Inside the office in the castle, we can see three people standing, with a middle aged man facing a teenager and an old man standing two steps behind the middle aged man. They are the Duke Desmond de Shaw, his son and Heir to the Dukedom Oliver de Shaw, and the family butler Alfred.
Duke Desmond's piercing, deep-set eyes are a captivating shade of purple blue, reflecting his keen intelligence and astute observations. They hold a glint of determination and authority, revealing a man accustomed to wielding power with confidence.
His hair, once jet black, now exhibits a distinguished silver sheen, styled impeccably and swept back in a manner befitting his noble status. Each strand appears meticulously arranged, hinting at a meticulous attention to detail that extends to all aspects of his life.
As for Oliver, his hair is a lustrous shade of dark black, styled in a manner that exudes both refinement and a touch of unruliness. It cascades in gentle waves, complementing his chiselled jawline and accentuating his expressive features.
Oliver's eyes are a vibrant blue, framed by thick, dark eyebrows that add intensity to his gaze. They hold a mix of intelligence, determination, and a hint of mischief.
Looking at Oliver, his son, Desmond said “You have packed everything you need for the academy, right?”
“Yes father, I have packed everything.”
“Good. Have you said goodbye to your mother and sister?”
“Not yet, she’s still in her room and mother has gone to call her out.”
Nodding his head Desmond continued “She’s not happy about this, as you have been with her since she started to understand things. She will miss you.”
“I know.”
“We will miss you too.”
“I know that too, I’ll call you everyday.”
Before Desmond could say anything a cute voice was heard saying “Three times.”
Hearing that small voice, the three men in the room couldn’t help but smile. Oliver, who was looking at his father, slowly turned around to see his mother Joan de Shaw and his toddler sister Theadora de Shaw.
As he looked at his sister, he saw her large, expressive eyes shimmer with a vibrant blue hue, sparkling with curiosity and innocence, filled with tears.
Chuckling at that, Oliver went near his sister and kneeled in front of her so that he could be at her eye level. His mother understood that she needed to give the siblings some space, so she moved towards her husband Desmond.
Looking at his sister, Oliver cupped her face in his hand and gently wiped away her tears and asked “Why is Thea crying?”
“Olly will leave me today.” She replied in a mosquito level of noise, nevertheless, Oliver and the three adults in the room heard it clearly and had to leak a chuckle or two.
Shaking his head, Oliver said “Did I say that I won’t be coming back to you?”
Thea shook her head in response, seeing that he continued “So don’t worry, I will always be with Thea.” Then leaning close to her ear he said “If you want to see me so badly, ask Echo. He will inform me. Okay?”
Thea just nodded at his words, again not giving any verbal confirmation.
Kissing her forehead he said “Be a good girl and when I return from academy for vacations, I’ll tell you lot’s of stories and we will go out and play together,”
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At that, a cute smile bloomed on her face and she hurriedly hugged Oliver and buried her face on the crook of his neck. Without saying anything, Oliver hugged her back and slowly stood up, then he moved toward his parents.
Looking at his mother he said “I’ll miss you.”
With tears in her eyes, Joan hugged her son and softly said “Be safe, and we will miss you.”
He just smiled at that and motioned his father to join in the family hug, and the duke readily accepted the invitation.
A couple of seconds later, Alfred who has been watching the familial love of the four with a grandfatherly look, coughed and said “Young Lord, if you don’t leave now, you won’t be able to join with your friends.”
“That’s right, if I don’t reach there on time, she will hold it against me for the rest of the trip.” Mumbling that, Oliver kissed on the cheeks of his mother and father, then he slowly tried to separate Thea from the hug, but she wouldn’t let go.
Sighing, he said “Thea, if you don’t let me go, Vicky will be harassing me for the journey.”
Shaking her head a little, Thea said “Sister won’t do that.”
“She won’t do that if you are present, but it’s a different story if we are alone.”
“Isn’t her brother coming with you guys?” HIs mother asked.
“No, we will meet Alex at the Inn.”
“Mmmmm, so he’s coming with Charlotte, huh?” Desmond said to no one in particular.
After coaxing Thea with sweets and lot’s of promises, he left the Ducal house in his carriage.
An hour later, he reached a place where another carriage guarded by at least fifty soldiers adorning purple black uniform, they are the division of the Royal Army belonging to the 1st Princess of the Kingdom.
Seeing Oliver, the fifty soldiers bowed their heads to welcome him, and Oliver saluted them as a greeting and got into the carriage as fast as possible.
Right after closing the door, he heard a smooth voice “You are one minute late Olly, got any excuse?”
“I do, it’s Thea. She was very sad.” Oliver replied, and lay down on the seat without any care and placed his head on the thighs of the woman who spoke, not minding the maid sitting opposite to the woman.
Looking up at her he said “You look beautiful as ever, Victoria.”
Smiling at the compliment, Victoria ruffled his hair, and gave him a chaste kiss on his lips while saying “You look dashing as always too, Olly.”
“Thanks.” Saying that he winked at her.
Then looking at the maid, Victoria said “Emma, tell the Captain that we are moving.”
“Yes, your Royal Highness.” Saying that, Emma the maid went out to inform the captain.
As they were alone in the carriage, Oliver asked “Why did Alex change his plans?”
“Father had called brother yesterday and told him something, after that he changed his plans.”
“What could it be?”
“I think it’s related to Charlotte.”
“What happened to her?”
“Nothing happened, but at the academy there is a girl who has been clinging to brother, and he hasn't told Charlotte, so that might be.”
Hearing that Oliver had a dumbfounded expression and he thought to himself ‘What is this now? An Otome game? First it was the harem protagonist, now it’s reverse harem. What the hell?’
As he was in his thoughts, he didn’t notice that Emma had returned and the carriage started to move towards its destination.
‘Ah… whatever, I don’t have to worry about that clingy person, as she will be targeting the males, and I believe that I can resist that protagonist halo. The one I should look out for is the regressor, Robert de Marshall, Heir of the Count house of Marshall.’ As his thoughts reached there, he asked Victoria.
“You’re ranked third right?”
“Yeah. What about it, “Mr. Below Ten”?”
“Nothing about it, I just think that we would be in different classes.” He skilfully ignored the verbal jab sent by Victoria.
“That’s true. But, that’s okay. I will have Charlotte with me.”
“Right, she's second ranked.”
“Why didn’t you study properly for the exam? I have been meaning to ask that.”
“Nothing much, just some stuff happened, and I needed to watch out for flies.”
With a look of confusion Victoria asked “What flies?”
He didn’t reply to the question, instead he turned his head towards her stomach and buried his face in there. Seeing that Emma blushed a little, and Victoria kept running her fingers through his hair, as this was a common practice of Oliver, when he didn’t want to answer any questions
.
.
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Chapter 1 End.