As the noise in the classroom rose, Rian leaned into Ren Xiyang to speak. “I’ve spoken with Josephine and Neil.”
Ren Xiyang naturally glanced over to where Josephine White was located, as she was in class A too.
Josephine White met Ren Xiyang’s gaze and nodded back with a polite smile.
“All good, then?” Ren Xiyang asked.
“Indeed. It should take them a week or two to organise. Josephine will acquire a suitable room and gather interest among the students in class A, and Neil among the students in class B,” Rian said.
“Okay. Can you teach me the spells for today?”
Today’s spells were a water-making spell and a hover spell.
Ren Xiyang could ‘make’ water by pulling it out of the air directly. And maybe he learnt the hover spell before, but he had completely forgotten it; the spells he cast for the floating carriages were written charms, not spoken.
Rian sighed. “Very well, Ayden.” He repeated the spells, one by one, and corrected Ren Xiyang’s pronunciation until it was somehow correct enough to work.
By the time Ren Xiyang succeeded, the entire class chatting.
Some were talking about their weekend plans; others were walking about the team-duelling organisation that Ayden had told them to do; and others were talking with Josephine White about the tutoring scheme. Lady Ash was seated at the front, reading a book.
“I can’t teach.”
“Who said you’re smart enough?”
“I could ask my older sister.”
“You could be suitable to help in one subject, while receiving help in another.”
“By the Saintess, do you think we can ask Ayden to teach us how fly?”
“If you know direct magic manipulation, which you don’t.”
“Ugh, no fair!”
Ren Xiyang leaned into Rian. “Do you think Lady Ash would notice if we left first?”
Rian bumped him under the table. “Ayden, there’s only 40 minutes left.”
Ren Xiyang exhaled, suppressing his need to be productive. “Then what should we do? What are you doing this weekend?”
“For one, I’ll be looking after your field and greenhouse while you’re gone for the weekend,” Rian said. “Aside from that, I have several association meetings, and some preparatory meetings with Healers’ Association’s management…”
It took only 5 minutes for Rian and Ren Xiyang to share their weekend plans, which essentially amounted to “work”.
Ren Xiyang felt the urge to pull out his notebook.
Rian knew this. He glanced at the front where Lady Ash had written the two spells, and an idea sparked. “Ayden, why don’t we play a little game?”
Ren Xiyang looked at him. “Now?”
“I suspect it’ll be very difficult for you.”
“…What is it?”
Rian formed a small ice sword, no longer than his finger. He uttered the hover spell, and the tiny sword rose up. “We use the hover-spell only, and duel with little ice weapons. No one is allowed to move their weapon using direct magic manipulation.”
Ren Xiyang narrowed his eyes.
Not long later, there was a ring of students around them, all watching avidly as Rian’s tiny sword moved smoothly through the air and broke yet another one of Ren Xiyang’s tiny ice polearms. The fragments of ice bounced harmless off the dome shield around the ‘duelling arena’, i.e., the table.
Ren Xiyang just couldn’t control the tiny weapon properly with the annoying spell!! It just wasn’t natural for him!
He huffed and leaned back. “You win again, Your Highness.”
“Good game,” Rian said with a grin.
Ren Xiyang stood up and looked at the gathered students. “Who wants to take my seat and try duelling against His Highness?”
There was a brief silence, and then—
“Me, please!”
“I’d like to try!”
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.
“Ayden, me!”
“Tbe’gf olgra, rfmbcv, jcv atlgv,” Efc Wlsjcu rjlv. “Kjxf atf rfja. P mjc wjxf jcs lmf kfjqbc obg sbe.”
“Ktjcx sbe, Csvfc!”
Ycf-bc-bcf ‘wlcl-vefir’ klat Eljc fnfcaejiis aegcfv ab akb-bc-bcf. Tfa, Eljc ralii kbc fnfgs alwf.
Efc Wlsjcu rabbv yjmx jcv kjamtfv. Qlatbea gfjilrlcu la, alwf rilqqfv jkjs. Ktf raevfcar ktb tjv yffc atlcxlcu jybea atf kffxfcv kfgf cbk fcugbrrfv lc atf yjaaifr.
When Lady Ash announced the end of the class, the students felt more disappointment than freedom.
Rian defeated his final opponents, and Ren Xiyang dropped the shield.
“Your Highness, can we do this again?” someone asked.
“This was meant to practice your skill at the hover-spell,” Rian said. “Perhaps a different game would be suitable for the next spells we need to practice.”
Some students nodded, but others weren’t placated.
“If you go home and practice it with a real weapon, then perhaps that could be used during a full-scale duel,” Rian said.
Seeing the thoughtful and excited looks, Rian mentally praised himself: ah yes, I have inspired them again.
As Rian and Ren Xiyang walked out of the classroom together, Rian glanced at Ren Xiyang.
Ren Xiyang looked back at him. “Good idea, Your Highness.”
Rian tilted his chin up. “Why, thank you.”
And so, the second week of classes was over.
On Saturday, Ren Xiyang returned to the Rosewood estate.
The new staff accommodation building was completed, with only final external landscaping left. This meant that staff could start moving their families in. Throughout the day, several carts could be seen coming onto the estate, laden with large items.
Across the fief, some farmers had already started harvesting. Ren Xiyang helped with the magical processing and storage of the crops.
While he was off working, there was a little gathering of staff in the Rosewood manor kitchens.
Mrs Cooks made sure everyone had a snack before turning to Kel and Maria to ‘open’ the meeting.
“It’s true,” Maria said. “Earl Rosewood has been skipping classes. This week, he only attended the first class on Monday and the last class on Friday.”
“Is there something wrong with that academy?” Mrs Cooks asked, looking like she was ready to roll up her sleeves.
“Technically, Earl Rosewood had said that there was nothing wrong,” Kel said.
“I recall that Earl Rosewood wanted the Rosewood teachers to have some training to improve their teaching, so there is clearly something wrong,” Aaron said.
Someone cleared their throat. “However, I’m grateful that Earl Rosewood was able have a meeting with us during the week. The problem would have gotten worse if we left it until the weekend.”
Mrs Cooks frowned. “What can we do?”
“Kel, Charles, and I researched some past mages,” Maria said. “Withdrawing is an option for Earl Rosewood, so perhaps he’ll do that.”
“But then why would he start attending class again?” Kel said. “Earl Rosewood is a very resolute boy.”
“Isn’t Earl Rosewood very strong?” someone said.
There was a round of agreement.
“—Then, couldn’t he simply duel the Dean and take over the academy?”
There was stunned silence.
“…Technically, yes,” Aaron said, conflicted.
There was an old ‘right-by-might’ law that was never overturned, which allowed duelling challenges and take-over by victory.
“Imagine!”
“No, no, but the dean could nominate a proxy! What if someone like His Majesty steps in?”
“But, respectfully speaking, His Majesty wouldn’t do that, surely?!”
“Suppose Earl Rosewood duelled the dean or whoever and won. What would happen next?”
“…Earl Rosewood would have even more work?”
“…”
“Oh dear, ideally, I want him to work less,” Mrs Cooks said.
“Sigh, then we can’t incite a duel…”
“Then what can we do?”
The staff wracked their brains and threw up other outrageous ideas. But in the end, they were only Rosewood staff. They couldn’t influence the high-ranking nobles of the Imperial Magical Academy. They could only support their lord where they could.
“Alright, we all have to work harder, hire more people if necessary, and make our Lord’s life easier,” Mrs Cooks decided.
Everyone nodded as one. “Yes!”
Meanwhile, Rian had asked to meet with his Imperial Mother, on the matter of the Imperial Palace gardens.
“What is it?” Queen Mira asked, suspicious.
“Would it be possible to take out parts of the pavement so that trees could be planted?” Rian asked.
Queen Mira’s immediate internal reaction was NO. “And what led to this idea?”
“More trees would make those parts of the Palace more beautiful, introducing nature and colour to the otherwise mostly white courtyard. They would also provide shade in the summer,” Rian said. He pulled out a painting. “Here is an artist’s impression.”
Queen Mira’s lips thinned. In the painting, the trees were planted in rows, with the buildings of the Imperial Palace rising overhead. The trees also served to lead the eye to the focal point, the Imperial Palace. It felt odd. But the more she looked, the more appealing it became.
However, she still suspected that Rian was somehow going to slip in vegetables.
“Do you have a proper plan, Rian?”
Rian smiled, knowing that the first obstacle was scaled successfully. “I’ll prepare the plans and schematics right away, Imperial Mother. One other matter.”
“Yes?”
“How is the progress of the new marriage laws? I’ve also been working on the idea of conducting a kingdom-wide census, just like the one in the Rosewood fief. I believe it could help with future long-term planning.”
“I will make my edits and send them back to you to fix in due time,” Queen Mira said. “And a census? There are over a thousand fiefs. The Royal Healers’ Association hasn’t even reached every fief yet.”
“The Association is a standalone association. New legislation asking all fief-owners to conduct a census following imperial protocol is different,” Rian said.
“When your proposal comes to my desk, I will critique it as a matter of course,” Queen Mira said.
Rian smiled. “Thank you, Imperial Mother. Love you!”
With that, Rian walked off with a bounce in his step.
Queen Mira huffed. Did he think a little ‘love you’ would soften her?
Because Ren Xiyang didn’t plan to attend Monday’s classes, he remained in the Rosewood fief on Sunday.
Part way through the day, he received a message from Rian via his secret mirror.
Rian: CALL ME NOW!
Ren Xiyang obliged. “Yes?”
Rian had a serious expression. “I suspect I know who that ‘something-Rose’ is. There is one older woman with the surname ‘Rose’ who could be vaguely said to work at the academy and the university as a gardener. Her name is Anya Rose née Palatinate. She’s the dean’s older sister.”
Ren Xiyang: “Eh?”
Rian nodded. “Indeed. She’s not a plant mage by speciality. She’s a psychic mage like the rest of the Palatinates, though she applies it to healing. She married Lord Demarcus Rose, a light-healer mage. These days, however, Lady Anya Rose doesn’t work as a healer. She’s currently a researcher at the university, and she has a hobby in gardening—usually magical medical herbs, though. She recently went on a three year trip looking for rare herbs.”
“Okay…Does that mean she’s technically part of the plant-research group at the university?”
Rian shook his head. “Affiliated. She’s technically in the medical department.”
“Hmm.”
“As for why she approached you, it’s still unclear,” Rian said. “I’ll update you if I find more information.”
“Okay. Thanks, Rian.” Ren Xiyang tilted his head. “This doesn’t sound urgent, you could have told me later.”
Rian didn’t look embarrassed at all. “Oh? I also simply wanted to see you.”
Ren Xiyang’s heart jolted, and he remembered that he wanted to prepare a gift for Rian. “I missed you too.”
Rian sighed in a lovelorn manner.
Ren Xiyang’s conscience prickled. “Maybe we should develop high-speed travel.”
Rian shook his head. “It’s not high enough on the priority list.”
“Hm…”
Ren Xiyang sat quietly and let Rian look at him for as much as he wanted before they both had to go back to work.
Dean Friduric Palatinate was having a normal, calm day until he was told that his sister was at the door.
He reluctantly came downstairs to greet her. “A little early for dinner, aren’t you?”
Anya Rose née Palatinate pushed him. “You’d be happy that I won’t mention these matters over the dinner table. To your office.”
Friduric Palatinate had a grumpy expression. His older sister was always bossy to him like this. He walked faster, so that Anya wouldn’t push him more.
The servants in the household pretended not to see their master being pushed around. They quietly prepared tea for the two and slipped away.
“What is it?” Friduric asked.
“I heard you’re having problems with one of your students,” Anya said. She sipped her tea. “Oh, you took out the nice tea for me.”
Friduric bit back the response of—he didn’t bring out the nice tea, the servants did! “What student are you talking about?”
Anya laughed. “Isn’t there only one? Ayden Rosewood.”
Friduric had an echo of a headache. “When did you hear about this?”
“I shouldn’t reveal my sources,” Anya said. “Certain teachers have been vocal about how classes have been disrupted, and it didn’t take long for me to hear the name of the student in question. Last I had heard about Ayden Rosewood, he was taking the prince out farming and made dear Leopold Aegean lose a few more hairs. He’s come a long way while I was gone, and yet, he’s still taking the prince out farming.” Anya laughed to herself. “Oh, boys.”
Friduric: “…” A part of him wished his older sister would take another three-year trip to search for some rare plant far away from Sedaveria.
“Simply not attending is a lot less disruptive than being uncooperative during class, surely,” Anya said.
“I’m the dean, not you,” Friduric said. “If Earl Rosewood keeps up his ‘new’ schedule, he would fail the minimum attendance requirements and by default, fail the year.”
In the long history of the academy, there have been all sorts of students. Earl Rosewood wasn’t the first student to skip classes. As such the academy administration back then introduced a bare-minimum attendance requirement. That was later amended so that leaves-of-absence were still counted as absence as far as minimum-attendance was concerned. If a student didn’t attend at least 75% of classes, what was the point of even enrolling at the academy?
“Is that so? Ayden seemed like a nice, smart boy, albeit a little stubborn. He’s not at all destructive. I’m surprised he hasn’t withdrawn and come to the university!”
Friduric huffed. “Anya, are you on my side or his? And wait—did you meet him?”
Thank you Trin for the name “Demarcus”
Thank you to hatcubed for the suggestion of duelling the dean and taking over the academy 🤣🤣🤣🤣
I mean…it’s not a bad idea…
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take over by force! révolution! 🤣🤣🤣
Yes!!!!
She’s still sus.
Hopefully Rian will find more ways to make practical lessons entertaining! And do something about that attendance percentage.
Thank you for the update.
Hehehe, Anya does have her own agenda~
Rian is super great and entertaining~ Thank you for reading!
The tiny duels in the classroom sound like fun.
Older Sister sounds like she will disrupt things.
Super fun, right?!! I’m so happy I wrote that in!
Anya is here to be domineering 🤣🤣🤣
When I was in school, my friend and I used to ‘duel’ with our rulers during class. In one case we both accidentally hit the teacher and our rulers were confiscated. This chapter brings back fond memories.
omg, duelling with rulers!!! So nostalgic!!! Haha, thank you for reading!
omg their little duel with tiny weapons reminds me of those tiny skateboards or hotwheels XD
!!!!!!! so cute!!! 🤣🤣🤣
Sounds like Anya doesn’t like how the school is run either
Interesting that you would perceive that 👀👀
i lost it at the thought of dueling for the academy akxhskdjs brilliant! tho more work is a No Go
hehehe hatcubed had such a great idea!! I mean, I seriously considered duelling for the academy, it would solve SO many of my problems (while making new ones, like more work hahah)