To thwart any hiding enemies, Ezra passed through a route sparsely taken.
Then, he dumped the dead bodies of the henchmen in beast regions after stripping them of clothes-leaving the beasts a hearty meal.
After that, he hired an experienced commoner to coach the cart under the supervision of the siblings, which allowed him time to rest.
The silver lining was that even though they travelled close to beast regions, they didn't confront any. Heck, they rarely saw them, and when they did, the cart passed them without a hitch.
Then, the shabby cloaks and old cart served their purpose, turning away the gazes of the adventurers they met along the way.
"We're here"
Even so, they had missed the entry exams by three days.
Ezra was unbothered.
'They'll have to make exceptions for a prince'
Thanks to the hired help, he was well rested, and so were the siblings.
Paying the entrance fee, Ezra rode into Guavedra, the city of narrow thrills.
It was built in square form, almost triple Kingmere's size, having but a single entrance with palisades encircling it, atop of which were Archer towers to protect from incoming threats.
Ezra rode in with droves walking beside him.
The interior saw the sibling gasp in amazement.
A tower stood at the other end of the city.
One not as tall as the skyscraper, but eye catching nonetheless.
Ezra recognized it.
'Mage Tower'
The building was built with a mixture of grey and white stones to give a unique feel.
Quickly lodging the cart, they embark into the city's inner.
From a glance, the city was bustling as people moved-both in carriages and on foot.
Some knights, other mages, and even shifters were here.
Stores lined up the streets as some stood at the entrance to sell goods to newcomers.
Ezra declined buying anything and discouraged the siblings from doing so. He figured he'd find better things within.
"Wait. What about the other guy?" asked Ashton.
"What guy?" asked Johan.
"That scrawny coach. I haven't seen him"
The siblings also muttered, they hadn't taken notice before, but…they hadn't seen him this morning either!
Ezra waved "Calm down. Since we were close to Guavedra his services weren't needed anymore, so I sent him off yesternight"
"Why didn't you tell us before?"
"It wasn't something to concern yourself about" Ezra shrugged. "Now, let's get moving"
They took glances and followed him.
Only, Theron couldn't help feeling Ezra hadn't told them everything.
Meanwhile, Ezra reminisced about what really happened.
Once he was well rested, he waited till night. Once the siblings were asleep, he quietly took care of the coach.
'I can't take such risks'
The coach knew the routes they took, and saw their peculiar characters, not to mention the conspicuousness of their clothes.
In the first place, the reason he chose the man was because he was easily disposable.
Like so, they slithered through the crowd in their smelly cloaks, they had gotten used to the smell over the past days.
Others hadn't, so they parted ways for such 'filthy' people, making things even easier.
Ezra went into a small clothes shop and bought black cloaks for them.
While not of top tier quality, it was good enough.
He then paid for hotel lodging for all siblings.
"Clean up and eat. We leave in an hour"
They nod, delight decorating their expressions, the girls especially so.
An hour and half later, they exit the hotel, now in black cloaks.
"You seem to be keen on wasting time" Ezra scolded.
The girls could not refute.
The boys were ready within thirty minutes, the girls used extra thirty minutes.
Ezra exhaled "Whatever"
They didn't have time for such.
Raising his hand, Theron hails a carriage.
"To where?"
"The royal academy"
Paying the fees, they arrive at the destination in ten minutes.
"We've arrived"
Getting off, a metal gate greets them, on which was a golden crest depicting a white sword.
Lined in front of it were four guards in blue uniforms.
Theron was stunned "What? You collected so much for this?"
He'd been scammed.
The coach simply flapped his harnesses and rode away, ignoring Theron.
"Forget it, let's go in"
Looking above the gate, Ezra saw only empty space.
When he tried to peer through, his vision suddenly began warping.
'What is…'
His mind wandered when a voice called out.
"I wouldn't do that if I were you"
It was one of the guards.
"And why's that?"
The man, fit in blue with auburn hair smiled, "You might go insane"
Ezra blinked multiple times. "I see…Illusion magic?"
The man was surprised, before nodding. "Rightly so"
"Might I ask for your name and purpose?" said the man.
"I'll have to ask for yours first then"
The man popped a vein, a smile still plastered to his face.
Exhaling, he speaks, "Sir Arron. Captain of the royal academy's security"
Ezra threw his cloak back. "A pleasure. Ezra Miller, fourth prince of the Empire"
The man stiffened for a sec. "Do you have an item to solidify your claims?"
Ezra threw him a crest.
"That is the crest of the royal family, I believe it to be sufficient"
Touching the crest all over, the man coughed.
'It's real!'
Then he looked beyond Ezra. "What of the rest?"
They pull back their cloaks.
"They are my vassals"
Arron quietens.
"Take off the cloaks, we have no need for them anymore" Ezra instructs. Putting his cloak into a space ring.
Having done that, Ezra looks to Arron. "Well, sir Arron, mind opening the gates. I have come to begin to enroll"
He bowed. "Your highness, I'm deeply sorry, but I have to inform you that the academy no longer accepts new entries. Those closed three days ago"
The siblings seemed agitated.
Ezra though… "And?"
"What?"
"I might be wrong, but surely, you're not implying that a prince be segregated to the level of peasants, are you?"
"No, that-
"The Emperor would love such words"
A chill went down Arron's spine.
"Forgive me for my insolence"
Ezra reached him. "Insolent indeed. Now, open these gates"
"But your highness-
*Pah!*
A slap swerved his face to the right.
Ezra's tone came down like chilly winds. "Were you deaf the first time?"
"I said. To open the gates"
Arron seemed in a trance, wondering if he was dreaming.
'Did I just get slapped?!'
But he wasn't!
It was real. The pain in his cheeks told him so.
His glare met that of the child standing in front of him.
Just as his aura flared, a voice called out.
"Arron!"
He froze.
"Open the gates"
He glared at Ezra for an entire minute, a gesture the latter found rather amusing.
Unable to do much, Arron opens the gate, mouthing a few words as he did.
"You were lucky this time…very lucky"
"Hmph" Ezra sneered. "If that's what you believe"
Ezra smiled ruefully, if he didn't control his strength, the slap could have ended Arron's life.
He turns to his vassal. "We go in"
Like so, the vassals enter as well.
A bright new space opens to them.
Large buildings apart from one another. One painted butter yellow, others complete grey.
The surrounding was void of people, but Ezra could hear voices from elsewhere.
Looking up, a man lands ten feet before them.
"Hello there. I'm here to lead to the head's office"
With a nod Ezra goes, "Lead the way"
As they go, the man explains much about the academy to them.
For one, where they were was but the actual school, where the learning takes place and that it was protected from peering eyes by an illusion barrier.
Within was a training ground, library, alchemy lab and much more.
Dorms for male and female were clearly separated, built in the city.
Also, the royal academy made up more than half of Guavedra.
"Then what about-
The man clapped "I'm sorry your highness, but I cannot tell more than this. The rest will be explained once your enrollment has been confirmed"
They enter the main building-also the biggest one.
Instead of the bustling atmosphere he was expecting, it was decorum all the way.
It was so quiet that their steps echoed, making Ezra wonder what the matter was.
But he kept his thoughts to himself as they walked.
They arrived in front of a tall brown door located at the end of a white tiled corridor-contrasting the butter cream walls with the academy's crest carved on it.
"Come in"
A voice was heard, its tone pleasant.
Pushing the door, a hall was revealed, forcing gasps of amazement from the siblings.
"I must be off now"
The man slightly bowed and left.
But their minds weren't on that matter.
Unlike other places, the interior was light brown, with shelves stacked on top one another while filled with books, artifacts and even potions that seem to stretch beyond the ceiling.
Ezra was taken aback. Squeezing his brows as he stared at the hanging shelves. 'This isn't quite right'
The space with the room was beyond what it should allow.
Some items were stranded in the air, floating, but that could be explained as an application of wind magic.
'Could it be…?'
Ezra knew of but one element that could produce such effects.
Right then, a voice spoke. "It's space magic"
Ezra came alert, as did the siblings.
Looking around, he sees nothing.
The person then giggles. "Hohoho. I'm up here, little ones"
They look up to see a woman standing on a large slab of something made of wood and metal.
Garbed in a long cloth of dark purple while her long hair stood a mixture of red and white.
Her pale and sunken skin exposes her old age.
"Now" the slab lowered itself to the ground. "Which one of you is Ezra?"
