Are you serious!? I mean yeah, I was hoping she'd come but I didn't expect she would be here so soon!
"Yes, thank you for taking time out of your day to meet me here."
"It's not a problem, I just hope this is worth my time."
She doesn't seem to know who I am. Anyone would recognize their own son at first glance. Now that I think of it, the girl that answered the door didn't recognize me either.
"The reason I wanted to speak with you was because I recently lost my memories in an accident, and a recent thing I was told is that you and I have the same family name. It could just be a coincidence though."
As lady Sylvia looked closer at the clearly nervous young man, an overpowering sense of closeness washed over her conscience. He, in fact, did look a lot like Mable. That maintained wavey hair, that gentle air, and that smile she sees every day on her daughter's face. While realizing their similarities, a drop of sweat appeared to roll down her neck. "I do have a son but he's currently at home. I'm sorry if I may have gotten your hopes up."
As Lady sylvia spoke she felt a knot twisting in her stomach as she tried to maintain eye contact. She knew exactly why she was feeling this, but she felt that she had to keep tying that knot.
"Ah, no worries, I knew it was a bit of a stretch.", stated Lucian slightly disappointed.
As Lady Sylvia observed Lucian, a memory crossed her mind. It was of a man with a gentle smile holding hands with a little boy. Both of them looked so happy together, but as she returned from that memory, the person in front of her seemed to have lost a bit of that joy. It seemed as if the young man in front of her was a puzzle with every piece out of place.
I knew that it was unlikely that she'd actually be my mother, so why do I feel so disheartened? She did confirm that we're not related so I guess I'm back at square one.
"I thank you for your time lady Sylvia, the fact that I even got the chance to speak with your is an honor.", said Lucian while getting up and bowing.
"Think nothing of it, I'm glad I could be of help to you. I do have to be going now; may the gods guide you."
"All the best to you, my lady."
***
As Lucian was putting his book away on the second floor of the library, a voice sounded from behind him, "Disappointed, are we?"
This voice was a man's, although it wasn't Ozzus's. This voice was a bit deeper and more elegant. Lucian turned around to see an old man wearing a black tailcoat.
"Oh, greetings sir, we met on the street outside the other night, didn't we?", What is it and my ability to attract strange individuals to my vicinity?
"Yes, but I'd hardly call that a greeting." said the man with a wholesome laugh.
"You're not wrong about that." Said Lucian a little embarrassed. "I am Lucian Cr-"
"No need to introduce yourself, I believe I am that one that needs to greet you first." The old man paused his speech, took a formal bow and said, "greetings master Lucian, I am you're caretaker Charles Von
Dumbfounded Lucian said in a startled voice, "Sorry sir but how do you know who I am and why are you calling me master?"
"You are Lady Sylvia's eldest and the rightful er to the Crowe family household."
"She just confirmed that I wasn't her son, so how would you know that I am?", Even If I was her son, why would she lie to me about that?
"Do you happen to know what the oath of absolute secrecy is?"
"Yes, I recently learned about it."
"That is how I was able to tell whether you were Lady Sylvia's son. Me, Lady Sylvia, and two others swore an oath of absolute secrecy to not share any information about your existence in fear of individuals looking to kidnap you for ransom. I can only speak about the oath I swore around the people who already know of your existence and yourself. If you weren't her son, then it would have been impossible for me to speak your name around you or for your mother to lie about her son being at home."
"Alright that does make sense, but why would she lie to me in the first place? Couldn't she have told me the truth?"
"you're not wrong about that but there are two main reasons why she didn't confirm it. The first one is you never swore an oath of secrecy, meaning you could accidentally let someone know that you're Lady Sylvia's son. The second is guilt, for the past 16 years, you were never here. I was listening to your conversation with her and heard that you lost your memories so I will try to explain everything clearly."
Now I miss my old memories, why did I have to forget all of this!
"For seven years, you were living happily with us, and your father was still around. Your father was like any other, he cared for you very much and was a great man. Although, all of that would change when you and he disappeared a month after your 7th birthday with not a single trace."
"Before you disappeared, your father spent many days in the library doing unknown research and visited the air ship port a number of times."
"After you disappeared your mother went into severe depression and felt that maybe she could have stopped you from being taken. The reason she didn't tell you is because she felt you would resent her for not being able to save you from being taken. I can promise you that when she saw you, she almost broke out into tears."
Before Lucian could speak, Charles wrapped his arms around him and tightly hugged him. "Welcome back Lucian, Welcome back.", Charles said while weeping."
***
After their talk in the library, Lucian and Charles headed to the park near an academy and sat on a bench. "By what I can conclude, I'm guessing you know Ozzus and Priscilla, right?", asked Charles in a friendly manor.
"Yes, they are the ones who saved me and let me know that I might be lady Slyvia's son.", They must be the other two who swore the OAS (oath of absolute secrecy).
"And I take it Priscilla is the reason you lost your memories?"
Hearing those words, Lucian almost jumped up from his seat. What? How does he know that Priscilla was the one that caused me to lose my memories? Could he know about Ethereals or possibly be one!? There were to many questions left unanswered.
"Pardon my confusion, but how do you know that Priscilla is the reason I lost my memories?"
"Although I am not an Ethereal myself, I do know a handful of them. Ozzus and Priscilla are in that bunch, and they have been friends with the Crowe family for quite some time, specifically Ozzus. As you've probably already concluded, those two are the others who swore the oath."
"I get that, but how do you know about Ethereals?"
"Hahaha, I could ask you that same question. It's to be expected though, Ozzus never was the type of person to keep his mouth shut."
"The reason that I know about Ethereals is a bit simpler than you might think."
"Really?", asked Lucian
"Yup, Ethereals aren't just born into this world at random. They are beings chosen by the gods and must awaken their dormant powers. The way to awaken these powers is to either drink an elixir or perform a ritual."
"The person who provides these elixir's and creates the rituals is none other than me, the alchemist."