Chapter 40: A Vespera
Caelus stood with his hands clasped behind his back, waiting beneath the collective gaze of the Vespera family.
The assembly hall had been arranged according to the same deliberate hierarchy that governed everything else within the estate.
His father sat at the center of the platform, exactly where Caelus expected him to be.
His black hair fell nearly to his neck, partially framed by the heavy black fur resting around his shoulders. Even seated, the Patriarch possessed the sort of presence that made the surrounding people seem smaller without any effort on his part.
His face revealed nothing.
That was the part Caelus disliked.
Anger could be understood. Approval could be understood. Even contempt could work.
His father gave him none of those.
The Elders sat along either side of him, their places determined by age, authority, and bloodline. His brother and Selene were seated close to the Patriarch, while the younger descendants filled the lower levels of the hall according to the status of their respective branches.
Caelus had been placed below the main family branches, where he had stood in this family’s hierarchy before his disappearance.
He stood below them.
Caelus noticed the distinction without allowing his expression to change.
The Vesperas had decided to arrange the room according to a version of him that no longer existed.
Whispers rose among the younger descendants.
"Pfft. Is that him? The D-rank?"
"Why is he here in the first place?"
"He doesn’t qualify to be here."
A quiet laugh came from somewhere behind him.
"Look at him. He looks weak."
Caelus didn’t turn around.
The insults were predictable enough that reacting to them would have required more effort than they deserved.
The older members were less careless. Their looks carried more weight: suspicion from some, open dislike from others, and curiosity from those who had heard that the third young master had returned as something other than the weak D-rank they remembered.
Caelus had no interest in decoding the rest.
The family had decided to discuss his worth before asking him why he had returned.
He was beginning to regret not going straight to the academy.
He had already endured one family member strangling him and this was shaping up to be a remarkably efficient homecoming.
He was already sick of the entire situation and wanted to leave as quickly as possible.
The Primordial Academy entrance examination was approaching, and the family had assembled the younger generation before they left. Some of the descendants were already comparing abilities, affiliations, and likely rankings in low voices, while others were watching their potential rivals from across the tables.
An elderly man rose from the line of Elders.
Grand Elder Valerius Vespera.
Caelus had seen him before, though never enough to care about the man beyond what his position represented. Valerius had spent decades building his authority within the family, and he carried himself with the confidence of someone who expected obedience before he had finished speaking.
Valerius didn’t need to ask for their attention.
He already owned it.
"Young stars of Vespera."
Valerius’s voice carried cleanly through the hall.
"The Primordial Academy has always been one of the places where our family proves its superiority."
His gaze moved across the younger generation.
"Two years ago, our eldest young master entered its ranks and shattered records that had stood for decades. He reached rank one and has remained there ever since."
The older brother acknowledged the words with a restrained smile.
Valerius continued.
"Last year, Lady Selene surpassed even that achievement and established a record expected to remain for generations."
Selene’s posture straightened slightly.
"Now it is your turn."
The words should have sounded encouraging.
Somehow, they didn’t.
"Remember what it means to bear the Vespera name. We do not attend the academy to participate. We attend to stand above those who do."
His tone hardened.
"Second place is failure. Third place is failure. Any result below first place is unacceptable."
Several of the younger candidates swallowed.
"If you pass the examination without taking first place, the family will bring you back immediately."
Valerius allowed the silence to settle before delivering the final blow.
"You will lose the right to carry the Vespera name."
A few faces paled.
"The Vesperas have no use for humiliation."
The threat worked.
One boy lowered his gaze, a girl beside him clenched the edge of her dress hard enough to wrinkle the fabric.
Another candidate looked toward the entrance as though calculating whether pride was worth losing his family name.
Valerius watched them without sympathy.
"Anyone who believes they are not prepared may leave."
His voice remained calm.
"You will not lose the Vespera name. You will simply surrender your chance to attend the academy."
The first chair scraped against the floor.
Then another.
One by one, the candidates began leaving.
No one tried to stop them.
The family had already made its position clear.
When the movement finally stopped, only three candidates remained.
Caelus.
Valerius’s son.
And a thin boy from a collateral branch whose round glasses did little to help his already unimpressive appearance.
Most of them wouldn’t survive the entrance exam.
Caelus knew the academy better than they did, even if they had no reason to believe it. He knew what waited beyond the entrance, what kinds of people would gather there, and how quickly an examination could turn into a graveyard.
Valerius waited until the final footsteps faded beyond the doors.
The warmth disappeared from his face.
He looked toward the shadows gathered along the edges of the hall.
One of the guards hesitated.
Valerius’s eyes shifted toward him.
"Kill those with a disgraceful record. No training. No accomplishments. No potential."
He paused.
"Bring back those who demonstrate value."
Shadows blurred before the children understood the order.
One slid across the floor and swallowed the feet of a boy outside the gate.
He screamed.
The sound tore through the hall.
His sibling reached for him, but another shadow crossed between them and forced her backward. A chair overturned. Someone stumbled over it and fell hard against the stone.
"Wait—!"
The plea ended abruptly.
Another child tried to run.
Something moved behind him.
His scream echoed through the hall before being cut short.
The remaining children broke.
Some cried.
Some begged.
Some froze completely, unable to understand why the family that had just demanded excellence was now hunting its own blood.
None of the Elders moved to stop it.
None of the senior members stood.
Caelus’s fingers tightened once behind his back.
This was selection.
The weak were being discarded before they had even reached the school that supposedly existed to develop them.
Somewhere in the back of his mind, a single thought surfaced.
Vespera.
So this was what the name really meant.
Footsteps eventually sounded beyond the doors.
Five children returned.
Their clothes were splattered with blood. One of the boys was trembling so badly that he nearly stumbled over his own feet. One of the girls kept staring at her hands as though she had forgotten what to do with them.
None of them spoke.
They simply returned to the hall because they had been told to.
Caelus looked at them.
They had passed.
The Grand Elder looked at them, then his attention shifted toward Caelus.
His brow furrowed.
"What are you doing here?"
Caelus’s eyebrow twitched slightly. He ignored the question.
Selene intervened.
"What do you imply by that, Elder?" Her voice was sharp. "He has Vespera blood, and he has every right to participate."
Valerius smiled.
"I am not questioning his bloodline, Lady Selene."
His gaze returned to Caelus.
"I am questioning the circumstances surrounding him."
He took his time.
"A D-rank youth with D potential disappears from the estate," he said, "A boy who should have struggled to reach C-rank somehow returns as a C-rank Mage within an absurdly short period."
"And now, a Vespera has taken the path of a mage?"
His eyes narrowed.
"Absurd."
Several of the Elders began watching Caelus more closely.
"Your growth contradicts what your potential should allow."
Valerius’s gaze sharpened.
"And Contractors are known for acquiring power through methods ordinary people cannot reproduce."
He opened one hand.
"So tell me, Caelus. Why should I believe that your advancement is legitimate? It is a disgrace to the Vespera name."
Caelus finally spoke.
"Are you saying that I’m a Contractor?"
The hall went quiet.
Valerius didn’t hesitate.
"Yes."
Caelus let out a quiet laugh.
Valerius had already decided what Caelus was. He simply needed a justification that sounded respectable in front of the family.
Caelus looked at him.
"Let’s not beat around the bush, Elder. You want me dead, right?"
Valerius’s composure finally cracked.
"Yes."
The contempt in his voice was no longer concealed.
"You actually think you belong here?"
"You were born because some servant spread her legs and left us with a cripple like you."
"Your existence has been an embarrassment from the beginning."
"You were never a Vespera."
Valerius’s son snickered.
Selene’s eyes widened.
Even a few of the older members looked toward Valerius with discomfort, though none of them were willing to challenge him publicly.
Caelus barely noticed them.
The Patriarch remained seated.
He had hoped his father would say something. Defend him. Anything.
He had spent years wondering whether the Vespera family saw him as weak, inconvenient, or simply irrelevant.
Valerius had just answered the question.
There was no reason to waste another word on him.
"Thank you for your clarification, Elder. As for the accusation, you can send Church delegates to verify it."
"But if you’re proven wrong, your son’s head will serve as compensation for the false accusation."
Valerius stared at him, dead cold.
"If that’s all you have to say, I’ll take my leave."
Caelus reached the doors.
His hand settled on the handle, then he stopped.
The hall had gone completely silent. Caelus turned.
His gaze settled on Grand Elder Valerius.
"Remember my name, Elder."
Valerius’s expression hardened.
"I will kill you."
"And I’ll make certain that filthy bloodline of yours never reaches another generation."