"You mean to say that clans can even fight to the death?" Julia didn't turn her face while replying. "Yes. Although, it's very rare but at times if the hatred between two clans had grown to extreme levels then that is just the natural progression."
This left Aron confused. "But won't that weaken the national power of the country as a whole? Won't the royal clan step in to put a stop to it?" Julia's smile had turned grim at his question. "You won't understand the underlying intricacies. In short, just know this it's in the interest of the royal clan to not let a single clam accumulate too much power altogether. After all, what use is a great national power of it's not theirs to command?"
Her words were like enlightenment to the boy, blowing away the fog of doubts in his mind. All this time he had always assumed that the lives of the nobility must be magnificent and uncaring, but he could not have been any further from the truth.
He can't even imagine how nerve-racking it must be to not only be vigilant about the external threats but also be meticulous enough so that not to get sidestepped by their own branch families.
"Wow.. it looks like I have antagonized the nobility too much. Life should not be easy for guys too." Julia was spurred into laughter once again at his humorous observation.
"Haha.. well it's not that bad. Yes, there are conflicts but most of the time the clans are united while countering any external threats. Also, these power struggle only manifest due to the inherent greed of our leaders." Aron had no disagreements with her views.
"I think I went too deep in the topic. At any rate, you are better off knowing these basic things. It will be of importance to you if you truly desire to rise in your life." Aron watched the enchanting face of the girl under the dim light of the moon falling straight at her cheeks. It magnified her beauty multiple times.
"Ahem.. Yeah, thanks a lot for taking the time to explain all this to me. I will definitely keep all this in mind and work hard to wiggle out from my current conditions." Julia beamed a beautiful smile towards the boy before snuggling comfortably in her covers.
"Good luck then. Let's sleep. We will try to wake up early tomorrow." Aron had a few more doubts regarding the high society but he kept them to himself. Maybe he will get another chance to get them answered. Greetings Julia, he too settled inside his sheets and closed his eyes, rapidly falling asleep surrounded by the cool winds.
***
"Haha.. yeah you are right. At times Mrs. Madelyn can be rather clumsy." Yana chuckled in response to Darlene's comments on the lack of conviction from their principal. These past few days she had grown developed a nascent friendship with the redhead.
It all started with their discussions about Aron two days back. From then, Darlene would knock at her door every night checking if she would like to eat together with her. Yana didn't dislike the company. Most of the teachers at the academy kept to themselves so it was quite heartwarming for her that Darlene would care so much about her.
"Yeah, I guess we can't really blame her. She must be having a hard time taking up the role of responsibility. A big portion of her life had passed fighting against the orcs in the north. It's not an easy task to adapt to the role of a teacher from a warrior in a matter of months." Darlene declared trying to justify their principal's unruly behavior.
"Yes, believe me. I know all about that. A few times I have been under her direct command. It was an honor to fight with the legendary 'Wave of destruction'. She was nothing like other commanders, always choosing to lead from the front. Each of her war cries will make your blood boil." Yana's eyes looked into the distance and her voice had turned melancholic.
"Ohh.. How silly of me. I forgot that I was talking to the princess of the north, herself. Who will know better about those lands than Mrs. Yana." Yana shook her head in response to Darlene's comments.
"Princess of the north? That's just a stupid title that everyone came up with. To tell you the truth, I never liked being called that. It always reminds me that I have still not emerged from the shadow of my father."
"Is that so? Then please allow me to apologize. I didn't know will be displeased at the title." Yana waved her hands. "It's okay. I am not displeased. Let's have our dinner." They had reached the cafe and picked their meals before settling in their usual location.
"I am truly impressed, Mrs. Yana." Darlene initiated their conversation, trying to melt the ice. "Hmm? Why so?" The redhead took time to formulate her thoughts before replying with a smile. As she had removed her mask, the smile was not at all appealing but Yana was not so fickle to care about that.
"Well, your father is easily among the top powerhouses of this country. Even then you plan to strive against him and carve out a path for yourself. If you ask me, just to have the resolve for that is something commendable." From her eyes, Yana can't tell that the woman was not making things up. She seems to be genuinely impressed with her.
"Haha.. it's not that big of a deal. Let's not talk about myself. What about you? What plans do you have? Are you planning to take this profession for full time?" Many of the teachers in the Greenville Academy are the ones who have been mandated by the rules of the country to serve as a teacher to cultivate the next generation.
They have to serve some time in the academy of their choice before they can make a choice between returning to their normal lives or taking up teaching on a regular basis.
"Sorry Mrs. Yana but I don't have such great ambitions like you. Most probably I will take up on this job and choose to settle for a peaceful life." Yana slapped her shoulders to cheer the lady up. "It's perfectly fine to desire peace too. Not everyone enjoys life on the battlefield. Rather it should be us who should be called the freaks haha.."
Darlene seems to have opened up a lot after her uplifting speech as the two ladies chatted for a long time, even after their dinner was over. "I can't thank you enough Ms. Darlene. I had been quite bored all these months. Thanks to you I got a friend now hehe.."
For a second Darlene's heart thumped at the sentence. How many times had people been sincerely interested in a friendship with her? She might count those instances on her fingers. Yana was truly a beautiful soul. Having lived all her life under the scrutinizing gazes, she had developed keen faculties for sensing any aversion directed towards her.
Yet when she was in her company, she can feel none at all. People like Yana were very infrequent to come by. Glancing at the extended hand she placed her palm in hers and shook it firmly. "It's a great pleasure to have you as a friend Mrs. Yana. If you don't mind, I would want a hug instead."
Yana saw the lady reveal her teeth and straight away pulled her in an embrace. "Pleasure is all mine, little sister." Both of them laughed out and began walking towards their rooms.
On the way, Darlene recalled about the young boy and decided to check for his situation with Yana. "What happened to the little boy, big sis? It's been a few days since I last saw him." "Oh.. Aron? Yeah, he is out on an expedition with some of my students. It would take him a few more days to return."
"So that's why. For a moment I had thought that the boy gave up on his studies when I didn't see him in the library for such a long duration." Yana looked surprised at this new revelation.
"Study? Library? Is there something that I should know about?" Darlene turned to find a perplexed Yana. "Hmm? He didn't tell you about it? I thought you were the one who get him admitted to the library to research on the ancient language."
"Ancient language?" The more Darlene talked the more Yana found herself amazed. She got her to explain everything from the starting to her. It seems that there was more to the boy than he had let her on. The shock was apparent on her face when she got to know that he even managed to get himself access to the library without even being a student of the academy.
"This brat! He fooled me good." She didn't know whether to laugh or cry. On one hand, she was happy at his excellent resourcefulness but on the other, she was annoyed that he kept her totally out of the loop. The last thing she expected was to have another teacher tell her about his accomplishments.
"I had thought that he was close to you but it looks like the slave boy got his paws much deeper in the academy haha.." Despite the frustration in her heart Yana laughed it off. "Yeah, he might require a good beating once he returns. I think I spoiled him too much."
"Anyway, thanks a lot for letting me on this and to help him out, little sister." Darlene shrugged her shoulders. "That's no big deal, big sis. It's not like I have gone out of my way to help him. Also, it's always a pleasure talking to the boy. He is very sweet."
There was a wide smile on Yana's face like someone praised her own child. "Ahem.. I am curious, big sis. As far as I know, he is a slave with no real background to speak off. Then how come he came in contact with you?"
Yana chuckled, not at all weary of talking about the boy. "It's was a coincidence. We usually used to just greet each other and like you said he was just too sweet to ignore. Later.."
Yana went on to narrate how she ended up growing close to the boy, impressed by his belligerent attitude. She also told her about the fated day when she had almost lost the boy because of an experiment that involved her student. From that point on her care towards him grew multifold.
Even Darlene's mood fell when she heard about how much the boy had to go through. "It's emphatic how he could still maintain such a magnificent attitude, with such a close encounter with death."
Yana recalled the alluring face in her mind, hoping that the girls would keep him safe. 'Ahh.. I should have given those brats another warning before they left with him.' She was not worried about the boy getting hurt by some wild beasts since the girls were experienced and talented. Rather it would be hard for Aron if they bullied him.
Next, both the ladies said their goodbyes to each other before leaving for their respective rooms, after promising to have their dinner together from now on.
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