Chapter 442: Monster

"It’s true!" Balder blurted out, getting all his friends to laugh. Looking at them laugh at his jokes and stories, his smile deepened. "Look." Balder pushed himself out of his chair and walked over to Edward. Within the cafeteria, Edward and Samuel ate with one another, alone on a small table. Others wished to approach, mainly because Samuel sat at the table, but with Edward there, they chose against it, finding him weird.

Seeing Balder walk over, with a few of his friends behind him, Samuel frowned whilst Edward sank into his neck a little. Balder smiled even brighter, seeing this and knowing that what he wished to show his friends would work. Coming over to Edward, Balder looked smugly into his eyes. His eyes were in stark contrast to Edwards’s. Where Edwards was dim, almost like a dead man, Balders were bright and clear, like perfect gems, only beaten by his sisters.

"Monster." Saying to Edward’s face, the young boy clenched his small serving of bread but said nothing back, looking down at the table. The boys behind laughed, seeing Edward do nothing. Balder felt pride, and his heart raced as he tried to see how far he could push it. Reaching out, he grabbed the bread roll in his half-brother’s hands. Turning to face his friend, Balder smiled, "See, he does nothing."

The boys looked at him with grins. They weren’t cruel, just playful. Abu, seeing the sight, walked over and grabbed the food from Balders’ hands. "Do not steal from others." His voice was cold, not the way an adult should have talked to a child. Balder stared at him, slightly scared as the other children backed off.

"Abu." Edward called out softly, "I want to leave now." Abu sighed and shook his head. Putting the bread in Edwards’ hands and unlocking his chair, pushing him back to the classroom to eat alone. Sameul stared at Balder hatefully but didn’t follow Edward, seeing that the boy wished to be alone.

Only when Edward was gone did he get up and walk over to Balder, who had returned to his seat. Standing behind Balder with a small grin, he grabbed the food in the Prince’s hands and stuffed it into his mouth, before anyone could react.

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING!" Balder cried out, standing up. Samuel stared, chewing quickly, swallowing before he even finished. The loaf of bread got stuck in his throat, and without trying to tease the boy, he grabbed his drink and downed it, trying not to choke. Balder forwne dan pushed Samuel, "THAT’S MINE!"

The young boy fell over from the push and laughed. "Sorry." Flashing a kind smile, he annoyed Balder, who clenched his small fists. His friend egged him on from behind with their eyes, and Balder threw a small punch at Sameul, who was getting up.

Hitting his eye, Samuel’s smile fell, and although he was on the verge of crying, he threw his own weak punch, hitting Balder in the face. With tears in their eyes, the two grabbed one another, trying to push the other to the floor. Teachers ran out in panic, breaking the fight up, as Balder’s own servants quickly pulled the prince back.

"I’m telling my dad!" Balder cried out, with tears running down his cheeks. Samuel froze, crying even harder at the threat. Although he didn’t know who Alfred was, he had received a warning from his father about the Imperial children’s father. It was a simple line,’Be careful not to hurt the Imperial Children.’

"I didn’t do anything." Samuel desperately tried to tell the teachers as they consoled him. Balder saw his reaction and smiled through his own tears. Much like Samuel, he didn’t know what his father really did, but he knew that Samuel’s dad had to be respectful to Alfred. It’s what gave him the confidence to act the way he did.

The teacher watched everything and looked to the caretakers, who were watching Balder. Both groups were as helpless as the other, and while they separated the two children, they didn’t dare act forcefully or blame either for the fight. It was a moment when they both hated their jobs. Usually, it would be easy to punish one side.

Although the academy staff were taught to ignore the titles of their students, if a prince of the nation got into a fight, it would be easy to take his side as he outranked 90% of the student body by such a great degree. The parents wouldn’t openly complain, keeping grievances to themselves as long as it was a small scuffle. But in the case right now, it was a prince and the son of the Prime Minister.

The two sets of adults both looked lost and came to the collective agreement to send it straight to the top and have the headmaster deal with it. Everyone knew Alfred had a close relationship with him.

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Abu silently rolled Edward to the nearby classroom, the boy looking down at the bread in his hands. Letting him in, Abu closed the door behind him and walked in front of Edward. Kneeling, he looked up at him with a friendly smile.

"Edward." The young child hardly reacted, his gaze never leaving the bread roll. "Are you alright?"

Alone, Edward finally teared up. "I hate him. I hate them all." Edward said with a breaking voice. Abu took a deep breath and patted the young boy’s head, rubbing his hair.

"You can’t let it get you, My Prince."

"Why?" Edward said with a detached, cynical voice, "Why can’t I be like the others?" His words made Abu’s heart crumble as he didn’t have an answer. "I want to run around. Play with Sam and the others."

"Don’t listen to them." Abu hid his feelings, not wishing to make Edward sense his pity. "You are fine the way you are. Can they read the book you can, My Prince?" Edward shook his head, making Abu smile, "See. You’re better than them at that."

Edward didn’t believe it, however, and stared down at his legs. His hands moved, rubbing his fingers over his soft trousers. "I’m not a monster?" His voice was near inaudible as he asked. Abu sighed and grabbed Edwards’s shoulders.

"Never think you are." His voice was stern and assertive. "You are the Crown Prince. Child of one of the most powerful men on Gaia. You mustn’t let the words of others put you down." Abu stared at Edward, who still looked at his legs, "Look at me, My Prince." Edward didn’t budge. "Look at me." His voice was colder, more commanding, and Edward acted on instinct to its tone. "You can’t let them taunt you, Edward. If you always run, you will never be able to beat them."

"But..." Edward’s voice trailed, the reason for his hesitation obvious.

"You have to let them know who you are. Don’t worry, if they try to do anything to you, I will protect you." Abu flashed a pure white smile, flexing his right bicep for the boy, "I’m very strong. No one can beat me." Edward smiled at his words and finally grabbed the bread roll, taking a small bite from it.

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Inside the headmaster’s office, the sun had begun to set, and the two moons rose. He sat with his hands in his hands, looking at the two boys, patiently waiting for the two parents to arrive. Balder was smug, not worried at all, whilst Sameul sat, ghastly white, terrified of how his father would punish him.

The door creaked open, and after a Royal Guard made sure it was safe, led Alfred and Issac in. "Headmaster. It’s rather late and we are very busy." Alfred’s voice was tired, but his tone showed he was playfully joking rather than angry.

"DA..."

"Silence." Before Balder could try and make his case, Alfred coldly ordered, not sparing a glance. "Are we really here because of a scuffle between boys?"

"Unfortunately, yes." The headmaster sighed and looked at the two children. "The teachers don’t know what to do in this situation. Although they should judge based on what happened, they are all scared of offending either one of you."

Alfred frowned and looked to his Royal Guard. "Get Violet." The guard bowed and left the room, quickly returning with the maid who watched over Astrid and Balder. She lowered her head towards Alfred and waited for instructions.

"Rise." Violete rose and averted his gaze, "From the beginning, tell me what happened. Lie, and I will ensure Horace deals with you." Violet nodded and looked at the two boys. Retelling the events, her tone didn’t change, even when she mentions Balder calling Edward a monster. Balder’s face went pale, expecting the maid who watched him to lie on his behalf. he wished to make his case, but Alfred’s piercing gaze froze him silent.

"I see." It was all Alfred said as he looked to Issac. "You can deal with Sameul how you want. Don’t be too harsh, but he still harmed the Imperial family." Issac nodded, already having a punishment in mind. Alfred took a step forward and looked down at his son. "Get up."

"Father..." Balder meekly said, lowering his head, "I did nothing wrong."

"Stand. Up," Alfred coldly said once more. Balder didn’t dare to delay his father and stood, lowering his head in fear. "Everyone avert their gaze." The guards and Violet did so instantly. Issac acted a second later, covering Samuel’s eyes and turning his head away forcefully. The headmaster looked down, pretending to read the document in front of him.

A loud smack echoed in the office as Alfred’s palm struck across Balder’s face. It wasn’t hard, but the sting was worse than anything Balder had ever felt in his life. He wished to cry, but scared of making his father angrier, he bit his lip and held his cheek, tears streaming down his face.

"Never forget he is your brother, Balder," Alfred coldly said, devoid of any parental love, "You can dislike him all you wish, but do so in private. You are a child; I don’t expect you to understand everything, but you must not openly mock him. You disgrace me and yourself." Alfred turned to the headmaster, "Punish him according to the academy rules. If anything like this happens in the future, I will leave it to you to judge. Violet. If the Headmaster asks for the truth about any situation involving Balder, Astrid or Edward, you tell him everything truthfully. He will handle the rest."

"Boys. You two wait outside." Alfred looked at Samuel and Balder, who had left, finally turning to Issac. His temper vanished, replaced by an extremely embarrassed look. "Forgive me for making you hear such a thing. And for what Balder did."

"No," Isaac waved it off, "Boys will be like this at their age. I’m glad Samuel stuck up for his friend, but to harm your son is too far."

"I’ll be honest. I don’t think he should be punished for hitting Balder, but I can’t afford to let it slide. I know you understand."

"Luckily, they are children, so it’s nothing too serious." Issac sighed and grabbed his head, "We have to return soon; delaying our work will put us behind." Alfred nodded and looked to the headmaster.

"Unless it’s serious, I’ll rely on you to deal with punishments according to your rules." The Headmaster nodded and lowered his head to return to work. With the conversation over, Alfred and Issac lead their children out of the Academy in silence.