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Chapter 07 - Childhood Sweetheart (b)
Not long after Xi Wei was born, Berg once took him to the palace and said, "As an Omega Prince, you can only stay in the palace like me, and when you reach adulthood, His Majesty will choose the right alpha to marry and have children with you." At that time, Xi Wei had yet to understand the meaning of these words, and optimistically thought that the one who would be giving birth must be the alpha.
Now, however, he had figured out the rules of the world. If Uncle Berg were to be married, he would definitely be marked by an Alpha and later expected to give birth to some children.
Thinking of this, Xi Wei felt very unwilling. His uncle was a really good person, why should he be forced to marry and give birth to some alpha's children? Why couldn't he be free to find and choose someone that he actually liked?
***
When Xi Wei met Uncle Berg the next day, he couldn't help asking, "Uncle, yesterday I heard father say that you are getting married?"
Berg was sitting on the couch, reading a book. When he heard this, he paused and answered calmly, "Yes, the wedding has been decided, it's this year."
Xi Wei asked, "Have you seen the alpha yet?"
"I have," answered Berg.
Xi Wei asked again, "Do you like him?" "
Berg smiled and put down his book, he looked back at Xi Wei and said, "It doesn't matter whether I like him or not. You are too young to understand this. As princes, a lot of things are beyond our control. You will learn to understand this as you grow up."
Xi Wei: "..."
Truthfully, Xi Wei did understand. Uncle Berg's marriage must be related to some kind of political reasons. The alpha chosen by His Majesty certainly would not be someone from a simple family. The alpha's family background must be prominent enough to warrant a beneficial relationship with the Imperial Family.
Honestly speaking, this kind of political union was very common in monarchical countries. Not only the Princes, the Princesses marriages also rarely happened as a result of their own decisions. The marriage of a royal family member was more like a transaction of power and political interest. Xi Wei knew about many countries' histories, and had long been aware of this.
But, looking at Uncle Berg's calm expression, Xi Wei still could not help but feel that it was unfair. In these two years, he had gotten to know just how very talented his uncle is. It would be such a waste for him to be married off so early.
Meanwhile, Berg had been watching Xi Wei, and seeing the helpless expression on his small face made Berg unable to hold back a small fond chuckle from escaping his mouth. He picked Xi Wei up and seated him down on the sofa next to him, then said in a soft voice, "You don't have to worry, I have personally investigated the alpha that His Majesty has selected for me. He is a very honest man. I am a prince, so I think he will not dare to disrespect me after our marriage... I'll come back to visit you in the palace whenever I have the chance."
Hearing this, Xi Wei's heart finally felt a bit soothed. He nodded, "Okay. "
Berg continued, "Xi Wei, when you grow up, if there comes a time when you also have to enter a political marriage like me, you must remember to never yield yourself to your fate, you cannot lose your own sense of self. The two of us have higher mental strength than even some alphas, so take advantage of it. Don't waste the best genes that you have inherited as a member of the royal family." Berg paused and looked at Xi Wei, who was listening earnestly, and smiled slightly. He touched his head and continued, "Everything I said today, you must remember. I'm sure you will understand what I mean when you grow up. "
Xi Wei had a mixed feeling about it, but still, he nodded and said, "I'll note it down, Wang Shu."
***
Time went by quickly, and in the blink of an eye, it was already June 21st. King Trent decided to celebrate Xi Wei's birthday in the palace. In Lacey Empire, the children would start receiving formal schooling once they turned five years old, so, a fifth birthday was quite an important event for them.
That night, His Majesty Trent, Queen Anna, Berg Wang Shu, and the two princesses, Alicia and Xi Lin, all gathered in the palace to celebrate Xi Wei's birthday. A special custom-made, big cake was prepared, with candles of five different colors placed on top of it, representing the fact that the First Prince Xi Wei finally reached five years old that day.
Anna held her one-year-old daughter in her bosom. Princess Xi Lin really liked to move around, and currently she was reaching out her hands, trying to grab onto the cake. Anna immediately took her hands back and smiled, "Don't move, wait until your Prince Brother finishes blowing out the candles."
Trent also smiled and said, "Xi Wei, don't forget to make a wish before you blow the candles."
Xi Wei looked at the flickering candles in front of him, closed his eyes, and silently made a wish-
Watching Uncle Berg's wedding day getting closer and closer, as a five-year-old child, Xi Wei simply had no power to change that. The only thing he could do was to silently wish for his uncle's happiness even after his marriage. He also wished for himself, for his fate to change, so he would not have to embark on this "political marriage" path as well.
***
That autumn, because of His Majesty Trent's brother, Prince Berg's marriage, the whole capital city was permeated with a cheerful and festive atmosphere. A large red carpet had been laid at the entrance of the Imperial Palace, and a young alpha could be seen driving a special machine armor through it, followed by a mighty bridal procession behind him; all was prepared in order to greet Prince Berg.
Berg wore a white royal robe that day, which had been tailored to perfectly accentuate his tall and slender stature. The complex and gorgeous patterns lining the robe also highlighted Berg's noble identity and status. His uncle was dressed so beautifully, and yet Xi Wei's eyes remained harsh as he looked on at the proceeding.
Xi Wei stood in the distance, helplessly watching as his Uncle Berg walked out of the imperial Palace with a smile on his face, and a horde of royal guards escorting him.
Xi Wei looked at Berg's departing figure, his small fists clenched firmly by his side.
Berg was Xi Wei's first teacher since he came to this world. In these two years alone, he had learned so many things from him, and in his heart, Xi Wei had come to really respect this uncle of his. However, he was only a powerless five-year-old now, there was nothing he could do except for hope that after Uncle Berg arrived in the Berch's family home, his alpha husband would treat him well.
***
After Berg got married, Xi Wei was left without a teacher, so he spent most of his time all alone, reading in his room by himself.
His uncle had given his miniature AI computer to Xi Wei before leaving, and for Xi Wei, it was undoubtedly a great asset—Berg's AI computer quality was very high, and it could even connect directly to the Imperial's Central Library. Xi Wei used it to browse through the Imperial Royal and military's data from the Central Library. He tried to understand the empire's power background clearly because, as a prince, this was one of the things he should have complete knowledge about.
At present, the Lacey Empire was different from any national regime he had known of before. It wasn't a constitutional monarchy, and there was no democratically elected parliament or congress. All the big decisions in the empire were basically made according to the military's needs. It can be said that this empire was a country of "military supremacy", with the Imperial Army's rights being placed above all.
His Majesty himself, even though he had such noble status, did not really have much real power. This explained why he made a marriage relation between Berg and one of the most important families in the military, the Berch family. Berch family's Serpent Corps was one of the six great armies of the Empire, so this marriage could only further strengthen the status of the royal family in the empire.
As Xi Wei was worrying about his uncle's situation, he suddenly received a message: "Xi Wei, I am very good here, don't worry. This AI computer, you have to take good care of it, because you can contact me directly through it. "
Xi Wei was startled, and hurriedly pressed on the contact button. Immediately, a light curtain appeared before him, showing Uncle Berg's face in real-time projection. Xi Wei could see what was clearly his new bedroom in the background, which made him confused, because Berg was alone in that room.
Xi Wei asked him in surprise, "Uncle, isn't tonight your wedding night? Why are you sending me a message at this time? What about the alpha that you have married? "
Berg smiled and said, "I threw him out to sleep in the living room."
Xi Wei: "..."
Uncle is really amazing, it's only their wedding night, and yet he has completely ruled over the alpha. He really is a worthy omega to learn from.
***
Soon enough, the end of August arrived, which meant enrollment time for new students.
The children of the Empire would enter formal schooling from the age of 5. Then, by the age of 14, the Omegas would be sent to Andromeda galaxy to receive pre-adult education at a school set up exclusively for Omegas. Meanwhile, the Alphas and Betas would continue to study more professional courses, and when they reached 18, they'd be admitted into university. After four years, they would graduate, and finally able to participate in the working world as an adult at 22.
Since their school would not change until they entered university, there were not many school choices for children. However, each school has its own admission requirements. The descendants of the royal family usually attended school at "St. Paul Academy". Xi Wei checked on the information about this school—it was a typical aristocratic academy that, in addition to the descendants of the royal family and generals, also included second-generation children from rich families.
St. Paul Academy's entrance examination was done in the form of online registration and test. After they had submitted their answers, the result and admission score would be released in within one hour. The entrance examination for this school was very difficult, and would be very hard to answer for general children. However, for Xi Wei, those questions were really too simple. There was a one-hour time limit for the test, and yet Xi Wei had already finished his in just half an hour. But, he later thought that it might seem suspicious if he got a full mark, so he went back and purposely answered some of the questions wrong, and only submitted his test paper after that.
The test scores and admissions lists were soon posted online.
The highest score possible for the test was 150 points, however, because the questions were deemed to be too difficult, St. Paul Academy had lowered their admission score-limit this year to 80 points. Xi Wei got 130 points, ranked in the middle, but still higher than many alpha students.
Strangely enough, Xi Wei did not see Klaire's name—didn't Klaire test for this school? He should have, right?
Klaire's father was Admiral Byron, so, as a descendant of a military family, he should be aiming for this school, because this was the best school for aristocrats in the empire. It had the best facilities, and the teacher's strength was also the strongest in the country. If he wanted to enter a good university once he grew up, coming to St. Paul Academy would be the best choice for him.
Xi Wei took a look once again, and still could not find Klaire's name among the high-scoring alphas on the top of the list.
The students admitted to the academy this year consisted of about 30% Alpha, 60% Beta, and less than 10% Omega. Because the test was too difficult, the students who scored above 120 points were mostly alphas. The one with the highest score this year was also an alpha, someone called Carlo Berch, with 148 points.
So, what about Klaire?
With a puzzled mood, Xi Wei continued to scroll down the list, until finally, as he arrived at the end of the admission list, he saw the name he had been looking for:
Klaire Byron, 80 point.
Xi Wei: "................."
Turns out he was the lowest ranked, no wonder Xi Wei couldn't find him earlier...
Xi Wei thought in sympathy, As General Byron's son, as an Alpha, as a childhood friend who was born at the same day as me, you actually scored the lowest on the exam and almost didn't pass...Are you all right, Klaire?
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T/N: I'm lol-ing at Uncle Berg, he is such a badass xD