’s son. He was furious and set out after us, along with several guards. I was only a Silver mage back then, so how could I possibly stand a chance against those powerful people?

“They caught up just as we were about to board a ship away from the Empire. Everything seemed domed. We were so close to sailing far away from anyone’s reach. Yet now, we were surrounded by powerful enemies.

“But through a string of coincidences, things somehow turned around. You see, I was interested in the Remori Rose ever since the woman, who I’m sure you’ve realized by now was your grandmother, fell to its paralyzing effects. I researched it on my own and found that it was known to be used in small doses as a sort of pain relief for suffering patients. There was even information about an antidote. A certain type of snake was known for its ground scales' miraculous effects on counteracting various poisons. It didn’t work for everything, but it was perfect for the Remori Rose.

“I had the idea of giving your grandmother a Remori Rose when I came to her family to ask for her hand. It was the flower that brought us together, after all. I thought it would be romantic. I couldn’t possibly poison her, though. Thus, I used some of my savings to get my hands on these ground scales. This way, she could take the antidote and freely appreciate the beauty of the flower.

“But things never came to that, as you know. We had to escape. And it wasn’t until that moment, surrounded by enemies, that I remembered the flower I carried with me. I quickly gave your grandmother the antidote and swallowed some myself. I then threw out an attack against the Arch Bishop’s son and his guards. They laughed when they saw my pitiful flames. But little did they know that hidden in that fire was the Remori Rose.

“Eating a berry growing near that flower had paralyzed your grandmother for three days. Even if those people were strong, they weren’t strong enough to ignore the powerful effects of such a strange flower. It only took a few seconds before they all fell to the ground.

“Your grandmother and I boarded a ship to Shiora and never looked back,” His grandfather finished his story with a light smile.

“I never knew you had such a story in you, Grandpa,” Adion said, “You were so cool!”

“Haha,” His grandfather laughed, “I suppose I was.”

“So that’s why our family name is Remori? After the rose?” Adion asked.

“That’s right,” His grandfather nodded, “We needed to take on a new name to make sure no one could find us. And what better name than the one of the flower who had both brought us together and made sure we could end up together?”

“It’s very fitting,” Adion said with a smile, “But surely this is all in the past. No one could be looking for trouble over something so small happening such a long time ago, right?”

“Well,” His grandfather said, a conflicted look on his face. “I didn’t tell you quite the whole story.”

“Did something more happen?” Adion asked.

“Haaah,” His grandfather sighed, “It’s difficult to explain, but that man…the Arch Bishop’s son. He was a very bad man, Adion. He would never let us go. And I…I wanted to make sure he couldn’t cause anymore trouble for us in the future. No matter what, he was an enemy. I didn’t want to let him come after me again with more and stronger people.

“So, I killed him. I killed him and his guards as they lay defenseless on the ground,” His grandfather said with an unapologetic expression.

“I see,” Adion said slowly. He didn’t think his grandfather was in the wrong. Adion was far from a saint himself. But it made the current situation a lot more complicated.

“If they know who you are…” Adion thought out loud.

“They wouldn’t let me go,” His grandfather finished, “I’m sure that Bishop Derman saw my face drawn on some kind of poster after the death of the Arch Bishop’s son. Even if it’s been 80 years, the murder of a member of the Imperial family can’t be forgiven.”

“Then what about Bishop Amelia?” Adion asked, “Did she seem to know anything?”

“It’s hard to tell,” His grandfather said, “She acts like she knows of me, but she doesn’t seem to carry any resentment. When she came to visit, I tried asking her about it. But she avoided the topic. I had to be careful of what I said too, so I couldn’t push it. We ended up talking about the Fire Phoenix for a few hours. It was a nice talk. But I’m still confused about what her motives are.”

Adion frowned slightly, just as confused as his grandfather. “Well, there’s nothing we can do about it. If they figure anything out, they still can’t commit murder against a Soul mage in the middle of Cyalis. We’ll figure out a way to deal with it.”

“Of course,” His grandfather nodded, “I just thought you should know. But don’t think about it too much. Tell me what you’ve been up to in the Academy these past weeks. Have you learned anything interesting?”

Adion smiled and leaned back in his chair. He began talking about his life in the Academy and his friends there. He slowly forgot all about the potential troubles from across the Warm Waves.