Arian yawned as he and his party waited outside of his sleeping quarters to be escorted by the academy's teachers to the dining hall early in the morning.
There they would receive breakfast, while the principal welcomed the new students and gave his annual speech.
Arian suppressed another yawn as he watched teacher Javis coming closer.
He felt pleased when he realized the principal himself would escort his party.
At least he has that much respect, Arian thought as he tried to keep his eyes open.
He was still tired.
After the tiring argument with Marie yesterday, he had no choice but to go to bed.
Unsurprisingly, he couldn't sleep.
Firstly, the bed was too hard. Even though one of his guards had helped him to bed and turned him around multiple times in order to find the ideal lying position for his superior, the bed was still uncomfortable. And when the guard finally left, Arian realized he lay on a big fold of his bedsheet. Sadly, without help, he couldn't turn and since he didn't want to undergo the embarrassment of being turned around by someone else again, he had no choice but to let it be.
Secondly, the temperature dropped significantly during the night. Arian knew about this phenomenon, yet he was still surprised by suddenly freezing. The cold only dampened his mood.
And thirdly, there was the discussion with Marie, which bothered him deeply He had thought many times about her words. After all, the matter of killing his own child didn't leave him unfaced. Arian wasn't some heartless monster and he hoped Marie didn't see him like that after talking to him yesterday.
He felt guilty, about what he wanted to do. Yet he couldn't be persuaded otherwise.
After thinking nearly the whole night about it, he realized if he wanted to get Marie's help without forcing her due to his status, he would have to approach the situation differently.
Initially, he had planned to talk to her before they headed to eat breakfast, but it seemed she hadn't arrived yet.
When he asked Maloc about her whereabouts, he told him Marie felt ill.
So she wants to avoid me, Arian noticed.
Of course, he could command her to serve him regardless. But he decided to let it be. He was too tired.
After the classes today are over, I will take a short nap and then I will talk to her, the prince decided before focusing his attention on the conversation between Maloc and Javis.
They exchanged pleasantries before they followed the principal to the dining hall.
Javis and Maloc, who pushed Arian in his wheelchair, walked ahead, while the guards fell back in order to give their superior some privacy.
On top of that, they had the order to not appear intimidating, as the prince thought it would scare the students. Arian wanted to give off a more casual appearance, in order to get closer to the students and teachers. That is why he only chose four guards to follow him, instead of all ten.
The remaining ones had to solve the issue with the carriage Arian had arrived in. As far as he understood, it couldn't leave, as the number of pegasuses remaining was too little to pull the heavy carriage.
Arian enjoyed the quiet atmosphere as they walked through the ugly buildings and was about to doze off when teacher Javis cleared his throat.
"As we are quite different from other beast-taming schools, as most of our students are from poor families with a common background, our methods of teaching might differ from the academies you might be familiar with, my prince. So I thought I might use the time of us heading towards the dining hall to explain some basics about our school."
He looked at Maloc, seemingly waiting for approval to continue. When nearly a minute had passed and he hadn't gotten any answer, the principal mustered all his courage and interpreted the royal party's ignorance as a sign for him to continue.
"Different from wealthy people, our students' families can't afford normal school, thus our students lack common education. Because of this, our academy doesn't only teach how to tame beasts but also teaches them basics such as reading, writing, maths, politics, and geography."
He stopped again, unsure of how to continue. But when he saw the prince looking at him, the principal took a deep breath.
"The letter of the holy emperor mentioned, you are here to improve our situation, my prince. Therefore, you will visit different classes. Did I understand that correctly?", he asked while bowing in Arian's direction.
Maloc gave him a confirmation nod.
"Since I'm well aware you are way more knowledgeable in the previously mentioned basic topics than any of us teachers could ever be, I would suggest only visiting the classes which are about beast taming. I made you a timetable for you and your party to know when and where to head exactly. Of course, if you have any questions, feel free to ask."
Javis handed a timetable to Maloc, who looked at it briefly before handing it to Arian.
Arian mustered the timetable. After a few moments, his eyebrows furrowed and he signed something to Maloc.
Javis watched the interaction between prince and deputy warily, afraid about what was to come next.
Just like he had expected, there was something that angered the prince.
"The prince thinks, these are too many classes, after all, he is not here to learn about beast taming. I would like to remind you the prince bounded to a beast of the rank 'Inimitable'. He merely wishes to watch the students attain their beasts and later interact with them. Everything else is useless and a waste of his time. Be glad the prince is kind enough to let this insult slide."
Maloc spared teacher Javis a condescending glance. "Immediately change the timetable."
Teacher Javis trembled slightly, but he still bowed smoothly and spoke with an even voice. "I understand that you are upset with this, my prince. But I think it would be beneficial for you to attend these lessons. Not because I doubt your knowledge about the fundamentals of beast taming, but because our school has quite a different philosophy than other schools when it comes to communicating and interacting with beasts since our conditions aren't suitable for the common way. It would be an honor for our school to introduce our very own way of beast-taming to you, my prince, and get your feedback. Maybe we can even broaden your horizon and deepen your understanding of beast-taming."
How arrogant can he be?, Arina asked himself outraged. Hasn't he learned anything from his previous punishment?
He thought about whipping the defiant teacher again, but a completely new way of beast-taming piqued Arian's interest- though he doubted it was anything revolutionary.
Instead, he thought it would be something so stupid, that he could punish the teachers for it.
With it, I would have at least a little bit of entertainment in this dull place.
Arian wanted to laugh mischievously, but since such behavior wasn't befitting for a noble prince, he remained emotionless and gestured to Maloc.
The deputy gave his prince a look that told Arian he wasn't happy with his decision but didn't protest against his prince's wishes.
"The prince will give the introductory courses a try. After today, he will decide further," Maloc said, as they finally entered the dining hall.