As Lothur made his way to the Morning Star Academy, in the room of the Frost family patriarch, Viktoria's parents were finishing dressing.
In that place, Mabel was finishing putting on a beautiful blue dress while her husband was buttoning up his black suit, sitting on the edge of an armchair that was on one side of the bed.
But as they did so, they were both talking in low voices, occasionally looking at each other through the mirror in front of Mabel.
"The situation in the empire is getting more difficult for the family..." Aiken said after a long sigh of disappointment.
'If only I were stronger.' He lamented in his heart, feeling that he had failed his ancestors.
"This is out of our control, dear." Mabel looked at him meaningfully, also regretting the situation they were in. "This is an internal dispute within the imperial family. But, on the other hand, that person's actions don't make our situation any easier.
"If only he hadn't done that..."
"Sigh!" Mabel's husband sighed as he thought of that fellow who was the greatest criminal in Leopoldine's history.
Everyone in this state expected the First Prince of Leopoldine to become the next emperor. He was so strong and talented that no one had any doubts about his ascension. Even his brothers did not want to compete with him.
However, such a person was simply uncontrollable, detached from power, and had behaved, shall we say, questioningly since he was a little boy.
Later in his life, he became a renowned criminal and had even been expelled from the imperial family.
Hell, he was a criminal who even had a wanted poster, with the words, 'only dead'!
Because of this individual, the current situation of dispute in the Leopoldine family existed.
"Well, even if it weren't for that fellow, unfortunately, our family has been marginalized for centuries..."
"It was only a matter of time before we were affected by the political games of the imperial throne."
The Frost family was an ancient organization, existing since the time of the ten independent regions previously conquered and dominated by the Leopoldine family.
And precisely because it was an organization prior to the formation of the empire, Viktoria's family always suffered from the antagonism of powers created during the current dynasty. Not only because they were not 'fully' loyal to House Leopoldine but also because they had long been an organization almost as strong as such a family itself.
That was a problem!
In typical situations, two prominent organizations of equivalent power could live in peace. But from time to time, problems always appeared.
That could range from some silly dispute of the younger generation or the dispute or disagreement over something significant. In any case, when something like this increased tensions between the parties, hardly anyone would come out unscathed.
Consequently, it was in the interest of one force to dominate or destroy the other!
In the case in question, House Leopoldine dominated a more extensive and populous territory than House Frost... With more resources and people, fate seemed to have sided with the imperial power.
But unfortunately for the organization that Lothur currently belonged to, time did not usually forgive anyone!
As time went by, geniuses came and went. That was normal for any power with thousands of descendants and a long history. But with parasites constantly corroding them, even an organization with good foundations could shake.
And the Frost family had finally started to shake in the last few centuries.
That happened not only because of the constant action of the powers antagonistic toward them but also because of the terrible luck of this organization, which gradually lost its best geniuses throughout history.
A great example was the current patriarch, someone weaker than his wife, Mabel. The latter, in turn, was weaker than the typical patriarch this organization has had throughout its history.
Mabel continued. "The family has lost a lot of space in the last few decades, and now with the problem of imperial succession, we may no longer be tolerated."
"Tsk!"
"Both sides are pressuring us to make a move." Aiken stood up from where he was, angrily waving one of his arms.
"Sigh..." He sighed once again, trying not to stress himself more than he should on this matter. "But at least little Vicky bought us some time."
But upon hearing that comment, Mabel's beautiful face contorted, displaying an angry expression. "Or rather, our daughter sacrificed herself by marrying that scumbag for the sake of your family!"
"Mabel, I never wished for anything like that to happen..." Aiken looked at that woman seriously, also lamenting his daughter's fate.
He did not blame Lothur for being with his precious daughter.
For that very reason, he did not treat that boy badly, who, truth be told, was helping them a lot. But still, like a good father, he wished that his daughter had a reliable man by her side.
Unfortunately, to avoid the pressures of the sides vying for the imperial throne, who feared that Viktoria, this talented person, would choose one side and the other would be harmed, she married Lothur.
Marrying Lothur decreased her chances of joining one of the parties and decreased the chance of more talents arising in the Frost family or even that this house would get support.
After all, mortals and cultivators could hardly generate powerful offspring. But, on the other hand, with Viktoria being with Lothur, the chance of her decadent family getting support overnight was slim.
With that, House Frost could continue to weaken!
Knowing this, Viktoria had convinced herself that she needed to get married and end at least temporarily the pressures regarding a political marriage involving her.
She knew this was only temporary, but as long as it gave them time, perhaps her family could survive another royal succession.
"Our child married a good-for-nothing with no future just because of the incompetence of this family!"
"Now her future is ruined!" Mabel shouted at that man with her reddening eyes. "Even if she remarries, she will never be a well-liked woman in our society!"
"All because of that scumbag!"
"Mabel, don't talk like that. Lothur is not to blame for anything. You know very well that Vicky chose him on her own."
"On the other hand, you knew how mysterious the guardian of Lothur was. Maybe Vicky knows some secret, and that's why she chose you."
"I don't believe that!" Mabel shouted as she walked up against her husband. "She thought marrying a worthless man would not bring another feud into our family!"
"She never thought of her happiness, only her family!"
"Sigh..." Aiken gave up, finally coming closer to his lovely wife, hugging her gently. "I am sorry, my love. I let you down."
"But you know that Vicky and Lothur never did anything, and more than half the city comments on things like that. So, there is still salvation for our daughter."
"Anyway, we just need to endure until the decision of the imperial heir is made."
"Humph!"
"That's if that scumbag survives until then!" She said angrily, feeling that even Lothur was no good for that. "Did you hear what happened to him yesterday? That good-for-nothing almost got killed!"
"Yes, the city is getting more and more dangerous..."
"I will send some guards to look after his safety after his recovery," Aiken said in lamentation, feeling sorry for Lothur.
'Poor boy. That situation is probably our organization's fault.'
...
After his 'kind' conversation with Viktoria, Lothur went to the local academy, where he spent a few hours following the morning classes, understanding a little more about the subjects of this world.
He wanted to see what they were about, whether they were similar in some degree to those of his world or whether they were different.
In doing so, he had realized that not only the economy in this place was simpler, but all the other areas of knowledge. In fact, it seemed that aside from cultivation, everything he had seen was elementary, and even Earth children could master these concepts with ease.
Upon finding out about this, Lothur realized that he did not need to attend most of these classes. No, since the academy did not require its students to attend classes, as long as he studied on his own and passed the tests, he could raise his position in this place.
With this in mind, apart from the geopolitics classes, he could have contact with Elke and Anneke; he had no interest in attending almost any of the other classes.
With only his study skills inherited from his former life, Lothur was sure that he could learn these basic things of this world on his own.
So, as he walked towards the place where he wanted to meet Annaliese to talk about cultivation once more, this young man already knew what he had to do in the afternoon.
'After seeing Anna, I will proceed to the geopolitics class and try to advance my relationship with Anne and Elke...'