"And then you and Mother met again at the ball, you saved her from some men who were trying to dance with her. Then blah blah blah, you confessed your feelings and now you've been married for over ten years." Alexis gave him a doubtful look, there was absolutely no correlation between his father's love story and his magic. Instead, what Alexis got instead was the famous love story between his parents, something he has heard about for too long. "Everyone already knows that your love story is one that everyone wishes to experience."
"I haven't told you everything yet." Elijah looked down to his hands, fiddling with the ring on his finger. How long has it been since I gave her this?
"But I don't want to hear it anymore. I've heard it way too many times before." He paused, thinking about something before resuming, "Are you just going to tell me that it's possible to find true love even when restricted by status?"
"Isn't that obvious though?"
Elijah gave him a pleasant smile, "You are correct but there's a difference between hearing it and understanding it. Currently, you only know that it is a possibility but deep down, you don't think it applies to you." It's almost like you don't want to get attached to this world. And yet, you are fixated on your childhood friends.
"Hence why you are so blasé about your marriage." Was it because his son couldn't accept the idea of marrying his childhood friends or that he didn't even see them in the same romantic light? If he came home showing an interest in someone else, at least I would know that he chose them himself rather than being chosen.
"Then what you're saying is that you'll indefinitely put off my marriage until I find someone and that even though this was ultimately your decision, Lu and Darc had a major influence in this?"
Elijah nodded in agreement, pleased that his son finally used his brain, "Although it is true the boys did play a role in my decision, it is my duty as your father to ensure that you are able to find happiness with a person you cherish and love. Of course, they would have to feel the same towards you as well."
"And honestly son, going to the academy is one of the best chances you'll have to find someone you're interested in. So don't let this opportunity fly past you." Don't be like me, waiting until the day she was almost stolen away.
He nostalgically fiddled with his ring again, "When the time is right, everything will naturally fall into place. Time will force you to make a decision even when you think you're not ready." Alexis tried to genuinely smile but there were hints of hopelessness as if he was trying to hide something.
Feeling a little surprised at his response, Elijah tried to comfort him, patting him on the head, "Shall we get started now?" He swiftly turned around, deciding to distract him instead. "Although they will eventually teach you to think in the academy, it is even more important that you learn about it earlier."
On the table, there was a single piece of paper. It was a simple flowchart, marked with all the different elements. It was joined together with arrows pointing in one continuous direction. It wasn't hard to guess what they meant - each magic type had one advantageous and disadvantageous element. In the centre of the circle, there was light and dark magic, joined together by an arrow pointing in both directions - opposite elements.
"In our kingdom, everyone is assigned an element at birth, which is typically determined by the parents' elements. It's a little confusing to wrap your head around but it's not complicated." Elijah drew up an example, "Let's say there are two people who want to have a child and they want to find out their element."
"..."
"Why is this sounding exactly like a lesson at the academy?"
"Son, did you forget that I used to be an instructor myself?"
"... I wished I had forgotten about that."
"Let's continue. Parent A is a fire magic user while Parent B is a wind user. Typically in cases where both elements are equal in power, their child would have a fifty percent chance to be either."
"So it's following the magic flow… Then would that mean that if one of the parents were to have an advantageous element, the child would inherit the same magic?"
"Correct. However, that theory is only applied to their firstborn child. In order to maintain the variety of magic types, every child after has an equal chance of acquiring either element. As for why it is this way, I don't think the researchers on this topic have found anything yet." Elijah dusted off any chalk residue before continuing with his lesson, "There is one more special category for mages."
"To be exact, it was the reason why your mother was targeted very often aside from her qualities as a lady, which made it very appealing to all families. Not only that, she had a decent social status as well, with her being a Marquess's daughter."
"Wait, wait. You said that your love story is related to magic… I see no correlation between them." Alexis pointed out the flaws in his words, baffled at why it was necessary for him to hear about it.
Elijah inwardly smirked, "Son, it's not that our story wasn't related to this, it was just that you didn't want to listen. If only you had chosen to listen to the end instead." He teasingly sighed, shaking his head in disappointment. "But I thought that if you had heard our story many times before, by now you should know it inside out." He could hardly hold back his smile, watching as Alexis huffed out bitterly, realising that he should've stayed quiet when listening.
"How was I supposed to know that there was more to it than just about your romance?"
"Then are you suggesting that you actually never heard the full story?"
"..."
"Son, I can't say I'm not disappointed in you."
"Fine! I never heard the full story but it's so boring hearing the same thing again and everyone saying 'Oh, it must be lovely being the child of the Archduke and Duchess. Their marriage is something everyone wants to experience.'" Alexis purposely raised his voice to imitate the noble ladies who swarm him with the intention of marrying him, blatantly hinting at their desires. "Actually Father, why was your engagement with Mother so famous?"
"Oh? Now you're curious about the full story?"
"Well, we're already here and you were the one who wanted to tell me about it." He mumbled under his breath, trying to hide his slight curiosity. "Hmph! If you're not going to tell me, then it doesn't matter."
Elijah laughed at his son, who knew that he would still be so childish after many years? "Hmm, our story is nothing much, at least not in my eyes. We just happen to have a little prequel before the main story. A little more character development to get everything together." Knowing each other for at least five years prior to everything was a little more than just the prelude to everything.
"But there has to be more to what everyone keeps saying. Unless, you're purposely hiding it from spilling out!" He triumphantly declared, hopeful that his speculation was correct. "That has to be it! Father, why would you hide the most important part of your love story? Isn't everyone saying that the process to find your true love is what makes it so appealing to everyone?"
Should he confirm his son's guess or should he just ignore it?
"That is an interesting statement." Elijah smiled without giving anything away, teasing his son while evoking his curiosity even more. "The process to find love isn't as wonderful as everyone thinks. Some have to go through a lot of trials to be with their partners, some never found theirs and others were simply luckier." But even after that, problems never rest even when you've reached the final stage of finding love.
"A lover is first and foremost, your best friend. Love from a friendship doesn't equate to seeing them romantically but that doesn't mean love can't bloom from it. If you can love them as a friend, then maybe, you can love them as a partner too."