Skyler feigned confusion.
"Are you not from the Royal Castle? I was certain you were from the winged insignia on your armor. Did I make a mistake?"
Alistair waved his hand, annoyed.
His heart was in turmoil. If possible, he wanted to grab Skyler for interrogation.
But he couldn't use his power within the academy. No one above 20-star can.
"No, no, tell me why did you call the Queen your grandmother? Do you even have any idea what you are saying? If you are wrong, you could be labeled as an imposter! How do you know that? Who are your parents?"
Skyler's head buzzed with the influx of questions, but he answered them patiently. Naturally, he refused to say anything about the identity of his parents, saying they were no longer in the continent and had left after telling him about his dear grandmother. He sounded so believable that he was certain his ability to bullshit had advanced.
505 should brace itself.
'I hope Mom and Dad don't get involved if the Queen decides to investigate me. But I'm certain she won't. She is too busy with everything going on in the Royal family.'
When Skyler finished answering, Alistair was feeling even more bewildered as he stared at the ash-brown haired youth.
He rubbed his temples.
There was only one member of the royal family who had left the family: his sister, Riya Thorne. He hoped Skyler was being truthful. If Skyler really was, he could only be the son of Riya and therefore his nephew.
A deep exhale escaped him as he stared at the sparkling, bright blue eyes looking at him with expectations and nervousness.
"This is all too sudden... Sometimes I wished I had a lie detecting skill."
Skyler shuddered inwardly as the dark eyes, flecked with blue, scrutinized him solemnly. He thought he was convincing enough, but his uncle remained skeptical of his identity. Fortunately, the man could not do anything to him within the academy grounds.
He gulped, startled when Alistair gripped his shoulder and fixed him with a piercing stare.
"Even if I believe you are telling the truth, why do you want to meet the Queen? Tell me the reason. Or are you one of those Dark Lights trying to harm the royalty?"
Alistair voice dropped dangerously.
"Your timing is far too coincidental. It's almost as if you were aware... aware that we would be inclined to take you to the Queen due to something significant."
Skyler blinked, once, twice.
It seemed it was time to use his looks.
The book described Alistair Thorne as having a soft spot for his sister Riya. Even when she left her family behind to escape the Queen, who wanted her five children to fight for the throne, he never blamed her.
His eyes flickered with nervousness, then hardened with determination as if he had decided to come clean. He met Alistair's gaze head-on, surprising the man.
"I... I just want to meet my grandmother! Mother told me about her. I want to meet my family. The family I have never met!"
For the first time, Alistair was at a loss for words, quite stunned by the raw emotions radiating from the young man before him.
What confused him was why Riya, the one who most disliked their mother, would have told her son about the Queen. It was rather concerning, seeing how Skyler seemed to have a good impression of the Queen.
He stepped back with resignation.
"You really... Alright, I will know if you are lying or not soon anyway. In a way, this is actually a perfect time for you to show up. We don't even need to do a DNA test. You just need to follow us, and we will know if you are telling the truth."
Skyler's eyes gleamed with excitement. Finally!! He had done it! Now, all he had to do was enter the tomb and claim the loot that Jenny and her team, who had tagged along because one member of the Royal family could bring three to four people with them to the tomb, found in the story! Even those treasures they didn't found! Hehe!
Riruru stared at his face. All the while he talked with Alistair, she observed him and couldn't help but be speechless. Even she could tell he had spun a lot of tales.
Alistair rubbed the back of his neck.
He felt as if he had been tricked. However, he pushed his suspicions aside and turned to the other man accompanying him.
"Go bring the other two. We are leaving for the Royal Castle immediately. I will just text Vice Principal Doris about the third student we are taking with us."
With a silent nod, the other man left. He didn't question Alistair's decision to accept the words of a student he had just met for the first time. It wasn't his place to do so.
Skyler was practically vibrating, not even caring that he was currently in the presence of a man who could crush him with a finger. He had succeeded, and that was enough!
Alistair observed him silently.
'So different from Riya. She is more of a calm type. Why is he so full of energy?'
His lips unconsciously twitched upward.
His hand reaching out to mess the strands of styled ash-brown hair, only to freeze.
'Ah, what am I doing? Is it because Skyler bears a striking resemblance to Riya?'
They stood side by side, a stark contrast. One was excited and the other frowned at how easily he had dropped his guard. The silence broke only when the other tall man returned with two new figures: a man and a woman with a mix of dark blue eyes. Both appeared to be a year older than Skyler.
They both politely greeted Alistair.
Alisa and George Thorne narrowed their eyes immediately at the unfamiliar figure standing beside their uncle. A flicker of suspicion crossed their faces, but it was quickly replaced by astonishment.
Alisa stepped closer to Skyler, a look of surprise etched on her features.
"Aren't you that new student from the 1st Year Elite class? The only one who came back from the first level of Battle Royal?"
Instantly, all heads snapped toward Skyler. He chuckled sheepishly, with no shame.
"Yes, I am that student. Cousin."
The declaration hung heavy in the air, a shockwave rippling through all present, for different reasons. Alisa and George were stunned to hear Skyler call Alisa cousin.
On the other hand, Alistair Thorne and his aide were shocked to discover that Skyler was the one being discussed most recently by the government, the youth whose name they had been trying to keep secret, the one who had cleared the first level of the Battle Royal in a mere five days.
Alisa's brow furrowed. It didn't matter that Skyler had accomplished something great. Why and how dare he call her cousin when they weren't related at all! She knew every single one of her cousins, although there weren't many, for goodness sake!
"Why you—"
Her outburst was cut short by Alistair.
"It's you. The student I was supposed to meet today after I send these two away. I didn't notice this earlier because you just dropped such big news. Now that I think about it, your name is indeed familiar."
He muttered more to himself than to the ash-brown haired youth standing in front of him. But why would Skyler stay silent when it was time to show off how awesome he was?
"Really, Sir? You were going to come see me? I guess I should have cleared the first level of Battle Royal sooner!"
Hearing him, Alisa and George choked on their breath. How could he make the Battle Royal sound like a walk in the park? Alisa, in particular, scoffed at him with disdain.
She was a princess, and for some reason, she didn't like this man at all. Her troubled eyes traveled to her uncle to figure out who this country bumpkin was, but to her shock, Alistair Thorne, who always had a frown on his face, actually laughed at Skyler's words!
Alisa and George both could only watch in a daze as Alistair patted Skyler on the back.
"The Battle Royal is no child's play. You returning from that hell alive is already a miracle. I am glad my nephew didn't die before he even met me. Good job."
Skyler's eyes sparkled with a smile.
Now that Alistair had acknowledged him, it was clear his suspicion had dissipated, or perhaps lessened, compared to before.
If he had known the news Alisa shared could change Alistair's opinion of him so easily, he would have shared it sooner!
Even though he knew, Alistair was likely pondering how Skyler's achievement could be leveraged by the Royal family, even if his claim of being one of them was false.
Skyler wasn't naive.
He had read a lot about the royal family in the book, and that was enough to tell him what they prioritized: power and talent.
He trailed behind Alistair as they began to walk, completely ignoring the icy glares the Prince and Princess were sending his way.
Now, he was a prince too, alright! Let's not mention, he had even been a King once!
Alisa could only turn to Alistair's aid to understand what was going on. When she finally grasped the situation, the glare she directed at Skyler became even colder.
She was certain he was an imposter and vowed to kick him out of the Royal Castle once his deception was proven.