Arthur snapped awake. He sat bolt upright, gasping for air, his chest heaving as sweat poured down his neck. It felt exactly as if he had been physically choked in his sleep.
“Was that… a dream?” he muttered, lifting his hand to stare at his palm. The phantom ache in his chest slowly faded, replaced by the quiet reality of his new bedroom.
Arthur scratched his head and let out a long sigh, looking down at his chest. “I haven’t even changed out of this uniform since yesterday.”
He swung his legs over the side of the bed, stepping off the soft mattress. Stripping out of the wrinkled fabric, he walked over to the expensive wooden wardrobe, pulled out a crisp, fresh set of the academy uniform, and changed into it within minutes.
Just as he fastened his collar, a familiar, authoritative voice echoed sharply inside his mind.
“Took you long enough to wake up, Arthur. Your first class is about to start. Do not be late!”
Arthur chuckled, adjusting his tie. “She’s literally living in my head at this point.”
“I heard that,” Alice’s telepathic voice snapped back instantly, severing the connection.
Moments later, Arthur stepped out of his room and into the quiet hallway. He paused, closing his eyes to extend his sensory perception through the staff quarters.
Huh. They’re already up, he thought to himself. I can’t detect a single mana frequency coming from Eleanor’s or Flora’s rooms.
He walked down the endless corridor, glancing around. “Hmmm… no Elaine or Flora to guide me today.”
Just as he took a sharp turn, a familiar, softly glowing sphere of light materialized in midair, floating quietly at eye level.
“Elaine?” Arthur muttered, stepping closer.
The glowing orb didn’t respond. Instead, the moment Arthur got within arm's reach, it bobbed gently and drifted forward, seemingly acting as a personal guide. He fell into step behind it, following the wisp until the quiet hallways gave way to a bustling corridor crowded with students.
Arthur breathed a quiet sigh of relief as the wisp dissolved into thin air. He looked up at the polished wooden signages mounted just above the classroom doors.
Class 1-F…
Class 1-E…
Class 1-D…
Class 1-C…
Class 1-B…
He finally reached Class 1-A. The moment he stepped through the threshold, he was hit by a wall of noisy chatter. The room was already packed with students split into their own distinct circles. Some were casually lounging on top of the desks, while others huddled near the doors, whispering and gossiping intensely.
Arthur tilted his head, his sharp instincts picking up on the room's energy. They seem unusually excited for some reason, he thought to himself.
But as he scanned the room to head toward the seat he had shared with Elaine yesterday, his gaze froze.
The spot was already taken. Prince James was sitting right there, a smug grin plastered across his face, with his arm wrapped tightly around Elaine’s waist.
There goes my answer, Arthur thought to himself, completely unbothered.
James noticed him staring from the doorway and snarled, “What the hell are you looking at?”
Arthur simply smirked. “Nothing.”
James’s eyes narrowed into a dangerous squint. He intentionally tightened his grip around Elaine’s waist, pulling her flush against him. “If you’ve got something to say, buddy, now is your chance. Because I really don’t like other men looking at my woman.”
Damn. Talk about peak entitlement, Arthur thought. He shook his head and let out a soft, amused chuckle before turning his back on the prince. He casually strolled across the room and found a completely unoccupied seat on the opposite side of where Elaine and James were sitting.
Elaine took a deep, shaky breath, letting out a heavy sigh. Her entire posture was tense, clearly suffering from the prince’s suffocating grip.
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James turned his gaze down toward her, a fake, doting smile on his face. “What’s wrong, my love?”
“Nothing…” Elaine replied, keeping her voice flat and staring straight ahead.
Arthur watched the entire interaction unfold from his new vantage point across the room. He wasn't the only one paying attention. A few other male students noticed where his eyes were tracking.
“Hey, what’s your name?”
Arthur turned his head. The male student sitting closest to him was leaning over his desk with a friendly grin. “I’m Frederick Sterling. But you can just call me Fred for short.”
“I’m Arthur,” he replied.
“I couldn’t help but notice you eyeing Princess Elaine,” Fred said, dropping his voice to a conspiratorial whisper. “Just a piece of friendly advice—she’s completely off-limits. That snob sitting beside her is Prince James. He only ever lets other guys get near her if he gives his express permission… and even then, it’s only so they can admire her from a distance.”
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“Totally. But just look at her. She’s gorgeous—no wonder Prince James is all over her,” another male student interjected, leaning into their circle. He offered a quick nod. “I’m Owen Spencer, by the way. But just Owen is fine.”
Before Arthur could reply, the classroom doors swung wide open.
Eleanor arrived, striding into the room with effortless grace. “Alright, everyone! Let’s not waste any time with standard pleasantries. Follow me outside.”
Just as quickly as she had appeared, she turned on her heel and vanished back down the hall, leaving the students scrambling to catch up.
“Wait up, Miss Hawthorn!” a female student called out, grabbing her bag.
“Hang on!” another added, rushing out the door.
Once the entire class had gathered out on the massive open field, Eleanor turned around and clapped her hands sharply. “Okay! Our first day consisted of visualizing mana, making a simple ball of fire appear over your hand, and controlling its movement. Now, it’s time for us to learn how to use those skills for actual combat.”
Eleanor opened her right palm. “First, visualize and make the ball appear.”
With a soft hum, a vibrant ball of orange fire ignited and hovered smoothly over her hand.
“To control its movements, you must vividly imagine how you want it to behave.” As she spoke, the flame detached from her palm, fluidly circling up her forearm, swirling around her elbow, and dancing right back down to settle over her hand again.
“Next, imagine yourself protecting something precious—your life, or your family,” Eleanor explained, her voice turning serious. “Intense emotion is the ultimate catalyst. You must imbue the mana with your raw, protective instincts.”
Right on cue, the ball of fire began to spin rapidly, its orange hue brightening as it whirled violently around her hand.
“If you fail to inject that emotional intent,” she said, letting the flame calm down, “this is what happens.”
She casually flicked her wrist, launching the ball of fire straight toward a nearby oak tree. The moment the flame collided with the bark, it simply vanished into thin air, dissipating with a soft hiss and leaving the tree completely untouched.
“And this is what happens when you do,” Eleanor said, a dangerous smirk playing on her lips.
She instantly manifested another ball of fire, but this time, her eyes sharpened. She launched it at the exact same target. The second it struck, the flame erupted with a violent crackle, instantly burning deep into the trunk and blasting a smoking, visible hole right through the wood.
“Alright! Now I want everyone to try,” Eleanor announced, gesturing to the open field before she casually walked over to stand near Arthur, leaving the rest of the students to copy her demonstration.
Elaine raised her hand and conjured a vibrant fireball effortlessly. With a fluid motion, she hurled it toward a target tree, but the impact only left a small, shallow dent in the bark.
Frederick, on the other hand, squeezed his eyes shut and managed to manifest a flickering flame over his palm. He threw it at another tree with all his might, but the fire instantly poofed out of existence, dissipating harmlessly against the trunk.
“W—What…?” Frederick muttered, staring at the untouched wood in utter disbelief.
Owen watched Frederick’s tragic attempt from a few feet away and burst into loud laughter.
While the rest of the class continued practicing and throwing sparks, Arthur stood completely still, his eyes calmly scanning the field. Eleanor stepped up right beside him, her gaze locked onto his profile. “You look incredibly serious.”
“It’s about James and Elaine,” Arthur said softly, his voice barely carrying over the sound of crackling fireballs.
Eleanor let out a sharp, cynical scoff. “Ah, yes. The Blackwoods are an immensely powerful royal family. That is exactly why James is so insufferably arrogant. My hands are completely tied when it comes to him—just like Alice’s.”
“Is there really nothing we can do about it?” Arthur asked, turning his head slightly to meet her eyes.
“Well, there is one way,” Eleanor responded, her tone turning dead serious as she looked out over the students. “The only legal way to force the royal family to break off an engagement is a formal duel. But it has to be executed under strict protocols—with both Elaine’s father and James’s father present as the two King witnesses.”
“How can I make that happen?” Arthur asked, his eyes narrowing slightly.
Eleanor smirked, a dangerous, playful glint returning to her eyes. “The formal duel must be initiated by James himself. If you are the one who issues the challenge, the academy laws will only classify it as a standard fight between students.”
She shifted her gaze across the open field, nodding toward the center of the lawn. Prince James was currently standing there, effortlessly blasting several trees into splinters with high-level fire magic, completely showing off for the crowd.
“If you want to free her, Arthur, you need to trick him into challenging you,” she murmured.
Arthur looked over at the arrogant prince exploding the scenery. A slow, knowing smirk spread across his face. “Heh… Get him to challenge me, huh?”
To Be Continued…