Marked Ones: Advent of the Demon Prince

Hundreds of students gathered in the halls of Royal Paede Academy. They were all gawking at a pair of students who were walking hand and hand through their school and were the star couple that everyone admired. One was a beautiful woman and the other, her betrothed the Second Prince of Paede, Prince Augustine Delthra von Paede III. Known lovingly as Prince August.

August simply gave all the students a wave, making scores of young women swoon. His loving fiancée too waved at the crowd eliciting a barrage of uncouth whispers from the men, and a few women as well.

"My lovely Prince August, it seems we have gathered another crowd on our day off." The woman giggled into his ear.

August smiled, "Yes, so it seems. Rather unfortunate for us to have our private time interrupted time and time again. We really must use less predictable paths on our afternoon walks my fair Lady Irina."

In truth, they both performed this 'song and dance' with their fellow students every week. Both of them enjoyed the attention and it reflected positively on both of their families if the public was knowledgeable of how close they appeared to be.

Irina's family, House Tryn, was the largest military supporter of the royal family, so their future marriage would cement ties between their houses for this generation.

"It saddens me that I will not be able to join you immediately on your trip this evening my dear prince. Though I will be joining my father and yours in a few days." Irina whispered.

"Yes, my dear, it is unfortunate that we would not be able to entertain one another during the long journey. I imagine my heart shall remain wanting until the time we reunite within Arcadios." August said back, though louder to ensure some of the other students could hear his comments.

In truth, their marriage was but a political one. Neither of them had any real feelings toward one another. They simply acted this way in the public eye for the look of it. The reality was that Irina despised his guts and regularly saw her own being rearranged daily by one of her guards. Meanwhile August had a few trysts of his own with several among his maid staff.
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The only time they would participate in 'entertaining' one another would be after their marriage when they were required to produce a few heirs. Beyond that, they had no intention of being beside one another in their private lives. However, he hoped it would not come to that.

August heard that the victor of the tournament would be granted a request by King Aleksander, and he hoped that by winning he could actually escape from this sham marriage and instead ask for the hand of one of Aleksanders' daughters, whom Augustine desired from the moment he saw her.

*****

Keinydd was a kingdom with an abundance of water. They were on the coast of the continent as well as possessed a massive number of rivers and lakes. There was even a rumor that the royal palace sat atop a holy lake created by the gods before they ascended to Celestia.

No one knew if it was due to the amount of water within the kingdom, but Keinydd possessed an inordinate amount of individuals who were Ice and Water Magic users. Even their most esteemed institution was headquartered on a small island off the coast to accommodate the number of their students that possessed those two Compatibilities.

All of their representatives possessed both of those traits, including their top student; a young man named Desmond Adler. He had clawed his way to the top of the food chain among the other students at Keinydd Mana Academy. The Adler family was a powerful noble family in the Keinydd Kingdom, but Desmond was a disgraced son.

He held his family's last name but received no formal support in either the political realm or the monetary one. Desmond earned his spot at the Mana Academy by defeating hundreds of challengers and excelling in academics. There was no other senior at the institution who could hold a candle to him.

Why was Desmond so resolute in fighting for a place in society despite being all but banished from his family? The reason was simple. He fought on behalf of his sister. Desmond had a younger twin sister named Jade Adler who was born with a mark. While the rest of their family attempted to excommunicate her and deny her existence, Desmond refused.

He fought not for a place of his own, but for a place for her.

When he heard that the victor of the Exhibition Tournament would be a request granted by the king of Arcadios, he knew he was going to win it. When he did, he was going to request assistance in emigrating to one of the beastman nations where power mattered more. While he had no illusions of an infinitely better life for himself and his sister, it would be many times better than in the human nations.

Desmond was entertaining thoughts of victory while he was sparring with some other students in the waters surrounding the Mana Academy. Though he was surrounded by all sides, none of his opponents stood a chance against him. It was child's play to knock them into the sea over and over again until they all surrendered.

"Lord Desmond Adler… your boat to the mainland has arrived."

"Fetch my sister. She is coming with me."

"Lord Adler… we did not…"

"The fees for her travel have been covered already by me. Fetch her or I will personally sink the boat and Keinydd Mana Academy will lose one of its spots in the tournament due to my absence. Though it would be a great loss on my part, the shame the kingdom would face would be greater, would it not?"

"It is as you say, my lord."

The staff member bowed stiffly and left to perform what was requested of him.

"I will win this."