1 The Irresponsible Prince

"Your majesty, we are unable to find the prince." A dark haired man dressed in all black, reported with a respectful bow. His golden badge was the proof of his status as the top secret guard.

"Interrogate his personal guards." The man to whom Ji Haoyu reported, calmly ordered. His long white beard showed his age, while his royal yet simple attire showed his status in the court.

"That...We are unable to find them too."

'Bam!' The guards behind Haoyu flinched a bit.

'Oh no…we are doomed. The crown prince has truly angered his majesty this time'

This wasn't the first time they were the one dealing with the consequences of the crown prince disobeying his grandfather. However, this time, it didn't only involve the court, it was a matter of the entire kingdom.

"Useless!" Yan Lingyun muttered under his breath.

"What is he thinking? I will be protecting him all the time, while he roams around without a care for his responsibility as the crown prince? Remove him from the ….."

Before he could complete his command from the corner of his eyes he spotted a young man entering the room.

'Ah, so they are not going to face the wrath. The person who is the root of all the trouble is finally back.' Haoyu along with the other guards were relieved.

"You unnecessarily deployed so many royal guards." Yan Changmin spoke up calmly.

Dark hair done in a neat traditional manner, an aura that involuntarily suppressed others, a devilishly handsome face exuding elegance - the crown prince appears to be nothing like what the court officials described him like.

A newly recruited guard thought to himself. His sparkling stare made the other guards speechless.

'This rookie seems to be under the wrong impression.'

Even Haoyu shook his head at his demeanour.

Yan Lingyun waved his hand to dismiss them, before turning to face his grandson.

—-------------

"Unnecessarily?" Yan Lingyun finally replied to Changmin's earlier statement.

His chest heaved with anger as he pointed his finger at the indifferent man.

"If I wanted to avoid my responsibilities, I wouldn't wait for this long to escape."

"So, you have decided to enrol in the academy for good without causing any trouble?"

Lingyun felt quite skeptical at this obedient behaviour.

"Yes."

"You aren't thinking of….creating a ruckus over there?"

"You can choose to not enrol me there, in that case." Changmin said with a careless smirk.

Without bothering to explain himself anymore, he turned back leaving the room not paying heed to his grandfather who was too stunned to scold him.

He dialed a familiar 3 digit number.

"Greetings, Am I speaking to Instructor Feng?"

"Yes, Changmin to the Brightstone academy."

"I assure you he will be a dutiful student."

"Yes, send the admit pass as soon as possible."

He hung up the call. Finally he felt peaceful. It was a tradition for the royal princes showing signs of extraordinary talent to seek admission in the Brightstone academy. The academy had the best possible infrastructure available in all the kingdoms.

'If he stays there for a few years, he will definitely turn out to be even more outstanding.'

—------------

Inside the palace,

A young man was leaning back on the magnificient seat. His hair scattered over his shoulders along with the half opened hair made him appear unmindful.

"So? You are really going, huh?" A guy asked. He ran his fingers through his shiny golden locks as he chuckled.

Before he could take a bite of the apple in his hand it was snatched away.

He looked up with arched brows.

"Seriously? You don't have to show your pettiness to me. Moreover, it's not like I was the one who dragged you to the forest." He spoke up.

The other guy who kept quiet till now swiftly jumped up on the large window and sat down comfortably.

"Any information on the academy?" Chagmin asked, unbothered by childhood friend's familiar antics.

"Aye, I see you are embarrassed. Come on now, no need to be shy with your brother." Li Jiyanyu said. Even though his smirk seemed to speak otherwise.

He took a look at the man whose eyes darkened and tried his best to suppress his laugh only to miserably fail.

"Ha ha ha ha" Jiayanyu almost toppled the chair on which he was sitting. This was probably the first time he could see his best buddy being this embarrassed.

"If you can't hand over the information, then leave." Changmin said with a deadpan face as he finished the last bite of the apple.

He knew it, this moron would never let go of an opportunity to mock him. That woman…she better hide forever. That day if not for her intervention, he would have caught the spies for sure.

His face looked sinister as he thought of ways to make any living person's life traumatic enough for them to seek death on their own.

'Never mind, I shouldn't bite more than I can chew. This guy looks like he can secretly send assassins to stab me while I am asleep.' Li Jiyanyu thought to himself as he felt goosebumps on his skin from such a possible outcome.

"Eh, you see it's a mysterious academy for a reason. Even its exact location is impossible to find. As far as I know unless you acquire the entry pass, you won't ever even catch a glimpse of the entrance. Tch tch how elite."

He took a slight pause before continuing,

"However, I found a photograph of that woman who was the main reason why you have to go to the academy and guess what?"

Jiyanyu didn't really give his friend time to guess.

"She is also a student in the academy. Enrolling for the same session. Ah, such a small world indeed. You might find your visit to the academy to be fruitful enough and not completely monotonous."

He said with a teasing smile before taking out a photograph from his pocket and handing it out to Changmin.