“Are you going in the training field again, Caspian?” Arthur asked his seatmate. Since the start of classes, the elite class had their own training schedules, so they all went their different ways right after dismissal.
“No. Prince Andriel invited me to his training room for a spar.” Caspian put his books on his space ring and stood up.
“Too bad.” Arthur sounded disappointed but he patted Caspian’s shoulder and smiled. “I’ll see you at the house, later.”
Caspian nodded as he walked his way towards his destination. While walking along the corridor, he saw Dio surrounded by guys from other classes. Dio looked bored while listening to their insults but he didn’t talk back. After spouting derogatory words, the group of men left him alone and he just went on as if nothing happened.
Caspian shook his head. He noticed the bad treatment of the nobility towards Dio ever since the start of the academic year. He would always see him surrounded and harassed by a
“Dio!” Cassandra held Dio’s shirt to stop him from walking further. It had been a week since the classes started and she noticed the difference in treatment towards Dio by the other students, especially the nobles. “Is everything okay?” Dio turned to face her and flashed a kind smile. “Of course!” “But I saw you being surrounded by the nobles from other classes last time.” She looked down and frowned. “Oh, that?” Dio scratched his nape. “It’s fine. Words alone wouldn’t bring me down. I have decided that I wouldn’t care about other’s opinions about me since they don’t matter.” He smiled but the smile didn’t reach his eyes. Cassandra knew that Dio was just faking it. It was hard to be judged and shunned by people with higher status and it was harder because even the members of the Elite Class wouldn’t stand up for him. It was as though he was all alone in whatever situation he was in. “Nothing is lonelier than fighting your battles alone,” Cassa
“I told you, I won’t,” Dio said sternly. His hand was in his pockets as they walked out of their classroom.“That’s unfair, you taught Lady Riva but you wouldn’t teach me?” Amery pouted as she stood in front of him, blocking his path.“She was having a hard time so I thought I should give her some hints.” Dio chuckled. “But I’m going training with my brother today so I won’t.”“Mikael Armani!” Amery called out for Kael who was about to leave the room.Kael walked towards them with confusion written all over his face. “Do you need something, my lady?”“Yes,” Amery replied as she smiled mischievously at Dio. “I need Dio today, can I borrow him?”Kael looked more confused as he eyed Dio suspiciously. “I thought you had a crush on Lady Riva? Don’t tell me you are also chasing after Lady Flavian?” he whis
“You’ve been busy for the past days. Aren’t you, my dear cousin?” Arthur put his arm over Dio’s shoulder.“I’m not your cousin, Baron.” Dio shook his head subtly when he heard Arthur laughed.“I can’t believe that you are more popular than me.” Arthur grinned as he looked around. Though the nobles gave them looks of disapproval, the commoner girls look at them with admiration. “Being close like this, isn’t it obvious that we’re relatives?”Arthur looked at Dio’s hair which was a few shades lighter than his. It was proof that Dio came from a noble lineage and he was also stronger than him in terms of mana capability. If Dio didn’t refuse to be adopted in their family, he was sure that the Marquis would make him his heir and he wouldn’t be able to refute it because he knew that Dio was the rightful heir to the northwest territory.“People will j
Dio had been closer to the members of the elite class as time passed by. Even those who were silent at first became an acquaintance of his because he was friendly enough to help and serve everyone.“You shouldn’t have bothered with mine,” Primo said as he took his sword from Dio.“It’s nothing. I’ve been polishing the other’s weapon so it’s not a big deal if I added just one more, young master.” Dio smiled then he turned his back on him and went inside his room.“He’s kind, isn’t he?” Raymond chuckled as he put his arms over Primo’s shoulder.“Doesn’t matter if he is. My only goal is to grow stronger here.” Primo stared at his shiny spear. At least, Dio did a good job at polishing his spear.“If you want to know how strong you are, why don’t you invite him on a spar?” Raymond suggested. “I’ll be asking him next week si
“Hey, Dio!” Raymond ran towards Dio when their classes ended. Keila smiled when she noticed that the other elites started to befriend Dio and the man was also starting to open himself with the group.“What is it, young master?” Dio asked with a smile.“Let me guess?” Kael put his arm over Dio’s shoulder. “You’re going to ask my sweet little brother for a spar, right?”Raymond scratched his nape. “Was I too obvious?”“You’re not too obvious, young master. It’s just that every member of our elite class wanted a spar with Dio so we assumed that you would feel the same,” Mika explained as she clung to Dio’s arm.“So, can you spare some time for me?” Raymond asked.“Yes, young master.” Dio agreed. “Shall we proceed to the training grounds right now?”Raymond’s face lit up. “Sure!”
It’s been days since Dio’s spar with Raymond but he was still wary that the other princes would approach him. Even his siblings were worried about him because he began acting strangely every time he was out of the elite house.“Don’t tell me that you’ll refuse training again?” Kael asked when Dio immediately stood up and walked towards the door after class. “Why are you overly afraid of the princes?”“I’m not afraid of them,” Dio denied and looked away. He was just uncomfortable around them because he didn’t want any more rumors about him spreading around the campus.“So you won’t train again, right?” Kael said in a disappointed tone.“He would be learning enchantments from me.” Mika smiled as she clung her arms to Dio. “Don’t worry, he promised me that this would be the last time that he’ll avoid the training area.”“
“You came at the right timing!” Mika said as she clasped Kael’s hand. “You are the right person for the job!"Kael eyed her suspiciously. “Don’t involve me in your job, Mika. There’s no way that I’ll be your tester.”“You don’t have to worry about that, dear twin brother.” Mika laughed as she patted Kael’s back. “Our youngest brother would take the honor of being the tester of the invention of the century.”“What is she talking about?” Kael turned to face Dio instead. “Have the both of you gone mad?”Dio laughed at Kael’s perplexed expression. It was a normal reaction from him because Mika had never been that confident about her ideas before.“Just don’t kill me during the process and everything will be fine,” Dio advised him.Kael furrowed his brows when he heard Dio’s words. “If this experime
It was already night time and the others rested in their own rooms, but Dio was nowhere to be found. It had been a few hours after the members of the elite class swarmed around Mika and no one knew where he suddenly disappeared to. Because of Dio’s strange actions lately, Kael advised them to leave him alone.Though he was the one who said to give Dio his space, Kael was worried that Dio became paranoid being around a member of the imperial family and the nobility. Though he wasn’t aware of the reason, he didn’t want Dio to force himself. If staying alone in a quiet place would calm his mind, he would do his best to support him.Keila left her room because she was worried about him. Dio had been acting strangely lately and she wasn’t sure whether he finally came to terms with himself or not. He might be alone in the dark again.“What are you doing here?” Kael asked when he saw Keila seated in the receiving area.“