The morning in the Imperial Capital still held a trace of the night's lingering chill. Leon had just finished another nearly brutal morning training session with Captain Hans and dragged his near-broken body back to Count Strauss's Mansion. He was about to collapse into bed when a solemn-looking butler appeared before him, holding a metal letter case sealed with Magic Runes.
"Master Leon, this letter and its accompanying item were sent by the Hohenzollern Family in the Northern Frontier through an expedited magical transmission. You'll need to sign for them and inspect them personally." The butler's voice was as steady as ever, but his eyes held a faint, almost imperceptible scrutiny. An expedited letter from the Northern Frontier at such a sensitive time was bound to stir speculation.
Leon's heart gave a sudden leap. It had arrived! He suppressed his excitement, doing his best to maintain a tired, nonchalant expression as he took the letter case and casually scrawled his name in the receipt ledger.
"Understood." He waved the butler away, then practically raced back to his room and locked the door behind him.
Leaning against the cold door, Leon took several deep breaths before his pounding heart began to settle. He carefully checked the magical seal on the letter case. It bore the Hohenzollern Family's unique insignia and was intact. He channeled the meager fighting spirit within him—though weak, it was enough to undo a family communications seal not meant for combat—and lightly touched it.
With a soft click, the letter case opened.
Neatly arranged inside were three things: two letters sealed with wax, and a magical crystal card bearing the Hohenzollern Family's lion crest and the Star Radiance Merchant Guild's secret mark.
Leon picked up the crystal card first. It was a standard bearer magical stored-value card used by the Empire's major merchant guilds. With a special magic array, it could be used to withdraw cash at designated guild branches or make large transactions directly. The card felt smooth and warm to the touch. Tiny magical patterns along its edge indicated the amount: three hundred Gold Rolands!
Three hundred! It was less than the five hundred he'd asked for, but it was still a fortune! It was enough to solve his immediate crisis, with plenty left over!
A wave of joy swept over Leon! He clutched the crystal card tightly, and its cool touch made him feel more grounded than ever. With this money, he wouldn't have to worry about Elisa's gift or fear making a fool of himself at the Coming-of-Age Ceremony! More importantly, he now had a more substantial starting fund for his secret "newspaper plan"!
Once his excitement had passed, he forced himself to calm down and picked up the two letters. One bore his mother Madame Sophia's lily crest in the wax, while the other carried his elder brother Karl's sword insignia.
He opened his mother's letter first. The paper bore the familiar, graceful handwriting, touched with worry. As always, Madame Sophia expressed how deeply she missed him and reminded him that the weather in the Imperial Capital was changeable and he should take care of himself, listen to Aunt Margaret, and get along with Elisa... As for the money, she vaguely said that the family had done all it could and hoped he would "use it prudently and not disappoint his elders' expectations." Her words were full of a mother's indulgent love and helpless protection. At the end of the letter, she had added a quiet note: his grandmother had once again sent him some Northern Frontier candied fruit, which would arrive with the next shipment.
Reading his mother's letter filled Leon with a complicated warmth and a trace of guilt. He could imagine how she had pleaded for him in front of his father. Her unconditional love was one of the few sources of warmth in this cold world, but it was also like a shackle, reminding him of the responsibility he carried.
He put his mother's letter down, took a deep breath, and opened his elder brother Karl's. Karl's handwriting was bold and forceful, each stroke seeming to pierce the page. Every word carried an undeniable authority. The letter was brief and to the point:
First, it clearly stated that three hundred Gold Rolands had been deposited in the merchant guild's crystal card, designated for "expenses related to the marriage engagement ceremony." The family merchant guild's manager would monitor how the money was spent. That meant it would be harder for him to divert most of the funds to his "newspaper."
Next came a stern warning: this was the last time Karl would provide such a large sum for Leon's personal affairs. If Leon made another unreasonable demand or misused the funds, he would be severely punished.
Finally, Karl mentioned the Metternich incident. He approved of Aunt Margaret's handling of it and advised Leon to "not provoke trouble, but never fear a challenge," reminding him to know where to draw the line.
At the end of the letter was only the cold signature, "Karl von Hohenzollern," without even a greeting. Oh, no—beneath the signature, there were two tiny words, almost impossible to notice: "Take care."
Leon held the letter and remained silent for a long time. Karl's attitude was exactly what he'd expected. His elder brother was like an iceberg in the Northern Frontier: cold and stern on the surface, yet perhaps with a trace of twisted concern for his own blood still buried deep inside. The three hundred Gold Rolands and this letter of warning were the most direct expression of that complicated feeling.
"It's enough... for now." Leon carefully put away both letters and tucked the weighty crystal card safely against his body. The family's response had solved his crisis, but it had also tightened the noose around him. He would have to be even more careful with every step.
Now, the first priority was the gift!
He immediately locked the shabby-looking "broken bracelet" worth ten Gold Rolands deep in a hidden compartment, deciding to forget that "humiliation" for the time being. Then he began planning anew.
With three hundred Gold Rolands in "earmarked funds," he had far more choices. He recalled Elisa's preferences once again—practical, helpful for magic, and not a bother—and the profile she cut as she gazed up at the stars.
"Stars... the moon... magic..." he murmured.
A top-grade tranquility gem or an Elemental Crystal? They were safe choices, but lacked surprise and could easily duplicate gifts from others.
He needed a gift that suited noble tastes, was valuable, and appealed to what Elisa truly cared about—magical cultivation. Ideally, it would also have some connection to the stars or the moon, matching her temperament.
Over the next few days, Leon used "choosing a gift for the Coming-of-Age Ceremony" as an excuse to once again make frequent visits to the Imperial Capital's top jewelry shops, magical artifact auction houses, and curiosity galleries run by the Star Radiance Merchant Guild. This time, he had much more confidence, and he was far more discerning.
He no longer focused only on price and dazzling appearance. Instead, he paid closer attention to the magical energy contained in each item, its history, and its unique significance. He even made use of the small information network he had recently established among the idle rich to ask whether any unusual treasures related to Star Magic had appeared lately.
Hard work paid off. At a small private appraisal event hosted by the Star Radiance Merchant Guild, one item caught Leon's eye.
It was a brooch called the "Starlight Sapphire." Its centerpiece was a fifteen-carat royal blue sapphire, deep as the night sky. More remarkable still, countless tiny inclusions had formed naturally inside it, like scattered stardust. Under certain lighting, they refracted into a brilliant field of stars. Better yet, the gem was said to have come from the Evernight Mountains in the far north, where it had long been bathed in the Power of Stars. A master enchanter had treated it so that it could weakly gather the ambient free-floating magic around it. Worn over time, it could subtly aid a mage's meditation and stabilize their Spiritual Power.
It wasn't as conspicuous as magical items with offensive capabilities or powerful functions, and its effects were gentle enough not to disrupt a mage's own training rhythm. It was just what Elisa wanted: "practical, without being a bother." Its deep, starlike beauty and subtle magical boost perfectly suited her temperament and aspirations. The brooch also had an elegant, simple design, not overly ornate or extravagant, making it suitable for everyday wear.
Of course, the price was just as "beautiful"—the guild had quoted two hundred and eighty Gold Rolands! It would nearly exhaust his entire "earmarked fund"!
Leon barely hesitated. This was the one!
The gift was valuable enough to show the Hohenzollern Family's regard, meaningful and tailored to her tastes, and understated yet elegant. It met nearly every requirement! It was painfully expensive, but when he thought about the effect it could have, Leon decided it was worth the money!
He used the family merchant guild's oversight channel—conveniently, this fit the "designated purpose"—and after some haggling, mostly to show the guild's manager that he was "being careful with his money," he finally bought the Starlight Sapphire brooch for two hundred and seventy-five Gold Rolands.
When the exquisite wooden box lined with black velvet and holding the brooch was placed in Leon's hands, he let out a long breath. The biggest weight on his mind had finally been lifted.
The crisis surrounding the Coming-of-Age Ceremony was over, for now.
He would need the remaining twenty-five Gold Rolands to have a matching formal outfit made and cover some necessary expenses. As for the "newspaper" plan, he would have to find a way to scrape the money together elsewhere, or wait for his next "income."
Holding the cool, glittering sapphire brooch in his hand, Leon gazed toward the distant sky outside the window.
The gift was only his ticket in. The real challenge would come after the banquet. He needed to use this brief respite to accelerate his plans. He had to keep building his information network and secretly continue his magic studies. And that mysterious bracelet... perhaps it was time to find an opportunity to have it examined with more professional methods?
The road ahead remained long, but at least he had managed to resolve an immediate crisis through his own efforts—even if those efforts had mostly consisted of writing home to ask for money. This faint sense of agency made the flame of his desire for change burn all the brighter.
Elisa's Coming-of-Age Ceremony would be the first true stage on which he could leave the past behind and step into an unknown future. And he already had his ticket.
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