Seeing that the drama had concluded, the students dispersed with excited chatter. However, Prince August remained in place on the staircase, his expression unreadable as he watched Jack enter the library through a large doorway with the black-haired girl who seed to be a family mber in tow.
’Harrington is not a noble surna I recognise from Velmira. Perhaps they are from Veranthos? Mhm, what an interesting fellow,’ August thought as he coldly analysed Jack’s departing figure. ’Those red eyes, perfect face, and curved ears... was he a blood elf? I’d almost think he was a vampire, but he carried himself far too well to be one of those deranged fiends.’
"I have matters to attend to, so I will take my leave," the head professor said in a hurry, turning to leave.
"Hold it, Edward," August said coldly, stopping the head professor in his tracks.
The head professor turned to look at him, his eyes shaking. August Greentail, First Prince and heir to the throne of Velmira. To everyone, he was a friendly and kind person who always had a dazzling smile on his handso face. With his blond hair and smile, Jack would have labelled him a "typical hero protagonist."
The two remained in silence as the last of the students went on their way. Once the staircase was cleared, the pleasant smile disappeared from August’s face and twisted into sothing more sinister.
Head Professor Edward had tutored Prince August in magic as a private tutor during his childhood. When Edward heard people call Prince August a kind and respectable man, he would almost choke and scream in his mind, ’He’s the most vicious bastard I have ever t!’
When August was a child, he showed his cruel side more often but learned to hide his true nature as he grew older. The head professor had once been inside one of Prince August’s "sumr houses," log cabins built in the wilderness. Inside, he witnessed demi-human corpses; the male ones were hanging from tal hooks and chains, covered in deep gashes and wounds. So still leaked blood that slowly dripped onto the stained wooden floor below. The stench in there had been utterly foul, and the head professor had nearly thrown up at the sight but managed to maintain so dignity.
He had to. Edward’s daughter was a maid in the royal palace assigned to Prince August. She had attempted to escape many tis but was always dragged back by the guards, as August claid she knew too many "state secrets" to be allowed to leave. The head professor’s blood ran cold. He knew of August’s true nature. The prince was a lust-filled psychotic maniac, and that was why Edward despised royalty and nobles with his very being. Unfortunately, he couldn’t openly oppose royalty and could only take it out on the nobles loyal to them.
August cleared his throat. "Edward, did you see how that man spoke to ? The defiance in his eyes?"
"Yes, I did..." Edward winced while wishing Jack had gone further. Prince August deserved less respect than a disease-ridden rat.
"Then I assu you know the ramifications of this duel and why I proposed it?"
The head professor sighed as he saw August’s face, which had gone from a kind-hearted young man to a sinister beast. "I do, my lord. You want to humiliate him—"
"No, I want that man dead, do you understand? If you lose, your daughter Evelyn may be paying a visit to my humble abode in the woods."
The words seed innocent enough, but Edward almost fainted when he superimposed the image of Evelyn being chained to the bed, her insides completely ravaged and hanging out like that cat-girl beastkin the last ti he had visited August’s sumr house. Sotis, he wondered if the royal family of Velmira were secretly related to the vampires, given how ruthlessly a teenager was able to treat people, even if they were demi-humans.
"M-my lord, I have recently been in a weak condition," Edward answered honestly. He didn’t mind if he died for his loss, but the idea of Evelyn dying in that way due to his failure was too horrific. If this duel had occurred a month ago, he could wipe the floor with Jack. But now? He wasn’t so sure.
August’s threatening smile only elevated as he pulled out a small glass vial filled with green liquid from the deepest pocket of his jacket. As Edward was a scholar, he knew what this liquid entailed.
"I can’t use sothing like that in my condition," Edward protested while pushing the green vial away from himself. "It will turn into a monster."
August just laughed. "It’s either you or , old friend. Either you beco a monster on that battlefield and slaughter that arrogant assistant for , or I’ll show Evelyn my other side."
Edward wordlessly retrieved the thumb-sized glass vial with the ominous green liquid inside.
August nodded. "It’s good you understand your place, Head Professor." He then left, putting on his fake and dazzling smile.
Edward quickly hid the vial in his suit’s inner pocket and headed toward the Mage Tower while muttering curses.
Jack set aside his thoughts regarding his villainous rivalry with Prince August and quickly entered the public library. He had been here many tis in the ga, but it was far more impressive in real life. The heavy sll of wood and books, the dim lighting from glowstones, and the low murmuring of students sitting over open books with deep looks of concentration.
He quickly navigated the hundreds of rows to find the books he needed. He carefully picked twenty books on various topics and carried them around with Psychokinesis. Due to the number of books, his low level ant manipulating each book individually was far too complex, so he used his gloves to carry a stack of books instead. Many students looked up from their reading material and gawked at the sight of a floating tower of books that seed to orbit Jack as he inspected the shelves.
Just as Jack was heading toward the librarian, linda appeared and tried sneakily placing a book on his pile. He quickly grabbed the book from her hand and inspected its title.
Basic Principles of Mana Manipulation.
’So, she’s trying to learn magic...’
Jack looked at her and used telepathy to read her surface thoughts. ’Dad... No... Wish I could learn... magic looks... amazing...’ Since his skill was still low-level, it was only a jumbled ss, but there was nothing about burning him to death, so he was hopefully making progress on fixing their broken relationship. She seed somber, and Jack felt that maybe he could cheer her up by accepting the book.
’Is there really a way I can get in her good books despite murdering her family? Or is that just insane thinking?’ Jack pondered for a mont but realised that this was an excellent opportunity. ’Seeing how she learns magic from this book will help understand how residents of this world usually learn spells. I’ll have to teach at the magic academy once I inherit the head professor position from Edward’s corpse.’
Jack just added the book to his pile of twenty-one and wordlessly headed toward the front counter, where a surprised librarian sat staring at the floating tower of books. The librarian pushed his glasses up his long nose and nervously looked between Jack and the books.
"Excuse , student, you can only take out three books at a ti..."
Jack was confused for a second and looked behind him but realised the librarian was addressing him. "Oh, I am Head Professor Edward’s teaching assistant. I require research material for his classes, so I need these books."
The librarian seed suspicious but saw Jack’s level of control, which should be C- or even B-grade, and his noble clothes... In the worst case, he would get an earful from the head librarian about this.
The librarian noted the book titles and raised his brow, reading so of the nas. In his opinion, the books seed random and didn’t follow any particular the. The librarian had no idea how these could help in a lesson.
After checking out the books, the pair also bought enough food from a stall for a few days. Jack sighed as he stared at the ager pile of bronze coins that remained. He needed to make so money since his paycheck wouldn’t co in until the month’s end.
Jack retrieved his carriage from the frightened guard and returned ho. Apart from taking a bath, sleeping, and watching over linda, Jack had a peaceful few days. He mainly focused on reading through his mountain of books and advancing his knowledge of the world as if his life depended on it.
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