The dimly lit library was silent until suddenly Ray’s voice echoed through. Silence followed right after.

  He flipped through the book. “That’s Duval!” Except for his sketch, the other pages were torn off. And his name was scratched out. “Why is he here?” His eyes widened when he saw the word: Traitor.

  “Traitor? The goal he talked about… Is this related to it?” Ray shook his head and tried to read the text that was scratched out.

  I can’t read this. He sighed, “I knew there was something different about him.” Since he found nothing, he lay on his back, wondering. He must have been someone important if he’s in here.

  “Oh well,” he grunted as he stood up. “Let’s look for something else.” He began searching for other books again.

  The night passed, and day followed. Since Ray didn’t leave the library for the entire night, Julia went looking for him. Her frown deepened upon seeing books everywhere. She called out to him, but he didn’t respond. She continued looking when she saw Ray sleeping soundly near a pile of books. She bent down to shake him awake—but paused. Her eyes scanned the scattered titles around him: Swordsmanship Basics, War of the Worst... and others worn from heavy use. She was going to reprimand him, but decided against it.

  Julia sighed and scratched her temple before waking him up. Ray sat up, eyes still half closed. He yawned and stretched his arms. “Is it morning already? I didn’t get enough sleep.”

  “Were you reading books all night?”

  Ray nodded, his eyes still half closed. Julia leaned against a shelf. “What did you read?”

  Ray glanced at the books beside him and gave her an annoyed look. She chuckled and then turned away. “Okay, I get it. Follow me. The other children have started training already.”

  Ray stretched one more time and stood. He looked around. “I made quite a mess.” He sighed and followed Julia.

  Julia and Ray walked out of the dimly lit library and onto the training grounds. The sun looked upon them in awe while Ray stared in disbelief.

  Is it afternoon? It is! Oh no.

  “What kind of training are the children doing?” He asked frantically.

  “Basics.”

  They continued in silence while the children’s voices kept growing louder. Ray looked at Julia. Is she not going to ask about yesterday? He shrugged as they continued walking.

  Soon, they reached the training grounds, and the smell of sweat and dust filled the air. The children were running laps around the training grounds. Elaira stopped in front of Ray, gave him a look he couldn’t understand, and continued running. What’s her problem?

  Sera also stopped in front of him and frowned. “Lazy.” And continued running. Huh? The hell?

  Ray frowned when Jon also stopped next to him, but Jon smiled. “You were cool yesterday. I’m Jon, but my real name is Jonathan. But I don’t like it, and Jon sounds cooler. I am from…” And he continued talking. Is this guy not gonna stop?

  He didn’t stop until Cedric called out the children. They immediately gathered in front of him, with Ray standing at the back, as usual.

  “What do you think he wants to say? It must be something important…” Ray gave Jon an icy stare under the piercing heat of the afternoon sun. Jon didn’t notice and continued, “Maybe a training method or a lecture. Or perhaps…”

  Man, this guy is… a blabbermouth.

  He finally stopped when Cedric started talking. “How many of you know what ‘Harmony’ is?” Jon immediately raised his hand. “Me! Me! I know!” Cedric looked at Jon and then pointed at Ray. “You, answer.”

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  Why me?

  “Harmony is a method of training your senses.”

  “Wrong!” Cedric shouted.

  What the hell?

  “I expected better from you, Ray.” Cedric frowned.

  Jon quieted down. “Is that not it?” He muttered to Ray. To which Ray just shrugged his shoulders. “He might be getting old.”

  Jon chuckled, and Ray smirked. Cedric gritted his teeth at the remark but continued. “Anyone else?” he looked around. “You answer.” The girl glanced at the others besides her and shook her head.

  “Kids these days know nothing,” Cedric sighed.

  Julia shook her head, touching her face with her palm. “Grandfather.”

  “What?”

  “They are not even fifteen. How would they know something that is only taught at Acacia?”

  Cedric grumbled, “Acacia didn’t exist when I was under fifteen, but I knew Harmony.”

  Julia sighed, “You were extraordinary.” Cedric smiled proudly. “These children aren’t,” she continued.

  She gave a reassuring smile to the children. Cedric scoffed and walked away.

  Jon looked at Ray; his eyes resembled the stars in the night sky. “Acacia is the Knight Academy, right? I always dreamt of entering. Are they gonna enroll all of us? Wait, maybe they will let us take the entrance exam…” This guy is annoying… but a good guy… I guess. Ray smiled.

  Julia stood in front. “Don’t worry about what he said, okay? Focus on your training. Now run another fifty laps, come on.”

  Fifty? Are you kidding me?

  The scorching sun showed no mercy. After fifty laps, except for Elaira and Sera, everyone lay flat on the ground—even Ray and Jon. Sweat covered Ray all over as he wheezed. Jon continued talking about something that Ray paid no attention to.

  As Ray gathered his breath, a shadow stood over him. “You are pathetic.” Ray and Jon both frowned and immediately stood up. “What did you say?” They both shouted simultaneously. Aidan was also running with the children. Covered in sweat and dust, he stood no taller than Ray.

  Jon smirked. “Looks like I’m the tallest.”

  Aidan and Ray glared at him, but Jon didn’t back down; he returned the glare. Aidan sighed, “I saw you trying my stance yesterday.” He smirked. “You lost miserably.”

  “Yeah? I guess I copied you losing as well, huh?” Ray returned it with a smirk.

  Aidan frowned. “I lost to my older sister, Julia. You lost to some hag-like brat.”

  Elaira’s ears perked up, and she immediately rushed at Aidan. “Hag-like brat!? You are hag-like as well!”

  Silence fell over the training ground as the wind whistled by. Elaira turned red and stuttered, “I-I meant b-brat! You’re a brat as well!”

  All of them glared at each other. Sera tried to break them up. “Go to hell, you mountain monkey.” Jon said in the heat of the moment. She swung at Jon, but missed and hit Aidan instead. Elaira tried to kick Aidan but ended up hitting Ray as Aidan stumbled. Ray and Aidan jumped at them and ended up crashing into each other.

  Julia interrupted immediately and sent the five of them flying in different directions. “What are you guys doing?”

  Ray squinted his eyes as he looked directly at the sun. What the hell am I doing?

  He immediately got up, looked at Aidan and the others, then at Julia. “I apologise; the heat got to me.”

  Jon scratched his head and apologised. So did Elaira and Sera. Julia turned to Aidan. “And what about you, Aidan?”

  He looked away and whispered, “I apologise.”

  “I cannot hear you, Aidan!”

  He flinched when Julia raised her voice. “I-I apologise.”

  She sighed, “No dinner for you guys today. And you will clean the entire estate. From your dormitory to the front gates, from here to the flower garden. Understand?”

  “Yes,” they replied simultaneously.

  Julia led the other children to the dormitory, leaving Ray and the others behind, surrounded by their thoughts. The footsteps and chatter of the children faded away, and the wind teased by, blowing the dust off the ground.

  Two maids approached them with smiles on their faces and brooms in their hands. “We heard you were going to help us today? Thank you so much, children.” They handed them the brooms and walked away, giggling.

  Inside the mansion, Cedric looked out the window at Ray and the others. His potential has risen again, and so did the others’. His gaze lingered on Ray for a moment before he turned and walked towards the Duke’s chambers.

  Ray and the others started cleaning the estate until the moon glossed over them. They rested at the fountain near the front gate. Jon wiped the sweat from his face and sat down. “This is a large place. But back in my…”

  Nobody spared him any attention as he kept talking. Elaira and Sera sighed at each other before walking away, leaving Aidan, Ray, and Jon alone.

  A faint rustle in the nearby trees beyond the wall jolted everyone, and Aidan immediately covered Jon’s mouth. Elaira moved with caution and spotted masked figures rushing inside the estate.

  One of them noticed and immediately threw a dagger toward them.

  Ray kicked Elaira aside as the dagger grazed her neck and hit the iron gate. A shadowy figure appeared behind Ray. “Look what we have here.” A low voice echoed in the faint light under the moon.