The main gate of the Central Magic Tower looked from a distance like a massive fissure in the heart of the sky; two stone doors dozens of meters tall, with thousands of defensive runes pulsing on their surface with a steady blue light, examining every being before entry, from body and mana to soul and identity.
On that day, the space around the gate was not calm as usual.
Rows of the tower’s security mages stood on both sides of the main path, and behind them, professors, students, and members of administrative units had gathered at a cautious distance.
The news of the Lionheart family delegation’s arrival had been published only a few minutes ago, but that short time was enough for hundreds of people to reach the tower’s outer ring.
No one knew whether this meeting would end in negotiation or conflict.
Lioran was still a direct child of one of the continent’s most powerful families.
Even after his succession status was revoked, Lionheart blood flowed in his veins, and his arrest was undoubtedly a direct insult to the dignity of a family that had spoken on equal footing with the world’s most powerful forces for centuries.
A deep sound echoed in the space before the gate.
The massive runes on the two stone doors lit up one after another, and then the gate slowly opened.
Behind it, a delegation of nearly thirty people stood.
On both sides of the group, guards in white and red armor moved.
Armor with the winged lion emblem of the Lionheart family engraved on their chests. None of them were ordinary mages.
The pressure that emanated from their bodies without being intentionally released clearly showed that even the weakest member of this group could command a large unit on the battlefield.
Behind the guards, several high-ranking mages walked in the family’s formal robes.
Two old men were also seen among them, both major elders of the family.
One carried a long staff of white wood, and the other wore a heavy robe with a collar of black fur.
Beside them, a middle-aged man with a leather bag and the official seal of the family’s legal office moved; whose presence alone showed that the Lionhearts had not come just to threaten or show power, but intended to use every treaty, law, and clause at their disposal.
However, none of them were the center of attention.
Among the delegation, a tall young man walked. The physical similarities between him and Lioran were undeniable.
The shape of the face, the color of the hair, and even the look in their eyes shared a common root. But the feeling they conveyed was completely different.
Lioran always had a calm, aristocratic smile on his lips; a smile that never faded from his face even when he was humiliating others.
His behavior was such that it seemed as if from birth he had stood above others, and the world had only been waiting to offer him his true place.
But Andreas Lionheart was not like that. There was no trace of that artificial, flawless calmness on his face.
His gaze was direct, cold, and sharp. His movements were short and firm, and the way he walked resembled a warrior entering a battlefield more than an aristocrat arriving for a political ceremony.
He wore the family’s formal attire, but unlike the elders accompanying him, no golden chains, decorative stones, or extra honorary insignias could be seen on his robe.
Only the winged lion emblem on his left shoulder, and a thin sword with a black sheath hanging from his waist.
He was one of Lioran’s younger brothers, and after his brother’s fall, he was considered the most likely person to become the next heir of the Lionheart family.
This position was not the result of a warm brotherly relationship or years of mutual support. In large families, it is very rare for siblings to truly have a good relationship.
Andreas had never believed in Lioran’s popular, flawless image.
Behind his brother’s calm smiles, he had seen selfishness and cruelty that other family members either didn’t see or chose to ignore.
With the delegation’s entry, an invisible pressure settled on the space before the gate.
The tower’s mages kept their hands near their magical tools, and the Lionheart guards maintained their formation in silence.
Only one sharp sentence was enough to turn this formal meeting into a political crisis, and perhaps even a direct conflict.
At the same time, Daniel and Serys reached the square before the gate from the tower’s central path.
Serys wore the tower’s formal robe, and the temporary insignia of the tower leader’s authority could be seen on her chest.
She appeared calm on the surface, but her gaze never left the delegation’s members.
Daniel moved beside her with his usual calmness, as if he were facing not a delegation from one of the continent’s most powerful families, but a group of ordinary travelers.
Upon seeing them, Andreas paused for a moment.
The tower’s members expected him to move directly toward Serys, as the tower’s official representative.
The family’s elders also assumed he would first announce his formal request.
But Andreas changed his path.
Without paying attention to the surprised looks around him, he passed by the legal representative and the two family elders and went straight toward Daniel.
Several of the tower’s guards unconsciously prepared to react, and the square’s atmosphere grew tense for a few seconds.
Andreas stood before Daniel. Their gazes locked for a few moments.
Then the young man, who now led the Lionheart family delegation, lowered his head with clear respect.
"It’s been a long time, brother Daniel."
A murmur rose from the surrounding crowd. Several of the tower’s professors looked at each other in surprise... This was not at all the outcome they had expected!
Even the Lionheart guards, although they were probably aware of the relationship between the two, seemed slightly uneasy seeing this level of respect shown before the tower’s mages.
Serys glanced briefly at Daniel.
She knew he had prior connections with the Lionheart family, but what she was seeing now was far beyond a political acquaintance or a few formal meetings.
Andreas had called him "brother," not out of courtesy, not with an aristocratic smile, but with a respect and sincerity that could not be faked.
As far as she knew from the news, this boy was practically the most likely heir of the Lionheart family, so why was he behaving so respectfully toward Daniel?
From the corner of her eye, she looked at him. What other secrets was this monster hiding?
Daniel placed his hand on Andreas’s shoulder and gave him a brief look.
"It’s been a while since I’ve seen you."
"A few years have passed." The corner of Andreas’s mouth lifted slightly.
"A few years, huh? It feels like only a few days have passed. What have you been doing all this time?"
"Ever since you and Ilaris left, I’ve spent every day training and getting stronger."
For a moment, an expression appeared on Andreas’s face that resembled the old days.
Back when he didn’t yet carry the burden of leading a large delegation, and was just a young man training for hours in the family’s practice grounds.
Daniel had lived in the Lionheart territory for a while.
Whatever the reason for his stay, during that time his name had gradually gained weight among the family’s members.
He had resolved several crises for them and remained well-known among them.
Not to mention he had saved both Andreas’s life and those of the other Lionheart heirs.
But what had affected Andreas more than saving his life was Daniel’s behavior toward him.
Daniel was one of the few who had seen him separately from Lioran’s name from the very beginning.
He had taught him, criticized his weaknesses, and never lied to him just to make him feel better.
That was why Andreas saw him not as a political ally, but as an older brother; a brother whose words he took seriously, even when they were bitter.
Behind Andreas, the two family elders had different reactions.
The old man with the staff kept his gaze on Daniel with cautious respect.
He remembered Daniel from his stay in the family’s territory and knew that this young man usually did not enter any conflict without a purpose.
The other elder, however, frowned. His relationship with Daniel in the past had not been good, and now he saw his presence at the center of Lioran’s case as a dangerous sign.
Though there was also another matter. They could not see the depth of this young man. The last time they had seen him, he was certainly weaker than them.
So what was going on now? Why couldn’t they see his power? Why did they even sense danger from him?
"I didn’t expect this boy to be here." The old man with the staff muttered.
"If he’s involved in this case, the matter is far more complicated than we imagined." The man beside him answered in a lower voice.
These sentences were spoken quietly enough that most of the tower’s mages didn’t hear them, but Serys, who was standing a few steps away, heard both.
Her gaze returned to Daniel.
Until a few days ago, she had thought Daniel’s most important influence was through the Eternity religion and Everlight Moon. But now she understood that his network of relationships was far broader than he had shown...
After a brief greeting, Andreas changed his expression. The slight warmth that had been visible in his gaze faded, replaced by the formality of a family representative.
"By order of the family head, we have come to review Lioran’s situation and take him into custody." He stepped back and addressed Serys.