The sun had already risen, illuminating the sky with shades of orange and pink. Lucios walked through the castle, smelling the aroma of fresh bread and coffee he had just consumed. He was on his way to meet Sir Michael, to continue his training in the Way, the art of manipulating the energy flowing through all things.

Lucios couldn't deny he was nervous. He had reached the metamorphosis stage nearly two weeks ago, after the bloody fight against the wolf in the forest. At that moment, he felt his energy from the Way explode, giving him the strength to separate from the wolf, but he almost lost his life. He still had scars to remind him of that day.

Since then, he had difficulty controlling his Way energy. Before, in the foundation stage, he could feel his energy easily. Now, in the metamorphosis stage, he could move his energy, making it flow through his body. But he didn't have much control over it. Sometimes, his energy would explode unintentionally, other times, it would become too weak; he didn't understand what was happening.

He knew Sir Michael was one of his father's knights who had reached the pinnacle of the metamorphosis stage and would surely be able to help him.

However, before meeting Sir Michael, he would see his grandmother, whom he hadn't seen for almost three months due to the journey he had to take with his brothers. With his father distant, always busy with household matters, and his half-brother Liam living far away in the kingdom's capital, Lucios didn't have much interaction with his relatives. The only family members he had truly kept in touch with over the past two years were his two older brothers, Adrian and Lucam, who never liked Lucios very much.

Besides them, there was his mother, of course, who always treated him like a baby. She was a woman born as the only daughter of Baron Lester of House Guato, and therefore always had everything she wanted until she married Count Tiberios in a political marriage. Despite the distance between his father and mother, Lucios could feel his mother's love. However, it was very difficult to talk to her with all those servants around her.

And then there was his grandmother, his father's mother, who was undoubtedly the family member Lucios liked the most. The reason for this is that Lucios always felt his grandmother treated him like an adult, unlike everyone else. She was a wise and kind woman, who knew many stories and secrets of the world. She had traveled to many places and had seen many wonders and horrors. She had learned many things. She always encouraged and defended him from his brothers.

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It didn't take long for Lucios to reach the back garden of the castle, his grandmother's favorite place. It was a beautiful and peaceful place, full of flowers of all colors. There was also a fountain of crystal-clear water, which reflected the sunlight and created a place where one could breathe in peace and harmony, and forget about problems and worries.

Lucios saw his grandmother sitting on a wooden bench, surrounded by flowers. She wore a simple dress. Her gray hair was tied in a bun. She had a wrinkled face, but full of life. She smiled as she saw Lucios approaching and called him by name.

"Lucio, my dear, I was wondering if you had forgotten about me," she said, with a warm smile that lit up her wrinkled face.

Lucios looked at his grandmother and replied, "I wanted to come see you yesterday, grandma, but I..." He stopped, remembering the punishment his father had given him. His face twisted into a sad expression that soon returned to normal, and he continued, "Yesterday I went to talk to daddy, and after the conversation I had with him, I had too much on my mind to think about anything else."

His grandmother, always attentive, noticed the sad expression he tried to hide and asked what had happened. Lucios took a deep sigh and told his grandmother everything that had happened - from skipping Sir Owen's classes to the wolf attack, and finally, the punishment his father had given him. His grandmother listened attentively, with a serious look, and finally spoke, "You've told me your story and clearly shown your dissatisfaction, but now I want you to tell me how you feel about your father's decision."

Seeing his grandmother calm and composed, Lucios tried to calm down too and formulate a satisfactory response. Then, he said, "I was shocked; I didn't think father would know about my escapes. Then, I became very angry about being sent to the territory of some random baron in the north just so father could have some political connection with him. After all, even if father wanted to get rid of me, he could have sent me to the kingdom's capital. At least I could have been reunited with my brother. But after Sir Michael talked to me about father's decision, I realized something was off. After all, the political connection with Baron Oliver should be irrelevant since he rules over a poor territory whose greatest riches are exports of furs and fabrics and is constantly attacked by barbarians."

Happy to see that her grandson was trying to reason out his father's seemingly nonsensical order, Tiberios, she smiled and said to Lucio, "First, never assume your enemies don't know your moves. That was a lesson my husband taught to your father, and your father probably taught to Adrian. And I want you to learn that too. Information is power; it's always good to have more and never less. In the future, always keep that in mind."

"And about your assumptions about your father's decision to send you to House Kamaiura, I think I have information that can clarify that," she said still smiling and continued, "A little bird told me that Baron Oliver's men found a Tekoha."

When Lucios heard the word Tekoha coming out of his grandmother's mouth, he widened his eyes, and his mouth opened so wide it could fit a goose egg inside it. Surprise was evident on his face, and he looked at his grandmother, eagerly awaiting more information.