Standing near the entrance of a cave, Ravian let out a tired sigh.

'It's finally over.'

He glanced at the unconscious woman lying on the ground nearby and contemplated.

'Should I tie her up? No, I don't think such a role was assigned to me. Whoever is in charge of the cleanup will handle this.'

He looked inside the cave.

About six more children his age were gathered inside, and there were several men lying on the floor.

The mission Ravian and his team had taken on was an investigation-type mission. There had been several disappearances near the border village of a marquis's territory. Their task was to find the cause. After investigating for a few days, they finally managed to solve the mystery.

But that brought another problem.

The cause of the disappearances was a strange cult-like group. They seemed to have been planning something big, and it would've been too late by the time they reported it. So in the end, the crown prince decided that they would capture all members of the group and then report the completion of the mission.

And thanks to the prince's genius plan and the talent of his teammates, they actually managed to succeed.

'Well, the group mostly consisted of Phase Two individuals, with only the leader being a Phase Three. Considering there were seven of us and we held the initiative, I don't think it's really that impressive of a feat.'

Still, it was impressive nonetheless.

Moments later, all his teammates came out of the cave after tying up the knocked-out individuals.

Aside from him and the prince the team included the princess, her fiance, two sisters from a marquis family of imperial nobles, and lastly there was someone wearing a black cloak.

The princess seemed to be the least impressive individual of the team. The cloaked figure's capabilities were hard to measure, but Ravian got the vibe that they were a cowardly individual.

The crown prince's ruby-colored eyes observed Ravian then turned to the woman lying on the ground.

"So you took care of the one who managed to escape, huh? Well done. It was indeed a good decision to invite you to the team, Ravian."

Ravian offered a light bow.

"You flatter me, my prince."

But despite his outwardly polite demeanor, he was internally furrowing his brow.

'The prince is indeed rather strange.'

Ravian was the heir of an ancient noble family, one that was rather high in hierarchy. The prince was the future head of the imperial faction. Considering the intensity of the animosity that existed between the two factions, it was strange that the prince was treating him like anyone else.

It was as though the prince didn't care about any of that.

The princess's fiance went and returned with two carriages. They loaded the people they had captured onto one carriage with one individual to watch them. The rest of them took the second carriage.

Soon, they arrived in front of the enforcement order.

Every territory had one such order that was responsible for overseeing the enforcement of territorial laws. The citizens could report aunty problems related to crime in the territory, and the enforcers would take action.

Their mission was also a request by the enforcement order because they had their hands full with several other matters.

But as they arrived, they found that there was a somewhat long line in front of the reception.

The cloaked figure glanced at the line and sighed.

"Maybe we should sit back for a while. That… looks like it would take some time."

Ravian tilted his head.

'What is he talking about? Is he… not a noble?'

Why would they concern themselves with queues and lines when they were in the party of the empire's prince?

The cloaked figure glanced at them in confusion.

"Did I say something wrong?"

Without replying to him, they all began walking beside the line and approached the reception. Some of the people even stepped aside after recognizing the prince and princess. After reaching the reception, the prince calmly handed the written report on the mission's completion to the receptionist.

"We have completed the mission as requested. There were some complications in the middle, so we had to do more than what we were supposed to. Please review it quickly and draft a letter of completion, which we can submit to the academy."

The receptionist bowed to him as if it were natural.

"Of course, Your Highness, please give me a few moments, and it shall be done."

As the receptionist went away with the report in hand, the prince turned to the cloaked figure and smiled.

"No then, should we sit back for a few moments—?"

But just then, they heard an irritated shout coming from the side.

"What the hell!"

They all turned towards the source, only to find two boys wearing the imperial academy's uniform. One of them was gritting his teeth with a look of frustration clear on his face, while the other seemed to be desperately trying to calm him down.

The frustrated boy turned his gaze to the prince, meeting his ruby-colored eyes without a shred of hesitation.

"Hey, do you not see the line here? This was supposed to be our turn! We had been patiently waiting in line for so long, so where do you get off disregarding it completely? You think that you can do whatever the hell you want just because you are the prince and have status?"

The boy's friend had a terrified look on his face as he glanced at the prince. It was as though his mind was already imagining horrible future scenarios.

Ravian frowned.

'What the hell is that guy doing? He is talking to the future emperor.'

Either that boy was too riled up by his emotions and couldn't think straight, or he was daring to a stupid degree. No sane person would talk to the prince like that even if they hated his very guts.

Moreover, it was clear that the two of them were also part of the academy. And considering that they were here, they must have enrolled in the same year as him.

Ravian divided his consciousness and entered the Library of Mnemosyne.

'Let's see…'

He quickly shifted through the various recent books, but he couldn't find any memories that had a mention of those two boys.

'Considering that Adrian made me memorize the information related to all the nobles who enrolled this year, those two must be commoners since I have no memories related to them.'

All of the team members beside the princess turned to the prince tensely, wondering how he would react to the disrespect.

But the prince only smiled.

"You are right, I can do whatever I want because of my status. That fact should've been obvious to you. After all, what is the point of having status if I don't use it for my benefit?"

Everyone was somewhat taken aback after hearing the prince's reply. He had reacted much more calmly than they had expected.

But the boy clenched his fists as his eyes burned even more intensely.

"The hell are you so damn proud of, huh? You didn't earn your status or did anything to deserve it. You were just born into it, so what are you so smug about?"

Ravian turned his gaze away out of pity.

'Poor guy, it looks like he has a few screws loose.'

At this point, it felt as though the boy was intentionally trying to humiliate the imperial prince. And Ravian knew all too well that it wasn't going to end well.

But the prince replied calmly this time as well.

"You are asking why I am proud of it? Why shouldn't I be proud of it? The privilege that I am currently enjoying, my ancestors had worked for it in the past. It was my ancestor who founded the Solthar kingdom of the past, and it was my ancestor who used it as a pillar and created the Valcarion empire. They left a legacy for their descendants, so why would I be ashamed of enjoying the benefits of that legacy? I am proud to be born into this bloodline."

Both the boy and his friend looked taken aback, as if not expecting such a reply from the prince. Well, Ravian couldn't blame them since he himself was a bit taken aback by the words the prince had spoken.

The prince walked forward and came to stop in front of the two academy cadets, looking down at them with his ruby-colored eyes.

"If there was something I could be ashamed of, it would be if I were to do something to ruin that legacy. But that would never happen. The one who should really be ashamed here is you. You were born into a bloodline where your ancestors didn't leave anything behind, yet instead of working towards creating something for your descendants, you are trying to shame me to make yourself feel better. Honestly, the world would be a better place without trash like you."

Without waiting for a reply, the prince turned around, not that the boy seemed to be in any state to reply.

Just then, the receptionist returned and calmly held out a letter.

"Your Highness, the letter is ready. Please take it."