Sovereign of the Ashes

Sein took Leena to the laboratory on the top floor of the divine tower where his mentor, Lorianne, was apparently working on an experiment.

They waited for a while before Lorianne finally emerged in a long light blue dress.

Lorianne was generally laid-back, preferring comfort in her attire while at home and in her laboratory.

She usually only dressed up for meetings with other mages of the divine towers or during official events.

On a previous occasion, she had even met Sein while dressed in a nightgown.

Before Sein could say anything, Lorianne recognized Leena immediately, thanks to her keen senses as a Rank Four mage.

First impressions were often telling, and Lorianne’s expertise in botany made her an extremely observant and perceptive person.

Her initial feelings toward Leena were positive, and she had always trusted her instincts.

Lorianne’s keen senses, which had enabled her to form connections with plants and achieve significant breakthroughs in dendrology and lifeology, assured her that Leena was not a bloodthirsty mage.

Lorianne had encountered several black mages in her early years. She was familiar with their cold and cruel dispositions. Yet, Leena was different; her presence lacked the harsh, gloomy aura typical of her peers.

If anything, Leena’s temperament was just lightly colder than that of a normal divine tower mage. She was not much of a conversationalist either.

More importantly, her appearance as a red-haired teenage girl seemed far from menacing.

A look of surprise crossed Lorianne’s face as she took in the frosty Rank Two mage’s unexpected appearance.

“Uh, this is...” she began, her expression mirroring her momentary astonishment.

Sein promptly explained, “Leena was involved in a mishap during one of her mentor’s experiments long ago, which stunted her growth.”

“Is there no way to remedy it? If you can’t, perhaps I can help,” Lorianne offered.

“Thank you, Master Lorianne. The issue has largely been resolved—it was related to my gene sequence,” Leena replied.

Before Lorianne’s eyes, she transformed from a red-haired teenage girl into a tall woman with long black hair.

Initially, Leena was noticeably shorter than Lorianne, but after the transformation, she stood slightly taller.

It had been Sein’s idea for Leena to greet Lorianne in her teenage form first.

Knowing his mentor well, he anticipated that this appearance would evoke sympathy and positive feelings, especially since Leena had also been a victim of a black mage in her youth.

“I see, good for you. I still preferred how you looked earlier though,” Lorianne remarked.

Leena exchanged a knowing glance with Sein before reverting to her more petite form and holding his hand.

Sein had not even noticed the exact moment Leena grasped his hand. He surmised that it was a subconscious act driven by her nervousness about meeting a formidable Rank Four mage like Lorianne.

Lorianne felt a twinge of discomfort at the sight before her. The woman holding her apprentice’s hand should have been Sein’s chosen wife, yet she appeared more like his younger sister or even his daughter in this form.

Despite having previously urged Sein to expedite his wedding with House Ernst, Lorianne refrained from mentioning such sensitive topics in Leena’s presence.

Throughout the visit, she engaged mostly with Leena in casual conversation, with Sein occasionally chiming in.

The atmosphere was relaxed, aligning with what Sein had hoped for the best possible outcome of this meeting.

Although Sein knew Lorianne was unlikely to be overly harsh with Leena, he was visibly relieved as the meeting unfolded smoothly.

Sein and Leena’s visit to the top floor of the Verdant Spring Divine Tower was brief.

There was little for them to discuss with Lorianne; the vast differences in their life experiences sometimes made meaningful communication challenging.

However, the friendly tone of their conversation suggested Lorianne bore no ill will toward Leena.

In fact, her acceptance also indicated a growing fondness; otherwise, she would not have tacitly approved of her apprentice being in a relationship with this female black mage.

Sein had a feeling that if he had brought Faye to meet Lorianne instead, the atmosphere would not have been nearly as pleasant.

“Your mentor is a nice person,” Leena commented after they left Lorianne’s quarters.

“Yes, she’s always been good to me.” Sein nodded in agreement.

Leena looked up at Sein for a moment before saying, “I envy you for having such a supportive mentor.”

”Well, my mentor is your mentor now too,” Sein responded, pulling Leena into his arms.

Leena had two mentors. Sein knew little about her previous mentor, who had passed away when he and Leena had met for the first time.

Her current mentor was Fareena, who was a Rank One female black mage back at the Black Magic Academy in Mystralora City. She also happened to be the senior of Leena’s former mentor.

Fareena was also a Rank Two mage now but the old witch was not as dedicated as a typical divine tower mage when guiding Leena.

Black mages like Morsidor were rare exceptions among the black mages.

Fareena had only taken Leena as her apprentice partly due to their ties in the same faction and partly because she recognized Leena’s potential.

For black mages, apprentices were free laborers and assistants for their experiments.

In extreme cases, some might even use their apprentices in modification experiments.

In Blackhaven, the vulnerable magic initiates were not protected by rules.

Strength reigned supreme—that had always been the law of survival there.

Accustomed to Blackhaven’s treacherous and dark environment, Leena found it challenging to adjust to the atmosphere of a normal divine tower.

It was no surprise that she praised Sein’s mentor as a good person and expressed her envy after meeting Lorianne.

Lorianne had indeed been exceptionally kind to Leena.

After Sein expressed his wish to have Leena access to resources of the divine tower, Lorianne promptly presented her with a divine tower badge.

Shaped like a green leaf, this badge was issued to all registered mages of the Verdant Spring Divine Tower.

With this badge, Leena could access most areas within the Divine Tower of Verdant Spring, including the library, magic training grounds, quest hall, and academy.

She could even apply for a personal residence below the 150th floor.

Of course, Leena did not apply for a residence; she could simply live with Sein.