"When do you plan to leave?"
She asked after a moment of silence. I leaned back on my chair and looked up at the glass ceiling.
"The start of the next month, I apologise, mother."
I met her eyes as I apologised. It wasn’t easy for me to leave the duchy, but for my goals, I had to think about the future.
"I already anticipated this day would come, but it arrived earlier than I had prepared."
I could see the sadness in her eyes. This wasn’t like going to the academy where she could just visit whenever she missed both of us.
"But I’ll come visit every three months or less i can’t let you forget my presence that easily. I’m your favorite, aren’t I?"
I was quiet as she observed before she smiled and opened her arms. I wasn’t one to let an opportunity slide. I pulled her onto my lap and lay my head on her ample chest.
Her right hand ran through my hair softly while her left hand caressed my cheeks.
"My mind is telling me to take you with me even if I have to use force."
"Will you?"
Her heart skipped a bit before it went back to normal. I pulled her closer to myself.
"Yes and no. I love mother too much to force her into leaving. I’ll just contend with your image. I will use the image stone to contact you at every guild I stop at."
Mother chuckled.
"Silly child," she pulled my hair back, causing me to look up at her glowing eyes, " do not ever forget to contact me, Lucian, or I’ll come find you, and you will not like that."
The small sting on my hair still persisted. I smirked at her.
"Don’t tempt me mother."
"Don’t make me furious, Lucian. You know me well enough to know what I would do to you."
I chuckled.
"Yes, mother, unless I’m tied with something I cannot leave or avoid, I will always contact you."
She let my hair go, and I went back to listening to her heartbeat. It felt like music to my ears.
"Come, I have something to give you."
She touched my hand, gesturing for me to unwrap my hands around her waist. My hands went down to her behind and squeezed both cheeks before reluctantly letting her go.
Mother looked at me, unimpressed, as she got off my lap.
"Where are we going?"
I asked her as we walked deeper into the large garden. The thorns from the roses would occasionally scratch my skin, but mother took us deeper and deeper into the bushes.
"We’re here."
Mother came to a stop in front of a small door. It was a black wooden basement door, and I could already see the high-level defense magic on the door.
Anyone who tried to open it was as good as dead.
"I’ve never seen this one before."
I said as I knelt before the door, studying it.
"You were too young for this. Your sister has already visited this place."
I wasn’t that surprised, maybe a little, but not too much. It was expected she was the next matriarch after all.
"What’s in there?"
I asked curiously. Mother had not attempted to open it. She was just standing there quietly as she looked at the door.
"Drop your blood in the middle of the spell after I activate it, do not be a moment late."
She said sternly. I nodded. She knelt beside me and placed the seal on top of the door.
A large red spell appeared on top of the door, and I dropped my blood in the middle. The spell circles and patterns separated and rotated in the air before they sank into my body.
"What kind of spell was that?"
I asked in confusion as I touched my body, trying to feel any difference, but nothing.
"Just wait.."
As if on cue, my body started to feel hot, and I could feel the spell sink into my magic pool.
Pain I had never felt before assaulted my body. I fell back as I held my chest. A silent scream escaped my body as the spell started to corrupt my magic pool.
The clear pool started to turn red little by little as it expanded and the pain just got worse.
I bit into lips as I endured the pain that tore through my body and what felt like my soul. I could feel my power increasing but the process was just too cruel.
"Here, drink this, it will help."
Through my blurred vision and disoriented mind mother placed a vile on my lips. I shut my lips and refused to drink it.
How could I when I could smell the blood mixed in it, I didn’t know what was inside. My mind was rejecting it but my body felt like it was breaking apart.
"Drink this, or you will die."
Mother said calmly. She placed my head onto her lap and ran her hand through my hair softly.
’Death’
The word ran through my head. I opened my mouth, and mother poured the vial contents inside.
My gut had been right; it was blood-filled with different kinds of herbs. I had never tasted or seen them.
"There, there, good boy. You can go to sleep. When you wake up you can be as good as new."
Mother’s voice lulled me to sleep. I tried to fight it, but I couldn’t, it was as if I had been hypnotised.
This feeling of powerlessness was something I never wanted to experience again. That was the last thought I had before I lost consciousness.
~~end of Lucian POV~~
Duchess Lilith looked at her sleeping son. She took out a handkerchief and wiped the blood that was trickling down his mouth and eyes.
"Is it done mother?"
She turned to see her oldest daughter, a younger version of her, coming through the flowers.
She nodded at her question.
She came and knelt beside her and touched the unconscious Lucian’s hair.
"You will be leaving with your brother?"
The duchess asked Seraph. Seraph nodded.
"Yes, mother."
Duchess Lilith, placed Lucian’s head on her daughter’s lap and walked to the now open door.
"What inheritance did brother get?"
Seraph asked in curiosity. She had also undergone the same process as Lucian, but she had not lost consciousness like Lucian.
She looked down at his peaceful face and felt sorry for him. He seemed to always get the short end of the stick every time.
"It seems to be a broken stone tablet."
Duchess Lilith picked the cracked stone and showed it to her daughter. Seraph sighed.
"It’s not even full, just a small part."
The duchess shook her head.
"I can feel the power inside, something is very strange about this stone. The void would never give us something useless. It gives you what you most likely desire the most."
Duchess Lilith explained.
"But I got a sword."
Seraph complained.
"Didn’t you want to be the best combat magician. You got a sword that can channel your magic, what more do you expect?"
Seraph nodded in resignation at the reprimand.
"Mother, why did you give brother our blood? He didn’t need it, he would have recovered perfectly on his own. Won’t he be angry?"
Seraph asked skeptically as she looked up at the duchess smiling face.
The duchess brought her hand and covered her mouth, and chuckled, her eyes glowing with the familiar obsession Lucian occasionally displayed.
"Your brother decided to leave without my permission, he has to be punished. Mother loves both of you very much. I’m very angry right now, aren’t you, darling?"
She cupped Seraph’s face, forcing her to meet her eyes. Seraph smiled.
"Yes mother, brother needs to be punished"
The duchess ran her hand through Seraph’s hair softly.
"Good girl. Now take care of your brother okay. He can be too impulsive sometimes."
"I will mother. I’ll remind him to come back home every single time."
The duchess chuckled. They really resembled each other.
She was the best mother.
"Let’s take your brother to his room then. We will explain everything to him tomorrow."
Seraph nodded.
"I do hope that his tantrum won’t be catastrophic."
The duchess teleported both of them to Lucian’s room and placed him on his bed.
At that moment, the door opened, and Luna walked in carrying Lucian’s washed clothes. She froze at the sight of the two unexpected mistresses.
"Good evening duchess. "
She bowed to the duchess, who was sitting by Lucian’s bed. She nodded before going back to running her hands through his hair.
"Good evening young mistress."
Seraph smiled at her.
"My brother became unconscious. Would you mind preparing some hot water?"
Luna glanced at Lucian worriedly. She has never seen him this vulnerable. His face was also paler than usual.
The duchess seemed to notice her worried gaze.
"My son really trained the best slave. I’ll be leaving now but inform him to come see me the moment he wakes up."
The two glanced at Lucian one last time before leaving the room.
The moment they were out, Luna rushed to his bed and touched his forehead.
He wasn’t hot but she noticed the blood on his neck and clothes. She straightened his bedding and left the room hurriedly.