"Are you really okay?" Elias asked with concern, turning his gaze toward Caelum, who was seated right next to him in the magical theory and practical class.
Caelum offered a small, reassuring smile and nodded. "I am completely fine, your highness," he replied, his voice even.
Elias sighed, his shoulders slumping slightly. He glanced around the classroom, his eyes landing on his older brother, the crown prince, who was being forced to retake the magical class because his final theory and practical test scores had been insufficient.
Already, hushed whispers were circulating among the students about the crown prince's unexpected presence in their class. Both Elias and Caelum could easily tell that the gossiping was visibly getting on Aurelius' nerves.
Aurelius shot a sharp glare around the room, silencing the immediate chatter, before turning his attention back to the blackboard with a blank, unreadable expression.
Elias let out another, deeper sigh. "This class is not going to be easy for me," he muttered, his voice low.
"Because of your brother?" Caelum whispered back, leaning in slightly.
Elias nodded grimly. "He's incredibly good at getting on my nerves and making me lose whatever control I manage to maintain over my ice magic," he explained, his jaw tightening.
"Should I stay close, just in case he decides to do something?" Caelum asked immediately, the natural instinct to protect kicking in, putting him into a subtly protective mode.
Elias shook his head in refusal. "I will try my best to keep away from him," he assured Caelum.
Caelum nodded in acknowledgment, but a sense of wariness remained in his posture regarding the first prince. Caelum's own family was not on the crown prince's side either, so there was a distinct possibility that even he could become a target. He inwardly sighed as Aurelius' eyes briefly fixed on him. Caelum offered a quick, respectful nod in return before shifting his gaze toward the door as the professor finally made her entrance.
"Your bench mate will serve as your partner for this entire semester, so I expect both of you to be respectful to each other," the professor announced crisply. "I am your magic instructor, Alma Idrasil," she stated, placing her stack of books on the podium before stepping down from the raised platform, the dias. "I want everyone to focus intensely on your magic while you are in this class. Absolutely no deviations will be allowed," she warned with a serious tone. "In the knights class, you are typically given wooden swords so that you do not inflict harm beyond human capacity. But here, you will be engaging in dangerous magic, magic powerful enough to potentially kill, so you must keep your absolute focus on my instructions and on your own magic the moment you step into this classroom," she instructed firmly.
Caelum nodded, already developing a strong liking for her no-nonsense teaching method. It was clear that she would not tolerate any silly nonsense or the usual enthusiastic fangirling that often occurred in the knights class within her domain.
Her professional demeanor immediately reminded him of his mentor, the person under whom he had trained extensively as a trainee. She had been exactly the same way. She had demanded his complete focus on the case, the criminals, and the victims whenever he was on duty. Only when he was off duty was she an easygoing and relaxed person.
Caelum observed that no one had partnered with Aurelius, and Alma's eyes were already scanning the area, pausing specifically on him and Elias.
He sighed internally, bracing himself, already expecting that he would be forced to babysit an undeniably egoistic kid.
"Prince Aurelius," Alma called out, her voice penetrating the silence. "Since you currently have no partner, you will either share your brother with Mr. Valtheron or share Mr. Valtheron with Prince Elias," she stated plainly.
"No," Aurelius snapped back, his voice rising sharply. "I absolutely will not work with those two," he shouted, clearly frustrated.
Caelum sighed to himself. 'This kid will definitely be a problem in the future classes,' he thought with a growing sense of certainty.
"Like I want to work with you, you bastard," Elias muttered under his breath. Though it was a whisper, Caelum heard the words perfectly.
'Wait,' Caelum thought, the realization hitting him. 'Didn't he curse 'bastard' yesterday when his poison acted up, causing his ice magic to spiral out of control? Did he curse Aurelius when the poison flared up?'
The classroom door was suddenly slammed wide open, and a new student strode inside. "I will be his highness' partner," the kid announced confidently.
"And who might you be?" Alma inquired, raising an eyebrow.
"New joining," the kid replied simply. "Aristotle Fredrick Ravenloft," he stated, walking directly toward the empty seat beside Aurelius, who was now smiling, looking completely relieved to see Aristotle.
'Who is he?' Caelum wondered, feeling a surge of curiosity. 'And why does Aurelius look so relieved to see him?'
"He is Aurelius' cousin," Elias supplied quietly, correctly anticipating the unspoken question in Caelum's mind. "He has only been a part of the knights division with my brother before," he explained further. "I guess he joined this class now just to keep Aurelius company, and now both of them will graduate from school together."
"Alright," Alma said, her attention returning to the class as she clapped her hands together once to regain order. "Since we now have everyone successfully paired up, we will proceed to determine what magic you excel in and what your secondary magic is," she announced.
When it was Caelum's turn, he stood up straight and said clearly, "Caelum Valtheron. My main magic is healing magic. My secondary magic is fire magic."
Next, Elias stood up. "Elias Ingris. My main types of magic are ice magic and teleportation magic. My secondary magic is air magic," he stated clearly.
Alma nodded thoughtfully. "Alright," she said. "You might have what you consider to be main types of magic, but it is essential that I want you to be able to control the other types of magic as well," she instructed as she walked back onto the dias. "You never know when you will desperately need other forms of magic. For instance, Wraiths only die when struck by light magic. I want you to be able to cast at least beginning level spells in all types of magic by the end of this semester, as you will all be going to the labyrinth next semester."
Caelum nodded to himself, processing her words. 'This will prevent any doubt about my abilities if I am able to utilize all types of magic in the future,' he considered. 'Plus, that is a truly excellent way to get students motivated. Life matters most in this world, too.'
Elias was keeping a careful watch on his older brother, his expression intense. He knew that any aggressive action from Aurelius directed against him would be enough to get Aurelius dethroned, and Elias himself could then ascend to the crown prince position despite the lingering effects of the poison. 'Father has already warned you specifically not to get in my way after the poisoning stunt. What exactly are you going to do now?' he mused internally, a subtle smirk playing on his lips.
Throughout the practical portion of the class, Caelum made certain to intentionally act like he struggled significantly with any form of magic other than his claimed healing and fire.
He knew the truth: healing and light magic were his genuine main types, with the other six types being secondary. He was fully capable of using intermediate level spells in all those types, but he was determined to keep that powerful capability a complete secret for as long as he possibly could.
"Fire arrow," he commanded, and a clearly defined fire arrow materialized above his hand, flying forward to hit the target with perfect accuracy.
"Now, try ice magic," Alma instructed, walking closer to him.
"Icicle spear," he said, focusing his intent. He deliberately ensured that he pushed only a very small, insufficient amount of magic into the spell, but just enough to form the shape of a spear. That spear, predictably, couldn't manage to reach even halfway to the target before dissipating.
"That is quite good for a very first try," Alma complimented warmly. "Since your secondary magic is fire, ice magic will naturally be your toughest element to cast effectively, but you must keep practicing diligently," she encouraged as she moved away to approach Elias, who was currently trying his absolute best to cast a fire arrow.
Elias' fire arrow also formed above him, but it consistently failed to reach its target. In addition, his ice magic was clearly leaking out, causing his body to slowly freeze.
Caelum immediately walked over to him, gently took hold of Elias' hands, and simultaneously utilized his healing magic to soothe the fingers and his fire magic to unfreeze the fabric of his clothes and transfer some much-needed warmth to Elias, who gratefully tightened his hold on Caelum's hands.
"I can definitely see why you two became partners," Alma whispered softly, a knowing look on her face, before moving on to check on the other students.