Wilson stood at the gates of the academy with his spine straight and his feet firmly on the ground. Today is the day his father will arrive. He has waited long enough already; like an excited puppy, he was at the entrance waiting for the carriage to arrive.
"You should really wait inside," Alexus said as he draped a coat over Wilson. "You've been here for hours now and the weather is on the colder side. Aren't you afraid of getting sick?"
Wilson merely secured the coat and said, "I missed my father so much, Alexus. I cannot keep calm inside my quarters. I cannot focus on my studies. Standing here while waiting makes me calmer."
"Well, I understand that. But do you have to bring him over with you?" Alexus pointed to Chris who was facing the wall as he squatted on the ground. "He looked like he was about to be executed."
Wilson's eyes narrowed at the word "execution." Memories of his days in darkness briefly passed his mind before he blinked it away. With a side glance to his moping cousin, he replied:
"He had no choice but to accompany me here," Wilson casually said. "He had a bout with the Yeil twins again. Princess Diane had instructed me to supervise him."
"...If that is the case then he deserves it," Alexus said with dismissal in his tone. Since childhood, the princess, the twins, and Chris have always had this dynamic. He had grown too used to it to think there was need to investigate further. "But whose idea was it to have him meet your father?"
"Daniel did." Wilson pointed to the grinning servant next to Chris. "I decided to help him vent his suffering. Consider it a reward for his hard work."
"You sure do indulge servants at times."
"They work so hard; a little reward once in a while is a good motivator to work more."
While they were talking, a horn was blown from the watch tower. The tune was intermittent and short, almost broken in sequence. It was an indication that a carriage or something is approaching their ground. Wilson was quick to step to the gate's boundary as he strained his eyes to try and locate any carriage or figure approaching.
Seeing a vague silhouette of an approaching carriage with a dozen horsemen escorting it, Wilson stared at a familiar banner of a tree with numerous strong roots. It's been a lifetime since he last saw it: his family's pride and symbol.
Wilson motioned to John to prepare to welcome their Lord in. Afterwards, he motioned to the guard at the tower that it is the guest they are waiting for. Receiving his assurance, another horn was blown. This time it was longer and less urgent than it was the first time.
"The earl is finally here," Alexus said as he confirmed the banner on the carriage. "Low key as ever. Is that only a dozen knights to escort him?"
"Father is strong enough to not need any escorts," Wilson said with pride. "If it wasn't for protocol, he would not bring any knights at all."
"Considering all the things the Thymes considered normal, I'm not surprised. But help out your cousin; he is about to collapse in dread." Alexus pointed to Chris who looked too pale as he turned to look at the approaching carriage.
"Let him be, he'll recover once Father is in front of him." Wilson then reached out to grab Alexus's arm. "Come with me. Father will be pleased to see you compared to Chris."
Alexus only shook his head at the little scheme Wilson is cooking up. Allowing the blonde to manhandle him, he motioned his own servant to help out John. In a moment of thought, he then motioned to Daniel to snap his master out of his daze and follow them out.
Once the carriage is near enough, Wilson greeted the group of knights who came. They are the knights whom he often trained with when he was younger. With boisterous smiles and laughs, they greeted the young lord. Their frolicking only stopped when the carriage door opened.
"Aren't you all too merry?" A low voice said as the Earl stepped out of the carriage. The sun lit up his aged face, platinum blonde hair shining under the rays, and his green eyes looked as wise as his age.
"Father." This is all what Wilson can say. He didn't approach nor did he move. His mind was flashing the haggard face of his father prior to his blindness. Seeing him all strong and well, he was feeling a sense of unreality.
"Son." The earl took a step forward and gave his son a tight hug. "You've grown."
Wilson returned the embrace with trembling arms.
"I hope I grew in the way you want me to be."
He could feel his father patting his shoulder. He released the hug and looked at him straight in the eyes. There was wisdom in his father's eyes as he gazed on his.
"You're my son. Of course, you've grown the way I want you to be," The earl said as he placed an arm on his shoulder. "You're well. You had peers. You excel more than I ask you to be. You've been more than what I wish you to be."
Wilson felt his heart burn in the intensity of the pride he sensed in his father's words. He was always vocal of his appreciation and care. He missed his caring words after he died back then. Wishing much to hear him say how much he was proud of him.
Overwhelmed, he was in a daze in a moment. Thankfully, Alexus was there to engage with his father before he could pick up on any more abnormalities from him. He gave Alexus a grateful glance before he dragged over Chris to greet his father.
His father wisely didn't comment on his earlier oddness. He just played along with the formalities. Officials from the academy came over and escorted the Earl to the principal's office.
The trio didn't follow the elders. Instead, they went over to the banquet hall. Today is also the day that the Third Prince had arranged a farewell party for Wilson. Even to the last day that Wilson will be here as a student, Alphonsus is still scheming.
Reaching the hall, Wilson looked at the people in attendance. He could see a few acquaintances among them, but most of them were the marginalized nobles that Alphonsus had recruited.
"Is this really a farewell party?" Chris said as they looked for a corner to hide away. "They didn't even notice the star of the party and they just go about their own agendas."
"Well, that is natural considering all other things," Wilson said casually. John retrieved a glass of wine, which Wilson took gracefully. "There are too few reasons for him to throw a huge event where people's attendance is not questioned. My departure is a good excuse for him."
"Now that you mention it, that seems to be the case indeed," Chris said as he instructed Daniel to bring him over a plate of food. "In our five years of studying, there are indeed only a handful of times he can flaunt his wealth."
"The academy is strict with social activities. It cannot be helped if he takes this opportunity with this party," Alexus said as he stopped John from giving Wilson another glass of wine.
Wilson wanted to protest, but knowing that he really cannot be drunk on this occasion, he allowed Alexus to take charge. To entertain himself, he looked around again. Then he spotted Princess Diane and the twins making their entrance. Feeling a little mischievous, he turned to Chris who is busy nit-picking at the assortment of food Daniel provided him.
The first one who noticed his intent was Daniel who is more or less well attuned in sensing upcoming storms pertaining to his lord. He vigilantly looked around to see who might be plotting. When he met the green eyes of Wilson, he stopped worrying and motioned considerably to take his master away.
"He is wasted on him." Alexus admired the servant's reactions to malice. "He would do well in the battlefield than a mere servant."
"It was his choice to follow Chris," Wilson said as he smiled at the princess and her two retainers coming their way. "One was willing to suffer and the other was willing to be abusive. I can't possibly extend other options to that guy. He even defeated the Dane's knight captain to continue being Chris's servant."
Daniel was really loyal to Chris. He was not from the last life, but his cousin was only harmed when Daniel had an accident. If he could remember it well, Daniel died a year before Chris was said to be crippled.
With detail, Wilson thoughtfully looked at Daniel and decided to make an additional arrangement in regards to Chris. In addition to that, he wanted to ensure that everything is fine for the birth of his little niece who should be born right after Chris graduated. He has the suspicions of who the other parent is, but Daniel has to be around to avoid tragedy.
"Really a wasted resource," Alexus could only comment. "With his skills... I'll not say more, there should be more than enough talk about at this point. But I'm curious between the two, who is stronger? Foolish your cousin might be most of the time, his talent with a sword is no joke."
"Chris is stronger," Wilson replied. "Though the one who won most time during sparring was Daniel. Chris is too honorable to resort to tricks which Daniel is not shy about utilizing."
Alexus wanted to say something about that, but found no words to retort. Chris is not the brightest among their childhood friends. Considering Daniel has been around as long as they can remember, it kind of makes sense that it was the servant who learned most of the tricks considering Chris often ran away from lessons.
"What are you two talking about?" Diane said when she was close enough.
Wilson wanted to make a courtesy, but Diane gestured for him to stop. Chris was about to bolt, but Daniel has been ready and blocked him from leaving. Having no choice, he could only turn to the new arrival with a stiff smile.
"Why the unsightly smile, Chris?" The princess addressed the uncomfortable brunet. "Not happy to see us?"
"N-no!" Chris denied as if his life depended on it.
"Why are you trying to escape? I'm sure Greselle and Haselle would like to talk with you." With a motion of her hand, Diane made her two retainers surround Chris and made sure he had no chance to escape the chaos this party would have.
"Can you schemers not drag me over? Nothing good happens when all of you gather." Chris was in despair, but ultimately didn't want to embarrass himself in public.
"It's not that bad, brother," Wilson patted Chris on the shoulder. "Don't worry; we're not leaving you to deal with the aftermath."
"Did you guys planned something even before this party begun?" Chris was full of accusation as he said this.
"We're all too busy to meet up and even discuss things outside our school work," Diane said with a smile that looks like a demon's grin to Chris instead of an elegant princess. "Compared to the two of them, we have more time to discuss things with how much we meet up."
With no rebuttal on that, Chris accepted his fate and decided to not leave Wilson's side for the whole party. He cannot trust anyone here other than Wilson. Even Alexus will throw him under if Wilson is wronged.
"Had enough terrorizing Chris, your highness?" Alexus asked seeing the cowardly act Chris was doing behind his cousin. "Are you here to stir trouble? Prince George will ground you if you cause any incident today."
"How can I?" Diane looked offended at Alexus's question. "I'm just here to enjoy the fun and give my well wishes to Wilson here. After all, we're all friends."