The Path 018 (Patreon)

Having arrived before William, David was standing in a group of well-dressed youths, six boys and four girls, when a Butler arrived to whisper into the ear of a bespectacled girl with long, wheat-colored hair and red amber eyes. Her outfit, consisting of a fitted white jumpsuit with gold trim, a silvery-white breastplate, and a dark green tailcoat with an ivory-white interior and gold stitching, alluded to her high status, but she was actually dressed 'casually' to put the other guests at ease.

"Oh, my..." remarked the girl, blinking in surprise and prompting another girl with short red hair to ask, "Did something happen, Your Highness...?"

Directing her gaze to David, the bespectacled girl, Princess Lyra Alcyone Astralis, revealed, "It would appear the younger brother of our esteemed Vice-Chairmperson has arrived..."

"William..." muttered a girl with silvery-white hair and shimmering silver eyes, gazing at the entrance, much to the chagrin of a youth with matte purple hair, combed over and kept short at the sides.

"Then, with Your Highness's permission, I will go and retrieve him," stated David, placing his hand over his chest and bowing slightly.

"No, I don't think so..." said Lyra, leaving David a little confused until she smiled and explained, "Based on what I was just told, it appears he plans to make a scene. I would like to see how things play out."

'What could he possibly have planned...?' David wondered, regretting his decision not to inform William that a member of the Royal Family would be in attendance. Lyra was only a Fourth Princess, but as the highest-ranked student in the Academy and a Brave Candidate, her chances of becoming the next Monarch weren't zero.

Leaving David speechless and causing Lyra's brows to perk in curiosity, William invariably entered the ballroom in his hyper-casual, almost thug-like attire. His hazel eyes appeared sharper than usual, and he exuded a domineering aura that wasn't usually present, leaving David slackjawed and pale.

Noticing his brother's group, separated from the other guests in a slightly elevated area, William smiled and did something no one expected, leaping across the ballroom using a burst of Wind Magic.

'This idiot...!' David exclaimed internally, his eyes widening to their limits as a white-cloaked figure appeared atop the railing William had aimed for, erecting a Magic Barrier as they loudly declared, "You are in the presence of Her Highness, Princess Lyra Alcyone Astralis! You will show the proper decorum...!"

"Nice barrier!" exclaimed William, stunning nearly everyone by striking it with his gauntlet-covered fist. His other options were crashing into or kicking off of it, so he decided to show off, slamming his fist into the barrier and fragmenting it like glass. Ordinarily, the magic-disrupting properties of his gauntlet would have destroyed it completely, but the cloaked Mage managed to pump additional Mana into it at the moment of contact.

'A Barrier Specialist of the Fourth Circle...' concluded William, crossing his arms and contracting his body as the force of the barrier pulsed, sending him flying back. Fortunately, as he was accustomed to being blown away, he managed to flip over and right himself, landing softly on his feet thanks to the pale green Aura swirling around him.

Nearly catching William by surprise, a second cloaked figure appeared in his blind spot, striking at his side with a delicate fist veiled in Aura.

"You're overreacting," said William, catching the hand by the wrist, much to the surprise of its owner. Their agility was comparable to a Third-Grade Practioner, but after getting backstabbed in his previous life, William had spent considerable time honing his senses.

Pulling her hand free, largely because William had let it go, the cloaked figure crossed their arms and reached into their cloak, grasping a set of kunai-like knives. William couldn't help noticing they were wearing a black leotard beneath their cloak, but his expression remained a mask of brazen humor as he casually deflected the kunai using a finger covered in golden Aura, the sign of hardening using the Earth element.

"That's quite enough," said Lyra, standing at the railing and staring down at William with a practiced, slightly intrigued smile as she expressed, "The Gamma Star of the Oirthear Constellation has only recently arrived in the Capital and had not been made aware that I would be in attendance. I'm certain he meant no offense, so I would excuse his behavior and ask that everyone else do the same."

'As if I wouldn't know who the Chairperson of the Assembly of Excellence was,' mused William, causing everyone to tense as he gave a half-hearted Knight's salute, smiling as he said, "Wow, I've never met a Princess. What did you say your name was...?"

Narrowing her eyes slightly, Lyra replied, "Lyra Alcyone Astralis. Welcome to the Royal Academy's Star-Gathering Hall, William Altaurus Oirthear. I speak for many here when I say we have been looking forward to meeting you..."

"And why is that?" asked William, causing an awkward silence to descend upon the ballroom as his expression and body language made it seem like he was genuinely curious to hear Lyra's response.

Taking advantage of Lyra's silence, William looked around, his expression morphing into a resentful glower as he declared, "If anyone here was truly interested in meeting me, they could have easily taken a Waystone over to Oirthearhall. Yet, even while House Oirthear was dealing with a refugee crisis and one of the largest monster waves in the past hundred years, not a single person from the Capital came to our aid..."

Returning his gaze to Lyra, who now sported a conflicted frown, William's smile broadened as he added, "Luckily, the Great Oirthear Constellation is nothing if not resilient and full of hardy people. Even when our would-be allies turn their backs on us, we remain true to our principles and uphold the values of the Founding King and Constellations. The same values that paved the way for our forebears to overcome the impossible and establish the greatest, most prosperous Kingdom in the world..."

Punctuating his words by punching his right fist into the palm of his left hand, William's grin broadened even further as he shouted, "Now, which of you profligates think you're in a position to evaluate my strength!? Form a line! I'll take you all on...!"

"Very well. As the representative of those gathered here, I'll take you on," said Lyra, flipping things on their head as she descended from her perch and materialized a shimmering silver rapier that looked like it would snap the moment it struck a hard surface.

'Plan C it is..." thought William, his expression becoming serious as he materialized a pair of spadroons, holding them in a relaxed posture as he said, "As expected of a member of the Royal Family. You have a backbone that matches your status..."

"Your words honor me," hummed Lyra, slowly swiping her left hand along the length of her rapier, causing a glowing pattern reminiscent of circuitry to appear. More complex patterns appeared around her forearms and feet as she abruptly lunged forward, traversing nearly thirty meters in the blink of an eye.

Catching everyone but Lyra by surprise, William did not attempt to dodge or counter her attack. There was absolutely no killing intent behind the blow, so he maintained a cool, composed smile and asked, "Shouldn't we set up a barrier or something first...?" despite the tip of Lyra's rapier being close enough to cause icy condensation to spread across his throat.

Witnessing William's composure, Lyra raised her brows before retracting her sword, matching his relaxed posture as she replied, "You are correct. Shall we move someplace else while the arrangements are made?"

"Sounds good," replied William, punctuating his words by stabbing the matching, Gryphon-pommeled spadroons into the ground. Lyra kept her rapier, but instead of returning it to the ornate, gem-encrusted platinum bracelet around her wrist, she pulled out a sword belt and fixed it to her waist, saying, "Then, if you will follow me, I'm certain your elder brother has a few words for you."

"More than a few, I'd wager," mused William, slipping his hands into his pockets and following behind the much shorter Princess. Lyra was three years older than him, but as she had only recently started maturing into a woman, she still had much growing to do. On the other hand, William was among the tallest people in attendance, clocking in at 158cm despite only recently turning ten.

"And he's not the only one,' appended Lyra, leaving William confused until he noticed a doll-like girl with silvery-white hair and silver eyes standing among his brother's presumed colleagues.

'Well, that's not good...' thought William, his confident mask cracking as memories of the past resurfaced. He immediately recognized the girl as one of his prospective spouses, Delphina Carinae, but things were a little more complicated than that. In the wake of their first meeting, Delphina had her family arrange several more, but William had practically ghosted her, using the excuse he wanted to focus on his training and attuning with a Gryphon...

"Your Highness...please forgive my younger brother's indiscretions. I can assure you he meant no offense..." said David, his left brow twitching and visibly sweating as he forced a smile. He actually agreed with many of the things William had said, but making a scene before a member of the Royal Family was borderline insane. And what was with his appearance!?

"Indiscretion implies a lack of good judgment," countered William. "My words and actions might qualify as brash, but nothing I said was wrong. Despite calling themselves the 'Assembly of Excellence,' many of those here are genuine wastrels. Yet, by virtue of nothing more than their birth, they believe themselves entitled to stand above and outright look down upon others. If such sentiments had been present during the war against the Creator, there would be no Astralis Kingdom."

"Will...I think you've said enough..." stated David, his expression and tone flat and disproving.

"Seriously..." said the purple-haired youth, scowling as he added, "If you weren't the Gamma Star of the Oirthear Constellation, you would already be arrested and thrown in the Academy's dungeons. And yet you have the gall to accuse others of exploiting their birthrights..."

Meeting the youth's gaze, William's expression exuded severity as he stated, "I can act this way because I'm willing to fight and die to uphold my principles and those of the Kingdom my family have fought and died to preserve for centuries. I'm not riding the coattails of my forebears but carrying the torch passed from one generation to another, holding it high so that all those who follow after never lose sight of the path pioneered to preserve them..."

Cowed by William's gaze, the purple-haired youth took an involuntary step back. He was considered fairly talented among his peers, but at only twelve years old, he was still a Warrior of the First Grade. He was on track to reach the Second Grade by the end of his third year, but while that was considered impressive, it was incomparable to William's status as a Third-Grade Practitioner. And that was by Leshien's standard. Using the metrics of the Warrior's College, he was closer to a Fourth-Grade Adepti.

Helping to ease tensions, Lyra clapped her hands together and said, "Well said! It's rare to hear such conviction from one so young. Eastwarden and the orthodox factions will be in good hands with such a spirited individual to guide them."

"Assuming I'm not killed off before I get the opportunity," mused William, grinning like a jackal. His words were spoken with the cadence of a joke, but his smile didn't quite reach his subtly glowing eyes, making it clear to at least Lyra that he wasn't joking.

'Is someone trying to kill him...?' Lyra wondered, her brows perking ever so slightly. Assassination attempts weren't uncommon among the upper crust of the nobility, but unless a replacement was lined up, the heirs of the Four Great Constellations were typically 'off limits.' Even members of the Royal Family lacked that particular perk, so to say Lyra's interest had been piqued would be an understatement...

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