On the evening of the next day, Ren Xiyang returned to the Capital with his greenhouse plants. He went straight to his Academy greenhouse to settle those plants down. Rian was waiting for him there, ready to help him. There wasn’t much time to talk while Ren Xiyang was busy arranging things and giving instructions. Afterwards, they went to the dining hall for dinner.
Once they returned to their quarters, Rian hugged Ren Xiyang so tightly that his feet lifted from the ground.
“Xiyang, Xiyang!”
Ren Xiyang squeezed out a reply, “Eh?”
“Xiyang, you wouldn’t believe what happened to me yesterday.”
Ren Xiyang pushed Rian back so that he could breathe. Rian reluctantly put him down again.
“What is it?”
Rian smirked. “My Imperial Father talked to me yesterday. He tried to make me choose marriage candidates—don’t worry, I didn’t look at a single profile. I told him that I was engaged to you—you should have seen the look on his face!”
Ren Xiyang’s lips twitched. “Had fun?”
“Very much.” He placed his hands on Ren Xiyang’s face. “Don’t worry about my Imperial Father, I’ll handle it.”
“I wasn’t worried.”
Rian laughed.
Ren Xiyang’s lips also curled up. It was cute that Rian could be amused by something like that. He patted Rian on the head.
And tried not to feel a little bit guilty.
In the morning, Ren Xiyang had a practice duel with Rian. They had breakfast together with the other students and headed to magical theory class together.
The monotonous quality of Lord Zaffre’s voice started to grate on Ren Xiyang’s nerves.
He tried to focus on the draft report he had brought along with him. But unlike Rian who could somehow half-listen to the lecture while working at the same time, Ren Xiyang couldn’t.
The academy’s novelty had ended.
Lunch time felt like a brief escape. But the impending next class was going to be even worse—magical history.
Just before the next class started, Ren Xiyang said, “Your Highness, I’m going to quickly head back to my quarters to get some extra work.”
“Oh? I’ll go with you,” Rian said.
“You head to class; it’ll be quicker if I fly by myself.”
Rian huffed.
Ren Xiyang didn’t give Rian time and jumped into the air and flew away towards the dormitories.
Rian wanted to follow, but the other students were already walking to class.
Two minutes later, Rian had a bad feeling, as Lord Coquelicot entered the room for the magical history lesson.
Four minutes later, it wasn’t a suspicion anymore. Rian knew that Ren Xiyang wouldn’t be coming.
It wouldn’t take long for Lord Coquelicot and all the students to notice as well. The gap next to Rian was too conspicuous.
A whole mass of feelings swirled in Rian’s chest. He had to suppress it, lest his expression cracked. As long as he pretended that nothing was out of the ordinary, it was other people who were over-reacting.
Ren Xiyang had indeed gone back to the dormitories. From there, he had changed his clothes before going to the Rosewood house.
Guilt lapped at his heart, but he didn’t turn back.
It was a waste of time for him to stay.
“My Lord, welcome back,” Kel said. She gave him a concerned look. “Is there a problem? Is the Academy food unsuitable? We can deliver your meals.”
“The food is fine. I already had lunch,” Ren Xiyang said.
“Then…”
“Continue your plans,” Ren Xiyang said. “I’ll be in my office, going through my backlog.”
“Are you sure?”
We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.
Efc Wlsjcu rjk atja Bfi gfjiis kjcafv ab tfiq. “Jjc sbe mbcajma Uglcmf Cifzler obg wf? Crx tlw ktfatfg tf kjcar wf ab jaafcv tlr joafgcbbc afj abvjs.”
Bfi cbvvfv. “Yo mbegrf, ws Obgv.”
Bfi tjv bcf bo atf rajoo yglcu eq j agjs bo afj jcv rcjmxr obg atflg ibgv, yfobgf ufaalcu bcf bo atf xclutar ab vfilnfg Sjgi Ebrfkbbv’r wfrrjuf ab Uglcmf Cifzler.
On the way to his office, Ren Xiyang said hello to the surprised Hadrian.
As he said he would, Ren Xiyang started going through his backlog of paperwork. There were reports, there were petitions, and there were even letters written in the shaky hands of Rosewood residents only starting to learn to write. In his planning notebook, Ren Xiyang listed out different urgent and less urgent tasks in different columns. For example, he needed to find time to head over to the production factories for floating carriages, lamps, cooking stoves etc. and cast or write down the requisite spells. There were only a few product spells he didn’t need to do—Viscount Obsidian dealt with the magical components of the communication mirrors, and Alexius was happy enough to cast the spells for the floating chairs and earn most of the profit.
Ren Xiyang also liked earning money, but his time was becoming more precious now. He had a sudden thought—he could consider hiring mage students to work part time to cast the simpler spells. It could provide some financial stability to commoner mages, ease their mental load, and give them practical experience.
But this was something he’d need to talk with Rian about. Everyone knew that their current magic-tech products were spelled by either him or Rian.
His heart prickled at the thought of Rian. Maybe he shouldn’t involve Rian. Maybe he could hire them to work around the Rosewood fief instead, such as with levelling and smoothing roads.
Presently, there was a knock on the door.
“Solicitor Carmine, come in.” Ren Xiyang opened the door from afar.
“My Lord, since you’re here, do you have time to discuss the upcoming tax collection and census?” Solicitor Carmine asked. “There are some new questions that we thought to add.”
Ren Xiyang stood up. “Yes.”
Magical history class ended without Earl Rosewood present.
Lord Coquelicot’s expression wasn’t good. He strode up to Prince Rian. “Your Highness, where is Earl Rosewood?”
Rian shook his head, smiling apologetically. “I’m afraid I don’t know, Lord Coquelicot. I do not control Earl Rosewood.”
Lord Coquelicot suppressed his unhappiness. “My apologies, Your Highness. However, if you have the chance, please tell Earl Rosewood to ask for leave appropriately.”
Rian maintained a light expression. “I’ll pass your message on.”
“Thank you, Your Highness.”
Lord Coquelicot headed out, and the next teacher came in for the next class—mage genealogy of Sedaveria, in the series of weekly classes about general useful life skills.
Ren Xiyang was always bored when it came to genealogy. There was no point hoping for Ren Xiyang to come back.
Alexius sat down for afternoon tea with Prince Pollux and Earl Ayden Rosewood. He waited for his servants to serve tea before he couldn’t restrain himself any longer.
“Ayden, don’t you have classes?” Alexius said.
When he received the message that Earl Rosewood wanted to join him for afternoon tea, Alexius had immediately agreed and notified Prince Pollux about their extra guest.
But as afternoon tea time approached, and when Ayden really came to the palace, the misgivings piled up.
“Technically, I could be attending class,” Ayden said. “But I much rather be here.”
Alexius felt conflicted. Attending classes was important, but he also felt happy to have Ayden here with him. But then, was he aiding and abetting criminal behaviour???
Pollux sipped tea and had cake, absently noting that he was starting to go numb from Ayden’s un-noble-like behaviour. Ayden refreshed Pollux’s understanding of nobles and made Prince Rian look normal and tame in comparison.
Alexius, seeing how Ayden and Pollux both were calm, also calmed down. He giggled, “Does that mean you’re here with me instead of at the academy with Rian?”
“Yes,” Ayden said.
Alexius grinned widely, his eyes squinting with joy. “Yay! Prince Pollux said he’ll show me one of the spells he made himself today.”
“Oh? That sounds cool,” Ayden said, looking at Pollux.
Pollux cleared his throat. “It’s nothing big, it’s a spell for manipulating metal…”
Alexius’s eyes sparkled, though. Anyone who could write spells that wasn’t Rian was great in his eyes.
In the background, Sir Gerlach Aegean was glad that his big brother Count Leopold Aegean had already left for the Aegean fief. His dear brother was losing too much hair lately and really needed a peaceful holiday.
During the mage genealogy class, Rian was barely listening. He was spreading his magic out, trying to find where Ren Xiyang was located. He didn’t search for Ren Xiyang’s heat signature, but rather for his magical signature.
Wherever Ren Xiyang was, it wasn’t on Academy grounds.
That crushed Rian’s faint hope that Ren Xiyang might be busy at the greenhouse or field.
Rian spread his magic further and further. He reached all the way to the Imperial Palace before he located Ren Xiyang.
His eyes went dark. The palace? Had Ren Xiyang gone to see Alexius?
After afternoon tea, Ren Xiyang returned to the Rosewood house to do a bit of work.
At 4pm, Ren Xiyang had consecutive meetings with two children (who were too young to attend the academy) from the association of future leaders. The meetings went smoothly. They showed him what they had done, and Ren Xiyang gave them ideas for next steps.
Once Ren Xiyang said goodbye to them and their accompanying adults, Prince Pollux came over for his healing session.
Ren Xiyang returned to the academy just before dinner. He tended to his plants in the greenhouse and field first before going to the dining hall.
“Ayden, you’re back,” Rian said pleasantly, meeting Ren Xiyang at the door to the dining hall.
Rian had detected the moment Ren Xiyang returned to academy grounds and had tracked him all the way to this point. He had delayed heading to the dining hall with the group of students he was talking to, in order to intercept Ren Xiyang.
“Good evening, your Highness,” Ren Xiyang said. He also greeted the other students.
“What did you do? Where did you go?” one naïve student asked him as they sat down.
“I had some Rosewood fief business to attend to,” Ren Xiyang said.
“Oh.”
“Since I missed the two afternoon classes, do you mind summarising for me what I missed?” Ren Xiyang asked.
“Of course!”
The students at their table took turns and contributed what they remembered from class, interjecting when they felt the other person had forgotten something.
Ren Xiyang glanced at Rian.
Rian smiled back faintly.
They needed to talk.
“We need to talk,” Rian said, the moment he closed the door and activated the privacy spell.
“We do.”
Rian stared at Ren Xiyang. Ren Xiyang looked back calmly.
Rian’s lips turned down. “You skipped afternoon classes. You went to meet Alexius.”
“I worked at the Rosewood house, and then had afternoon tea with Alexius and Prince Pollux, among other things,” Ren Xiyang said.
“Why?”
“Do you want to skip with me?”
“No.”
“Those classes aren’t useful for me. And I know what you’re during class. They’re even more useless for you,” Ren Xiyang said.
“Appearances are important,” Rian said tightly.
“But they’re a waste of time.”
“It’s just four hours each day,” Rian countered.
The morning class was two hours, and the two afternoon classes were one hour each. Most of the day was free for private training and for socialising. Compared to the kind of schooling that Ren Xiyang had, it wasn’t that much.
But for Ren Xiyang, it was still a waste of time.
“There’s a lot that I can do in four hours,” Ren Xiyang said.
“I heard that you voiced the possibility of expanding education across the kingdom at the Imperial Council Gathering,” Rian said. “If you don’t attend classes, it’ll damage the strength of your motion.”
“I don’t want to set a motion. I want to create an initiative,” Ren Xiyang said.
“Co-led by you? The person who doesn’t respect the academy?”
“The initiative would be for voluntary education.” Ren Xiyang crossed his arms. “Rian, I wasn’t the one who signed up for the academy. You did it for me. You could have tried to get me into the university instead.”
“We need to attend the academy.” Rian tried to rein in his emotions. “Ren Xiyang, I want you to attend classes with me.”
“Why? Is it compulsory? Is it actually law?”
“Yes. All Sedaverian mages are to be trained in the academy,” Rian said.
“And what is the definition of ‘trained’? Rian, you’re the most trained out of everyone in the school. You’re the one who, out of everyone, doesn’t need to attend these classes. You have even more things to do that me. Why are you wasting your time?”
Rian scowled. “Because it’s not a waste of time. I’m being a role model to other students. It’s not just about the lessons and what the teachers teach. It’s about using the common experience to connect with others. I won’t go down as a prince and king who played delinquent at the academy.”
“You already have the association of future leaders.” Ren Xiyang snorted. “But you can do that if you want. I don’t want to network more. I already have plenty of connections.”
“Because of me.”
“Yes, because of you. Thank you, Your Highness.”
“And I also want my future consort to be admired and known for being powerful, handsome, rich, and smart,” Rian said. “If you don’t attend class, you’ll be used as an excuse by future generations to avoid attending class.”
“I don’t believe that.”
“I do.”
They stared at each other, neither willing to back down.
“You’re going to class tomorrow, right?” Rian said,
Ren Xiyang used magic to fetch his notebook with his class schedule. Tomorrow’s classes were spell-writing theory, combat magic theory, and magic practice. “No. You’re really good at spell-writing theory, so I don’t need to go. I’m really good at combat magic, so I don’t need the theory. We already practice magic every day.”
Rian’s face darkened. “Oh, then you’re not good at spell-writing.”
“I know where my strengths lie,” Ren Xiyang said coolly. “And if you don’t help me, there are other people I can hire. Like Prince Pollux.”
Rian hissed. “You wouldn’t dare.”
“And why wouldn’t I dare?” Ren Xiyang’s red eyes were cold. “Rian, you signed me up to the academy without asking me first. You even took my orientation materials from the academy staff. I tried, Rian. I tried attending every single class last week. I pushed back my Rosewood fief work.”
Rian gritted his teeth. “You’ve done harder things.”
The temperature dropped around Ren Xiyang. “It’s a waste of time. A complete and utter waste of time and energy. Why should I do it if I don’t have to?”
“You—”
“So no, I’m not going to class tomorrow. If I need to know spell-writing, I’ll get a book and learn myself, or hire someone more knowledgeable.”
“At least take leave!”
Ren Xiyang inclined his head. “Alright, I’ll do that tomorrow.” Ren Xiyang strode past Rian towards his desk.
“Xiyang.”
“What.” Ren Xiyang didn’t look back until he sat down.
Rian stalked over. “As your prince, I could order you to go.”
Someone had asked for Ren Xiyang and Rian to have a [relationship] fight. Well, this unexpectedly happened haha…
website | tumblr | twitter | email newsletter
Uh-oh…
Hopefully they’re going to communicate and resolve it instead of going to a cold war and making Queen Mira happy?
Thank you for the chapter.
We’ll see what this evil author does muahahah
“Uh oh” is right 🫣 I’m surprised. Things are always smooth sailing with these two.
I had fun/ridiculous scenes planned for when Ren Xiyang would skip class, but Rian was less happy about it that I thought…
their first serious argument as a couple 😱 can’t wait to see how they’ll handle that
Yeah! Hopefully they’ll pull through and be stronger for it~
Oh, the first quarrel
I like it (・∀・)
After all, Rian and Ren have different characters,
I wonder how they will reconcile
Is it very fast or will it be difficult? <(￣︶￣)>
I’m waiting for the sequel
(｡•̀ᴗ-)✧
Fast or slow reconciliation? We can only wait and see 😏
It does feel organic…they are very different personalities, and the closer you are to someone, the more it’s gonna show. But I do feel sorry for the now completely “abandoned puppy” Rian
I’m glad it feels organic! Given that I didn’t even plan it, really. Originally, Rian was meant to be amused about Ren Xiyang skipping…but things took a turn. Poor Rian!
Omo omo theyre fighting…
Yeah 😎😎 not the fun kind of fighting, though…
Oh no
Rian cares about appearance
But Ayden cares about work efficiency and it is also true Ayden was signed up without his knowledge
Rip King Edric he was the last to knos
Yeah, both Rian and Ren Xiyang have different priorities.
RIP King Edric indeed 😆😆
okay… it seems Count Aegean’s coping mechanism isn’t working in the end… because he’s still losing hair 🤣🤣🤣
HAHAHAHA luckily there are healers (?)
I could order you?… This is a wrong statement prince Rian. I guess Ren would show you cannot just order him around.
And i think Ren would b a little more interested in academy if he could attend classes that interest him
Yeah, Ren Xiyang has had enough of people ordering him around during the apocalypse. Not to mention that Rian is meant to be his friend and lover!
And yeah, Ren Xiyang would be more interested if classes were more interesting…
Oh no… Rian, you don’t mean that…. Ah so uncomfortable. Now I can’t wait to read the next chapter. I wish I would have waited, now it’s still so long till the next release 😭
🤭🤭🤭🤭🤭🤭 nice to hear that you’re looking forward to the next chapter!
Oh, no, he didn’t. That almost sounded ultimatum-ey. Rian you may be physically older but you’re about to smack into the adult inside Ayden. This fight has been coming for awhile now… let’s see how it goes… 😤🙁👀
Very ultimatum-ey, Rian is really showing his raw princely edge…. 😆
???? Ren Xiyang, why are you not seeing the logic of Rian’s argument??? and Rian wtf, you should know better than to pull rank??? ….idk like, the initial actions didnt feel off (choosing to skip and being disappointed) but their reactions at the end here (refusing to consider the others’ argument and pulling rank) feel off to me
I see, I see, thank you for your comment!
I’d lash out wayyyy earlier. I’d be even more stressed than him. Like my anxiety would go through the roof, the teachers and classes that I don’t even need would just annoy the sh!t outta me.
You could call it flangst then 🤣🤣 Ren Xiyang and Rian have different priorities and pressures. They’re both, to be fair, overworked 😅😅😅 Thank you for reading!