The Flower of Separation

"Are you sure you saw her?"

"Yes! There is no doubt."

"Quick, let us gather more soldiers to catch the traitor."

"But Lady Seira-"

"The brat can't run away in her state."

In his entire life as a powerful magician, he has never had to do anything so troublesome. But when he recalled her pained expression and face when she had those nightmares, he decided to do her this favor. Lucas currently hid on the top of the tree as he watched the soldiers of the ageha family scurry around.

On the outskirts of town, there should be a shed. That is the place they keep Seira locked up when I am not around.

Lucas gaze landed on the small grey building. A shed? It looks more like a hut. Being confined in that small space for so long would drive a person crazy quickly.

It seems humans are no good; they are still as vile as they were several centuries ago. This is one reason why he chose to enter eternal sleep and why his fellow magicians began to hide from humans. None of the humans deserve their protection.

Power only corrupts people. When the humans learned that the magicians were far stronger than them, they became greedy. Some wanted to use that power for their own, using whatever means as necessary. How many times did he see his fellow magicians enslaved by humans?

It took every last bit of their strength to save their fellow magicians and conceal their village. After that, he isolated himself in the tower. He lost faith in humanity and even his fellow magicians. He learned the reasons why the humans could control them was because a magician helped them.

Not just any old magician, too; it was his mentor.

Lucas shook his head. There is no use thinking about such things now; he has a job to do.

He waited until the last soldier left before he climbed down the tree. Lucas approached the shed and sighed when he got in front of the door. What a flimsy magic lock; it seems there is nobody else competent in the Ageha family other than that odd girl.

But huh? What is this presence he is sensing right now? This weird type of magic, he has never felt something like this before.

He took a step forward and undid the lock; the moment he entered, he spotted a small bundle in the corner. It was the girl he saw previously now that he got a closer look.

This girl also entered his tower before, but she did not spend that long there, so he did not pay that much attention to it.

However, now that he thought about it, he noticed that some things were off in the tower when he woke up. According to Lillian, she always put things back after she used it. Indeed after a week of staying with her, he can confirm that.

"Who?" A weak and feeble voice called out.

Lucas sighed deeply as he saw her look at him cautiously. He thought she would be sleeping and intended to drop off the letter then leave. But now, it seems he has to deal with her.

He doesnt say anything and just took out the letter and small package.

Seiras eyes widened when she saw it, and she immediately took it from him. The girl stumbled on her feet, but he caught her.

Is she that excited to see a letter from Lillian? He joked around about the babysitting thing, but there seems to be something more.

..

Lucas didn't know the first thing about kids.

When he was younger, the children around him did not act like kids at all. So this is his first time seeing an actual child.

He watched as she read over the contents of the letter carefully.

Lucas caught the last part of the letter.

I will return.

It was just a single sentence, but the little girl started to cry then, and he sighed. This is annoying. "Can you write a reply? I need to get back."

Lillian said she would use herself as a decoy, but Lucas got a bad feeling. He did ensure that she was stable before he left, but Lucas recalled what he saw the other day. The Ageha family uses such cruel methods. It is strange, centuries ago, that family was one of the most peaceful ones. They were the messengers to the imperial family. But how come they are so ruthless now?

His mana is low since he slept for so long, so some of his memories were hazy. Lilian should be fine for a while, but he can't leave her alone for so long.

Her magic is far too unstable. According to her, she could control it before, but after she took a certain poison, things started to go wrong.

She told him she would have to return to the manor to confirm the poison so he cannot learn about it now. What kind of poison causes damage to one's mana directly?

"Mister, are you a magician?" Seira asked as he passed her something to write on.

Lucas extended his hand out over her wounded arm, and he watched as her expression brightened.

"This is your first time seeing a magician and even magic. Are you really a member of the Ageha family?"

That appearance, those red eyes but her silver hai, even he found it unusual. He heard about the emergence of that eighth family, the blanks. The people there have a similar appearance to this kid. But she has the Ageha red eyes, so unless the Ageha family head slept with a member of the Blank family, then this child is just an unusual one.

But in the history of the Empire, he has never heard of two families mixing, and the children have both traits. Even if two families merge, usually the child ends up with one trait. There has never been a case like this before.

He watched as the girl flinched and Lucas paused. It seems this girl isn't as innocent as Lilian thinks.

"Let me rephrase that question." Lucas trailed off. "What did you take from my tower?"

"I--I didn't take anything."

Lucas slammed his hands against the wall causing the tower of boxes on the side to fall. "It seems you do not understand your situation very well, but I am doing you a favor. I normally don't have this much patience."

"A favor?"

"If it weren't for your sister, you would be dead the moment you looked at me."

He normally does not give many people chances. After all, it took was a single look from him to determine whether they were a good person or not.

The only exception would be Lillian. She is the only one who he couldn't tell what her intentions were. On the other hand this brat, he could tell right away that she is not good news. She may look meek, but her magic is another story. Does Lillian not know how sinister this girl's magic is?

He recalled her expression when he explained the girl was limping. She was angry, and yet she didn't recklessly rush off. She even formulated a plan. In the week since she first came, she has not mentioned the child. This was the reason why he did not report it to her right away.

During the first day Lilian stayed with him, he saw that child wandering around in the forest.