“Headmaster, Lady Vera has arrived.”
“Let them in.”
Alicia bowed to Vera as she opened the door, welcoming the latter and Lux to enter. She remained outside because this was a family affair and she didn’t want Lux teasing her after their meeting with the Headmaster. ᴡ ᴏᴠʟ ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛʀs ᴀʀ ᴘᴜʙʟsʜᴅ ᴏ oᴠel ꜰre.nt
As soon as Lux entered the room, he saw a man who seemed to be in his late twenties signing a few documents that were piled up on top of his table.
With just a glance, one could tell that he wasn’t an ordinary person. Although he did his best to suppress it, his overwhelming powers would fluctuate from time to time, causing the air around him to ripple.
Contrary to his very young appearance, Alexander Von Kaizer was already fifty-five years old. He had attained Sainthood at a very young age, so his growth had drastically slowed down.
In fact, Lux wouldn’t be surprised if his Uncle looked like someone in his early thirties once the latter reached a hundred years old. This was one of the perks in breaking through the limits of the mortal realm in the world of Solais.
When Vera and Lux sat on the seats in front of him, the Headmaster placed the last document at his side and looked at his mother with a smile.
“Mother, it’s good to see that you are doing well,” Alexander said. He then shifted his attention to Lux and gave him a brief nod. “Boy, according to my informant in Wildgarde Stronghold, you once again failed the entrance exam to Elysium. You better man up if you want to have even the slightest chance of leaving your mark in the world.”
Lux’s neck shrank because his Uncle didn’t bother to mince words when telling him that he needed to “Git Gud”.
Vera, on the other hand, chuckled when she saw this exchange. She knew her son’s temper better than anyone else because she was the one that raised him. The fact that he even bothered to remind Lux to step up his game meant that he didn’t want the Half-Elf to spend his time feeling sorry for himself.
What Alexander wanted was for Lux to think of ways to improve himself, instead of moping like a useless bum.
‘I guess, there is still hope in making my grandchildren become partners in life,’ Vera thought as looked at her son with satisfaction. The latter rolled his eyes at his mother, whom he could read like an open book.
“I’ve received your letter, Mother,” Alexander stated. “I don’t think that you should spoil Lux so much. You even got him a rare monster egg for him to raise. How will he grow up to be an outstanding man if you spoon feed him each and every time?”
Lux lowered his head because he didn’t want his uncle to see the smirk that was about to appear on his face. He and his grandma, Vera, both agreed that they should keep his entry to Elysium a secret for now.
The two wanted to surprise, not only the Wildgarde Stronghold, but also Alexander, at the next Gathering of Heroes by showing them how awesome Lux was.
Once every four years, a grand tournament would be held in Barbatos Academy to showcase the young talents within the Western Regions of Solais. All participants must be Grade A Apostle or below in order to join this prestigious event.
The Final Four would receive amazing prizes from the sponsors of the event. The six kingdoms that backed Barbatos Academy often used this opportunity to gather young talents and bestow upon them the rank of nobility in order to bring them under their wing.
Naturally, those who wished to serve a different king could take this opportunity to jump ship, and start their careers in greener pastures. This had been the established rule since the tournament was created.
If a ruler were to lose a talented individual, it just meant that the benefits they presented weren’t enticing enough to make the young prodigies serve them. In the end, the only one that they could blame was themselves for being stingy.
Vera wanted her grandson to step on that grand stage and show the world how awesome he was. That way, the past grievances that Lux had suffered would be washed away completely, which in turn would force everyone to look at him in a new light.
“Don’t be like that, Alex,” Vera replied. “Lux was the one that found the egg while we were out camping. We just don’t know what kind of monster is inside it, so I proposed that we bring it here so that Iris could help him hatch it.”
“A good tale, but I don’t buy it, Mother.”
“I won’t force you. Now, where is Iris? I want to see my granddaughter.”
p Alexander sighed as he rang a small bell in order to call for Alicia.
The moment the pretty lady stepped inside the office, Alexander ordered her to escort Vera and Lux to the training area.
The Barbatos Academy followed a strict rule. All students could stay in Elysium for the duration of five days before they needed to return to the academy, then they had to stay there for two days in order to give their reports to the academy.
Just like Wildgarde Stronghold, the Barbatos Academy had managed to create a kingdom of their own within Elysium. It was jointly managed by a council, composed of representatives from each of the six kingdoms, as well as Alexander, who served as the Head of the Council.
As a Saint, he held the strongest deterrence force that kept those who eyed the academy, as well as their kingdom in Elysium—that they had named the Barbatos Kingdom—at bay.
The purpose of the students inside the academy was to become stronger and help expand their Domain. Only those who had attained the rank of Apostle were allowed to enroll at Barbatos Academy.
They simply had no need for the weak to join their ranks, which was the main reason why Lux wasn’t one of their students.
As they neared the training area, Lux and Vera could hear the cheering of a crowd. A few minutes later, they saw two young combatants fighting an intense battle in an arena.
Lux could tell that both fighters were at least the Grade B Apostles due to the intensity of their battle. Vera gave her grandson a side-long glance to see his expression, and was quite satisfied with what she saw.
The Half-Elf was currently focusing on the match, and watching the two combatants very closely. He was trying to put himself in the shoes of the two opponents and was trying to emulate how to best dodge or counter-attack their moves.
‘He has really grown up after entering Elysium,’ Vera thought with a smile. She then shifted her attention back to the two young fighters, who seemed to be fighting with their life and honor on the line as they continued to clash against each other.
Five minutes later, a young man with light-brown hair and blue eyes raised his sword towards the heavens to declare his victory.
The crowd cheered and gave him a thunderous applause.
“Sir Lawrence is so amazing!”
“Yes! Simply the best among the other boys in his year.”
“I feel faint whenever I see him fight. I wonder if he has a girlfriend yet?”
“He doesn’t have one. As if you don’t know, he only has eyes for Lady Iris.”
“I’m so jealous! She’s such a lucky girl!”
The girls talked among themselves, while the boys looked at Lawrence in envy. He was simply too perfect in their eyes, and someone whom they aspired to be.
“I have won, My Lady Iris,” Lawrence said as he gave a respectful bow to a young beauty with light-blue hair and eyes, which made anyone who saw them feel as if they were looking at a beautiful painting.
“Un, congratulations,” Iris gave Lawrence an awkward smile.
This whole battle started because the combatant that Lawrence fought had confessed his feelings to Iris a day ago. Iris politely declined his confession and told him that she already had someone in her heart.
It should have ended then and there, but when Lawrence heard that someone had confessed to the girl he liked, he immediately challenged that person to a duel. Since the other guy had just been rejected, he wanted to vent out his frustrations, so the young man was more than happy to accept Lawrence’s challenge.
And so, this duel, which Iris didn’t want to happen in the first place, happened, and had turned into a spectacle for hundreds of people who were looking for entertainment inside the academy.
Just as Iris was thinking about how to get out of this mess, she saw something red appear in the corner of her vision, which made her turn her head.
It was at that moment when she saw Lux, who was standing beside her grandma, waving at her.
“Brother!” Iris immediately shouted as she broke free from the crowd and left the handsome Lawrence behind with a confused look on his face.
The crowd parted for Iris because she was a very important figure within the academy, and was treated like a princess.
“Brother Lux! I missed you!” Iris said as she gave Lux a very tight hug, which the latter returned by lightly wrapping his arms around her waist.
“I missed you too, Iris,” Lux replied. “Have you gotten a bit taller?”
“Have I?”
“Yes. By a few centimeters I think.”
Lawrence frowned when he saw someone whom he hadn’t seen before hugging the apple of his eye. He immediately walked towards the stranger with the intention of knowing who he was.
Iris, who hadn’t seen Lux for a very long time, stood on tiptoe and pressed her soft lips against his, kissing him in front of all the students who were present at the training ground.
‘Oh my!’ Vera covered her own lips as she gave her granddaughter two thumbs up in her heart. ‘She really has the Kazier bloodline flowing inside her veins. She’s so bold.’
Lawrence’s body froze after seeing the scene unfold in front of him.
He was not the only one to react this way. Several boys, as well as girls, looked at the unexpected incident in front of them with shock and disbelief.
Even Lux, who had just been kissed by Iris, stiffened after realizing what just transpired.
The young lady in question pulled back with a smile. However, her smile didn’t last long as the realization of what she had just done hit her.
“I-I’m sorry!” Iris stuttered as her whole face turned beet red. “I missed Brother Lux so much that my brain momentarily went blank! That was my first kiss! I was hoping to do it in a more romantic way. Oh, no! What have I done?!”
The beautiful young lady was about to panic when she found herself being wrapped up in a protective embrace.
“I missed you, Iris,” Vera said as she kissed her granddaughter’s forehead. “Why don’t we visit your father, so that our family can have afternoon tea together?”
“Y-Yes! Let’s do that, Grandma!” Iris immediately grabbed Vera’s hand because it was the perfect excuse to get out of this tricky situation. She half-dragged her grandma towards the exit of the training ground. “Let’s have afternoon tea together! Alicia, please, prepare some snacks as well!”
“As you wish, My Lady,” Alicia bowed, but wasn’t able to hide the smirk on her lips upon seeing Iris’ flustered expression.
When the young beauty felt that there was something amiss, Iris immediately remembered that Lux was still rooted on the spot and was looking at them with a dazed expression.
“Brother Lux! What are you zoning about there for?” Iris asked with an embarrassed look on her face. “Don’t tell me you fainted standing up? Let’s go have tea together!”
Iris let go of her grandma’s hand and ran back towards Lux. She then grabbed his hand and ran back to Vera’s side, forcefully dragging the Half-Elf along.
“Now, let’s go,” Iris said as she held the hands of the two most important people in her life, aside from her father. She led them towards the exit of the Training Ground, leaving a dumbfounded crowd behind.
Lawrence, who had initially wanted to confront the red-headed stranger, stood rooted on the spot, as he watched them leave with a frustrated look on his face.
It was at that moment when the young man realized that the students inside the academy, who also pursued Iris, weren’t his true love rivals. His greatest rival was none other than the red-headed teenager who stole his crush’s first kiss!