A week had passed since the ‘just’ princess had screwed Ashton over. True to her word, Ashton was not allowed to attend any classes that even remotely required him to do physical labour. As pissed as he was because of that, he made sure to not waste his time idling. 

Either way, the physical training only happened for two hours a day, six times a week. Which was next to nothing, when compared to the training regime he had going on for himself. The princess could have only stopped him from training in classes, but no matter how influential she was in the academy, even she could not stop him from training altogether. 

Although he had been and still was against the idea of having slaves around him, he couldn’t help but realise their worth. Especially, dark-haired Duncan, the human male. Ashton realised he was quite the spearman. On top of that, he knew how to use his scrawny figure to his advantage. 

At first, when Ashton proposed the idea of the slave helping him train, he had thought the slave would just poke him around with a spear. That way, Ashton would be able to gain some meagre amount of exp. Still, it would have been better than getting nothing at all.

However, Duncan was a bit hesitant and rightfully so. Both of the slaves had been given clear instructions by the mistress not to cause any harm to Ashton. Thus duelling against him was a straight no. 

It was only after a quick chat with the mistress that Duncan was willing to fight Ashton. if Ashton wanted to, he could have defeated Duncan with one move. But the more he fought the human, the more he started to appreciate Duncan’s spearmanship. 

It was clear as the cloudless sky above them, that Duncan wasn’t a nobody as Ashton had expected. He was a trained fighter who could have given others in Ashton’s class a run for their money. Well, only till they did not use their abilities. 

Duncan might have been good with a spear, but at the end of the day, he was just a human. He did not have a chance against the werewolves if they used their full strength against him. 

Still, his battle style was something that Ashton quickly picked up. So far, he had been relying on his strength to get rid of tougher enemies, who most of the time were bigger than he was. But now that he had learned something new, thanks to Duncan, he could use it to overwhelm even stronger enemies. Just like Duncan was overwhelming him. 

However, at the end of the day, it wasn’t enough. Ashton needed to come up with a better plan to level up, not just the werewolf genes but all of the genes within him. While he thought of a way to do that, the mistress needed some answers from him. Well, technically she only needed an answer to one question. 

What did he do to get punished in the first place? 

Ashton then begrudgingly explained everything to her. At first, it didn’t look like she believed him in the least. That was until he told her who was the one to punish him. 

“That bitch!” These were the first words that escaped through her mouth. 

“I thought you would know her. Guess I was right.”

“Of course, I know my youngest ‘half-sister’. I just can’t fathom why is she still in the academy. She should have graduated last year!”

“I assume this sister is different than the one you almost killed?”

Ashton was a bit confused as to how many daughters did the king had!? Didn’t he have anything better to do, rather than making babies? He was a king but to Ashton, he just came off as a horndog who couldn’t keep his thing in his pants. 

“I used the term ‘youngest’, didn’t I?” The mistress sighed, “She should have graduated last year. That’s why I selected you to enter the academy this year. Now I have something I need to figure out. Till then, keep your head down and don’t even think about doing anything to her.”

“As you wish…”

With that their conversation was cut short. He didn’t know what was such a big deal about the princess still attending the academy. Students failed there all the time, she could have been one of those who unfortunately failed. Simple. 

“Nah, it ain’t that simple. There’s no way a failed student would be selected to become the DC president. Guess I’ll ask the director about it while appealing my case today.”

Ashton had discussed the possibility of revoking his punishment through the director with Rose. She spoke her mind on the matter and told Ashton to let go of it. But if he wanted he was free to appeal his case. 

So that’s what he did and today he was supposed to meet the director to see what they can do about his punishment. He had been expecting the director to be on his side like she always was. But this time, things weren’t as simple as Ashton believed. 

***

An hour later inside the Director’s office. 

“I don’t think I’ll be lifting your punishment yet, Mr Bismark.” The director replied after hearing his case.

“But madam director-“

“Zip it.”

As she uttered those words, Ashton lost his voice. He was trying his best to speak up, but not a single sound came out of his mouth. 

“Now, listen carefully to what I have to say.” She continued after putting Ashton under her silence spell, “I’m not revoking the punishment for your own good. We both know you have are being targeted by the nobles because you were formerly a human. A species they loathe.”

“Also, the fact that you’re registered as ‘Bismark’ in the academy doesn’t make matters any better. At least with the punishment being given to you, the nobles should not trouble you for a month. I would advise that you use this opportunity to get stronger through any means necessary. Is that understood?”

Ashton nodded. The director was correct. If she lifted his punishment, then it would only make the nobles think of something even sinister to get rid of him. Thus, it was better for Ashton to lay low and in the meantime and gain strength for what would happen next.. Thankfully, he knew of a way to do that, but he would need Rose’s help for that.