“I just cannot believe my ears. You’re so stupid.”

Within an expensive private estate in the Capital City of the Eternal Empire, on the Aeternus plane, three people had been learning to live alongside each other. Outside the estate, twenty guards dressed in golden armour patrolled the area.

In one particular room, a bedroom, an interesting sight could be seen. Sitting on a bed in a rumpled, untucked, and oversized white shirt, was a young boy, who barely looked like he could be a teen. His thick dark brown hair fell to his shoulders on either side of his pale face, and his dark eyes gazed dully through a long fringe at the figure opposite him with utmost derision. The young boy was unhealthily pale with dark bags under his eyes making him look extremely tired. His facial features were completely unremarkable, a strong contrast to the figure opposite him.

His features were so impossibly unremarkable that it was almost like his appearance had been designed to ensure he drew the least amount of attention as feasibly possible. As if his appearance was purely for the very purpose of preventing anybody from noticing him or remembering him unless they met with him frequently.

“I am related to the most idiotic individual in the world,” Raegan Verdon announced with his arms crossed. “Our dead parents are probably sobbing in their graves to know that their Prophetess of Fate is an imbecile. I’m ashamed to be your brother.”

Annaliese Verdon, the Prophetess of Fate, and Raegan’s older sister, winced. Raegan had been released from his comatose state two months ago, and after another month of recovering his strength, her brother now had enough energy to berate her on all of her choices of September, which had been his topic of choice for the last few weeks. “Um, Raegan-”

“Don’t Raegan me, Anna,” he stated crossly. “Your decision to accept the help of the Commission Head was reckless and stupid. You even listened to the advice of a complete stranger when entering into a System contract with one of the Supreme Institutions! How naïve and airheaded can you possibly be?”

“But she saved you-”

“So? You had no idea what she would request for doing that. What if she held me hostage to control you? You’re aware that she’s not what she looks like, and your Fate essence didn’t even affect her. You had no idea what her true motivations could’ve been,” Raegan rebuked.

Annaliese frowned. “Without accepting Lucille’s help, you could’ve died.”

“Then you should’ve let me die,” Raegan replied without hesitation.

The Prophetess stared at her brother, aghast. “Raegan, is that what you really think?”

The young boy on the bed pulled up his legs to prop up his chin on them, looking unhappy. “Don’t get me wrong, I want to live as much as the next person. But we both know that when it comes to who the Empire will value more… it’s your life, not mine. It’s clear that I’m a liability to you.” He glanced out of the window next to them. “Whatever the Citadel knows about my abilities, they don’t want me near them, and would sooner kill me than risk you becoming confrontational towards them. I’m the reason they made us stay in this estate in the city instead of heading to Pedestal.”

“And I’m perfectly fine with that!” Annaliese exclaimed, hands on her hips. “I don’t want to go to Pedestal and be stuck in those towers all day. The Capital City is interesting enough!”

“You just want the teleport arrays to be easily available for your plans,” Raegan pointed out.

Annaliese looked away sheepishly. “Um… no…”

Raegan sighed and frowned at her. “These plans of yours are just as reckless and stupid as the decisions you made with the Commission Head. You shouldn’t do it.”

When Raegan woke up, Annaliese discovered that he hadn’t been unconscious during his time in the coma. Raegan had been able to hear and see everything around him in a limited radius due to learning to sense spiritual energy, so Annaliese, who had been emotional, had told the comatose Raegan everything about Lucy when he was in the hospital at Gilded Seat. Annaliese hadn’t needed to explain anything to him about her interactions with the Aurelian Commission Head.

Which was a good thing, as they were now under certain… restrictions on what they could say to each other before their new guardian decided that what he had heard was important enough to be told to the Sages.

“I’ll be fine,” Annaliese replied confidently.

“Says the person who nearly threw a stool leg at the Aurelian Commission Head last time she was left in charge of anything,” her brother snarked.

The girl opened and shut her mouth. “Th-That- I never did that!”

“You picked it up when that ‘Lucille’ woman came into our house, acting like it was a weapon,” Raegan said, stretching his arms above his head.

“B-But… well, it doesn’t matter. She wasn’t offended,” Annaliese stated, crossing her arms.

“Sure, whatever.” Raegan rolled his eyes. “But again, your plans are idiotic. Just give up on them and work on helping us avoid the Citadel’s political messes.”

“They’re not idiotic!” Annaliese argued, feeling insulted. “I thought them through carefully, and I still think it’s perfectly fine of me to carry them out.”

Raegan pretended to look away and itch his ear. “Hm? I feel like I just heard someone belonging to the lowest IQ percentile talk to me, but I must’ve been hearing things because there’s no way someone that dumb exists.”

Annaliese narrowed her eyes at her brother. “Hey.”

Raegan turned back to her. “Anna, do you think my issue here is just because you want to go off somewhere to find out someone’s real age? No, my issue is that with our current restrictions, wherever you go, I have to go too. I can’t leave you.”

She blinked. “I know that.”

Raegan glared at her. “Then did you think for one second that I might not want to follow you everywhere?!”

Annaliese held her chin up proudly. “As your older sister, I’m responsible for you. You will go where I go.”

Her brother groaned and fell back on the bed, staring at the ceiling. After Annaliese had a short moment basking in her verbal victory over Raegan, he sat back up and crossed his legs on the bed.

“So, when where you going to go to that plane again?” he asked. “January?”

“February,” she replied with a smile and a shake of her head. The fact that Raegan was now open to discussing it meant that he had probably given up persuading her against going.

Raegan yawned and grabbed a pillow to put on his lap. “Why February? I thought you’d be jumping up to run over there as soon as the three-month mark ticked over.”

Annaliese hesitated. “Er… I did ask, but the Sages said January was too early without prior warning. And while I could’ve pushed because the five-day break is in my contract,” she added, ”I figured it would be best if I just listened to them. I wouldn’t want to make them suspicious!”

“Which means now I’m getting caught up in your dull scheme to go pester some woman,” Raegan complained.

“Yep.” Annaliese nodded with her hands on her hips. “In February, we’re going to go to the Aurelian Commission’s Headquarters to meet with the Commission Head and stay there for five days!”

The two siblings flinched when the door of the bedroom suddenly slammed open, revealing an armoured figure standing in the doorway. His steel grey eyes gazed at the two teens with suspicion, with his face framed by wild blonde hair.

“I believe I just heard something I find strongly disagreeable.” Jasten Albrecht walked forward to stand in front of the Prophetess and her brother. “’Meet with the Commission Head’?”

The two siblings stared at the Rank-5 Paladin who had been given the position of their private guard and had watched over them for the past few months. They traded glances.

Raegan laid back down on the bed with the pillow under his head. “Alright, I’m tired. Leave me alone so I can get some more rest.”

“And, uh, I will go back to studying the ceremonies of the Citadel-”

The greatsword-wielding Paladin’s firm grip on her shoulder prevented Annaliese from taking another step out of the door. He sat her back down on the bed and then yanked the pillow out from under Raegan’s head. The boy groaned as the Paladin pulled on Raegan’s arms to sit him upright. Then Sir Albrecht dragged a chair near the bed in front of them and sat down on it with his arms crossed.

“Tell me what you’re planning,” he ordered sternly.

Annaliese looked at the ground and fidgeted while Raegan kicked one leg up on the bed with nonchalance, inspecting the wall beside him. Albrecht narrowed his eyes.

“As your private guard, I have authority over all your travel. You will be going nowhere without my permission,” he said.

The dark-haired boy on the bed just rolled his eyes while Annaliese raised her gaze to the Paladin and then tilted her chin up, crossing her arms as she mimicked his body language.

“The Prophetess has five days’ worth of time every month to spend however she wishes, as long as it does not put her in danger,” Annaliese said smugly, reciting the lines on her contract, which just so happened to be the lines Jasten Albrecht had allowed to be written. “You can’t stop me, Sir Albrecht.”

The steel-eyed man’s expression twitched. During his time as the private guard of these two siblings, he had come to realise… the girl before him had a lot more attitude than her first impression made him believe. And when it came to her brother…

He leaned forward in his chair. “Prophetess Verdon, your safety is my highest priority. I cannot and will not let you go near someone that could put you in danger.”

“I won’t be in danger,” Annaliese argued stubbornly. “I’ll be perfectly fine.”

The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

Sir Albrecht rubbed his temples. “I’m the private guard of both of you. I can’t leave you or your brother.”

“That’s why he’s coming with me!” Annaliese explained cheerily. She looked at her brother. “Isn’t that right, Raegan?”

The boy, who had been pretending to be unrelated to the conversation, glanced between Annaliese’s upbeat look and the solemn face of Sir Jasten Albrecht with a frown. Eventually, he clicked his tongue. “Yeah, sure, that had been my plan. At least going to the Commission sounds like more fun than hanging around a bunch of middle-aged men who all have egos more blatant and louder than their golden armour-”

Raegan made muffled noises as a hand from the girl beside him covered his mouth. Annaliese turned to the Paladin opposite them with a bright smile. “See?”

Sir Albrecht wearily looked from one sibling to the other. “The Sages won’t like this.”

“Which is why I’ve already gone to the Great Sage and gotten his permission,” Annaliese replied smugly.

Both Sir Albrecht and Raegan focused their attention on her. “You asked him?” Raegan said.

Annaliese nodded. “Yep. I think he said yes because of political reasons.” She tapped on her chin as she tried to remember her meeting with Gidelis Annador. “He mentioned something about growing closer to the Commission Head and her aide especially, but I didn’t catch most of it.”

Sir Albrecht rubbed his face. “Have you organised a date with him?”

“The first week of February,” Annaliese said with a nod.

The Paladin let out a long sigh, running a gauntleted hand through his hair. “I am very against you and your brother going to the Commission, Prophetess Verdon. As your assigned guardian, I would like you to reconsider your plan of meeting with the Aurelian Commission Head.”

Annaliese blinked. “Wait, not going to the Commission? Just meeting with Lucille?”

Jasten Albrecht frowned and crossed his armoured arms. “The Commission Head’s intentions are unknown and any rumours about her must be considered false. My experience with her when you signed the System contract shows that she’s not the puppet leader the rest of the central nobility and even Citadel believe she is.”

“Oh… when you picked me up?” Annaliese hesitated. “I… don’t know why she was acting like that. She isn’t like that when you meet her personally. At least, she didn’t act that way towards me when I stayed there.”

The Paladin scratched his beard, looking contemplative and pensive. Annaliese smiled. “And even if you don’t want us to go, you don’t have a choice! The Prophetess gets to use her five days however she pleases.”

He ran a hand down his face and sighed. “Let’s… leave this topic for another time. There’s something else I had originally come up here for.” He turned his gaze to the dark-haired boy sitting on the bed. “Raegan, I received a report from one of the patrolling guards that you tasked them with retrieving a book you said you had misplaced.”

Sir Albrecht crossed his arms with a frown. “The guard finally found it.”

Raegan shrugged. “Great. Did you need to come to my room to tell me this?”

The Paladin narrowed his eyes at the boy. “The guard found the book on the tallest roof of the estate.”

The boy yawned. “That’s a strange spot. I wonder why it was up there.”

Jasten Albrecht scowled. “Raegan, the Paladins of the Citadel are not servants for you to give meaningless tasks to waste their time. Their job is to protect you. I’ve received complaints from them five times this week regarding your ‘requests’.”

Raegan rolled his eyes. “So what? I’m stuck here and bored. Unless you’re going to find something more entertaining for me to do, then you’ll just have to put up with me.”

“When we go to the Commission you won’t be bored anymore!” Annaliese piped up.

Sir Albrecht switched his glare to the Prophetess. “I still haven’t said yes to that.”

“It’s in my contract, so I can do whatever I want.”

“Yeah, your contract, not mine,” Raegan interrupted. “So, I don’t need to go.”

Annaliese firmly shook her head. “Of course you do!”

“Why would I?”

“Because I said so!”

“And why should I listen to you?” Raegan replied to Annaliese.

“Because I’m the older sibling.”

Jasten Albrecht groaned and buried his head in his hands as Annaliese and Raegan began to bicker, tired from having to put up with the two siblings the last few months. He was given a break when they heard footsteps approaching the bedroom’s open door.

Another Paladin stuck his head through the doorway. “Sir, another noble of the Empire has come, requesting to meet the Prophetess.”

Sir Albrecht gave the Paladin a weary look, then stood up. “Thank you for informing me. I’ll go deal with it.”

The Paladin nodded and left, and just as Jasten Albrecht went to step outside the door, he turned around with his eyes narrowed and pointed at the two siblings. “Just so you know, I’m not done with you two yet. We will continue our discussion about the Aurelian Commission at a later date, where we will come to a final decision about this.” Then he shut the door behind him and marched off, preparing himself to deal with some more annoying politics.

The two siblings glanced at the door, then at each other. Raegan shrugged. “So, when we go to the Commission, are you just going to randomly waltz in without permission? I can’t see that going down well with the Sages, with how much they’ve been trying to ‘educate’ you on proper noble etiquette.” He laid back down on the bed with his hands behind his head. “And I thought you said that Lucille woman would be against you returning.”

Annaliese grinned. “I’m planning on asking her secretary.”

Raegan lifted his head slightly to raise an eyebrow at his sister. “Secretary? The Commission Head doesn’t have a secretary. Do you mean aide?”

“Oh…” Annaliese blinked, then nodded. “Aide, yes, that’s what I meant. Anyway, I’m going to write a letter to Vincent Evisenhardt.”

“Why him?”

“Because he was quite friendly to me last time, and I remember him complaining to me a few times about Lucy.” Annaliese thought about it. “He might like a way to get back at her, so I think we can make a deal.” She smiled. “And because he’s her aide, I only have to send a letter to him for him to make the decision. He’s responsible for organising all the meetings and events the Commission head goes to.”

Raegan let out a yawn. “Putting those lessons about noble positions and jobs to use I see. Well, if you want to get Sir Albrecht to agree to it, I suggest writing a letter to this Vincent guy in secret so you can show him the response. Sir Albrecht would probably let us go if you prove that everything has already been organised.”

Annaliese’s eyes brightened and she nodded enthusiastically at the idea before she hesitated and eyed her brother with suspicion. “But why are you suggesting this to me? I thought you said you didn’t want to go?”

Raegan frowned. “Yeah, but… ugh.” He sat up. “I guess it’s true that the boredom has been getting to me. I’m not allowed to begin learning magic until the Sages find a teacher they’re satisfied with, and there are only so many repetitive books I can get the Paladins to find me so I can read. There’s also…” he trailed off, hesitating as he took in Annaliese’s curious expression. He looked away.

“Raegan? Why did you stop talking?” Annaliese asked.

“Well… I…” He crossed his arms. “I need to see who this Lucille woman is for my own eyes, so I know she hasn’t been trying to manipulate you for some reason. Your descriptions make her sound untrustworthy,” he muttered.

Annaliese blinked before she smiled. She leaned forward to pat Raegan on the head. “Are you trying to be protective of me?”

He went slightly pink and swatted away her hand. “No. Shut up.”

Annaliese laughed as her brother scowled, and then she stood up, ready to go find a pen and paper to write her letter. She looked down at the boy on the bed. “Are you going to sleep some more? You’re looking very tired.”

Raegan went to answer but yawned instead. He shook his head and then grabbed a pillow to put under him as he laid back down. “… yeah. I’ll see you for dinner.”

“Have a nice nap.” Annaliese retrieved a pen, envelope, and thick sheet of parchment from a chest of drawers in the room, then set to work writing it. Once she was done, she tucked it away and then sat on the end of the bed as she watched her sleeping brother.

Raegan had turned 13 in October, but he didn’t look it. Short and skinny for his age, he barely looked eleven, and the constant bags under his eyes brought about by his tiredness, an aftereffect of his condition, revealed his poor level of health.

Both Annaliese and Raegan had to mature quickly when they were in their village, but while she tried to keep an outlook on life that saw the good in things, Raegan… often didn’t. And he could be quite willing to see people he thought had an unfair advantage suffer. But Annaliese hoped that maybe things would change if he met with Lucy, especially as Lucille seemed to know a bit about his ability.

That was her main reason for wanting to return to the Commission. Because whatever his ability was, whatever the Sages were trying so hard to control… they didn’t want either of them to know about it.

And Annaliese trusted the woman who had been willing to share information about herself and the world with her more over the Sages who kept trying to shield the eyes of Annaliese and Raegan, keeping them in the dark so they would be controlled.

----------------------------------------

A blonde-haired man in a grey suit walked up to the door in front of him. He knocked on the door.

There was no answer.

The man tried again, this time a bit louder. There was still no answer.

He frowned and looked around a bit, before blinking when he noticed the small brass button beside the door. He shook his head wryly and pressed it, which triggered a mana-circle that made a sound to alert the residents of the place. He waited.

Then he scowled and pressed the button several times. The crystal clear chime of the circle rang out several times, but nobody responded.

He gripped the handle of the door and shook it roughly. “Marellen! Come and open this blighted door! I’m here to pick you up!”

A muffled voice was soon heard through the door. “Huh? Wait, Efratel? It’s you? Uh, hang on, I was just-”

The sound of hurried footsteps and a sudden thunk sounded before the door slowly creaked open to reveal a sheepish-looking navy-haired mage. “I apologise, I thought you were one of the professors.”

Efratel gave his cousin a flat look. “You mean to tell me that when professors come looking for you, you ignore them like you did just then for me?”

The awkward look on Marellen’s face said it all. Efratel sighed. “Well, come and let me in already. We need to go in ten minutes.”

Marellen stepped back to let Efratel in, then headed over to the table covered in loose documents and paper sprawled everywhere. He continued rifling through the mess of pages, trying to find something.

Efratel stepped over a tipped chest of drawers filled to the brim with miscellaneous magical items and gizmos, eyeing everything with distaste. “It seems my suggestion to purchase more magical equipment was not thought through properly. You do realise that when you go to the Aeonic plane you’ll have to clean all this up?”

“I’ll just buy more dimensional items,” Marellen replied offhandedly, bending down to look under the table in case the notebook he was looking for was buried under the paper down there.

Efratel rolled his eyes. “And then you’ll have another problem trying to remember which magical item you placed your belongings in.” He came closer and raised an eyebrow as he watched Marellen crawl on his hands and knees under the table. “What are you looking for, anyway?”

“Uh, well, it’s a notebook containing my… hang on, just wait a second…” Marellen reached forward to pull out a thick, heavy book from under a large pile of loose-leaf paper. He smiled as he stood back up and placed the book, with its pages nearly falling out, onto the table. “Here it is. It contains all my questions for Roa about her application of ice and fire magic and how she manages to dual manipulate them.”

Efratel came forward to look at the book and stared when he saw that the book was several inches thick. “Marellen, this entire book has all your questions for her?”

The navy-haired mage nodded without an ounce of shame.

Efratel scowled and snatched the book off the table. “No, we are not wasting her time during the meeting today by having her listen to all your complicated questions! This meeting is to discuss the expedition!”

Marellen’s eyes widened and he hastily climbed over stacks of paper to try to get to Efratel, who was walking over to deposit the book in a bin. “No, no, no, no, no- don’t do that! I spent ages documenting all my observations and queries!”

“Then you should’ve spent your time doing something more worthwhile,” Efratel retorted. He ruthlessly dropped the book in the bin and turned around to face Marellen, dusting his palms. Efratel smiled calmly. “Now, a coach is waiting outside the Academic Residence block to pick us up. It’s time for you to meet your fellow expedition members.”

“No, but I-”

Efratel grabbed Marellen’s wrist and pulled him out the front door before Marellen could retrieve the book from the bin. Many mages within the building stared at the strange sight of a blonde-haired man dragging his struggling cousin through the residential section of the most illustrious education facility in the Empire.

…

“You’re still mad at me?” Efratel said, slightly bemused.

Marellen ignored him, only the sounds of a hastily moving pen scrawling words on loose-leaf paper to be heard within the carriage.

Efratel smirked. “What a shame, we’re already here. You can’t write down more questions.”

Marellen raised his eyes to glare at his cousin right at the same time the coachman opened the door.

Efratel clapped his hands cheerily. “Come on, out you go! I booked an expensive restaurant for this, you know!”

Marellen was roughly shoved out the door by Efratel, nearly stumbling down the coach steps. With a scowl on his face, the navy-haired mage pulled back the hood of his cloak that had fallen over his eyes and blew some of his hair out of his face. He dusted himself off as Efratel planted his hands on his hips and looked about.

“Now, I have tried some Heavenly Realm cuisine for a business dinner one time, but it wasn’t at an establishment as luxurious as this,” Efratel explained as Marellen came up beside him. “That said, I booked us a private room and all the food here is made with alternatives to spiritual food so foreigners like us can enjoy their food.”

The blonde-haired man gestured to the building before them. “So, there shouldn’t be any trouble if we make a few cultural mistakes. Let’s head in.”

They walked under the colourful archway covered in flowering vines, the words ‘Mystical Paradise Lotus Teahouse’ spelled out across it in wavering symbols. The two cousins made their way past many other members of the nobility and upper-class members of all realms. Instead of taking their place in a long line to the left, they went straight to the right to speak with a woman dressed in flowing white and lilac robes. She was standing behind a lectern of some kind with a large scroll in hand. She looked up when she saw them approaching.

Efratel withdrew a jade pendant from his pocket and placed it in front of her. “Good afternoon, miss,” he said with a smile. “I believe the East Azure Gate Pavilion has been assigned for the private use of Efratel Vadel and his company?”

She took the pendant and released a soft green glow from her palms that made Marellen and Efratel watch her curiously. She nodded after a moment. “Yes, that has been arranged. I will call over your host.” She closed her eyes. “Please wait a moment.”

Marellen and Efratel glanced at each other as she went quiet, and then blinked as a new woman made her appearance. With dark hair pinned in a bun behind her head and pink eyes, the young girl who appeared in her late teens came forward and bowed to them. She had her hands clasped in front of her and was dressed in a flowing dress patterned with shifting leaves and flowers.

“Greetings, my lords,” she said with a calm smile on her face. She straightened up and placed a palm on her chest. “I am Lei Liqin. It is my honour to be your host during your time here at the Mystical Paradise Lotus Teahouse.”

Efratel dipped his head politely. “I am sure we’ll enjoy ourselves while in your company, Miss Lei.”

She nodded again and turned around with a gesture to them to follow her. “Please, follow me. The others are waiting for you.”

Efratel and Marellen followed her past small tables supporting pots of hot tea, walking around the edge of the main building’s atrium. She led them across a bridge with glistening blue waters on either side. Efratel had to drag Marellen away when he started trying to cast spells to inspect the illusion formation hiding the views of the rest of the Capital City from them.

She turned around and bowed to them when they came to the building made of red stone at the end of the bridge. “This is the East Azure Gate Pavilion. Please make yourselves comfortable. I will call for the servants in half an hour, where we will present you with your dishes.”

Efratel and Marellen observed the decorative flower-patterned paper room partitions in front of them. They moved one aside to enter the room and…

“Hey! They’re finally here!”

They glanced in the direction of the familiar voice and saw Garthe, Larena and Roa sitting at a low table. Garthe was waving them over with a grin on his face.

Efratel smiled and walked over, but quickly dragged Marellen back when the mage tried to take up a seat next to Roa no doubt to pester her with questions. The mage glared at him as they sat down on the cushions on the floor.

“Have we kept you waiting for too long?” Efratel asked.

“Yeah, we’ve been stuck here waiting for ages-” Garthe coughed as Larena jabbed a sharp elbow into his side.

She turned back to Efratel with a smile. “Ignore him. We’ve only been here for around ten minutes. Roa was just asking for my advice about selecting gear for exploring planes in the Mystical Realm.”

Efratel blinked and turned to the snow elf, who was watching everything with a very faint smile on her lips. “Have you faced difficulties with your equipment?”

She shook her head. “Not at all. However, it occurred to me that the mana on planes of the Mystical Realm does not have the same harsh, wild qualities of that of the Beast Realm,” she explained. “I wished to know how that may influence the maintenance and selection of gear for when we go to the Sundown Continent plane shard.”

Efratel nodded in understanding, but all of a sudden Marellen stood up and stared at them all.

“Wait, wait, wait,” he said. “Roa, Garthe, Larena, you all plan to accept going to the plane shard without even knowing who the Aurelian Commission Head is?”

The others traded glances. Marellen’s eyes narrowed. “Don’t tell me… you know who they are?”

There was a tense silence. Then Garthe crossed his arms and nodded solemnly. “Yes, it’s true. We know who they are.”

“Then…”

“The Aurelian Commission Head is secretly…” Garthe drew his words out for effect and then spread his arms with grandiosity. “Archmage Merkenia Alichanteu!”

Marellen’s eyes widened with shock. “Really?”