Teaching kids how to destroy their enemies isn’t a solid foundation for a sound society. The sound of stone shavings raining onto the ground peppered my ears as the cubes were carved into different shapes. I gently placed the remains back into my inventory and examined what was left over.

This could work.

I had a few different options to try and tackle William.

Firs-

“How dare you come to me with this!” A woman’s voice crashed through my brain.

I blinked in surprise. I had forgotten to shut the door. A smile touched my lips as I heard high heels clacking against the stone floor, followed by the softer sound of a pair of shoes.

This was fun, but I had plans to make.

I rose and walked to the door. I placed my hand against it to shut it when a familiar suit caught my eye. A man stood next to the woman with his head held high.

It was my dad.

“I came to you because you’re my sister. We are family, and family sticks together. That’s what you used to tell me.”

“Don’t you dare try to manipulate me.” Her reply was immediate. “I stuck by you until the very last moment. I’m the reason you can still live on this continent.”

I ducked behind the door, hoping they hadn’t heard me. They hadn’t. They were too engrossed in their argument to hear anything.

That was my aunt?

She had long wavy hair, and her face resembled Berlia’s. I’m assuming her eyes were a lot prettier when they weren’t filled with anger. She looked the same age as my father. Were they twins?

And what were they fighting about?

I’d already noticed the strange way people were acting around me. Not rude, but not wanting to get close to me. It felt like they were all hiding something from me.

I pressed my ear against the door. Then I hesitated. This was a private conversation, and it wasn’t my place to pry. My dad would tell me when he thought I was ready.

“Please Tiela, this is my son we’re talking about. He needs help and you’re the only one that can provide it.”

Okay. Maybe a little prying wouldn’t hurt.

“Just- not here. You always make such a scene.” My aunt started moving again.

The footsteps died down, and then a door shut. They’d gone into one of the rooms.

I poked my head out cautiously. There was nobody in the corridor. Stray thoughts told me to stay inside the room and prepare, but emotions pounded across my body. They were having a conversation about me. My heart won over my mind, and I walked quietly through the corridor.

It wasn’t hard to find them. My aunt’s voice echoed into my ears even with the door closed. I slid in front of it and pressed my ear against the cool wood.

“A regent that uses adamant… are you crazy? You know that you aren’t allowed access to high quality materials. You shouldn’t even be able to afford them with the repayments.” My aunt's voice came out as a hiss.

Repayments?

I didn’t know my dad couldn’t access certain materials, or that he was making something that required adamant. That was a material I’d only heard about once or twice at work. There was only one regent that came to mind, the device that my dad was making to hide me from the watcher.

“That’s why I’m coming to you. You have access to the vault and can convince them to give me some of the stock. They’ll do it for my son. I’m the one they have a problem with.” My dad pleaded.

I’d never heard him sound like that. So desperate.

“Always trying to make it about you. Do you even know what you’re saying?” My aunt was getting angrier. “They’ve never had a problem with you. They’ll welcome you back with open arms any day of the week. They raised you and they never stop loving you. And now you have a grandson for our mother. You don’t think she wants to meet him? She asks about him every day.”

I frowned. My aunt didn’t sound like she was in the wrong. Which was a problem for me.

What had my dad done?

My aunt went quiet. My dad as well. The mention of my grandmother seemed to defuse some of the tension.

“If you want anyone in society to accept you then you know you can’t do it with her around.” My aunt didn’t sound angry anymore, just tired. “Leave her. That’s all you’ve ever had to do.”

My heartbeat quickened. What did she mean by that?

“How do you even explain it to your son? Your poverty, her constant illnesses, or the fact that she can’t leave the house five days a week. I’m surprised he hasn’t asked you any questions about today. Didn’t he want his mother to come? Berlia told me he’s smart.”

I had. I recalled the conversation we had with my mother. There hadn’t been any signs of anything wrong.

“We put on an act.” My dad sighed. He sounded defeated. “He doesn’t have to know yet. She didn’t do anythin-”

“You always make excuses for her.” My aunt cut him off. “You knew what you were getting into the moment you married a-”

Their voices cut out.

What? No.

I pressed against the door harder, but nothing happened. It was like they’d stop talking completely. I felt something cool against my neck and jolted in surprise as a piece of purple mana greeted me.

“I am here to pick you up for the demonstration, youngling.” A voice spoke from behind me. “Imagine my surprise when I saw you eavesdropping instead of training.”

Anger whirled in my heart from the interruption, and I turned around to confront the intruder. Then I paused. It was Eli, the gold mask that had been with Master Wilhelm and the headmaster.

This was a man I couldn’t afford to insult.

I held down the anger, and I looked back at the room and then towards Eli. He had a sad smile on his face, and I could see pity in his eyes. It wasn’t a coincidence that he’d interrupted at this crucial moment.

“Come. We have time. Allow me to guide you, youngling.”

I felt a gentle burst of mana and found myself looking at a wall. I scanned the area. It was my preparation room. A cane tapped the ground behind me, and Eli coughed.

“You know what they were talking about.” It wasn’t a question.

This man was powerful. That didn’t mean I wasn’t angry, it just meant I had to try and hide it.

He had no right interrupting me.

“I do. As do most at this party.” Eli regarded me with compassionate eyes. “I’m not sure you’ve notic-”

“Everyone keeps up a wall around me. Yeah.” I interjected.

“You’re angry. Well, that is to be expected.” His expression didn’t shift. “I am willing to be hated, if it means that a child doesn’t have to suffer.”

I had suffered. He didn’t know how much. People had been ignoring me this entire party. I needed to get support, and now I found myself blocked from every path there. My own parents were keeping secrets from me.

I’d trusted them.

I took a deep breath in. It wasn’t this man’s fault.

“Nobody likes to be the centre of a conspiracy, but as happens often with our children, our secrets are kept to protect them.” Eli sat down in a meditative position. He gestured for me to join him. “Come, sit.”

I sat down next to him. He didn’t give the feeling of pressure and power that a gold mask should. He felt more like a grandfather. He smiled gently at me and placed his purple cane over his knees.

“I did not stop you from your activities because I wanted to anger you. That would be petty.” Eli spoke. “It is because you are still a child. What kind of monster would allow a child to stumble into the feuds of adults?”

“I don’t need protection.” I refuted.

I was an adult. I could take care of my own problems. Something pressed against me, a gentle nudge against my cheek that made me pause. It was the purple mana.

It was telling me to listen.

My breathing stabilised as I allowed myself to understand his words, not just hear them. I would gain nothing by being irrational. His words made sense, but only logically. My heart wanted to know more.

“You do not need protection.” He agreed. “You need answers, but you will not get them listening to an argument that isn’t intended for you. That is how you get hurt. No answers are going to be found there. Only questions and worries.”

I stared at him.

The meaning of his words became clear. “You’ll answer my questions?”

“I guide those in need. That has always been my path.” Eli gestured at me. “Ask.”

I stopped and thought. When I’d been listening through the door, I hadn’t had any questions I wanted answered. Not any that had been specific. I had been following my emotions.

That was a mistake.

Eli was right. If I didn’t even know what questions I had, then no answer would ever satisfy me. I’d needed to calm down to realise that.

“She said something about my mother. You interfered before I could hear. Are you involved?” I spoke.

“I am not.”

I paused. A flicker of anger rose again in my heart when I heard that he wasn’t involved. He had no right to interfere. Then I shook off the emotion.

I wasn’t meant to interfere either.

That was a private conversation, and my curiosity had gotten the better of me. Now this gold mask was giving me his time when he hadn’t even given that to the guests at the party.

This was not an obstacle; this was an opportunity.

We spent minutes in silence. Eli didn’t push, and he didn’t rush me. He waited patiently as I got my thoughts together.

I took a deep breath in. “Is anybody angry at my dad?”

Eli raised an eyebrow at me. He’d thought I was going to ask about my mum.

“No. Your father is quite enjoyable company, from what Wilhelm has told me.” He pursed his lips. “Nobody here is angry at him. Or you. Your aunt's feelings may seem that way, but she is hurt, and protective. She feels out of her depth, and I believe you know that feeling well.”

I nodded and thought over his words. I did understand how she felt. I’d had that same feeling moments before.

It was a relief to confirm that nobody was angry at my dad. He’d been so excited to attend today.

That left one problem. “Who is my mum? What did she do, and why is nobody telling me about it?”

Eli leaned forward towards me, and his expression turned serious.

“Your mother is the person you have spent your entire life with. The one you love.” He held up a hand to stop me from interrupting. “You fear she is a stranger. That could never be true. Ask your mother these questions when you return, and no matter what happens, remember that the person that knows her best is the one that spent every day in her arms.”

I sat back. My heart churned with emotions, but his words were pushing out the unknowns, and giving a voice to reason.

“Do you trust her?” Eli asked.

Yes. With all my heart. I’d been there during the first night, when she’d cried and held me in her arms. I’d spent every day of every year with her, and I remembered every moment.

“Yes.” I nodded.

Eli smiled. “Parents will do anything to protect their children. We would move the earth and shake the heavens. So, trust that your parents have your best interests at heart, and they will trust in you.”

He looked at me, and I looked back. I knew that he would answer my questions if I had more. I had no more questions. All of them would be answered in time. I knew that.

I was still going to ask her as soon as possible.

I cupped my hands together and bowed. “Thank you, Master Eli. My family is a treasure, and I will trust them.” My heart was still. “I’m ready.”

Eli nodded and waved his staff in the air.

“You will both have ten minutes to scout the arena that has been prepared.”

The air around me shimmered with mist, and I caught a brief glimpse of a purple world, and the glowing eyes of the nexus.

“Best of luck, youngling.”

I blinked, and the purple world was gone. Now there were rocks, and sand. A wide area stretched out in front of me, and I could see seating stands built up around me.

That wasn’t all.

A spider-like golem made of crystalline blue gemstones turned to face me, sword in hand.

William.