Duke Alistar shook his head. “My lady, I sincerely doubt that. I could sense the extraordinary quality of your Core long before I reached the city walls.” He peered at me and stroked his beard. “What Core level have you reached? Your foundation is quite peculiar. There is a blur around it; a fog obfuscating its presence. I am being blocked from seeing its true level, but I can surmise you are around mid-bronze tier?”
Part of me wanted to correct him, to let him know that I was silver-tier and that my power would soon eclipse his before I even reached mid-gold. Instead, I kept my mouth shut and just nodded. He couldn’t perceive me as a threat. Not yet.
“It seems your senses are not so clouded, Your Grace. I broke through to the mid-bronze level during our fight with the High Pandorian.” Feeling that more information would solidify the lie, I added, “I had been stabbed pretty badly through my stomach by the warrior. I was saved only by the breakthrough.”
“Interesting,” he said, nodding along. “I have heard that some breakthroughs come with healing. Very talented Core users are said to even undergo physical changes.”
I shrugged. “I don’t believe I changed that much.”
He snorted. “That’s not what Chella told me. She said you grew nearly an entire foot in a matter of weeks.”
I shrugged again. “Puberty, I guess.”
“Puberty, you say?” Alistar squinted at me as if trying to see through my facade. “How old are you exactly, Lady Lilliana?”
For once, I was thankful that the Silverwater barony had tried to hide Lilliana’s existence and kept most of her information from the public. “I am fifteen,” I said, hoping the Duke also lacked information on Lilliana.
“I see.” His expression said he was anything but done with the topic, so I took the initiative out of his hands.
“Your Grace, you mentioned to me last night that the City Lord is traveling. What are the chances he returns?”
Duke Alistar didn’t say anything for a moment, keeping his gaze steady and matching my feigned expression of naive curiosity. Then he sighed. “It truly is not something for a young lady such as yourself to be concerned with, but I understand the past few weeks have been anything but pleasant for you. I believe you are entitled to some answers.” Curtis arrived at that moment, handing each of us a small cup filled with a clear blue fluid that I guessed was some sort of native tea. Alistar closed his eyes and took a long sip of the tea. When his lips parted with the cup, he released a soft sigh of relief. “The City Lord of Sealrite is Marquess Benedict Sharma. He is a fairly powerful mage, though I do not believe he is quite at the same level as I am.” He paused again. “But the translation between a mage and a User is not always an obvious parallel.”
“Will you be pressing your attack into Cael during his absence?” I asked keenly, but the Duke narrowed his eyes slightly.
“Until the King grants me the authority to engage in full war, we will be solidifying our hold on Sealrite.” That seemed like a mistake to me, but I didn’t voice the objection. A full-out war would come, one way or another. “In any case, we have many soldiers under my banner who are nearing the final push into Core creation.”
My eyes widened at that. “Is having a developed Core not as rare as I was led to believe?”
Duke Alistar frowned again. “Who taught you about cultivator heart energy and Cores?”
“I am self-taught,” I said, not completely lying this time. Lilith was not self-taught, but technically Lilliana was.
“What?” His jaw literally dropped as he stared at me in disbelief. “You are self-taught?” When I nodded but didn’t elaborate, he shook his head. “Unbelievable. Does that mean you know nothing of the reality of cultivation? I cannot believe you reached mid-bronze by fifteen without so much as a mentor or theoretical framework.”
“I was not aware anyone but I even had a Core until I encountered the High Pandorian.”
Duke Alistar was still shaking his head. “Incredible. Absolutely incredible.” He adopted a more pensive expression and took another sip of his tea. I still hadn’t touched the liquid and held it between my hands, but Nida had inhaled hers in a second. She smacked her lips and eyed mine when Curtis handed her a second cup. “I suppose it is true, then? That the Baron and his family sheltered their sickly youngest daughter from the realities of the world.”
Sickly? By the look on the Duke’s face, it didn’t seem like he believed that rumor. I couldn’t blame him; one look at me would make such claims seem wildly implausible.
“It is a family matter that will be taken care of in due time,” I said, brushing past the conflicting facts. It was a polite way of telling the Duke to mind his own business. He seemed to get the hint and made to sip his tea again.
“A long time ago, our continent was a single nation, the Empire of Laxon. The Empire was divided into many smaller houses, many of which exist today as the aristocracy of new Kingdoms like Cael and Lysoria. Each of those houses was provided Core Doctrines by the Emperor of Laxon, which detailed methods of refining heart energy into Cores. There are a few different methods, though no one knows for sure just how many variations the Emperor handed out. A Core Doctrine is, in essence, what permits a Noble House to exist. If the Doctrine is lost, the House will fall.”
This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.
“If a House requires a Core Doctrine, why did the baro- I mean my father, not have a Core? And why do more Knights and soldiers not also have Cores? Why do they dangerously build up countless heart rings?” I asked, my mind racing to connect the missing dots. The only reason I could think of was that their heart rings were just pathetically weak in comparison to heart rings in Ordite.
The Duke simply chuckled. “My dear girl, it is not that simple to create a Core. It is quite common that many are not able to reach that level, even with access to a doctrine. Especially the lesser doctrines retained by nobility under the status of Duke.” He shrugged with an almost pitying smile. "There is no harm in creating heart rings. I do not know who taught you that, but no damage has ever come from too many heart rings." Another chuckle. That didn’t make any sense. If one could cultivate heart energy and create heart rings, one could refine a core. My puzzled expression must have betrayed my thoughts since the Duke let out a hearty laugh. “I have heard it is difficult for geniuses to understand the complexities of mortal struggles, but I have never seen it quite so obvious.”
I shook my head. “Does that mean the Silverwaters have a Core Doctrine?”
“Aye,” he confirmed. “Collin may not have managed to refine a Core, but his grandfather had reached mid-silver nearly a century ago.” I looked at him, confused, and though he returned my expression with a smile, it was bittersweet. “Did you not know your own father’s name?”
Ah. So that was his name.
“I was… sheltered.” I would have to get my hands on the Silverwater Core Doctrine to see what it said. "What about the King of Cael? I encountered him during my time in the arena, and he was also Coreless."
The Duke simply shrugged. "That, I do not know. The Cael King rarely, if ever, has a Core. In fact, none of the royal family usually has a Core. I don't pretend to understand the dynamics of those ridiculously backward people." His expression suddenly turned abruptly serious. “Lady Lilliana, I apologize for suddenly disregarding any more pleasantries, but I must ask you whether you wish to return to your family now that you have been freed from captivity. I will, of course, send you if that is what you wish. But if my understanding of what you went through before you were enslaved, then do not feel pressured to return. It is a disgrace to all Lysorian nobles that you have lived a life anything short of luxury. If you ask, I will allow you to remain within my House as a ward of the duchy.”
The offer was certainly tempting, but I couldn’t agree to it. If what he said about the Core Doctrine was true, I needed to go back and get it. I was about to reject his offer, but he held up a hand, stopping me.
“Before you answer, there is more. If you return, you will be returning not to the Silverwater territory but to the Goldenhearts.” I swallowed whatever words I’d been about to say and let the Duke speak. “I am not yet entirely sure what has happened, but I have been receiving reports that the Silverwaters and their Knights fled to the Goldenheart territory shortly after Baron Silverwater left from Sealrite. Mind you that this is not confirmed, but it is currently believed that your family was keeping a Sire captive in their dungeons. I assume it broke free of whatever restraints they had, causing them to flee from its retribution.”
I couldn’t help the laugh that burst from me. The absurdity of what the Duke just said was simply outrageous. I remembered hearing that some time ago, but it was still absurd, and even with the Duke mentioning it, I didn't really believe it was true. There was no reality where that was remotely possible. Short of a progenitor choosing to be captured as Orpheus had, I doubted there was any method in Graedon that could subdue them enough to be killed, much less captured. Which, in my experience, was worlds harder than just slaying one.
After a minute or so, I managed to stifle my laughter and forced out a few words between chuckles. “My father and even his best Knight would be no competition compared to me right now. I’ve met a Sire before; there is no way they captured one.”
“You’ve met a Sire?” The Duke asked, his eyebrows shooting up into loose black and white strands of hair.
“Briefly,” I responded. “When I joined my House’s Knights on a spring expedition to the Misty Veils.”
Alistar looked thoughtful, and then his eyes narrowed in surprise. “You were part of that expedition? But I heard…”
“That it ended in complete failure? It did. I barely managed to get away when a Caelian slaver stumbled upon me.”
“I see.” He let out a deep breath and opened his clasped hands. “Well, my lady. The decision is up to you to decide.”
“For now,” I said, standing up and reaching over to place the untouched tea on his desk. The legs of the plush office chair scratched against the stone floor as I reached my full height and used my free hands to push some still dirty hair behind my ears. Nida followed suit, standing up so fast she nearly knocked over her chair. She sheepishly apologized to Curtis who had just barely caught it and handed him her empty cup. “I would like to bathe. After that, I intend to visit the Silverwater estate. I need to see it with my own eyes.”
I didn't much care what happened to this city or the Duke if the City Lord returned. What was important was that the Baron had likely hidden the Core Doctrine somewhere in the estate and if it was still there, I wanted it. Better to hold my own power than rely on the generosity of a Duke as some sort of ward. Since the Baron's relationship with the Goldenhearts, from what I’d heard in the short time I’d lived there, was not the best, he would have wanted to hide the doctrine from even her, lest her maiden House attempt to steal it.
“I cannot allow tha-”
“Then provide me with an escort,” I interrupted, giving the Duke a small bow and heading toward the exit, dismissing myself. “I am entitled to see my home if it is truly destroyed.” I swiftly moved around the stone table back to the door I'd entered through. It opened with a gentle click and a slight hum of heart energy. Was someone imbuing energy into the door itself?
I paused at the door and glanced back at the Duke over my shoulder, who scowled but assented with a hesitant nod. “Fine. Once there is a moment, I will see about creating an escort. I cannot promise any timeline, however. It depends on what news we receive from the City Lord and the Cael King. I will also be sending out scouts beforehand. We still don't know what happened. The Sire might still be there.” He motioned to Curtis to leave with us. “Show them to their rooms. And Lady Lilliana. We will speak again later about your Core development. You may not be my ward or part of my House, but I will be damned if I let such talent go to waste. So long as you are here, you will undergo training and mentorship. Understood?”
I nodded with a smile. “Understood, Your Grace. In the meantime, tell your soldier to stop shadowing me,” I said, glancing at the silent man with a half-smile. “He’s too loud.” With that, I left the room, not caring if I was dismissed. I’d shown enough respect to a duke that not even some kings had received when I’d been Queen.