The first thing Ben did after arriving at the palace was to leave it again. A servant at the palace had informed him that his father - Loys of Freigoud - would not be back until late afternoon, so he saw no reason to stay there any longer. He said goodbye to William, grabbed the first available horse, and rode into town.

It felt like he hadn't been out on the streets of Bellator in ages. The last time he had been there, people had been preparing for the great storm of Sylve, so the streets were comparatively quiet. But now they were so crowded that in some places Ben even had problems getting around together with his horse. Some carriages were completely stuck in the masses and everywhere the shouts of people could be heard.

After what felt like an eternity, he had moved away from the center and reached his destination - the State Institute for Youth Education. When he saw the large, noble building, a feeling of nostalgia came over him, after all, he had spent half his childhood at this institute. Unlike William, Ben was allowed to attend a public school, even though the institute was primarily attended by nobles and talented commoners. And when he entered the second year, his mother - Gloria of Freigoud - became the head of the institute.

With an elegant movement, he swung off his steed and tied it to the railing before turning his attention to the entrance. It was afternoon and the students were still in class, so it was accordingly quiet. Two soldiers guarding the main entrance greeted him politely. Thanks to his parents' position, Ben was a familiar face among Bellator's soldiers. Many talked about him as a potential swordmaster and worthy new duke when his father abdicated. But that was a subject Ben was reluctant to deal with. Politics was a subject he deliberately avoided, as he would much rather spend his life as a soldier of the royal house than behind a desk.

"She's in her office", one of the guards told him, so Ben thanked them and entered the large, empty building. It had been years since he had been here and as he walked up the wide stairs to the second floor, he couldn't help but think back to his childhood. He had to think of the old school uniform with the red ribbon, the smell of books, the laughter of his classmates and their happy faces.

How do you think they would react if they knew what was happening in the world?

As Ben turned into the hallway, he stopped for a moment in front of the wall where the Institute had hung photographs of the graduating classes. He stood in front of his class and spotted himself in the far corner of the photo. A tall boy and a nervous look. Hard to believe he was so shy back then as a kid. He used to have a lot of trouble talking to strangers, and it wasn't until he left school that he became more open to unfamiliar people.

"Benjamin?", a woman's voice spoke up, causing Ben to take his eyes off the picture. His mother stood in front of him with a set of documents in her hands, looking at him with wide eyes, before she pressed the folders into her colleague's hands and ran toward him. Ben smiled as his mother wrapped her hands around his body and began to cry.

"Mother. I told you not to start crying all the time", Ben replied, but couldn't help but get tears in his eyes as well. He hadn't seen his parents in almost two years, and although he thought he wouldn't miss them, he did. A sense of relief came over him as he hugged his mother. "I'm back."

"Welcome home", Gloria greeted him, slowly easing off of him before wiping tears from her face. "You've grown again. By now, you're really rivaling your father."

"I know, I had to buy new clothes because I couldn't fit into the old ones anymore", Ben explained with amusement, which also made his mother laugh.

"When did you get back?"

"Just now. Father wasn't at the palace and I guessed you were still at the institute."

"Yes, your father has a meeting with the Duke of Caplens."

"Caplens?", Ben repeated in surprise, immediately thinking of Cale and the village of Groka. "Did something happen at the border?"

"No, no. Just an official state matter, that's all I know", Gloria replied, taking a step back. "But for now, let me look at you. You've been out a lot, haven't you?"

"Yes."

"It shows on you. You've gotten pretty tan and your hands are rough. Have you been continuing to work out?"

"Almost every day, yes. I've had a few good teachers in the last few months, which I'll be happy to tell you more about later. You'd better take care of your work", Ben explained, nodding his head and pointing at the woman, who now held twice as many documents in her hands as before.

Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

"Ah, sorry Resneme. I'll take this off your hands again."

"That's all right, Gloria. I can take care of it myself", replied the young woman, who Ben did not recognize. "I'll go ahead and go over the grade chart with Yasne. Feel free to take your time with your son."

"Thank you", Gloria replied with relief. With a smile on her face, Resneme walked past them and gave Ben a brief greeting as well before disappearing down the other end of the hall. "Let's go to my office."

"Gladly", Ben replied, following his mother. His gaze, however, wandered back for a moment at the unfamiliar woman he had just seen. Maybe it was his time with Cale or his life in Exarion, but he was pretty sure Resneme was a mage. She carried mana, noticeably more than a normal human. But her mana... felt strange. "Did I come at a bad time?"

"No, no. It's just that the school year is coming to an end, and we need to document the students' grades and take care of the entrance exams for this year. There's still time for that, but if we start late, all the work will pile up again", Gloria spoke up, holding the door open for him.

"What about this woman? Do I know her?"

"Resneme? No, you don't know her. She's been working here for a year, with her sister Yasne. The two women used to work for a baker here in town who passed away."

"The bakery down the street?"

"That's right. That's where we used to shop a lot when you were in school. We often have pastries delivered from there, and a year ago Resneme came to us to inform us that the bakery was closing."

"And how come they work here?"

"I offered it to them", Gloria replied with a broad grin, before instructing Ben to sit down with one hand. "Would you like something to drink?"

"I'd love to."

Gloria stepped up to the counter and pulled out drinks from a chilled compartment before preparing some nibbles from a drawer.

"Do you know where they're from?"

"Who, Resneme and Yasne?", Gloria threw back. "From the province of Pistori. Why do you ask?"

"Ah, there's something about her that reminds me of a mage", Ben explained, thanking her as his mother handed him a glass of cold fruit juice. "I thought maybe they were from Exarion."

"You'll have to ask her yourself. All I know is that they used to live in Kutam and moved to Bellator some time ago", Gloria clarified, to which Ben gave her a surprised look. Did his mother just say that the two new employees of the institute were from Kutam? The village that had been attacked by creatures and that Cale had protected back then? Was this just a coincidence or... did Cale have his fingers in the pie again? "But let's not get into that. You'd better tell me about where you've been these past few years. We have heard so little from you."

"I've been in touch, haven't I?"

"Maybe ONE letter came every three months. That is not what I would call often. Not to mention that we noticed you were hiding your location."

"Mother...", Ben only brought out at the accusation, but couldn't deny it. Because of William, he had avoided writing more specific information about his travels, even though he knew his mother was worried.

"Yes, yes. I know. You're old enough to have your own life. Still would have been nice to at least know something", Gloria commented, dropping into the chair across from Ben. "So, tell me what you've been up to these past few years."

"Nothing special, to be honest. After we left the palace, we went first to Oriann and then on to Knisha. We spent a few days there and joined some people who accompanied a musician to Reg."

"Reg? You were in the province of Heimes?", Gloria interjected, surprised.

"In the last few years I've been to every major city. Reg, Tissem, Oudjan, Gueladann - in Gueladann we spent two weeks vacationing by the sea and visiting a few of the islands. Later we also went up north for an assignment and visited Vlores, Kradno and Krya. In Krya, we actually looked to see if you could still see anything from the big fire, but it seemed like Duke of Caplens had taken good care of the estate."

"Of course, after all, the property is also a status symbol. They rebuilt it relatively quickly after the fire, only the trees next to it were still black for months. The fire spread to the forest and, as we know, mages can't make plants grow, so they had to cut down the whole place", Gloria explained, taking a big gulp. "First the attack on Groka and then the fire in the estate of the ducal family of Caplens. The province doesn't seem to have been blessed by the gods."

"No, not really", Ben confirmed.

"And after that? Where did you go after that?"

"After Krya? We went to Werbast and then spent most of our time between Werbast and Yumerdua. Mostly for small tasks. Sometimes we delivered letters or packages, sometimes we helped with relocations, sometimes we helped local soldiers settle disputes... a lot of different things. On our last mission, we accompanied Aletta Merensen to Exarion and got stuck there when the creature attack happened."

"Were you guys planing on going to Frignez?"

"That was the original plan. We were going to go by ferry at first, but Aletta specifically instructed that we had to go on foot. And when we talked to some Anuxers, we were told about the route through the mountains that also leads to Persiven. We went to Bellator with Aletta and her friend Philippa, and happened to meet High-Magician Caleb Leuen - though I must say I didn't know of Aletta Merensen's identity at the time, nor of High-Magician Leuen's."

"Must have been a big surprise for you."

"It was. Do you remember the story Father used to tell about his encounter with High-Magician Ander?"

"Of course I do. How could I forget?"

"That's how I felt. In the middle of nowhere, I asked Cale if he was a High-Magician and he confirmed it. I was really surprised, especially since he's my age."

"Understandable", Gloria confirmed with a laugh. "Your father also wondered for days how he could have missed the fact that he was talking to a High-Magician."

"That's how I felt then, too, yes. Thought I was one of the first to know", Ben replied, having to remember the battle with the creatures and the morning when he had first really realized he could relax a little, too. Cale had lifted a burden from his shoulders that he had never realized he was carrying.

The responsibility of calling one of the princes of Sylve his friend. His best friend.