Chapter 653: Too Early to Choose

A little earlier, after the guests had settled down, those who wanted to dance with their partners began making their way to the dance floor for the Last Dance.

Ezra watched them leave their seats.

“Yes.”

He muttered the word to himself, moving his right hand slightly, as though celebrating his escape from having to dance.

His expression remained as plain as ever, giving nothing away.

He had managed to avoid the dance after all.

Ping!

Ping!

His Starlix 11 vibrated multiple times in his trouser pocket as he walked towards the section of tables where Diane was peacefully sleeping.

Plus, Cyrus and Lyra were no longer seated in the area.

He glanced at their empty seats but didn’t bother wondering where they had gone.

There were plenty of people moving around the Grand Royal Hall now that the guests were preparing for the final dance.

They could have gone anywhere.

Besides, the notification sound had caught his attention.

Ezra glanced down at his pocket before taking out the device.

The screen lit up in his hand, and he tapped it to check the incoming messages.

He already had a guess about who might have contacted him.

After tapping the screen a few times, however, he discovered that two different people had sent him messages.

Ezra opened the first conversation.

***

‘Master!!’

Lucy

‘I hope you are alright.’

Lucy

‘I heard a commotion from where I was.’

Lucy

‘Some of the Royal Servants and Servants of Gale told me that the Second Prince accused you of stealing Lady Vera Ashenlocke from him.’

Lucy

‘Also, I saw the message in that article.’

Lucy

‘I was so angry!’

Lucy

‘Did you know those journalist bastards and some of the Servants of Evergrey were bombarding me with nonsense? I should have just beaten every one of them up!’

Lucy

‘I’m so angry!’

Lucy

‘I just heard that you and Lady Vera Ashenlocke handled things amazingly.’

Lucy

‘Many of us Servants of Ash can’t stop laughing.’

Lucy

‘I also heard Elder Fredricks Ashenlocke got knocked out badly by Elder Portia Ashenlocke.’

Lucy

‘I feel so satisfied.’

Lucy

***

Ezra read through the entire string of messages.

He paused on the last one before looking at the screen again.

When did she find the time to send all these messages?

The thought crossed his mind without changing his expression.

Lucy had sent one message after another, and each seemed to contain another piece of information or another complaint.

By the time he reached the end, he had a fairly good idea of how angry she had been.

The part about the Servants of Evergrey and the journalists was particularly clear.

He could almost imagine Lucy typing furiously while recounting everything that had happened, especially after hearing that the Second Prince had accused him of stealing Vera from him.

Her anger had apparently not faded even after she learned that the situation had been handled.

Then there was the news about Elder Fredricks.

Ezra’s eyes rested on that message for a moment.

Elder Portia had apparently knocked him out badly.

Considering what had happened earlier, Ezra could understand why Lucy found the news satisfying.

Still, he didn’t reply.

Lucy already knew he was fine, and the matter with the Second Prince had been dealt with. There was little reason to send a message simply to repeat what she had already heard.

He returned to the conversation list and opened the other person’s messages.

***

‘Did you just celebrate not being able to dance with me?’

Jewel_of_Ash

***

Ezra’s eyes narrowed slightly as he read the first message.

***

‘Well, we won’t be seeing each other until we resume.’

Jewel_of_Ash

‘I have been placed in seclusion, and that petty father of mine will be my mentor for the rest of the holiday.’

Jewel_of_Ash

‘If you need to speak to me, I’ll be in my seclusion prison in Father’s main mansion.’

Jewel_of_Ash

‘I’m very sure you’ll want to see me.’

Jewel_of_Ash

‘You can’t live your life without speaking to me.’

Jewel_of_Ash

‘I’ll be waiting.’

Jewel_of_Ash

‘Ah, my phone device is going to be taken away from me.’

Jewel_of_Ash

‘Even my Zphone Tablet.’

Jewel_of_Ash

‘Annoying.’

Jewel_of_Ash

‘Bye, my Player.’

Jewel_of_Ash

***

Ezra continued reading until he reached the final message.

He looked at the screen for a moment longer.

Just like Lucy…

Vera must had sent the messages so quickly that she had probably typed them before her father could take her phone away.

The sudden announcement about her seclusion, followed by the complaints about losing her devices, made the situation easy enough to understand.

What caught his attention more was the way she had ended the conversation.

My Player.

Ezra’s expression returned to its usual plain state.

He could already imagine Vera sending those messages with that familiar, matter-of-fact attitude of hers.

Even while complaining about her punishment, she had found time to tell him that he would miss speaking to her.

Is her punishment that bad?

He considered the question briefly.

Then he remembered something from earlier.

During the presentation of the Colt and E-V26 to the members of the Ashenlocke House, Duke Valentine Ashenlocke had warned Vera never to use the word ‘traitor’ when speaking about Elder Fredricks Ashenlocke.

The punishment she had received now was the same as before.

In that case, it wasn’t particularly bad.

It was more like the Duke of Ash was keeping his daughter away from other people for a while.

Given how Vera tended to behave when she had the chance to speak freely, perhaps Valentine simply wanted some peace during the holiday.

Or…

Is Duke Valentine Ashenlocke actually a possessive father?

The question appeared in Ezra’s mind.

He considered it for a moment, then let it go.

It wasn’t something he needed to figure out right now.

Besides, he had just noticed a more immediate problem.

He still hadn’t reached his seat.

Ezra lowered his Starlix 11 slightly and looked ahead.

He knew he was walking.

Especially since he could feel his legs moving beneath him, and the floor was passing under his shoes as he took one step after another.

Yet the seating section did not seem to be getting any closer.

He slowed down.

The tables were still in front of him, and the guests around them continued moving as they prepared for the Last Dance.

Nothing appeared out of place at first glance.

People were talking, some were leaving their seats, and others were making their way towards the dance floor.

But Ezra knew what he had seen.

He had been walking, yet he hadn’t made any progress towards his destination.

His attention shifted from the tables to the people around him.

He tried to sense what was happening, but nothing stood out.

He could see the guests nearby and notice movement in other parts of the hall, just as he had been able to do before.

There was no clear sign of what had stopped him.

“Young Alchemist of Ash.”

A familiar voice came from behind him.

Ezra stopped.

He hadn’t sensed anyone approaching.

His senses had always allowed him to remain aware of his surroundings, down to the faintest sounds he could pick up.

Yet the person behind him had appeared without giving him anything to notice.

He didn’t turn at once.

For a brief moment, he considered what that meant.

Only very high-ranking Alchemists could pass beyond his level of perception so completely.

They would have to be far above the Alchemist ranks he was used to dealing with, all of them surpassing the Meister Alchemist rank.

And only a small number of Alchemists of that standing were permitted to use their Cognis freely inside the Grand Royal Hall.

Ezra turned around.

He lowered his head and placed his right hand against his chest, keeping his other hand behind his back.

“Greetings to the Queen.”

His voice was calm as he addressed the people standing before him.

“And the Heads of the Royal Alchemist Branches.”

He greeted them in turn.

The Queen stood among the group, accompanied by the Heads of the Royal Alchemist Branches.

Their presence was enough to explain why he hadn’t sensed them approaching, though it did little to lessen his surprise at how completely they had escaped his notice.

Around them, the guests continued preparing for the Last Dance.

Nobody in the crowd seemed to have noticed the exchange.

The conversations carried on, and the people nearest the dance floor remained focused on finding their partners or waiting for the music to begin.

To the rest of the hall, nothing unusual had happened.

Ezra, however, was standing before people whose abilities were far beyond his own.

“Smart, being able to guess it was us.”

The Head of the Strom Royal Alchemist Branch looked at Ezra with clear approval.

The young Alchemist had not needed an introduction to work out who had approached him.

That alone seemed to have caught the man’s interest.

“This child would be perfect for the Genesis Royal Alchemist Branch.”

The Head of the Genesis Royal Alchemist Branch smiled softly as she looked at Ezra.

She seemed just as interested in him as her counterpart from Strom.

“I think his quick thinking would make him a good fit for the Hermetic Royal Alchemist Branch.”

The Head of the Hermetic Royal Alchemist Branch objected.

The old-looking man stepped closer to Ezra and examined him, his gaze moving over the boy as though he were trying to judge his potential for himself.

The other two Heads had already begun making their claims, and he clearly had no intention of letting them decide the matter without him.

“Haha… Choose, boy. Which Alchemist Branch do you think would suit you better?”

He asked the question while stroking his beard.

The three Heads were looking at Ezra now, each with their own interest in where he might end up.

Their attention alone would have been enough to put most young Alchemists under pressure, but Ezra kept his composure.

He had not even completed his first year at the Royal Academy.

Choosing a Royal Alchemist Branch at this stage would be premature, no matter how interested its Head might be in recruiting him.

“I haven’t even finished my first year yet, so how can I think about choosing now?”

Ezra answered calmly.

The three Royal Alchemist Heads looked at one another.

A moment later, they began to laugh lightly.

His answer had not rejected any of them, but it had not given them the choice they wanted either.

Ezra was still a student, and he had no reason to decide his future branch before he had even completed his first year at the Academy.

Especially when he has to retain his academic rank till he completes his academic life to even get the choice to choose a Branch.

“That is why you have to make sure you either maintain your Academy rank till the end of your academic rank or even finish, reaching the number one spot.”

The Head of the Strom Royal Alchemist Branch said this as he gave Ezra a light smack on the back.

The unexpected contact pushed Ezra forward slightly.

He steadied himself and looked back at the man, who seemed perfectly pleased with himself.

The advice was simple enough.

If Ezra wanted to be considered by the Royal Alchemist Branches, he would have to prove that he could maintain his position among the Academy’s best students.

Reaching the top would only make him a more attractive choice.

Still, being told to reach the number one spot by the Head of a Royal Alchemist Branch was one thing.

Having the man demonstrate his encouragement by smacking him on the back was another.

“You three shouldn’t put unnecessary pressure on the boy now.”

Camilla Mayer, the Head of the Nebula Royal Alchemist Branch, spoke from beside the Queen.

Her words drew Ezra’s attention towards her.

Until that moment, he hadn’t even noticed her standing there.

That alone gave him something to think about.

Ezra was usually aware of his surroundings, even when his attention was occupied by something else.

He could pick up faint sounds and notice movements that others might overlook, yet Camilla had remained outside his awareness until she chose to speak.

He looked at her for a moment, considering what that meant.

The people standing before him were not ordinary Alchemists.

Their ranks and positions placed them among the most powerful figures in the Kingdom’s Alchemy world, and their control over Cognis was clearly beyond what he could currently detect.

Ezra had already known that there were limits to his senses.

Now, standing before the Heads of the Royal Alchemist Branches, he had another reminder of just how large the gap could be between himself and those at the very top.