"Repeat to me what you said happened."
In a dimly lit spacious hall, a man in luxurious yet elegant clothing was on his knees with cold sweat running across his face. He had his head facing the floor while he tried to minimize the sound of his breathing.
"Yes, your majesty." The man replied.
"The city guards recently received a report of an attack in the famous Blue Bamboo restaurant in Blue Ivory street. Further investigation revealed that the target of the attack was the young lord of the Arnhaunt family, Asher Wyss Arnhaunt[1]."
Bang.
An explosion reverberated from the other end of the hall.
Without any need to take a look, the official knew that the man in front of him, the man who stood above all in the kingdom, was currently apoplectic with rage.
"An unauthorized attack on the heir of that family, and worst of all, within the capital's busiest street. Within my city. Within the core centre of my authority. Within my foothold!"
Silence. Absolute silence pervaded the entire hall after the man's voice had thundered as loud as possible. However, even within the silence, the kneeling official could still hear the echoing of those words within his ears.
Within the foothold of the king, an assassination had occurred on one of the most influential individuals of the youngest generation, on the child of that man. Worst of all, it had nothing to do with the king. This was nothing more than an insult to the king's authority and a mockery of his power. But that wasn't the major problem. The issue at hand was how to explain to that man that they had nothing to do with it otherwise, a civil war might soon commence.
If it were any other time, the royal family wouldn't be so stressed, but recently, there have been signs that a chaotic era was incoming. The Kingdom of Terra had grown much stronger than before and had become more impatient. Anyone in the know could see that they were hoping to cleanse that lingering taint on their history by defeating their ultimate nemesis. As the target on the receiving end, the Great Dawn kingdom had to be prepared. However, the Kingdom of Terra wasn't the only one eyeing them. For this reason, the royal family had to swallow that 'insult' from that family in order to prevent a civil war as well as to use them to hold back the Terreans while they focus on the others. Without the wall made up of the Arnhaunts and that man, the Terreans would easily take over Red maple province and move inwards towards the capital.
"Royal father, what has happened, has happened. What we need to do now is to make sure that we can reduce the chances of this incident blowing out. We can only compensate them and comfort that man before he lets his rage speak."
Only one person could speak at this point. It was a man in his early 30s with blonde hair. Although he was standing by the side, he possessed a regal aura that one could not ignore. With bold posture, a cold face and a piercing gaze, he was the utter description of what a ruler should be. Even when he spoke, his voice was firm and calm, seeming as if nothing could move him, including this matter. This young man was the crown prince of the Great Dawn kingdom as well as the king's most impressive child to date, Federin Castellan.
"You're right." The king sighed.
"Pass on my order. Prepare 30,000 gold coins as well as three defensive artefacts capable of withstanding a full blow hit from a fourth-stage Guardian. Add in five potions and pills with different effects as well as an apology letter signed with my royal stamp. The fees for that young child's stay in the academy would also be waived. Let this serve as my apology to them. If he still seeks more, let him answer to me directly."
The king, Fedor Castellan, ordered with a rigid face.
In the end, he was the sovereign of the kingdom. If that man could not accept this, despite all the compensation, and still chose to pursue the matter, then Fedor would have to remind him who was the boss.
"Investigate who was behind that attack. No matter how stealthy they were with their movements, there should still be some leaks. Find them and capture the perpetrators."
. . .
While the royal capital was secretly being turned over by the king's orders, Asher had already returned to the mansion. Luther had sent a message to the duke and there was currently a new team of guards coming to aid him in protecting Asher.
Apart from the fact that he was Darius' son, Asher's development of the True Calming potion had made him more valuable to the family. To prevent leakage of the formula, Darius had made it so that no one else in the family would need to learn it. When any questions from others, including the family's elders, were asked, the reply would be that it was a special formula Asher had stumbled upon during his time in the capital. Darius would further state that to prevent this formula from leaking, only Asher was to know of this. Although there were a few disagreements on this matter, with Darius' authority in the family, none of them mattered.
'Some people have become bold as of recent.' Asher sighed.
'While it's true that the chances of another attempt now would be very low, it's better to be safe. Looks like I would need to head back to school.'
In the First Dawn academy, the first years were hardly monitored and had the freedom to go wherever they wanted as long as they still participated in the exams and remained within the capital city. Asher, finding no reason to remain there, had left the academy's grounds for his family's manor in the capital. He only occasionally made an appearance to check on Noah and James' training.
'It's been roughly five months, so the midterm tests would begin. After another five months, it would be the promotional exams.'
The terms for the first years were divided into two, each comprising roughly, but not exactly, five months. At the end of the two terms duration would be the promotional exams. Failure would mean a demotion to Second Dawn academy, and depending on one's result, they could even be expelled entirely. Success would mean promotion to the next level or class, which would be the second-year class. They would then have access to more resources, better education, training facilities and more. It was only when one was a second-year could they truly boast about being a student of the First Dawn academy as they would finally get the academy uniform, badge and true resources. However, that wasn't what Asher cared about when he mentioned the promotional exams.
'After that, I can finally return home.'
A look of longing appeared on Asher's face.
Compared to his past life where he was an orphan, had to survive on his own, escape from death multiple times and strive through his own hands to the peak, he had things easier here. He had people who cared about him, a family and parents.