Did you think you could trick me?

"What do you mean, professor-?"

"Don't even try; I'm the combat teacher of the Athena academy, I don't presume to say that I'm the most experienced as far as combat is concerned among all the teachers, Did you seriously think that I wouldn't notice that you were holding back?"

"..."

That makes a lot of sense

"I guess I still think of this as a novel."

This is a reality; in novels, miraculous things can happen, plot holes that allow certain things to happen, but not in real life

I have in front of me a combat teacher from Athena Academy; being appointed as a teacher in this academy is already enough proof of his excellent skills, Of course, he would notice that I was holding back

"Sigh~ you got me."

Livia looked at me in astonishment at my quick acceptance.

"So you admit it, then?"

"Sure, you know it anyway; I don't see the point in lying to you."

"Tell me then, why did you do it, Why did you hold back?"

He asked me in a serious tone as he looked me in the eyes, exerting some pressure for me to answer, My back started to sweat but I didn't look away from his eyes

"I'm sorry but I can't tell you that."

"Oh? why not?"

"Everyone has their own circumstances, don't they?"

We looked into each other's eyes for a few more seconds before he looked away with a smile, releasing the pressure

"You're very different from what they say."

He turned his back to me and walked towards the door but before he left, he gave me one last look

"I'll be watching you."

Leaving those last words, he walked out of the room, closing the door.

"Phew~"

After he left, I let out the sigh I was holding back and collapsed on the bed.

"He knows."

"Yup, he knows."

"What are we going to do now?"

Livia asked with concern

"Nothing; he's not the type to go around spreading rumors, but still, this is problematic."

Although I don't think Professor Lucius will affect my plan much, I'll have to be much more careful in the future anyway.

"ha~ I want some tea."

"Coming right up."

***

Several days passed since Professor Lucius' visit, Kein became famous by defeating me in such a crushing way at the end of our duel, gaining the attention of the entire academy and some important figures like Princess Beatrice

On the other hand, was left as a proud nobleman and idiot who lost to an unknown commoner, Several of the nobles who followed me abandoned me and created their own separate factions, Those who stayed by my side did not do it for something as pure as loyalty, but because they still saw value in the name Reclesia and wanted to squeeze all the benefits before leaving as well.

Several of these nobles challenged Kein to a duel or attacked him in a sneaky way, trying to get rid of him to 'clear' the name of the nobility.

Obviously, Kein overcame all his traps and obstacles and defeated all the nobles who challenged him to a duel.

This caused him to gain even more attention and respect from the commoners and nobles, Seeing him as an image of resistance against the arrogant nobility, the teachers who favored the noble sons tried to make things difficult for him but under the protection of Princess Beatrice, they could not get very far.

As for me, I continued to fulfill my role as a bastard, bothering a few people here and there, My reputation was getting worse day by day, and I started skipping several classes except for Professor Vivian's, I made sure to go to each of them and write down the interesting topics without anyone noticing, Magic and the way she taught it were genuinely fascinating to me, If it weren't because the Reclesia family, which is mostly warriors, I would have loved to be a wizard

I received several warnings from the student council for my violent behavior against my peers and for breaking numerous rules, but clearly I didn't stop and continued my obnoxious behavior

"You all did great; you may leave now."

Professor Lucius said, and automatically all the students lay down on the floor covered in sweat and I was no exception

His classes sure were crazy, running non-stop for 30 minutes around a courtyard equivalent to a soccer field and swinging the sword 5000 times to immediately fight each other for the rest of the class.

And that was a smooth class.

Everyone started to leave after catching their breath, I had caught my breath a long time ago but I was left panting on the floor anyway.

When they were almost all gone, I got up to leave but a voice stopped me.

"Wait Arthur"

"Professor Lucius?"

Professor Lucius suddenly came up to me and put his hand on my shoulder.

"I've decided."

I don't have a good feeling

"From now on..."

I still have a chance to escape?

"I'm going to train you personally."

"..."

Eh?

"...Sorry, what?"

I think I misheard; let's go ask him.

"I'm going to train you personally."

"..."

I don't think so.

"Why?"

I calmed down and asked him, I couldn't see the point of him training me personally

"I don't know why you act the way you do, and if I'm being honest, I don't care either, but one thing I'm sure of is that you have a talent that I can't stand to see go to waste. That's why I want to train you personally to polish that talent; isn't that the duty of a teacher after all?"

"If that's the case, then why don't you train Kein? I'm sure you know he has much more talent than me."

I couldn't understand it, Kein is so much more talented than me; why bother training me?

"Well, let's just say it's just a hunch, but I think you can go a lot further than him."

"..."

Those words left my mind blank

Me?

Go further than the protagonist?

That's funny

"I see you don't believe me."

"If I'm honest with you, I really don't."

"Hahaha, I don't blame you, that kid has proven to have an overwhelming talent for the sword, he gets stronger every day and seems to hide immense power inside, it wouldn't be an exaggeration to call him a one in a thousand unique talent."

He said this as he admired Kein's talent and accomplishments with the sword.

"But still, I don't know why; my instincts tell me that you can surpass him, that with enough care and training you can become something much greater, and that simple idea fills me with excitement and anticipation.

He put both his hands on my shoulders and looked me in the eyes with a fiery gaze full of determination.

"I want to train you, Arthur, I want to polish your talent to the max and see how far you can go, I want to witness you forging a legend."

"..."

Everything Lucius said left me surprised and a little moved, During all these years, no one besides Livia and Lissa had treated me well, they looked at me with fear, contempt and hate, I know I asked for it and I'm not complaining, I don't have such a weak mind to break for something like that.

But for someone to have such confidence and expectations in me after all these years...

It's not so bad

"Ha, forge a legend, eh?"

Will I really be able to do that?

I hadn't given much thought to my future after defeating Reclesia—becoming the strongest swordsman?, the richest man?, the smartest man?, or maybe just marrying with Livia and living happily with a family of two kids and a dog?

"Forging a legend doesn't sound so bad."

"So you accept?"

"Yeah, why not?"

This could come in handy anyway, The Reclesia are no joke; my allies will be powerful, but in order to guide them properly, I have to be even more powerful

"Great, we can start tomorrow."

"Can I invite Livia too?"

Personal training from the best combat teacher the Athena academy is a very beneficial thing, This can be an opportunity to take Livia to a new level.

"That maid of yours?"

"Yes."

"Mmm, I don't mind, she's also exceptionally talented, it will be fun to train her."

"Thank you very much."

"Hahahaha! then go get some rest! I warn you in advance that it's going to be hell!"

He said with an 'evil' smile.

"I don't expect anything less."

I replied with a smile

And so, Livia and I became Professor Lucius' disciples.

***

The next day I headed to Professor Vivian's class, Today there was going to be a test so everyone was a bit tense

"Hello, my dear students~"

Contrary to the tense atmosphere of the students, Professor Vivian entered with her characteristic relaxed attitude.

"I see you are tense. Don't worry too much; this test is just to see how much you have learned and if you have properly absorbed the knowledge I taught you."

-Click

She snapped her fingers and several sheets of paper flew to each student's desks

"You have exactly 2 hours to complete it; if you see that a question is too difficult for you, just move on to the next one."

After saying that, she sat down lazily at her desk and began reading a magazine

"Let's see how it goes."

I wasn't planning to solve this test correctly; after all, what a bastard, useless, good for nothing is good at studying?

The questions were related to all the classes we had so far. I knew the answers to most of them; some of them were more difficult, but I could solve them without too many complications.

Since I knew the right answers, I obviously knew the wrong answers as well, so that's what I did.

I got most of them wrong except the ones that were very easy, and the rest I just left blank.

I got up from my seat after finishing, and after lazily handing my sheet to the teacher, I left the room.

"Arthur Reclesia, finished."

She said this without taking her eyes off the magazine and without trying to stop me.

The students who saw me leaving just snorted or shook their heads; not even 30 minutes had passed since the test started, but he had already left. As they were already used to his behavior, they were not so surprised and continued with their tests.

***

Several hours passed and I was wandering around the academy. I didn't go to any class after Miss Vivian's test, which earned me a reprimand from the council, but I didn't give it any importance and went on with my work.

The class with Professor Lucius should start soon. I already informed Livia, so she should also be on her way.

I walked through the empty corridors of the academy; all the classes were over and the sun was setting, so no one was in the corridors anymore.

-Step Step

Or so it should be

On the other side of the corridor, I could see teacher Vivian walking; she probably forgot something or had to pick up some papers. I didn't think much of it and kept walking.

-Step Step

Our steps were the only thing that could be heard in these empty corridors, while little by little, the distance between us was shortening.

-Step Step

"..."

I have a bad feeling. I don't know what it is, but I feel it.

-Step Step

The feeling was getting bigger and bigger as I got closer to Miss Vivian. Sweat started to run down my back, but I didn't stop my steps.

-Step Step

In order to avoid whatever was about to happen, I increased the speed of my steps to take a detour, It would take longer to get to Professor Lucius' class but the only thing I could think of now was to get away from Professor Vivian.

I came to an intersection but before I could move forward, I felt a cold hand touch my shoulder

"Well, well~ Mr. Arthur."

Turning my head slowly, I could see Miss Vivian, who had a more devilish smile than usual.