Alice advised Michael to lay low for a few days and to attend classes like he would usually. Michael did just that.
He started to attend his courses again, which made him feel that everything about his academy life had returned to normal – with the sole exception being that rumors began to spread.
Some students had seen Michael severing the arms of the Zan Twins, and his fight against Mr. Klein. That wouldn't have been a big problem if not for these students being the worst gossipers in the entire academy. Rumors about his fight against the Zan Twins and Mr. Klein spread like wildfire.
Once the rumor started to make rounds in the academy, students began to pay more attention to him. Michael was looked at differently, and the rumors revolving around him grew wilder – more exaggerated and troublesome, even involving Kaleb, Lincoln, Zeke and the other people around him.
Some found it questionable for a no-name to be around the descendants of the Zenovia family, and two Great Nobles. Everyone except Annabelle Claire was from more-or-less known families, yet everyone seemed to gather around Michael like moths to a flame. It attracted the interest of many freshmen, but also students of the second year, and even seniors.
Michael didn't like the sudden attention he was receiving, but there was nothing he could do about it. At the end of the day, he knew that he made a mistake by allowing the Zan Twins and Mr. Klein to anger him. Thus, he considered the attention he received as the beginning of his punishment.
'I shouldn't have attacked them openly. Challenging them in the arena and beating the shit out of them before they could even think about surrendering would have been much less troublesome,' Michael thought, cursing himself for taking the bait and having been too short-tempered.
He should have known better, but holding back had become too hard at some point. It was as if a switch went off in his head when they mentioned his brother. Was that really his fault?
Either way, Michael was glad that he held back a little when he struck the twins with the Sword Qi blades. He didn't cripple them nor would they sustain any long-lasting damage. To not let matters turn worse, Alice provided them with additional treatment. The additional treatment was more expensive, but it would strengthen the twins' bones, nerves and energy veins in their arms after they were perfectly reattached. Rather than complaining, the twins should thank him for severing their arms!
Unfortunately, the treatment Alice provided didn't compensate for the fact that Michael had attacked the descendants of a Minor Noble with the intent to kill. If he hadn't held back at the last moment, the Zan Twins would be cold corpses in the morgue by now. It was a tricky situation, especially with the involvement of a teacher, and various troublesome personalities, who wanted to reap benefits from the incident.
Five days after the incident next to the watchtower had occurred, Michael sat down at a table in the cafeteria with his jumbo plate with Kaleb and the others. Everything seemed perfectly normal – just like it had been before Daniel Fang died. However, in reality, everything was different.
Michael didn't feel the same as before. He was a little bit more energetic than the gloomy self he had been for the last few weeks, but that didn't mean he had become his former self. No, everything felt different.
He hadn't entered the Origin Expanse either. Michael missed the Untamed Jungle that was bustling with work and distraction. But since Alice told him to stay on the academy's grounds until the next course of actions had been decided, Michael obeyed without complaints.
Instead of rushing to the Origin Expanse, Michael attended the Old Languages course where he deepened his understanding of the Draconia Era's language. After learning the written and spoken language of the Draconia Era in the Lord Rift, Michael inched one step closer to the secrets of the Temple of the Forgotten. Thus, he shared some of his knowledge with the Professor of the Old Languages Course he attended, only to end up reversing their roles by accident.
The Professor turned into the student, asking numerous questions about the Draconia Era's language, its pronunciation, the written language and much more. Michael didn't know everything about the Draconia Era's language, but he found himself comprehending more as he answered the Professor's profound questions.
It was quite intriguing to share his knowledge and deepen it while answering questions. But that was not why Michael spent lots of time in the Old Language Course. He just wanted to distract himself a little bit more.
The rumors about him grew worse and it didn't take long before portions of the watchtower's security camera's footage was released on the academy's forum. Michael's family and personal life were not a secret anymore. Everyone found out about Michael's background; that his sister disappeared and that their parents abandoned him and his brother when they were young. They even found out that his brother died.
This made matters worse for him and it was nearly impossible for him to not be subjected to weird gazes, which was also why he chose to stay out of the Memory Lane course for a little bit longer and focus on courses like Old Languages, and Ancient Ruins where Michael was one of the only students.
The Limit Breaker Course was also fine to attend because he could distract himself by increasing the weight of the heavyweight armor suits as he worked out.
He had yet to regain his old form, but Michael was already increasing the loads of weight pressing onto his body, just to make sure that he didn't have time nor energy to think about his brother, let alone allow some nosy gazes to influence him.
After five days, Alice finally met up with him. The dark circles underneath her eyes clearly showed that Alice was exhausted and that she didn't receive even a moment of rest for the last few days.
As a Tier-5 Lord, rest might not be necessary after such a short time, but that made it even more apparent that Alice had been stressed out in the last few days and working hard – just to ensure that Michael wouldn't be punished harshly. Of course, Alice had to pay attention to her family's reputation as well. This added another level of difficulty since Michael's future and her family's reputation were both at stake. After all, a light punishment for Michael would result in many families voicing out their concerns and disapprovement.
If Alice didn't punish Michael for his actions, everyone would call her out. It was highly likely that the powerhouses working against the Zenovias would hire reporters to spread tabloids filled with defamatory news about the Zenovia family all over Starnet just to ruin their reputation. But the exact same scenario would happen if Alice allowed anyone to punish Michael harshly.
A harsh punishment would result in Alice's reputation taking a hit – in the eyes of the Berserkers and Warlock Centaurs at least. The Berserkers and Warlock Centaurs wouldn't think of Michael's action as something bad, after all.
On the contrary, Michael's action would be praised in the Tritan Alliance. If the Berserkers and Warlock Centaurs were to hear that Alice punished her own disciple for being brave enough to stand up for himself, to not let anyone undermine him, and for doing something as honorable as defending his dead brother's name and the honor of his family, they would likely start considering the Zenovia as fools and despicable.
It was truly tricky, and something Michael was a little sorry about.
"Don't worry too much, Michael. If I was in your position, I would have done exactly the same. Maybe, I wouldn't have been able to hold back at all," Alice said, patting Michael's shoulder before she sat down on the chair opposite Michael's bed.
They were currently in his room since it was still early in the morning when Alice came to meet him.
"Either way. The reason I hurried to your room is that your punishment has finally been decided," Alice revealed with a tired smile, "These bastards, Hiro, and some other family heads, were quite problematic. You cannot even imagine how annoying these vultures are. Even the principal and the head council of the academy were troublesome to deal with."
She continued after letting out a sigh. "Even after I gave his boys the special treatment to ensure that they benefit from the wounds they'd sustained, he didn't calm down. Nonetheless, Hiro Zan is just an annoying fly. The fact that you undermined the academy's hierarchy by beating up Mr. Klein was not that easy to deal with."
As Alice spoke, several questions formed in Michael's mind. He was a little bit surprised that Alice spoke so much as well. It was a little out of character for words to spill out of Alice like a waterfall, but it was also quite calming – somehow. Thus, Michael continued to listen.
"To be honest, if we're following the instructions of the military law, which applies in the Saphirelake Military Academy, you should be expelled and all your authority should be stripped off. Following that you would probably end up in jail for a while and your War Rune would get shattered in the worst case," Alice revealed, her voice growing more and more serious.
Michael gasped. They might shatter his War Rune? That was definitely not going to happen! Michael may not love the Will of the Origin Expanse, but the Origin Expanse and his territory had become an inseparable part of him.
Alice smiled lightly seeing Michael make a face.
"Fortunately, the twins' arms could be reattached perfectly. Their arms are stronger than before as well. That means, you will only be charged with excessive violence and assault…well, and a few more minor things. Furthermore, the entire situation at the watchtower had been recorded and broadcast, which reveals quite easily that you were trying to hold back even in your current…state. All of these factors combined with the intervention of the biggest investor of the Saphirelake Military Academy were enough to change your punishment. As long as you meet certain criteria your punishment can be removed entirely!"
Michael frowned when he heard the last sentence.
After all the trouble the nobles caused to use him to scheme against Alice and her family they were willing to revoke his punishment? Michael might not know a lot about politics, but he was fully aware of how petty most nobles were. Furthermore, no organization – including military academies – liked seeing their authority undermined by anyone, especially a no-name like Michael.
He actually expected some sort of punishment for his actions. It made sense.
Michael stared intently at Alice, tilting his head. He didn't have to be a genius to tell that Alice had used her connections and influence to revoke his punishment.
But something was wrong. Michael could immediately tell that Alice was holding back some information. The hesitation in her eyes exposed her.
"What are the conditions?"
