Kai doesn't wait for me to grab my cloak.

He's already out the door of the restaurant and into the rain. I nod at the owner—I'll deal with the bill eventually—and follow. Ytrial's courtyards are busy. Families everywhere.

Yet, the most interesting thing is that despite the bustling flows and crowds, there's a strong undercurrent of respect. Right now, it's only the minor nobles that are populating Ytrial—the higher ones are taking their meetings on the Iskarand they own surrounding the Academy—and you'd expect such puny nobles to act all uppity in the absence of the big dogs.

But there's one reason, or rather one man, that leads everyone to be on their best behavior.

"Two Champions," a man with golden frames on his nose says as we make our way through the East Garden and toward one of the guest villas. "The Valemont delegation must have arrived. I'll come say hi later. Has your great-great-great-great-grandpa, by any chance, come, Kai Valemont?"

Who the hell is that? I think to myself. How many 'greats' can you string together? How old is this person, even?!

"No, Headmaster," my brother replies, not stopping and hurrying his footsteps. "He said he's not feeling too well."

"What a pity! Tell him it's been way too long since our last meeting!"

Kai almost manhandles me out of the Headmaster's way as we make our way through some rose gardens.

"Who was the Headmaster talking about?" I ask as we're out of earshot—for a normal person. I suspect the Headmaster is very well able to listen to pretty much anybody in the Academy. At once, perhaps.

"There are…" Kai takes a deep breath, trying to calm himself. "Every family has old warriors that mostly keep to themselves and act like protectors of the bloodline and dynasty. Our four-times great-grandpa was briefly a Vice-Principal before trying to change the Academy into a noble-based system."

"Oh," I say.

Even though I have not spent long at Ytrial, the personal politics of the Headmaster when it comes to nobles are pretty clear: he doesn't care about your blood.

"I can't imagine that went down well with the Headmaster."

Kai shakes his head.

"Much worse than you can imagine. We were almost banished from the Academy altogether. And our great-great—"

"Just call him 'grandpa,' I beg you."

"Our grandpa," Kai sighs, "the Headmaster broke every bone in his body when he found out about what he defined as an attempted coup. Since then, our grandpa has been very private. He still goes out on Quests for the Academy—very high-level ones—but he tries his hardest not to come here. The Headmaster will mention what he tried to do and the beating grandpa took for it every single time."

"The Headmaster strikes me as an extremely petty person," I say with a frown.

"Pettiness," I hear a voice very close to my ear, "is not the word I'd use.

Both Kai and I jump and turn to face the Headmaster.

"Some people never change their minds. Your grandpa is one of them. He has not changed his mind to this day, I can guarantee you that. If it were up to him, like many others, he'd change Ytrial to become a tool of his family. I've not killed him because he promised to take many Quests."

"So, he doesn't change his mind but still follows his duty toward the Academy," I say. "Why the pettiness, then?"

"He did conspire to kill me," the Headmaster says. "I think that pettiness and honest work, Jacob Cloud, is a fairly reasonable price to pay, no?"

I open my mouth and then I close it.

"Your family, the noble side," the Headmaster continues, "is powerful. They've had many Champions. But they've had very few who have thoroughly dedicated themselves to the Academy—or, let's say, fighting the evils of this world. I hope you two will be different."

With that said, the Headmaster disappears once again.

He can really listen to pretty much everything in the Academy, can't he? I ask myself silently.

He can, Jacob Cloud, King Baalrek replies. Be very mindful of what you say about the Headmaster. What your brother said was an understatement. Your relative must be incredibly strong AND useful if the Headmaster did not torture him for a century and burn his soul after he attempted a coup.

* * *

"You should be careful," Kai says. "There are more guests with us. Our cousins and their father, a powerful Duke."

"What about them?" I turn and I raise an eyebrow. "And why would they bother me?"

"Because you're…" Kai, my massive brother, older by just a year, stumbles on his word. "Huh…"

"The weakest?" I say, raising an eyebrow.

"Sorry."

"Don't apologize. You've done nothing wrong. It's just… surprising. Do nobles turn everything into political leverage?"

The author's narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

Kai scratches his chin and starts thinking.

"It was a rhetorical question," I say, shrugging. "Just… whatever. We're almost there, right? Can I ask you something?"

"Sure," Kai replies.

"What kind of person is… our…?"

"Mom?" Kai says.

I nod.

"Mother is not the kind of person you imagine her to be," Kai replies as we arrive in front of a large villa adorned with white marble all over.

"What do you mean by that?" I ask, confused.

And even though I'm asking, I fear the response.

I fear that the person who abandoned me is precisely the kind of person I imagine her to be. In a way, I'm almost sure that she is. How, otherwise, she'd abandon a son so far away? Why would she wash her conscience away with futile letters all the time when she never made an effort to come and see me?

I know what my Kai and Thorne, my older brothers, have told me, but I still don't believe it.

I don't expect anything but a woman who's just like any other noble.

Because that's what she is in the end—a noble.

My father is an eccentric miner who somehow managed to get a Princess pregnant. But my mom?

I can picture her magnificent dresses and the eloquent stares she'll send my way when she sees just how plain I look compared to my brothers.

Kai pushes open a set of massive double doors.

We enter to find a few servants cleaning around and a massive set of white marble stairs covered at the center by a blue carpet with golden edges—the Valemont's colors.

"So," I say, feeling a weight settle on my chest. "Where's—"

"Jacob!" I swivel my head toward the top of the stairs, where I see a stunningly beautiful woman wearing shining armor and laughing as she jumps from the very top, right in front of us.

With a snap of her fingers, the armor disappears, leaving only scaled leather clothes underneath. And although the radiant color of the scales is nothing to scoff at in terms of style, this is definitely not a typical noble's attire.

The woman walks right up to the front of me, and she looks like she's clearly about to hug me when her deep blue eyes stop on mine. Now, her expression becomes more complicated. She looks afraid to touch me.

"Jacob," she repeats, echoing the shout she made before. This time, it's softer—almost a whisper.

I tilt my head in disbelief.

"M—mom?"

She scrunches her face up, and I see her lips trembling, nodding. Half-nodding, as if her neck just stopped working.

"Jacob, I'm so, so sorry."

"Why?" I ask, but I already know the answer.

"Mother," I hear a male's voice, and I turn to see Thorne and his ginormous white tiger entering from a side room. "The Royal Duke is—"

"Here," I hear a deep voice, and see a man walking right behind Thorne. Three young men follow behind him. Two look to be first-year students, one of whom has very long hair and the other with a cropped cut—but they look identical… twins, if I had to guess. The third, instead, looks older.

I see my mother regaining her countenance and turning toward the trio.

The duke has an overall neutral expression—he looks at me, of course, but then he transitions to Kai right after, and I see the smallest of twitches on his face.

I'm not a threat to him. But he thinks Kai is.

That's not surprising.

Kai's a full-blown Champion who passed the Champion's Trial thanks to his sheer strength. The Headmaster does not publicize the results of the Special Quests that Champions get assigned to. In fact, it seems that he doesn't want achievements to go to our heads. In this case, though, he also managed to shield our reputations. We made such a grave mistake that killed so many. I'm not sure how people would react if it were common knowledge.

"What a pleasure, nephew," Duke Dorian says, slowly walking up to Kai, who stands taller than him by a few inches. "You already look stronger than at our last meeting."

"It's my pleasure, uncle," Kai says sincerely.

Kai knows that he's gunning to replace his mother's bloodline, and he greets him like that?

Then, Duke Dorian turns toward me.

"Priscilla, this must be Jacob."

Even though Duke Dorian is looking straight at me, he doesn't address me directly.

"Yeah, nice to meet you," I say, extending a hand.

The man surprises me when he takes it without blinking and gives it a firm shake.

"The tenth Champion. You triggered one of the most important Karmic events in the world. I imagine you must feel the weight of the expectations everyone has for you. Especially given your situation."

"He doesn't, really," Kai says. "Uncle, Jacob was unanimously nominated as the Guide for our first Special Quest. He's more capable than people give him credit for."

"Is he?" Duke Dorian gets a weird shine in his eyes that I cannot decipher. I have no idea what he's currently thinking.

"He's just the Fake Champion," one of the two identical brothers says, the one with long, luscious hair. "He's a weakling who got lucky."

Duke Dorian raises an eyebrow when he hears one of the twins speak, but he doesn't say anything to reprimand him.

My mother narrows her eyes, but she, too, says nothing.

Seeing my nonexistent reaction, the twin frowns.

"Jacob Cloud. What a joke. At least he doesn't sully the Valemont's name."

"The difference between me and you," I say with a smile, "is that you know my name. Instead, I have never heard of you."

"Marcel Valemont," the twin says with a disgusted expression. "Maybe you didn't know it, but I can assure you that you'll never forget it after today."

"Why, are you about to shit your pants or something?"

"Jacob," Kai hisses and elbows me.

Marcel Valemont purses his lips and says, "You winning the Champion's Trial was a fluke. If you really are who you purport to be, let's make a bet."

"Oh, a bet?" I say, trying not to look too excited.

I love where this is going.

"And what would the bet be?" I ask.

Mana gathers on Marcel's hand, and a thick shield appears in front of him.

"I bet you can't break my shield. And if you don't, I want you to admit you're a fake."

I look at the shield, and I almost lick my lips.

"Mh-mh," I say. "How about if I win, you shit your pants."

"Excuse me?!" Marcel shouts. "If you offend me like that again, there'll be consequences!"

"Jacob," my mother, Priscilla Valemont, says, "that is an offense. In Royal circles, it can trigger a duel to the death."

"Oh," I frown.

Killing a cousin on the first day is not going to leave a great impression.

"Ok, how about this, then. If I win, I get to pick your haircut. I'll shave you personally. I used to do it for people all the time back at the mines. I've actually got a mean razor-hand."

"Deal," Marcel says, not even blinking.

Grimoire, I say mentally.

Several red spots appear on the shield, and I just walk to it, summon some Mana on my finger, and jam it into a very precise spot.

The Mana immediately disrupts the shield, which collapses in front of the small but very much stunned crowd.

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