First steps

Two entire days had passed since Marcus and Annabelle were enrolled in one of the largest and most prestigious magic academies in the world. Slowly, they were getting accustomed to their new environment. Like all students attending this academy, they resided in a dormitory, with the boys' dormitory being in a building separate from the girls'. To both of them, it resembled a palace fit for an emperor. At least, that was Marcus's perspective, who had known nothing but poverty.

However, he had learned during this time that he was in the least luxurious building among the three reserved for boys. It was in this building that commoners like him were placed. The lesser nobles, younger sons, illegitimate children, and ruined nobles were housed in the second building, commonly referred to as the Dolphin Building due to the sculpted figures at the entrance. Finally, the children of more important nobles were housed, for the duration of their studies, in the first building known as the Horse Building (a strong symbol of the Carthaginian empire adopted by the current empire). In comparison, his inspired little but contempt and was nicknamed the Dog Building.

Marcus hadn't seen the other two buildings, and he cared little, as he had everything he needed and more here. However, he wondered what the other two buildings, especially the one reserved for the high nobility of the Empire, looked like.

The dormitory where Marcus was consisted of two-bed rooms. This simple fact distinguished it from the other dormitories, as noble children were entitled to individual rooms.

For Marcus, it was not a big deal as long as his roommate didn't try anything stupid. He was used to snoring, lice, and many other nuisances that others wouldn't tolerate. However, he refused to share his room with a thief.

His roommate, a boy of the same age as him named Alexandros, fortunately wasn't like Marcus. He was, as he had said himself during their introduction, the son of merchants, a resident of Javiero, a significant city in the south of the Empire known for its jeweler artisans, and passionate about poetry. Slightly taller and broader-shouldered than Marcus, thanks to better nutrition than his, he quickly proved non-threatening. The problem was that Alexandros was extremely talkative, to the point of exhausting Marcus's patience in these two days.

Goodness! Will he ever shut up?!

"The Academy library is truly extraordinary, Marcus!" exclaimed Alexandros with enthusiasm. "We really must go there! Well, I'm sure we'll spend a lot of time there during our years of study! They have an entire floor, yes, an entire floor, dedicated to poetry! If I hadn't been limited in the number of books borrowed, I think I would have filled my satchel! Look at this one! It collects the most beautiful poems of Khamen the Ancient! Every word, every verse! It's remarkable! Let me read one to you!"

Internally, Marcus was crying. It had been like this for two days. The only time the room had been quiet was when Alexandros had left the dormitory to visit the library.

"Another time, perhaps. I'm going out for a walk. To see the different buildings."

With a hint of disappointment in his eyes, Alexandros watched his roommate walk away. Fortunately, he wasn't alone. Thanks to his books, he had the company of the greatest poets who had ever lived.

The weather was warm and dry, perfect for a walk in the marvelous gardens of the Academy. Many students had also gone out to get some fresh air.

The butterflies and bees were flying joyfully around the colorful flowers with a thousand scents, while young students were chatting among themselves

From this park lined with carefully trimmed dense trees, it was possible to see the high crenelated wall that isolated the Academy from the rest of the city. Here and there floated black flags with the golden rearing horse, the flag of the Empire. This flag and symbol could be seen on practically every tower, roof, and facade.

As Lord Gariga had said on the day of their arrival, there were subtle differences in the composition of the uniforms worn by the students. It was enough to know them to be able to determine the level of study of each one.

He had understood that there was a hierarchy among the students based on their level of study. This hierarchy was surprisingly more powerful than that existing between social origins.

The purpose of this academy was to train the elite of the nation. For this, one had to pass very thorough and selective exams. A graduate of the Imperial Academy of Magic was granted access to all doors leading to wealth and prestige. Those who failed along the way, depending on the level validated, were abandoned and forgotten on the sidelines of the road or placed in unprestigious positions.

There were ten levels of study. The higher the level, the more respected a student was. They were offered special treatment if they achieved good results and could even be selected by a teacher to become their assistant. It was a great honor and allowed the student to obtain additional points. But that wasn't the most important point: by being an assistant to a teacher, this student could benefit from private lessons.

Knowledge was precious, and some of it was jealously guarded, especially by teachers conducting research. By being accepted by one of these teachers, the student in question could receive knowledge unimaginable to others.

Marcus didn't know all these things like many first-year students. However, they were not the majority, since most newly enrolled students had received important information about the functioning of the Academy from their relatives.

Far from all this, young Marcus was wandering aimlessly and enjoying the caresses of the sun on his clean and scented skin. His whole being seemed to radiate a gentle lavender scent.

It's crowded here. Let's see… These ones.

Marcus noticed three young ladies who must have been at least eighteen years old and were at least a head taller than him. They were walking along the same small pink gravel path as him but going in the opposite direction. In his head, young Marcus calculated the precise moment they would cross paths. He adjusted his pace and when they met, he walked slightly off course so that his shoulder lightly bumped into the girl closest to him.

"Ouch! Can't you watch where you're stepping? Please, pay attention!" said the young woman with brown hair and blue eyes that Marcus had just bumped into.

"Ah! My apologies," replied the young boy, almost unrecognizable in his new uniform. "I stepped on a bigger pebble than the others, it surprised me. I hope I didn't hurt you too much?"

The young lady didn't even bother to respond, probably considering her time too precious to waste with this first-year boy who didn't even seem to know how to properly wear a wig. Indeed, it was leaning slightly to the side.

Without any further words, the trio continued their walk. After a moment, Marcus made a small arm movement and slid a small pocket watch from his sleeve into the palm of his hand.

A satisfied smile appeared on his still childish face, whose facial expression had completely changed.

"Not bad. Tsk! It's too easy, really."

He tucked the small silver-engraved watch into his left pocket and began to whistle a little tune of his own making. Even though his walk had just begun, his pockets already contained several precious items, the kind of items he would struggle to find in Niers.

Marcus remained a thief. You couldn't change behavior in such a short time. As soon as he passed by someone, he couldn't help but notice the openings. He no longer saw people but targets.

Easy targets abound. I could almost feel bad. Almost.

This was the case with these three young ladies. Unfortunately for him, he only had two hands and no one to help him create a distraction. Otherwise, he could have taken advantage of it to steal much more than a watch. Once, with the help of a few comrades, he had managed to strip a man in the middle of the street of his belt, purse, watch, and ring.

He pushed his hands into his pockets and played with the stolen items.

Two rings, a silver watch, a small white gold magnifying glass, a powder box, an ivory glasses case, a small fan, a crystal perfume vial, and two hairpins. Girls are clearly better targets.

Marcus passed by a first-year student, like him, but much smaller. His powdered wig seemed too big for his child's skull. Unnoticed, he lost his pen, which almost immediately ended up in Marcus's left pocket.

"They're so unsuspecting that it's almost enough to bend down, hehe."

It was then that a man in all-white uniform and armor appeared. He wore a tall pair of black leather boots and a tricorne hat of the same color, which contrasted with the rest of his outfit. A symbol could be seen very distinctly on his cuirass, a symbol he had seen many times since he arrived: the symbol of the Academy. It consisted, but he still didn't know it because he couldn't read, of the letters aleph, yodh, and mem for the words 'academy', 'imperial', and 'magic.'

"Halt!" he thundered in a dry voice in Marcus's direction. "First-year student Marcus, from the city of Niers?"

Marcus knew how to play innocent after years of practice in the streets of Niers to deceive the inhabitants and the guards. He knew how to act, pretend to be sick, dying, tired, sad, angry, and many other things. How many times had he succeeded in deceiving people by pretending to be something he wasn't? He had learned from the best, old Pip, unfortunately dead two years earlier during a particularly harsh winter. Another one of the few people he liked at the Refuge. He had even cried when it was time to say goodbye to him for the last time.

"Yes, sir, it's me. How may I assist you?" he said in the most gentle tone imaginable.

Damn it! This is not good! Did I get caught?! Am I going to get arrested?!