After taking the letter from the receptionist, the team members parted one by one. The princess's fiancé would submit the letter to the academy. With the mission now over, the team had essentially disbanded.

Ravian's lips curled up into a smile.

'I wonder how things went on Adrian's end. Let's hope he's okay.'

Having chosen the island exploration mission, which was the most dangerous category available, Adrian and Evangeline must've had a much harder time than him. But then again, maybe it wouldn't have been all that hard. After all, their team consisted of the four strongest individuals who had enrolled this year.

'I wonder how they managed to persuade the daughter of House Mythrien.'

By now, everyone aside from Ravian, the prince, the princess, and her fiancé had left.

He turned to the prince.

"I believe it is time for me to go now. It was a pleasure being on your team, my prince."

The prince smiled.

"Oh, no need to act so formally now. I had thought that after spending so much time together, we would've gotten close enough to be a bit casual with each other, but I guess not. I hope we have the opportunity to work together once again in the future."

Ravian nodded with a smile and turned around, walking away at an unhurried pace.

***

After watching Ravian's back disappear into the distance, Scheniel turned to his younger sister.

"The two of you should return to the academy as well. I have some business with the knight commander in charge of the enforcement order."

Without waiting for their reply, he began walking away.

As he walked some distance, he felt the ring on his finger vibrate, and a childlike voice entered his ear.

[So? What do you think of the boy, Schen? I am talking about the one with the chestnut-colored hair. What's your opinion of him?]

After thinking for a bit, Scheniel replied ‌plainly.

"He is not a threat. He doesn't quite have what it takes. Moreover, he seems a bit indecisive, to be honest. I could clearly see that he found my behavior strange, yet he never did anything to probe me for answers. I had somewhat high expectations, but he fell a bit short."

There was a brief moment of silence, and then the childlike voice asked.

[Does that mean you have changed your mind?]

He firmly shook his head.

"No, not at all. The Graveshroud Heir may not be a threat on his own, but he does have the potential to be a rather useful companion. Besides, I hear that he is the childhood friend of the Ravenshade heir, as well as his only friend. Considering all that, he needs to die."

[But what would his death even accomplish?]

Scheniel sighed.

"If nothing else, then it would at least rob House Ravenshade of one significant ally. I need to do everything in my power to reduce Ravenshade's might. If only my father had done his job as the emperor, then I would not need to go through so much trouble."

House Ravenshade had always been the empire's strongest noble house. But it was only in his father's generation that that ancient noble house's strength came so close to the might of the Valcarion imperial family.

His father had let something like that happen.

In all honesty, Scheniel didn't really care much about ‌matters related to the ancient nobility. He didn't share the hatred that everyone else in the imperial faction had for them. Still, he knew all too well that the ancient nobility was like a volcano that could explode anytime, causing a great war that could break the empire into pieces.

And so, the ancient nobility could not be allowed to grow strong.

'As the future emperor of this empire, I need to do everything in my power to make sure that nothing can harm the great empire.'

***

In the Ravenshade mansion, Aristeia lay motionless on the bed in her room, blankly staring at the chandelier hanging from the ceiling in silence.

There was a lethargic look on her face.

'Hmm…'

She had been feeling strange since a year ago, when Adrian had returned to the mansion. Having completed her academy curriculum a few years ago, she had nothing much to do. She could still do a lot of things. But she just didn't feel like it.

Letting out a sigh, Aristeia slowly stood up from her bed and walked toward the window. Using the window frame to support her weight, she gazed at the outside scenery.

The first thing she noticed was the golden-haired boy below, standing in the middle of a clearing. He had his eyes closed, as if trying to focus while he channeled his mana.

It was clear enough that he was training.

After watching Elias train for a while, Aristeia suddenly jumped down from the window and landed on the clear grassy ground below. Her landing was so smooth that Elias didn't seem to have noticed her at all. But maybe after sensing her presence, he opened his eyes and turned to her.

"Oh… good morning, Sister."

His reply wasn't as energetic as it used to be when he was nine.

Elias had become somewhat quiet since the news of Adrian's death came six years ago. His innocent demeanor from his childhood had yet to fade, though.

Coming to stand in front of her younger brother, Aristeia spoke in a plain voice.

"I saw you training from the window, so I thought I should help you."

Hearing her words, the boy looked quite taken aback.

"You want to… help me train, Sister?"

The look on his face suggested that the boy felt as though he had heard something strange. She understood the reason behind that reaction, but she ignored it.

And so, she began helping Elias train.

After about an hour.

"Huff… Huff…"

The boy lay on the ground, panting heavily while Aristeia sat with her back against the tree.

The boy struggled to sit up but somehow managed.

"Ugh, you didn't have to attack me for real, you know. Or were you intentionally being mean, Sister?"

She shrugged.

"Nobody will go easy on you in a real battle. Having fought in the war during my academy curriculum, I have learned this fact clearly."

"But still…" he grumbled. "That was only training, not a real battle—"

"Elias," she said in a low voice. "How long are you going to chase after your brother?"

"..."

She sighed.

"The two of you are just not the same. I know that you have always admired him since you were little, but humility isn't going to get you anywhere."

Having seen him fight, it was clear that the boy was trying to copy his older brother. Using a sword, trying to read her moves and calculate her next action.

It was a fighting style that didn't suit him at all. Yet the boy still struggled, as if trying to fit into someone else's clothes.

Aristeia turned her gaze to the clear blue sky.

"Elias, I used to be just like you once. I really admired two people and wanted to be just like them. Those two… were our mother and father."

Elias paused.

Aristeia recalled the days when she herself was about ten years of age, no more than an ignorant little girl.

"Back then, Mother and Father looked like the most impressive people in the world. I admired them a lot back then and wanted to be just like them. But I just couldn't, no matter how hard I tried. And that fueled my obsession even further, making me more desperate."

She looked into her younger brother's clear green eyes.

"Elias, you were too young when Father left for the borders, so do you even remember what he was like?"

The boy was about to nod but suddenly hesitated.

"I honestly don't know. I do have a vague recollection of him, but I can't remember his face or voice clearly."

She nodded.

"I see. I can't quite describe what kind of person he was. He was the kind of person who was hard to understand, much like Adrian. On the night he was leaving, I met him in his room and told him all about how much I admired him and my desire to be like him. Do you know what his reply to the young me was?"

Her younger brother didn't answer, not that she expected him to.

She recalled the memory of that night.

"He told me a story, one of the parables of the legends of the immortal. It was the story about the beginning of the immortal's journey. Back then, the immortal was incredibly weak. There were several other people who were much stronger than him. So despite having a power like immortality, the immortal was humble. He had companions he admired, wanting to be just like them. He trusted his companions and depended on them for that reason."

She glanced at Elias. Judging by his expression, the boy didn't know this parable yet, even though it was natively known in Aevithar.

Aristeia continued.

"But one day, the immortal and his party encountered the dragon of despair, Kiryuzor. The dragon's might was so tyrannical that the immortal and his party couldn't even dream of defeating it. Desperate to save themselves, they used the immortal as bait and escaped. Just before escaping, they apologized to the immortal sincerely and said, "Please forgive us; we don't want to die yet. Unlike us, that dragon can't kill you because you are immortal, so please understand." Standing before the dragon of despair, the immortal was completely alone."

She paused for a bit, then continued.

"He could understand his teammates. After all, they were not wrong. If they had remained and fought together with him, they would've all been killed. But the immortal would've still survived, which would've been unfair to them. Yet standing before the dragon, the immortal didn't know what to do. He no longer had the teammates he trusted and depended on. The dragon stomped him with his tail, tore his body to shreds, and went as far as chewing and eating him alive. Yet the immortal didn't die. His body would revert ‌to its previous condition no matter how badly it was mangled. And so, the immortal got stuck in an endless cycle of pain."

By now, her younger brother seemed completely focused on the story, reminding her of the time when she was hearing it from her father's mouth.

"With no other choice, the immortal struggled and fought back against the dragon. The fight went on for seven months. But in the end, the immortal managed to claim victory over the exhausted dragon and killed it. Sitting atop the dragon's corpse, the immortal learned a new lesson. No matter how much you admire others and depend on them, the one who would solve your own problems would inevitably be yourself. The one he had needed to trust and depend on should've been himself. From that point on, the immortal never had a teammate or companion. He continued the rest of his journey alone. Because he had learned that humility was a sin."