After the discussion, Talin teleported back to his tower. He checked in with his daughter and found Bee sleeping at her bedside, while Ana was knocked out by a sleeping spell.

  And it hit him—how could he have forgotten about her? He knew his anger issues had gotten the better of him before, but to have forgotten his precious granddaughter?

  Talin shook his head and exited the room.

  SLAP!

  The moment he knew he was alone, he slapped himself in the face, muttering a mantra he’d learned from a berserker he’d once met. Each line accompanied by deep breaths.

  “I control myself, and nothing else.”

  “I control myself, and nothing else.”

  “I control myself, and nothing else.”

  If his wife could see him now, he didn’t know how she would react. Elizabeth had always hated his temper, and rightfully so. The man back then had been someone that did not, and could not, tolerate even the most minor slight. It was the one thing his master had not managed to teach out of him.

  But what exactly was he supposed to do? His love for his family had grown to be on par with his obsession for magic. He didn’t know.

  For now, though, he’d resolved himself to try out his old ways. With how things were going, they needed a bit of madness—controlled madness—on their side.

  ***

  The next day, Talin flew down from his tower and gathered the academic staff in his office. He looked at all of them, each experts in their own field, and most importantly, teachers of respectable capability and integrity. People he’d known for a long time. Which was why he kept it short and to the point.

  “All nobles will be vetted starting today. To whatever question you have, the answer is yes. They have moved against me and mine. One move too far, I assure you,” he looked at the few who had ties to a few noble families. “Don’t worry, as far as I know, not all of the nobles were involved. Your charges will be first to get vetted, though the Spectre has already given me a list. A simple confirmation will do.”

  They nodded in both relief and agreement.

  Then, one woman, Claudia, cleared her throat to speak.

  “Headmaster, I understand that the situation is complicated…” she hesitated.

  “Yes?” he said in encouragement.

  “…what will be done to those found to be part of—”

  Before she could finish, Talin interrupted. “I understand your concern, Claudia, and I will only say this: innocents will not be touched. This, I promise you.”

  “Thank you, Prim—headmaster,” she bowed in acceptance.

  Talin could see she still had her reservations, unfortunately, they didn’t have the luxury of having reservations. As for the ones deemed guilty or aware enough? Well, seeing as they would still be within the academy even after Marisabel, they would probably not hold much value. So, he had better plans for them—reform.

  And a little something more.

  Those puppeteers will regret leaving their sons and daughters to me.

  “And keep your eyes peeled for any strangers,” Talin said. “There are some things I can’t tell you yet, however, danger lurks in the shadows,” one of them raised an eyebrow. “No, not any of the Dreamwalkers, Nigel. Keep your biases to yourself on this one.”

  Nigel looked away, embarrassed. “Understood, headmaster.”

  “Dismissed.”

  Talin moved over to the master information crystal on his desk. It was connected to his tower’s golem core and regularly updated the information of each student. Peeking in, he found that surprisingly, the late duke’s grand… something was still here.

  Strange.

  Stranger still, was the child silently, innocently, sitting in his room, studying, without a care in the world. Curious, he tapped his temple and peeked in.

  “…3D spell manipulation needs arcane will. Will to morph the mana to the user’s… well… will? Weird. Isn’t there a better term for that? Seems redundant. But anyway…”

  The child prattled on, reciting everything he read out loud. Including several unnecessary snide comments about the names. Names he came up with as the author.

  Talin scoffed and took a look at the information. The brat was indeed kin of the duke he’d gutted all those years ago. An illegitimate child at that. Which explained why the kid would be abandoned here.

  This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it

  He read on. Cade, was born of the former duke’s youngest son, who himself was talentless in magic. And when children were part of a ducal house and were useless, they were either sent off to remote parts of the territory to rule small towns, or worse, sent off to the military.

  This one was sent to the military, because he was also utterly useless in terms of governance. He’d once run a small smithy into the ground because of a spat he’d had with the head smith—the only reason it was profitable in the first place.

  Cade, on the other hand, despite what most people thought, despite the odds against his birth, was talented. The house had even celebrated, for they considered whatever curse Cade’s father brought on their house, broken.

  It’s unfortunate that he’d already been indoctrinated with the urge to earn his father’s approval. But… he looked at the boy. He does have potential.

  Reform was what he had planned for the noble children, but with Cade, something else came to mind.

  So, without a second thought, Talin stood up and headed for the boy’s room—walking all the way as he observed the rest of the students.

  Classes were ongoing right now after he’d dismissed his staff, so the halls were empty, save for a few of the third years headed for the practice hall. Ignoring that, he considered it all to be quite peaceful. Peace that he’d grown to like over the years.

  Sigh.

  A few more minutes of walking and meticulously observing every class he passed by later, he arrived at the dormitory.

  It was a fairly standard building that housed all the male students—all—against the nobility’s wishes. An eight-story building with fifty rooms on the outer and inner side, with more to be found further in as it formed a square spiral.

  A student ran past him, a stain still even on his vest. Another relaxed while taking care to eat a sandwich—dabbing a napkin on his lips with each bite—under one of the many trees around the building. Talin didn’t remember what their names were, but it was clear which was the noble and which wasn’t.

  Though that became confusing when he saw a group that looked to be a mix.

  Perhaps they’re not all lost causes. He thought, thinking about his purpose for coming here. Hopefully, this Cade Erasmus won’t disappoint.

  It didn’t take long till he arrived in front of the child’s door. He’d been thinking about what exactly to say to a brainwashed child, and decided there was only one that was efficient.

  He smiled as the door slowly opened to reveal the face of the boy looking up at him. At first annoyed that someone had interrupted him, then confused as if not believing what he was seeing, and finally, panic settled onto his face.

  “Headprimus! I.. I mean, headmaster!” Cade sputtered out. “What are you doing here?” he said, taking a step back and closing the door ever so slightly.

  “Hm? Can’t I visit my student when I want to? Why does it seem that you don’t want me here?” Talin said, a smirk on his lips.

  “Of—” Cade cleared his throat. “Of course, you can! No problem at all! I was just… uh… studying!” he cleared his throat again.

  “Well, out of the way then,” Talin said, stepping through the door without any other fanfare.

  The inside was simple. Too simple. Especially for one from a ducal house. There was a bed covered in a plain white sheet. A bookshelf with only the academy’s books on it. And even the desk and chair the boy was studying on were the same ones that came with the room.

  It… looked good… so far. Not for Cade, of course—well, also him—but for Talin’s plans. No self-involved noble would live so minimally. Not even a baron’s son would, and if given the resources, the baron’s son would live more opulently than the prince himself!

  This meant that Cade either didn’t care about decorations and the like, or he didn’t receive a single gold Casir from his family.

  “I remember your grandfather,” Talin said, turning to the boy and watching his expression. At that mention, Cade started sweating as he backed up against the wall, taking away his warmth, making him shiver.

  “Are… are you going to kill me?” Cade asked, his voice trembling.

  Talin thought about it, really thought about it for just a second, but said no in the end. Instead, he asked one simple question.

  “Did you know about Marisabel?”

  “The… mer kingdom?” Cade asked, his pulse, breath, and mana all steady. “What about it?”

  Talin hummed in thought, then pulled out the mana speaker and set it to the same signal the emperor had reacted to.

  Then, nothing. Cade’s face only scrunched up more than before.

  Good. Talin nodded to himself. “Okay, then I have one last question for you, Cade Erasmus. What do you think of your family? Answer truthfully and without hesitation. Nothing you say will leave this room.”

  “My family?” the child asked confusedly once more, pausing for a few minutes in thought. “I uh… they’re fine? I mean my mother has taken very careful care of me since I was small. The duke doesn’t really bother with me, and even my half-siblings steer clear of me.”

  “But,” he continued. “I don’t really care about anybody else aside from my mother, a few maids who helped my mother raise me, and the house mage who was once my teacher.”

  “Oh, really? No one else?” Talin asked. “What was that then at your introduction? You stood up and disrespected me in front of every other student that was present—even if your speech was very obviously a rehearsed attack against me.”

  The boy seemed to realize something as tension visibly left his shoulders. “As you said, headmaster, I was told to say that as payment for being sponsored to attend the academy. Nothing more.’’

  A child trying to take every opportunity he could. Talin could respect that, especially since it reminded him of his younger self, as much as he hated to admit it.

  He looked Cade over once more, squinting his eyes. Then Talin grabbed the boy’s arm and sent a pulse of mana throughout his body.

  Little resistance.

  He pulled back and activated his runic array.

  [Quantified. Showing stats for target designated as [Cade Erasmus]

  — — —

  Name: Cade Erasmus (Human)

  Tier: 1st Tier (Magic and Body)

  Strength: 14

  Vitality: 12

  Constitution: 16

  Agility: 8

  Dexterity: 16

  Intelligence: 26

  Mana: 1436

  Arcane Will: 546

  — — —

  Very interesting. Slightly more talented than even Bee…

  “What was that?” Cade asked, once more retreating in fear. “Are you actually going to kill a child?!” he exaggeratedly stood as tall, or as short as he could, to emphasize his lack of height.

  Talin chuckled. “Stop being silly, Cade. That was nothing more than an attempt to see your talent.”

  “You can do that? Without the divine ritual?”

  “Somewhat. Though not as accurately,” a problem he would surely need to solve, just not now. “Anyway, you pass. Welcome to your apprenticeship. Come with me,” he said, turning to exit the room.

  “You’re taking me in…? Who are you?”

  Talin just rolled his eyes. “You know who I am.”

  “But… you’re not as bad as the stories say.”

  “I was that bad. A long time ago now.”

  “…right,” Cade replied, following behind him. “But since I’m your apprentice now… do I get to name stuff? Because I have ideas!”

  Talin took a deep, deep, breath.

  “I control myself, and nothing else.”

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