Chapter 84: The cold truth

After his mother was thrown in the detention center, Shun remained melancholic for a few days.

He lived along that gardener and his friend. The couple of days he lived in that house, he knew he was being a burden for this family.

Shun then remembered the teacher who handed him his card.

He had heard that the school would provide lodgings and free food to students who performed well in the entrance exams.

Because of that card with him, he was allowed entry and meet Euan Watts, the botanist of this school.

Shun explained his circumstances to the man and Euan Watts was surprised that he wanted to take the entrance exam for lodging and food.

"Will it be possible?"

"It is possible. The King wishes to promote talents and the scholarship program has been introduced precisely for this reason. As long as your grades are excellent, you will be allowed to live for free."

The entrance exam occurred a few days later.

With Shun's intellect, he easily aced the exam and achieved the highest score possible. This fact reached the principal of the school and he personally came to meet Shun.

Shun was then handed one of the best residences in the school.

In school, he also formed a couple of close friends in the school.

He continued to read more books and enhance his knowledge. He focused more on the information about different kinds of plants and how to take care of them.

Time passed in the blink of an eye.

Shun was 6 years old and he was on a trip organized by the school. They were going to some locations that had historical value in the Sinyalian Kingdom.

It had been quite some time since Shun got out of school. He was somewhat happy to get out and see a new place.

The first location they went to was the Nathan Museum. It was constructed to glorify the great deeds of the hero named Nathan who held off the enemies for 3 whole days alone until the reinforcements arrived.

He soon died of his injuries but he was given the highest honor possible for his sacrifice. It was said that if not for his sacrifice, the Sinylian Kingdom would have been destroyed.

Shun read the description of the great hero Nathan and frowned. He didn't know why but his instincts told him that this was incomplete information.

How could a single man handle enemies that came from three sides? Even if he was bluffing, he shouldn't be able to stop their advance unless he possessed the supreme fighting ability.

But this wasn't how it was written in the description.

It stated that he remained in the shadows and made it seem to the other side that they were fighting an entire army.

This was something that was supposed to be impossible.

Shun spoke out his guesses to the teacher. And surprisingly, even the teacher found it difficult to counter Shun's arguments.

Their visit to the museum soon ended and the students were allowed to go and play.

The next day, the teacher was found dead in her room.

The death of that teacher shocked Shun greatly. He wondered just why would he die so suddenly?

Did he have an enemy here in this city? But according to what he had observed, it was the first time their teacher had come to this city as well.

Her lack of directions and basic knowledge about this city clearly stated it.

He recalled that she had gone to a certain location after finishing the lecture yesterday.

Maybe it had something to do with this.

Shun observed the room and found out she hadn't bought anything new. Her money had remained untouched which meant this wasn't robbery.

The killer specifically wanted her life.

Soon, Shun reached the conclusion that her death had some relation to his guesses regarding the credibility of Hero Nathan's story.

There was a chance she went to confront someone from the museum about the credibility of this story. If the other party wasn't able to counter her argument, he may have decided to silence her for good.

'This is my fault… I was the one too curious for my own good.'

Shun felt extremely guilty. If he hadn't shared his thoughts with the teacher, she wouldn't have confronted the museum authorities. And the person wouldn't have ordered her death.

Shun somewhat wanted to find out who the murderer was. He thought that the city guards would try to investigate but they didn't.

The city guards listed this murder as suicide and just closed the case file.

Shun couldn't understand why this happened. But soon, a possibility emerged in his head.

'The city guards had no intention to ever investigate this murder. Perhaps because the murder has his contacts in them.'

Shockingly, even the school didn't seek an explanation for the death of one of their faculty. Another teacher was sent to the city to continue their historical visits.

Shun knew that he had to talk about it to the principal once he returned. For now, he had to be careful to not speak carelessly.

The trip continued for a week.

Shun and his group of classmates saw dozens of historical sites but there were only two or three that appeared genuine to Shun.

The rest appeared to have been badly scripted.

There was something else Shun deduced from this trip. It was the respective Noble Houses who had created the historical sites and the description emerged from them as well.

From a certain perspective, it was as if the Noble Families were trying to glorify their own ancestors.

Before returning to the school, Shun also understood who was most likely the murderer of the teacher. It was someone from Earl Nathan's Noble Family.

If someone from Noble Family received a report that a teacher was questioning their hero Nathan or the situation of that time. They must have thought it was best to eliminate her.

The power and prestige of a Noble Family were great enough that they could easily kill a teacher or two without anyone raising their fingers at them.

Shun had thought that it would be best to inform the principal about this incident and also about his guesses.

Soon after returning to the school, Shun walked towards the principal's room.

The principal was somewhat surprised to see it was Shun who visited him.

"Is there something you need, Shun?" It was rare for Shun to come to the principal to request something.

"Sir, I wanted to respectfully ask you something. Why didn't you pursue madam Rachel's death more? If it was a request from you, the city guards would have been forced to investigate more seriously."

"I see…" There was a look of realization in the principal's eyes, "So this is why you came here."

"Yes, sir. I have been very puzzled about this." Shun nodded his head and asked him, "If it's because there are no leads then I have a guess who could be behind it."

The principal suddenly opened his mouth and spoke, "It was the Nathan Family."

Those words confirmed Shun's suspicions and he connected the dots.

The principal couldn't contend against the Noble Family and feared them. He didn't want to end up in a conflict with them.

"I received a telegram stating how madam Rachel had questioned a sensitive matter related to their lineage. They silenced her to ensure that no one would entertain that kind of thought."

For a brief period, Shun remained completely silent.

"Is there anything else you want to ask from me?" The principal asked as he looked into Shun's eyes.

"…Do you believe that what happened was right?"

The principal sighed out and answered, "This is no longer a question of whether it was right or not. It wasn't right. However, the question is whether it's worth it to risk your life or not. And the answer is no. The difference between us common people and a Noble Family Member is too great."

"…Thank you, principal." Shun slowly turned and walked out.

He felt his eyes had been opened today.

The many books he had read till now focused on how everyone in the world deserved to be happy. To be the same under the law.

But today, he found out that the real world was far different from that ideal world. The Noble Families suppressed the commoners so strongly that they broke this equality and made it seem like a thing of fantasy.

According to how the principal was talking, it was as if there was no choice but for him to accept it.

And Shun did exactly that. He accepted this explanation.

How could he resist a Noble Family, after all?

The background aside, he was merely a child, who was barely allowed to live in the school because of the scholarship program.

If he made a move against the Noble Family, he would die before he could realize it. And he held a selfish desire to live.

He didn't want to die yet. He had no clear idea why he wanted to live. It was just that he felt it would be a loss if he didn't learn more about the world. He wanted to see more of the world with his eyes.

Solving mysteries was also fun.

But a year later, an incident occurred that became his motivation to reform the gap between the Noble House and Commoners in the Sinyalian Kingdom and change his school to a Martial Academy.

His target was set.

The corrupt Noble Families were sucking the vitality of this kingdom. They had to be judged.

Shun was 7 years old when he joined the Willow Creek Academy of Martial Arts.