35 34.

With the help of Jon and the other mages from the magic tower, they activated the teleportation array and connected it to the Royal Palace.

On the other side, the Court Mages received the request to connect and they did.

I'm not an expert when it comes to building teleportation arrays so I have no idea on how they did it but its fine as long as it works.

"Lord Duke, we're connected to the Royal Palace. Do you want to go there?" Jon asked me.

"Ah, oh.. yeah sure. We're going." I said as I stared dumbly at the teleportation array.

'That's it? Its that fast? How anticlimactic.' I thought to myself, a little disappointed about the process. It took a long time to build and we only get a minimal visual effects and a little bit of sound effects.

"This way, Lord Duke." Jon motioned for us to come to the middle of the circle.

We followed his instructions and he looked at us for confirmation.

"Please brace yourself, Lord Duke. Using it for the first time might make you light headed." Jon said as I nodded my head silently preparing for what's coming.

"Alright then. Here we go." Jon then motoned for the mages to chant and it took us quite a few minutes before the teleportation array sent us out of Blackwood Dukedom.

It only took us a few seconds before we reached the teleportation array in Dresden... but... in those few seconds, I felt like I was pulled into the bottom of the ocean. My ears can't hear anything, I felt like puking, I can't breathe normally, and my eyes were slightly bloodshot.

"How was your trip?" Gilltian asked me but I was still distressed by what I just experienced.

"Looks like you're still new to it. Don't worry, it'll get better as you get used to it." Gilltian said and Wilhelm supported me so that I don't fall to the ground.

"Well, looks like Duke Blackwood is currently out for the count." Gilltian said as he clapped his hands and a few servants came and told them to being me to a guest room to rest.

*

{3rd PoV}

"How have you guys been in these 3 years?" Gilltian asked Wilhelm who is standing in front of him in his study.

"Not only did we manage to return his territory to his former glory, we even surpassed it. Aegis' ideas are slowly changing the territory for the better." Wilhelm said like a proud grandfather.

"I'm quite curious of the ideas you speak off." Gilltian asked to get some information from Wilhelm.

"Its not like Aegis is hiding these ideas. In fact, all the citizens knows about the changes happening in the territory. Aegis created a separate army he called as the police. They are tasked for the safety and protection of the citizen inside the territory or estate." Wilhelm said and Gilltian was thinking about the flaws of such an idea.

"By giving the 'police' some power, won't they abuse their power?" Gilltian asked Wilhelm.

"Not really. Aside from the 'police', there are hidden observers and investigators that would crack down those who would try to abuse their power. If those observers or investigators became part of those who abuse their power, their punishment is much heavier and can be punishable by death depending on the damage they caused to the Blackwood Estate." Wilhelm said to Gilltian. Like Wilhelm said, the citizens knows about the force that were tasked to protect them and some of those citizens were the observers or investigators who would notify the duke and the respective department if such an abuse happened and the Duke would have a long chat about it.

They are still new and they only needed to be reprimanded, but if in the long run, they still keep on doing things that would harm the Estate, they would be charged for their crime.

"I see. The idea is good but I don't think its applicable to any territory besides Blackwood Estate. Such a thing would cost a lot of gold to maintain and you need a good system that would complement such an idea." Gilltian said as he sighed.

"It won't be effective specially here in Dresden. Those 'police' you're talking about will be bribed by the nobles and will only give them more power over the commoners. The line between the commoners and the nobles would collapse and maybe another civil war would occur." Gilltian gave his own thoughts about it.

'What Gilltian said is exactly what Aegis have said. Building a police force in the capital would only cause a civil war because the nobles would abuse the police force's power to do what they want and it would cause the commoners to bear hatred against the nobles. Its basically a seed for a civil war to occur.' Wilhelm thought for a second before sighing.

"I guess it won't hurt to say it but Aegis is planning to build a school in his territory." Wilhelm said causing Gilltian to open his eyes wide.

"What did you say?! Building a school?!" Only the capital has an academy for those who want to learn magic or aura. So hearing a separate school shocked Gilltian.

"Is he also trying to steal the students from the academy?" Gilltian asked with a serious expression, if Aegis not only have talented people, but also talented students, not even the Royal Family would be able to handle Blackwood family.

Seeing Gilltian's expression, Wilhelm shook his head. He knew what Gilltian is scared of but that's not the point of Aegis building a school.

"No. We're not giving a lesson about magic nor aura. What Aegis wants to achieve is to improve the literacy rate of the people living in his territory." Gilltian is confused by Wilhelm's words but Wilhelm didn't elaborate any further. Even Wilhelm was confused when he first heard of it but he knew that Aegis would not create a plan without meaning.

It was only when Aegis explained to him why he wanted to build a school to increase the literacy rate between citizen, their contribution would be far more greater than what they used to be.

"We're not going to steal any students from the academy, we would be teaching the citizens on how to write, basic calculations, and history. You could say that we're even preparing them for when they choose to enter Hebrion Academy so its something beneficial for you." Wilhelm calmly said as if giving them literate people were nothing.

Gilltian was too deep in thought as he thought about what Aegis wants to achieve. He knows that Aegis won't just do a losing plan, he will surely benefit from it but Gilltian don't know how.

*

{1st PoV Aegis}

"Ugh... Using a teleportation... array... is always a 'great' experience." I muttered sarcastically.

"You're awake." A beautiful voice spoke to me. I turned to the side and saw Adjest looking at me with a soft smile.

'Although I've been used to being teleported by Joad, using a teleportation array is a first to me. And the experience sucks I rate it 1/10.' I thought in my head before facing Adjest.

"How long have you been watching me?" I asked Adjest. 3 years made me question the fairness of growth. True, my height is growing nicely, my face and voice is slowly reaching maturity but other than that, nothing much has changed.

But Adjest? She's a cheat code. I know that she likes to eat snacks that are high in calories because she would send tell me in the letters about it but instead of her gaining weight, she even looked fitter than when I met her 3 years ago. Her hair has also grown long and her hair was tied the same way it was tied in the future and it suits her really well. Adjest also grew in height, her skin is clear of any blemish, and her childish voice is slowly turning into a beautiful voice.

"Since I've heard that you've come to Dresden and collapsed." She couldn't help herself but chuckle after hearing that I collapsed.

"Looks like the mighty Duke still has his own weaknesses." Adjest teased me a little.

Her teasing caught me by surprise, it seems like this change was the biggest since Adjest is the one who's always bashful about being teased and now she's even taking the lead for it.

"Well, I'm not perfect. There are some things that I'm not good at." I said with a small chuckle.

"Like what?" Asked the curious Adjest.

"I'm not good at taking care of myself. When we get married, I'm counting on you to take care of me." I said with a wide grin catching Adjest off-guard as her face turned red like a tomato.

"You think you can tease me and get away with it, huh?" I asked with a grin. Adjest with a red face couldn't take it anymore and started beating me with her knuckles. I deflected her knuckles and would sometimes let her hit me. We were just having a playful banter, nothing too serious about it.

We were playing around when the door entered and a servant checked what's happening inside. What she saw made her stop.

"I apologize, your highness, I didn't see anything. I'll inform his majesty that Duke Blackwood is up." She said before slowly closing the door.

Silence and awkwardness filled the room. Adjest picked her book up and continued reading like nothing happened.

==============================

I think I'm going to speed it up to the time of the academy entrance exam.