The roughly 30 year old man pointed on a map. Highlighted in red was the Rayleigh family’s territory. It sprawled across the country, and was roughly about a quarter the total size of the empire. Located in the eastern region, the land was far away from the capital, although roads linked the regions together. A mountain range was on the southern border of the Rayleigh family lands. Right in the middle of the empire’s land, was the capital. It was surrounded by 4 dukedoms, one on each side.
Francis was in the library, where he was joined by that man. He wasn’t unattractive. A pair of glasses with thin frames rested on his face. With refined features, he looked the part of a knowledgeable scholar.
“Although there are three other dukes, the Rayleigh family is by far the most powerful one,” he began.
“Is that a fact or embellishment? Just because I’m part of the Rayleigh family doesn’t mean that I will execute you or punish you for stating facts.”
“It is a fact, my lord. The other 3 dukes would need to unite in order to combat your family’s influence.”
“I see. Then if we’re so powerful, why haven’t the imperial family gotten rid of us yet?”
“You ask a lot of questions, my lord,” the teacher said as a joke.
“It is a student’s purpose to learn and ask questions. But learning does not occur without asking,” Francis replied with a straight face.
The teacher chuckled. He stood up and looked through the bookshelf. Francis was sitting on a hard wooden chair, and a book was opened in front of him.
“My lord, why are you suddenly so interested in the world?” Katalina asked.
She was standing guard behind him. The warm light of the lamps shone onto the pages of the book. The symbols of the book were coloured with black ink, and if he didn’t have the old Francis’ memories, he would be completely lost. The written language of the Varexian Empire was nothing like the languages he was used to seeing on earth.
“Well, I need knowledge. I can’t remain ignorant,” Francis said.
“You really have changed, my lord.”
“What of it?”
Katalina shook her head. She returned back to her position. As his chosen guard and knight, she had to stay close to, if not with, him at all times. If a guard wasn’t there, what was her point?
The teacher returned. In his hands was a thick book. Bound by hard wood, and papers pressed together, Francis looked at it. He placed it onto the wooden table, and flipped it open. Scrawled across the white paper were strange symbols that Francis did not recognise. He squinted his eyes, and tried to approximate the closest letter he could. Unfortunately, he was entirely illiterate in whatever language that was written in.
“What is that?” Francis asked.
“The language of mana. Are you proficient in aura?”
“I’ve never learnt it, but I’m supposed to be proficient.”
“Yes. Those of the Rayleigh blood are experts at using their auras. It is due to your family’s history, but that is not for me to teach,” the teacher said.
“Family history? Hmm.”
The teacher pointed at the symbols. Each of them were unique from each other, with some more squiggly, some straighter. His fingers ran across the page. It seemed like the teacher was somewhat disappointed.
“Well, I’m not a mage. Just a scholar, so perhaps we’ll leave it.”
“I see. The language of mana, was it?”
“Yes. Although we’re not mages, my lord, we still can use mana stones.”
“And those are?”
The teacher raised his eyebrows. Francis looked at him with calm eyes, and tilted his head slightly. Almost as if asking him, ‘well? What are they? Tell me’.
“Perhaps we should wrap up today’s lesson here. One should take care not to gain too much knowledge at once, lest they forget it.”
“Ah. Alright then. See you tomorrow, Mr Frium.”
“Yes, see you tomorrow, my lord.”
With a bow, the teacher left the library. Francis stood up, and pointed to Katalina’s blade. She raised an eyebrow at her master’s actions.
“It's that, isn’t it? Mana stone.”
He was pointing at the light blue gem. The light from the lamps were thrown into a disarray as the light rays filtered through the circular gem embedded in her sword’s guard. Katalina let a small smile slip by.
“Yes. It's a mana stone. How did you know, my lord?”
“Just gut instinct. Could you explain it to me?”
“Well, simply put, mana stones can be used to alter an item. It can make it lighter to hold, or have more weight when brought down. For example, my mana stone makes my sword lighter and faster. A heavyweight fighter, like his grace, would alter his blade to be heavier instead.”
“Oh… Can anyone use it?”
“As long as they have an item or tool they want to alter, and a mana stone.”
“Then, yours is blue. My father has a purple stone. Does colour make a difference?”
“Well, purple is one of the rarest variants, and has much higher capabilities. Blue, yellow, orange, red, and more. All these are of the common rarity.”
Francis nodded his head in understanding. His eyelashes fluttered as he placed his head on his knuckles. Those pinkish irises were focused on one spot. His mind was going through the information he had just devoured from the lesson. The territories of his family, the geography of the known world, he had been taught all that in 2 hours. How much he actually retained after the session however, was a different question.
Just 8 hours prior, during his usual breakfast time, the topic of his tutor was brought up. Charles dabbed his lips with a cloth fabric napkin. Crumbs of bread were caught in the satin napkin, and he placed it back down on the table.
“So, Fran, your private tutor will be arriving soon today,” his father said.
“Hm. That’s earlier than expected.”
“Huh? How long did you think you would need to wait?”
“A week, at least.”
“Fran, dear,” his mother began, “We are the Rayleighs. If you want a tutor for you, it’ll only take a day, at most. If you want a painting by Abel Yion, we will make sure that he arrives before the weekend. And, your sisters will return from the academy next week, so pick out a gift for them soon. Also, the Hunters Festival will be held once they return, so prepare yourself.”
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“Yes. That is what it means to be a Rayleigh. So no need to hold yourself back, you know? If you see a girl you like, you can just ask us for her,” his father said with a chuckle.
And that’s the source of all my problems. Living as a Rayleigh means a life of luxury unheard of. But I can’t live like that. Selfish, greedy, rich, powerful. The corrupt, fat noble. Can’t become like that.
“No need for anything like that, dad,” Francis said with a smile, “Speaking of which. Why haven’t I gone to an academy?”
“You can’t. Also, we’ll be gone this afternoon. We’re heading to the palace,” his father replied flatly.
“What do you mean? Is it for females only?” Francis said, ignoring the latter half of Charles’ statement.
“No? Your brother is in the academy too. Are you sure you’re alright? It's not like you to care about things like that.”
“Huh? Then why? Wouldn’t it be easier for me to go to the academy with them?”
“Fran, dear. You can’t go to the academy, well, because you’re mixed. Even your sisters can defend themselves, because of the Rayleigh blood. But you can’t even pick up a sword. Bodyguards aren’t allowed in the academy. And besides, do you really want to be the most wanted groom?” Marianne said.
Most wanted groom? Is it because I’m mixed? But what does that have to do with being a groom?
“Sorry. But I don’t understand what you’re saying.”
“Hm. Alright dear. Do you know why the servants don’t look at your father in the eye?”
“Because he’s their lord?”
“No, my dear. Imagine looking a dragon in its eye. Not that easy, right?”
“I’d imagine not.”
“Yes, and it's because of that. Our blood, if you cared to remember, comes from the mythological dragons.”
Does Bahamut have anything to do with them? The True Dragon.
“I see. Then why would I be the most desirable groom?”
“Well, dragons are, by their nature, hostile to humans. And vice versa. But you? You’re mixed. Between a large scary dragon, and small, cute lizard, which seems more appealing?”
“That is true. So, because of my mixed blood, it's easier to marry into the family.”
So, because I’m mixed, I can’t go to the academy. Since going to the academy means that I can’t bring Katalina along, and I’m weaker than pretty much everyone else, I’d be defenseless. And, because I’m mixed, it's more than likely I’ll have a lot of suitors. That means that it’ll be a political battlefield, huh?
Francis nodded his head. Compared to his old life on earth, he was much more excited to learn. But it was a pity, he would have much rather gone to the academy with his siblings. The cool weather seemed to indicate that winter was on the empire’s doorsteps. And like he always had, he had to spend his time gathering knowledge.
“Wait, then why am I an Arcleus? Surely the empire wouldn’t want a dragon as its leader,” Francis asked.
“But you are not even remotely a dragon,” was Marianne’s answer.
And it was true. If he compared himself to the other family members who had crimson red eyes, he was different. Like a single green apple out of a whole bag of reds. Even within the small subset of the Rayleigh family, he stood out. If there was a factory defect, that product did not have the right to be presented along with the luxury goods. So what if that specific product was a human? The factory didn’t care. And Francis was in that position.
Do I really belong in this family?
He gulped. That wasn’t a topic he would want to think about. When they were done with his use, were they ready to dispose of him? An Arcleus was the next in line for emperor, and the emperor shared his power of the empress. And since the emperor controlled part of the empire, the one who held the emperor’s strings was the person truly in control. That was the result that Francis feared might happen. Of course, it was all hypothetical. He wasn’t confirmed to become the emperor. If he could just avoid that fate of his, then perhaps he might be able to avoid the ending of a villain.
With his breakfast finished, he bowed his head as he left. His parents stayed in the dining room, despite having finished their meal before his. Katalina bowed her head too, before following along. Damaged goods, who needed extra care. It was strange enough that they hadn’t gotten rid of such a burden, but to Francis, their motives became clear as day.
And, 6 hours later, the private tutor Hadel Frium found his student in the library. There, the roughly 30 years old or so scholar found a boy engrossed in a book. As immersed as one could be, taken inside a dry topic of geography. Whether he was intrigued by that boy’s behaviour, or just saw a part of himself within that young man, he approached him.
“Good afternoon, my lord.”
Surprised, his head jolted up. He slammed the book he was just reading shut, but Hadel got a glimpse of it before it closed. An old map, roughly a year old. It was outdated, without the recent victories of Edmond Ren, and Benjamin Wynt.
“Ah! Uh, you must be sir Frium,” Francis bowed his head slightly.
“No need for that, my lord. I do not have a title, so you need not address me with such formality.”
“Alright Mr Frium. I am Francis Rayleigh. Pleasure to meet you.”
“Yes. Pleasure to meet you too. I heard you personally requested tutoring.”
“I did. Uh, are you a teacher at an academy?”
“No, I am not, I used to teach there. Although I used to teach other nobles at the academy, I did not meet your siblings.”
“Ahh… Then shall we get started, then?”
“Yes. What would you like to learn? I am confident in my abilities in most fields of study. However, I am not a specialist, hence I can’t teach anything more than basic topics.”
“Well, if I wanted specialist level thoughts, I would have asked for one, not a generalist, so don’t worry about that. And as for what to learn about, could we start with the world we live in? So, geography, general history, as well as magic and auras, if you could.”
Hadel had a tight lipped smile. The thin frame spectacles shifted slightly.
“It's rare for children your age, my lord, to personally request for tutoring,” the teacher commented.
“Well, I need knowledge.”
“I see. Then let’s start with geography, then. That book you have will suffice.”
“Ah… You saw what I was reading?”
“Perhaps I just had an idea.”
Francis opened the thick book to its first page. Hadel sat down opposite him, and pointed to several areas of the page. His fingers tapped on a map of the known world, and the Varexian Empire. The map wasn’t the quality that Francis was used to on earth, with satellite imaging and high amounts of detail. Instead, it was more of a rough sketch that lacked specific details. Indeed, the general locations of regions, mountain ranges, and the more significant rivers were marked. But it was clear to Hadel that his student had already read through that portion. His eyes weren’t focused on the map in front of him, and was drifting away.
“My lord, perhaps let's start with something else. Why don’t you ask me questions, and I’ll answer them. Perhaps that will be more productive.”
“Hm. Then, what exactly is a ‘mixed’ blood?”
“Are you speaking in terms of yourself, or in general, my lord?”
“Okay, first off, let’s just drop the formalities when it's just the three of us. I couldn’t care less about how I’m called. Just address me casually, it helps me to relax more,” Francis said with a sigh.
Even the teacher was taken aback by that move. Addressing a son of the most powerful duke casually? It was unthinkable. If it were any other person, not even a Rayleigh, whoever committed that act would be executed immediately. If not executed, then perhaps thrown into a dungeon to rot for years. But there Francis Rayleigh was. Wanting to be addressed in a casual manner. Of course, the three included the teacher, the young master himself, and his knight.
“I’m afraid not, my lord. I cannot take that risk.”
“Haa… Well, I suppose there is that. Then let’s just continue on. What is a ‘mixed’ blood? And of course by that I mean myself.”
“To begin with, are you aware of your family’s roots, or at least what people think of it? The citizens of the empire think of your family as dragons. The epitome of evil. And while there is no evidence to support that, the strength of your family members individually does not help their case. As such, no person within the Rayleigh family will ever be selected as an Arcleus in your case, or a Regina when speaking of your sisters.”
“Right, because an empire does not want a dragon as a ruler. But what is ‘mixed’?”
“In your case, you are not a dragon. You are weaker than an average human. Which is why you require a knight to guard you.”
“Yes, I know of my weakness. But, would you say that I’m really part of the Rayleighs? Not just some unwanted byproduct. Speak honestly.”
“Hm. Well my lord, your eyes for one. It is impossible for a human to have eyes that are red. Humans are intrinsically hostile towards the Rayleigh family. And, a person with Rayleigh blood will be hostile towards humans. That is the duality, or two sides of a coin. But, you are mixed. You will never be truly human, nor will you be able to be fully Rayleigh. You, as a mixed blood, is the edge of the coin. Does that make sense, my lord?”
“Then, is there any reason why they would want to keep me?”
“My lord, you are a double edged sword. Your very existence proves that the Rayleigh family is, undoubtedly, human. Once your existence is announced to the public, you will without a doubt become the most sought after groom. My lord, you are their strongest weapon, even more than the best blade of the empire. But, you are also their weakest point.”
Francis nodded. That was his role.