Chapter 237 - LUAN ESCANOR

LUAN Escanor was one of the princes of the Kingdom of Ashelad – the biggest and most powerful kingdom in the continent of Jaya. But being born into the royal family of Ashelad wasn't exactly a privilege. 

The king, because of his lustful nature, had many children born from different women. Luan's mother was a dancer who was given as a tribute to the king. Her beauty quickly captured the king's heart and she was made as one of his concubines. But the favor of such a king didn't last. After a few months, he had already set his eyes on a different woman.

The problem was Luan's mother was pregnant at that time. Being of low birth, the servants around her barely gave her any respect. Even the queen's garden was much bigger than the palace given to them. But Luan's mother didn't have any complaints in her heart and was very satisfied with this situation. She could live quietly with her son in their own small world without attracting other's attention.

And so, Luan was born in such an environment. 

Just like what his mother wanted, the two of them lived peacefully in that small corner of the palace grounds for the next six years. That was until the king's death. 

Luan's mother, despite her humble birth, was a very smart woman. She knew what the death of the king entailed – a bloody fight for the throne. So, while everyone was panicked because of the king's death, she and Luan quietly left the royal palace.

It might be because most people in the palace had already forgotten their existence, that's why they managed to leave easily. With the money she saved for six years, they were able to go to another kingdom and settled at a small village.

One would think that their lives would be much better away from Ashelad. And it did. For some time, at least. 

One day, the mother and son found a severely injured child on the forest. Luan's kind-hearted mother brought the child back to their cottage and called for the village doctor to heal him. A few days later, the child regained consciousness. And the arrival of this child signaled the destruction of this village.

A week after the child's stay at the village, it was attacked by bandits. Such a thing was very unprecedented. Although war and looting were a very common thing, the small village had never been a target of such an attack before. So, everyone was completely unprepared.

The bandits started slaughtering the people. That night became a nightmare of blood and death for these innocent villagers. Luan's mother put the two children in a secret compartment hidden in the cottage. And that was the last time that Luan saw her.

The bandits made it seem like they were there simply to kill and loot. But that was not their main purpose. They were there to look for the rightful king of the kingdom of Crevalon. 

The young child that Luan and his mother rescued – Caesar Warwick. 

Luan ran out of the secret compartment to look for his mother. Caesar tried to stop him but didn't manage to do so until the end. That's how the two children separated. Not knowing that their lives would be connected once again.

This was Luan Escanor's childhood. It shaped him as a person. The love and care she received from his mother made him kind and full of tolerance for others. But very ruthless against those who committed a crime. The latter was mainly the result of what happened to that small village.

Luan did not only see the kind villagers being slaughtered, he also witnessed his mother being defiled and killed. That incident left a huge scar on his psyche. Although he appeared gentle and calm on the outside, a fierce storm was brewing inside, just waiting to be unleashed.

After that what happened to the village, Luan only managed to survive because he fainted and the bandits thought that he was already dead. The next day, a group of priests travelling on a pilgrimage passed by the village and he was rescued.

They took him to the Holy Land – Evitria.

It's the home of the Church of Jaya – the main religion of the continent. The orphans that they took in usually became Knights Templar. That should have been Luan's fate as well. But he declined and insisted that he wanted to be a priest. 

He was young but he already understood a lot of things. Saying that he was smart was simply an understatement. But his childish innocence and rich emotion prevented his smart mind from flourishing. After all, what could a child who was loved and happy ever need a scheming mind for? 

But what happened to his mother and to the village completely broke that. 

Luan chose to become a priest because he knew there were a lot more he could do by being one. He could eliminate a lot of evil in the name of the lord of Jaya. 

That choice was the start of how a child who just lost his mother became the Pope of the Church of Jaya.

And this was the character Astrid was going to play today.

Throughout the whole story Luan didn't have that much screentime compared to the rest of the main cast. But despite that, his presence could still be felt everywhere. He was the mastermind in a lot of schemes behind the scenes. All for his mission of eliminating evil in the world. 

The scene Astrid would act out today for the audition was the scene on the script given to them. Luan was already a Cardinal at this point. He was visiting a prison to give counsel to a criminal and maybe convinced him to give the name of the person he's working for.

This scene perfectly captured Luan's duality. His gentleness and his ruthlessness. Astrid should show the perfect balance between the two. Having one more prominent than the other would simply give the wrong impression. It wouldn't be Luan Escanor anymore.

He took a deep breath. He opened his closed eyes. Now, at this moment, he was no longer Astrid. 

He was Luan Escanor.