Chapter 147: Toren and Eldric’s Father’s Confrontation

Inside the great hall, paintings hung in every corner, and statues bearing weapons stood carved into place along the walls.

A C-shaped huge curved table was arranged at the center of the room. The principal of the grand academy of the continent sat on the head seat of it. The academy's esteemed professors sat on either side of him, and to his immediate right sat the vice principal.

Toren played with his nails as he studied the man seated before him. "You are quite fast to have arrived at the academy this early in the morning for your dear son," he said, eyeing Corvin Sealborne, who sat alone in a chair in front of all the teachers, his son Eldric standing silently beside him.

"Principal, can you be a little more serious?" Vice Principal Sylara interjected, adjusting her round glasses and fixing Toren with a glare.

"No, it really is a wonder to see a father so worried for his son that he arrives at the academy this quickly after receiving the message," Toren replied, feigning innocence, as though he had been falsely accused of not already being serious. "Every parent should learn from Grand Duke Corvin about the importance of punctuality. As you well know, the other parents of the remaining suspended students have yet to arrive."

Sylara did not reply to that. Instead, with a small, deliberate cough, she steered the conversation forward. "Grand Duke Corvin, you must already have been informed of the reason for your visit to the academy, so I won't rehearse it again. We have concluded that Eldric will be suspended from the academy for one week but." Her lips twitched faintly at the end of the sentence, though she composed herself quickly and continued, "Since we prefer to let students settle their conflicts among themselves, Eldric and Alex will duel in a month's time. If Eldric loses, he will be required to apologize in public, and if Alex loses, he will be moved up to Class A, with Nack taking his former position." Sylara's voice grew quieter with every word, as though she too were dwelling on the absurdity of the terms.

The other professors in the hall wore tight, uneasy expressions, none of them willing to speak on the matter. Toren, meanwhile, continued idly playing with his nails. "I think Alex will win the duel," he remarked, lifting his head to meet Corvin's black eyes, which were as deep and as dark as an abyss.

Corvin showed no emotion as he rose from his seat. "I don't know what you are planning, Principal, but my son is going to win." He held the principal's gaze without flinching, and just as Sylara opened her mouth to interject once more, Corvin turned and strode out of the hall. Eldric followed close behind his father, his head bowed the entire way.

Once father and son had left the hall, Sylara turned sharply toward Toren, who sat with his head resting against the back of his chair. "What is wrong with you, Principal? I have never seen you act this childish," she said in disbelief, careful to keep her voice from rising. No matter how strangely the principal chose to behave, he was still the principal, after all, and Sylara was not at all confident she could defeat him in a fight.

Toren turned his head toward her. "I'm just too bored with academy affairs, and I want to have a little fun watching two nuggets fight each other and solve their problem by themselves," he said, and then he vanished, reappearing behind Sylara and turning her chair so that she faced him. "Isn't that the academy's motto, to raise future prospects capable of defeating the demons?" Toren smiled. "What's better than letting them fight and settle their dispute with their own fists? This will be a valuable experience for both of them. Furthermore, they'll learn that no one else can solve their problems for them, that they must work out their own differences."

Sylara's breath caught in her throat as the principal leaned his head toward her, but she steadied herself, and just as she was about to refute the principal's reasoning, Toren flicked his finger. "I have some plans of my own for the morning. Take care of the other parents and their children's suspensions yourself. I know you can manage it, Vice Principal." He drew out the last two words deliberately, and then he was gone.

"You." Sylara clenched her fist and threw a punch into the empty air from where the principal had vanished.

***

Outside the academy gates, a carriage adorned with gold and intricate designs waited patiently.

A knight swiftly opened the carriage door, bowing his head in respect to the grand duke of Sealborne and the young master Eldric.

"Father, I'm sorry to be such a disgrace," Eldric said, his voice shallow and trembling with fear. He had kept his head lowered the entire time they walked out of the academy, not daring to look up at his father.

Corvin turned toward his son and bent his knees to bring himself level with Eldric's face. "Look at me," he demanded.

Eldric lifted his head to meet his father's eyes. Corvin's eyes burned dark as an abyss, an infuriating anger simmering just beneath the surface, and his face had hardened into lines of barely restrained fury.

Eldric's chest tightened, and his breath caught in his lungs at the sight of his father like that.

"How dare you humiliate me like that." Corvin growled and struck his son hard across the cheek, leaving it red and swollen. Eldric staggered sideways and fell to the ground.

Eldric bit the inside of his cheek to keep himself from crying out, knowing that a scream would only earn him another beating.

"I gave you power, knowledge, a name, and wealth." Corvin flicked his finger, and Eldric's body rose, floating upright before Corvin. "Yet you repay me with humiliation and mockery, you bastard." Corvin struck him again, across the cheek that was already swollen red.

"How dare you tarnish our house." Corvin growled, raising his hand to strike Eldric once more, but this time his hand was caught mid-motion by someone else.

Corvin had not sensed anyone approaching. The figure seemed to have materialized out of thin air, and Corvin already knew who it had to be. He turned his head, freed his hand from the grip, and rose to meet the principal's eye level.

"This is a personal matter, Principal. You should not interfere in my house's affairs," Corvin said, his voice tight with restrained fury. He was furious at being stopped, and had it been anyone other than the principal, he would have attacked already.

Toren merely lifted his right brow, glancing from Corvin to Eldric. "Oh, but I think it concerns me as well, and my academy," he said, pointing toward the academy gates.

Corvin rubbed his temples, and rather than argue back and risk fueling his own anger further, he turned and started toward the carriage. "Quickly," he barked.

Eldric's legs were shaking hard. He glanced once at the principal and then at his father. He clenched his fists and struck his trembling legs multiple times to stop the shaking and biting his inner cheeks he forced himself to walk behind his father.

"You better win the duel else…," Corvin said as he stepped into the carriage and did not finish the sentence.

Eldric shuddered at the sound of his father's voice, heavy with threat and he didn’t need to be told what fate waited for him if he were to lose the duel. His life would turn hellish.

Eldric’s eyes burned with anger imagining Alex’s face. He was going to kill that bastard.

"Bye-bye, boys. Corvin, be nice to your son. He's quite talented," Toren said, waving his hands toward the carriage as it turned and rolled away from the academy’s gate.

As the carriage rolled off, Toren watched it go, shaking his head before turning back toward the academy gates. "It's been a while since I last stepped outside these walls," he muttered, and then he vanished from the spot like a mist of air.

***

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