CHAPTER 249: "AND SO IT BEGINS"

Zane sat on the edge of his bed, the envelope and letter spread across his desk like they were mocking him. The bold words at the bottom glared back:

Report immediately. Late arrivals will not be accepted after tomorrow at the eighth bell.

He ran a hand through his unkempt black hair. "Of course. The one time I decide to leave my room, the universe goes: surprise, you’re late already."

Still, he didn’t hesitate. He pulled out a battered travel bag and began stuffing it with whatever came to mind. A few changes of clothes. His notebooks. The few books he hadn’t scribbled sarcasm all over. Some spare boots. He stared at the storage ring glinting on his desk and almost laughed. "Yeah, you’d make this easier if I had mana. But nope. We’re doing this the old-fashioned way."

By the time he was done, the bag looked like it weighed as much as a cow. He grunted, hauling it over his shoulder.

That was when he noticed the second note tucked beneath the envelope — one he had overlooked in his rush. A shorter message, written in his father’s hand:

Do not use a carriage. Go on foot. No surname. This is not negotiable.

Zane stared at it, his eyebrow twitching. "...Right. So, translation: I’m officially Caelum at home, but outside, I’m basically ’that random guy with a bag.’ Got it. Thanks, Dad."

His shadow rippled, like it was laughing at his expense.

"Don’t you start," Zane muttered. "I didn’t see you carrying a mountain of fabric and books last night."

Shaking his head, he dragged the heavy bag toward the door. He paused just before stepping out of his room, hand on the knob. For the first time in two years, he wasn’t heading to the dining hall, or sneaking through the kitchen, or pacing the garden.

He was leaving.

The front gates of the Caelum estate loomed before him, carved iron towering into the sky. Two guards at their post straightened, wide-eyed as Zane approached. He ignored their stares, adjusted the strap of his bag, and kept walking. The gates opened with a groan, and sunlight spilled onto the road beyond.

The world outside stretched wide — streets, shops, people, the buzz of life he had only heard about through muffled voices and secondhand lessons.

Zane took a breath. His shadow lengthened behind him, rising just slightly as if waiting for his cue.

"And so it begins," Zane said quietly.

The shadow bobbed once, like a nod, before the two of them stepped past the gates — out into the world, where nobody knew his name.