Days passed as Ezra educated the siblings and got educated by them as well.
After a few days, he kept a mana stone in his mouth, allowing him to cultivate while he fought.
He could feel himself reaching the ceiling of Advanced-rank in less than a week. After that, he'll be forced to advance.
He had given most of the hidden knowledge to Fredrick to safeguard.
But of course, few remained untold.
Ezra planned to get them once he arrived at the academy.
If nothing else, there, his movements won't be restricted.
Also, the more he knew about the royal academy, the more amazed he was.
Thanks to Mr. Lennon, who was a graduate of said academy, he got better insight than anything books could've given.
For one, it was a place for those of high status, nobles, sons of guild masters, or clan elders.
In a sentence, it was…
'A hot pub to make connections'
Ezra nodded to his conclusion. There, he'll be able to meet legends of the next generation.
'Now this, I hadn't thought of'
He'd known of the academy in his former life, but only vaguely. As a peasant, he had far more things on his mind than which academy those spoiled rich kids went and what they did.
'This'll be interesting' he thought.
He also knew that Triton was there.
So, he planned, using the information he had.
For one, he decided the siblings would accompany him.
Then, he told his mother.
She had grown and her demeanor had changed. Previously joyful or depressed, now she was just cold.
Her expression rarely changed anymore, causing rumors to spread.
In front of her only son though…
"Come here"
Her expression was bright, no, brighter than before as she ruffled his hair.
"I'm not a child anymore, you know?"
She flicked his forehead, smiling ruefully.
"Ouch!" a flicker of ice came upon his head.
"You're just 12. If you're old, then what am I?"
"A grandma" he said flatly.
"You!" she dug her knuckle into her head…before suddenly stopping.
"Come to think of it…being a grandma isn't all that bad"
Ezra blinked rapidly. A corner of his heart nudged him to escape before she spoke her next words.
"Say…why don't you get me a grandchild?"
His cheeks reddened, prompting him to scream from embarrassment.
"I-I'm not even of age yet!"
She stared blankly, before bursting into giggles, thinking…
'I've never seen him like this before'
Then she flicked his nose.
"My boy looks so cute!"
That only brought Ezra even more embarrassment.
She continued.
"Don't worry, you'll find plenty of girls at that school of yours" she flicks his nose once more.
"Make sure bring one home"
"Mother!" he screamed, swiftly running away, locking the door before she could speak again.
Upon his exit, she burst into laughter. Her son actually had such a sight to him? How remarkable.
'I'll make sure to tease him a lot in the future' she giggled at the thought of it.
If others saw her like this, they'd swear she must have double personalities…then again, maybe she did?
—--------------
With panting breaths, Ezra sat. His mother's words played over and over again in his mind.
Unable to concentrate, he forced himself to sleep.
—------------
Waking up the next morning, he cleared his mind and took a look at himself.
The growth he'd achieved was substantial, but it wasn't enough.
Considering those he was going against, he couldn't afford to rest on laurels any time soon.
Also because of them, he was already establishing a network that would connect him to Fredrick while at the academy.
He'd already received information on Fredrick's advancement to Grandmaster.
For one, the soul contract had not been cut, so he could sleep soundly.
With a groan, he lifted his aching muscles and started training.
But he only did so for an hour before stopping.
'Let's check on other things'
In his hand, Skyfall enlarged, and from his space ring, Severus emerged.
Severus had grown bigger, though not by much, but it was noticeable. Its scales gleamed while the white marks crackled with white lightning intermittently.
Severus rubbed his head against Ezra, causing Ezra to form a weird smile.
'Why didn't I call for you all this while?' he smiled.
"I was training" he toned, the snake tilting its head in response.
*Facepalm*
"Of course, I'm talking to a snake"
—-------------
Meanwhile, while so many surprises were hitting Nitonians all at once, it was a surprise that things were calm, too calm.
No large battle took place nor was there much conflict to speak off.
Peace seemed to mingle in the atmosphere, compared to before, that is.
The Emperor knew why.
'Everyone's licking their wounds'
That was the summarization of the situation.
Having lost valuable manpower and resources in the war, each force took to rebuilding, restructuring and recovering whatever was lost.
But no matter, the Emperor knew.
'It won't last very long'
A year at most. Then after that, Niton would get bustling again.
But amongst anything, they were always exceptions.
The exception in this case was Black Jaws.
While others recovered from damage, they didn't even seem affected.
Towns were being demolished, then reconstructed with above average material, same with the slums. And they were accepting more members every day.
Those members were the most active, running rampant as they slaughtered beasts from all over the place.
That also meant their death toll was higher than others, but new members came in to fill these spots.
Their port was almost done. Even though partly finished, their first fleet of five ships set sail ten days ago.
Then, rumors said the Skyscraper had been completed months ago. Yet for some reason, they hadn't officially announced its opening. Another thing that had other people suspicious.
Then, they'd been establishing trade routes and connections with reputable merchants while not failing to open more than two thousand shops across the Empire.
The Emperor only found out about such things the day before.
He looked into it to understand why Fredrick would rather be the guild master of Black Jaws than the supreme commander of the Royal Army.
Honestly, the Emperor saw that there wasn't anything special.
Money? The empire could give him as much as he wanted. Servants? In abundance. Women? Even more abundant.
So, he concluded…
'He most likely bears a grudge against the Empire'
That too, the Emperor only knew about the day before.
The decision to send him away was made by the chief instructor - who was dead now - and Bolton.
Considering the circumstances, the Emperor could understand.
'But since he refused, he should prepare for what comes his way'
Understand, not forgive.
The aim was to destroy Black Jaws a month after the Merit Award Ceremony. Yet out of the blue, they created a Grandmaster for themselves.
The Emperor grit his teeth in annoyance.
His spies were making sure he didn't contact the other faction behind his back.
You couldn't know who would betray you.
'If he contacts the other faction…'
The Emperor clenched his fist.
'I'll end him'
Whatever he couldn't have, he'd destroy. Especially when it was such a dangerous weapon.
He tapped his feet, thinking of his next actions, when Bolton came to him.
"Sire, your message has been delivered and the ban has been lifted. The academies await a date to begin accepting new entries"
The Emperor was surprised.
"They must have been waiting if they're this fast…it seems they are impatient"
He raised three fingers.
"In three days, Sire?" Bolton guessed.
"Thirty days. Have them officially begin new entries in thirty days"
"Yes Sire" Bolton turned to move, but the Emperor gestured him back.
"Five years...the new entries will be massive…hmm…" he tapped his cheek until the answer hit him.
"Have them spread news of the entry date only when it is ten days away"
Bolton nodded.
"Then, new entries should be picked within three days. Whoever comes later is unaccepted, regardless of status"
"Yes, your majesty" Bolton bowed once more and left, dark thoughts swirling.
'Regardless of status, was it?'
He was delighted. The opportunity to reduce the advantage of a particular someone came just at the right time.
'If he misses it, and the Emperor finds out…' he lightly clapped in glee.
'I'll make sure you don't get there on time'
—---------------
Unaware of the forces conspiring against him, Ezra is absorbed in his training with the siblings and preparations for life beyond the castle.
Days flew by like such.
On a day like any other, Bolton came running in the middle of the night and knocked Ezra awake.
Groggily, he stood up and opened the door.
"Yes?" he wondered who it was when Bolton grabbed him on the shoulder and shook him.
"Your highness, I'm sorry to disturb you, but I have urgent news to deliver"
Those words had Ezra wide awake.
Additionally, Bolton's knocks were so loud the siblings came out as well.
They watched as Ezra spoke alarmed…
"What is it?!"
Bolton quietened, slowly pulled out six envelopes and handed them to him.
"Those are your entry letters, simply hand them over to the academy head to be verified"
Then he sighed.
"By the Emperor's order, the academy has begun taking new entries…"
Bolton narrated everything the Emperor had done, with a single change.
Instead of handing him the letters at the start of the ten days, Bolton had 'forgotten', and came now - the fourth night - to hand it to him.
His eyes gleamed as he watched Ezra's reaction.
'What will you do now?'
In all things, Bolton strived to be fair, that's why he came on the fourth night and not later.
Alas, he was bound to be disappointed.
Ezra felt the envelopes, sucked them into his space ring and gave him a flat look.
"Is that it?"
"E-Excuse me?" Bolton was taken aback.
"I'm asking if that was the urgent news"
"Y-Yes"
Ezra patted Bolton's shoulder, which he was able to touch because Bolton was bending to Ezra's height.
"Thank you"
Ezra tilted his head to look at his sleepy vassals.
"Get enough rest, we leave an hour after noon"
The vassals didn't say a word, turning back to their chambers and closing them shut.
Bolton blinked in surprise. Weren't they supposed to be freaking out?
Ezra took three steps backwards, going back into his chamber.
"Mr. Bolton, thank you for the information. I'll be heading back to sleep now"
"Wai-"
*Bam*
Ezra slammed the door shut.
For a few minutes, Bolton stood still, confused at the subsequent actions, especially Ezra's lackluster reaction.
This was not how he imagined it at all.
—--------------------
Away from Bolton's gaze, Ezra rubbed his sleepy eyes, ruminating.
'So, we have six days to get to the academy…whatever'
He was confident he could make it work somehow.
*Yawn*
But all that strenuous thinking would have to wait until after he had a nice nap.
If anything, people made the most mistakes when they rushed.
So it was better to be well rested and prepared for anything the road brought their way than to save a few hours at the cost of their health.
With his mind straight, Ezra fell asleep.
'Tomorrow's going be a long day'
