The Exalted Prince Lives Again

Tu! Tu! Tu!

After reaching the dorm room and taking a nice, refreshing shower, he dialed up the number Selene gave him.

Click!

"Hello?" Lucien said awkwardly, not particularly used to phone calls.

{Hello, Lucien.}

Selene’s voice came through, calm, sweet, and elegant.

Lucien cleared his throat. "Good afternoon, Selene."

It was still 12 in the noon, not even 6 hours since he woke up.

{Good afternoon,} She greeted back, {How was your first day at the academy?}

’I thought she had something important to talk about.’

He pondered, but replied regardless, "It was... eventful. I was almost lost on my way to class. It’s shameful to admit, but I might be technologically illiterate."

There was a strange silence on the other side, but a few seconds later, her voice came through, {Yeah... might. Tell me more about it.}

Lucien furrowed his brows in confusion.

Why does she wanna know more about it?

It wasn’t common for guys to go into details about many things.

’Meh!’ He shrugged, and dictated his entire morning experience in detail as she asked.

"By the way, I didn’t see you in the entrance exam or the orientation. Where were you?"

He asked curiously, but what followed was yet another awkward silence.

{Do you seriously not know, Lucien?}

She asked seriously.

"...No?" He answered.

{I thought you knew better about your fiancée, Lucien.}

She sounded dejected, but Lucien could tell she was teasing.

"Enlighten me, please."

He asked.

{I am your senior, Lucien. The Lumen Academy has two semesters for first-years, the August and the February semesters. I am from the less popular February semester.}

She explained, but instead of understanding, Lucien got even more confused.

"But the 3rd years are all the same, though?" He had researched his brother’s position and power in the academy, and hence, he knew about the third-year system.

{The system regarding the February semester here is quite unique.}

She giggled, finding this situation mildly amusing.

She liked explaining things others didn’t know about.

It made her feel better.

{By January, they would hold a special exam for us, the February semester cadets. The top 25% would join the second-year cadets in their courses, and the bottom 75% would be transferred to the Beacon Academy.}

"Huh?" Lucien’s frown deepened.

Beacon Academy?

If his memory served him correctly, it was the second-best Academy in the nation, right behind Lumen.

It was situated in the Solstice and came under the same treaty as Lumen.

But wasn’t it unfair for the Top 25% of people who would join the second year?

They would go from the top ranks to the middle of the pack, or even the bottom, depending on the batch.

"That’s stupid." He said.

{It is.} She replied.

{But it is done to streamline the entire graduation process. And it kind of evens out by the time they graduate the 3rd year.}

’Streamline the entire process for what?’ He was confused.

It wasn’t like they lacked the resources to just continue two separate semester systems.

{But,} she continued, {Since Beacon operated on both the semester programs, it was better for them to transfer there. Many top students willingly do it.}

It was understandable, since the difference between the two wasn’t crazy.

"And what about the Cadets who decide to stay here? What about their privileges?" He asked, having so many questions in his mind.

{They retain it until the second year finishes.}

She answered, making Lucien sigh.

This made very little sense. freēwēbηovel.c૦m

Why couldn’t they just introduce second and third years for the February semester like Beacon Academy?

He asked Selene about this, and she also didn’t know.

For the next few minutes, he subconsciously raised many questions due to his curiosity, which seemed to overwhelm his awkwardness.

{Anyways, you should start calling me senior from now on.} She teased him.

"Sure, senior Selene–"

{Stop.} She shouted, {I was just kidding.}

Lucien grinned, celebrating his little victory in the tease battle.

{Do you have any plans for today?} She asked, changing the topic smoothly.

"Someone invited me, but I declined." He answered honestly.

{Good, let’s go shopping then.}

She asked excitedly.

Lucien fell into a thought.

There wasn’t anything he needed necessarily.

Everything was either transferred to his dorm by the servants or the academy.

But...

"Sure," He had no reason to deny.

Suddenly, something flashed across his mind, and he added, "I also need to buy something."

{Sweet.} She chirped in excitement. {It’s a date then.}

"Date?" Lucien asked, interested in the term.

{Yes, our first official, consensual date.} She chuckled, finding an opportunity to tease.

But to her dismay, it didn’t have much effect on Lucien. "Sweet. Tell me the time and venue, and I’d arrive."

{Hmm...} She fell into a deep thought, pondering over what would be right for her schedule.

{Meet me at the Western gate of the Academy. 3 PM sharp.}

"Alright," He said, glancing at the time, "See you at 3."

{Alright, see ya.}

"Later."

Click!

Lucien exhaled and fell on the bed, letting the phone drop beside him.

It was tiring.

Just talking to her felt like a chore.

There was a very awkward, thin line that they had to maintain among each other, since their relationship was supposed to be close, but they weren’t necessarily friends.

It was exhausting to maintain that.

Knock! Knock!

Ugh!

Just as he thought he’d rest for a while, someone was knocking on his door.

Groaning, he stood up and opened the door.

Mirae Kynth.

What an unexpected guest.

"G-ood afternoon." She greeted awkwardly, with her signature creepy smile.

"Good afternoon," He greeted back.

"Do you know... where... William?" Her voice was low, so low that it almost faded half the time.

It was like she ate the words back, but her lips were moving.

"What do you need William for?"

Sure, Lucien was busy with his training, but there was nothing in common between the two.

"I asked... his help... with books."

’I’d need to use spirit energy at this point to even hear what she’s saying.’

"He told me he’s going to Vivid Tables Restaurant, you can catch him there." He answered truthfully, not necessarily worried for William, since the security was very tight in that posh area.

"Thanks." She gave him a gentle and respectful bow and left in a hurry.

As usual, her presence essentially vanished as soon as she left his vision.

’She must be very misunderstood by everyone, just like me.’

Lucien’s opinions on her changed dramatically from this single conversation.

He couldn’t sense even a shred of hostility emanating from her.

’What a strange duo, though.’

But just as he was about to lock the door from inside, he remembered something.

’William is at a mixer.’

Fuck.