Odesday, 12th of Septimus, 470th Year of the Fifth Era

Josias was sitting in the Military Faculty's main dining hall alongside his companions. The food was edible enough, if nothing else. But what made it a little hard for Josias to enjoy his meal was the fact that he was sharing it with the Crown Prince. While Prince Christopher himself was rather amiable, the same couldn't be said for many in his company.

"Are you enjoying the meal, Prince Josias?" Prince Christopher had an affable tone about him when he spoke.

"Well enough, Your Highness." Josias gave a half-hearted smile "I just didn't expect you to ask me and my companions to join you for a meal. Your magnanimity is moving, Your Highness, though…"

Josias gave a glance and saw more than a few guarded faces among Prince Christopher's circle of friends. Most notably, of course, was the young Lord Adrian de Montverde. Though the young lord wasn't saying anything, Josias didn't quite like the snide look in his eyes towards him.

"...I hope my presence here doesn't cause your own companions any discomfort." Josias gave the other young nobles a smile, though his eyes remained sharpened.

"Oh, don't worry about that." Prince Christopher waved away Josias' concerns with a little chuckle. Whether it was because of genuine amusement or nervousness, Josias couldn't tell. The only thing clear to him was a sudden flash of displeasure on the crown prince's face. "Anyways, you were going to ask me about something?"

"Yes indeed. I had wanted to ask for some preliminary information regarding the members of our class. From what I can see, despite our academy's ideals of equality, the practice is still far from perfect."

Prince Christopher nodded understandingly. "Aye, It is indeed like that… I assume you're referring to the earlier incident with young Lord Adrian?"

Josias noticed the person in question flinching when his name was mentioned.

"I would be lying if I said it didn't have a part in my concerns." Josias cast a sidelong glance towards Cadet Montverde "I won't pretend I'm an idealist so I'm not going to be focusing on that too much. I had promised the headmaster that I'd steer clear of any internal political strife within Feldonia. However, in order to do that, I need your help to inform me of the more unspoken rules of conduct within the academy."

"What specific rules are you referring to, Your Highness?" Prince Christopher raised an eyebrow and gave Josias a smile. Josias wasn't going to be fooled. He knew the crown prince was no fool.

"I want to know the proper hierarchy in this academy – at least among the students – so me and my companions can steer clear of any trouble."

"Well that's simple enough-...?" As Prince Christopher was about to answer, a loud crack could be heard. Josias looked over and saw Adrian had crushed his plate in anger. "Montverde? What the hell are you doing?"

"...Forgive me, Your Highness, but I can not stand the utterly disrespectful tone and asinine question coming out of this savage's mouth!" Adrian had stood up in anger as he pointed to Josias. "Are you a fool? You're speaking to the Crown Prince of this proud nation yet you make demands of him like he's a commoner."

"...Was I mistaken in thinking that I had been utterly respectful in my interactions with the Crown Prince?" Josias was flabbergasted at the pompous noble's idiotic tantrums. He hadn't even done or said anything yet.

"...Adrian, sit back down." Crown Prince Christopher glared at Montverde. Unfortunately, it didn't seem like the young lord noticed him.

"I will let the Crown Prince save his breath and explain it to you." Adrian said "I don't know what nonsense the academy is trying to push here, but we are not all equals. As this institution stands upon the charter of His Highness' ancestors, it is obvious that the crown prince stands proudly at the pinnacle of our society. Everyone else stands under him in this society."

Josias could see Prince Christopher rubbing his nosebridge in embarrassment. Josias didn't know whether he should laugh or cry at the absurdity. This cretin was just speaking out of his ass at that point. One the one hand, it was vexing to be insulted and looked down upon, but on the other, the man was making a fool of himself.

"...Perhaps we got off on the wrong foot here as we've never met before." Josias said "I am Josias and these are my companions. To whom do I owe the pleasure of such… courtesy?"

"I know very well who you are." Adrian said "A savage wastrel who somehow managed to bed the half-savage bastard niece of Count Lorenz."

Josias glared at Adrian as he dug his fingers into the table. That prissy, obtuse, fuckwit was pushing a step too far insulting his wife. It took everything inside of him to not rush out and strangle the man then and there.

"... Young Lord Adrian, allow me to retain at least a shred of my civility towards you." Josias took in a deep breath, locking eyes with Montverde "What exactly do you gain from antagonising me?"

"I am merely reminding you of your place." Lord Adrian said "The king and the crown prince may have decided to welcome you graciously, but I remain guarded. I will not allow myself to be made a fool of…"

Adrian cast a glance over Josias and his companions. "You call yourselves princes and lords, yet I know the truth. My father's realm regularly gets voyages from the colonies and their merchants have told of your lands. Nothing but a measly collection of hovels and wild tribesmen is all. Your presence here is nothing more than to exploit the generosity of my monarch!"

Josias scoffed. He had sworn to not concern himself with such trivial arguments, but this time, his pride couldn't afford to let it be.

"While I won't lie and say that I come from a land of stone cities like this, I take offense to your utter disrespect of my being! Even if my realm isn't as strong as Feldonia, at the height of his power, my grandfather could command fifteen thousand aura warriors. Were we to mobilise all able-bodied men, perhaps thirty thousand!"

This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

"...Prince Josias, I can only ask you to forgive my friend here just this once. He can get a little heated in-..." Prince Christopher was trying to act diplomatically but Josias shook his head. He still had some respect towards the heir of the Feldonian throne, but his choice of entourage left much to be desired.

"No. Forgive me, Prince Christopher, but I want that DOG to answer me with his own damned mouth!" Josias pointed towards Adrian who looked flabbergasted at being called a dog so viciously "All you do is bark and make a fool of yourself in front of your master! You say we are not all equal? I am in full agreement with you on that regard. I may be born in a small village, but at least I don't have shit for brains like you!"

"How dare you-..?!"

"I dare because it's true! Do you know how shocked me and my companions were when you answered 'we just need more knights and aura warriors'?! You stupid cow! My four year old little brother can murder a second star warrior were I to give him a pistol. But now I ask you, how many stars of aura do you have, eh?"

Adrian's mouth remained ajar but his eyes were now shaking. Whether out of anger or confusion, Josias didn't care.

"...The young lord Adrian is at the cusp of being a second star knight…" Prince Christopher answered.

"I am the heir to the Duchy of the Griffin's Tongue. Eldest son of Duke John William de Montverde!" The self-righteous prick looked proud as he boasted his status rather than his personal prowess. "I have been trained in the knightly ways since I was young. Not that I expect a savage like you to understand-..!"

"Pathetic." Josias spat to his side as he held out his hands and manifested flames in his hands from his aura. Many of the young nobles among the Crown Prince's company were taken aback. The other students in the room also started paying attention to what was going on. Josias paid them no mind. His was focused solely on the idiot gasping like a fish out of water. "Hiding behind the shadow of your betters… Maybe a scar or two would help cut you down to size!"

"...Impossible! A-aura… at the fourth star!" Adrian's shock couldn't be concealed.

"Prince Josias, I truly ask you to let this one go for my sake!" Prince Christopher looked full on worried. An admirable trait for a master to have over their subordinates. Sadly, this time it was misplaced.

Josias was fully intent on smiting the weak fool but a tug on his arm from Johannes stopped him. Instead, he sighed before sitting back down. However, not once did he let go of his sights on Adrian.

"...You can say whatever you want about me, but do not dare insult my wife!" Josias growled "If you do not heed my warning, I swear to God, I will not care for any consequences to my own body. I don't care what this academy will do to me, I will end you. By the time any guards or faculty members arrive, all that would be left is your charred corpse, do you understand me?!"

Adrian nodded as he sat back down, as if he had been slammed back to his seat by an unknown force. The air around the table began to turn awkward as everyone stood silent. Eventually, Josias sighed as he exchanged glances with his companions. He set aside his plate – food still untouched – before he spoke to Prince Christopher.

"Forgive me, my prince, but it appears I have lost my appetite." Josias stood up from his chair followed by his companions "Perhaps we can schedule another gathering some other time… And perhaps we could afford better company."

Prince Christopher had a difficult expression on his face but he looked like he was trying his best to smile and nod. It must've been quite an embarrassing experience.

Just as Josias bowed and thought he could put it all behind him for the day, he caught sight of another entourage walking up towards him. There were quite a few women in the group too. At the head of this group was a tall, light blonde young man, with striking blue eyes. His features reminded Josias of the Nordein folk he had encountered at sea.

"Now, now. I couldn't help but overhear what you were all talking about." The young man said as he put his arms on his waist "It would seem my dear cousin here is in sore need of training his dogs to behave better. A sad sight. And I can't help but agree with the Prince of the Hallack. Cadet Montverde over there is so painfully stupid! He makes my idiot younger brother look like a genius. Mind you, my younger brother only learned to speak when he was six. God, I love that witless fool."

The others within the blond man's group started laughing and howling at his insults. Josias didn't quite know who they were, but judging by the uneasy expressions on Prince Christopher and his group's faces, they must be equally important people.

Perhaps noticing his confusion, the tall blond man came up to Josias and put his arm around him in an overly friendly manner. "Ah, where are my manners? Allow me to introduce myself to you, Hallack friends. I am Harald von Ildregn av Saltborg. I'm Prince Christopher's cousin."

"He's more than just that. He's the Crown Prince of my mother's home country. Eldest son of King Olaf of Rommerike… With him are the young lords and princes of the northern Kingdoms of Rommerike, Iskaldr, and Snaereveg."

There were yet more important people Josias had run into. Just when he wanted to take a break from all the madness. But it didn't stop there. He could see a huge grin showing on the Northern Prince's face.

"See, I don't know how they do things over in your homeland, but here in the west, what that little shithead just said about you and your wife? A very big insult. Why, back in the olden days, we would kill a man for being half as insulting!" Prince Harald said with a chuckle.

It wasn't just in the west. Josias thought it safe to assume that insulting a man's wife would be taken as an offense anywhere in the world. Still, Josias could sense a hint of mischief coming from the towering Harald.

"Speaking of insults, you know what interesting thing I've learned from a cursory read of our beloved faculty's rules? There's no mention of duels being outlawed!" the Crown Prince of Rommerike was absolutely giddy. "Do you know what that means? It means you should uphold your sullied honour and challenge that pompous twat to a duel!"

Audible murmurs and hushed discussions immediately broke out in the dining hall. Josias saw Adrian's face becoming visibly pale at the suggestion. He exchanged glances with Mateus and Sadrach and they both had amused grins at the suggestion. Only Johannes and Hesekiel looked somewhat apprehensive.

He couldn't lie to himself. The prospects of beating Adrian down in a duel to teach him a lesson was incredibly enticing. Maybe he could even get away with permanently damaging a few limbs while he was at it.

"...What is all this commotion I hear?" Everyone's attention turned towards the entrance of the dining room where Count Lorenz and a few other professors stepped in. "Curricular hours are over and if you all no longer have any business here, leave."

With the count's warning, much of the crowd dispersed.

"That includes you, Prince Josias." Count Lorenz pointed towards him as he raised his arms, unwilling to fight with his benefactor. "As well as you all. Prince Christopher. Prince Harald. All of you get back home and prepare yourselves for tomorrow. All of you except Adrian de Montverde. Cadet Montverde will be following us back to the office. I assure you, boy, your father will hear of this."

Just when Josias thought the young asshat couldn't get any paler, the superintendent's admonishment turned Adrian white as cotton.

"Alright, everyone, you heard the man. Get!" Another professor shouted.

Josias wasn't one to fight with authority figures. Not especially ones he liked, so with that, he quietly withdrew. Just before he left, Count Lorenz had caught his arm. "I expect a full report about all this when I get back home for dinner with all of you."

"Aye, sir." Josias nodded as he left. Tonight's dinner was going to be longer than expected.

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