Roger Annum, Hans, Luke Morvendrell, Victor, and several other influential figures were seated inside a private chamber, discussing various political matters without bothering to hide their true intentions.

After all, everyone present here belonged to the same faction.

It was then that Luke turned toward Roger, studying him with a thoughtful expression.

"I didn’t realize the Count had been developing Caelum so deeply."

"Whose son do you think he is?" Roger replied.

"I’m not talking about the fact that he’s already cultivating aura, his aura density is already at the level of an Expert. I’m curious about the aura cultivation method he’s using," Luke said feeling that Caelum was a contradiction.

Roger paused.

’When did this happen?’ he asked Hans mentally.

’Didn’t you notice it when he arrived at the carriage?’ Hans replied, with genuine confusion.

Luke caught Roger’s expression and raised an eyebrow.

Roger said nothing.

Instead, his gaze shifted, piercing through the walls of the room entirely, landing precisely on Caelum’s energy core.

Within it was a soft trace of a different energy altogether.

’Did he develop his own aura cultivation method to bring his overwhelming innate Aura under control?’ The thought sounded absurd even in his own mind.

Never in recorded human history had someone been born with an active aura.

Even with the Aura Seed rooted in his core from birth, there had always been a limit, Caelum could manifest Aura externally at an Expert’s level, but he had never been able to go beyond that threshold and even use aura to its full capabilities.

Apparently, that ceiling no longer existed.

’Haha... I wonder what kind of person he will grow into,’ Roger thought, something between pride and quiet apprehension settling in his chest.

"Anyway," he said, turning to redirect the conversation entirely.

"Why are you here, Victor? Along with the Youngest Princess, no less."

The man he addressed wore a mask, only his white eyes visible beneath it.

"She just tagged along, but do you know about the recent attack on Arkhavel Academy."

"Oh my! When did this happen?" exclaimed Baroness Fulger.

Her pink hair shimmered as she leaned forward with genuine concern.

***

Ethan Morvendrell was having a crisis.

By any reasonable measure, his life was going well.

He had awakened at five, was already an Adept Swordsman at ten, and was considered a genius by everyone who knew him.

None of that was the problem.

The problem was that his life felt like it had been compressed into a single day.

’Sob... Why can’t I ask anyone for help?’ he thought miserably as he stared at the World System screen floating in front of him.

His interface looked different from that of most people.

But what truly bothered him was the particular ongoing quest displayed on it.

——⟬ World System⟭——

«Ongoing Quest»

Prevent the death of Caelum Annum at the hands of the Youngest Princess, and stop the Immortal Count from slaughtering the entire Morvendrell Dukedom and plunging the Zenith Empire into Chaos.

Reward: Life Expectancy +10 years, World Saving Heroic Points +100, A gift from Aion.

Failure: Destruction of Background. The Host may survive, but your powerful background will be wiped out.

[Note: The host is advised not to seek assistance. The World System shields the host alone, its protection does not extend to others, and the consequences for meddling with fate could be catastrophic.]

————————————

Looking at the quest again, Ethan felt the urge to cry.

’Damn you, Aion.’ he cursed internally.

Just then, his elder brother Eren looked at him suspiciously.

"Why do you look like you’re constipated?"

"Nothing!" Ethan said, and immediately walked in the opposite direction.

He needed to find Caelum.

When they had first arrived, Caelum had been completely surrounded – nobles, their children, various adults who all wanted a closer look at the young heir of Annum County.

There had been no opening.

Ethan had spent that time trying to figure out how to get him alone, ideally somewhere outside the main ballroom.

Honestly, Ethan was already annoyed with the entire event.

His father had dragged him here simply to socialize with his political allies. All the other nobles had done the same with their children.

Some had probably been bribed to attend.

Others had simply been forced.

Either way, the ballroom was full of unwilling participants.

Not finding Caelum on the main floor, Ethan climbed the stairs.

He found him immediately.

Caelum was sitting alone, happily devouring an entire plate of Mckn legs.

More importantly, Hannah wasn’t nearby.

Ethan acted quickly.

He caught a passing waiter and quietly requested a particular sauce, one that was not available here and sent the waiter off to find it regardless.

The young master of the house asking for something unusual was not a request the staff would ignore.

Then Ethan picked up the small sauce bowl from the tray and walked over, settling into the seat across from Caelum.

"Hey, little buddy mind if I join you?"

Caelum looked at him suspiciously.

"...Yes."

He picked up his plate and moved to another table.

Ethan sat very still, frozen.

He stared at the empty space where Caelum had been.

Was he really that unlikable?

Then his eyes widened.

The bowl of special sauce was... gone.

"!!!"

He felt alarmed.

As an Adept, Ethan was extremely sensitive to movements around him.

Yet somehow, when Caelum had taken the bowl from his hand, he had felt absolutely nothing.

’Wasn’t he supposed to be physically weak?’ Ethan thought with growing suspicion.

According to the World System’s available information, Caelum Annum was not a combat threat and was physically weak.

Now with bloodshot eyes, Ethan scanned the upper floor and located Caelum in a different corner, calmly eating Mckn legs with the stolen sauce.

Ethan slowly approached him.

However, several nobles greeted him along the way, forcing him to stop and respond politely.

By the time he finally reached the table.

Caelum was gone.

Only an empty plate and bowl remained. 𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝕨𝕖𝗯𝚗𝚘𝕧𝕖𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝕞

Ethan’s expression hardened, he really didn’t want to do this due to the rumors, but it seemed he had no choice.

’I need to find Princess Anastasia.’