It was getting harder to hide his alternate identity, at least from Jamil. Ever since he hit puberty, he had been introduced to many, many girls his own age in the hopes that he hit it off with them.
If he attempted to slip away like he normally did, odds are he'd be followed. And he couldn't leave via his special trick, because Jamil had become extra attentive on his parent's orders.
Slipping away from the guards was one thing, but Jamil was considerably more attentive and had other tricks to track him down specifically.
So when he finally had a chance to do so, he took it. He was becoming increasingly restless, and it took hours to get through all the paperwork once he had a chance.
He knew he screwed up because he had joined Seti and the others on what should have been a routine bandit-clearing mission, mostly to work out the kinks and use his sword again.
Feeling the poison coursing through his veins, there was little doubt that he was about to be busted by one party.
He woke up three days later, his mask off and he was in different clothes.
Seeing the expression on Seti's face, he knew that they had recognized him.
"How long was I out?" he asked.
"Three days, and your family has already discreetly made a stink about you being kidnapped again," said Seti equally calm.
Kalim grimaced.
"Great...which means they'll up the security again," he complained.
"Do you want to talk?"
"I wasn't kidding about my motivations for doing all this. The second my father finds out who I actually like, they'll disown me so fast it would make someone's head spin and likely cut me off completely," said Kalim. "That's why I've been building capital and trying to set things up so that the transition isn't so rough when it happens."
"And what about us?" said Seti.
"I didn't intend to end up with the Red Sands...but I've been taking the cut I get from our missions and investing them so that when one of you decides to retire you'll have a proper nest egg. I take care of my own," said Kalim.
"Prove it," said Seti.
Kalim borrowed a laptop, pulled up a few accounts and showed him. Seti recognized the bank routing number immediately...as they were his own. Suddenly the increase in their spending money made perfect sense.
Since the mercs had already seen his true face, he didn't bother to put the mask back on. At least, not yet.
It didn't take long for the mayor and the other high officials to meet him and the Red Sands together.
"So...you are the current Heir of the Al Asim," said Mahado.
"Only because my parents have no idea of my preferences," said Kalim easily. "If anyone asks, tell them that your lord is Kalim Gryffin."
"Not Al Asim?" said Seti.
Kalim shook his head.
"Anything I try to create under my real name would give them a chance to try and claim it from me. That's the main reason I put on the mask and hid my identity under a pseudonym. I have to establish myself under my own influence," explained Kalim.
"Why?"
"You think the lawyers they have are vicious? The Al Asim specialize in really nasty curses, and they aren't shy about using them," said Kalim. "While I could handle the majority of them no problem, most people have limited to no defense against the nastier ones."
His preparations were almost complete. It wouldn't be long now before his family found out.
The next night...
Seti observed his Lord with interest. The moment the Al Asim entered the meet-up point, Kalim went from a serious, driven young man to a happy-go-lucky creature that played the part of the spoiled pet perfectly. His clueless act was almost painful to watch.
However, it did provide some major clues to why he had gone so far as to hide his identity and turn into the Gryffin on the side.
Seti observed this "Jamil", who was Kalim's personal servant. It took exactly five minutes to understand exactly what Kalim had meant by his family disowning him in a heartbeat.
Nobility rarely liked it when their heirs dated the servants after all. Good on the kid for going the extra mile to follow his heart and being sensible about it.
Gryffin (and he was firmly distancing the two for now) wasn't afraid of hard work or getting his hands dirty. You didn't become a skilled curse-breaker by being squeamish after all.
Sometimes, the cure was worse than the curse.
The fondness in Kalim's eyes as he observed his servant spoke volumes. Seti had zero doubts on the lengths this young man would go to in order to protect his servant from his family's wrath.
It was almost a relief, knowing Jamil was far away from him. Kalim had to admit, it was easier on him because he didn't have to hide nearly as much. Most of the other servants were nowhere near as observant as Jamil, and didn't know how to pick up on the little queues he gave off that he was about to vanish for several hours.
That being said, having to hide like this was still incredibly annoying. Besides his family kept pressuring him to spend time with girls his own age since Jamil wasn't there to act as a buffer.
Which was why he was already filling out an application to the Royal Sword Academy. He wanted to give Jamil the space he clearly wanted and deserved. RSA was almost as prestigious as Night Raven Academy.
In retrospect, he should have anticipated that there was no way his father would allow him to attend a different school from Jamil, even if it was on the same island.
Jamil looked visibly pissed, but kept his silence when he was sorted into Scarabia with him, and ended up getting the Housewarden position in short order.
Some time later...
Kalim had to admit, he was enjoying himself. However he was not idle now that he was away from the watchful eyes of his family.
Jamil was beyond annoyed with him, as he kept trying to have feasts and parties any chance he could get away with. Considering he was usually stuck with organizing said events, Kalim could understand why.
However there was a method to his madness. Jamil was so busy organizing the events and cooking a separate meal for Kalim that he never bothered to look at the actual bill.
If he had, he would have immediately known something was off.
Kalim was embezzling money from his family's coffers with his unnecessary spending. He was so used to 'cleaning' the allowance he got as the heir through certain channels into new untraceable accounts that he didn't think twice about doing the same with the money he siphoned off from his spending.
It all played into the persona he had carefully created over the years, so it was unlikely anyone would find out the truth until it was much too late.
It didn't take long for his entire dorm to believe he was the cheerful, somewhat clueless but overall nice guy. If anything, Jamil carefully cultivated his capable servant persona, despite how it grated on him that he had to keep it up when had thought himself free of it for a time.
Kalim swore to make it up to him later.
Finally, Jamil snapped.
"Kalim, you can't keep holding all these feasts spur of the moment!"
Kalim patiently listened to Jamil scold him. He did deserve it after all.
Which was why he pointedly brought in someone who could help him lure an even bigger fish into his net.
There were a few ways to become a king, after all. One was to be born into it...but another was to be acknowledged by current royalty as a peer and equal, and being elevated from a previous noble status.
Kalim had the status as an Al Asim. They were of considerably high rank, and their money, power and influence were of high enough quality that they were considered almost equal to the actual royalty in the school. Even if their royal status had been dropped due to certain circumstances.
If he could convince the housewarden of Diasomnia and Savanaclaw into acknowledging his claim as one of their equals, then he would be able to establish his own family line and never have to worry about the Al Asim or their views on certain subjects.
Leona's first impression of the Al Asim brat...was that he was a fake. It wasn't something he could explain, but there was something about him that said the other male was hiding his true nature.
Something that came true when Kalim used Ruggie to drag him to a massive feast. The hyena was mostly oblivious to the subterfuge, but even he sensed there were ulterior motives.
There was a sharpness in Kalim's eyes that belayed his 'friendly' persona.
Leona destroyed the paper he found in his pocket after the feast was over. He waited patiently while all the others went to sleeps blissfully unaware of the meeting that was about to happen.
He wasn't disappointed, as Kalim appeared without warning in the Spelldrive stadium, well away from any witnesses.
Jamil, noticeably, was absent.
"What does the heir of the Al Asim family want with me?" asked Leona. This wasn't the lazy lion of Savanaclaw...this was Leona Kingscholar, second prince.
Kalim's 'friendly' persona was absent. There was a quiet sharpness that Leona approved of, and a conviction in his eyes most lacked. His gait held the steady grace of someone who had shed blood in battle, and his aura was that of a blooded warrior...and more than that, a predator.
"The Al Asim have nothing to do with this. Whatever comes of this meeting, it is for my benefit."
Leona recognized that sort of tone...it was the same disdain he generally held whenever he was reminded he was the lesser prince, all because he was the unwanted spare to the throne.
His interest was fully piqued now.
"How do I address you then?"
"I am Kalim the Gryffin," he replied. "And I'm here to see what lengths I'd have to go to get my kingdom officially recognized as legitimate."
Leona blinked, before a slow smirk filled his features.
"Why go to such trouble? The Al Asim are practically royalty to begin with."
"They also don't accept those that prefer their own gender...particularly if the other party is of a lesser standing," said Kalim bluntly. "If I am to be disowned for my preferences, then I'll do it on my terms."
It took three seconds to digest this, and to guess what the other male meant without going into damning details. The heir of the Al Asim was interested in his servant as a possible lover, but knew his family would never allow it...and yet was taking steps to go ahead with it anyway.
This was becoming very interesting.
"The better question is what can you offer me? I'll need something to give my brother to work with if you want to be acknowledged as a proper king," said Leona.
Kalim didn't even flinch.
"Does your family have any cursed objects? The kind that are too troublesome to undo, but too dangerous to allow outside the hands of the royal family?" asked Kalim.
Leona could think of three offhand, and the only reason they were left alone were because it wasn't worth the time, effort or expense to break the curse on them. But they were also far too dangerous to get rid of, so they were stuck with them. He could also think of certain areas that had a nasty curse on them that weren't worth the effort of dealing with properly.
"You offering to deal with them?"
Kalim's smile spoke of a quiet confidence.
"Tell your brother to send the details to the Red Sands mercenary group. Consider it a quid pro quo to further negotiations."
Farena was not only intrigued by the meeting, but also about the fact Leona might have met the infamous Gryffin.
You could imagine Leona's surprise when the cursed springs that had been causing trouble for longer than even his father had been alive were abruptly resolved after Farena sent the details to the Red Sands.
The cursed object that no one had been able to find or deal with was destroyed and the curse firmly dispelled by what could only be an expert. The fact that the Red Sands also brought food and clean water to the afflicted that would last them long enough to get them on their feet for a massive discount helped.
Leona wasn't surprised when Farena sent him an official royal missive to open proper negotiations with "the Gryffin Prince" about the possibility of further aide in dealing with curses.
It was a good thing Kalim was practically royalty already...it would make the transition a lot smoother since he had the training and background for it. And that was before one got into the funds. Cursebreaking tended to create a lot of revenue if you knew what you were doing, after all.