But why didn’t I sense his approach?

The dark-eyed boy was deeply puzzled. His family had taught him martial arts ever since he was a child, so he was quite skilled. It shouldn’t have been hard to sense the little guy in front of him. But he didn’t notice him coming near until he was right under his nose.

Even as he was looking at the smaller boy, he couldn’t quite feel his presence. He thought that if he were to close his eyes now, he wouldn’t sense anyone nearby.

The little boy smiled.

“Well met.”

The taller boy was puzzled even further by how the smaller boy didn’t talk like a child. But he quickly came to his senses and removed his hand from the hilt of his sword.

“Excuse me. It’s my first time here.”

“No, it’s fine. This old man is just as new here.”

The boy narrowed his eyes at the other’s benevolent tone, studying him.

“Old man?”

He looked to be around seven years old, or no more than ten at best. He looked frail as if he could collapse at a touch, but his golden eyes sparkled with life. The delighted smile on his face made him look even more childlike.

Is he a bit dim?

When the boy said nothing and stared, the silver-haired boy blinked with an expression of realization.

“Oh...? I misspoke. Hahaha.”

He chuckled and he rambled on about how his mind often wanders in his old age. The boy quickly deduced the identity of the small boy in front of him.

That long silver hair practically shined, unlike the gray hair that comes with age, and his golden eyes sparkled with life and energy. These kinds of characteristics only pointed to one lineage in the kingdom: the first prince.

The king’s favored heir. But he was a boy so frail, like a useless porcelain doll. He was the rumored white heron prince.

The boy’s eyes lit up.

Frail? He doesn’t seem so.

Not to mention how it was impossible to detect his presence, the prince had a different air around him. He may have looked laid-back, but it wasn’t because he was lazy. It was the kind of leisurely attitude that came from years of experience. Delicate as his body may be, his gaze held no weakness.

“It must be our destiny to meet each other. Well met, indeed. What’s your name?”

“Ethan.”

“Ethan, ‘child of eternity.’ The name suits you well.”

Ethan’s eyes widened at the casual response. The prince had said the meaning of Ethan’s name that was in an ancient language. This was not common knowledge. Its significance had been imparted to him exclusively by his family.

The only person who knew all the ancient languages in history was the great sage Egret. But Ethan thought there was a chance that the boy knew some ancient languages because of his royal lineage. The frail child in front of him had a genius in him, which was contrary to the rumors.

“Right, I haven’t introduced myself. My name is... Judas. It’s Judas.”

Ethan blinked at him.

“Is there somewhere you’re looking for?”

Judas glanced at the booklet Ethan was holding, and noticing his gaze, Ethan slid it down more so he could see. It was a map of the academy.

“I was looking for the administration office.”

Judas looked at the map and tilted his head slightly.

The Ruvar-H campus was very large and had a lot of different facilities, making it difficult to find one’s way around. But with such a detailed map, one should not be getting lost.

“He’s a new student here, Egret. Fifteen years old.”

He slowly raised a finger and pointed, listening to the information Yuni was giving him.

“I think the place you’re looking for is probably that way.” A cold breeze of early spring grazed his fingertips as he pointed.

Following the direction of the wind, Ethan turned his head to look. He saw a white building that seemed like it could be the administration building.

Ethan bowed in gratitude. “Thanks to you, I don’t have to wander any further. I appreciate your kindness.”

“I am relieved to hear that. I will see you around, Ethan.” Laughing softly, the prince brushed past him and resumed walking.

Ethan glanced at his silver hair swaying in the wind, and then turned to walk toward the administration office.

Peculiar kid...

Finding his way was a breeze for Egret, even though it was his first time walking on campus, since he could just follow the wind. But due to his poor health, it wasn’t a long walk before he started having trouble breathing. Wiping the sweat from his neck with the back of his hand, he paused to catch his breath.

“How come this body is weaker than an old man’s...”

His old body had been in better condition, even a few months before passing away. How could someone so young be less fit than a man in his nineties?

Egret looked down at this body with pity. The problem wasn’t only lack of exercise. This body had been born weak. It seemed like it couldn’t handle walking for a long period of time, let alone running.

“Don’t push it, Egret.” Yuni circled around him and sounded worried.

His breathing eased a little as a cool breeze blew in and cooled his sweat. He chuckled like an old man.

“I’m all right. We’re almost there.”

It was as he said. With classes already in progress, the building was quiet, and no one else was wandering around.

Egret climbed the stairs very slowly. Every inch of his body ached. He made a mental note that he had limited mobility.

Economics Class A: Room 301

Egret read the sign written in a fancy font in front of a classroom. As he opened the door, it dragged along the floor and made an unusually loud sound. The eyes of everyone in the room turned to him at the same time.

The teacher looked like he was in his fifties. He adjusted his glasses to confirm who he was looking at.

“Judas, are you feeling better?”

Although Judas was a prince, he was only a student at the academy. As if to confirm that fact, the teacher spoke to him without deferring to propriety. Egret nodded slightly at the question.

Before the teacher could say anything more, the bell rang to end the class. The sound of the bell could match the loudness of one in a cathedral. The teacher closed his book. Before leaving the classroom, he made sure to give the prince a few words of advice.

“No matter how noble your lineage, I have no choice but to give you a failing grade for frequent absences.”

The teacher had left the room, but the students still hadn’t left their desks. Economics class required a lot of note-taking, and the blackboard was now filled with what they had learned today. Egret went to the board and scanned the writing with interest.

“Well, well. Isn’t it His Highness himself?”

A group of students approached him. When Egret turned around, the student who had spoken curled his mouth into a sneer.

“Ah, wait, we are to ignore etiquette and address our classmates by their first names in the academy, are we not? Is that not the rule, Judas?”

It was true, but the fact that the student had brought it up and called out his name made it an outright mockery.

Egret blinked slowly, then looked up at him.

Compared to the prince’s small figure, this boy had a stature typical for his age of fourteen. His sharply raised eyebrows and burly build gave him a fierce appearance. But he seemed stunned by the nonchalant response that followed.

“I see. So I am allowed to call you by your first name? How kind of you. Won’t you tell me your name?”

Even Judas, the owner of this body, had never talked with this student. Even if he did, it probably would not have led to a proper conversation. Since Judas had been frequently sick and missing classes, he was eventually ostracized from every friend group, and everyone stopped talking to him.

That was how it had been before.

“Well, it makes sense that you don’t remember since you haven’t attended classes much. It’s Baikal.”

“I like the nuance of it.”

Baikal and the other students exchanged questioning glances. Something was weird. This boy was different from the first prince that they knew.

The so-called white heron prince.

He was like a doll, expressionless, always pale, and never spoke. He was very reserved and didn’t react when he was mocked or laughed at. That made his presence even more insignificant, and he was not recognized for his majesty or dignity as a prince.

But the boy was different now.

“Nice to meet you, Baikal.” The prince showed a soft smile, despite how pale and ill he looked. Aside from the odd tone of speech, no one could pick out a flaw.

Baikal flinched, facing the powerful golden eyes.

Is this really the white heron prince we know?