“Edraele Morcyne is your mother!?”
“The dean is your mother!?”
Both Leena and I are taken aback by this information.
“She is, so don’t say stuff like that. At least not in front of me,” Aeson says with a shiver full of disgust.
“Sorry, dude,” I apologize. “But you gave no hint whatsoever that she’s your mom. How was I supposed to know?”
“Alright, but just remember for the future, man.”
“Noted.”
“Aeson, I had no clue you were from the Morcyne family,” Leena says; the surprise on her face has yet to diminish. “You definitely don’t act like you are.”
“Well, what can I say? I like to stay humble,” Aeson says jokingly.
“Wait, is Aeson super rich or something?” I ask excitedly.
“He is from the richest family in the whole White Elf kingdom, Jacob. Second only to the royalty itself,” Leena answers. “They are also very ancient and politically powerful, with the current head, Edraele Morcyne, being the Dean of the Magic academy as well as one of the top advisors to the Queen. Many of the Elders also come from his family.”
“Woah… the dean— I mean, his mother is the head? Doesn’t that make Aeson the heir of the family? You’re a big shot, man!” I say, mightily impressed.
“Haha, stop it. It’s not that simple.” He laughs it off.
“But, hold on… it doesn’t make sense. I thought your surname is Daeron?”
“That’s from my father’s side. It draws way less attention and keeps my life mostly peaceful,” Aeson replies with a shrug. “But by no means it is a secret that I am from the Morcyne family.”
“That’s very smart! I am impressed! I need to learn from you, man!” I say with an artificial laugh, patting his back.
[Learn what exactly? You are not from a rich and powerful family. Heck, you don’t even have a surname to change.]
… you insensitive fuck.
[And that laugh was so fake. Why are you suddenly glazing him? You know he won’t just hand over a part of his wealth, right?]
Hey! You never know, some of it might trickle down!
[Keep your wet dreams away from reality.]
… shut up.
“Anyway, why did you look so scared in front of the dean then?” I ask, confused. “It’s your own mother! Were you acting like that to keep a low profile?”
“Acting? Oh, hell no. I am indeed scared of her. More so than others, in fact. You don’t know anything about my mother, do you?” He asks gravely.
“No, but I do know that you are being too lazy,” I say in a serious tone. “You have such a great opportunity sitting right in front of you, and you are missing out on it.”
As Aeson’s best friend, it’s my duty to tell him what he’s doing wrong and to show him the right path.
[…]
[This greed will be the end of you.]
“What opportunity?”
“Can’t you tell!? I think it’s obvious after what happened today! Just ask your mum to hand out another strike to Ilyrana, and throw two of those to Saria as well— and you will become the next Elven King!”
Leena and Aeson both actually burst out laughing at this.
“This was funny, Jacob!”
“Good one!”
“Okay, you guys are laughing way too much,” I say, folding my hands in annoyance. “Of course, I am not exactly serious, but isn’t that even a possibility? Aeson can easily have some unfair advantage.”
“No, he can’t,” Leena says confidently. “Even I, an outsider, know that much.”
“As I just said, you don’t know my mother, Jacob,” Aeson says, shaking his head. “There is a reason why she was elected as the Dean of the magic academy— a position of utmost importance that comes with special powers and privileges, along with the great responsibility to oversee and nurture the future generation of the entire Elf Kingdom.
“And let me tell you, it’s not because of her background as the leader of the Morcyne Family. My mother is the most talented, honest, and impartial person I know.”
“I have heard of Edraele Morcyne a lot, too,” Leena chimes in. “She is a powerful White Elf who runs the academy with an iron fist. She is widely known for being strict and ruthless, especially when it comes to rule-breaking at her academy. No matter who you are, you don’t want to be in her bad books.”
I see… no wonder everyone here fears her.
And this reminds me about one more thing. It’s kind of unrelated, but now I understand why Aeson’s mom— that is, Dean Morcyne— asked him to take me to a brothel instead of giving me just a painting.
Marianne must have asked Queen Ilsevel to help me gain life points (which makes sense now that I think about it). And the Queen must’ve then delegated that task to her top advisors.
“Well, hard luck, Aeson. No shortcuts for you then,” I tell him with a shrug.
“I don’t care enough to want one.” He chuckles. “Anyway, I am going to leave you guys here. The classes will start soon, so I cannot leave the academy with you. It’s a pity.”
I didn’t realize, but we’ve already reached the barrier.
“Thanks for today, Aeson.”
Leena doesn’t have anything left to say, so she simply nods to Aeson before stepping outside the barrier.
“Yeah. Oh, and by the way, my offer still stands. I will bring you to the academy anytime you want. But there is a small condition now,” Aeson says just as I start to follow Leena.
“What’s the condition?”
“Don’t mess around like you did today, please.” He sounds more like he’s pleading rather than putting up a condition.
“Sure, man.”
I step out of the barrier as well, and find Leena waiting for me outside.
“That went well,” she says cheerfully.
“Really? But you said you felt bad for Ilyrana.” I raise my eyebrow at her.
“Heh, I lied. Didn’t want Aeson to suspect that this was our goal from the start,” she says with a smirk.
“But we only wanted to humiliate Ilyrana. That strike thing was too much, in my opinion,” I say truthfully.
In fact, if not for the task, I would never even do such a thing to someone who did me no harm.
“She can cry me a river for all I care.” Leena shrugs. “Anyway, so you have a crush on the dean now?” She asks casually, showing a smile that looks a bit too weird.
Why is she bringing that up?
“Yeah, a little one. She’s hot, isn’t she?”
“Hmph, it isn’t proper to have feelings for a married woman. I will see you later.” With this final remark and a little stomp, Leena walks away abruptly.
Huh…? But it’s just an innocent crush… for now, at least.
*Brr* *Brr*
My phone vibrates. I have received a text. Already having a bad premonition, I take it out and open the message.
*Task Two: Go to Morcyne Art Museum and steal painting number 07. You have 48 hours.*
