“How was your stay in Thysa? Did you enjoy it?” Mother broke the silence at the dining table as we gathered for our first lunch together in half a year. At first, it was hard to believe they threw such a grandiose feast so quickly until I remembered they were expecting me. “From what I’ve heard, it’s a breathtaking place.”

“Words don’t do it justice. So awe-inspiring that you’ll have to see it for yourself. Though I got to warn you, once you see it, you won’t be able to step away from the canvas.” I could already imagine my mother standing on the balcony, painting actively once again. “Maybe I could take Elena and Penelope to visit.”

Father cleared his throat after taking a sip of wine and shifted his gaze turned toward me. “Son. I’m glad to see you’re safe and that you had a fun time while spending time with them, but I’m sure you understand that as a noble family of Eleron, we can’t just pack up and visit without a formal invitation or reason.”

“Isn’t visiting because it’s pretty a reason?” Elena asked, making mother and I chuckle while Penelope tried her best to maintain her composure in front of Father.

“Politics are complicated, sweetie. It’s not as easy for us to travel,” Father said. “With time, you’ll understand.”

“Wouldn’t it benefit us, though?” I asked, scratching my cheek with a finger. “It’d strengthen our bond with the Royal Family, establishing a good rapport with Thysa. Besides, they’ve given me their blessings to visit whenever.”

“While I applaud you for earning their trust, that doesn’t mean their invitation extends to others. We’ll discuss this another time,” Father cut the conversation short, cutting into his steak.

“Yes, Father.” Well, it wasn’t as if I expected anything.

“Now, if I’m not mistaken, you said there was something you wished to show us?” Father asked.

Even though I was the one who made the request and planned it all out, for some reason, I felt extremely nervous all of a sudden. Was Father’s approval so important to me?

“Yes, but could we go to the training grounds? Sorry for taking away everyone’s time.”

“Yes!” Ellie immediately raised her hand, excited as usual.

“Do you have time, Penelope?” Mother asked, knowing she was working hard on preparing for the entrance exam.

“Of course, Mother.” Penelope showed a coy smile, turning her gaze slowly toward me. “Could we pass by the courtyard? I’ve left Rose with the twins.”

“Would you mind if I came with you? It’s about time I met Rose.” I asked.

“That’s what I was hoping for when I asked,” Penelope explained.

“I want to go too!” Ellie announced, looking ready to dash out at a moment's notice.

“Ellie, you’ll be coming with us. We’ll meet them back at the training ground,” Mother said.

“But I want to go with them. . .” Ellie mumbled, looking disappointed.

“Now, now. . . There’s something I wanted to show you on the way.”

“W–what?” Ellie slowly turned her head, catching only a glimpse of Mother from the corner of her eye, intrigued by what she had to say.

“It’s a secret.”

“A secret?” Ellie’s eyes sparkled at the idea.

“Yes, and you can’t tell others what you see.” Mother always knew how to get kids to listen. “But. . . If you don’t want to see it, then I guess–”

“No, no! I’ll go.” Ellie pressed her lips tightly, trying to cover her winsome smile as she got up and rushed to our mother’s side, feeling a bit embarrassed.

“Good girl.” Mother patted her head before turning to her husband. “Shall we go, dear?”

Father nodded, wiping his mouth with a napkin before they got up and left, leaving me alone with Penelope.

“Should we go too?” Penelope asked as we were all done eating.

“Lead the way.”

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Walking down the corridor brought back memories as we headed for the backside of the house shoulder to shoulder. It was endearing to see Penelope shyly smiling as opposed to her usual cold expression. While she didn’t hate on me when we were kids like that dumbass at the Academy, it still hurt being faced with indifference, even if it was all a front.

It felt great to put it all behind us so we could move on and enjoy spending time together. Thankfully, there wasn’t any awkwardness between us which I found surprising. Maybe our upbringing wasn’t normal, but I was happy knowing we both cared for each other.

“So. . . Rose, huh?” I spoke up. “What’s her story?”

“She was rescued from an underground auction just like the twins, but it’s not as simple.” Penelope’s gaze dropped. “You see. . . Rose used to work with them, manipulated and lied to so they could get her to do what they wanted.”

“How old is she?” I asked, trying to catch a glimpse of her eyes.

“She turned eighteen early this year. It’s not her fault.”

“There were lots of kids among them while I was escaping, and I’m sure some didn’t want to be there.”

“Alex. . .” Her tone shifted, demanding my utmost attention. “I must warn you something.”

“What is it?” I furrowed my brows.

“Rose. . . She’s a bit different.”

“As in weird?”

“No, no. . .”

“Hey,” I lowered my voice, greeting her with a smile. “Relax and just tell me.”

Penelope looked at me and sighed. “Right. . . Rosaline is actually a half-fae and half-succubus.”

“I see. Guess you weren’t kidding.” I chuckled.

“You’re. . . not surprised?” Penelope stopped, seeming a bit confused.

“Huh? Umm. I guess not? I mean, I am, but–” I paused, pinching my chin as I thought about it for a moment. “Let’s just say life left quite an impression on me in the past few months. Would you believe me if I told you I saw a boar bigger than a horse and a man that could turn into a bear? Oh. . . Let’s not forget talking to a giant cat.”

Noir would’ve growled at me for sure had he heard me call him a cat.

“It must’ve been fun. . . living with them.” She dropped her gaze.

“It was. . . but not a day went by without me thinking of returning to you guys.” I took a step closer, offering her my hand.

She looked up and smiled, taking my hand as we both wanted to be more open with each other. Being able to hold her hand, pull her in for a hug, and talk to her whenever felt as if a huge boulder had been lifted off my shoulder.

Stepping outside, the sight of Rosaline with the twins in the distance took me by surprise, as she looked nothing like I had expected. She was a beautiful girl that looked no different than any other human if not for her bodily perfections and the crimson eyes, which I saw as we got closer.

Penelope must’ve meant a lot to the twins as they immediately jumped her, leaving Rose and me on our own.

“Alexander, I take it?” Rosaline asked, bowing respectfully.

“There’s no need for that. Please, feel at ease.” I awkwardly chuckled, not used to people showing me respect with formal gestures other than the household servants, excluding the Knights stationed outside. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Rosaline.”

Extending my hand, I took Rose by surprise, but she accepted gracefully.

“If that’s the case, please call me Rose.”

“Only if you agree to call me Alex.” Slowly letting go of her hand, I smiled. “We’ll be seeing each other a lot, so let’s get along.”

“I’ll be in your care.”

We both turned to Penelope, who was too busy messing with the twins, reminding me again of countless times I spied on Ellie and her playing when she was two, three years old.

“Everyone’s gathering at the training ground for me to show them something. Would you like to come along?” I asked.

“To the training grounds?” Damon’s attention immediately shifted as his eyes gleamed.

“He invited Rose, not us.” Sheila sighed, believing her brother’s wrong.

“Oh. . . Right.” His gaze dropped with disappointment before he realized he could just ask me to tag along. “Can I come? I wanted to see the knights training again.”

“How could I even think of not bringing you along? Ellie would be furious with me.” I winked, turning to his sister. “Shelly. I hope you’re coming with us. You don’t mind me calling you Shelly, right?”

“I– I’d love to come. . .” She mumbled shyly, never answering my question, leaving me to assume she was okay with the nickname.

“Rose?” I looked back.

Glancing at Penelope first, she turned to me with a smile on her face. “It’d be my pleasure.”

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“Knights of Kallis, stand at attention!” Sir James, Commander of the Knights of Kallis, yelled, making the thirty or so knights at the training grounds put their feet together and straighten their backs simultaneously. “Today, we’re visited by our Lord and his family. I better not see any misbehavior! Your actions reflect directly on our order.”

For some reason, I sympathized as even the knights partaking in gossip about me wouldn’t dare look away in Father’s presence. His gaze alone was enough to inspire respect.

“Alexander.” Father gestured for me to get closer. “The stage is yours.”

“Thank you, Father.” I nodded respectfully before turning to Sir James.

“It’s good to have you back, My Lord.” Sir James bowed to me.

“Congratulations on your promotion, Sir James.”

“Thank you, My Lord, but I wish Sir Kalandor were still with us.”

“Without him, our family would’ve suffered a great loss that day. He served our family well, and I’m sure you shall as well.”

“It would be my honor.”

“Now. . .” I turned to the knights, feeling nervous as Father stood behind me. “I’ll need one of our knights to serve as my dueling partner. Standard rules. Use everything you can to win, and no holding back.”

“You heard the Lord. Any volunteers?” Sir James asked as tension built up among them.

They exchanged glances among themselves as none wanted to take on the challenge.

“I was afraid this was going to happen.” I sighed, scratching my head. “Look. Don’t be afraid. I’m not looking for you to hold back, nor will you be punished if you happen to hurt me. I’ll even go as far as to reward anyone who wins against me.”

Murmur began, but still nobody willingly took a step forward.

“I’ll pick out someone myself if nobody dares volunteer,” Sir James warned.

“My Lord, if I may. . .” One of the knights raised his hand.

“Speak.”

“My Lord, I’m sure you understand that hitting you will put us in a tough position.”

“Fear not.” I chuckled, placing my hand on my belt. “I promise you, regardless of the result, it won’t reflect on you poorly.”

“If anyone beats Alexander, I’ll double the wage of every knight for the next three months,” Father gave quite a generous offer.

“You heard the Lord,” Sir James raised his voice. “Now, do we have a volunteer?”

“I’ll fight,” said a knight in the back, an unfamiliar face.

“Come up here, Jeffrey,” Sir James gestured him to the front.

The young-looking man that walked up to me and bowed reached roughly up to my nose height-wise, boasting a good physique and a sharp gaze found within his dark brown eyes.

“Cadet Jeffrey, at your service, My Lord. It’s an honor.”

“It’s a pleasure seeing fresh faces around here.” I placed a hand on his shoulder. “Do us proud.”

“Thank you, My Lord.” His eyes gleamed while looking at me.

“My Lord,” Sir James interrupted. “A word of warning. He might be a cadet, but he has a bright future ahead of him as a first circle mage.”

“Oh? You awakened your core? Congratulations.”

“Thank you, My Lord. It was a grueling task, but I achieved to do so a few months ago at the age of nineteen.”

“So you’re only a year older than me.”

“That’s right, My Lord. I’ll make sure to keep my mana in check and fight only using a sword.”

It felt strange having people refer to me by a title again, especially when I never favored it in the first place.

“No, no. Feel free to go all out,” I said, stepping out in the open, where we had room to duel.

“My Lord, I–”

“Orders are orders, cadet,” I reminded him.

“Yes, My Lord. . .” Jeffrey reluctantly agreed.

Part of me hoped they wouldn’t underestimate me, but he seemed more just like a good guy than anything, probably worried about my safety.

Sir James took the liberty of handing his sword to me, a lightweight longsword forged by the finest smiths in Eleron. Flourishing it toward the knight, I honored him with a slight bow which he returned.

Despite spending years training back home, somehow it felt foreign facing off against someone who wasn’t Alice. However, the struggle to win against Eliot, who never used magic against me, was impossible to forget. Though, things weren’t the same anymore.

“Begin!” Sir James instructed with his arm raised in the air.

“Remember!” I yelled. “Think of this duel as if your life is on the line.”

“Yes!” He yelled back, taking a wider stance with his longsword raised above his head. “Thunder Blade.”

Booming energy gathered around the sword as he charged toward me. The spell was chaotic, and he seemed to lack proper control, but it still boasted enough power for me to assume it to be a one-time use spell that empowered his strike, similar to Alice’s Sword Burst with an additional requirement of being cast early.

Jeffrey was trained well as he ignored my lack of attention while I glanced at my family, taking the opportunity to strike toward me. The look on everyone’s faces as they saw a mana-empowered sword heading straight for my neck was priceless, all but Father's, who looked unphased by my arrogance.

However, Jeffrey misjudged my actions as foolishness, realizing how wrong he was the second a smirk appeared on my face.

“Shield.” The booming energy surrounding his sword roared on impact with the shimmering yellow barrier I conjured, causing the mana to disperse and his stance to break.

Giving him no time to recover his balance, I stepped in and drove the pommel into his stomach, causing him enough pain to knock him down in one hit as my hidden core still empowered me physically. By the time he looked up, my sword had already rested on his shoulder, marking me the winner.

“The winner is Lord Alexander Kallis!” Sir James announced as the knights murmured among themselves.

“Alex, you. . . have magic?” Mother asked with shock painting her face.

Father didn’t say a word, but I did notice a tiny smirk creeping up on his face.

“Magic? Brother can use magic!” Ellie yelled, breaking away from our mother, rushing up to me, and hugging me around the waist. “Did everyone see that? Brother has magic.” She smiled cheerfully, snuggling closer. “Did the elves teach you? Can they teach me if we visit?”

“You’ll be able to do it on your own before you know it.” I patted her head, feeling tingly inside as everyone looked baffled.

“How did you remove your curse?” Mother asked.

“It wasn’t exactly a curse, but I’ll explain later, okay?”

“Is that why you chose to stay so long in Thysa?” Father asked.

“Yes. King Elwyn offered to train me, a hard offer to turn down. Sorry for keeping it a secret.”

“How did you manage to awaken your core so quickly?” Penelope took a step closer, grasping her necklace.

“Awakened?” I smugly grinned. “You’re looking at a second circle mage.”

“Is that so?” Father asked, letting out a sigh. Maybe it was the fulfillment I felt finally having something to show, but I still regretted how cocky I was. “It seems we owe the Royal Family of Thysa a lot more than I expected. To think he’d pick you up as his student.”

“Silence!” Sir James raised his voice at the knights, who kept chattering. “How dare–”

“Is there a problem, Sir James?” Father asked.

“Ah– My Lord, I. . .” Sir James looked apologetic, as he never intended to interrupt our conversation.

“They’re complaining about my victory, aren’t they?” I asked.

“Well. . .”

“Speak,” Father commanded sternly.

He hesitated for a second before looking back at me. “It’s as Young Lord said. Some of them feel cheated since they didn’t know he possessed magic.”

“Who was it?” I asked, but unsurprisingly nobody was willing to admit it. “If you have something to say, just say it. Don’t be afraid. I won’t punish you, and I’ll even give you all another chance to have a go at me. Same rules.”

“It was me,” stepped up a knight I had seen before. Sir Baris a twenty-six-year-old mage who achieved the second circle a few years back. “I was the one who said something shameless.”

“I admire your courage, Sir Baris.” He was always one of those knights that made fun of me, going as far as to call me the useless Kallis. “I’m a man of my word. Step up to duel me if you wish.”

“I must warn you, Young Lord. I’m a third-circle mage now.”

“Impressive,” I complimented him, flourishing my blade again. “I’ll make sure not to underestimate you.”

He pulled out his sword with a twitching upper lip as he must’ve been agitated.

“Does the reward still stand?” Sir Baris asked, daring to smirk.

It was obvious he was looking forward to fighting me, disrespecting me despite being in service to our family. Honestly, I couldn’t wait to see who’d win as I wanted nothing more than to beat the shit out of him, and not a lot of people could make me admit that.

“Father?” I asked, looking at him with confidence.

“Very well. However, Sir Baris, if you lose, Sir James will be instructed to make you train with a wooden sword for the next three months.”

“Y–yes, My Lord. . .” Sir Baris lowered his gaze.

While the punishment sounded more like a joke, it served well to humiliate Sir Baris, who dared step out of line as a Knight of Kallis. Wooden swords were reserved for newly joined cadets, a sign of inexperience.

“Sir James, announce the beginning of their duel,” Father commanded.

“R–right. . .” He mumbled, raising his hand. “Are you ready?”

“Yes,” I said as opposed to Sir Baris, who simply nodded.

“Begin!”

Holding his blade firmly with two hands, Sir Baris took a deep breath and conjured a large amount of mana along the edge. Despite never seeing someone do that before in such a way, I could tell his abilities were no joke.

“My Lord, please be careful!” Sir James spoke up out of worry. “Though imperfect, Aura can still make a blunt sword cut.”

“You should listen to him, My Lord. It’s not too late to surrender,” Sir Baris arrogantly suggested.

“Silence,” I commanded, glaring at Sir Baris. “You talk too much.”

I never expected to feel so pleased seeing someone baffled as I issued a command for the first time directly.

“Very well.” His grin faded as he tightened his grip, fuming at the sight of arrogance. “Prepare–”

“Blink.”

The duel was over before it even began as I appeared behind him, smashing his shoulder with the pommel using all my might. Unlike Alice, who had impeccable reaction speed, Sir Baris fell victim to my attack, dropping to his knee from the pain as the strike fractured his bone despite mana protecting him. Mages were naturally more durable than regular humans.

Everyone stood dead silent as Sir Baris growled in pain.

“Sir James.” Looking at the Commander, I pressed the edge of my blade against Sir Baris’ throat.

Despite his many years of experience and high-ranking position, Sir James still stared at me in confusion. “The winner is. . . Lord Alexander Kallis!”

“I hope you’re satisfied with this, for if it were a real duel, you’d be dead.” I can’t lie. It felt empowering to put him in his place on my own as I removed my sword from his neck.

Mustering the strength to stand, Sir Baris grabbed his shoulder and bowed. “Yes, My Lord. Undoubtedly it’s your victory. I hope you overlook my insolence.”

“Serve my family well, and you won’t hear a word from me, Sir Baris.”

“Thank you, My Lord.”

“Sir Baris,” Father’s booming voice echoed as he took a step closer. “You’ll be training with a wooden sword from now on. Get back in line.”

“Y–yes, My Lord,” he mumbled, wobbling toward the others.

“And you.” He turned to me, sending a shiver down my spine. “Come with me to my office. We have lots to discuss.”

“Your office?” I was surprised to hear his command as Ellie and Penelope were full of questions, looking ready to jump me at any moment.

“Now,” Father commanded.

No matter how much time passed, his voice still caused my stomach to turn when he was serious.

Hopefully, he wasn’t mad at my arrogance.

Chapter End.

Thank you for reading.