Spirits were born from extremely dense mana of a single affinity.

Unlike those fairy tales back on Earth, spirits were not your tiny glowing cute creatures floating around.

Most spirits in this world did not even have a physical form. Only a handful ever manifested a humanoid appearance.

Spirits were classified by their stage of manifestation.

The lowest were merely clusters of pure mana, which were shapeless, instinctive, and unable to communicate.

Above them were the Lesser Spirits, those faint silhouettes that could imitate basic movement but possessed no true will.

Next came the Higher Spirits. These were the ones someone capable of forming contracts with. They carried a fragment of consciousness with them, and could influence the element they belonged to.

And beyond them existed the rarest category…

The True Spirits.

Humanoid in form, fully conscious, and capable of bending the laws of their own affinity, they were considered the apex of natural spirit life.

But even a True Spirit was not the end of the hierarchy here.

In many myths it was mentioned that there indeed existed one final, almost mythical stage of spirit manifestation stage.

A spirit that surpassed individuality and became an embodiment of its own element.

A Sovereign Spirit. A being whose presence could alter the reality of their very affinity they belong to. They decide the rules of their own affinity.

Though a Sovereign Spirit only existed in myth and no other human had seen them yet. To them, they were considered the one who manages the different affinities.

Now rubbing the Ice spirit ring on his fingers, Leon's thoughts wandered to Charlotte Lunovar. A dead princess who received such inhuman treatment from her own father, just because she opposed his misconduct and tried to expose him.

Recalling her character story, Leon remembered her having a contract with a humanoid spirit. And Eula too mentioned this to him before.

'Is this really her spirit bond though?' He thought to himself.

Leon was doubting it, he knew that a humanoid spirit was the rarest of the rare, who rarely stepped foot in this realm.

But Veronica had said that it belongs to her, so there must be some truth behind it. He rubbed the spirit ring, and channeled more mana into it, trying to see if the spirit had awakened or not.

"...hmm. Still not enough mana." He muttered, realizing it.

Leon was wondering exactly why for a lesser ranked spirit ring it was taking this amount of mana and time for its manifestation.

Turns out, it was not a Lesser ranked spirit, but True Spirit.

Of course they will consume this much mana, and take this much time.

Seeing Leon examining the ring, Veronica gave him a small hint of intel.

"It needs a constant channel of mana throughput, capable of lasting a whole decade to make it fully manifest into a True Spirit form."

Leon blinked his eyes at her, "a whole decade worth of mana? And that too at a constant rate…."

'Well, I already know it…' Leon came up with the same calculation as her.

He recalled the Elven White mana core reacting to his spirit ring the other day, the one Veronica had shaped it as Valentine Emblem for the twins.

A white mana core, and so as of a species as pure as an elf, it would have stored decades. No, centuries worth of pure mana in it.

'If I get this emblem, I might awaken it to a fully '

That Elven mana core would be like a feast for this spirit ring, and it might manifest the spirit up to a True Spirit form.

Leon got excited the moment he realized this.

A True Spirit would make his Ice mana channel smoother and precise. It will even make the unstable mana drawn from Moonblade stable and easier for him to control.

If Leon achieved that level of strength, then he would perform the sword techniques as good as Lumina. Maybe he could even surpass her with this.

Glancing at Leon, as she saw him think deeply, she informed him in advance.

"No, I don't have any more Elven mana cores with me, the one which I had I had used to carve the emblem as requested by our father."

Leon inwardly clicked his tongue after learning this. He expected this much, but still it upset him.

"Why should something this valuable be included in a House Emblem…" He muttered as he breathed out.

Those two emblems were already meant for Layla and Ren to take. And there's only two that exist now.

Thinking along those lines, Leon asked her, "where did you get those Elven cores again?"

Veronica smiled, closing her eyes, and simply replied, "I have my ways."

'Ah fuck, she's not willing to answer…' Leon sighed, 'If so then—'

His next question stuck in his throat, as Veronica interrupted and said.

"Also, I don't think I can get another Elven core."

"..."

Leon's eyes twitched, 'if it's that valuable, then why the hell are you even giving them away!'

Seriously, she could have just kept them to herself.

There was no way of getting another Elven Mana core now, and Leon didn't know where to find one either. And he doubted that even Hibuki knew about this.

Leon's excitement was getting piqued every minute, he looked at his finger, and thought about possessing a highly intelligent being capable of computing like a supercomputer at his side. A spirit that would make him finally use Moonblade effectively like Lumina.

How easy this would make his day-to-day life and also battle power. With Leon's own intelligence and the humanoid Spirit, he could now enhance it to be even more perfect and precise.

'I want this power…' Leon repeated it in his mind many times. He pictured it, he tried to feel it.

He raised his right hand and pulled a strand of his forehead hair and thought something in his mind.

Leon right now was thinking of how he got his hands on those emblems, without stealing, or snatching it from the twins.

As he thought, his mind reached a final stopping point.

"That's it." He grinned as he concluded something in his mind.

'This would work…..'

Veronica clearly saw that grin appearing on his face.

He turned to her and simply asked, "When was the emblem ceremony again?"

Veronica replied, "it was postponed to this evening."

'So it's today, that's great!' Leon nodded to himself.

"I assume Ren is outside?"

Veronica shook her head, "I don't know, he might be, or might be not. I mostly find him with Rowan in the training ground."

Leon's body relaxed a bit. And his face appeared normal again.

Leon stood up from the couch and said to her, "I will be going now sister, I will meet everyone during the ceremony."

Veronica almost sighed, realizing what he was trying to pull. But instead, she simply replied.

"Just don't bully the kid too much."

Leon smiled at her and nodded, "don't worry, I will be in my most delightful manner."

He still had so many things he wanted to ask her, such as what future did Silvermoon see, and why did she tell her to force Leon to reveal his light… but not now. And not here. Leon will personally ask her about those later when she would be back in her tower.

He can't risk someone hearing them discussing Calamity and goddess.

Stepping out of the room, Leon headed straight toward the main hall downstairs.

He expected to find everyone there.

"Hmm?"

The moment he arrived, he found nothing but an empty hall.

"Where is everyone?"

While his eyes wandered around, a maid called out from behind him.

"How may I help you, young master?"

Leon turned and saw an elderly maid greeting him with polite elegance, the kind that came from decades of service in House Valentine.

Leon asked directly, "Where is mother and the twins?"

The elderly maid bowed lightly. "Due to the sudden incident at the dungeon last night, we were short on staff to oversee the ceremony at Silvermoon Cathedral. Duchess Ezra took the role and headed to the cathedral this morning along with your aunt."

Leon listened quietly, then asked, "What about the twins and Uncle?"

She replied in the same composed tone, "Lord Darius took the twins to the open training ground to practice for today's ceremony. Master Rowan was with them as well."

"Rowan too, huh," Leon muttered.

Without offering thanks or farewell, he simply turned away from the maid and walked down the corridor.

His footsteps were calm, but his mind was anything but still.

He ignored every maid and butler who bowed to him along the way. He did not even look at them.

But he could feel their eyes following him. He could hear the whispers behind hushed hands.

A faint smile crept onto Leon's face as he allowed himself to enjoy the sensation.

They had all heard the news already.

His Light affinity. Princess Eula standing beside him. The declaration in the Audience Hall that shook the entire palace.

They tried to act normal… But Leon could easily tell from a single glance that they were now hesitant before speaking to him.

Their eyes trembled whenever they spoke.

Leon found it amusing.

He stepped outside, letting the soft morning light fall over him.

— — —

Inside the room he had left, Veronica sat upright on the couch, her gaze lingering on the door he had walked through.

For a long moment she did not move.

She turned slowly toward the window, her eyes fixed on the drifting clouds above the estate. Her expression remained calm, but her thoughts did not leave her little brother.

Leon's deduction, his grin, and his excitement.

All of it replayed in her mind. And then another face appeared.

A face that she couldn't forget.

Charlotte.

That gentle girl, that brave friend, and that tragic end.

Veronica leaned back and exhaled, but when Leon's smug expression flashed in her mind again, she stood up.

"He will possibly mock Ren," she muttered.

The moment she said it, the corners of her lips lifted.

She already understood what Leon was planning, and she had no intention of stopping him.

If anything, she wanted to watch how far he would take it.

She had time now. And she was curious.

"I need to watch him," she whispered.

With that, Veronica stepped out of the room and headed in the same direction Leon had taken.

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