"He's going to be fine. He just needs to stay here for a couple of weeks that's all." A brown haired teenager had his back to the physician who was speaking. All his attention was given to the unconscious young lad soaking in a shallow spring. The physician did not seem to mind the teen's attitude. He informed him to let him know if there was anything he needed and exited the room.
Frederick was still gazing upon his little brother's broken body. From the reports of his brother's friends, he knew how his upbeat little brother got into his current situation. It was always an unwise decision to provoke a person stronger than you, no matter your background. One can only use their background to suppress a stronger opponent when you are confident you have adequate protection. Luckily for his brother, an injury that would normally take over a year to heal would be completely dealt with in less than a month. This was all thanks to the healing spring Aegeus was lying in.
A healing spring was basically a large pool filled with very effective alchemical prescriptions. They are usually prescribed for individuals with severe injuries that leave them bedridden. Only spendthrifts will use a healing pool for minor injuries. That said, healing springs are not all the same. The injured individual is first examined to accurately determine the extent of the injuries. The examination can be done by an alchemist or a physician. However, only alchemists are capable of preparing the concoction used in the pools. After which the attending physician is left with handling the dispensation. The alchemist prepares the healing pool by preparing the effective healing remedy for the examined. The healing remedy is prepared in large quantities. After which the invalid is made to soak in the pool every day until the concoction is depleted fully. Alchemists are very precise, making sure to almost never prepare more than the required quantity. Hence one will never have to worry about when to stop using the pool. So even when the patient seems to have recovered, he/she must still use the healing pool, to deal with any hidden injuries.
As mentioned earlier, only a profligate would ask for a healing pool to be made for minor reasons. After all, an alchemist's service is very expensive to buy. Luckily, Aegeus is a noble. Although it would be difficult for his family to construct a healing pool as many times as they wanted, it would be no issue to afford the price once every few months.
Frederick sighed and massaged his temples. How was he going to deal with this situation? He knew his brother all too well. His excessive pampering had transformed the once sweet kid to a pompous brat. It was highly likely that he was not going to take this beating lying down. Especially since his breakthrough to the E- grade, which would have likely happened in a few days, had been postponed by a month. Recalling the numerous times his father warned him concerning his treatment of his little brother, Frederick smiled wryly. He even remembered the exact words that were spoken.
"With the way you pamper that kid, he is going to be beaten up very soon. And mark my words, it's going to be someone even you would not be able to deal with" Recalling the man who had raised and trained him, Frederick mumbled to himself, "Well, Dad, you were right."
Frederick imagined what his father was going to say when he gets the news.
"He would probably snicker. Luckily I'm not going to be there to listen to him ramble on and on about how he was right. Though he would probably have to snicker in private. Mom is going to kill him if she sees him delight in Aegeus's misfortune."
His mom was just as upright as his father. Unfortunately, when it came to dealing with Aegeus, she was not at all heavy fisted. Worst of all, she didn't allow his father to punish the unruly brat even when he made mistakes. It was so different from how she raised him. Frederick could not recall the number of times his mom had punished him. Not because she rarely did, but because she did punish him every so often that he stopped counting after his seventh birthday. Well, as he grew older most of the punishments ceased. Thinking about the time he asked his mom why she treated them so differently, a smile involuntarily formed on his lips.
"How can you compare yourself with my baby?" was her answer. He remembered it clearly because it was due to his question that he had to sweep the pantry for a full week.
"Well, Mom, your baby is in deep shit now." His lips curled downwards as he pitied his poor dad who was going to have to bear his mother's wrath.
Frederick's attention was brought back into the room by the rhythmic knocks on the door.
"Come in."
"Why are you here Selina?"
Even with his back to the door, he was aware of who had walked in. The one he was speaking to was a gorgeous lady with charcoal black hair and even darker eyes. She had a black robe on, one that matched the color of her hair and eyes. A little above her waistline and slightly below her bulging chest, a belt brought out all of her curves and charm. Though the belt was difficult to spot because it shared the same color as her robes.
"Wow, you must be really worried to actually ignore me. All the years I've known you, never once have you passed up a chance to admire my looks."
Selina spoke with a slight chuckle, ignoring the unconscious boy in the pool. Frederick did not pay her any heed. The soft spoken lady behind him was the Student Council Vice-President. He had known her since his very first year as a student. Apart from being enamored by her beauty, he was drawn in by her charisma and strength. She was an outstanding leader.
Granted, she did not possess his intelligence or deep analytical skills, but the only reason she wasn't President was because she had a lazy personality. If her mentor hadn't forced her to be the Vice-President, she would probably never had taken up the role
It always baffled Frederick though. The Selina he knew was very unruly. So unruly she was, that no one could control her- not even her mentor. It had always been a mystery to him- how her mentor convinced her to take up the seat of the Vice-President.
Selina was outstanding in every way- looks, intelligence, and personality. She was the dream of many young men. Not just in the Academy, but in the entire Empire. She even had suitors from the other Empires. Though her strength always caused her suitors to blush in shame. Frederick is considered as an outstanding student by the Academy. Having a C-grade strength at the young age of 15 was remarkable even across the Empires. He already had many offers from several wielder teams, all hoping to have the genius as a teammate after his graduation. However, he dare not boast of his achievements next to a 15 year old B-grade wielder.
"Come on. We all knew this day would come. At least he wasn't killed. So, you know how long he's going to be stuck in here?" Selina asked Frederick.
The brown haired teen handed her the report of the attending physician in reply to the question. Selina flipped through the report, her previously playful smirk replaced by a pale look of astonishment.
"Did you say a ten year old kid did this?" Frederick nodded his head in reply to Selina's question.
"Whatever you do Frederick. Never confront this kid." Frederick finally turned his head to face Selina, seeing a rare look of seriousness etched on her pretty face.
"You think I'm an idiot? You think I want to meet such a death star? I have no choice but to see him. I have already sent him a letter of apology- and a duel notice."
Listening to Frederick's words Selina furrowed her brows in annoyance. "Idiot, don't you get it? Even I cannot do this with my strength. Hell I've spared with A-grade elites and even they don't have this much strength in their punches, not to mention a casual flick. This kid must be at the very least an S-grade master."
Frederick was stunned by Selina's words. A ten year old S-grade master? How is that even possible? Every S-grade master was a rare treasure. The talented ones achieved their breakthroughs in their late twenties or early thirties. To think that a ten year old could be an S-grade master wielder was insane. And this was even the base speculation.
Selina looked at Frederick in worry. Even after hearing her announcement, apart from his initial surprise and amazement, there was no fear. No- there was fear. But this fear wasn't from her information.
"What? You want me to be terrified? Of course I'm terrified. But I know the kid will not kill me. However, if I go home without doing a thing, my mom will." Frederick shuddered at the thought of having to deal with his mom's fury.
Selina smiled amusingly at his response. Others may not believe what she had just heard but she did. For as long as she knew Frederick, he had always been terrified of his mother. Selina had seen the woman before. She was a petite yet beautiful woman with a kind smile. Before she had met his mother, she always imagined that the woman was at least a dozen feet tall with wings. After that meeting, she found herself wondering what it was the woman had done to her son to instill such fear in him. She would have waved it off as Frederick being crazy if her observational skills hadn't informed her that Frederick's dad was walking on eggshells as well.
She sighed, playing with a strand of her hair as she picked up a chair and sat next to Frederick. When one makes a challenge, they wouldn't be able to withdraw it. Only the challenged can reject the request for a duel. Since Frederick had already sent the duel notice to the kid, she could only hope the boy would have intelligence matching his strength, and reject the challenge.
She mumbled under her breath, "I hope he rejects you. It will be a pain having to visit you at the infirmary like you're doing your brother."