Dom felt uneasy as the car sent to pick him up drove through the gates of the estate that was made his home, the happy memories he ever had were long overshadowed by the hate and disdain with which he was treated.
He stepped out taking his luggage to his room himself, it wouldn't be long before his mother called for him to see his results and also compare them with his brother's 1st-year results, setting his things aside, he took a warm shower, changed into some casual clothes and sat at the window bed glancing over the garden and the courtyard close to the main mansion where he could see his brother being swarmed by some ladies.
"Deep breaths, I am a different person now," Dom said to himself.
A few minutes later, there was a knock on the door.
"Come in," Dom said.
"Master Dominick, the lady of the house calls for your presence in the garden," A maid said.
"Okay, I'll be right there" Dom replied.
Checking himself once more in the mirror, he left to meet his mother who had no doubt called on his brother so they could criticize him together.
"Mother, you called for me," Dom said as he stepped into the garden.
His mother was lying on a long garden couch in a robe as her nails were being tended to by some servants.
"Yes, we wanted to see your results, and I wanted you to be here while we did it", Lady Diane casually replied.
Dom then noticed movement in the bushes nearby; without warning, a plasma ball was shot at him from within.
Lady Diane pretended not to notice this while the servants focused on their jobs.
When within reach, Dom caught the plasma ball and threw it back where it came from with a little extra power.
"Ouch, that scorched my shirt," A boy said from the bushes.
Stepping out of it was Dom's elder brother, Harrison Pavla, he had just concluded his 3rd and final year in school.
"Harry, come take a seat, your brother is here with his results" Lady Diane said with a soft voice.
Dom mentally rolled his eyes at the preferential treatment his mother was giving his elder brother to make him jealous.
"Right, let's see how bad the little twert did this year" Harrison said.
"With an expectation like that, you are sure to be disappointed" Dom stated.
"Oh, I see you found some courage, I hope you can back it up," Harrison said.
While they checked his results, looking for whatever fault or error they could find, Dom took a good look at the garden; it looked completely different now, with his favourite flowers almost in season.
"Seems you are not as terrible as I predicted," Harrison said.
"I believe I did better than someone did in their first year" Dom smirked.
"How about you two train together this holiday? I'm sure Dominick could use some training; by the way, I have called for the Master of Light at Rayville; he should be here in a day or two", Lady Diane said.
"I already have a trainer; all I need is space and an occasional sparring partner", Dom stated.
"Someone's making demands he shouldn't be making", Harrison said, ready to discipline his brother.
"Fine, but you will eventually spar with your brother; maybe that mythic evolution helped your magical state," Lady Diane replied.
"What? Are you really granting his request?" Harrison asked surprised.
"What do I get if I win this spar?" Dom asked.
"The master will train you first" Lady Diane replied.
"Mum!!" Harrison called, he was startled by the sudden compliance his mother was showing towards Dom.
"Don't worry, son, the old man can train you when Dominick goes back to school", Lady Diane said to calm him.
"Remember, that's if you win" Harrison restated.
"Fine by me, may I go now?" Dom asked.
"Yes, I will send a butler to help you make your training arrangements" Lady Diane replied as she dismissed him.
"Mother, what was all that about?" Harrison asked.
"Did you watch the previous Military inter-school sports competition final day video?" Lady Diane asked.
"Yeah, it was only uploaded on the military website, so I could only watch it once at school", Harrison replied.
"Did you take note of the students that fought the dragon?" day Diane asked.
"Not really; I skimmed through to see if they beat it", Harrison replied.
"You can leave", Lady Diane said, dismissing the servants; she picked up a tablet on the side stool and beckoned Harrison to sit beside her, then she replayed the video for him.
"Wait!!, is that?" Harrison asked looking towards his mother.
"Yes, it's your brother; I don't know how or when, but he has gotten a lot stronger,", Lady Diane replied, not taking her eyes off the paused frame. It was the moment Brandon and Dom did the Union attack on the dragon to severely wound it.
"Do you think there's a chance he could beat me?" Harrison asked.
"I think if you aren't careful in that spar, you will lose" Lady Diane replied.
Harrison left the garden to his room with his thoughts all over the place, though they both got selected for the mythic evolution process but Dom seemed to have come out of it more powerful than he did.
"Doesn't matter; I will still win; I have more experience", Harrison muttered to himself.
That evening, Lady Diane invited the elders of the family to a small but elaborate dinner. Most were surprised as they didn't deem Dom's return home something worth celebrating but since it was an invitation from the head of the house herself, they couldn't refuse.
A few discussions were passed around the table with slight inputs being requested from Harrison as he was the future head of the house, Dom, on the other hand, didn't know why they were discussing it in front of him as they usually ushered him out whenever they wanted to discuss something serious but he didn't bother to ask nor did he care.
"What do you think Dom?" Lady Pavla asked.
"Concerning the marine marauders?" Dom asked to confirm she was speaking to him.
"Yes, of course, I would like your input", Lady Pavla replied.
"Well, the marauders have always lived on what they earn, which means they answer to the highest bidder, which is currently us, but in the event an opposing powerhouse demands their services while offering higher pay, our goods would be left unprotected", Dom said.
"And who told you all that?" Am elder asked.
"Haki, the dock lord, has a journal of all the people the marauders have served, and the only notable thing was the progressive increase in payment from the former to the latter", Dom replied.
"So what do you suggest we do in that regard?" Another elder asked.
"We have two options, it's either we prepare a backup for when the marauders leave us or we find a water-based group that will be loyal to house Pavla and put them in charge of guarding our goods while offering them constant pay and some added privileges, if the pay is low, the privilege will make up for it" Dom explained.
"Everyone in the room thought about what Dom had just said, as much as they hated to admit it, he had good intuition.
"Thank you, Dominick; we will take your suggestions into consideration,", Lady Diane said.
Harrison just kept glaring at his brother, who acted indifferent to his threatening gaze, till they finished dinner.
The next day, Dom was woken up by a knock on his door.
"Who could that be? no one bothers me this early in the morning" Dom muttered as he stared at the clock that read 6:00 am.
"Master Dominick, my name is Flick; I have been assigned as your personal butler". a voice said from behind the door.
"Come in," Dom said.
Walking into the room was not a man but a teenage boy like himself, Dom was confused as to why someone this young was assigned as his butler.
"Are you newly hired?" Dom asked.
"Yes, I was appointed yesterday" Flick replied.
"What's your ability?" Dom asked.
"Sound, sir, affinity wind ", Flick replied.
"Hmm, an odd combination but still useful; tell me about yourself", Dom said.
"My name is Flick Preinston; I am 16 years of age. I was trained in House Pavla's battalion, though I wasn't in the top half of my batch, but I will do my best to serve you well", Flick said.
"Any family?" Dom asked.
"Mother and two sisters" Flick replied.
Taking a deep breath, Dom dropped the domineering countenance taking a seat on his bed.
"Alright, here's the deal, as my personal butler, you are loyal to me and only to me, although you may tend to me but you are not to call me master or sir unless we are outside, we shall treat each other as comrades rather than that master-slave thing, agreed?" Dom said stating his terms.
"You want me to call you by your name when we are alone and talk to you like an equal? The lady of the house would have me hanged for that," Flick replied.
"The Lady of the house won't touch you unless I complain about you, and as for your questions, Dom would be just fine, and you may speak to me as a friend; it's about time I had one at home", Dom replied.
"I see; I will try my best to honour these generous terms si-" Flick replied, barely managing to stop himself from saying sir once again.
"Alright, have a seat; let me get ready", Dom said, stepping into the bathroom.
Rather than sit around, Flick stepped into the large clothes closet to pick out an attire for Dom to wear, seeing it as his basic duty.
Stepping out of the bathroom, Dom was surprised to see three different outfits laid on his bed and Flick walking out of the closet with a pair of shoes.
"What are you doing?" Dom asked.
"Ok, I know you said we should treat each other as friends, but there are certain things I still have to do, not just because they are my basic duties but because you seem to be someone worth doing it for, so please let me do these things," Flick said in a breath.
"Wow, I don't think I could have said so many syllables in one word, but okay, if you feel that way", Dom said, a bit surprised.
"Thank you, from what I was told about your dress pattern, you don't dress like a noble, no harm intended, but the Lady of the house wants you to dress more like the son of a lord than a casual civilian, so I picked out the clothes that are exquisite but still around the same level as what you usually wear in terms of quality" Flick explained.
"Fine, I will go with the middle one," Dom said.
"Cool, I will help you with the jacket" Flick said before returning the rest 
Dom was about to protest but decided not to as he had already agreed not to.
Walking out of the room, Dom showed Flick around the mansion; since it was early, only a few staff were awake, so the tour went without a hitch. The tour ended in the courtyard where Dom was to be filled in on his training schedule.
"So Three different masters have been selected to come to help you train; they would train with you for two days a week each till the time when you will be taught by the Master of light himself", Flick explained.
"But I get to pick the days right?" Dom asked.
"Yes, that was clearly stated in the contract signed" Flick replied.
"Okay, let it be Monday and Friday; also, if possible, hire a physical combat trainer as well," Dom said.
"Alright, updating your schedule now" Flick replied.
"So what else?" Flick asked.
"Well You are going to be my training partner for the rest of the week, so find a good place, possibly not in the surroundings of this estate, and set a time we could train", Dom replied.
"Oh, but I am not that much of a fighter," Flick said.
"Neither was I until someone decided to help me, besides now that you have been assigned as my butler, some people would most likely direct some of their hate for me on you so you will need to be able to defend yourself or at least make a clever retreat" Dom explained.
"I see; I will get right to it", Flick replied.
After going over a few things, Flick left to finalize the arrangements while Dom leisurely strolled around the estate while reminiscing about his grandfather.
"I will make you proud, I promise", Dom said, staring into the sky.