As Cassian removed his training gear, he glanced at Julius and asked, "Why would you say that, Sir Julius?" His tone was casual, barely masking a flicker of curiosity. "Is our department hiring new people? Strong ones?"
Julius made a slightly uncertain face, rubbing the back of his neck. "Well… kind of, or not…" he said, trailing off.
Cassian raised an eyebrow, confusion creeping into his expression. "What do you mean?"
Julius sighed and leaned back in his chair. "There's recruiting going on, like you mentioned—but not for our department. Instead, a really high-class university is scouting for new students."
"A university?" Cassian asked, his interest now piqued.
"Yeah, and you'll be joining that recruitment—while keeping your current identity a secret and taking on a new one," Julius said as they walked out of the gear room and into the hallway.
Cassian's expression shifted to one of realization as things began to click. He recalled the strange tasks he'd been doing recently: cutting fruit into equal pieces with a fork and knife before eating it, walking with precise posture and flow while doing laps around the mansion, and even learning to speak in specific tones and phrasing.
His eyes widened as the connections formed in his mind. "Don't tell me…" he began, his voice rising in disbelief. "I'm going to take on the identity of some noble kid, aren't I?"
"You guessed it right," Julius said with a smile. "But not just any noble kid. You'll be taking on the identity of a noble from one of the oldest warrior families—the Alacio family, the very same family the First Spear King belonged to."
Cassian's eyes widened in shock. It was a huge deal, but his confusion quickly followed. "Why not the Ven Dyke family?" he asked, gesturing to his red hair and eyes, the unmistakable mark of his Ven Dyke heritage. "I mean, no one really knows about me. I could easily slip into that identity."
"I asked the same thing when I first heard the plan," Julius said with a small smile, clearly unsure of the reason himself. "But you'll be pretending to be the son of Rowena Alacio, and a secret Ven Dyke heir. She was married in secret, and you're their hidden child."
'What the fuck?' Cassian's jaw dropped in shock, not because he was supposed to act as Rowena's son, but because of how full of holes this noble kid's background was. 'Which stupid idiot came up with this?' he thought, bewildered.
A secret Ven Dyke heir, secretly married to the princess of the Alacio family, and he's their hidden child. Cassian was still trying to wrap his head around it when Julius, as if reading his thoughts, chuckled and said, "If you think Commandant Sher is stupid for coming up with this, hold that thought. Once you learn a bit more about the Alacio family, you'll see why it all makes sense." He paused for a moment, then added, "And I forgot—you might already know Rowena. As She's one of Katherine's best friends."
Cassian nodded, still trying to process everything, but the confusion was clear in his voice as he said, "I knew Rowena, but I don't really know much about the Alacio family. And this is the first time I've ever heard they had someone called the Spear King in their family, or that they even use spears as their weapon…"
Julius's grin spread wider, almost ear to ear, as he chuckled. "There it is," he said, as if some puzzle had finally clicked into place.
Cassian still didn't get it. He furrowed his brow, completely lost. "What do you mean, 'there it is'?"
Seeing Cassian's continued confusion, Julius leaned back against the wall, folding his arms. "The Alacio family is one of the most secluded, secretive noble families out there. They've got a whole different way of doing things, so it's no surprise there are so many secrets surrounding your fake identity. In fact, you're probably just one of many hidden truths about them. The Alacios don't make a lot of noise, but when they do, it's for something big."
Cassian's mind was racing now. The idea that he was about to step into the role of someone from a family this mysterious, this full of secrets, felt like walking into a storm without knowing where the lightning would strike. "So… you're saying that the Alacio family has been hiding all this time? And that I'm going to pretend to be part of it, even though I don't know anything about them?"
Julius nodded. "Exactly. And don't think it's just the Alacio family that's full of secrets. They're tangled up with all sorts of other noble houses, each with their own hidden agendas and long-standing rivalries. The Alacios have been shrouded in mystery for centuries, keeping their heads down and staying out of the spotlight. But they've got their hands in a lot of things behind the scenes. It's just how they operate."
As they reached the end of the hallway and stood in front of a door, Julius pushed it open and stepped inside. "And you'll be learning more about them from Rowena herself. She's here for a reason, and you'll be getting some inside information directly from her. Also, the reason we've settled on this identity for you is that there's already a rumor circulating about Rowena being married to one of the Ven Dyke family members back in the day. We're just making those rumors a bit more believable."
Cassian mulled over Julius's words, his mind already spinning with possibilities. If he was going to step into the role of a hidden Alacio-Ven Dyke heir, he needed to approach it smartly. Maybe he could use this opportunity to gather valuable information about noble politics and learn more about the Alacio family's mysterious influence.
Breaking out of his thoughts, he asked, "Which university am I going to, anyway?"
Julius, now casually leaning back in his chair, smirked. "You might've heard about it in the news here and there. It's one of the top universities in Magisteria—hell, in the entire world."
Cassian's brow furrowed as he tried to think. "Which one?"
"The Academy of Valtross," Julius said, the name rolling off his tongue with a hint of pride.
Cassian blinked in surprise. "Valtross? You're kidding."