Chapter 131: Chapter 125: The Speech
The boys freshened up and went to meet Katherine. Alexi was away on company business—one of their competitors had been poking around where they shouldn’t have. Meanwhile, Leonel was still preoccupied with the mysterious gift Zeke had given him, completely absorbed in whatever secrets it held.
Katherine was not pleased. In fact, she looked ready to strangle someone.
The moment she learned what the boys had pulled, her expression darkened into a death stare. Then, in a voice that could have cracked glass, she yelled, "You did what in front of the Four Emperors?! Are you out of your minds?!"
Zeke, who had been expecting some backlash, still flinched. Cass, standing beside him, said nothing. He didn’t need to—his body language made it clear that he had nothing to do with this. His stance, the way he avoided eye contact, and the slight tilt of his head toward Zeke all screamed: This wasn’t my idea.
Zeke shot him a glare and mouthed, "Coward."
Then, looking back at Katherine, he replied, "It was a calculated risk. Something that needed to be done. Besides, Uncle Dean knew about it and gave us the green light."
Katherine’s eyes narrowed dangerously. "Is that right? Supreme Commander?"
Dean, who had been sipping his drink calmly up until now, paused mid-sip. He felt a cold shiver run down his spine.
’Of course’, he thought bitterly, ’the little devil shifted the blame onto me. I should have seen this coming.’
Sighing, he set his drink down and straightened up. "Katherine, you know I would never put the boys at risk," he said, his voice measured. "The Four Emperors are good friends of mine. I had already informed them of the situation beforehand. Hell, Ramses has actually become a fan of Zeke’s tactics. So you have nothing to worry about."
Katherine crossed her arms. "And what about the Northern Emperor? He could have crushed Zeke without a second thought."
Dean nodded. "Bjorn is a true believer in the warrior’s code. He would never dishonor himself by persecuting Zeke—especially since Zeke is Erik’s peer. Even if Zeke had killed Erik there, Bjorn would have seen it as an honorable duel rather than something worth retaliation."
Katherine’s frown deepened. "And that’s supposed to reassure me?"
"It is," Dean said firmly. "Have some trust in your Supreme Commander. The boys are family. If someone even thinks of laying a hand on them, I will personally ensure their demise."
It took another hour of reassurances, strategic backtracking, and a well-prepared meal to finally calm Katherine down. Even then, she still looked like she wanted to throw something at Zeke’s head, but she let it go—for now.
Later, the boys retreated to Zeke’s room to discuss their next move. Cass immediately crashed onto the bed, groaning. "Is it just me, or was that even more exhausting than the damn exam?"
Zeke, leaning against the desk, smirked. "Trust me, I would rather face an entire horde of spoiled brats than an angry Aunt Kat any day."
Cass raised a hand in agreement. "Amen to that."
Zeke rolled his shoulders and straightened up. "Alright, enough dallying. We need to decide our next course of action."
Cass sat up slightly. "Well, you’re the one who needs to choose members for your squad, Mr. First Place."
Zeke grinned. "Obviously, I’m picking the four spoiled idiots. That already gives me four Private First Class soldiers. Now, I just need to choose two Privates."
Cass blinked. "Wait—you’re not choosing me?"
Zeke shook his head. "Nope. You’ve already built a foundation after thirteen years of me rubbing off on you. Now, you need independence. We can’t always be together." He paused before adding, "Besides, we’re both leaders, and a mountain can’t have two tigers."
Cass raised an eyebrow. "I’ll ignore the bragging, but you do have a point. But what about her? You sure you don’t want to choose her?"
Zeke’s expression darkened slightly, his usual smirk vanishing. He exhaled slowly before saying, "Fuck no. I’m pretty sure I already creeped her out with the shit I pulled during the exam. I’ll give her space. I have to."
Cass was silent as Zeke continued, "She’s not the woman I fell in love with. While they may look the same, sound the same, even feel the same... the truth is, they are two completely different people. I can’t force my feelings onto her just because I was in love with a possible future version of her."
For a moment, Cass just stared. Then he muttered, "Wow, Zeke. That’s unexpectedly mature of you."
Zeke scowled. "Fuck off, man. I was having a moment."
And just like that, the moment was gone. The boys immediately devolved into their usual bickering.
Two Weeks Later
Time flew by, and soon, it was reporting day at the Academy. The boys had already packed their belongings into their space rings, and Dean had been kind enough to personally drop them off.
The orientation was held in the main hall, where hundreds of cadets gathered. The atmosphere was a mix of excitement and nerves. Eventually, the Dean, Nico, stepped onto the podium.
He delivered a speech—one filled with standard motivational rhetoric, pride in the Academy’s history, and promises of shaping them into warriors. But at the end, he surprised everyone by saying:
"I now invite Ezekiel Ashbourne, a cadet who has etched his name into Academy history by becoming only the second person to achieve first place in both the theoretical and practical entrance exams."
Whispers spread throughout the hall as Zeke made his way up to the podium.
Taking the microphone, he looked over the crowd. "I thank the respected Dean for his kind words. It’s an honor to stand before you all today."
Cass, in the audience, muttered under his breath, "Uh oh."
Zeke continued, "I know everyone is eager to explore the Academy, so I’ll keep this short."
A few cadets sighed in relief.
"As a reward for achieving first place, I was awarded the rank of Specialist. Now, I’m not telling you this to brag but to offer you an opportunity."
