William walked slowly and calmly through the orderly streets of the capital. Even though it was evening, the celebration was still going on. People did not sleep at all last night, and then, in the first light of the morning, they took to the streets to celebrate. The corpses of the capital's soldiers in the streets had already been cleared. Occasional bloodstains still appeared in some places, but over time they would also be erased.

He came to the gates of the palace without attracting anyone's attention. Guards were guarding every part of the palace, including the small walls and gates. He could enter without anyone noticing, but since he was going to enter the palace, he would have to appear somewhere. That's why he chose to go straight through the front door.

One of the two guards at the entrance of the palace recognized him and signaled that he could enter directly. He showed it with his hands.

William nodded, smiling, and walked inside. Now he could see the changes in the palace. Previously, it was only the Royal family banner, but now he could see the academy and mage tower's banners on either side of his family's banner in the middle. The message Thedo wanted or was compelled to convey was this: a triple alliance, even with their help. Indeed it was, an ordinary baron of an ordinary kingdom would not be able to gather such an army without their strong support.

William had always had certain doubts about his family, but he had never cared about those matters. More precisely, there was a room full of secrets, the door of which was left ajar, but he never wanted to force open that door. If there was something to be said, his family would certainly have told him.

He walked the path of glowing gray marble cleaned in magic. He arrived at the main palace and walked into the main hall without stopping under the gaze of some soldiers.

He saw the tired Thedo and Theo inside the main hall. They sat at the big table in the middle. Thedo was sitting in the first king's chair. They were in the middle of a heated argument with dozens of nobles.

Everyone stopped talking the moment William entered the room. Thedo glared at him angrily. "Where have you been! Do you know how many people have been looking for you since morning?!!” he asked.

"I was sleeping?" William asked, a little confused, a little surprised. It was strange because the guards at the entrance didn't seem at all excited or worried. He hadn't even seen anyone reach him. He was surprised because it was a sign of anxiety he hadn't seen in a long time. It felt good to be appreciated after all this. That's why he was only able to give such a simple answer.

“You brat, you have to be aware of your responsibilities from now on. Come, sit and listen.” Thedo invited him to a chair. The chair to his left was now empty.

William felt at first that he needed to leave immediately and return to the academy. But then he decided to stay and listen as he was curious about his plans.

Various situations were discussed in the room. First of all, the three kingdoms had come to a definite decision. The envoys of the other two kingdoms were waiting to be invited to the palace at an inn. The palace was not yet fully opened, as the guest halls still reeked of blood. There was an alliance now.

There was already an alliance with the elves who had taken over the Elm kingdom. Worst case, the Elves, and Thedo had already agreed to besiege the High Mountain Kingdom from both sides.

The high mountain kingdom, on the other hand, read the situation well, and when they heard that Thedo had won, they sent their fastest envoys to both sides and accepted all kinds of cooperation.

One of the issues discussed was what to do with this alliance. Conscription and basic education were on the table as the plan.

The goal in Thedo's mind was that every citizen should receive the required basic education and that every young citizen above a certain age should receive warrior training. They were not optimistic about the magic because it needed a heavily trained condition. Being a warrior was relatively simple. As long as they had an elemental affinity and a little bit of talent, they could be warriors. Although skill was important to a mighty warrior, Thedo wanted quantity, not quality. He was considering capturing a few strategically important points. Just as he trained the soldiers in his own barony, he wanted to attack the areas where certain elements were abundant, to drive out the powerful creatures and train the warriors of the kingdom.

This was a long-term plan. The academy and the mage tower would also help with this. Now their goal was to open a door from the island to the outside world. Their initial thought was to use the teleport array they found in the deep dungeons of the palace, but after Arthur's investigations, it was out of the question. They could combine low and mid-level soul stones to make something similar to a high-level soul stone, but the space stone was impossible to find. Even Arthur had only seen its name once in an ancient text, and it was just an ordinary heroic tale. There, the character forged a sword using this stone. That's all that has been said. And they didn't even know where the teleportation array would take them. Perhaps it was opening up to a more dangerous place? The King's brother had escaped using this opportunity as a level two true mage, so it was probably safe, but they couldn't ignore the fact that it could be dangerous.

Finally, there was talk about the need to establish a united union. The three kingdoms would send an equal number of people to this union and divide the expenses equally. This time Thedo especially pushed the nobles. He wanted every piece of gold they had for this purpose. Because this union would open a path for them in the black forest. A safe way out to sea.

William had no hope in this regard. Even putting aside the platinum rank creatures, there were maybe hundreds of gold rank creatures on this island. It was almost impossible for a single gold rank warrior to create such a path. Especially without using bloodline power.

Finally, after a few hours, the meeting was over. They decided their future. The priority would focus on these three issues. One, an alliance between the three kingdoms. Two, the union of three kingdoms. Third, compulsory education. Other simple things followed. Like Thedo's coronation a week later, for example. They wanted to summon the principal of the academy to have him crowned. Thedo agreed. As the most powerful person on the island, this was normal. They also thought that they would improve their future cooperation.

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Everyone stood up and greeted each other. William had listened attentively the entire time and joined in the final greeting. Thedo eyebrows motioned for him to stay.

Soon, only three people remained in the main hall, Thedo, Theo, and William.

Then Thedo began to speak as if he were a soldier under his command, not his grandson. “William, you are stronger. Congratulations on your success in knocking down the towers.” Said.

William accepted his credit with a nod. Then Thedo continued to speak. “Since you weren't surprised by what was said at the meeting, you know some things. That's why I'm going to skip these issues." He then took a long sigh and lowered his head thoughtfully.

“Actually, as my grandson, I didn't tell you until now maybe you don't hate innocent people, but now I see you growing up. You're almost as strong as we are. I don't know how he did it, but now we're here, we're equals." Said. He had a helpless expression on his face. It was obvious that he was upset to see his grandson grow up now.

William immediately wanted to comfort him. “I am still your grandson, grandfather.” Said. His eyes were smiling as he spoke.

“Yes, you are my grandson. That's why I have to tell you about them. You should know about our family history.” Said. He looked seriously into his eyes. “I was really talented when I was younger. Thanks to the technique I gained in one of the wars, I had the opportunity to improve myself and became stronger. Later my commander was noble and wrote me a letter of recommendation for the academy. That's how I got into the academy."

"What?" William was taken aback. He did not know that his grandfather went to the academy. He wanted to ask him more, but Thedo interrupted him.

“Don't interrupt me, just listen.” Said. Then he continued. “After dozens of large and small wars, I entered the academy. I was good at fighting, and in a short time, I became the silver level by putting my life in my teeth. Later I got married and Theo was born. At that time, the second most powerful person in the kingdom was a teacher at the academy. He was also an ancestral warrior of the kingdom we destroyed today. Everything was going well for me, my wife, and little Thedo. Later, Thedo grew up with time, at the age of fourteen he joined the academy just like you. He had already lived in the academy since he was born, and it was finally time to do the things he was used to. I also got stronger over time and reached the top of the silver level. I was now equal to the strongest man in the kingdom, after the principal. Meanwhile, various kingdoms and even the mage tower tried to recruit me, but I was satisfied with my place. But when I rejected everyone, various small conflicts began to arise. Leaving such a powerful person neutral seemed perhaps a threat to them after all. One day, I got word that Theo was in danger. A student from the academy had come to my door pleading, saying that Theo and his team were surrounded by hundreds of creatures in a small cave. At first, I didn't believe it, Theo was experienced, he shouldn't have been in such a situation, but later on, my conscience was overpowered and I set out to save him.” Meanwhile, he sighed. There was regret on his face. He continued, “As you can imagine, I encountered an ambush on the way. Kingdoms trying to recruit me, even the mage tower, had set me up. There were even teachers from the academy among them. I never thought I would be betrayed by my own friends. This time they were united not for persuasion, but to kill me.” Anger grew in Thedo's eyes. It was like it was on fire. “I fought! My defensive technique was strong. I killed them all, with great wounds of course. I didn't think of returning to academia because I knew Theo might still be in danger. Because there was no ringleader among them. The person I'm talking about is the most powerful person in the Kingdom. I then went to Theo's said location with my severe wounds. They were indeed trapped, but not in bad shape. At that moment, the ringleader who was waiting for me came out. We fought a great war. With this battle, the creatures escaped and Theo was freed. He had reached the bronze level at that time, so maybe he thought he could help.” This time there was disappointment in his eyes. Theo also bowed his head in embarrassment.

“Then I would have killed him if Theo had not come, but I had to protect my son. I stepped forward to save time when he was going to attack Theo, but he did something unexpected. I don't know if it was because he was too old or because he realized he couldn't win, but he used a forbidden technique. He chose to poison us with the power of the light within him at the cost of his remaining life. We survived that day, but we were both powerless now. This poison was called the light poison, and we couldn't find any cure. Arthur was a level one mage back then, and he took pity on us and helped us. We learned that poison can only heal with time. No treatment was needed, but it would take many years. More than a decade later, a few years before you were born, the poison healed and we slowly began to regain our powers. Seeing that we were healed, the academy and the mage tower promised to help as compensation. After all, most of our attackers were between the two lines. Here we are now. We finally got our revenge.” Said. He took a deep breath.

It had been a very long speech. Still, William had patiently listened to his every word. There was some surprise and some sadness on his face. Maybe his grandfather could have been gold rank by now. He was in this state today because of some bastards. A little anger appeared on his face, but now all the enemies were dead. Thedo had turned them into dust with his own hands.

William felt he had to say something. His family's background story was very depressing. Now he felt as if the anger he had felt before had vanished in a flash.

"I do not know what to say. It saddens a grandson like me that you have experienced such things. But standing still is admirable. In my opinion-."

“Stop, don't go on.” Thedo interrupted him. “We need neither your praise nor your appreciation. I didn't tell you this because it hurts us. You were born the son of Baron Theo and the past is none of your business, just act like it's useless information, it's all over now.” Said.

He then asked, softening his stern face. “So what are you going to do next? You've grown now. I'm thinking of putting you at the head of this new alliance we're going to form." Said.

William was immediately worried. It was clear on his face that he didn't want anything like that. Then he calmed down and spoke. “I will return to the academy.” Said. His expression was serious, just like Thedo. “I don't think I'm going back without getting stronger at a certain level. And you don't need me either."

Thedo sneered at William's words. “Heheh, brat you are right. We don't need you. But after all, you are a prince now.” He was grinning badly.

William shook his head helplessly. “No matter what you put before my name, I'm just William.”

Thedo saw how serious he was. He remained silent to this answer. Then he stood up and spoke. “Okay, the decision is yours. If you were a normal brat, I would hold you by the ears and imprison you in an empty room, but you are way ahead of your peers. You almost look older than your father. Enjoy yourself.” Said.

William lost his attention for a moment when Thedo told him 'you looked like a middle-aged man', but quickly recovered. There was no way he could know that. Thedo started to leave the main hall with slow steps. It was as if with each step, one of the chains between him and William was breaking. Then Theo also stood up and walked over to William. Putting a hand on his shoulder, he said, “Always remember you have a family here.”

“At least you don't do it, dad, after all, I'm only going to the academy. It's not like I'm going for the rest of my life." Said.

The scene that followed warmed his chilled bones as if they had been thrown into the oven. Theo hugged him with all his might. He sniffed his body, which hadn't bathed in a few days, as if it were etched into his mind.

He then left with Thedo.

William stayed where he was. This hug and goodbye weighed heavily on him. His eyes watered, but he did not cry. An unexplained dryness formed in his throat.

After a while, a soldier came into the room. “Sir, Mr. Arthur is calling you. He is in the dungeon right now.”

William then regained his composure and gestured to the soldier. “Show the way.”