“THE both of you can go now,” Wulfric said after saying all the things he wanted to say.  “Oh, and the result of the week-long training would be posted later.  After that, you can use your Terminal again.  Go and contact your families.”

Reas felt the general’s gaze when the other said the last part, almost as if he was directly talking to him.  He resisted the urge to roll his eyes.  Because he was sure that the other was most likely referring to Astrid.

Although he had come to respect the general as a soldier, it didn’t mean that he was no longer on the fence about the other’s interest in his brother.  This and that were completely two different things.

On the other hand, Cyrus felt that the prince was actually threatening him by saying that.  It’s like the other was saying, ‘go, contact your family, let’s see if you will really do as you promised’.  Was this some kind of test?  That was all he could think about.

Even when he walked out of the office, he kept on reminding himself not to open his Terminal even if he could use it freely again.  Just to be careful.  For now, he should think more of what he should do next. 

Because right now he was trapped between a rock and a hard place.  If he did one of the other, the side that he did not choose would surely not make it easy for him.  He sighed.  But he had already made his choice.  So, he should face all the consequence that would result from it.

“Lancaster!”

Because Cyrus’ mind was still filled with a lot of thoughts, his head glanced back on reflex when he heard someone calling him.  When he saw the person who called him, a frown immediately appeared on his face.

“What?” he said impatiently.

Reas stopped in front of Lancaster and did what he thought he should do at this moment.  He bowed slightly and said, “I’m sorry for what happened yesterday.  I shouldn’t have jumped into conclusion and used violence.  You’re right, my actions were truly unbefitting of a soldier.”

Since he was the one on the wrong, it’s only right for him to apologize.  His parents had always taught him and his brother that.  He was indeed very prejudiced against the other because of the Lancaster name.  He really couldn’t help it.  The history between their families easily made it that way.

But this incident proved to him that a single rock couldn’t represent a whole mountain.  Cyrus might be a Lancaster but he wasn’t his family.  This incident gave Reas a new perspective when it came to the other.  From now on, he wouldn’t think of Cyrus as simply a Lancaster.  But a fellow freshman of the same military academy.

Cyrus was completely taken aback by this sudden apology.  Because it was the last thing he expected from Townsend.  He thought the other called him so he could mock him.  After all, even though he wasn’t directly involved in what happened, it was still connected to him.  But who would have thought that instead of doing that, Townsend would actually apologize?

It made him unsure of what to do or how to even react.  So, to mask the awkwardness he’s feeling, he could only scoff and said, “Whatever.”  He planned to continue walking but stopped.  He then turned around and added, “I won’t lose to you again.”

“I doubt that will happen.  But we’ll see.”

—–

Just as Reas walked into his dorm room, his Terminal that had been quiet for a week suddenly sounded a notification.  He opened the Terminal and saw that he just received the result of their week-long training.

He sat down on the chair under his loft bed and opened it.  Just as expected, he was ranked one.  Below him was Cyrus Lancaster.  And Ash was the one ranked third. 

The total number of people who passed and would be formally accepted to the academy was only 189.  That was a far cry from their original number which was about 500.

Reas thought that there would be at least 300 students who would be allowed to stay here.  He didn’t expect that it would be this small. 

He read the names of those who passed and he noticed that most of the people who followed Lancaster during this past week were not on the list.  He wasn’t sure if it was because their performance just didn’t meet the standard or if it was because instead of acting like proper soldiers, they instead followed behind Cyrus Lancaster as if they were his attendants.

Well, whatever the case, Reas didn’t really care.  It had nothing to do with him anyway. 

He closed the list and decided to call his brother first since he could now use his Terminal.  The video call was connected instantly.  But when his brother appeared on the virtual screen, Reas heart almost stopped.

There was dried blood on Astrid’s forehead and cheek.  His black hair was all messy.  Even his clothes appeared to be torn and also stained with blood.

“Aster, what happened?  Are you okay?  Who did this to you?  No, I should go where you are now.  Where—”

“Reas, relax.  I’m not hurt, this is just make-up,” Astrid cut whatever his brother was about to say. 

He looked at the other with amusement.  This was probably the first time he saw the other so panicked.  But that was understandable considering that Reas had no idea that he was filming right now.  Seeing him with such a look would surely cause the other to panic and worry.

Astrid should have probably thought of that when he answered the call.  But when he saw that it was his brother, he didn’t think much and just answered it.

The worry and anger that Reas felt upon seeing Astrid in this way slowly subsided.  He finally noticed that the blood on the other was fake.  “You’re filming?” he asked just to make sure.

Astrid nodded.  “Sister Ellis secured a special guest role for me in a web drama.”  But he wasn’t really interested in discussing that..  He was much more interested with what happened to his brother this past week.  “So, how was training?”

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