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nA similar sight was seen in the Kiron fief where only a few members of the family had been assembled.

nMarchioness Kiron was seen seated by the window as she stared at the darkening sky wishing for her husband and children's safety.

nOn the other side of the room, her two daughters were seated next to each other on the couch as their heads were lowered into the books in their hands.

nThe young boy opposite them was watching over their studies, making sure that they did not make any mistakes and if they did, he could correct them immediately.

nJacob Kiron nodded at his little sisters who were concentrating on the notes he had prepared for their studies.

nSince their tutor, Marquess Samed was not here, he had taken it upon himself to teach them so that they did not fall back on their education due to their absence from the Capital these many months.

nAfter all, his youngest sibling was the Princess' playmate and she needed to be able to keep up with her pace of learning so that she did not burden the Princess at any given time.

nTherefore, Jacob did not go easy on his sisters, Aleena and Rika, but was stern with them so that they might learn well under his watchful guidance.

nMaking sure that they had no issues with the concepts that he had just taught them, Jacob flexed his sore neck muscles to relieve some of the tension built up in them.

nWhen his head turned to the side, his eyes fell upon his mother who had been seated in the same position for quite some time now.

nHer eyes were dazed and she looked listless but he could only sigh as he understood the cause of her pale countenance.

nAfter all, it had been months since she had seen her husband and two older children who had been separated from the rest of the family since the Lockdown had been initiated.

nThe Marquess had to stay in the Capital as he was one of the ministers of the King while the eldest and second sons of their family had also been stuck there.

nThe rest of the family had come over to their fief which was their summer repose thanks to its scenic spots and its beautiful beaches.

nThe Marchioness had brought her daughters and last son over to their fief first and the rest were meant to follow after finishing their duties back at the Capital.

nHowever, nothing went according to their plans as the Marquess had to fulfill his duty of staying with the King as his Minister, and the elder son was stuck in their estate as he managed everything as the next heir in line.

nSimilarly, her second son had also been unable to join them in their fief as he had been working in the Royal Academy at the time of the Lockdown and hence could not leave that place.

nTherefore, for so many months, the large family of Marquess Kiron had been separated from each other due to this plague.

nHowever, the arrival of the good news that reached them today brought them joy as the day when they could reunite with each other would be here soon.

nJacob, thus, did not disturb his mother who was yearning for her husband and two elder sons, instead, he focused on his sisters to ensure that they were paying attention to what they were supposed to learn today.

nTurning his eyes back to his sisters, the young boy who had graduated from the Academy last year wondered about the state of the boys who were yet to graduate.

nThis was thought-provoking as more than half the academic year had already come to an end during the Lockdown and not a single class had been held.

nThe plague had begun in the Summer which implied that the next academic year had not yet started thanks to everyone being stuck right where they were.

n'Dean and Big Brother must be worried about the fate of their pupils.' He sighed as they were in charge of the future and education of so many sons of the nobility.

nThe fact that numerous months had passed without anyone entering the Royal Academy to learn would prove itself to be a hurdle for them in the future.

nAn entire batch of boys was supposed to graduate after this academic year came to an end.

nHowever, what would they do now that the year had not even started in the first place?

nThis thought made Jacob wonder how Dean Aramis Brodie and the rest of the staff working in the Academy would deal with this backlog of classes due to the plague.

nThey also did not know when the cure that had been found would be distributed to the victims and this plague would finally come to an end.

nTherefore, all he could do was wait and see when things would get back to normalcy.

nOnly then could travel be resumed and the pupils get back to the Academy, allowing them to attend their classes which they most certainly needed to graduate.

nThe young boy hoped that things would get better sooner so that he could return to the Capital where he would get to meet his brothers and father.

n'And hear more about what they have planned for the boys in the Academy.' He rubbed his chin as only his second elder brother could shed some light in this regard.

nNot to mention that he could meet so many of his friends back at the Capital, one of whom was the little girl he was acquainted with for quite some time now.

n'I wonder how she is doing right now?' Jacob thought of the little girl with amethyst eyes that sparkled brightly as they debated about various topics during their numerous meetings in the past.

nShe had given him so many good suggestions and he was hoping to express his gratitude when they met once again in the Capital after this plague came to an end.

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nConcurrent with his thoughts, there was someone else whose thoughts were also focused on their friend.

nRight now, that person was seated in the garden behind his mansion as he stared into the dimming sky.

nIn the Capital City, Amarthea, a mansion hidden deep in the woods a little away from the Commercial district was as silent as can be.

nThe large mansion had only one Master while the servants had all retreated to their quarters already.

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"Master, it is beginning to get dark now. We should head inside.

" A soft voice came from behind but the man seated on the chair did not have to turn to recognize who it belonged to.

nThe old man who had just spoken donned a butler's uniform and judging by the grey hair on his head, it was safe to assume that he had been alive for many decades now.

nThe Butler sighed when his master did not pay attention to his request and continued to stay in the same place.

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"How has the Prince been?

" The Master inquired while glancing at his aide from the corner of his eyes.

nThose white irises fell on the Butler who nodded his head almost immediately.

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"The Prince has recovered completely and has shown no signs of discomfort.

" He relayed the information he had received from his men.

nSevenz Oca, his Master, nodded along as he was glad about this outcome.

nIt had been quite a while since they had all returned from Roschester but Sevenz could not stop himself from worrying about his little friend.

nWhile the weather in Amarthea was pleasant, unlike the frigid airs of Roschester, he was still bothered about something.

nThe incident of the Prince's disappearance for three whole days was both surprising and frightening to him.

nEven with his aura surrounding his body, he had shuddered and shivered due to the freezing temperatures.

nTherefore, it was a given that he was worried about his friend who had only worn a fur coat over his attire on the day that he had gone missing.

nThroughout their search mission, Sevenz had been praying for his safety and it had been heard.

nThankfully, nothing had gone wrong and it was the Prince who had found them, not the other way around.

nWhile Prince Draco had not shown any signs of being harmed during the time that he was missing, Sevenz could not help but feel that something had changed about him.

n'He used to be stern earlier but now… He looks like he has matured more than before.' He could not decipher the cause of this change.

nThe Prince had turned fourteen but he behaved as though he was already an adult, ready to deal with whatever life threw his way.

n'Just like that child.' Sevenz's mind went towards another such person who behaved differently from their age.

nThe little girl who had become his business partner and even his best friend was similar to the Prince in many ways.

nThe two acted unlike their age which was one of the reasons why Sevenz had first shown interest in both of them.

nNot to mention that even the Prince had displayed interest in that child back when he had seen her for the very first time.

nThis had also been why he had shifted his attention to Yvonne and was now glad that he had done so, for he had met someone interesting who brightened up his bland and slightly boring life.

n'How will they behave when they meet each other?' He tried to imagine such a situation and burst into peals of laughter.

nTwo children acting like adults and using stern expressions was the image that his mind had conjured.

nWhile Sevenz was pleased with this idea, the Butler standing behind was glad that something had lightened his Master's mood which had been gloomy for many days now.

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