After just a while, every student had reached his or her respective class. The way in which the divide between students had been handled was easy: half from Xal, half from Qeo in each class.

The people from their country were then divided by prestige, not only in their studies but also in their respective Empires.

In Class 1A, for this exact reason, there were both Princess Sofia and Prince Kaios, along with Duke Iltmark.

 Since there were only ten dukes in the Qeo Empire and the same number of them resided in the Xal Empire, Emperor Agar had asked for the classes to all include thirty people.

Thanks to this, Class 1A could host eight marquises, the noble class right below the Duke for importance. One of these was Alas; while the number of dukes in the Empire was so limited due to their prestigious nature, there were more than three hundred marquises in each of the Empires.

No one could identify them all.

 

The idea that the Emperor of Qeo kept hidden was based on this. His request had been accepted by Sophia’s mother way too easily; it was likely, in his mind, that she also planned to have one or two members of her secret police as marquises.

This was well known by Alas. He entered the room with full knowledge of the possible danger, but intent on sitting, as predetermined, at the same desk as the Prince.

The class was huge, neat and elegant, with a white floor made of marble and red walls with golden decorations.

There were fifteen desks for two people each.

Waiting for Prince Kaios to choose the spot he liked the most, the brown haired young man stood still near the entrance, on the right of it precisely.

He didn’t want people to care about his presence too much or to not be able to enter due to him blocking the way. Still, he had attracted many gazes without doing anything.

 

His gaze was on the door, looking for the eyes of a certain royal.

But he caught another one. Soon enough he felt the gaze of a light blue eyed-girl, adorned with two dark purple colored necklaces that squeezed her thin and pale neck.

She wore a white dress that perfectly meshed with her fair complexion and looked out of this world.

 

“Truly an angel…” thought the agent, only realizing after that his hands were fairly trembling. “So, I’m still afraid.”

Still, he soon enough focused his gaze on the royal who was looking at him. 

They didn’t share any words, but it seemed to Alas like her gaze showed curiosity. He wondered why.

Maybe — he realized — it was because he had kept his eyes locked with her for a long time courageously, while he was actually doing it out of habit. So, he chose to look more insecure and direct his gaze elsewhere.

 

Following Sophia’s beautiful form was another equally handsome person, Kaios. He almost seemed not to notice the agent as he still held her hand gracefully.

He even surpassed Alas without any regard, while pointing with his index finger to a desk in the middle of the class. The two didn’t talk, but they already had some sort of synergy.

“Weird.” The agent thought to himself, without feeling dejected or enraged. “He had proposed that we sit together. What’s changed?”

It was then that the boy started wondering if there was something more important behind the scenes. Then, understanding that he didn’t have the full picture, he chose not to ask questions.

Rather, he chose the furthest desk from the professor’s seat, behind the Prince and Princess who had chosen to share their desk. It was a position which guaranteed the full safety of those in front of him without him having to interfere too much or suffer their gaze.

Still, there was a problem: it was not a single desk.

“So, I’ll have to spend all this time with a random person.” He concluded, not knowing if he was prepared or not for an event like this.

 

He believed that Duke Iltmark, as an avid follower of the royals, would have chosen the seat next to his, but then he saw that the Duke had preferred the place in front of Sophia and Kaios, along with a red-haired girl that Alas had never seen.

“At least, I know they’re safe on that side.” He laughed. “There could have been an assassin there, but luckily there’s that guy.”

He had already created a mental portrait of the Duke’s characteristics, even if they were still neatly divided in two. 

The public and private duke were so different; he could be a serious and threatening person, but subservient and pacific at the same time. 

Could the two really exist together?

 

Choosing to avoid overthinking useless concepts, he decided to pay more attention to the reality that stood before his eyes.

Since the class had filled itself to the brim, he had a person to his side. It could have been anyone, but it was for the first time someone who Alas knew. And he knew him fairly well too.

He had seen him more than once.

“The son of the Duke that reigns over Hinzerland.” The brown-haired boy said to himself, making sure nobody could hear him.

It was a memory of his youth.

A man with naturally white hair, red eyes that both seemed warm and impetuous, an extremely impulsive and emotional personality who tended towards conflict, height which was below average and a thin body which, fundamentally, was asymmetrical.

All of this was Duke Syven of Ludburg, a man from Qeo’s side.

 

“Greetings.” Said the latter, as if he didn’t remember who Alas was. Well, it was honestly likely — that had to be the conclusion that the agent reached as well — so he shook his hands.

After all, both Syven and the curly-haired boy were very young at the time. 

It was only normal that both their minds had blurred memories.

“My greetings.” The young man answered with a passionate tone, without thinking too much about the anxieties of the past. Time had passed.

“I am Duke Syven. Who are you?” He asked.

“Marquis Alas.” He said, then he bowed gracefully. “From Qeo.”

“Never heard of you. I didn’t expect to find a lowly marquis here, one from Qeo too…” the boy looked really disappointed when he realized who the agent was. 

“How am I going to build connections now?!” He screamed out, calling some attention but not too much. Alas wasn’t surprised, it was refreshing that this person had not changed.

“I’m sorry. At least, you got the Prince in front of you.” The agent concluded, hoping to keep the Duke’s spirits high. He then moved his hair to his eyes, one of his habits.

“Do you really think he would answer to someone like me? It’s clear you don’t know him at all!” Again, Alas had said words which caused a fair reaction. 

 

“Royals aren’t even able to understand people like me! At least, you can listen—“

“Dreaming of grandeur?” Alas cut it briefly, realizing that this person managed to be offended by basically everything. But if Syven was quiet, things would get boring.

“I am not interested. The lesson is about to begin.” Alas said, smiling inside. He knew he had just lit up the bomb.

“You are a boring person as well!! I want to strangle you!” The Duke concluded, face red from anger but his body not moving an inch.

Strangling, huh? Alas remembered that, at the time, other techniques were used more. Still, he had to admit, strangling seemed like an easy way to deal with a threat.

It was something he could try one day.

 

Before the agent could answer, he heard a booming voice interrupting him.

“Greetings, students! Take your seats! My name is Professor Theodore Quark, I am your magic teacher. Today, we’ll begin with the lessons about the most important subject in Xal.”

It didn’t take a genius to understand what country this man, who had the face of a forty year old man while doubling that age, was from.

Alas was interested, though. Maybe, these lessons could be a way to learn new things.

“As usual, we’ll begin magic from the basics. Angels and demons!”

Someone’s eyes lit up, as in curious caution and surprise.

 

After six hours had passed, the lessons finished. Alas chose to leave immediately, being the first to get out of class. He wanted to protect the exits and guarantee that nobody dangerous was waiting for them.

He was bored. 

Duke Syven, at the end, was just an enormous waste of time.

If he was asked to create a mental portrait, all he could say was that the Duke spoke way too much about things that are too irrelevant, he was too sentimental and thought too highly of himself. Nothing else needed to be known, but Alas sorta envied his spontaneousness and his generosity, which he remembered.

He wasn’t all that annoyed, the only thing that he hated was how the Duke always broke his focus by saying something new.

He had noticed, anyways, how close Sophia and Kaios were. He didn’t know if that was a good thing, no orders were given to him in that sense, but he thought it definitely could be.

While he left the room and saw them chatter and get closer to the exit, becoming more and more informal with each other, he also saw another person.

Agent 73. Class 1F.

 

He immediately realized his presence meant that he was needed, so, still looking at that happy couple, he chose to leave them there. After all, people like Iltmark were looking at them permanently. Nothing could go wrong for a few minutes.

Soon enough, Alas was led to a hidden room on the roof of the building, far from the rooms of the teachers and their private rooms, in which there were only a few boxes, some items so precious they didn’t have a price on the market, a wooden table of humble origins and a small wooden chair.

That seat hosted the royal figure of Emperor Agar.

“To think this is the humblest place I’ve seen him in.” The boy realized, then he moved closer and closer to the old and smart man whose mouth was closed.

 

Then, the latter spoke. “Listen…” he said. 
Alas immediately bowed in respect, then he was all ears.

“Today, I think you know, the Princess of Xal and Prince Kaios spoke. Did you know what she said to him? They let me know.”

The agent nodded. “I think I know. That her family wants her to marry him?”

“Precisely.” He said. “Good guess.”

Then Agar cleared his throat. “Naturally, I had made a similar proposal to him. It’s time: you shall know the reason why I asked for this Academy to be built.”

The agent didn’t answer, but he was listening.

“The reason is that we would have lost the war if Kaios took the throne.”

Silence.

“In our history…” The old Emperor started explaining, “we have been preceded by war-loving emperors, strong and full of ideals. While Xal has a stronger military than ours, they’ve always managed to keep it close.”

 

“But it won’t be like this forever.” He concluded.

“If Kaios takes power, for example, this balance will be ruined. He is not an evil man, he is just the son of his father. I was just like him when I was young, my parents gave me this same speech. They accused me of the future defeat of my nation.” Agar explained.

“But I have always hated Xal. It was my hate for their authoritarian politics, their lack of freedom and hate-fueled war machine that led me to keep the hostilities going. But Kaios isn’t an idealist like me. He will lose this war, so I chose peace.

My objective has always been finding a woman from Xal that he loved. In such a way, peace could be everlasting and my son would be able to do what he does best, handle the Empire’s economy.

After all, the people want peace as well. Nobody here wants to keep fighting, but the ordinary citizens of Xal still do. They make me think they are truly demons sometimes…” he spat words full of hate to them, as the discomfort was clear on his face.

 

“Having said this, let’s now speak of more important matters. Both Sophia and Kaios, so it seems, were influenced to marry one another by their families. To me, having chosen the same road as Xal’s makes me doubt if it’s really the right choice…” the Emperor continued, showing all his doubts.

“Is it right to force somebody to marry someone else that he does not love to avoid that others die?” Agar reached the point.

But Alas, who was indeed curious to know what the man in front of him believed regarding this question, still chose to avoid answering.

“To me it doesn’t seem forced. He seems genuinely interested. More than a demon, she looks like an angel…” he said honestly.

“An angel… is it? How are you feeling?” Agar asked, immediately and paternalistically preoccupied for his agent’s health.

He had always been that kind of person. Alas often asked himself if it wouldn’t be better for such a man to have somebody who could reciprocate the affection the Emperor felt for his subordinates.

“Well.” He laughed. “Do not care about these foolish matters, His Majesty.”

After those words, the agent was already heading out of the room. Their meeting was done.

 

He recalled all the myths and legends that were known about angels and demons. He knew it wasn’t as easy as it was thought to define them.

What was an angel? A natural being born from magic being accumulated. It took the shape of an ethereal human and, because of this, the most noble people of all countries of the world considered it as a model to follow for the virtuous man.

An angel, after all, was a pure being who was only enchanted, a flawless and eternal being who was not linked at all to flesh. So, angels were widely admired and considered superior to men.

A demon was, in other words, the opposite. It came from a man who had tried to become an angel, substituting his flesh with magic. It was an artificial creature, half man and half angel, widely regarded as a terrible monster, something that should be hated and escaped from.

This duality was seen in their exterior characteristics as well. They had two forms,one that was angel-like and didn’t age and one that was human-like and aged, but whose aging could be freely stopped. 

Still, both forms looked incomplete. As if a piece was missing.

No matter what anyone believed, both of them were the peaks of magic. There wasn't any stronger magic than theirs.

That had been the subject of the first magic lesson that Alas had listened to during that same day, which had talked about things that he already knew.

 

“Anyways…” the boy thought to himself. “Agar would have never only called me to ask for an opinion. It’s obvious that he wants me to guarantee that their relationship has a good outcome.” He realized without any issues.

It was something that, despite all of his experiences, he had never done.

What even was love? He never really got it.

“I just hope that I won’t be forced to resort to harsh measures to make sure that everything goes according to plan.” He said. He was already thinking of how many people he had to slaughter if they opposed the royals’ love. Hopefully not many.

Soon, though, a hand stopped him.

It was the strong hand of the Emperor, who was still much taller than him.

 

“One last thing, I had almost forgotten.” The royal admitted. “Do you want to know what these men from Xal decided?”

“In spite of all our opinions, they chose to accept the commoners in the Academy, at least on their end. Ten thousand people. More than half of what we proposed.” The Emperor admitted, a sense of bitterness in his mouth.

Alas nodded.

“We are not less empathic. We have taken another ten thousand, so, you shall know, in a week we’ll be more than five times as much. There’ll be four buildings instead of one, but it’s unavoidable that people that can be controlled less will still be here. Good luck.” Agar claimed, the angry tone of voice not leaving.

Again, the agent didn’t seem at all surprised. He nodded again and bowed, then left.

 

In reality, Alas based most of his knowledge on people’s personalities. His portrait of Sophia, for how shallow it was, had taken a strong hit.

“Did she really come to terms with Alabard? Despite her behavior?” He thought to himself.

“I thought she was authoritarian and fairly typical, but maybe I am wrong. I need to talk to her.” He understood, then exited the building.

That day — it was chosen now — he would’ve found her.

Not a hard thing to do. Her fair complexion meant it was unlikely that she was outside. Out of all the activities she could have chosen, only one looked fit to her.

“I know where to look.”