The next day, Azrael stared at his notebook while playing with the end of his hair, twirling it around his index finger. A storm of thoughts raged inside his mind, and he attempted to sort them out by writing them down.
Starting with Eirian's surprising proposition.
"What if...I come with you?"
"What?"
Azrael's eyes widened, his mouth gaping a bit in shock. His brain could not process whether what he heard was correct, but fortunately for him, Eirian repeated his words to confirm.
"I said, what if I come with you?" Eirian said with a nonchalant tone, as if it was not a big deal that he even considered that thought. It was quite a development on Eirian's part; however, Azrael was still in disbelief.
The black-haired prince took notice of Azrael's reaction, so he looked away with his brows furrowing. "You do not need to say yes if you don't want to, but since you are going out to get me a sword, I felt as though I should accompany you."
"You don't have to," Azrael spoke when it finally sunk in his mind that Eirian actually asked to accompany him. "Like I said, you don't owe me anything. I am doing this out of my own volition, and I thought of doing this to prove my intentions, so you don't have to force yourself to come with me."
"I am not forcing myself. I would just...like to see it myself."
The young prince tilted his head in confusion. "You would like to see what for yourself...?" he asked.
"Your plan."
"I'm sorry, Eirian. I'm trying my best, but I really cannot follow what you're trying to say," Azrael admitted with an embarrassed look on his face.
Eirian sighed as he placed both of his hands on his lap. "I want to see with my own eyes if everything you are saying is true. It is easy to say that you are going out of your way to get me a sword, but it could be a farce. The sword you will provide might just be an ordinary sword that I cannot use. If you are doing this to make me trust you, shouldn't I be there to witness it?"
'Ah. That does make sense...why didn't I think of that?'
"That slipped my mind. You're right, Eirian," Azrael remarked as he placed a hand on his cheek. "Well, as long as you are okay with going out, it's not a problem with me if you come along."
'It might make things easier too because Eirian's light magic made a spirit take interest in him and give him a sword without anything in return.'
For a moment, it seemed like relief flashed through Eirian's eyes as if he had some expectations that Azrael was going to say no, but there was no reason to. If he had known earlier on that Eirian would be interested in coming with him, he would have offered.
But Eirian never left the academy unless his father was in Aetherhaven, and Azrael thought that because Eirian doesn't trust him yet, he wouldn't blindly go deep inside an enchanted forest with someone he barely knew that randomly approached him with the promise of fixing his reputation.
"That is settled then. I'll request my leave tomorrow."
"The chances of getting a spirit to forge a weapon for Eirian are much higher now since he's coming with me. If we get lucky, a spirit might be able to provide insight into why Eirian can't access his magical abilities. That's two birds, one stone."
Azrael mumbled under his breath as he wrote his thoughts down. He wasn't fully counting on the second one though because there were uncertainties regarding the spirits. Even Azrael, who had knowledge that no one else has, still does not know much about spirits because Eirian breezed through getting his sword.
After he got his spiritual weapon, spirits were never mentioned again.
"Hah. Whatever. That aside, since I managed to summon Azrael's Celestial core, that means I'll also be using his magical abilities." Due to the fact that neither Eirian nor he had any weapons of their own, Eirian would not be able to use his light magic anytime soon.
Azrael needs to be the one to step up in case something happens and they need any form of protection.
Because again, there were many uncertainties.
They needed to be prepared for the worst-case scenarios. Azrael absolutely cannot be the reason the protagonist of 'Destiny Awaits You' dies prematurely, before the start of the novel!
Considering how easy it was to access his core despite the fact that he initially thought it would be some impossible task, he was positive he'd be able to learn to use magic as long as he could learn the basics.
Azrael could feel the magic inside him; he just needed to materialize it.
"I'll figure that out later or tomorrow; now I have to think of another problem."
And that problem was, can anyone guess it?
Valerian Celestria.
"Mr. I'll-play-your-game," Azrael mocked as he rolled his eyes a bit. Valerian was a huge problem right now. Originally, he wasn't supposed to be, but when Azrael found out that Valerian knew about his request for Adham's knighthood, and his friendship with Caspian.
That meant Valerian was watching his every move.
Which also meant, sooner or later, he'll find out about Azrael's request to leave and bother him again.
'It's a miracle he still doesn't know about my conversation with Caelum a few days ago...but then again, Caelum would ultimately cause suspicion on himself for watching me. He wouldn't risk it.'
Azrael rested his forehead on the back of his hand, his hair that was tucked behind his ear fell to his face as he let out a sigh in frustration. "I thought Caelum would be my main problem, but I barely had any time to think about him because of Valerian."
Caelum was the villain, evil incarnate himself, but instead of focusing on him, he's busy trying to convince his so-called brother to leave him alone and deal with the original Azrael's mysterious past and future, also because of Valerian.
Azrael groaned. 'I was so afraid of acting differently and Valerian calling out my bullshit, but no matter how different I act, he sees it as me trying to get his attention.'
No matter how much Valerian shows Azrael his true colors, he still could not believe that his second favorite character was such an asshole. He was too different from how he was with Caelum or even Eirian.
When everyone thought Eirian was the dark magic user, he never bothered him. When the time came that he found out Caelum was the true dark magic user, he did everything he could to try and redeem Caelum.
Despite the fact that he, Caelum Eversly, murdered the emperor and empress of Celestria, Valerian's parents. 'He could forgive Caelum for killing his parents, and so many other citizens, lying to everyone, and taking over Celestria, but he couldn't treat his own brother kindly. Everything I used to like about his character... is what I hate about him now.'
The real Azrael had to suffer, which led him to do things that ended up having too many consequences.
Thinking about it now, Azrael almost forgot the most important thing he should think about today. 'Valerian aside, there's also the matter of Sir Thaddeus. I know nothing about him except for the fact that he's a guidance counselor, he pushed Azrael, and then made some sort of deal with him, and also.'
Azrael's face darkened a bit as he remembered Thaddeus' words to him yesterday. 'He's the one who proposed the idea of Azrael committing suicide.'
This was a big deal. First and foremost, Thaddeus was never mentioned in the novel, but the fact that he was connected to one of the events in Eirian's life that would worsen how people saw and treated him is strange. 'Azrael Celestria's suicide was insignificant to most, but it did affect Eirian's reputation greatly because Caelum fed everyone lies that Eirian's so-called curse or dark magic influenced the young imperial prince, bringing him despair.'
Now, Azrael knew that it was supposed to be fake, meaning... something went wrong.
'But then again, the original Azrael could have actually gotten tired and ended up killing himself for real in the process.'
"No... No, it's too much of a coincidence." Azrael knew better. There was something suspicious about Thaddeus. He could recall how desperate the guidance counselor seemed to keep their deal. Whatever the original Azrael promised him seemed important.
'One of the things I should do is look into him and find out what kind of deal he made with Azrael. I don't think it will be that difficult because I have a feeling he'll appear again to try and talk to me.'
When that time comes, he'll be prepared.
Azrael had to be prepared because if there is a case that the original cause of death of Azrael was not suicide, or if his fake suicide backfired, that would change everything for him.
One of the reasons he wasn't as stressed out about his upcoming death was that he did not plan to commit suicide, which automatically changes his fate. It wasn't like those transmigration novels he read before where the main character is trying to avoid getting killed by their male lead.
He didn't want to jump into conclusions too soon, but he had to cover every inch of this mystery.
"Oh, Azrael..." The young prince raised his head as he ran a hand through his hair. "The more I try to know more about you, the more questions I get—"
Suddenly, Azrael could hear a knock from his door, which made his head snap towards the direction of the sound. Before he could ask who it was, the person spoke from outside.
"Your highness, it's Adham. Are you awake?"
"Come in."
Azrael quickly closed his notebook, his thoughts temporarily pushed aside. He opened his desk drawer and carefully placed the notebook inside, making a mental note to revisit his musings later. The knock on his door had disrupted his train of thought, but he was ready to shift his focus to the present.
The door creaked open, revealing Adham standing in the doorway, and unexpectedly Caspian followed closely behind him, a warm smile adorning his face.
"Your highness, good morning. I hope you had a good rest." Adham said with a respectful bow.
"Good morning, Adham. Yes, I did. Thank you for leaving some food for me and... Caspian! Welcome to my room,'' Azrael greeted, genuinely pleased to see him.
Caspian returned the greeting with a slight smile. "I hope I'm not intruding, Prince Azrael. You mentioned yesterday that I could come today."
Azrael inwardly cursed himself for forgetting, but he maintained his composure. "Not at all! I'm glad you could make it."
'I completely forgot I said that.' The young prince slept throughout yesterday, and when he woke up he spent some time speaking with Eirian. After their conversation, he headed straight to his room and slept again. He was absolutely tired. 'I'm a mess. I wasn't even able to get Adham to prepare some snacks.'
Adham, perceptive as ever, noticed the slight change in Azrael's expression. ''I've prepared some snacks for his highness and Prince Caspian. I'll go down and fetch it in a bit.'' This makes Azrael shoot Adham a thankful smile.
'Thank you, Adham.'
The student servant mirrored Azrael's smile then he walked towards the bed to fix it while the young prince turned his attention to Caspian and gestured towards one of his couches. ''Please, Caspian, have a seat.''
Caspian took a seat, his expression curious with a hint of guilt. ''How have you been, Prince Azrael? I heard from Adham that you slept the whole day yesterday. On behalf of my brothers, I deeply apologize.'' He bows his head slightly.
Azrael, from the corner of his eye, saw Adham staring at him from the other side of the room as he continued to fix the young prince's bed. 'Ah. I still haven't told him about what happened.'
''It's fine, Caspian. You shouldn't be the one to apologize for them. Do not burden yourself with their mistakes.''
Truth be told, the twins were the least of his problems now. His concern about them was the fact that they might still be abusing Caspian, but seeing how the light blue-haired prince fought back yesterday eased his concern.
Caspian, however, still looked down. ''It was more than a mistake, Prince Azrael. It's basically treason. I knew they hated me and wanted me gone, but I didn't think it would go to the point that they would try to harm you...''
''What?''
Adham's voice could be heard, both Azrael and Caspian turned their heads to his direction. Azrael saw the look of horror and disbelief etched on the student servant's expression. ''Did I hear that correctly, your highness? Prince Caspian's brothers tried to harm you?''
Caspian's eyes widened a bit as he glanced at Azrael and Adham back and forth, surprised that Adham did not know yet.
''Yes,'' Azrael replied, making Adham drop what he was doing and immediately go to Azrael's side.
''When was this, your highness? And what happened?''
This is the first time Azrael has ever seen Adham act like this. Though he knew Adham would definitely be worried when he found out what happened, he did not expect Adham to ask him multiple questions because so far since he has met the student servant, it always seemed like he was afraid of asking Azrael anything.
''Yesterday. When I looked around Celestial Summit, I overheard Marinus and Oceanus talking. I wasn't supposed to confront them, but I heard they were planning on getting Caspian expelled by using me...and even you.'' Azrael placed both of his hands on his lap as he continued to explain everything that happened.
"When I confronted them, they got mad, and one thing led to the other, and they almost attacked me."
Adham's face went pale, most likely imagining the scene in his head. Azrael felt bad, so he tried to ease his mind. "Luckily, Caspian was able to save me before they could do anything. So, you don't have to worry. I didn't get hurt."
Despite his assuring tone, Adham's expression did not change. Azrael couldn't really discern what his student servant was feeling; it seemed to be a mixture of distraught and displeasure.
"Your highness..." Adham seemed like he was trying to find the right words to say. "Shouldn't we report this to the prefect of discipline? or even... to his imperial highness, the crown prince?"
"I agree with Adham." Caspian chimes in as he raises his hand. "It's been on my mind since yesterday as to why you didn't let Sir Thaddeus know about what happened, Prince Azrael."
"Sir Thaddeus? That is the guidance counselor...he was there?"
Caspian nods. "He arrived just before things got heated between my older brothers and me. He caught us about using our abilities on each other." This makes Adham frown; his eyes turned to look at Azrael, obviously looking for answers. Same with Caspian.
"Why didn't you say anything, Your Highness?"
Azrael blinked his eyes a bit, shocked that his two friends who barely spoke to each other without his initiative are coming together to get some answers out of him. 'Don't know whether or not I should feel proud.'
"Well, you see..." Azrael was having a hard time thinking of an explanation because he was deciding in between telling them the truth or to lie. Whatever made it less likely for them to worry even more or worse, be suspicious. Azrael was not ready to share his findings with anyone yet.
His two friends looked at him expectantly, which pressured Azrael to not let them wait for an answer. 'I can't tell them that most of the reason why I didn't tell Thaddeus was because I distrust him.'
'I'll just use the twins as an excuse...they're a cause of concern too anyways.'
"Before their attempt to attack me, it seems Marinus and Oceanus both agreed that if I got hurt, no one...not even my brother would believe me. I'm concerned that if I said anything, the twins would find a way to pin it on Caspian."
"Why wouldn't his highness believe you?" Adham asked, his frown deepened.
Now, this made Azrael freeze a bit.
Come to think of it, he never did confirm how much Adham knew about the nature of Azrael's relationship with Valerian, nor about Azrael's attempts to hurt himself or how he got hurt due to Thaddeus.
If he could recall correctly, Adham was just aware that the two brothers did not get along too much, and that there were times he'd see bruises or injuries from Azrael.
But then again, wouldn't he have heard the rumors?
Azrael shook his head. 'No, Adham isn't the type to believe rumors, let alone listen to them. He also kept his distance whenever Azrael was trying to speak with Valerian.'
'If that's the case, then when did the original Azrael even get the time to speak with Thaddeus after their first meeting? It doesn't seem like Adham's aware of Azrael knowing Thaddeus.' Azrael wondered.
"Your highness?" Adham calls out, snapping Azrael out of his thoughts.
'Crap. I still haven't answered his question.'
"Uhm..."
Should he tell the truth?
Or shouldn't he?
Why was he even hesitating? Almost everyone knew about the fact that Azrael hurt himself for his brother's attention.
Caspian, who was silently watching the two and listening to their conversation, seemed to be confused for a moment, his brows furrowed but as he contemplated it, his expression slowly turned into understanding.
"Ah. Now I understand, Prince Azrael." Caspian said which made Azrael look up in bewilderment but the light blue-haired prince just gave him a small smile. Adham also turned his gaze to Caspian. "You're doing it to protect me."
"What do you mean, Prince Caspian?"
"As his highness mentioned, my older brothers want to get me expelled. We've mentioned before how Prince Azrael and I met; he was saving me from being bullied by my brothers but I never said to what extent and why..."
'Wait, is he...?'
"I'm considered an illegitimate son because my mother was a mere maid when she had me, and the only reason my father found out about me was due to my appearance." The nature of Caspian's birth wasn't widely known to most; the only people who knew or cared enough to know were other princes or nobles.
As much as possible, King Nereus did not want people to point out that Caspian was his illegitimate son because his magical abilities could surpass even his eldest son, the crown prince of the Aquarise kingdom.
In the novel, even the emperor acknowledged Caspian's skills during the Academic Olympiad.
"Caspian...you don't have to say this if you're uncomfortable." Azrael knew how much Caspian also disliked talking to others about himself. Other princes and even professors already looked down on him; he didn't want others to do the same because in Luminara Academy, though the headmaster and the academy's council valued magical abilities.
The students and the professors valued status. How you are treated is based on who you are.
Marinus and Oceanus were ordered by their father to not reveal the fact that Caspian was the son of a maid; that's one of the reasons why they abused him in private. It was out of frustration that their father protected Caspian so much and because they weren't allowed to do it in public.
"It's fine, Prince Azrael." Caspian gives him a light smile which twisted something inside Azrael's heart.
'How come he's suddenly so...bold?'
"My brothers aren't allowed to reveal that I'm a maid's son, but most princes and professors know. If anything were to happen to Prince Azrael now that we're suddenly friends, my brothers might lie and say that I've manipulated him as his first friend, to get ahead of my brothers who are the legitimate children of my father and made him lie, ultimately using his status as an imperial prince."
After Caspian's explanation, Adham nodded in understanding. "I see. That's how it is. My apologies for putting you on the spot, Prince Caspian. I was just concerned for his highness; I thought it was something that could harm him."
'I should be the one apologizing. I don't even understand why I couldn't mention the fact that the real Azrael used to hurt himself for attention so now no one trusts his words.'
"It's no problem at all, Adham. You had to know sooner or later, and I trust you with this information because Prince Azrael puts you in high regard."
Adham seemed flustered after Caspian said that. He turns his gaze to the side in embarrassment, pink dusting his cheeks. Azrael was sure that Adham was going to deny it, so he spoke before his student servant could.
"That's true. Adham is very reliable and trustworthy, so I respect him very much. Your secret is safe with him."
This makes Adham's face turn even redder. "Your highness...I don't—ehem—deserve such praise." He cleared his throat then turned his body around abruptly. "Anyways, it is fine with me if it's fine with his highness to not inform anyone about Prince Marinus and Prince Oceanus's actions, but if it happens again, I must ask his highness to speak out."
"That's fine by me, but I'm sure they won't do anything anytime soon. I don't plan on walking around alone anymore anyways." Caspian nodded in agreement to what Azrael said.
"Alright then. Well, since that is settled, I shall excuse myself for a moment to fetch your snacks."
Adham bowed his head, still slightly flustered by the unexpected compliments. Azrael and Caspian nodded in acknowledgment as Adham excused himself to fetch the snacks. The door closed behind him, leaving Azrael and Caspian alone in the room. Caspian, with a thoughtful expression, turned his gaze back to Azrael.
"Thank you," Azrael said sincerely, "I didn't expect that you'd suddenly tell Adham about yourself, but I'm grateful."
Caspian waved off the gratitude. "It's no problem, Prince Azrael. Though I have not known him as long as you do, I trust that he's not the type to gossip."
"He really isn't. Adham doesn't listen to baseless rumors or go along with the majority. I'm also thankful to him for that part, and for constantly taking good care of me." Azrael cocked his head a little, his gaze hardening. "But I'm sure you're wondering why I couldn't mention the full truth to Adham despite the fact that I trust him..."
"Well...to be honest, I kind of understood your reason already."
Caspian's reply surprised Azrael a bit. "Really?" The young prince asked. 'Even I don't understand my own reason.'
"Yes. Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't it because Adham most likely did not believe any rumors about you before, and you're worried that if you confirmed them, he'll most definitely blame himself for not being able to do anything?"
Oh.
Oh.
He was right.
Azrael realized now that he was afraid of how Adham would take the truth. When he and Adham, technically, first met, he saw how relieved Adham was when Azrael started confiding in him, and as days went by, he saw how Adham worried about Azrael's sake.
Hell. Just by the list Adham provided him about what the real Azrael has done the past few months is proof that the student servant really cared about Azrael, duty or not.
And if he found out that all this time, Azrael has been hurting himself on purpose; Adham would find a way to take all the blame.
'But I don't think the real Azrael would've even listened to Adham if he did know and tried to stop him.'
Letting out a sigh, Azrael played with a strand of his hair as he rested his back on the couch. "That's right, Caspian. The rumors about me...he probably never listened to them. Even if he heard, he wouldn't have believed them."
"Yeah...but uhm..." Caspian's eyes roamed around the room, his hands were clasped together while he twiddled his thumbs. He seemed to want to ask something, and this time it was Azrael who understood what the light blue-haired prince's question was.
"The rumors are true." There was no point in lying to Caspian. Him and the original Azrael were almost the same in terms of the situation with their brothers, but he didn't plan on going into full detail. "My brother and I...we don't get along, or he doesn't like me very much."
'And I don't like him.'
"I've done undignified things to get his attention, and closed myself off to others, but I've grown tired of it." Azrael saw the sad look on Caspian's face, so he continued with a tone of assurance and said. "I'm fine now. I have you and Adham as my friends. That's all I can say about that topic. I hope you don't mind, Caspian."
"It's fine, Prince Azrael. I wasn't expecting you to tell me the truth, but I am glad you did. Now, I understand why you seem so different before and how you were able to understand my situation easily."
"Of course. We're friends. You can ask me anything, so you don't have to worry. If there's any case I feel uncomfortable with your question, I'll tell you."
Caspian nods in understanding, his face lightening up a bit because of what Azrael said. The young prince, in return, smiles at him. A comfortable silence fell between the two princes, but the quiet did not last long as Azrael remembered that he had yet to show his gratitude to Caspian for standing up for him.
"Oh! I almost forgot...Caspian, yesterday, thank you for saving me." Azrael said with a big grin, making Caspian's face slightly red. "I genuinely appreciate it. I know how intimidated you are of your brothers, and you faced your fears to protect me."
"It's really nothing, Prince Azrael. I just did what I had to do." Caspian responded so quietly that it was almost inaudible, but Azrael still heard it and shook his head.
"Nuh uh. You didn't have to. You could have run and asked for help, but you stood up to them, even when they tried to insult you; you didn't let them affect you. Helping me aside, I'm very proud of you for what you did."
By this time, Caspian's face was beet red; he covered himself with his hands due to embarrassment, and Azrael could not help but feel amused by that. "P-Prince Azrael..."
'He's very easy to fluster, like Adham. It's like I have two pet puppies.'
"And you were so cool, too! It was the first time I saw you use your magical abilities. No wonder King Nereus favors you! I'm pretty sure the twins were slightly afraid. Well, they should be." Azrael continued, now with the intent to tease Caspian.
Caspian wasn't able to answer. Instead, he just made noises that Azrael couldn't really describe. So, he'll just call them 'Caspian's shy noises.'
Since it was obvious that Caspian was getting pretty embarrassed, Azrael decided to stop messing with him as he cleared his throat, though his smile still remained. "Anyways, I do have a question, Caspian."
Azrael's words made Caspian, who was still covering his face with his hands, peek between his fingers to look at the young prince. "What is it, your highness?"
'He's still blushing.' Azrael thought with a small chuckle. "How did you discover us? Were you nearby?"
"Hmm? Yes, my room was just nearby, your highness." Caspian said with an 'a-matter-of-fact' tone, which confused Azrael a bit. "After my call with my father, I heard strange noises and decided to check it out because our hallway is usually quiet."
Azrael nodded as Caspian explained; then he froze a bit. "Wait. Did you just say our hallway?"
"Yes? The Aquarise Hallway?"
"I'm confused...the hallway we were at yesterday is called Aquarise Hallway?"
"Yes. Were you not aware of that?" Now, Caspian also seemed confused, as if he was saying something that's supposed to be common knowledge. Azrael's next move should be to pretend that it slipped his mind, but there was something about that fact that made him remember something he noticed yesterday.
Each hallway he passed looked different; the hallway outside their room was white with crystal designs that resembled ice, the hallway next to theirs was orange with fire, and then the hallway where he overheard Marinus and Oceanus was blue and had aquatic designs.
He already figured that those hallways corresponded to each kingdom but...
Wait.
"In the Aquarise Hallway, is it just you and your brothers?"
Caspian nodded. "Yes. They explained during our orientation that each prince's living quarters will be located in sections based on their kingdom." The light blue-haired prince uncovers his face as he looks at Azrael. "Speaking of, I have another question, Prince Azrael."
Azrael didn't need to hear it because he knew exactly what Caspian was about to ask. It's the question plaguing his mind as well.
If it's true that each prince's rooms should be located in a section of the Celestial Summit that is tailored to their kingdom.
Why wasn't Azrael's room in the Celestria Hallway?
It shouldn't have been that big of an issue. Valerian hated Azrael, so he might have ordered his brother to stay in a room far away from him, but there was a horrific realization that dawned on Azrael.
When the original Azrael died, his death was blamed on Eirian because they accused him of 'dark magic.'
Caelum and his supporters claimed that with Azrael's room being next to Eirian's, he probably got corrupted by the 'evil' which explained his odd behavior and, of course, his suicide.
But now, Azrael has new information. The original Azrael didn't plan on killing himself, and Thaddeus was the one who manipulated him into hurting himself. His strange behavior was due to his brother.
The dots were slowly connecting, and Azrael was not happy.
It didn't seem like a coincidence that Azrael was put next to Eirian; there were many rooms in Celestial Summit. Out of all the rooms, why was he right next to Eirian?
Azrael felt dizzy. His vision was blurring, but he didn't want to let himself pass out, so he tried to keep his composure. He knew Caspian was most likely getting concerned, but that's the least of his worries now because of what he learned.
'His fake suicide plan failed. He ended up dying, and Eirian was blamed for it because Azrael just so happens to be his neighbor...this is....this means...'
Nothing was confirmed yet, but it was hard not to believe with all the facts that he has so far. He can't deny it as much as he wanted to. He had to accept the idea that—
"Prince Azrael? Are you feeling alright? You look pale."
—Someone purposely orchestrated Azrael Celestria's death.
─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───
Happy 27k views, everyone! Here's a cute Azrael pic.