Malrick made his way toward us, accompanied by two guards. He cleared his throat, amplifying his voice with mana to get the attention of everyone.
"I would first like to congratulate each and every one of you for reaching this stage today" sizing up the applicants as if mentally weighing their worth.
"You should definitely take pride in yourselves," his gaze lingering a fraction longer on the female participants, examining them with a discomforting intensity,
"Not everyone has the talent or dedication to become a mage. You are the few who have risen above the rest." he continued
Listening to the speech, I felt my mind slowly drifting off to sleep. I tried to stifle my yawn, but it slipped through, earning a few side glances. Luckily, Malrick didn't seem to notice, as he shifts his attention to Lyra.
"Lady Lyra,"
"I must personally congratulate you on your splendid result in the evaluation. I'm sure your father, The Duke of Ascalon will be proud."
Malrick's smile widened as he added, his voice carrying a quiet warning
"I hope you continue to bring honor to your family and dedicate yourself to the Federation—and the Council, of course."
"Thank you, I'll keep that in mind"
Malrick shifts his attention back to the participants
"With that, I shall now conclude today's Ascension Rite."
"Each of you will soon be receiving an invitation to attend Ascalon academy, starting 4 months from now."
"Attendance will be mandatory, so use this as an opportunity to meet new people and make connections."
After a brief pause, Malrick continued, "Lastly, instructors from the Academy will arrive in a few days to guide you through the process of awakening your core. Ensure that you're prepared."
I paused upon hearing the name.
Ascalon academy—the leading institution in the Federation of Ascalon, which prides itself on nurturing the next generation of mages. And one of the few that the Arcane Council can't exert their influence on.
Its headmaster, Thalor Pendragon, one of the very few who reached the pinnacle of mage craft as a transcendent.
However, he mysteriously disappeared one day in my previous life without a trace. Taking advantage of this absence, the Arcane Council gradually inserted their influence.
Now that I think about it, it's definitely suspicious how one of the strongest mages on the continent simply vanished one day without a trace.
I was deep in thought, when I suddenly felt a gentle tap on my shoulder. I turned around to see Kaelon
"Hey man, are you good? You've been standing there staring into space. People have already begun to leave."
"Oh, my bad," I said with a small shake of my head. "I was just thinking about something. Don't worry about it."
The sun had already begun to set as I looked into the distance and saw my sister Elysia sprinting toward me, her long hair flying behind as she pulled me into a warm embrace.
"You actually did it! You managed to become a mage, I'm so proud of you!" she exclaimed, her voice filled with joy.
"Can't b-breathe…" I managed to gasp out between her enthusiastic hug.
Elysia immediately released me, her face flushing slightly. "Oops, sorry! Got a bit carried away."
I took a moment to catch my breath, shooting her a half-hearted glare.
"Was that really necessary? We're still in public."
"What? Is my little brother feeling embarrassed, huh?" she teased, poking my cheek with her fingers.
I swatted away her hand, looking somewhat annoyed. Beside me, Kaelon was visibly struggling to contain his laughter. I immediately shot him a glare, and his face quickly returned to a more neutral expression.
Elysia shifted her eyes toward Kaelon, who was standing behind me.
"And this is?"
"Oh, I forgot to introduce him to you. His name is Kaelon. I met him while we were lining up during the evaluation."
"Nice to meet you,"
"Your brother here was just talking about you before."
Elysia raised an eyebrow,
"Oh, did he now? What did he tell you?"
Kaelon paused for a moment, a devilish grin slowly creeping onto his face. Sensing something was off, I promptly smacked him before he could spout any nonsense.
My sister chuckled softly, watching the scene unfold. "It looks like you've made yourself a friend, Caelith."
I shrugged, offering a half-smile
"I think I briefly saw your name on the leaderboard earlier—you're pretty impressive too, an A rank affinity"
Her smile was bright and captivating.
Kaelon blushed slightly at her words. He scratched the back of his head, looking flustered.
"Haha, it's nothing really I'm just lucky that all"
Kaelon suddenly turned to me with a serious look on his face and leaned closer, whispering in my ear,
"Dude, I think I might be in love with your sister."
"Should I beat you up this time?"
Kaelon starts sweating nervously after seeing the look on my face.
"Hahaha… It was just a joke, forget I said anything."
I sighed
Suddenly, an emotionless voice cut through our conversation.
"There seems to be quite a commotion here"
I clicked my tongue once I realized who was talking.
Why is Malrick coming over here?
My sister's eyes widened briefly before she cast her gaze downward, dipping into a hurried bow.
"S-Sir Malrick. What brings you here, out of all places?"
Malrick gaze lingers on Elysia, his eyes narrowing, before turning his attention towards me and Kaelon.
"I couldn't help but notice your gathering here and decided to join in." His gaze flickering back to my sister.
A vague sense of unease crept over me. I recalled something in my previous life—wasn't he near the scene when my sister's body was discovered? The more that I thought about it, The more pieces began to fall into place.
The authorities had adamantly prevented me from seeing my sister's body for some unknown reasons.
I took a glance at Malrick. Could it have been him? I frown, he definitely had the capabilities and authority to cover things up, and the rumors surrounding him didn't cast him in a good light either.
"Thank you for granting my brother admission to the Academy," Her voice now composed.
"He's been looking forward to studying there for a long time."
Malrick chuckled softly, though it lacked any warmth. "There's no need for such formalities. Your brother earned his place here through his own merits."
"If I may ask, what is your name?"
"My name is Elysia, Sir Malrick."
Not wanting the conversation to continue any further, I stepped forward, placing myself between Malrick and my sister.
"I apologize for the interruption, Sir Malrick, but we really should be on our way now."
Though he was confused, Kaelon quickly caught on to my intent and quickly interjected.
"Uh, didn't we promise to meet the others? We're already running late."
A flicker of annoyance crossed Malrick's face before his smile returned. His gaze darted between me and Elysia. "Very well, I won't keep you. But I do hope we meet again soon."
Malrick turned away, his expression unreadable, footsteps echoing as he walked off.
"Hey sis, you alright there?"
"Huh? Yeah, I'm okay…thanks"
Kaelon frowned slightly, glancing in the direction Malrick had gone.
"For a person who's so expressionless, he sure gives me the creeps."
Elysia took a deep breath,
"As I was trying to say before, I'm planning on cooking a feast tonight to commemorate Caelith for being a mage. Want to join us, Kaelon?"
"Can I?"
Kaelon's eyes lit up with excitement as he looked at me, seemingly asking for approval.
I shrugged. "I don't really care, suit yourself."
As the three of us walked back home with the sun almost set, my mind kept returning to the encounter with Malrick. The way he acted around my sister was strange.
Something deeper was in play, something that might have played a role in her eventual death.
As the sun soon dipped below the horizon, my thoughts lingered a few more moments on Malrick before I pushed them aside, turning my attention towards my sister and Kaelon as we made our way to our home.