Four months had passed.
One week remained until the Festival Event. Students from the Academy of Genius stood at the VIP gate, waiting to welcome guests from other kingdoms.
All the students saw the first guests from the Thorne Kingdom—they carried blue flags with a mountain logo and sword symbol.
Top students from the academy approached them and extended welcoming hands with smiles.
Students from the Thorne Kingdom left their carriage and looked at the Academy. One of them, a boy with black hair and blue eyes, commented, "Heh, the Academy area is smaller than I thought."
The boy's two followers nodded and said, "Their gate is also smaller than what our academy had."
"The buildings look older too," the other chimed in, trying to please their leader.
Then she emerged from the carriage and looked at the boy from her Academy.
She had purple hair and purple eyes that mesmerized everyone who looked at her. The boy approached her and said, "Bernice, you can stay with me. You know these people will stare at you."
She looked at him and thought, You leech. You're the one making me uncomfortable. I can't even do anything about this pest. Even though I'm much better than him in every way.
She looked at him with a smile and said, "Prince Nate, you don't have to worry about me."
You fucking idiot, you don't even know you're weaker than me, yet you're trying to protect me. You have a handsome face, but it's useless when you don't have the qualities to back it up. I will never fall for you, and I'm only enduring you because I don't want future problems. Just you wait.
Prince Nate looked into her beautiful eyes. She's the only girl who makes my heart shake and beat faster—her innocence, her beautiful face, her gorgeous purple eyes, and her silky hair that makes her even more beautiful. She deserves to be my queen in the future.
"How can I not worry when you're in an unknown place? Hold my hand." Prince Nate extended his hand to Bernice.
Bernice stared at his outstretched hand, her smile never faltering, but she made no move to take it. The silence stretched uncomfortably as everyone watched.
Does this fucker think I'm a kid? I would have killed this guy if he weren't a prince. He follows me 24/7 and interferes with everything around me. He even makes my friends uncomfortable sometimes.
Just as the awkward moment was about to become unbearable, a cheerful voice interrupted them.
"Welcome, friends. I'm Adelind, and this is Prince Arin. We're here to show you the academy and your rooms. Please excuse any rudeness."
"Hello everyone, I'm Arin Verdya. I'll be helping to guide you through all the academy facilities and introduce you to our traditions."
Bernice felt immediate relief wash over her. She didn't have to take Prince Nate's hand after all. she looked at the couple. This guy is also a prince. Is he like Prince Nate too—following a beautiful girl like Adelind? But they look good together. Maybe not everyone is like Prince Nate.
Bernice looked Arin up and down. Prince Nate noticed this and studied Arin and Adelind. Adelind is beautiful and comparable to Bernice, but she can't compare to my Bernice. He stared at Arin. Pretty boy—I can't even tell if he's a boy or girl. Do girls really like these delicate types?
Prince Nate was handsome with the best body shape for his age, but he couldn't compare to Arin's facial features.
Prince Nate saw other girls around him showing the same reaction as Bernice—they were all staring at Arin. During this moment of observation, his eyes caught sight of a figure he'd never seen before a boy he had never seen before: black hair and black eyes, staring at the Academy.
The boy wore their academy uniform, but Prince Nate had never seen him before. It was possible he had forgotten some student, so he turned to his follower, but before he could speak—
"Lord, Lady Bernice left with the other prince," one of his followers said.
Prince Nate looked at Arin, who was leading her with his pretty boy smile, making her smile. What struck him like a physical blow was seeing Bernice's genuine smile—a radiant expression he'd never managed to evoke despite months of persistent attempts. The worst part was how effortlessly Arin seemed to make her laugh. And he felt threatened by that bastard. But he could do nothing—Arin was also a prince, and Prince Nate wasn't even the Queen's child.
Prince Nate ran to catch up and joined them.
Aeren stared at the Academy of Genius. He had joined the Thorne Kingdom's Academy. No one cared about him or knew who he was—they had no time to know. All the students wanted to see new things around them and enjoy different academy perspectives.
Aeren had learned many things about human nature:
People will never notice you when you look like them.
People are too concerned about themselves to notice their surroundings.
Even with wanted posters all around the world, people don't care about posters or act on them.
Even if people notice your poster, they'll forget about it the next second.
People only care about themselves and those close to them. If you're outside these two categories, they'll never notice or care about you.
Just like I said before—humans are puppets controlled by society, but they don't care what happens to society.
Aeren knew he never needed to disguise himself because no one would notice him. Even if he told them, "I'm Aeren, and I'm the most wanted criminal in the Academy," only a few people would believe him.
Aeren entered the Academy and changed into the Academy of Genius uniform.
He went to his room—the same one he had stayed in before at the Academy. It took him a few minutes to reach it.
Aeren entered his empty room and looked at the Academy through his window. He saw students being guided by other students, and he also spotted people from his organization.