As they entered, a teacher came forward to meet them quickly. "Councilman Dio," she greeted. "How are you?"

"I'm good, Alina. Thank you," Dio greeted. He pointed to Jae and handed her a letter. "Can you please take my boy and his letter to the principal?"

Alina nodded. "Of course, I can."

"Good," Dio said and clapped Jae on the arm. He turned to Alina. "I must be on my way. I'm sure you will see to it that he is sorted out."

Alina nodded, wondering who this poor-looking boy was and why he had a letter with the king's stamp on it. Also, there was the part where Councilman Dio had called him "his boy."

"Come on," she said to Jae and went to the principal's office.

Jae followed, looking around the school. Students were about doing different exercises while some were in classrooms, gawking at him through the windows as he gawked at them.

The principal was a tall, broad-shouldered man with full grey hair he tied in a ponytail and a full beard.

He looked mildly surprised to see Alina and a gangly boy with her.

"Principal," Alina greeted. She handed him the letter. "This is from the king."

"The king?" Principal Kine asked with an eyebrow cocked in surprise.

Alina nodded.

The principal motioned for the boy to sit down and opened the letter. He read through, his eyes widening with each paragraph.

Finally, he put it down and looked at Jae with amazement in his eyes. "Well," he said, "seems we have a spicy new issue on our hands."

"Is it true that you can perform the Phantom Step?" he asked.

Jae nodded sheepishly.

Alina gasped, and the principal chuckled. "My reaction exactly, my dear Alina. It seems this boy here is a prodigy and the king has personally requested for him to be admitted into the academy."

"But is he a noble?" Alina asked, her eyes roving suspiciously over Jae's tattered clothes.

"What do you think?" the principal asked, and she looked pale again.

"But the school is only for nobles. It will cause an uproar."

The principal placed both hands on his temples. "You think I haven't thought of that? Or you think the king hasn't?"

He looked at her. "Admit him into the beginners' class. He has a lot to learn. Also, please find him some clothes. Any clothes. He can't be moving around school like that."

Jae suddenly felt self-conscious about his appearance.

Alina nodded. "Yes, Principal. Come with me, Jae," she said. "Let's introduce you to your new world of chaos."

Jae went after her, glancing back quickly over at the principal, but he was already head-bent, busy over paperwork.

Alina was able to find him some discarded clothes from the teacher's lounge. Thanks to his tall stature, he was able to fit in, kind of, but his thinness made them sag on him.

"There, all better," she said.

"My name is Alina, as you already know," she introduced herself to him. "I'm the teacher on elemental studies."

"Like wind and water?" Jae asked.

"And fire, lightning, earth, and mana," she replied.

Jae bit back the urge to reply "I know." Instead, he nodded. He felt a little annoyed by the way they viewed him as a lesser being, as someone who was uneducated and simple.

He wanted to tell her that in his past life he was the prince of a kingdom bigger than this one, that he understood basic studies and he went to school, that his blood was more noble than hers could ever be.

But he let the bitterness wash away. Alina was not his enemy. She was trying to be helpful, and despite her knowing he wasn't a noble, she hadn't been unkind to him.

As they walked to the beginner classes, they heard a low whistle from behind them.

"Damn, who is this scrawny boy?" a voice called, and they turned to look only to find a tall boy with golden ruffled hair and a permanent smirk. He and Jae could be twins, except that where he was slim, the boy was muscular.

Alina shook her head. "Manners, Byun."

"Sorry, ma'am," the boy Byun replied, but it was evident he wasn't sorry at all. "So who is he?"

"He is a new student," Alina replied. "And you should be in class."

"I would have been in class, but I am indisposed, ma'am," Byun replied. He turned to Jae. "Woah, you look malnourished as hell."

Jae wanted to reply, but Alina stepped to his front. "Go to class now, Byun, before I send a report to your mother."

That seemed to do the trick, and Byun nodded, mumbling "Okay, ma'am" before scurrying off.

Jae watched him go, anger flashed through him. What a jerk, he thought.