"Wait, good sir, before you go," she looked up and then locked eyes with Theo, this time refusing to just look away nor back down a single step. "Could I, maybe, become your disciple?"
Rather than freezing in place, Theo simply looked back at the girl.
Her tension was almost palpable. From the determination in her eyes through her cutely clenched fists… One detail after the other made her look like a shy animal desperate to stick to a human, just like in the legendary cat distribution system that eluded all humans' attempts at understanding it.
But outside of all those physical, human factors, it was her mana that was the most interesting. Because it confirmed what Theo was guessing for a while now.
'She saw me make the jump, didn't she?'
Theo closed his eyes and sighed.
"A seventh-stage cultivator requesting to become a disciple of a mere fifth-realm one?" he muttered before shaking his head in disbelief.
'Even if I can guess it, it would be nice to know for sure it's not just some sort of political play.'
"Would you care to explain what my cultivation senior seeks to learn from me, her cultivation junior?" Theo asked, taking a step back and crossing his arms over his chest in a slightly defensive pose, only to then perk his chin up, adding a bit of a dominating vibe to it.
A confusing body-statement, including both the elements of submissiveness and domination, designed to throw the other party off.
Just one of the many tricks Theo employed in his old life to skirt the line of an insignificant member of the mage's tower and the actual, de-facto overseer of most of the projects the organization was engaged in.
"That's…" Tia… or rather, Lady Serene, looked away, her clenched fists now relaxing and opening up, only for her to bring her hands together and cup them in front of herself, nervously playing with her fingers as she desperately sought a proper, political answer.
But what answer could there be?
She was a seventh-realm cultivator, one who already crossed the line of the noble cultivation realms. Meanwhile, Theo?
Given his station and political restrictions, he was still locked at mere fifth stage, only allowed to advance from spiritual sense stage to elemental attunement half-stage between fifth and sixth realm once the patriarch of his sect made the leap to sixth stage himself.
In that scenario, unless she voiced out how she saw him, Tia would have absolutely no damn reason to request his teachings!
'And all of that still ignores the political cost of even allowing her under my tutelage if she somehow proves to me that she's worth taking in.'
Theo had to hold back a tired sigh.
This encounter was shaping up to be as tiring, if not more, than whatever hassle he managed to avoid by hiding his true identity.
Yet, right as Theo was starting to believe Lady Serene would fail at giving him any reason to listen to her request…
"I believe your power goes beyond just your cultivation realm… good sir," she spoke, using the common title a noble would use to address a fellow noble with such intensity and tone it almost felt like she said "my prince," instead. "Your handling of the spiritual energy, insight into the mystical realm, creative approach to utilizing the techniques…"
Tia lowered her gaze and shook her head, only to then raise her eyes again and lock them on Theo's face, refusing to look away, refusing to give up on the determination it took for her to form those words and spell them out.
"Good sir, I know it might come off as pushy, but…" she bit down on her bottom lip a little, allowing herself just a moment of doubt and hesitation, "I'm willing to pay any price you require. Even if it means betraying my father's expectations and refusing to obey the same kind of fate you yourself are shackled by."
The determination in Tia's… no, Lady Serene's eyes only grew stronger. Stronger to the point Theo felt it would be an insult to internally refer to her through her name. No, right now, it wasn't just the young woman named Tia speaking, it was Lady Serene pushing through this hard conversation with the determination of her grand, noble standing.
"If you were to make me, I'm even willing to become your dao partner to pay for my tutelage, allowing you to directly bypass the cap of cultivation resources you are shackled with at that small sect of yours!"
Lady Serene… No, Tia made the mistake.
She raised her voice from the soft speech, almost a whisper of before, to one that actively attracted the stares of the passersby. And adding up the extremely controversial topic she randomly brought up…
"Do I really look like someone who would lack the resources to cultivate?"
As impressed as Theo was by this young woman's daring suggestion… he wasn't even remotely interested in it.
The intention and determination behind it? Sure, those were impressive and respectable. But the suggestion itself?
'I don't lack the resources nor am I someone who would do whatever is requested of him just to get some. If anything,' Theo squinted his eyes, 'it's merely the connection to her father that's attractive in such a deal. And that means…'
Rather than answering, Theo reached out and gently grabbed Lady Serene's chin, pushing it up in a way that forced her to look right back into his eyes.
Just with that alone, her entire body tensed up, as if it was only now that she understood the weight of what she just suggested.
"How do you plan to offer your yin when that little of a touch is enough to make you go all limp?" Theo asked softly, ignoring the stares that the two of them were now actively attracting.
Then, he shook his head and let go of the girl's chin, only to then close his eyes and shake his head.
"I'm not going to pretend I'm interested in what you offered. But it would be unbecoming of me to ignore the determination you've displayed, even if it was nothing more but fake bravado," he said, only to take a step back and lock his arms behind his back.
"If you really are so determined to learn my ways, it's not your yin or closeness that I will require, but your cooperation in offloading all the excess of resources I will soon have upon your household, in exchange for whatever I might be in need of next."
That was, by all means, an outlandish proposal. One that pretty much would put Lady Serene and her household by extension into Theo's direct service… or, in more political terms, it would bind their household to his faction that didn't really exist yet.
By all means, it was a move perfect for Theo, allowing him to jump from being a random nobody with nothing beyond royal blood to put on the table into the role of an active player in the kingdom's succession race backed by one of the greatest powerhouses that had yet to declare for anyone.
A powerhouse that clearly tried to get the most out of the situation by playing into its own field rather than supporting any of the other players.
In other words… regardless of how much Duke Serene valued his prized daughter, the kind of commitment Theo requested went beyond the level of authority she would ever be allowed to wield.
And yet…
"Deal."
Without hesitation, without a second of thought, Tia took a step forward and reached out with her hand.
"I can tell what you are thinking, my prince," she addressed Theo directly through his official title, no longer bothering to play the game of calling him a good sir. "You thought I wouldn't be able to take this deal, did you?" she grinned as she shook her already extended hand.
"Which is why, unless you are going to go back on your own word now," the grin on Tia's relatively cute face deepened, giving her smile a lot deeper, more sinister vibe, "then you've just sealed your fate and bound it to mine!"