I Just Wanted to Nap, But They Built Me a Religion

Ezrel Dormir sat on the sofa in the living room like a man preparing for war. Legs crossed. Elbow perched on the armrest. His chin rested heavily on his hand. His face frowned..

He had not moved in even an inch for twenty minutes.

He was thinking.

Or rather panicking.

"Why...."

"Why... I should go to school again?" he muttered.

He leaned back and stared at the ceiling. The chandelier above him swayed slightly. A maid had opened the window and served a glass of water earlier to help him calm down.

"I'm already an adult… spiritually. Even mentally. Morally. So...why would I...."

He paused. Eyes squinted. Sighed.

"No. Why would they send me there?"

---

Flashback:

It had started the day before. A simple evening. Nothing suspicious. Until he passed the study hall.

His parents didn't notice he was walking by.

"Looks like he'll attend the academy in another two years," said Lord Dormir casually, balancing a book on one arm and scribbling notes with the other.

"Yes," his mother replied. "He's grown fast. He'll need to prepare for court life. Friends. Connections."

"His journey will be hard for others but not for him".

Ezrel, standing halfway down the stairs with a piece of jammed toast in hand, stopped walking.

He blinked.

Shit..

Academy?

School??

The toast in his mouth slid slightly.

Friends?

His pulse actually slowed.

They were serious.

---

Back in the present, he groaned and dragged a throw pillow over his face.

"I already lived through that nightmare."

---

He remembered the essays. The lectures. The classmate debates that turned into passive-aggressive facts and reasoning duels.

He had taken ethics classes from men who take bribes from many businessmen.

He had once failed a class for too much personal understanding and thought.

He had spent his entire youth escaping this cycle.

A few days without sleep. Days accompanied by coffee.

A surprise exam.

He has already done with all that.

Totally done.

And now?

He'd have to do it again.

"A second school life is too much for anyone…"

---

He sat up and stared at the cabinet in the living room.

There was his parents' picture from the school era. Both of them look happy in the picture.

Face filled with a smile. A raised up hand and while wearing a black school uniform.

He stares at it for few minutes, and slumped back again.

---

Milia passed by the doorway carrying a basket of new books. She paused, concerned.

"Young master… are you sick..?"

"Do you have a stomachache or fever.??" Said Milia worryingly while placed her hand again Ezrel forehead to check his body temperature.

"Yes...I'm cursed."

"Aaaah," she nodded solemnly. "A new divine revelation from you?"

"Worse. Parental ambition."

---

✦ Lysette's Room

Lysette sat on her bed brushing her hair. A book titled Noble Conduct in Scholarly Courtship lay open beside her.

She whispered:

"Two years isn't long."

Her ribbon charm pulsed faintly.

"If he must go, I'll go too."

"But now the question is how."

"They only accept 16 years old as a new student "

With a smile, she picked up a needle and added another loop to the thread stitched under her sleeve.

---

After a day of thinking now there already a new surprise for Ezrel.

In the west living room, Lord Dormir stood up beside a table full of wine, speaking with unshakable pride to a robed official bearing the crest of the Royal Academy.

"Of course.."

"Its only natural if my son attend the school .. We already reached a same voice about it and the decision has been made."

The official bowed respectfully. "It is an honor sir. Even if there another two more years, we've already begun preparations for his enrollment. We are considering to build a new wing, perhaps. Something worthy of his station."

Lord Dormir's eyes lit up. "Call it the Sanctum of brilliance. Or maybe the Eternal Annex. Something with weight. Something... blessed."

The official nodded again, carefully noting it down. "Of course. The royal architects will consult with the priest and recheck whether it will be suitable for it."

Outside the drawing room, Ezrel passed by his movement quiet, drifting, even while holding a teacup in hand.

He paused just long enough to hear:

Sanctum of brilliance.

He didn't blink. He didn't sigh. He just walked on.

But under his breath

"Sanctum of my ass."

"If you love me just give me a rest ".