Chapter 77
A boy was writhing on the cold ground. The brilliant gleam of his silver armor had somewhat tarnished after being dented all over.
The luxurious red feathers on his helmet were ragged and tattered. The boy looked like a defeated chicken after a cockfight.
Joshua coldly looked at the suffering boy and said, "Take that thing away."
"You…!" Gehog rushed to Veron writhing on the ground.
"Help me here!" Gehog exclaimed at Natasha.
"Ah, yes!" Natasha snapped back to reality and rushed up to Gehog's side to help support Veron.
Gehog supporting Veron looked at Joshua and said, "The official heir of Duke Agnus has always been Babel von Agnus, it won't change no matter what you do! No matter how talented you are, you're nothing without extraordinary achievements!"
"..."
"Things worked out well for you today, but you will undoubtedly regret this someday."
At Gehog’s words, Joshua chuckled. "Yeah, I’m looking forward to that day.”
"Damn it." Gehog cursed but could do nothing other than walk away. Natasha, Veron, and Gehog had always carried themselves with confidence and pride, but now, they looked like they would fall to the floor with a gentle breeze.
When the three disappeared from the vacant lot, Agareth stared at Joshua with a look of disbelief and muttered, "W-Who are you again?"
"Like you, everyone has a secret they would like to keep to themselves."
"Well, that’s—you're right." Agareth swallowed his words.
Joshua approached the injured Icarus and asked, "Are you all right?"
"I'm fine."
"You don't seem surprised. Your reaction is so different from Agareth."
"As far as it goes, I was expecting it."
Joshua's brow furrowed in response to Icarus's response.
"From the beginning, I thought it was very unusual. Why did the son of a fallen nobleman take the risk to enroll at the Avalon Imperial Academy? A member of a fallen nobleman doesn’t really have any reason to submit under the Imperial Family’s scrutiny. After all, they won’t really gain anything from doing that."
"..."
"You can come here to try and rebuild your family, but such a method isn’t really reliable. In addition, can you really stomach living in luxury here while your family is suffering?"
Icarus' words brought a warm grin to Joshua's lips.
"Maybe I came here to make connections and form a circle, similar to Araksha?"
At that, Icarus replied, “No, the children in this place despise nobles who have fallen from their pedestals. It doesn’t make sense for me to form a rapport with them. I mean, just look at me.”
"..."
Icarus’ eyes widened for a moment before he said, "The dots are clearly connected. I'm not sure if you know, but out of the pool of cadets, the Young Master is the only one that came from a fallen family. If we try to look before that, nine out of ten high-ranking people hid their identities."
"I never thought of that…" Joshua muttered.
"Young Master is underestimating the capability of some cadets. Other than me, some people already know Young Master’s identity, or could sense something."
Icarus recalled the brown-haired girl.
'I knew it…'?Joshua muttered to himself with a grin.
Icarus was already aware of his true identity, but he was still speaking in a direct and straightforward manner.
Shouldn't this kind of bravery be expected of a first-class soldier?
'That's why he considered fighting against a million troops with only ten thousand men.'
Joshua stared into Icarus' eyes as he recalled his distant memories.
Icarus’ blue eyes had never lost their charm, and they always overflowed with bravery and guts. He had sustained many severe injuries back then, but those eyes never lost their glow.
Joshua suddenly had the urge to tell Icarus that his eyes were lovely, like a rare gem.
"Why are you staring at me like that?"
Joshua responded after noticing Icarus blushing face.
"You have such lovely eyes."
"Ah?!" Icarus was baffled at first, but he quickly started blushing.
"By the way, are you going to keep calling me Young Master?" asked Joshua.
"Yes?"
"Was I the only one who thought we were friends?"
"...!"
Icarus and Agares both opened their eyes wide at the same time.
"It's not funny to be called Young Master when we’re friends."
"..."
At Joshua’s words, Agareth and Icarus stared alternatingly between themselves and the former.
***
Principality of Thran.
The princedom of Thran was ruled by a prince rather than a king, and it was a part of the Swallow Empire’s power. However, Thran was a self-sufficient state. They could fend for themselves without the help of the Swallow Empire, but the people of the continent disagreed.
Since Thran had always been associated with the Swallow Empire, everyone had always viewed it as a vassal state of the latter. As such, the Prince of Thran worked hard for decades to prove that Thran could thrive on its own.
The Prince of Thran worked hard to create the Principality of Thran as its own independent state rather than the Swallow Empire’s vassal. As such, the Swallow Empire considered the Prince of Thran—Prince Anthony as a troublemaker.
Prince Anthony’s charm and charisma, which captivated the hearts of neighboring countries, earned him the title ‘Eloquent Sorcerer’.
Prince Anthony’s plans for Thran’s true independence started when the Swallow Empire finally couldn't stop the people from loving the charming Prince Anthony anymore.
However, heaven didn’t always stand on Thran’s side. The Principality of Thran soon encountered a major challenge. Prince Anthony, who had become an icon for change, suddenly fell ill.
~
After being bedridden for a long time, the prince on a bed large enough for ten full-grown adults had become nothing but an ailing old man.
Several people sat around the old man with solemn expressions. They weren’t even sure whether the old man was dead or alive.
Even as he slept, the old man’s subjects carefully observed him for changes.
The old man was none other than the Prince of Thran, Anthony de Val Agretta III.
"When will His Highness’ pain be alleviated? Can’t you do something about it?" A seemingly well-mannered middle-aged man asked. His eyes flashed in a crimson hue that seemed to be moving along with his gaze as he shifted his eyes away.
“My apologies, but we cannot do anything other than prepare ourselves for the inevitable. His Highness has already surpassed seventy. It’s already a miracle that he has lived for so long despite the absence of mana.
"Father… hic, hic, hic…"
.
A young woman broke down and cried in response to the words of Prince Anthony’s attending physician.
The seemingly well-mannered middle-aged man bit his lips and turned toward the middle-aged priest.
"How could there be no way, Priest? If necessary, I'll go and fetch even a dragon’s heart right now—"
Prince Anthony’s attending physician, a middle-aged priest, interrupted with a shake of his head.
At that, the middle-aged man could only trudge toward the bed in desperation.
"Your Highness…"
However, a voice echoed just then.
"Ula...bis."
"...!"
The desperate man with his head bowed looked up the moment he heard Prince Anthony’s hoarse voice.
"Yes, yes! Your Highness. Ulabis is here!"
In response, Prince Anthony opened his eyes and muttered, "Come closer…"
The middle-aged man rushed over to Prince Anthony’s side when the latter weakly beckoned for him.
"I’m sorry… There’s a lot I have to do, but I feel so weak… I just want… to rest."
Prince Anthony held the middle-aged man’s hand, and they both wept. The middle-aged man shook his head in an effort to maintain a straight face.
“My daughter, Thran… I don’t know know what to do, but this old man… has a dying wish. I want you… to take care of her.”
"..."
With a face full of pain, the middle-aged man bit his lips and nodded.
"Thran… my dear Thran… I'm giving it to you."
"You mean… me, Your Highness?"
The middle-aged man's eyes widened. However, Prince Anthony’s head drooped rather than responding to the middle-aged man’s words.
"Your Highness!"
Soon after, the desperate cry of a man echoed throughout the palace.
The afternoon of that day was filled with dark clouds as the saint revered by everyone for his dedication to maintaining Thran’s independence passed away.
721st year of the Igrant Continent’s calendar. The ruler of the Principality of Thran, Prince Anthony de Val Agretta III passed away at the age of 78.
***
'I have to get ready to leave this place as soon as possible.'
Joshua looked back and saw the academy building standing tall.
'I didn’t expect I'll be leaving this early...'
Joshua chuckled after a while.
'I'm sure he'll be surprised.’
Joshua imagined Cain's confused look, and he couldn’t help but burst out into laughter.
Joshua abruptly turned around and started walking again.
There was no need to wait too long as he had already made up his mind. In addition, he had already accomplished all of his objectives here.
'Pack my stuff and say my goodbyes, then I'll go straight to the Imperial Palace.'
It became obvious after what had transpired with Amaru the day before.
The reality was that dealing with a large group of skilled people was far more beneficial to recovering his strength than simply reflecting on the past. After all, who could have guessed that Joshua would achieve far more in this life than in his previous one?
'Above all, there are some hidden treasures I have to find within the Imperial Palace.'
Joshua walked for quite a while before coming to a halt. It turned out that he had unknowingly arrived at his destination after minutes of walking in a daze.
On the outskirts of Arcadia, Joshua had his own training facility.
He had been setting it aside because he didn't have the time, but he couldn't ignore it anymore. His enlightenment of the sixth level were the results of some completely unexpected events. Joshua planned to spend some time to digest that knowledge.
'I have no idea how far I can go with a body that has just reached the third level of Magic Spear Arts.'
Joshua swung open the door in front of him.
"..."
Joshua seemed confused at the sight of an unknown individual lying on the sofa.
'Is it Cain? No.'
Joshua took a step back and warily looked around.
This was the first time Joshua felt nervous since he regressed.
Alarms were constantly ringing in Joshua's head as he looked at the bedraggled man lying on the sofa.
The man was radiating a colossal presence that intimidated him even before he could get too close.
'He’s strong.'
Joshua gulped as his apprehension reached its peak.
"Ah! You're finally here!"
"..."
"I've been looking forward to seeing you…"
However, the bedraggled man with a lazy-sounding voice slowly stood up and smiled as if he was pleased with himself.
"Ah, I'm so glad to meet you," stated the bedraggled man as he stared at Joshua. He stretched his limbs and grinned like a maniac before saying, “Joshua von Agnus.”
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