Days quickly passed. The Mansion still looked the same from outside, but the Garden was now tidied up and on the Front gate was the Insignia of the Berklin dukedom inlaid with the Kings Insignia of the Kingdom they are part of.
A Guard with an old and slightly rusty armour sat in the guardhouse and yawned, while in the garden worked an elderly with patchwork clothes to keep everything as tidy as his old bones can hold it.
Sometimes a Servant can be seen lounging around with nothing to do in worn out uniforms, but other than that the whole Mansion did not show any sign of inhabitation.
Inside the Mansion was spotless and looked well furnished. If anyone would look at the outside and inside at the same time they would never believe those two were the same Mansion.
“Master, we depart in five Minutes to the Imperial School. Are you ready?”
“Of course I am. Maybe it would have been better to check into the dorm. The hour travel time each way is taking too much time.”
“The Dorm has less Room and could be a risk for discovery, Master.”
“You are right Raja, still…”
“You can sleep on our lap while we travel, Master~”
“...okay, it has its positives…”
“And the beds in the Dorm are single and we could not hug at night any more!”
“The Mansion was a great find Seria. I am glad you looked through the ownings of the old man. This place is ideal for all our future Projects.”
“Thank you, Master. We must go now.”
With a few words the Maids convinced their Master of the necessity of this Mansion and were glad he liked their hard work.
While the Carriage was driving slowly to the School, this time with Alice as Coach, some people wondered about it. At first a Maid drove it, and not a dedicated driver, then there was the discrepancy of the golden emblem signifying Dukedom, but being put on such a inauspicious Carriage.
-
“Huh? Did a Commoner get into the wrong door? What is he doing here?”
“Who? Wait… don’t talk too loud, he has a duke insignia on his breast pocket!”
“Oh, yeah but…”
“Nah, you two worry too much. Look at him, he might not even have much Magic to begin with and his clothes are rather simple. Obviously a unfavoured offspring.”
“Huh? Oh you mean… But why is he here then?”
“Son of a Duke. To show his benevolence obviously. Even if he might be waste, appearance as a good father needs to be shown.”
“Makes sense.”
Every person who has strong Magic is fit and beautiful. That was the truth and always the rule. Magic flowing inside their bodies would form the shape into a more practical and ideal form. The more Magic the more the Body goes to a great ideal of perfection.
Being Obese or having unsightly features show a lack of Magic inside the body, and this is taught everywhere in the Empire. Unless there are heavy disfigurements by external means the appearance should always follow the regular beauty standard of this world.
Drak on the other hand was not only a bit chubby, he was often called fat and even to his face more often than he can remember. This kind of harassment stopped only a few years ago inside the Dukes Mansion, after the Duke forbid to blatantly look down on Drak, as he still has his blood and that this would also be like looking down on the Duke himself.
Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.
Albeit the Servants did not really understand the reasoning so out of the blue, but knew disobedience would always net them harsh punishments, so they just ignored Drak, but in this school, there will not be such a rule protecting him.
As he did not care about the talk he just waited for the speech. Other talks about him and retinue were heard in much gossip.
“Look at that Maid. Is she even still whole? If someone said she was an undead made out of dozens of different people, I might believe it.”
“If you are talking about undead, look at the black haired one. She looks like a ghost, it is creepy.”
“You think? I think she is cute…”
“...Stay away from me, your taste is weird!”
“Wait, what…? Hey, I am just saying!”
“The one with the veil. Is she that ugly even the other two pale in comparison and needs to be shielded away? Would we turn into stone?”
“Maybe she is the only beauty?”
“Nah, who would show those and hide the beauty, that would be totally wrong here, where all try to show off.”
“You are right. Maybe she doesn’t even have a face? Just a gaping hole?”
“Eeeew! Do not say such things in front of me! I would not even wish my worst enemy such a fate, and especially not a fellow girl!”
“Why not go there and take a look? If you die of shock we know and you will be remembered by us for your bravery.”
“Screw off!”
While other people also talk about other things Drak and his maids did draw the attention all around him. Nothing can be done, as all of them are just waiting and ignoring the whispers, even if they are not that silent.
“...~”
“I noticed her. She is just looking, so no worries.”
“...~”
“No, just let her be. We do not know what she wants, but at the moment I couldn’t even care less.”
-
“Welcome to our Imperial School. Everyone here is a valued member of the Nobility and should strife to make our Empire a better place. In our peaceful time you have the opportunity to learn and need to remember your purpose to protect…”
The speech was rather long and praised the Empire for its peace and how everyone here should become an honest Noble serving the Emperor and the citizens. Many phrases were embedded and while it sounded nice it also had a melodic undertone, that kept mesmerizing the people around.
The Principal could maybe become a great speaker for any occasion with how he could phrase the value and need for this chance of high education.
While the whole speech was over forty five minutes, the whole ensemble in this huge auditorium with around ten thousand people where only two thousand were the Students listened carefully and rarely was only a cough heard.
At the end a rising applause was given to the Principal and afterwards all were dismissed.
“...~”
“Yeah, you did well. Did not think they would start that soon. Look after Claire later, okay?”
“...~”
-
“So, Class 108 huh? Thank you for coming with me. Have a rest at the Servants quarters. I will be fine.”
“Good luck master, and please be careful.”
“Do not worry, I will be fine.”
“We come at the evening to the Mensa for your meal before heading home. Until then Master.”
“Bye, I will miss you.”
With this Drak walks through the door and enters the classroom.
“… we will miss you too, Master.”
While Claire said that the others slightly nodded and after their last bow, they went to the Servants quarters.
Inside the Classroom some were already sitting. Every Classroom had exactly Twenty tables and forty seats. To increase the better way to let them mingle, double tables were mandatory, while those tables still were large and stylized to give every Student as much space as possible for themselves.
Round edges and comfortable seats with leather furnishing showed the great care the School gave those noble children, but also accentuated how much the School is demanding from them in the future.
“…”
The ones that are already here stared at the newcomer Drak incredulously until they saw the crest on his breast pocket and started to talk with each other again. Sitting on a Table further at the side, Drak sorted his utensils in his personal drawer below the Table and waited for all to arrive.
As more and more people started to enter the class it got evident, no one wanted to sit next to Drak and his table was until the end the only table with only one Person.
After another five minutes the last Student came in and everyone gasped.
“Prin… Imperial Princess Eleonora! She is in our Class!?”
Right after Princess Eleonora the Teacher came in too and while looking around the princess walked in firm gait to the Table with Drak and sat down on his right side.
“Hello, my name is Eleonora. As we are sharing a table you can call me Elly, like all my friends do. I hope to get along with you.”
“Hello… I’m Drak, as it is already that short I have no Nickname.”
While the Teacher is already here and the Students did not want to make a bad impression on the first day, they held all back their regret of not having a free place themselves next to them and the hard to hold in desire to meet her right away.
Also the way she talks to someone who obviously looks like a waste of a human is showing her great compassion and makes many green with envy.
Drak on the other hands just thinks about how laying low will be way harder, if she sat next to him, but can not do anything against it at the moment.