Chapter 244 Arthan Library (3)

Randalvine Magic Institute.

Marquess Lawson Lansdowne, the Vice Principal of the Magic Institute was smiling bitterly as he thought about the currently ongoing Outbreak. Things had developed to the direction no one had expected, and unfortunately it wasn't a good thing.

Two days ago, Jacinda, the Principal of Randalvine Magic Institute, received a letter ordering her to prove her loyalty to the Kingdom. He, as a good friend of her, was the only person whom she told about that to, but she still didn't say much about it.

She didn't say anything about how she could prove her loyalty to the Kingdom or where she had gone to. As someone who knew Anthony, the King, in his younger days, Lawson couldn't help but worry over Jacinda's safety.

'That lunatic must be planning something to further solidify his position.'

Originally, Anthony allowed every unaffiliated Mage and Knight to bring one person with them to the Sacred Grounds, however knowing the real intention of Anthony to allow it, Jacinda had decided to put Lawson out of it.

She didn't want to give Lawson the burden of keeping the existence of the Three Sacred Grounds a secret—the burden she had. This is the reason why Lawson was completely clueless about Jacinda's whereabouts.

Unfortunately, that wasn't the only problem he had right now.

"Mr. Lawson, please, allow us to go to Woster County!"

"We beg you, Mr. Lawson! Let us meet our father!"

"Huuh..."

Lawson massaged his forehead as he looked at the two young men standing in front of his desk in his office. There were actually three young men standing in his office, but only two of them were giving him a headache.

They were the sons of the Earl of Woster, namely, Clovis, Oswald, and Harold from the eldest to the youngest. While the youngest seemed like he was just going with the flow, the two were pretty dissatisfied of what their father had done to them.

"Your father has exerted Exemption on you—I can't let you go meet him. Exemption is only given to individuals who have contributed many things to the Kingdom, and it is disgraceful to break it."

"Exemption can be refused, Mr. Lawson. We refuse the Exemption right!"

At Clovis' heated declaration, Lawson once again shook his head bitterly.

Exemption was a right given to the few chosen Nobles whose contribution to the Kingdom was too many to ignore. It was a right to plea to the King for exempting one's family's members from participating in the war.

Ansley, as an Earl who was actively contributing to the Kingdom, of course, had that right on him, and being a loving father to his sons, he didn't think twice to use his Exemption right.

Unfortunately however, his sons didn't like the feeling of being deemed they would not be able to help their father.

They understood pretty well their father's worry and show of care, but their father's decision didn't sit quite right with them. Their dissatisfaction was further amplified the moment they saw their fellow students got deployed to the battlefield.

They weren't jealous of the chance to go to the battlefield that Randalvine Magic Institute had given to their fellow students, but they couldn't just stomach the fact they were amongst the hundreds of those who had to stay.

Different from Harold, who had merely been picked up from Stardust Academy a day ago, Clovis and Oswald were a senior in the Magic Institute. No matter how meager the ability they possessed compared to their outstanding fellows, they could still fight.

They felt like they were an absolute incompetent Mages as they had to stay behind with the students from Randalvine Preparatory Academy. They didn't like that feeling, so they were vehemently refusing the Exemption exerted on them.

"I think it is better to respect our father's decision, brothers." Harold opened his mouth for the first time, and his two brothers immediately turned their head to him. "I also wouldn't think twice, if I was in Father's position."

"Harold, I get what you mean. However, we are able to help Father—not doing anything despite so is a great mistake."

"Are you saying that I can't do anything to help, Oswald?" Harold smiled weakly.

"A Second Circle Mage is not allowed to participate in the war. We are not looking down on you, but even if you were stronger, we wouldn't let you go either," Clovis quickly explained as Oswald nodded his head in agreement.

"Aren't you two just being like Father? Look at that selfishness..."

Clovis and Oswald were aware of the hypocritical thing they had just said, but they pretended as if they didn't hear Harold's muttering. Like their father, they just wanted the best for Harold.

"In my days, Subjugations were something we, young people, dreaded. Monsters still heavily populated many regions at that time, and a Subjugation was no different from a war."

Lawson, who had no more idea to convince the two elder brothers to stay, decided to talk about his experience. He didn't know whether it would somehow change their mind, but he managed to draw their attention.

"I have seen many of my friends getting eaten alive by the Monsters—some had been good friends, and some had been close friends. Being assigned to a Subjugation at that time was a death sentence—it was not a good thing."

Lawson gazed over the three young men standing in front of him, especially the two most stubborn ones, then sighed bitterly while faintly shaking his head.

"You are lucky that your father has a right to exempt you from the battlefield. Believe me, battlefield is not as romantic as you think; you can only die or suffer there."

"We are painfully aware of that, Mr. Lawson."

Lawson slightly widened his eyes the moment he heard Clovis' direct response. He had thought Clovis and Oswald would, at least, contemplate about what he said before giving him a response.

"You forgot one fundamental thing however: this is not the past." Clovis looked seriously into Lawson's eyes. "We will go to the battlefield because we want it, not because we are forced to do it."

"We will fight not for the Kingdom, but to ensure the safety of our father," Oswald added. "I think it is a good enough reason to go to the battlefield."

Lawson didn't know what to say as he looked at the face of the two young men in front of him. He could already see their look of determination since the beginning, but he still couldn't bring himself to allow them to go.

He knew their ability well—they were pretty average compared to his other students. Instructing his other students to go to the battlefield were hard for him, let alone allowing the sons of someone he knew quite well.

When he saw the look on their face however—the pure determination on their face—he also felt that he should respect the decision they made. No matter how young they looked, they, after all, were adults—they got to decide for themselves.

"Huuh... Your father will definitely be mad at me."

"Thank you, Mr. Lawson!"

"Hold on!" Lawson put his hand up the moment he heard their delightful exclamation. "You only have my permission to meet your father, not to fight in the battle."

"Understood!"

Lawson immediately shook his head bitterly upon hearing their quick response. He knew they wouldn't follow his order.

Furthermore, the moment they met their father—the moment they entered the battlefield, the Exemption would be annulled. Therefore, they still had to fight whether they wanted to or not.

Click!

Like a flash, the two young men exited Lawson's office, leaving their younger brother there with him. Harold could only smile wrily at his brothers' behaviour, and Lawson merely sighed in exasperation.

"Are you sure you didn't make a wrong decision?"

"I am sure I made a wrong decision ... However, I am sure they will do right."

"I see..."

Lawson mildly looked at Harold from the corner of his eyes, and wondered about the next thing Harold would do. Harold ended up standing there silently for half a minute, before bowing at him.

"I am sorry for the inconveniences my elder brothers have caused." As he straightened himself, he continued, "I am going to the brothel, so I will excuse myself."

"... You may leave."

Click.

Although, compared to his brothers, Harold didn't exit the room dramatically, he managed to leave Lawson speechless.

'He really respects his father's decision, it seems...'

Harold's nonchalance about the whole situation was admirable in a way.

...

Close to two days had passed since Iliana and Basil had departed from Raneil Barony. Since they were moving at a constant high speed, they had passed Woster County a day ago.

With the help of the Teleportation Gate stationed in Woster County, they were already in Crownveil Dukedom, which was just 200 kilometers away from Randalvine. In other words, they would arrive there in an hour and a half.

"Is there a need for us to go on a roundabout way? With our speed, we would have already arrived at Randalvine since yesterday, if you didn't choose the longest route possible."

Iliana, who was tightly hugging Basil's waist on Deacon's back, couldn't help but suspect that Basil was up to something again. She could feel his urgency, but he puzzled her by acting as if he was buying some time for something.

"You may be thinking that I am stalling for time, but I assure you this is nothing but a precaution."

"What kind of precaution?"

"I don't want to attract unwanted attentions. I want my presence in Randalvine to be unannounced."

"Are you referring to the Church?"

"Them, and many others."

Iliana hummed to herself as she thought about what Basil was actually planning. She, of course, would never find out Basil's real reason for doing that, because unlike him, she didn't come from the future.

Basil had actually been looking for the two Goap's Generals who had been assigned to lead their armies to the capital city, Randalvine.

'Ah, there they are ... There are two of them, just like the last time, but their armies are smaller than the last time. Nonetheless, they will give the Kingdom a huge shock.'

They had dealt a very heavy blow to the Kingdom in the past, because they managed to remain undetected until they reached Randalvine. This is the reason why Basil had been looking for them.

He wanted to get a grip of their position to estimate their arrival, so he could use the chaos they caused better to his advantage.