….
….
….
— ~Disturbing the peace~
— ~Look into my eyes~
— ~Now tell me the things you're laughing about me behind my back~
A familiar sound cut through the silence.
Arthur groaned.
"Stupid thing.... Why do I even set it?"
His body moved instinctively to tap on his phone's screen—which was on the desk next to his bed.
The sound stopped, and for a moment, he thought it had worked.
— ~The tenacity~
He tapped multiple times on the surface, all without opening his eyes.
Then finally, when the sound was gone, he rest his hand on his phone's screen.
But.... the texture underneath his hand wasn't that of a phone, it was warm and soft.
Arthur finally opened his eyes.
Instead of his phone's alarm screen, his hand rested on top of another person.
A man.
Arthur quickly moved his hand back, his movements as quick as lightning for someone who just woke up.
"Good morning, young master."
Lucien said dryly.
"Good morning, Lucien."
Arthur replied.
The memories of the day quickly came back to me.
'So this guy knocked me unconscious.'
Arthur stared at him.
'I never realized he hated me this much.'
Arthur had to admit that before getting the memories, he was pretty dumb. It took him a lot of time to realize that no matter what he did, Lucien would hate him for as long as the boy breathed.
Then, he went on to try to kill everyone, only to killed by Lucien.
"How long was I out?" Arthur asked, getting out of the bed. "And how long have you been sitting there? Am I safe?"
"Two days."
"You've been sitting here for two days?!"
"You've been out for two days, I only just sat down when you grabbed me."
Lucien clarified.
"I see."
Arthur sat up.
'I feel as good as new.'
He didn't feel any pain in his joints, or anywhere for that matter.
"I suppose you used the quack's equipment."
"Yes."
Lucien answered.
"And where did you study medicine?"
"At the Kurobane estate before I was assigned to you."
"Okay, good enough."
Arthur stood up.
"Can you get my clothes ready?"
Wordlessly, Lucien stood up from the chair he sat on and left the room.
As soon as Lucien left, Arthur's expression changed.
'Only four days left until the academy's entrance exam.'
He didn't have the luxury to laze around, even if he wanted to.
'In the game, I would place fiftieth in the exams.'
The original Arthur wasn't particularly weak, he trained everyday, hoping that hard work would surpass the talent gap between he and his siblings.
But.... it never happened.
He was never able to cross the gap—the insurmountable gap that just seemed to grow bigger with every passing second.
'With a good strategy, I'll be able to rank in the top 20's at least, but I really need to enter the top ten.'
Being a part of the top ten gave privileges, privileges that Arthur needed.
He stood up from the bed, going in the direction of the bathroom.
'If I performed exceptionally in the written exam, I suppose that would do a bit to bridge the gap.'
The running water fell onto his back.
'Thankfully, I already know the questions.'
Arthur grinned.
Most human beings were often attracted to things that had no use to them, Arthur—or Damien, as he was in the past, was no exception.
He had found the game's magic system interesting and tried to understand everything he could about them, because they were.... well, they had no real-life application.
The question segment in the written exams wasn't written by the player, it was written by Lucien himself, or whoever the playthrough the player had chosen.
While Arthur didn't remember the answers most of the main cast had put, he remembered some to an extent.
'The one I remember clearly is Lucien's.'
He immediately scowled at the thought.
'I'll be better off just writing it with my own knowledge at that point.'
Lucien didn't do very well at the written segment, however, his performance in the second part of the exam made up for it.
Arthur left the shower with a towel draped around his waist. The first thing that caught his gaze was the clothes Lucien prepared, and without further thought, he wore the clothes.
Lucien was there, sitting.
"How long will it take to get to the Central Monarchy?"
Arthur asked.
"About three days."
After being banished for a year, he was finally heading back.
Under normal conditions, he wouldn't be allowed to re-enter the Central Monarchy legally, however since he had already
"And to the academy?"
"Six and a half hours, it might take more if we encounter a lot of people at the border."
Arthur nodded.
"There should be a lot of people there, considering that it's the last chance they'll get to enter the academy."
He said, then continued.
"We'll leave in an hour, call the driver to come."
As a child, what Arthur really wanted the most wasn't money, rather it was the warmth of a parent's love.
He didn't get the former, but he got loads of the latter.
Even when he was banished, it was Lucien that worked to mitigate his losses.
Arthur didn't know how he did it, but he had done it.
It only took seven months for it to happen, and when it was done, Arthur had bought a limousine and a private jet.
Not for luxury of course, it was so they could go to Lavender Academy.
Definitely not for luxury....
"Oh." Arthur spoke up. "How did you learn both law and medicine?"
"I didn't learn law, you're just dumb so you don't know how to do it."
Arthur stared blankly.
"Fair enough."
'Maybe I shouldn't have gone for engineering.'
He didn't even get the chance to finish the course before he died.
"Young master, might I ask on where you're going?"
Lucien questioned as he noticed Arthur leaving.
"I told you not to call me that, and I'm going out to sit on the tree while we wait for the driver to arrive." He answered. "And make sure to pack my clothes, the medical equipment, and some of the books you can find in this dump."
With those words, Arthur walked out of the room.