I AM A MAGE BUT WITH MILF SYSTEM

Chapter 836: Another victim?

Clara’s eyes narrowed slightly at the offer.

“And what exactly do you intend to show me?”

Julian’s voice remained steady.

“Mana,” he said.

A clear hint of interest flickered across Clara’s face. She studied him for a moment longer, then gave a small nod.

“Go on.”

Julian’s smile deepened just enough to be noticeable.

“You must have wondered, haven’t you, Aunty?” he said. “How someone as weak and filthy as I once was managed to break through to the Arch Mage realm.”

Clara did not answer immediately. The title still sounded strange, but the question itself struck closer to the truth than she liked. She looked away for a brief second, then back at him.

“Yes,” she admitted at last. “I did wonder.”

Her voice carried a strange edge.

“It is surprising. And honestly… infuriating. There are people out there who devote their entire lives to the path of cultivation. They bleed for every small step forward. My own daughter has spent years training without rest, pushing herself past exhaustion again and again. She is already considered a once-in-a-century genius for reaching Peak Sovereign at her age. And yet you…” She paused, the frustration clear now. “You managed to climb to Arch Mage in only a few years. After everything that was said about you. After the exile. After the reputation you left behind. Do you understand how that looks to those who have actually worked for their strength?”

Julian listened without interrupting. When she finished, he gave a small, almost self-deprecating shrug.

“I was just lucky,” he said. “I obtained an inheritance.”

Clara’s eyes sharpened at once.

“An inheritance?” she repeated. “What kind of inheritance?”

Julian’s smile remained calm, but he did not answer directly.

“That is a secret, Aunty.”

Clara’s expression tightened. A clear flash of irritation crossed her face. She was a woman used to receiving answers when she asked for them, especially when the subject concerned the future of her daughter and the credibility of the man tied to that future. Being told that the core of his sudden rise was off-limits clearly angered her.

“You expect me to trust you,” she said, her voice cooler now, “while refusing to explain the very thing that supposedly changed you?”

Julian did not look away.

“I expect you to decide whether you want to feel it for yourself or not,” he replied. “Words can be questioned. Even stories about inheritances can be doubted. But mana does not lie so easily. If you are willing, I can let you experience a fraction of what I obtained. You will understand then why the breakthrough happened so quickly… and why I am no longer the same man who left this duchy.”

Clara remained silent for several long seconds. The irritation was still present in her eyes, but beneath it the earlier spark of interest had not died. If anything, the secrecy had only sharpened her curiosity.

An inheritance powerful enough to turn a disgraced young master into an Arch Mage in a handful of years was not something a woman of her position could simply ignore.

She exhaled slowly.

“You are very good at offering just enough to keep someone listening,” she said at last. “And just enough secrecy to make them want more.”

Julian’s faint smile returned.

“I learned from necessity, Aunty Clara.”

Clara rolled her eyes. “And why should I trust you?” she asked. “You have not even shared what this is all about. I at least want to see what I am getting into before agreeing to whatever you are offering.”

Julian chuckled softly.

“Fair. Fair.”

He leaned back slightly in his chair, studying her with that same unreadable expression in his face. Then he spoke again:

“It is admirable how protective… and obsessive you are with your daughter.”

Clara’s brow knit together at once. The word “obsessive” clearly landed harder than he had pretended it would. Her posture stiffened, and for a moment the temperature in the room seemed to drop.

Seeing the reaction, Julian’s smile deepened a fraction.

“That is a compliment, Aunty,” he said smoothly. “You truly love Elara and will do anything in your power to make sure she rises to the top. And I might just have the perfect thing to help her do exactly that.”

Clara’s irritation was rapidly reaching its peak. She had come into this room expecting to hold the advantage… to negotiate, to judge and measure the young man sitting across from her on her own terms. Instead, he had steadily turned the conversation in his favor, speaking in half-answers and carefully placed riddles. Every time she pushed for explanations, he offered just enough to keep her seated and listening.

And yet… his words were tempting.

In the silence of her own mind, Clara could not deny the pull. She had seen what rapid advancement could mean in a world that was already beginning to smell of war. If this young man truly possessed something capable of helping her daughter, then dismissing it out of pride would be foolish. The possibility that he held something genuinely magical… was the only reason she was still tolerating his games.

Her voice, when it came, carried a clear edge of warning.

“Kraven. Talk in riddles one more time and I will leave.”

The sharpness in her tone was unmistakable.

Julian sensed it immediately. The playful distance in his posture eased just slightly. He regarded her for a moment longer, then gave a small, almost understanding nod.

“Very well,” he said. “No more circling.”

He let a brief silence settle before continuing,

“I have a technique that allows me to break through my own magical realms faster.” He paused, watching her reaction carefully. “And also… someone else’s.”

The final three words landed with heavy weight.

Clara’s eyes sharpened. The irritation did not vanish, but it was now joined by something sharper and far more focused. The implication was clear. Whatever method had taken him from a disgraced young master to an Arch Mage in a handful of years was not limited to himself. It could be shared.

For a mother who had watched her daughter pour years of blood and effort into reaching Peak Sovereign, the possibility was impossible to ignore.