17 An important conversation with his mother

"If you don't believe me, go and ask your mother!"

"I believe you, but you still haven't answered me. Why are you making me go through the academy if you know it's corrupt and will try to control my thinking about what I should do in the future?"

"Because it's mandatory for you to go to the academy. I don't have the power to simply ignore the rules of the realms. Besides, I've already told you the academy's secret. That should be enough."

"So basically, you're telling me that I warned you not to be naive, is that it?" Lucca said with a disbelieving look.

"That's right. I knew you'd be a smart boy, hahaha!" James laughed.

"Well, I'll keep that in mind, Dad." Lucca said goodbyes to is father and headed towards his mother's room to share the news of his mini-vacation.

Lucca knocked on the door, and a voice from inside said, "You may come in!"

He entered and went towards his mother's bed. She was sitting at her desk.

Lucca sat down and asked, "Dad said I've successfully completed my training. He said he was satisfied with my progress!"

"Congratulations, my son. So, it means you have a one-week vacation before going to the academy. What do you plan to do?"

"I was thinking of visiting the city. I've never been there. I've always been cooped up in the castle or the mansion."

"Aren't you afraid that the commoners might do something to you?"

"Why would they? I'm the Duke's son. Just the thought of the consequences if they were ever found out would make them think twice."

"Don't think that just being the Duke's son means people won't try to harm you."

"I guess you didn't get what I meant. I mean it would have to be at least a well-organized ambush with a few months of planning to do that, not just out of the blue, 'Let's kidnap the Duke's son,'" Lucca said with a different tone in the last sentence.

"Explain all you want, but I still have the same opinion."

"How? But now that I think about it, the only people who might want to ambush me are my brothers' factions. Is that what you mean?"

"That's right."

"But the civil war has already escalated to that level? I thought it was still in its early stages!"

"It has, indeed. But your father threw more fuel on the fire! "So the factions have started making more moves, and, not knowing the consequences of what your father caused, I'm somewhat worried about what it might lead to."" As she finished saying this, she looked shocked and widened her eyes, realizing she had said too much.

"Aha, what did Dad do?" Lucca asked.

Then she let out a sigh and said "Well, now that I've talked too much, I'll tell you. Your father spread a rumor about your siblings' Rank and levels when they finished the academy."

"Were they real?"

"Affirmative!"

"And was there a big difference between the two?"

"5 levels!"

"Let me get this straight, Dad wants people to start choosing sides, right?"

"Exactly!"

"And did it work?"

"It didn't lead people to join other factions, but it did increase tensions between the two factions,as I mentioned, they started making more moves and discussions about who they should support, 

"So Dad just created chaos!"

"Your father is crazy. I warned him not to do it, but he went ahead anyway!"

"Speaking of Dad, he told me that you discovered that the academy's objective is to brainwash us into becoming slaves of the nobles!"

"I discovered it? No, it wasn't me who discovered it; my mentor told me."

"You have a mentor? What's her name? Is she a Rank?"

"Calm down, my son! My mentor is named Katarina Smith. She's Rank 6, almost 7. Many of the exercises I did with you, I did with her when I was studying magic."

Lucca was surprised that his mother had a mentor and asked, "But why did she tell you that?"

"Because she took me out of the academy!"

"You didn't go to the academy? Seriously?"

"Seriously! I had just entered the academy, and she simply took me out. Good times!"

"Didn't you feel kidnapped?"

"Haha, it wasn't as aggressive as you're thinking! She gave me two options: stay at the academy or go with her and have her as my mentor. In the midst of our conversation, she told the truth about the academy."

"So she told you the truth about the academy to manipulate you into choosing her?"

"You could say that, but to be honest, it was worth it!"

"But wait a minute; Dad told me there are tests to get into the academy. Does that mean there are other academies that don't follow this model?"

"Haha, you're so innocent. Of course not. There are four academies in the Human Kingdom, and they all have the same owner. Besides, they even passed a law prohibiting the construction of academies without the education group's authorization."

"And let me guess, the owner of the education group is the academy's owner?"

"More or less, it's his nephew!"

"Ahaha, what a joke, ahaha."