Prestige

Mane and the others were disgusted by what they were witnessing in the carriage. They knew of Aegeus. Generally, a character like him whose family only owned an earldom in the kingdom of Neces, would warrant no attention from them. Abelard was a prince of an empire, one that the kingdom of Neces paid tribute to. The twins had a grand duke of an empire as a father. As for Mane, the others were not sure of his background, but they knew it completely trumped theirs. So naturally, they would have disregarded such a minor character. But this arrogant kid was different.

On his own he was not an important character, but he had a brother that was. His brother, Frederick Fulbright, was a ninth year student and one of the top talents of the academy. His brother, just like the twins and Abelard, had reached the E- grade (second level of the mortal stage) when he was ten years old. Unlike his useless brother, who was stuck was still at the F- grade (first level of the mortal stage) even at the age of twelve. Normally, Aegeus’s strength will be considered as good. However, when your brother is a C- grade (fourth level of the mortal stage) wielder and the president of the student body, more is expected of you.

Unfortunately, though President Frederick had a good reputation, he had a big smudge on his resume^¢- his spoiled little brother. President Fred loved his brother, so much that he let him get away with breaking some of the rules. Even if he did not approve of his brother’s choices, there was no way he could watch his little brother get punished. This caused Aegeus to grow very arrogant and occasionally disregard the rules, since he knew that his brother would help him out.

Mr. Aikens shook his head in pity when he saw what was going on. As a teacher, and more importantly a headmaster, he obviously would not allow a student to act wantonly on his campus grounds. Especially when that student was a bully. But he was still sitting still for a simple reason- Mane. Since Aegeus’ appearance, Mane had grown eerily silent. A closer look at him and one would notice an almost invisible smile and an unusual glint that were not usually present. A shiver went down Mr. Aikens’ spine when he saw that smile. It was like a cat stalking an injured mouse, amused that the creature was thinking of escaping. When Mr. Aikens saw that expression, he felt only pity for Aegeus. Not anger at the boy’s act, but pity. He knew, that Mane had cast his attention to the boy. And that was not necessarily a good thing.

Mane observed what was going on outside for some time. He knew of Aegeus. But don’t get him wrong. He did not give a damn about the boy. It was the President he was after. He was the only one Mane wanted to meet. The one Mane was interested in. His smile grew wider when he realised that the easiest way to get to the President had presented itself.

Mr. Aikens noticed this and began to pray for the boy, “*Sigh*. This kid is screwed.”

___________________________________

“Now that’s not very nice, is it?”

Aegeus looked behind him to see who was brave enough to interfere with his business. The arrogant expression on his face disappeared when he saw four ten year olds walking towards him. He might be arrogant, but he was not an idiot. He was someone who was fond of bullying those weaker than him. He never went against those that had a better background or bigger fists than his. This was why he was a little scared when he saw those walking towards him.

Two of the boys shared the same look, each as handsome as the other. Their brown eyes were filled with scorn as they appraised what was going on. Aegeus knew right away that they were the hydra twins. As for the other brown haired kid, Aegeus knew who that was. He was a noble of the kingdom, and as such, he was familiar with the Western Empire’s Crown Prince. The last boy who walked before the others was a handsome lad with yellow blond hair and blue eyes. 

He was a student of the academy so even if he had not come across some of the famous characters, he was familiar with their descriptions. In the entire academy, there were very few people with blond hair, and fewer people with blue eyes. But when you put the two together, there was only one person who fit the bill. The one dubbed as the predator- Mane. Aegeus felt a shiver go down his spine when he saw his smile.

Just when Aegeus thought they were coming to him, they passed by him, as though he was invisible and approached Aaliyah.

“Excuse me, miss. Are you guys alright?” Abelard asked Aaliyah with a gentle tone. The kids behind Aaliyah looked at the boys who stood before them in curiosity, wondering who they were. After all, many people saw what was going on, but unlike the group that stood before them, they had just ignored them. Their curiosity did not last for long though. One of the onlookers identified the newcomers almost immediately and exclaimed,

“That’s…that’s the Silver Wolves team!”

Noticing that the onlookers were looking at the new arrivals with undisguised admiration, Aegeus’ face contorted in rage. How could these people ignore him just because of a bunch of ten year olds?

Mane, even with his back turned, still noticed Aegeus’ rage. That was what he had counted on. His smile grew more radiant as he thought to himself, “This is going to be easier than I thought.”