Kael Acedia.
There was hardly anything remarkable about him.
He was merely the 'ordinary' noble living in silver spoon, the fourth son of a wealthy baron.
His grades were unremarkable, his swordsmanship was slightly impressive at best, and his face was considered as 'average'.
No matter how Kael looked at himself, he was nothing more than a 'background character' if life were a novel.
And yet, despite all that…
"Please call me Mary. Although this is our first meeting, I was happy it was you I'm engaged to."
The first impression he had of her is how she looks innocent and gentle. Her hair was as black as midnight sky, and her eyes were as empty as the void.
For a fleeting moment, Kael felt himself captivated.
But deep within, he already had a feeling...
Their tale was destined to end in tragedy.
***********
Chapter 1: Kael.
One could argue Kael has an impressive talent that none could best to. And that is... the talent of sleeping shamelessly.
His head rested on his desk, arms folded beneath it as a makeshift pillow. Then, drool escaped from the corner of his mouth, and the room echoed with the sound of his snores.
Truly, he was at peace.
... Until he suddenly felt the disturbance in the force.
A piece of chalk came whizzing toward his head. With somewhat surprising reflexes, Kael jerked his head aside just in time. It was such an amazing feat, knowing the professor just poured all his strength into making that chalk travel in speed of light.
The class clapped and gasp, everyone was amazed.
"Mm… ah. Guess it was just a dream," Kael muttered while barely lifting his head. "For a moment, I thought demons had invaded, and I! the tragic hero ... would finally awaken my hidden powers!"
"How dare you sleep in my class!" An old man screamed on top of his lungs.
Kael blinked slowly, eyes dragging upward until they rested on the professor's lone, valiant strand of hair on his bald head. He squinted at it for a minute before his lips parted with a lazy sigh.
"Oh it's just Professor Mayhem huh..."
Professor Mayhem was a strict instructor, renowned for training some of the most talented students. His reputation was so great that he secured a position at a prestigious school for 20 years. Obviously, never in his life had he encountered a student who disrespected him like this... and the fact it has been going on for 2 years!
So when he saw Kael's unfazed expression, veins bulged on Professor Mayhem's forehead as he crumpled the textbook in his grip. Without missing a beat, he hurled it at Kael, channeling all his frustration into the throw.
Naturally, Kael just ducked his head and avoided it 'again' with ease. Professor Mayhem already expected that, but at least it's still worth to try.
If only he was thirty years younger... Will he be able to destroy that brat's face?
Grinding his teeth, Professor Mayhem slowly calmed himself down, "If you won't bother listening, then leave!"
And sure enough, the class went silent afterward.
Professor Mayhem's brows rose as he looked around at his students one by one. Each of them shook their heads, some felt pity, others felt disappointment. Silence wasn't new in his class, but the way they looked at him now... their faces were full of dismay, not towards Kael, but at him.
Only then did Professor Mayhem realized his mistake.
Afterwards Kael stood up with his half-shut eye suspiciously brightened up. "Oh? Can I leave? Sweet!!" he said, stretching like a cat while grabbing his bag and shuffled toward the window.
"Wait- you're not allowed to leave without the bell—" Professor Mayhem shouted as Kael leapt through the window, landing unscathed from the fourth floor and sprinting away with a grin on his face.
He might be in trouble as an instructor who had just let a student wander off campus during class hours.
But it was far too late for regret now…
The class exploded into whispers.
"Yikes, he fell for it again."
"Principal's office is gonna be fun today."
"Hahaha, maybe Kael's the reason why he's balding."
Professor Mayhem's glare froze the room in an instant.
"Ten thousand words of today's lesson essay tomorrow. I will deduct 20 points from your exam if you fail to do it."
Groans filled the air. Some protested, others begged for mercy. Kael might have been lazy, but somehow, he always managed to make everyone else suffer for it.
***
Walking through the grand hallway of Floridel Academy, Kael found himself oddly entertained by the simple act of wandering.
As the son of a wealthy noble family, he had developed the peculiar habit of noting every detail of architecture, gilding, and jewelry.
Everything here seemed perfect. The floors shone like mirrors, the tiles polished to a fault and not a single speck of dust dared cling to the paintings.
That was to be expected, after all... this was an academy reserved for the royals of the kingdom and the exceptionally gifted among commoners.
Some were prodigies in combat.
Others were blessed with charisma.
And some could even invent medicines and machines that's capable of changing the world.
Kael, on the other hand, had only one qualification: family wealth.
He had slipped through the gilded gates because of his surname. Of course, this isn't something he could take pride in. In fact, he begged his father to not go in this academy... however his parents insisted that he should do his job as a noble and create connections with the students inside.
"Connections huh..."
With a sigh, Kael dug into his bag, fished out an apple, and bit into it with all the energy of a man too exhausted. Whenever Kael remembered that all he did so far is fooling around, he couldn't help but to feel stressed what his father and brothers might do to him.
He could imagine a terrifying bears lunging at him.
Out of guilt, Kael was about to make his way back to his classroom when suddenly, he felt a nudge at his back.
He turned around and froze.
Black hair like a curtain of midnight, eyes so dark they refused to shine, and a smile that was both eerily gentle and strangely enchanting greets him.
It was his fiancée, Mary.
"I knew I'd find you here," she laughed gently. "Did you skip class again? Dear Fiancée?"