"Mr. Holdensburg! I never would've expected to see you around this early. I would've expected you to meet up with my father around this time…?"
The man adjusted his glasses as he glared at the two, ignoring Dante to focus on them momentarily. He smiled as he answered her question.
"Oh yes, you've caught me on my way to do so… though I heard a small rumor around the mill about "two students sneaking away from a school trip in the mountains.". I wonder if that rings any bells…?"
Xavien immediately fell to his knees and bowed on the ground in apology. Constantly moving up and down, he begged at his feet for forgiveness.
"Please forgive us! We didn't know of the error of our ways! I'm just a young man in this cruel world…"
He continually bowed as he opened one of his eyes to peek to see if the man's face budged, though his eyes stayed firm on them with a glaring intent.
"You two know the dangers of your antics. You've caused distress not only to the staff of the Academy, who were setting out to search for you, but also to your father, Terra. You must consider these things when making such rash decisions." He then adjusted his tie as Terra stood firmly in front of him. Her eyes were intense as she refused to budge on her decision.
"I don't regret what I did; it was for a good cause. Plus, we've made good company as they've helped us find our way."
The man looked over her shoulder to see Dante standing there, bewildered at what to do or say, and slowly stepped past the two students. He looked down at Dante with his upstanding figure and slowly reached out his hand. He wore black leather gloves and a smile.
"It's quite nice to meet the man who helped these two knuckleheads find their way back to the kingdom. My name is Grant Holdensburg… I'm a good friend of Terra's family and her godfather. You must be…?"
"Dante."
"I hope these two haven't been of trouble to you, as you seem to not be from around here. Hopefully, you wouldn't be considered the person responsible for taking these two out of their way to ditch school. As it's not within the Farren family standard to do so…". His eyes slowly narrowed behind his glasses, and he seemed to emit a menacing aura. His words were put into a kindly tone and began to cut like a freshly sharpened blade.
The two shook hands firmly as Dante watched Grant's face slowly shift to a smile. To him, it didn't seem he was all too angry at Terra and Xavien for what they'd done, but it felt like he was just worried about them. From what Dante could gather, he genuinely cared, but he felt some more explanation would be required to get the two off the hook.
"It wasn't only me that helped them. These two helped with a situation in my hometown; there would've been real trouble without them. So I thank them truly."
His eyes focused squarely on Grant as the others looked at Dante. Surprised at how well he seemed to be handling himself, considering this was yet another stranger to speak with in his course to head to the Academy. Grant slowly turned as he let out a small chuckle, seemingly amused by hearing his words.
Terra stepped forward before she spoke once more.
"I plan on helping him gain the right to attend school with us, as he'd be in the same year as Xavien and I. I wanted to speak with my father about the proposition, as Dante has already helped us. This is just one of his wishes…"
Grant's eyes slowly widened upon hearing the statement. He stepped towards Dante again, looking at his appearance and noticing his attire. To him, it was like seeing an everyday traveler coming to the kingdom for a new chance. He nodded to himself before asking Dante a question.
"Why do you want to attend the Academy? I'm sure there are other means to obtaining whatever you desire since you're already seemingly capable."
Dante's fists slowly clenched from the question as the image of Rita, and the photo of the woman who seemingly appeared to be his mother flashed in his mind. He wanted to know as much as he could about her, though he knew it would be challenging as the connection between him and her was seemingly non-existent in hindsight. He knew it'd be more complicated to figure out some of the details on his own; he wished that Rita would have told him more truthfully.