[2 years ago]

“Why can’t I go?!”

Din screamed off the top of his lunge. He was sitting at the dinner place with his mother and father along with some maids nearby.

“This isn’t a matter we’ll be discussing any further,” Brian announced as he wiped his mouth with a handkerchief.

With a fist slammed on the table, Din continued, “You let Kat join the academy when she was thirteen so why can’t I?”

“Thank you for the meal,” Brian muttered as he left his seat.

“Wait! Dad!” Din got up from his seat and waited for his dad to turn around.

But without stopping for a moment, Brian left the dining hall and went straight for his office.

“I hate you!”

“Now Din, don’t say things you don’t mean,” Aria lectured from the dining table.

Din angrily sat back down on his chair, “I do mean it!”

Aria let out a gentle smile, “Your father has his reasons. He cares deeply about you and doesn’t want you hurt.”

“Then why did he let Kat join the academy?” Din retorted.

Her gentle smile shifted to a rather sad smile as she replied, “He cares very much for your sister too, but Katherine… it was like she was born to become a knight.”

“Huh? What’s that mean?”

“You see, even at a young age, your sister could analyze different strategies and be able to find faults in all types of plans. You know how she joined that chest tournament a couple years back? There was a noble that was intrigued at her style of strategizing. He had her review old battle plans and see if she could improve on them. That which she did, with little to no effort, in fact.”

She took a sip of tea before continuing, “But that isn’t all. Her patience and reflexes are topnotch and to top it all off, she was very determined to be a knight. Even with all that, your father was against it the first time Katherine brought it up, but he soon realized that she was beyond qualified to join the academy.”

“Kat’s amazing…” Din muttered under his breath.

Overhearing him, Aria happily agreed, “She is, isn’t she? But you’re amazing too, Din. I’m sure even though your skills fall short, your determination will help you far surpass those in the academy one day.”

—Later that night, Din couldn’t fall asleep. He laid there on his bed while staring at the ceiling. To join the academy, he would have to first convince his father that he was qualified to join. But what could he do that could prove that?

“Maybe I should start chess… no, no, no. I can never play such a boring game…”

Din was deep in thought when suddenly, the sound of something shattering could be heard from one of the rooms nearby.

He jerked himself up from his bed at the sudden noise.

“What was that?” He whispered to himself.

Wasting no time, he snuck close to his door and then peaked out. He could then hear footsteps from inside the room next to his.

Immediately, Din rushed towards the opposite direction to his parent’s room. The room next to him had been an empty guest room and aside from cleaning in the morning, the maids would have no reason to go in there at this time of night.

He burst through his parent’s doors, which woke both of his parents up in a shock.

“D-Din? What’s the matter?!” Brian hurriedly asked.

Din was out of breath, but he managed to point outside the room, “T-Thief!” He announced with his quickened breath.

“Din, come here,” Aria called out to him. Din did as she told and went by her side of the bed.

Brian got out of his bed. He was only wearing his dark blue robe, but he still left the room to check for the intruder. The closest weapon he could reach for was his fencing sword, which had been placed right on the wall near the door.

Right before leaving the room, he instructed, “Hide under the bed. I will alert the guards.”

Aria nodded, getting out of the bed and then leading Din to go under it, she followed shortly.

It was a quiet night. The guards outside should’ve caught the thief before he would even have the chance to break in, but somehow, he had gone through them undetected.

Aria comforted Din, who had been shivering from fear. His adrenaline had spiked during his run to his parent’s room. During that run, the thief could’ve seen him and have chased after him. Din had been too afraid to turn around, but not knowing if someone was chasing you was just as frightful as knowing someone was chasing you.

“It’ll be all okay,” Aria whispered.

The door to the room suddenly burst open. It made Din jump, but he managed to avoid making any noise. He closed his eyes shut, but he could still hear the thief moving around the room.

The thief was rummaging through all the drawers in search of something. He would throw everything he didn’t want onto the floor. He seemed to be getting frustrated as he searched through each of the drawers, unable to find the item.

Then suddenly, an item dropped on the ground. It’s a necklace with an emerald crystal. It immediately caught Aria’s attention. She quickly reached out to grab the item, but the thief noticed and grabbed her arm.

Knowing that if he looked under the bed, he would see Din as well, she willingly came out of the bed. Din noticed that his mom was leaving and tried to grab her, but it was too late, she was already out.

“You—!?”

Din could hear the sound of his mother being chocked. He tries to move, but his whole body is frozen. By the time, he’s able to force himself to move, Aria falls to the floor, lifelessly.

Trying his hardest not to cry, Din covered his mouth and closed his eyes shut.

The thief grabbed the necklace and then left the room.

Din stayed in that same position until the guards finally came in the room. His parents were taken to the hospital while he stayed in his room. This time, with multiple guards inside the mansion.

Even with all that happened, Din quickly fell asleep and woke up the next morning, reminding him of the hell that had happened the previous night.

He went to check on his parents early in the morning, but no visitors were allowed.

On his way home, he took a long detour and just walked with his head down. While he walking, he bumped into Milan, who seemed afraid of Din at first, but then regained his composure when he saw Din’s condition.

Milan had heard from his father what had happened at Din’s mansion.

“I heard…” He began.

But seeing how Din looked, he stopped himself and then continued walking past Din.

Soon after, Din ran into Lorelei.

“Din, what’s wrong?” Lorelei asked.

With no warning, Din held Lorelei in his arms.

“D-Din?” Lorelei was flustered.

Din didn’t respond, he just continued holding her.

Lorelei could hear Din softly crying so she hugged him back.

“It’s all my fault,” he whimpered. “It’s all my fault.”