In a lavishly designed classroom, six children sat surrounded by empty space, along with the presence of several knights adorned in silver armor stationed around them. All eyes were nervously fixed on the boy standing at the front of the class, facing an adult figure draped in opulent robes who glared at him with disdain.
"What did you say? Say it once more to my face! I dare you!" The man in the swirling robes bellowed, his face flushed with rage.
"Is it that your ears are malfunctioning? It's a tiresome chore to repeat myself, but since you insist, I'll indulge you. You're not fit to instruct me, and your arrogance in the presence of royalty utterly disgusts me," declared the ten-year-old boy calmly but cold. His skin bore the hue of rich chocolate, and his long, lustrous locks of crystal yellow hair matched the piercing gaze of his crystal yellow eyes, which shimmered in the subdued light. "I surpass you in intellect and talents by leaps and bounds, even at your age. Please gather your belongings and leave, sir, so that I may request a better tutor from my father."
"Huns, you've crossed a line!" exclaimed Caden, a fair-haired boy of around eight with eyes as deep and gray as storm clouds, his anger palpable.
"Silence, Caden!" retorted Huns, matching Caden's glare with a fiercer, colder one. Locking eyes with Huns, Caden gritted his teeth and begrudgingly took his seat.
Unfazed by the escalating tension between Huns and Caden, the tutor, determined to assert his authority and salvage his pride, interjected, "I am a five-star tutor within the Kaizos Empire. How dare a mere six-year-old like you declare me unfit to teach you the ways of magic and science? Just because you are the child of that demonic mother of yours…" Before the tutor could finish his sentence, Huns cut him off.
"What did you call me?!" Huns' voice reverberated, his veins bulging as he glared daggers at the tutor, his yellow eyes glowing with an intensity and the room filled with a sudden aura that caused the entire ace to tremble.
Sensing the nervous looks on everyone's faces signaling something bad was about to as well Huns' suffocating aura, the tutor hastily plastered on a fake smile, attempting to calm the enraged prince. "I misspoke, dear Prince Huns. Please forgive my rude behavior." Despite his attempted apology, the tutor failed to prostrate himself, and Huns saw through the facade immediately.
"Huns, please calm down. He didn't mean it," implored Pei, a fair young girl with hair and eyes as pink as cherry blossoms, her gaze darting nervously between her brother and the tutor.
As Huns' aura gradually subsided, the tremors in the room ceased, though doubt lingered in his mind as he cast a scrutinizing gaze toward the tutor, his eyes glowed and he could clearly hear the words the man spoke in his mind.
"To hell with that arrogant monster! If he weren't a crown prince, I'd have taught him a lesson he'd never forget!"
Huns smirked coldly. "I offered you a chance." Suddenly, he conjured a pistol in his hand and aimed it at his tutor.
"What in the world is that?" the tutor muttered, baffled by the sight of the gun in Huns' hands.
"Monsterfy," Huns stated, and a burst of yellow light erupted from his weapon, blasting through his tutor's chest.
"Why did you do that, Huns? There was no need to result in using that skill!" Nikki, a fair-haired boy of around 10 with green hair and blue eyes, demanded, glaring angrily at Huns as he approached.
"Your Highness Pei, please step back. Things are about to get ugly," cautioned a knight in golden armor, using his spear to block Pei from advancing further.
"I offered him a chance at redemption, but he insulted me in his heart. So he would pay the ultimate price—a painful death," Huns chuckled coldly as he walked away from the fallen tutor.
Panicked and bewildered by his current state, the tutor stuttered, "What did you do to me?" He touched the hole in his stomach, but strangely, he didn't die. Instead, he noticed yellow streaks of light crawling over his skin, causing him to panic. He clawed at his body, nails digging into his flesh as he struggled against the intense itching. Collapsing to his knees, he cried out to Huns, "Your Highness, please forgive me! I'm sorry! Make it stop!"
Ignoring the pleas, Huns continued walking away and Nikki also distanced himself immediately.
Seeing Huns' indifference, the tutor understood that he didn't plan to help him, so he turned his gaze to the knights who had been mere spectators. "Someone, please help me stop the pain..." His words became distorted as his body began to mutate into a horrifying, monstrous form. Yellow crystals protruded from his body, merging with his body.
"Hyuaahuaha," Huns laughed, as he heard the cries of agony of his former tutor. "Look at the sorry state you're in under my power. Yet you dared to be prideful and arrogant about your five-star status, when the highest star is a 50 star tutor, tch. How disappointing. Kill him before he goes berserk and rampages around. We wouldn't want a natural disaster terrorizing our empire like what happened two years ago right ."
"Yes, Your Highness!" The knights bowed and swiftly moved to kill the transformed tutor, quickly slicing his monstrous body into pieces.
"Huns, you bastard!"
"What's the matter, dear older sister Pei?" Huns asked, his smile sending shivers down her spine.
This is the tenth one you've killed! How are we supposed to learn?" she asked, her voice tinged with frustration.
"You're clearly smarter than that inept teacher. I see no reason to tolerate him or any others before him," Huns replied casually as he approached her.
"But he's all we've got…" Alion interjected stoically, his fair features accentuated by short, light blue hair and mesmerizing blue eyes.
"No, he isn't! With Father's wealth, we could easily hire better tutors! But he refuses! He keeps subjecting us to listen and waste our time with these imbeciles. For what? To learn about their dull, insignificant lives? We're the children praised as geniuses of this empire! There are plenty of tutors eager to teach us! But we're stuck with these mediocre low lives. Don't you all understand why?" Huns vented his frustration, causing the other eight children to exchange nervous glances, fully aware of the reason.
"Your Highness, His Majesty has your best interests at heart," a knight nervously attempted to interject.
"Who gave you the right to address me, you lowly wretch?" Huns snapped, his glare causing the knight to recoil in panic.
"I beg your forgiveness, Your Highness!" the knight apologized profusely, bowing deeply.
"Begone before you lose your head," Huns commanded, and the knight promptly retreated.
"Now, let's get back to our discussion."
"Huns is correct. It's as if Father is deliberately hindering our education, hoping to make us dumb. With his vast wealth, we could easily get us a 50-star tutor," Shio chimed in.
"I agree with Shio. And it wouldn't surprise me if Father is indeed manipulating our education. After all, he's just a lowly scum who murdered his own brother, the true founder and builder of this empire. He lacks the intellect for such schemes. No doubt he's being aided by self-serving nobles," added a fair fifteen-year-old girl dressed in elaborate attire, her sleepy blue eyes fixed on Huns.
"Sister Rirne speaks the truth, I guess you're quite smarter," Huns praised, flashing a satisfied smile.
"Don't underestimate me, dear younger brother. I'm much older than you," Rirne declared arrogantly.
"How could I, when we all share an equal level of intelligence?" Huns retorted.
"Your Highnesses, such discussions against the king are not tolerated. Even if you suspect anything, it's best to remain silent," a knight in golden armor intervened coldly.
"Since your tutor is dead, return to your chambers. We'll arrange for a replacement immediately," he declared, prompting the children to exchange cold glances before being escorted away by their respective knights.
"Now what, Huns? The castle is dreadfully boring. At least the tutor provided some entertainment, making a room out of himself," remarked a cheerful, fair sixteen-year-old boy, reclining on a luxurious couch beside Huns and playfully poking his cheek.
"Just pick up a book and read, it's not that difficult," Huns suggested, his attention fixed on the large book in his hands.
"It's not as easy as you make it seem, Huns," the boy countered with a whiny face, his fingers nervously twirling his curly blonde locks.
"So, my dear siblings, what do we do about our dearest father?" Cliane posed the question, his gaze sweeping across the room, addressing all the children gathered.
"What are you trying to say, Cliane?" Huns redirected, shifting his focus to his older brother.