The limousine arrived at destination and Francis finished telling the little he knew about my brother's last endeavor.
"I see…" I nodded, staying still for a mont before getting out of the car.
"Milord…if Lady Alea learns that I talked about that to you…" Francis looked at with a conflicted expression.
"Don't worry, I won't tell mom anything," I waved my hand.
"It's not that, Milord…" But Francis shook his head. "If I may…I would advise you to not seek and involve yourself more in what had happened to you, your father and your brother…except you, they all unfortunately died and it's very dangerous-"
"You said it," I cut him off.
"Hm?"
"You said it, right?" I smiled. "'Except ', right?"
"..." Francis opened his mouth but was unable to say anything.
"I'm not father or brother and while I love them and understand them…" I erased my smile. "I won't be as lenient as them concerning all of that."
….
….
Despite my determination to proceed cautiously and thodically, the prospect of danger to my family sent shivers down my spine. The re thought that they could be targeted was sickening to the core.
At the sa ti, I had to keep an eye on the unfolding events of the Second Ga.
Lost in these thoughts, I found myself standing before the entrance to the Trinity Eden Academy's campus. This prestigious institution was situated at the heart of the Human Realm, in the neutral City of Central Vedelia and was renowned throughout Sancta Vedelia.
A grand avenue lined with trees of varying colors and sizes led up to the campus. Even though it wasn't the first day of school, there were still a few dozen students ambling along, engaged in animated conversations.
As I set foot on the path, a tingling sensation enveloped my body, as if I was being scanned by an invisible force. Most likely, it was a security asure put in place by the academy—a rather effective one, it seed.
"Hey! Look at him!"
"He's incredibly handso..."
"Absolutely my type!"
"Ugh, handso n don't deserve to exist."
"You're just envious."
"L-Look at his pendant!"
"No way! That's the Olphean Family emblem!"
As I strolled, I clearly attracted attention, first due to my appearance and then because of the amber pendant hanging around my neck, which was quite conspicuous. I wasn't concealing my status; rather, I was flaunting it, in order to dissuade potential troublemakers. It seed to be doing the trick.
"U-Um, excuse ?" A timid girl with a flushed face approached . She appeared to be a Pure High Human, unlike , who was a Half-High Human due to my father's lineage.
"Hm?" I raised an eyebrow.
The girl looked at my silver tie and spoke hesitantly, "C-Can I take a photo with you, Senior?" Her voice trembled slightly.
"I an… yeah?" I replied.
"Thank you!" The girl bead, quickly pulled out her phone, and then hugged my arm before taking a selfie. With a delighted squeal, she dashed away. However, before I knew it, other girls had gathered, eager to take pictures with .
"What just happened...?" I muttered under my breath, hurrying my pace to escape the enthusiastic crowd.
[]
Seems like only among the Pure High Humans?
The Vampires, Elves, and Werewolves present seed rather cautious around , though so of them were eyeing with obvious interest.
Taking in the scene before , it was clear that the students sporting those shiny golden ties were the fresh-faced freshn. The silver ties were probably marking the likes of - the sophomores, while the more experienced folks sported the white ties, the third-year students.
This day seed to be the first-year students' exclusive chance to snoop around the academy. I headed over to a portal where a bunch of kids were lining up with their academy cards. Thanks to the card my mom had hooked up with, I got to cut in line. The scanner they had at the gate gave a thorough once-over before deeming worthy of entry.
Once I was through, I found myself in a kinda park-like space with pathways leading to the main event - a colossal white building right in the center. I couldn't help but feel like I'd stepped into so dieval fantasy flick, what with the castle-vibes the place was throwing out. The courtyard surrounding the building was dotted with students chilling on benches and even sprawled out on the grass, while the birds went about their business. It was the kind of chill scene that could make you forget all about the world's problems. I was half-tempted to just crash on one of those benches and take a power nap.
I strolled along the path, soaking in the laid-back vibes. Eventually, I ended up at these gates that seed to lead further into the campus. A bunch of staff mbers were stationed there, carding every student that walked through. My pendant, naturally, got a bit more attention, but after a quick look, they let pass.
Once I stepped in, I was greeted by a hubbub of voices, a throng of students all doing their thing. But then, out of the blue, this loud "Argh!" pierced through the crowd noise. Like, everybody stopped talking and turned to see what the fuss was about. There was this dude, sprawled out on the ground, groaning like he'd just gotten a taste of life's worst lemon. And standing on him, like he was so doormat, was this guy with blond hair and green eyes.
I recognized him imdiately.
It was Allen Teraquin, one of the freshies, and—surprise, surprise, also one of those [Pretender] guys playing the [Second Ga]. That bastard hailed from the Great Teraquin House, which had a rep for being all fancy-schmancy but also pretty ssed up.
Teraquin…
It was indeed the sa House that Kleah was coming from.
She told a little how much she suffered because she was a Half-Elf but I could only imagine how much she suffered. That House despised Halves. I didn't want to know how they would treat Half-Elves from their own family.
These guys were like poster kids for racial elitism, with Elves at the tippy-top of the food chain, Vampires and Werewolves a step down, High Humans kind of in the middle, and Humans and Halves taking up the rear. They were all about keeping it 'pure.'
The groaning guy on the ground was probably a High Human, most likely the unfortunate victim of that guy's latest bout of jerkery. He probably did it willingly to show off his 'power' and status in front of his fellow mates to make them understand who he was. Typical of third-rate villains, I'd say.
"W-Why?" The guy on the ground choked out, his eyes all watery and helpless.
"Because I'm Allen Teraquin, mongrel," Allen declared, his voice dripping with arrogance and entitlent. His elven cronies behind him joined in the laughter, like they were all in on so sick joke.
Watching the spectacle unfold, I couldn't help myself but cringe..
The other students around us had a spectrum of reactions on their faces, from shock to anger to pure disgust. But what got to was how unsurprised the Vampires, Werewolves, and Elves seed to be. Guess this whole High Human prejudice was an old story around here. High Humans were technically stronger than regular Humans but not quite Werewolf strong. And in this wacky hierarchy of Sancta Vedelia, the Elves, Vampires, and Werewolves ruled the roost.
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