"Is there any news from Tartar?" The headmaster asked his new young attendant while roaming in the grassy field inside the academy premises. It was still early, and the classes were yet to be begun. The students and masters roamed around with their peer groups and were having chats and discussions with each other.
"No, master," The young attendant answered.
The young attendant had fair skin with no facial hair and had a clean haircut. He wore a white robe, just like the previous attendant Tartar who went missing a while ago. He had a brown leather bag that hung on his shoulder.
When the headmaster heard what the young attendant said, his face muscles tensed in concern. They had gotten no news from old attendant Tartar for a while. The headmaster had told the administration to search for his missing attendant, but they had met with no success.
"Any updates from the search parties?" The headmaster asked.
"Not yet, master."
The headmaster took a deep breath to get calmed, and said, "Tartar disappeared while delivering a message to the emperor. He went missing along with the cart and the man driving it. If someone ambushed them on the way, the scroll must have fallen into the hands of the ambushers."
"Did the scroll contain some confidential information?" The young attendant asked when they reached under the shade of a tree. The leaves fell around them because of the breeze.
"Confidential or not, if someone dared to steal information that belonged to the emperor, it is treason," The headmaster said with a frown. He looked at the young attendant who seemed perplexed. "I have a bad feeling about this. It seems like it is the commencement of something big."
"Who could commit treason with the empire, master?" The young attendant asked.
"It is too early to determine who could do it. There are many fellows who secretly want our empire to fall. It is still early to say that Tartar got ambushed though."
The headmaster noticed the young attendant's tensed face. He smiled a little and patted his shoulder. "You don't need to worry. We always prepare our best of men to trample the traitors or any kind of harmful pests."
The young attendant nodded with a relieved smile.
"Okay, I have some important documents in my chamber which don't have my office mark. Get the documents ready for stamping. I will arrive in a while," The headmaster ordered. The young attendant bowed his head and walked away.
The headmaster looked up to see the tree covering the area over his head like an umbrella, protecting him from the sun and also providing him necessities to survive. "We are like this tree. We protect and take care of the people under our shade," He said while the fine rays of sunlight that filtered through the gaps between the leaves and branches fell on his face.
"Yet you sent the people you protect to the hands of death," Someone said from behind. The headmaster knew whose voice it was, so he spoke without turning around.
"Master Baulding, welcome to the academy."
"Welcome, my foot!" The man reacted angrily. The headmaster turned around after receiving an unwanted response.
"What happened? You seem mad at something," He mentioned in a calm tone which irked Master Baulding more.
Master Baulding was the new head of a high-class aristocrat family called 'The Baulding Family'. He was in his forties but still looked younger as he took care of his smooth hairless skin. He had a mole under his right eye as a distinct feature.
He wore a shiny blue silk robe with gold embroidery. He wore jewelry as gold chains embedded with various colored gems, earrings, and a gold crown also embedded with gems.
A dozen private bodyguards in gray uniform protected him from every kind of danger. They all hid half their faces behind masks which was mostly the code of the assassins in Nigrosia.
Master Baulding arrived at the academy as the result of headmaster's careless decision to send the students to fight the monster.
His son 'Convex Baulding' lost an arm in the battle which made him furious at the headmaster. Being the head of one of the four high-class 'Wealth-Keeper' families, he had the influence to shake the headmaster and the academy.
The feature that made The Baulding Family distinct from other families was their bald head. All the members of their family, including women, were completely bald since birth.
"Don't try to act innocent, Hanzer," Master Baulding said in an angry tone. The nerves on his head showed their shape under the scalp because of the fiery blood flowing into the brain.
"You still call me by my first name. Your father shouldn't have been too lenient on you," The headmaster mentioned. He seemed as calm as the sea but enraged the other party.
The headmaster's actual name was Hazner Van Du Nigros, the fearless warrior in the wars with Alabusia.
"My son lost an arm because of you. How do you expect me to treat you with respect?" Baulding countered with a dirty face.
"Your son was weak," The headmaster said which resulted in Baulding's eyebrows form a scowl. "It was not my fault. He indeed played an important role in defeating the monster, but he lost his arm because of his own weakness."
"I will make you pay, old fart," Master Baulding mentioned while pointing his finger at the headmaster. "You will come to know about the authority I hold over this empire."
"Good luck," The headmaster said calmly without showing an ounce of fear or nervousness, rather he seemed stiff and challenging.
They both stared into each other's eyes. The breeze carried their argument to other people's ears who roamed around. They all gathered around them and tried to figure out what was happening.
Suddenly, they heard a scream. "Aaahh!" Their attention got directed towards the scream that came from the first floor of the principal academy building at a distance from them.
Everybody knew the first floor contained the headmaster's chamber, and the screaming voice seemed to come from there.
When they reached the headmaster's chamber, they saw that the young attendant of the headmaster sat on the ground while trembling and pointed his finger in front of him. He pointed at the wall parallel to the entrance.
The headmaster and Master Baulding entered the chamber and kept other people from entering by keeping soldiers at the entrance.
"What the…" Baulding mouthed in shock when he saw an utterly shocking scene in front of him. The headmaster had his eyes expanded in shock as well when his eyes followed Baulding's gaze.
…
Meanwhile, a chariot stopped in front of the academy gate. It was the same chariot in which Alan and Gunther left the emperor's castle.
"Finally, we are at our destination," Alan mentioned when he opened the door and came out of the chariot. He yawned and freed his stiffened body because of sitting too long.
Gunther walked out of the chariot and looked at the arched academy gate when the chariot went away. "We were away from the academy for a few days. I missed it so much."
"What is here to miss it?" Alan mentioned with a straight face.
"It was your last day at the academy when that monster attacked. What if they had accepted you to stay in the academy after hearing about bravery in fighting the monster?" Gunther mentioned, totally ignoring Alan's remark.
"Heh," Alan smirked at his words. "If they come to know about my actual braveries, they won't just throw me out but behead me," He said in his mind.
When they entered the gate, they noticed the students, and masters gathered around the principal building. They even saw some armed soldiers moving in and out of the building.
"What happened? Why are they crowded around the building?" Gunther asked in curiosity.
Alan raised his gaze and looked at the first-floor balcony where the headmaster, Master Wrath, and a shiny bald man stood surrounding someone. The view was not clear as he was far from the building.
"Something must have happened," He said while staring at the people gathered outside the principal building.
The headmaster, the shiny old man, and Master Wrath surrounded and questioned the young attendant who looked too disturbed to talk, and trembled continuously while remembering the horrifying scene he witnessed a while ago.
"Tell me everything from when I sent you to prepare the documents," The headmaster said.
The young attendant stared at the floor with his eyes expanded in shock. His lips continuously muttered something inaudible while he trembled. The three of them looked at each other when the young man did not reply.
"Son." The headmaster held the young man's shoulder and pulled him out of his disturbing thoughts. He looked at the headmaster when he got asked, "Tell me what happened when you came to my chamber to prepare the documents?"
The young attendant stayed silent for a few seconds as he tried to process everything that happened earlier. He inhaled to speak.
"After you ordered me to prepare the documents, I arrived in the chamber and picked up the documents. Suddenly, I heard the sound of water droplets dripping on the floor. When I followed the sound I saw..." He paused and remembered the scene. "I saw the decapitated head of the previous attendant Tartar stuck on the wall by an arrow that pierced throw the forehead, then through the wall."