MaeveMcCarthy
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Chapter XXXI
🕑 Added 2023-11-11 11:27:35 +0000 UTCTwo chapters for the price of one today! đŒ
Lucianus had barely recognized his daughter when he had found her in the church where Elysiumâs body was resting. She had been clothed in the Gens Constantina robes, and it showed. Opulence and excesses were common in the [Pope]âs lineageâsomething that he had always held a deep contempt for. When he had seen his daughter reeling by her friendâs body, however, Lucianus knew that she had not changed one bit. At least not yet.
When he had seen his daughter, Aurora, entering the house with her hair disheveled and her skin as pale as her dead friendâs, he had felt like a huge stone had been placed on his chest.
âAurora?â He asked, looking around quickly and making sure that his wife had gone to sleep already. Their daughter almost ruined all the work he had put into shifting his wifeâs perspective during their stay on the battlefield. Only an onslaught of promises had calmed Adriana, who was now probably already resting in bedâperhaps waiting for him.
âDadâŠâ His daughterâs eyes were searching for something.
âYes?â Lucianus felt a tinge of anxiety color his mood.
âDad, IâŠâ Auroraâs mouth hung open, and Lucianus immediately recognized that something terrible had happened.
As he approached her, he crouched slightly, âWhat is it, darling?â
âIâI lost it, dad,â she spoke, visibly in shock.
âLost what?â Lucianus frowned.
Was she perhaps talking about her friend?
I shouldnât have let her study alone, he reasoned to himself.
âIâI lost everything.â
âŠ
Lily began to explain, âI lost my skills⊠I tried to save Elysium. I read in the Book of the Dead thatâ"
âAurora,â her father sharply interrupted her, startling her.
âYâyes?â
âDonât say another word.â
She didnât fully understand what her father meant, but he simply hugged her tightly.
âCome.â
Lucianus Claudius brought her to his study, making sure to lock the door behind them and then turning to her. âShow me.â
Lily nodded reluctantly and tried to summon a simple [Light Orb], the very first skill she had mastered. However, nothing happened. Mana coalesced in her hand and immediately dispersed, not at all Attuned.
âI canât do Light Magic anymore,â she said in a panic. âI canât heal, dad!â
âLower your voice,â Lucianus sighed, far too calm in response to this revelation.
âDad, Iââ
âWe shouldnât be so quick to give up, Aurora. Keep trying.â
And so, they did. For almost an hour, Lily tried all the exercises she had learned since she was a newborn. She even found using [Mana Sense] and [Mana Shaping] harder than usual, as if something was blocking the flow of Mana in her very veins. [Minor Healing] and all her Light Magic abilities were simply gone.
Gone.
âYou have no visible skills blocking this?â
Lily shook her head, tears pooling in her eyes. She had been on the verge of becoming not just a [Healer] but also a fighter... perhaps even an [Angel]! Everything she had worked for since the day she was born had been stripped away from her.
âThe loss of the skill notification was red, right? But you did not â and, please, examine your mind very carefully â get any red skills, correct?â
Lily started sobbing, but she shook her head, her face turning completely red with shame.
âDad, I shouldnât have â"
âAurora!â Lucianus thundered. âDo not speak of it. Not with me, not with anyone. Itâs better that not even I know the details of what happened.â
Lily could not fully understand how her father could take this whole ordeal with such calmness, but what was even scarier were his next words.
âWe must speak with the [Pope].â
âŠ
[Pope] Ennius Constantinus had not been sleeping when a servant knocked on his door, announcing that none other than Lucianus Claudius had appeared at his steps.
He planned on letting the man wait until dawn before granting him the honor of his presence, but then, the servant added something else.
âHe brought his daughter with him. He says itâs of the utmost importance that Your Holiness sees them now.â
âŠ
âShadows take me.â
The [Pope] removed his hands from Auroraâs wrists, looking confusedly at Lucianus, who gave him a pained nod.
âSomething happened, Your Holiness.â
âAurora,â the [Pope] addressed the little girl. âThis happened⊠when you sneaked in during the Quiet and saw your little friend dead?â
Aurora Claudia was still sobbing and could barely squeeze a nod out of herself.
Children⊠Could this be an edict from our Lord? A punishment for someone who broke the Quiet?
Even the [Pope] was at a major loss in front of this situation. For a moment, he suspected that Lucianus Claudius might have incapacitated his daughter himself to break her free of the marriageâbut not even he was crazy enough to cripple his own daughter like that. There existed much easier recourses, and the [Pope] knew for a fact that something had been brewing among the allies of Gens Claudia. Just not⊠this.
âFather?â Lumius inquired for more information from the side.
âThis matter,â the [Pope] said, barely glancing at his son, âmust have been addressed by our Lord Himself. Aurora Claudiaâs magic is gone. I can feel the rejection of His Light in her. Not even the Holy Flame seems to be willing to pass down onto her.â
Lumius tensed up, his eyes widening. He bit down hard, gritting his teeth, trying not to be overtaken by his emotions. The [Pope] commended his sonâs crude efforts in his head before turning to the girl, thinking of the next move.
âLucianus, I gather you might have some ideas.â
âYour Holiness,â the man spoke, âmy daughter is clearly ill and unsuited for the union you have planned.â
âClearly,â the [Pope] spoke slowly, chewing on the word.
âI shall take her somewhere where they might be able to help her, with Your Holinessâs blessing of course.â
Ennius looked curiously at the father-daughter duo before nodding, âSheâll be in your care. Iâll arrange for another, more suitable candidate for my sonâs marriage.â
âThank you, Your Holiness,â Lucianus smiled slightly.
âHowever, shall the young Aurora regain her powers, my previous arrangement will be valid again, and they will marry, Lucianus.â
âI can only pray for His Light to shine hope on this proposition,â the patriarch of the Gens Claudia nodded.
The [Pope] felt like throwing something at the man but refrained from it.
Letâs see what your next move is, Lucianus. Was this really an accident or did you actually cripple your daughter to give your family hope? If itâs the latter, you most definitely gained my respect. I always took you for a very soft man.
The [Pope] watched as the father and the daughter left the hall where he had received them.
Ten, twenty, or even more down the line... There are endless amounts of useless people to marry into your pitiful family.
âŠ
Lucianus waited outside the Papal Estate as Lily was made to gather her belongings. The [Pope] hadnât even granted them the help of a servant.
âWhat did you do?â She heard Lumius through the open door and turned to see him advancing on her.
âIâI did nothing,â her voice trembled.
âAurora,â Lumius raised his voice, âwhat did you do?!â
âNothing! Nothing!â She shouted with a throaty voice.
âYouâŠâ The gray-haired boy walked up to her with a balled fist close to his mouth, rage marring his features. âYou promised!â He slammed his fist into the table where she had put her clothes and a few other trinkets.
âYou promised, and look at you now!â
Lucianus had made her change into simple clothes before going to the Papal Estate. Lumius, already losing his mind because of her losing her magic, was tipped over by the fact that she wasnât wearing his gift.
âMy father said that if you canât use Light Magic, you canât even use the Holy Flame!â
âI know!â Lily tried to push him away, but he grabbed her hands, getting dangerously close to her face, his white teeth bared like fangs.
âYou threw everything away,â he muttered. âYou did something. You most certainly ruined yourself because of that peasant!â
âI didnât!â Lily cried. âI wanted to accept the Holy Flame!â
âYou lied!â Lumius shouted even louder.
âI wanted to accept! I wanted to fight! I justâI donât know what happened during the Quiet!â
âYou lied to me!â Lumius raged, his tone abruptly shifting from anger to disbelief as he let go of her hands. âYou knew you were doing something like this...â
âNo, I didnât! IâI lost everything!â
Lumius looked at her with his mouth open wide and his hands trembling. He stared down at his shaking digits before looking back at her.
Lily saw many emotions go through his eyes and then just⊠quiet. He saw the pieces that had fallen out and the cracksâall mended. In an instant, Lumius regained the icy countenance he had shown the first days sheâd met him.
Without saying another word, he left.
âŠ
Lily's recollection of the events after Lumius departed was a foggy haze. The endless hours of tension seemed to have drained every ounce of energy from her young frame. It was a mere moment of weakness, a fleeting instant, when her consciousness slipped away from reality, plunging her into a deep, restless slumber.
As Lily slowly drifted back to consciousness, the first sensation that overwhelmed her was a piercing dryness in her mouth. It felt as though it had been ages since she last had a sip of water. The arid sensation clawed down her throat, accentuating the throbbing dullness in her head. Yet, amidst this disorienting discomfort, the rhythmic clatter of horse hooves against cobblestone infiltrated through the haze of her drowsy thoughts, stitching her back to the present. The carriage was still in motion, the tempo of its wheels rolling over the uneven path was faster than sheâd ever experienced before.
"You're finally awake," a familiar voice broke into her thoughts, soothing yet on edge and with an unmistakable note of relief.
Blinking against the harsh light of late morning that bled through the carriage drapes, Lily opened her eyes. Across from her sat her father, his face softened by a gentle smile that seemed to carry a world of assurance.
"Dad⊠Where are we going?" Her voice was a hoarse whisper â the words felt heavy, almost foreign, as they rolled off her tongue.
âLook outside,â he smiled.
Moving the curtain that draped over the carriage window, she peeked out. There, she found the view of a massive wall getting farther and farther away from them.
For the first time in her entire life, Lily was leaving Alalia, the capital of the Papal State.
Comments
BAAAB The Blood God
So instead of gaining some death related power she just lost all of her hard gained power ? That's dope ! No more dirty light magic for you girl
BAAAB The Blood God
Thanks for the chapter !
