Lumius stood tall, but his shifting posture betrayed the firestorm of emotions he wrestled with. The silvery aura of the [Holy Flame] danced at his fingertips, eager to unleash its wrath upon the insolent peon before him. As the [Pope]’s son, he would suffer virtually no consequences. Surely, his cunning brothers might have sought out ways to twist this to their advantage, but it was no large ammunition in their engineered family feud.

“Did you hear me?!” Elysium screamed, beside himself.

Now, the gray-haired twelve-year-old cringed. He could feel the immaturity oozing from the boy in front of him. That alone, however, wouldn’t have stopped him from turning the other boy into a charred corpse to fertilize his father’s gardens. No, there was something else on his mind.

Someone else.

Lumius glanced at Lily from the corner of his eye, knowing exactly what he had to do next. He could sense her, almost hearing the silent pleas emanating from her being, urging him towards restraint. With her in mind, he made his decision.

“I refuse,” he said, stepping back and putting his hands behind his back.

“You are a coward!” Elysium started, trying to wield the sword again but finding Lily jumping between the two. With a swift chop to his wrist, Lily managed to weaken the redhead’s grip on the weapon and kick it away.

“Enough!” She said, pushing Elysium away from the weapon. Still, the unarmed boy was even more enraged by his friend taking his sword away from him.

“Why are you defending him?!” Elysium shouted, trying to barrel his way through Lily to reach his sword again. But the blonde girl, without even realizing it, reacted instinctively. She had been fighting non-stop lately, her physical training taking up more of her time than even her healing practice. And now, that training took over.

As the angry boy tried to push her away, she twisted one of his arms behind his back and swept his legs off the floor. Lumius watched as an expression of immediate terror and remorse appeared on Lily’s face as she let Elysium’s twisted arm go. The damage, however, had already been done.

The redhead got up slowly and glanced at Lily with narrowed eyes. Lumius, on the side, felt a pinprick at the back of his head, wondering whether he should meddle or not. His father’s teachings told him not to get involved in conflicts with nothing to reap from; this was a mess he had no way to benefit from. In fact, the messier the situation between these two got, the more he was posed to benefit from it.

Elysium raised his hands and threw a punch at Lily. The girl swatted it away with her arm, not even wincing at the pain, simply using a pulse of [Minor Healing] to heal herself as she was used to doing all the time. And as Elysium was off balance, she went for another leg sweep, trying not to hurt the boy too badly. But she saw his left hand coming and heard the familiar skill.

“[Templar’s Hammercut]!” The redhead shouted.

Lumius saw in Lily the same change in expression he had witnessed when the girl had challenged the [Cardinal]. It was subtle, almost impossible to notice. Her pupils dilated, her posture shifted, and instead of going for a dodge, she used the same move that had given her a few wins over the [Pope]’s son.

Lily smashed her elbow against Elysium’s punch, feeling her bones crack, a ligament tear, and her eyes pool with tears from the pain. However, seconds after, a small Mandala had already appeared close to the point of impact, and the damage was completely healed in an instant, gone as fast as it had come.

Elysium, instead, howled in pain and fell to his knees, clutching his left hand and wheezing from the pain as several of his fingers had shattered on impact, empowered by the skill. The boy was no Classer, and he had no Stats to back up the power granted to him by his skills—especially in hand-to-hand combat. So, all that power had just turned against him.

Lumius felt a slight chill take over the scene, but he also became weirdly interested in the girl, who had a remarkably dark side that remained hidden most of the time.

Lily breathed out slowly, kneeling in front of Elysium and putting a hand on his shoulder, starting to inject [Minor Healing] into the boy’s body when he swatted her hand away, “Don’t touch me!’

She didn’t care and clutched his shoulder again, healing him against his will.

“You can’t leave here with a broken hand,” she said, “especially if you are not going to the Sanatorium immediately. You don’t want the bones to heal in the wrong way; you’d have to have them broken again.”

Elysium was stunned by the coldness in her words and simply stayed silent.

As soon as she was done, Lumius saw the redhead stand up and look at Lily, then at him, and then at the whole Papal Estate; he was maybe having trouble conceptualizing the sentiment that Lumius, instead, recognized immediately.

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He’s slowly understanding he doesn’t belong.

“The day is nearing its end,” Lumius said, “you should get him to the gate. Have someone walk him home.”

The [Pope]’s son walked away before another scene could take place.

…

Elysium had not spoken a single word in the fifteen minutes it took them to walk to the entrance of the Papal Estate. Guilt had slowly worked its way up through Lily’s innards. She had acted impulsively, letting her anger take over. Now, however, another thought troubled her mind.

They might want to use him against me.

She had initially thought the [Cardinal] had brought her friend over to make her happy, but the more she thought about it, the more she started to see how Elysium could quickly become a pawn in this ugly game of politics.

Lily swallowed hard as the golden gates got closer and closer. She clutched the sword pendant the boy had gifted her and felt her eyes becoming wet again. She nudged the redhead’s shoulder, who looked at her from the side.

“Elysium, we need to talk.”

…

The dimly lit corridor echoed Lily’s soft footsteps as she approached her chambers, only to find Lumius already standing there, awaiting her presence. He leaned casually yet pensively against the cold stone wall. The enchanted lanterns added a soft golden hue to his contemplative silhouette.

“Did he cause any more disturbances?” Lumius inquired, lifting his head just enough to catch a glimpse of Lily’s face, searching for any signs of distress.

Taking a deep breath, Lily responded, her voice betraying a hint of exhaustion, “I—I had to… can we go inside?” She gestured at her chamber.

Without a word, they both entered. She pulled shut the hefty, ornately-designed doors, sealing them away from prying eyes and ears.

With a heavy heart, Lily began, her voice a mere whisper, “I’ve realized the danger he’s in. If the [Cardinal] even suspects he could be used as a bargaining chip…” She hesitated, her voice trailing off as the grave implications of her words settled in, “Elysium could end up on the steel tables next….”

Lumius, taking a moment to process her words, slowly nodded. A rare break in his usually stoic demeanor appeared, revealing a hint of empathy. “You’ve made a difficult choice but the right one,” he said softly.

“I—I…”

“You let him go,” Lumius guessed, sitting on the bed next to the young girl. At times, it was hard to forget that Lily was three years younger than him. The fact that she was much taller than any other girl her age and the way she spoke often made him feel like she was actually older than him. But at this juncture, he just saw a little child who had been thrust into a game much larger than the both of them.

“I… never had any friends,” Lumius spoke slowly, finding it hard to look for the right words. “I have… cousins. I never… well, at least you had one.”

Lumius’s words stumbled, uttering a series of hesitations and fragmented sentences, conveying an unfamiliar vulnerability. Before he could find the right words, he felt Lily’s arms wrap around him, pulling him into a tight embrace. With her face buried deep into his ornate robes, he could feel the wetness as her tears seeped into the fabric.

He awkwardly patted her back and sat there immobile as she bawled her eyes out for several minutes. As he heard her sobs subside, he cleared his voice, and she slowly sat straighter, letting go.

“S—sorry,” she pointed at the mess she had made on his robe and raised a hand, casting [Cleanse] over him.

“I wasn’t aware of these traditions of yours,” Lumius suddenly said, leaving Lily with a confused gaze. He shook his head, clarifying, “The gift.”

“Oh, it’s ok… it’s something that I’ve read some people do,” she explained.

“Perhaps I should participate,” he shook his head gently and got up, “wait here.”

…

Lily’s eyes widened as she gently palmed a white, sleeveless tunic with gold threading patterns decorating the seams and a double lapel with real, thin metal gold attached to the front, in place of buttons. She didn’t see any visible mechanism to close it.

“It’s enchanted,” Lumius explained, “it snaps together without the need for buttons. The enchantments are not finished yet... but it can already adapt itself to its user. Take this, too.”

He took out two more garments; one of them was a golden double shoulder guard made of gilded metal, rather light for how solid it felt in Lily’s hands. A golden collar and two long white sleeves were attached to it. He also handed her a long black cape that clasped on the front where a golden square cross rested.

“One last thing,” he handed her a golden tiara.

…

Lily looked at herself in the huge mirror as she wore the outfit, looking at herself in amazement. It donated her an angelic countenance. Her deep blue eyes shimmered like the gold that was embossed on the robe and on her shoulder guards.

“I’m done!” She shouted, and Lumius entered the room again.

“You look…” he coughed, speechless. “It fits you.”

Lily frowned at him but couldn’t stay mad at him, “why did you get me this?”

“I… spoke to my father,” Lumius confessed. “After you won the Trial by Skill with Uncle Atticus. I asked for something for you to… make you feel more at home here. The enchantments on it… huh, I’ll explain later.”

Lily wasn’t stupid and looked at the robe suspiciously, then back at Lumius.

“You asked His Holiness not to put me on a stake, didn’t you?”

Lumius remained silent, his face not giving away anything. But that by itself was the only answer Lily needed.

She swirled around in her new robe, feeling the padded metal on her shoulder move in synch with her body. Then, when she stopped, she realized she barely recognized the girl in the mirror.

She had come here with the expectations of leading a new life, becoming the magical equivalent of a doctor, and not having to go through the terrible moments she had endured in her past life. But then, things had started going South, ever since she had begun to become entangled by the politics of the Church.

Possibly, she had just forever lost her only friend, and the person looking back at her in the mirror was… powerful, beautiful, and…

They suddenly heard a knock on the door.

“Yes?” Lumius replied with a frown.

“[Cardinal] Atticus requests Aurora Claudia’s presence,” a servant spoke from the other side of the door.

Lily looked confusedly at Lumius, who just shrugged.

“One second!” Lily shouted and then lowered her voice. “Do you have any idea what this is about?”

The boy’s countenance suddenly turned dark, “I do.”