As I stared into the sky, I realized how out of touch I was with the world I was currently in. Since I witnessed the Golden Scale, I began doubting my vision of becoming a noble knight.
I hadn't spoken to Felix since that day; he, too, seemed distant after he saw the look on my face. I felt hatred and disgust after realizing our land was depending on a dragon for our safety. When I was a child, I thought dragons were enemies to mankind. I never imagined humans could have such a relationship with them.
I held the gem in my hand; the only weapons I could manifest were a blade and an incomplete bow. I couldn't create anything more powerful, for it required extensive imagination training. I was a laughingstock to the others. If only I could read and learn about weapons and their usage.
"Do you need help with something?" Ivy asked me, noticing my solemn expression.
"I want to read, but I need someone to teach me," I confessed to her.
"That's easy. I can help you with that," she said cheerfully.
We sat near the training ground under a tree, where the others were practicing swordplay. Ivy picked up a stick and showed me all the alphabets, asking me to memorize them. It was quite easy. She promised to teach me how to read the next day, now that I knew the basics.
After she was done teaching me, I watched Ivy head back to her training. Everything seemed fine, but for some reason, I felt out of place, as if I regretted coming here and as I watched my friend walk away, it stung my heart.
I wanted to stay a little longer.
Suddenly, someone tapped my shoulder from behind. I turned to see Abel, the boy with white hair. Before I could react, he pulled his fist back and started throwing punches at my face. I fell to the ground, shocked and confused. Laughter echoed from behind him.
They must be the ones behind this sick prank. I grunted in pain and raised my hand, hoping Abel would stop hurting me.
"Why are you hitting me out of nowhere?" I asked, bewildered.
"Ha—you don't deserve to be on the same side as Felix. You're nothing but a bastard peasant from the outskirts of Astafel. How dare the likes of you glare at the prin—tch!" He halted his words, and it stopped there, though his eyes still filled with rage, as if beating me wasn't enough.
"Be careful with your words. My mother may come from a small village, but she was a woman of virtue. Though I hate to break it to you, this is childish as fuck. I wanted to speak to Felix and apologize!" I retorted, wiping the blood from my lips. I saw a hand extended towards me. I recognized Henry's arm anywhere.
"You alright, peasant?" he asked, concern in his voice. His blonde, golden hair never seemed to fail to blind me.
"Yeah, I'm fine," I replied, spitting blood from my mouth, gritting through the pain as I rose.
Henry rolled up his sleeves and took a stance. He looked at me as if he had a plan. I trusted him, but it was a huge mistake on my part. I thought he was going to negotiate, but instead, he threw sand from his hand at Abel. He immediately grabbed my arm and made an escape from Abel and his gang. Glancing back, I saw Abel screaming and gagging, shouting, "Bastard! Bastard!" from afar. I couldn't help but let out a laugh.
We ran until we reached Ivy, who was in the middle of a training session alongside another knight. Henry and I were out of breath, Ivy stopped and approached us.
She sighed. "You guys should be training. Stop fooling around. There are only 96 days left," she scolded us.
"I just saved him from Abel," Henry said proudly to Ivy.
"What did Abel do?" she asked Henry with a serious tone.
"It was nothing," I interrupted, still catching my breath. Ivy angrily grabbed my collar. I looked at her, terrified. Her aura appeared menacing.
"Tell me what he did, Vesper, or else Henry's going to eat this sword," she retorted to me.
"Ahhh, what does this have to do with me?" Henry shouted. He then looked at me with a pissed expression. I immediately understood. I should come clean before this situation escalated.
"He punched me because I offended Felix," I explained to her immediately.
"And you left out the part where he called you a bastard! Unacceptable. Rude," Henry added. Ivy's eyes widened in surprise to hear Henry's extra remark.
"Rude? Are you referring to yourself as well? I swear, if that Marquis's son and you, Henry, dare spout such words again, I'll give you a nice easy death.," Ivy said to him.
"Marquis's son?" Henry and I said simultaneously, surprised by the sudden information.
"Yeah, he's the son of a Marquis from the North. House Marblesun. He's like a cousin to Felix. That's what I heard," Alexa explained to us. Her aura began to calm down.
"Oh, who cares about some spoiled brat from the North. He deserves to eat my dust," Henry boasted.
I finally understood the reason behind his actions. Felix is his family. Of course, he would be upset if anyone offended his family members, especially a peasant like me.
"I have to apologize. It seems Felix comes from a noble family, too. I'm afraid I might have offended their entire family," I muttered to myself.
"Go and apologize, but don't ever think you're less than us," Ivy assured me.
I'm surrounded by powerful people. I must be worthy to be able to stand with them.
"Ivy, I can't wait until tomorrow. Teach me to read now. I promise I won't waste your time," I said to her, leaning closer to her face. Her golden eyes sparkled for a moment.
"But it's…" she started to say, and I cut her off.
"Please," I pleaded, holding her shoulder. She turned her face to the side, her cheeks flushed red.
"You leave me no choice. You better keep up, because by tomorrow morning, I will make sure you know how to read!" she said to me, while pointing at my chest.
"You guys go on. I'm going to continue my shield training with my group," Henry said to us. I watched him leave, joining his group. It surprised me that Henry was really good at swordplay and using a shield. I wondered if I would ever be strong like my friends.
Ivy went to her group, and I saw her explain to them. Ivy is very kind. I'm grateful to have her as my friend. I should work hard to make sure their efforts won't go to waste.
Afterward, we both went to the library to pick some books. We passed through my classroom, but Felix was nowhere to be seen. I looked at Ivy. She acted as if she didn't care, but deep down, I knew she wished to see Felix. I didn't want to pry into her feelings, but I didn't know how to comfort her either.