Valerian, The Legendary

124 Aplogize?

Valerian spent the rest of his night reading and learning things from the book, and he also took a round of the stairs but instead of going to the top floor, he returned from the third floor. This way he will not be too tired in the morning.

After a round, he went to sleep and after a few hours, the sun came up. When Valerian woke up, he found Fortuna gobbling up her fill on the counter, and Fallax staring right back at him. The child was aware that the old man must have come to know about the things from last night.

He stood up but did not ask him anything, acting as if whatever happened had nothing to do with him. He went to clean himself up and the old man patiently waited at his seat. Fallax did not bring up anything as he was aware that this kid was a tough nut to deal with.

Valerian came back and began to eat his meal, then he said, “Fortuna, eat quickly, we will leave early for the music lessons.”

The kitten glanced at him and then she went back to eating her meal with joy. She did not care about the matters of this mortal. Fallax on the side snorted and said, “You better tell me what is going on with those kids tied to the flag pole.”

Valerian looked at him with an expression of surprise, and asked, “What the heck are you talking about?”

His expression was so genuine that the old man almost bought it. However, the older ginger was spicier, and he said, “Brat, they gave us your name. Their teachers are on my ass, do you understand what that means? Can you stop causing trouble for me?”

Valerian was surprised this time, and his expression was genuine, he wanted to ask, ‘They really have no backbone to give up my name?’

But he knew that Fallax was a tricky opponent and said, “That is a baseless accusation. I was at the art pavilion at that time.”

.....

His tone was firm, and Fallax fell into contemplation, he could tell that something was wrong, but he could not point it out. Valerian said, “You ask them to challenge me for a duel if they want to seek revenge, I will deal with them fairly. Bunch of liars.”

That said, he snorted and stood up. He looked at Fortuna and said, “I am leaving, do you want to come?”

The kitten had just finished her meal and quickly came to his side. Valerian picked her up and placed her on his shoulder and said, “This way you will be closer to me, do not always sit on my head, if the lightning fell from the skies it will hit you.”

Fortuna cast him a condescending gaze as if saying, ‘Do you take me as a fool, human? Pathetic.’

A human child with a kitten on his shoulder left the battlemage tower and they made their way to the wood magic tower. Valerian looked around but did not find Ashlyn, he waited for a few minutes before he spotted the princess’s handmaiden. He walked over and asked in a calm manner, “Good morning, Lady Sylvia, can you please tell me where is Her Highness, Ashlyn?”

His mannerism was in line with nobles, the handmaid was surprised and said, “Your highness, the princess will be here shortly. She told me to pass on a message, that if you wish to leave for the art pavilion ahead of her, then it will be fine.”

Valerian shook his head and said, “It is not fine to break an appointment.”

He began to talk to Sylvia leisurely. After a few minutes, Ashlyn came down the tower and found the two. She had a completely different vibe about her. Her hair was spread over her shoulders with natural curls and a few bangs covering her forehead.

This look was much suited to the aesthetics of her age. Valerian was surprised to see that the arrogance was replaced by a faint smile. She was dressed in a green skirt with floral prints, and a white shirt, with her warrior boots. She did not put on her tunic today but an emblem was embroidered on the cuffs of the shirt.

She smiled at Valerian and with an official bow she said, “Greetings, Your Highness Valerian.”

The silver-haired boy was surprised by her gesture. He leaned forward slightly and said, “I apologize, it is not convenient for me to reciprocate your bow, for now, Your Highness.”

Ashlyn shook her head and then said, “It’s fine. How about we head to the art pavilion?”

Valerian nodded and then the pair walked to the art pavilion. A lot of people were looking at them, it was morning and the students had come out of their towers to socialize and eat breakfast. In front of the art, the pavilion was the mess area, dedicated for all the students to eat three meals.

The two ignored the gazes and came to the art pavilion. They moved straight to the music room to find Lilian. The two were worried about the situation of the lady. Sylvia was unaware of everything and followed them from a distance. The maid was slightly older than Ashlyn, and since last night she was in a state of partial surprise.

The princess was nice to her, but that was because she was obedient to her and her temperament was patient. She was aware that the heart of the princess was not bad, but she was still a difficult person to deal with.

The change in the princess was too sudden, if she was a storm in the past, she was now a gust of spring wind, soothing and calm. The two people came to the music room and heard some gentle music tunes emitting from the room, however, the sound was not as serene as it was in the past.

Valerian and Ashlyn entered the room and the sound stopped. Lilian was anxious throughout the night and just as she noticed the movement at the door, her hands tightened.

The boy walked over to her and asked, “Teacher, are you worried?”

Lilian raised her head, and asked, “Are you fine? I hope you had no trouble.”

Valerian shook his head and said, “What would happen to us, you worry too much.”

Ashlyn chimed in from the side, “Yes, Teacher, do not worry. Also, I apologize to you for my rudeness.”

Lilian was surprised to notice the change in this girl, but she did not dare to point it out. Valerian noticed this but he did not say anything as he was not very confident about the changes in Ashlyn’s persona.

After a few more words, the princess left the room to attend her dance lesson. While Valerian sat beside Lilian, learning about how to move his hands around the instrument, and at the same time trying to find a way to play a musical piece that expresses his mind.

...

Five boys were gathered together in a secluded spot of the academy, they were the victims, who were hung by the flagpole naked. They were trying to find ways to hide from their peers. The humiliation they suffered last night was not something that could be shared with anyone. They did not tell the teachers about the person who did this because they were afraid of being humiliated by the others.

What they wanted to do was to seek revenge. They tried to teach Valerian a lesson that he would not forget. They decided to investigate the silver-haired boy, and they made sure that their investigation was not discovered.

Given their noble status they found out many things in just a tiny time. They were wary of the identity of the prince of the Lumen Empire. They were rich, and belonged to the households of the nobles and the merchants, but they were still not enough to threaten the imperial family.

However, when they found out that Valerian was an adopted prince, their fear was replaced by courage, and thus they directly made their way to the art pavilion. They had decided to teach that phony prince a lesson.

...

Valerian was playing a song with his eyes closed. He was imagining the smiling faces of Diligentia and Flos. These two were the only people who could make his emotions oscillate between the extremes. As soon as he finished playing, a shallow chain of claps rang out.

Opening his eyes, Valerian found the five people from yesterday, standing at the door of the hall. They all gazed at him condescendingly. The person in lead said, “I am Richtor Sax, nice to see you, the adopted prince, Valerian Verus.”

Valerian raised his eyebrow, he recognized these guys, and he also understood the motive of their visit, but what he did not understand was, where their confidence came from. How could these petty-minded people face him?

Richtor Sax saw Valerian gazing at him in a daze. He thought the boy recognized him and was scared, so he continued speaking, “I would like you to knock your head on the ground and apologize to me.”