Two days later, the official list of qualified candidates for the Selection was announced to the public. These were the names that would enter a closed, year long training program before traveling to the Grand Palace for the Ruler Selection next year.
Alongside the expected noble heirs whose inclusion surprised no one, the commoners on the list quickly became the center of attention. Among them was Ferir Hakken of the slum district.
Ferir's house had been visited by many people these past few days. Everyone wanted to share in the good fortune of the person who brought honor and hope to this dark, impoverished neighborhood.
Many children excitedly told Ferir that when they grew up, they wanted to be like him. That from now on, no one would say that people from the slum had no future anymore.
Hanarn, for her part, seemed to grow livelier by the day. It was as if even her illness had retreated. Ferir used the remaining money from the Monarch to take his mother for proper examinations and treatment.
After recovering her health, Hanarn was invited to join a prestigious sewing society in the city, which brought together the most skilled women in the city and only accepted orders from the nobility. It also provided shared dormitories for those who needed accommodation.
Ferir felt an immense weight lift from his chest knowing that while he was away, his mother would no longer be alone.
Now, the only thing left for him to worry about was the Roman Library. Though, truthfully, there was nothing there that truly required his concern.
Arvil lazily swirled the tea in his cup.
“So you’re heading into the one year closed training with the other candidates? When does it start?”
“The day after tomorrow. I’ll need tomorrow to sort out my things, so…” Ferir’s voice carried a faint note of sentiment. “Today’s my last day working here.”
Silence settled between them for a long moment. Then, suddenly, Arvil snorted, breaking it.
“You’re talking like you’re leaving and never coming back.”
Ferir let out an exaggerated sigh.
“I’m worried about the library. Without me, it’ll turn into your personal junkyard.”
“It functioned perfectly fine before you showed up. You should be worrying about yourself instead. Who knows, maybe a year from now you’ll get eliminated and crawl back here…”
Ferir laughed. That was possible though.
The elimination process would continue alongside the training. Those who failed to keep up would quietly pack their belongings and return home. In previous years, only six or seven candidates were chosen to represent a nation.
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Which meant there was still a three in four chance that Ferir Hakken would be come back empty handed.
“When that time comes, if I ask to work here again… you won’t make me go through another ridiculous trial, right?”
Arvil shrugged, utterly unbothered.
“That depends. Maybe by then we’ll already have enough staff.”
erir grinned.
“Then I’ll make sure I don’t come crawling back too soon. Arvil… thank you. For everything.”
He turned, letting his gaze sweep across the entire library one last time.
This place had given him something no commoner was ever meant to have so easily, knowledge. If not for Arvil, there would have been no beginning.
A faint, almost foolish dream flickered in Ferir’s mind. Perhaps decades from now, tucked somewhere among these shelves, there would be a book bearing a name on its cover.
Ferir Hakken.
If he had already taken the first step, then he might as well see how far his legs could carry him.
Even though he didn’t know where this path to becoming a Ruler would lead him, what he felt most right now clearly was anticipation.
Arvil watched the young boy’s figure fade beyond the doorway, and his thoughts drifted back several years.
It had been a winter morning wrapped in white, a scrawny fourteen year old named Ferir Hakken knocked on the library door and asked for work.
A commoner.
Naturally, Arvil had refused.
And yet, from the next day onward, at precisely eight o’clock every morning, that stubborn boy appeared at the entrance again and again.
There was a day when Arvil declined to see him at all. Ferir responded by climbing the outer wall like a reckless alley cat, slipping through a window, and marching straight to Arvil’s desk.
He was caught, of course. The library guards handed him over to the Bureau of Security. Ten lashes for unlawful intrusion.
Yet, a week later, with the wounds not yet fully healed, he returned.
“I want to see what kind of person this boy can become.”
That impulsive, almost irrational thought had compelled Arvil to accept a very first commoner into the library.
Now, standing in the quiet that Ferir had left behind, that same thought surfaced again.
There was a faint trace of regret in Arvil’s chest that he might not be able to witness the rest of Ferir Hakken’s journey with his own eyes.
What he did not know was, one day, that journey would become a legend across the continent of Erana.
The sun climbed steadily into the sky, casting its golden light upon the first day of Ferir Hakken’s life as an official trainee, one of the chosen candidates preparing to represent the Realm of Light in the upcoming Ruler Selection.
Hanarn escorted her only son all the way to the gates of the Palace of Light. Even as the towering doors loomed before them, she continued to remind him, once again, to keep his birth date a secret. Only when the guards signaled for entry did she finally fall silent.
She smoothed his clothes one last time, trying to hold back her tears. This was the first time she had been away from her son for so long.
“All right. Take care of your health. If things become too difficult… if you feel you can’t endure it anymore, come home to mom. Promise me?”
Ferir smiled, looking straight into her eyes:
“Don’t worry, mom. I’ll be fine.”
Hanarn smiled back:
“I know. I’m proud of you.”
She waved goodbye to her son until his figure disappeared behind the large, closed door.
Now, a whole new world was waiting for him.
