Then Isle stepped forward before saying, "I don't think I've introduced myself. Well, I am Sarah's elder sister. You can call me Miss Isle, but don't think I approve of your relationship with my sister. You are just a mortal, and I don't know what trick you did to her."
Then he heard Sarah shout, "SISTER!! You said you... you..."
He could hear the sound of hooves, and even when they all moved to the private room earlier, he could only hear Sarah's hooves. So what she said was true—centaurs can grow human legs when they get to Ether sage level. He only replied, "It's okay."
Then he turned to Sarah, saying, "So you wanted us to talk, right?"
Then she stepped forward and said, "You're leaving," her voice a mixture of sadness and resignation. "With the Rufus family."
He replied, "Yes, well, I have to go back to the capital. I have a family waiting; they probably don't even know where I am."
"And the twins? Will you still entrust them to me?" she asked.
He replied, "Well, I already explained everything to you in the meeting. They would be under your care till you get them back to their family. They will be safer with you, heading toward the elven territories. The political intrigues of the capital would put them at risk."
Sarah moved closer, her hooves making soft sounds on the wooden floor. "And what of us, Lucian? What of last night?"
He turned his gaze up toward her while thinking, "I think I overdid it. Well, I will just have to look for a proper solution. At least we talked last night. Even if her sister is here, I don't care."
After a while, he replied with the most gentle tone he could come up with, "I meant what I said, Sarah. I hold you in high regard. But our paths must diverge for now."
"For now?" she echoed, a hint of hope in her voice.
"For now," he confirmed. "The journey to the elven territories will take you east. My path leads south, to the capital. But paths can cross again in the future."
"She might be a useful pawn, but I already got what I wanted from her, so the best course was to leave it for the future. I don't plan to be tied down by anyone," he thought to himself.
She was quiet for a moment, then said, "I will wait for your return, then."
"Don't wait," he said softly. He still needed her as a tool, but she was pushing it too much. "Live your life, Sarah. Protect those in your care. And if fate brings us together again... well, we will see what comes of it."
She moved closer still, and he could feel the warmth of her body. "I meant what I said too, Lucian. I think I'm falling in love with you. No, let me correct that—I know I'm in love with you."
He looked at her while thinking, "Well, it seems I will have to keep this tool closer then, and who knows? I might even get an opportunity to make use of her Ether sage elder sister as well. Hopefully, I've played my cards well enough."
He reached out, finding her face with gentle fingers. "Love is a powerful force, Sarah. But it can also be a dangerous one. Be careful where you place your heart."
"My heart is my own to risk," she replied, then leaned in to kiss him—a kiss of parting, of promise, of things unspoken.
When she pulled away, he could hear the slight catch in her breath. "Safe travels, Lucian Marcellus. Well, I don't know where you will be when I break through to Ether sage, but I will find you, so just wait for me."
Then she turned around and left. He simply stood there, feeling that her presence had left the room. He turned his gaze to her sister, who had been inside the room the whole time. Even when her sister left, she didn't leave. After a while, he could feel her scent coming closer without her making any sound with her steps, so he asked, "Miss Isle, is there anything I can help you with?"
She didn't reply until she was in front of him. It was then he knew she was freakishly tall, by far taller than him. He was wondering if centaurs were meant to be this tall. Then he heard her say, "What a strange mortal you are. Even when I am standing close to you, you still stand strong. Interesting."
After that, it felt like she disappeared from the room, so he asked the voice, "Is she gone?"
The voice replied, "Yes, she's gone."
He nodded and turned around. He couldn't sense or smell Aurora around; she probably left because of what happened earlier. So he just shrugged his shoulders. He changed into the clothes he wanted to change to, then left the room and headed downstairs.
When he got down there, he could already smell everyone in one place. On his way down, he felt someone holding his left hand. Knowing who it was from her scent, he didn't bother to ask where she went. He just made his way to them.
Once they were all gathered together, he turned to the twins, saying one last time, "Try to get into the academy. We will meet there when I come. And for those of you there, if I find out you guys are below any rank, there's hell to pay. Try to go above, but not too far above. Stay low enough to be recognized but not to be too noticed."
He looked around while saying it, mainly looking at the kids. He didn't care what Lord Rufus and the others thought; he just wanted it to be that way. Then, seeing no reply, he frowned. They already knew the academy he was talking about. It was the biggest magic academy in the kingdom; both nobles and even the royals attended it. So he was thinking they didn't know what he was saying. He was about to clarify when Jake asked, "Boss, you're coming to the academy?"
He looked at Jake like he was looking at an idiot. "Yes, of course."
They all frowned, except Aria, who seemed to notice what was going on. Then Damian said, "Captain, you know the academy is only for awakened, right?"
He looked at Damian and said, "Yes, I know that. Why the weird gazes?"
Then Julia said, "But you're only a mortal, and how will you attend an academy when you're only a mortal?"
He looked around before saying, "Of course I know that! I'm only 12. By next year, which is like two months from now, I should be turning 13 to begin my awakening."
Then they all shouted, "12!!!!!!"
He looked around with a surprised expression. Didn't they already know that? Even Sarah looked like she had seen a ghost.
So he said, "What is the fuss? Don't tell me you didn't think I was already awakened."
He could hear some mumbling while others just stared at him in a daze. So he turned to the most talkative in the group before saying, "Jake, what is going on?"
Jake looked like he had aged 100 more years before saying with a shaky voice, "Boss, we all thought you had passed your awakening stage. That's why we still use the term 'mortal' and not 'unawakened.' We didn't think you would still be 12 years of age. I mean, I wouldn't believe it if it was coming from anyone else's mouth but yours. I don't know what to say—you are just 12?"
He looked around and asked, "How old did you think I was, then?"
Jake said, "Honestly, when I first saw you, I thought you were some old dude who probably used a shapeshifting ability to look like that, because nowhere about you screams 12 years. Your mindset doesn't align with the number 12."
Then the twins yelled, "Hell, we have a 13-year-old brother at home. I don't think he looks anything like you do, and..."
She didn't complete it; just looking around was enough to make her keep quiet, because it seemed he hadn't told most of them what happened in the forest.
He could hear Sarah muttering, "He's really 12, he's really 12, he's really 12." So he asked her, "Sarah, are you okay?"
He didn't want his new pawn to get consumed by guilt that she had done that to a 12-year-old, so he wanted to clarify things. But it seemed he worried about the wrong thing, because she said, "If you are 12, then all those emotions... how?"