A Time of Tigers - From Peasant to Emperor

Chapter 594 General Skullic - Part 1

"It is still odd to me that you and the Princess are so close," Amelia noted, as she also sipped her tea.

It was one of many questions that had been on everyone's mind. Likely the same questions were being repeated all around the Academy, as people sought to figure out just when the Patrick boy had established such a firm bond with the well-regarded Pendragon Princess.

"I wouldn't say we're close," Oliver said. "I don't know her well enough to say that. But she seems... worth trusting."

"Indeed, worth trusting is an apt way to put it," Verdant said with an affirming nod.

"Worth trusting..." Amelia repeated to herself, glancing at Lady Blackthorn to gauge her reaction. Lasha was as doll-faced as ever. It was hard to tell just what she was thinking.

"In that same way that the rest of you seem to be," Oliver announced lightly. A few eyebrows were raised at those sudden words.

"Oh, come on," he said. "I know I'm never the sort to really be sentimental. In truth, I don't have a clue how you see me, and I'm still stunned to have had your support at the trial. But for what it's worth – which, as it currently stands, words from a Patrick aren't worth that much – thank you regardless."@@@@

"All of us?" Amelia asked teasingly. Oliver surprised her with his stern face and swift reply.

"The Young Wolf..." Verdant murmured to himself with a smile. "Seems to have caught the scent of a particularly juicy piece of prey."

As a result of the trial, Oliver's life, of course, was once more set to change. As the first semblance of routine had built up in his noble life, the giant hand of fate came once more to swat it back down again, flattening it all to rubble until chaos reigned.

It was as though Ingolsol himself governed fate at times, for how could it be so continually vindictive in its sequencing, even without seeming to have a will of its own?

Oliver had needed to learn quickly how nobles did things, and even then, he hadn't learned nearly fast enough. Now, much of those lessons were for nought, as he was banned from Academy classes entirely.

It was hard to even think of himself as being banned, though, as the Ministers – Tavar, in particular – had ardently worked toward a solution that could not be interpreted as a punishment, for he'd won the trial, after all.

The reformation of his routine certainly rendered him as somewhat of a social outcast. Amelia and Pauline in particular had been sympathetic to that fact, as they discussed it later the night before, whereas Blackthorn only seemed to be jealous of the fact that he got to skip class.

He wasn't quite sure how it would work, since he hadn't been told any more details since the trial. Everyone seemed to be as exhausted by it as Oliver's retainers had been, including the Ministers themselves. They'd been quieter in relaying the administrative details, when normally they would have been crisp, and beyond punctual.

Verdant had needed to go and check with one of Tavar's secretaries early that morning to find out just what Oliver was meant to be doing.