“Calm down.”
The command was cold.
Absolute.
Luthier’s entire body froze.
The Duke’s voice had not been raised, but the sheer weight behind it sent an unmistakable message.
Slowly, Luthier realized what he was doing. His fingers loosened immediately as he took a step back, bowing his head in apology.
Duke Thaddeus exhaled through his nose, his golden eyes sharp as they flickered toward him. “Elaborate.”
Luthier took a steadying breath, adjusting the cuffs of his sleeves as he collected his thoughts. His hands no longer trembled with excitement, but his voice carried the weight of discovery as he began speaking.
“The Eternal Skyroot Herb is one of the rarest herbs known to exist,” he started, his voice measured yet filled with unmistakable reverence. “It is said to grow only in the highest peaks of the Skyshadow Mountains, where mana converges and crystallizes into its purest form. The environment required for its growth is so unique—so extreme—that very few have ever laid eyes on it, let alone used it successfully.”
His gaze flickered toward Aeliana, a strange mixture of disbelief and fascination in his eyes.
“There have been instances,” he continued, “where physicians and scholars attempted to use the Eternal Skyroot Herb in medicine. Cases of desperate nobles seeking a cure for incurable ailments, warriors hoping to restore their shattered mana cores, even some reckless researchers believing it could enhance their longevity. And yet—”
He exhaled sharply, shaking his head.
“It was ineffective.”
A murmur spread through the room.
Aeliana remained silent, listening intently.
Luthier pressed on. “The reason for this failure is believed to be tied to cultivation itself. The Eternal Skyroot Herb is pure mana—unrefined, untainted, and untamed. Unlike common medicinal herbs that work in harmony with the body’s natural processes, the Eternal Skyroot forces itself into the user’s system, disrupting their internal balance. Most individuals simply cannot assimilate it, no matter how strong they are. Even among high-ranking cultivators, absorption rates are unpredictable and often result in failure.”
His expression darkened slightly. “In some cases, the attempt even resulted in… fatal consequences.”
The air in the room turned cold.
Aeliana’s fingers twitched slightly against her dress, but she remained composed.
Luthier turned back to her fully now, his eyes keen, demanding understanding.
“But you,” he said, his voice quiet yet firm, “not only absorbed it—you thrived.”
Aeliana didn’t react immediately.
Because she, too, was beginning to understand.
Luthier took a step closer, but this time, he did not reach for her.
“The way your body has changed—your mana flow, your core, even your physical vitality—it has all been fundamentally altered. It’s as if the herb’s energy has been completely woven into your being. That should not be possible.”
Veylan, who had been silent for a while, finally spoke, his tone sharp.
“You are certain it was the Eternal Skyroot?”
Luthier nodded without hesitation. “Absolutely. I recognize the traces of it within her aura—it’s unmistakable. But what I don’t understand is how.”
Aeliana inhaled slowly.
She already knew the answer.
Or at least—
She knew who had the answer.
Because there had only been one person with her when this happened.
One person who had seen it, who had been there when she changed.
Lucavion.
Luthier’s breath was steady, but his eyes still gleamed with barely concealed urgency.
“If we were to understand how this happened,” he continued, voice firmer now, “then perhaps… other victims of similar illnesses could be saved.”
The words sent another ripple through the room.
Aeliana’s fingers twitched slightly at her sides.
Because she understood the weight behind them.
She had spent years trapped in her body, her illness gnawing at her existence like a slow-burning curse. There had been no cure. No remedy, no magic, no hope. The greatest physicians, the finest alchemists, the most powerful mages in the empire had all come to the same conclusion.
She had been meant to die.
And yet—here she stood.
She could see it in Luthier’s eyes.
This was more than just medical curiosity.
It was possibility.
The idea that the incurable could be cured.
That the lost could be saved.
Duke Thaddeus remained silent for a long moment, his gaze shifting between Aeliana, Luthier, and Veylan. His expression remained unreadable—but those who knew him well could see the weight behind his gaze.
Finally, he exhaled.
“I will investigate this matter further,” he stated, his voice calm but absolute. “But for now, this is enough.”
His words settled like stone.
Firm. Unshakable.
Luthier visibly tensed, as if he wanted to argue, to demand more, but he knew better. He swallowed his frustration and stepped back, bowing deeply.
“Please,” he murmured.
The Duke’s golden eyes met his.
Then—a nod.
Silent acknowledgment.
Luthier exhaled, understanding the unspoken command.
Duke Thaddeus then lifted a hand, his fingers making a single, dismissive motion.
The conversation was over.
The tension did not disappear, but no one dared to question his authority.
One by one, the attendants and knights stepped back, murmuring amongst themselves, while Luthier and Veylan exchanged glances.
Duke Thaddeus’ golden eyes flickered, his gaze sharp as he turned toward the mage.
“You said her core is strengthened?”
Veylan, the mage who had been studying Aeliana’s mana flow all this time, nodded without hesitation.
“That is right,” he confirmed, his tone measured but unwavering. “In fact, you should be able to see it even better than I can, since the cultivation technique she had practiced before appears to be the same as yours.”
A pause.
Then Thaddeus nodded.
Without another word, he stepped forward, closing the distance between himself and Aeliana. His presence was calm but commanding, his golden eyes assessing, not as a father, but as a warrior, as a man who had spent his life mastering mana and battle.
Aeliana, for her part, did not flinch. She met his gaze evenly, her amber eyes unyielding.
Thaddeus raised his hand, not touching her, but hovering just close enough for his mana to brush against hers. A pulse of energy flickered through the space between them, invisible to the others, but unmistakable to those who could feel it.
Then—
His eyes widened.
Aeliana’s core was brimming with mana.
Not just increased. Not just improved.
Transformed.
The energy was vast, deeper than anything he had ever sensed in her before. Once, her mana had been a flickering ember, struggling to stay alight, fragile and fleeting. Now, it surged beneath the surface, coiled like a sleeping beast, raw and untamed.
And more than that—
‘She was indeed the one I felt the connection to.’
The moment he had stepped into the abyss, searching for her, he had felt something. A pulse, distant yet familiar, as if something in the depths had called to him.
At the time, he had assumed it was instinct. A father’s desperation.
But no.
Now, as he stood before her, as he felt the energy within her core—he knew.
He had felt her.
This was the presence that had resonated with him in the depths of the ocean. This was the source of that undeniable, almost fated connection.
His breath was slow, controlled, but inwardly, his thoughts raced.
‘This cannot be possible.’
Aeliana had been born weak. That had been the reality. Her body had never been strong enough to sustain a full cultivation path. Her mana had been thin, her reserves limited. Even if she had talent, even if she had trained, she had always been caged by her own limitations.
And yet—
What he sensed now was boundless.
And more than that…
Her cultivation method.
It was unmistakable.
‘My technique.’
The very same one he had passed down to his finest warriors. The same one that had shaped the Storm Sovereigns of the Duchy.
And she had mastered it.
Not just used it. Not just followed it.
She had excelled. Continue reading at My Virtual Library Empire
His fingers curled slightly.
This was beyond talent. Beyond mere progress.
This was impossible.
His golden eyes flickered toward her, searching for answers, but Aeliana simply stared back, as if she was not aware of anything….