In a certain room, a blonde-haired girl sat at a desk piled high with stacks of papers. With an irritated expression, she stared at the holographic screen in front of her. Displayed on it was a scene of a white-haired young man bowing deeply and apologizing to a girl. As the recording continued, the man stepped closer, and the two of them began chatting casually.
"As you can see, that young man doesn't seem to have any intention of seeking revenge. So, may I take a break now?" The red-haired girl asked with a tired expression.
Sylvia had been startled when she first saw the footage, but her mind quickly began working, trying to understand the young man's true intentions.
"Keep watching him quietly for a few more days. If nothing happens, you'll be relieved from duty. Now go back and continue monitoring," Sylvia said.
"…Understood."
The girl left the room with a gloomy expression.
Sylvia stood up from her chair. Her hand swiftly moved across the shelves before pulling out a document containing Elian's photograph.
Name: Elian Arcadia
Sequence: 9
Background:
Born into the Marquis Arcadia family, a household with immense political influence in the Kingdom of Celestra. His abilities are somewhat below the standard expected of nobles, even though the Arcadia family has always produced descendants with average combat potential. Some had hoped he would grow into a formidable ruler due to Lady Althea's bloodline flowing through him, which made certain nobles under his banner feel disappointed by his current condition.
Personality:
As a child, he was cheerful and kind to everyone. However, everything changed after his father was killed by rebelling commoners. Since then, he has harbored deep hatred toward commoners, whom he believes caused his father's death.
Liana flipped to another page detailing Elian's acts of extortion and torture against commoners. Realizing there was no other useful information to gain, Sylvia stopped reading.
"It makes no sense for commoners to kill a marquis… Was there another force involved behind the scenes?" Sylvia closed the file and returned it to the shelf. "I suppose I should ask Liana about this."
Elian's POV
After chatting with Amelia until the break ended, Elian returned to class and continued his lessons like a normal student. Even though he had managed to befriend Amelia, he wasn't naïve enough to entrust his life to someone who wasn't significantly stronger than him.
On his way back earlier, he had been searching for teachers who could potentially protect him. Although he had a few targets in mind, there was only one person he could realistically interact with.
"Alright, students. I know you're tired, but I hope you can stay focused in my class."
A woman stepped to the front of the classroom, her posture straight and commanding. She had a full figure wrapped in a neat but firm instructor's uniform, reinforcing her aura of authority. Her purple hair flowed down to her back, gleaming softly under the light.
Sharp violet eyes swept across the room, as if piercing straight through each student's thoughts. She was a young teacher who taught leadership—or, as Elian casually labeled her, a potential sugar mommy.
Name: Seraphina Virelle Gender: Female Age: 26 Sequence: ??? Magic Power: ??? Personality: Traits: Romantic, Charismatic, Cold, Visionary, Open-Minded
Rank: ???
Strength: ??? Dexterity: ??? Agility: ??? Constitution: ??? Intelligence: ??? Wisdom: ??? Charisma: ???
Elian listened closely to Seraphina's explanation, trying to understand how she thought. She talked about the duties of a leader, decision-making in battle, evaluating individuals, and how to manage them effectively.
"Alright. Since we still have ten minutes left, we'll move on to a Q&A session. As usual, if your answer doesn't satisfy me, I'll reward you with homework."
At those words, the previously quiet class became slightly chaotic. The reason was simple—Seraphina always asked questions completely unrelated to the topic, which drove the students crazy.
CLAP! CLAP! Seraphina clapped her hands to get everyone's attention.
"Alright, since you've calmed down, I'll continue." Her eyes swept across the room before stopping on Elian. Her lips curved slightly into a faint smile.
"I suppose this question is a bit off-topic, but you should be able to answer it if you've been paying attention for the past month."
"The question is, are nobles and commoners equal?"
The moment he heard that question, Elian realized the incidents from the past few days had already reached the teachers' ears.
'I hope she doesn't hate me that much,' Elian sighed internally, burying his face on the desk.
"Of course nobles and commoners are equal. That's what Astryx Academy teaches."
"Are you stupid? How dare you compare your status to ours, nobles? We are clearly not equal. Nobles are born with dignity and honor, unlike you commoners who crawl out of the gutters."
The classroom erupted into chaos. Seraphina remained silent, neither agreeing nor denying any side.
Elian raised his hand and slammed it down on the desk.
Boom!
The loud sound shattered the noise, drawing everyone's attention toward him.
With all eyes on him, Elian carefully arranged his words, aiming to leave a strong impression—especially on Seraphina.
"Nobles and commoners are clearly not equal."
The room fell silent. Seraphina rubbed her forehead. "I suppose I expected too much—as usual, I want you all to write today's topic based on your own understanding."
She turned around, ready to grab her book and leave.
"Nobles are obviously superior. They're born with powerful bloodlines. Not only that, they have resources and environments that support their growth from the very beginning."
"As for commoners? Most of them have nothing. They rely solely on talent and luck to move forward. Their situation is miserable and completely unfit to compete with nobles."
"But that's only when comparing external factors."
Seraphina turned around, her eyes meeting Elian's. Elian understood—the fish had taken the bait.
"In the end, what truly matters is the individual. Whether they make use of the advantages they have or not. If we compare people individually, the answer changes depending on talent and determination."
"Imagine a talented commoner and a talentless noble. The commoner uses talent to compensate for lack of resources, while the noble uses resources to cover their lack of talent."
"But what if both are geniuses?" "The answer is obvious—the noble wins. Their starting line is different."
"Some of you might think nobles and commoners are equal as long as we're inside Astryx. But reality doesn't work that way. Equality never existed from the start—not even among nobles."
"Why do you think everyone pretends we're equal here? Because of rules. And those rules were made by people with higher authority than us, forcing us to obey."
The entire class fell silent, reflecting on Elian's words. Even Seraphina hadn't expected such an answer from a student.
Elian smiled and stared straight into Seraphina's eyes. "So, Ms. Seraphina—what do you think? Are we equal or not?"
She let out a breath. "We're not equal. Even though the academy claims equality, that only applies to the rights and duties you receive here. I hope you understand that."
Elian clapped his hands. Some fools still didn't get it, but those with even a bit of intelligence began processing her words, their expressions shifting.
"What do you think?" Seraphina smiled at Elian. "What is equality? And can it truly be achieved?"
Elian stopped clapping and considered his answer.
"Heaven does not create one person above or below another."
"Maybe we're equal at birth, but differences slowly emerge. Differences in talent and in how hard someone works to improve each day."
"In the end, humans are blessed with reason and free will, making them the captains of their own lives—constantly changing based on their choices."
"Equality might be a false concept, but inequality is something society still struggles to accept."
Seraphina fell silent. After a moment, she smiled and left the classroom.
"That was a satisfying answer. I'll look forward to our next discussion."
Elian watched her leave in silence. They might grow closer through intellectual exchanges, but that alone wouldn't help him build a romantic relationship. With limited time, he would have to work hard to get closer to Seraphina.
Reader: Author, what is the Romantic trait?
Author: The romantic trait makes its holder love in an extreme way. They will ignore logic, norms, and even moral boundaries for the person they love.
If their love is strong enough, they can abandon their lawful partner, betray their family, or even kill—if that's what the one they love desires 😱.
Simply put: They are beings who ignore all limits—ANY limits—for love.