Aurelia's pause wasn't random—she had detected something. Her golden eyes flicked briefly toward one of the palace windows overlooking the garden. A pest, spying on their gathering. She didn't react overtly, merely shifted her gaze to Leon, who sat calmly across from her.

He knew, too, of course. The presence was far too weak to be a threat, barely worth acknowledging. Since Leon showed no concern, Aurelia decided to ignore it as well. If he wasn't bothered enough to act, then the spy could listen all they wanted.

Clearing her throat softly, Aurelia continued where she'd left off.

"You're all here because there are matters beyond this kingdom you must understand," she began, her golden eyes sweeping the table. "Loriel and I come from a place called the Higher Domain."

She paused, expecting gasps, widened eyes, perhaps even disbelief.

"You must have heard of the Middle Domain," she continued, "but it is not the end. Above it exists the Higher Domain, where true power resides."

The reaction was underwhelming.

Leon remained perfectly calm, as if she'd mentioned the weather. Crystalline showed no surprise whatsoever, merely nodding slightly as if confirming something she already knew about them. Seraphine was still lost in her own world, occasionally glancing at Leon with that dreamy expression. Andrew maintained his barely concealed displeasure, unchanged by the revelation.

Only Liora gasped, her eyes widening in genuine shock. "The Higher Domain? There's something above the Middle Domain?"

She looked around the table, realizing she was the only one reacting. Heat crept up her neck.

Aurelia blinked, slightly thrown by the lack of response. She had expected at least Leon and Seraphine to show some surprise. Clearing her throat again, she pressed on.

"I am at the Master rank," she announced, a hint of pride entering her voice. "The realm that comes after Journeyman."

Again, silence.

Which was to be expected, but only from one person who was Crystalline, as Aurelia knew both of them were on the same rank.

Leon's expression didn't change. Crystalline merely raised an eyebrow as if to say, and? Seraphine was examining her nails. Andrew continued his silent drumming.

"MASTER RANK?!" Liora exclaimed, then immediately slapped her hand over her mouth.

Everyone turned to look at her. Her face burned crimson as she realized she was, once again, the only one showing any reaction. She felt like a complete country bumpkin, ignorant of everything necessary.

Unable to contain herself, she turned and glared at her mother. "You knew about this?"

Crystalline's lips twitched in amusement.

Liora's glare intensified as she turned to her father. "And you too? Why didn't anyone tell me about the Higher Domain? Or about ranks beyond even apprenctice rank?"

Andrew shrugged, his first genuine reaction since sitting down. "You never asked."

Urgh, how am I even supposed to have a clue about this, hmph! Dumb father!

Liora wanted to sink through the floor. Here she was, sitting at a table with beings who apparently knew about worlds beyond worlds, and she was the only one acting surprised by basic information they all seemed to consider common knowledge.

Aurelia felt heat creeping up her own neck now. This was not going as she had planned. She had expected to impress them with her knowledge and status, to establish herself as the one with superior information. Instead, she felt almost foolish, like she was stating obvious facts to people who knew far more than they let on.

Especially him, she thought, looking at Leon's serene expression. He knew about the spy, learned about the Higher Domain, and didn't even react to a Master rank cultivator. What exactly is he?

Leon appeared to be from a lower domain, as she had investigated everything about him from the record in the royal palace of his kingdom. The meeting was only delayed because she wanted to be more prepared before talking to him.

Yet all the preparation felt like nothing in front of him.

Seeing that her revelations were having no effect, Aurelia decided to abandon subtlety entirely. She leaned forward, her golden eyes locking directly onto Leon's mystical ones.

"Come with me to the Higher Domain," she said bluntly, her voice carrying absolute certainty. "You're wasted here. Your potential is being squandered in this backward kingdom. In the Higher Domain, I can ensure you receive the best of everything—resources, training, opportunities beyond your imagination."

The directness of her offer finally got a reaction, though not from Leon. Crystalline's eyes narrowed slightly. Seraphine's dreamy expression vanished, replaced by cold alertness.

But Aurelia wasn't finished. Without breaking eye contact with Leon, she added almost as an afterthought, "And Liora, you will become my disciple."

"WHAT?!" Liora shot up from her chair, her shock so complete she forgot all embarrassment. "M-Me? Your disciple? But I—"

Aurelia didn't even glance at her. Her entire focus remained on Leon, as if Liora's reaction was merely background noise. The offer to take Liora as a disciple seemed more like bait—something to sweeten the deal for Leon, perhaps assuming he cared about the girl's future.

"You are an anomaly," Aurelia continued, still staring at Leon with an intensity that bordered on desperate. "Your strength has impressed me beyond measure. The Higher Domain needs someone like you. I need you."

The weight of her need was palpable. This wasn't just a casual invitation—this was someone who had seen something in Leon that had shaken her to her core. Whatever she had witnessed of his power had convinced her that he was essential to some greater purpose.

Loriel shifted uncomfortably behind Aurelia's chair. Even she seemed surprised by her Senior's openness.

I have never seen a senior being so passionate about something...

She understood her reasoning, but even still, it pissed her off a little.

Leon remained perfectly still, his expression unchanged. He didn't immediately accept or reject, observed Aurelia with those calm eyes that revealed nothing.

"The Higher Domain," Aurelia pressed, leaning forward even more, "has resources you cannot imagine. Power systems beyond your comprehension. Challenges worthy of your strength." Her golden eyes blazed with conviction. "You're beyond this place. You must know that. Why waste yourself here when you could be reaching heights that would make you legendary even among the strongest beings in existence?"

She had dismissed everyone else at the table entirely. Crystalline might as well have been furniture. Andrew's presence was forgotten. Even Liora, who had just been offered discipleship under one of the most powerful figures in the known world, was ignored.

There was only Leon in Aurelia's world at the moment. Only his answer mattered.

She's desperate, Crystalline observed, watching the Saintess practically beg; it was not outright, but she could see the desperation she was trying so hard to hide. Whatever she saw in him has her absolutely convinced he's critical to something.

Liora stood frozen, still processing that she'd been offered discipleship almost as an afterthought, a mere accessory to the main prize Aurelia was after—Leon himself.

Leon tilted his head slightly, regarding Aurelia with an expression that bordered on condescension.

"Is that all?" he asked, his tone so casual it might have been discussing the weather.

The words hung in the air for a moment before he continued, just as calmly, "I decline."

The silence that followed was deafening.

Aurelia's golden eyes widened in complete shock. Her mouth opened slightly, no words coming out. She had offered him everything—power, resources, a position in the Higher Domain that countless beings would kill for. And he had dismissed it as if she'd offered him a cup of lukewarm tea.

"You... decline?" she repeated, as if the words were foreign to her tongue.

"Yes," Leon said simply, leaning back in his chair with perfect ease.

Aurelia's hands gripped the edge of the marble table. Something flashed in her golden eyes—anger, hot and sharp—before she quickly suppressed it. Her knuckles went white from the pressure, the ancient marble actually creaking under her grip.

She stood up abruptly, her chair scraping against the stone floor with a harsh screech that seemed to echo through the entire garden. Her whole body trembled with the effort of controlling herself, of not lashing out.

He can't just—how dare he—

But even as the rage bubbled up, cold reality doused it immediately. She wasn't the strongest one here. That fact, which had been merely theoretical before, now felt like chains around her wrists. Whatever power she wielded as the 36th Saintess of Light, whatever authority her Master rank cultivation gave her—none of it mattered at this table.

She was standing before someone who treated her desperate offer like an amusing interruption to his day.

Loriel tensed behind her, clearly sensing her Senior's fury and preparing for potential violence. But Aurelia's survival instincts, honed through years in the Higher Domain, screamed at her to stay still, to swallow this humiliation rather than test exactly how much stronger Leon was.

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