Nobody said anything.
There was nothing to say.
Everyone piled in fast Sir Vane taking the wheel without being asked, engine already running before the last door shut. The snow was still falling outside, hitting the windows in sheets.
In the back two separate problems on two sides.
Kiro had Himari. Judi on her other side. Both of them working rubbing her hands between theirs, fast and steady, trying to push warmth back into fingers that felt like they'd been left outside for hours. Liliana had already pulled her own jacket off and draped it over Himari without being asked, then found a tissue and was quietly, carefully cleaning the thin line of blood at the corner of her mouth.
She kept getting colder.
On Tyler's side Leo's hands were pressed firm against the bandage on Tyler's arm where the bite had torn through. Tyler's face was tight, jaw set, not making a sound. The color had left him completely.
The vehicle moved.
Nobody spoke.
From the front, Niel's voice cut through the silence already on his device, low and clipped.
"Be ready. Open the gates. Two injured one critical. Mana overuse."
A pause.
"I don't care. Have medical on standby. Now."
He didn't turn around.
But everyone heard it.
One critical.
Kiro's hands didn't stop moving.
She didn't understand what they were saying.
The voices were too blurred, the words not landing anywhere she could hold onto.
Then her neck.
Sharp. The sharpest thing she had felt all night. The seal flickering, sending pain through her like something electric and wrong.
Her eyes opened.
Just barely. Just for a second.
Someone tapping her cheek. Fast. Urgent. She couldn't see the face clearly just light and dark and the blur of someone very close.
Then a voice.
"Hima"
Low. Familiar. Frightened in a way she had never heard from that voice before.
She couldn't place it.
She tried.
Then everything went quiet again.
The gates were already open when they arrived the same large academy gates they'd left from, now lit up and waiting. Soldiers everywhere, more rigid than the ones at camp. Nobody had time to register how different everything felt they were moving too fast.
Tyler and Himari were taken inside immediately.
Kiro was through the door in seconds. He grabbed Niel by the arm and pulled him to the corner.
"Come here."
"What"
"Himari can't be treated here. Not with healing magic." His voice was low and fast. "She has a seal on her neck healing magic won't work on her. Manual treatment only. Don't let the healers near her with magic. Not yet."
Niel's hand went to his temple.
"Damn it." Quiet. Controlled. Both the frustration and the worry there at once. "What do we do."
"Give me a contact device. I know someone who can help her. Just keep the healers back no magic on her. Fast."
Niel was back at the corner in seconds. He pressed the device into Kiro's hand without a word.
"Fast," he said, and went inside.
Kiro was already dialing.
Once. No answer.
He called Shouta.
It picked up on the second ring.
"Hello?"
"Shouta. It's Kiro."
"Kiro? What"
"Can you come here with your father. Right now." He gave the address, fast and clean. "Use transportation magic. It's an emergency."
"What happened.."
"I'll explain when you get here. Just come fast. Ask Lune to use transportation magic if you can't manage it yourself. Please."
A beat of silence.
"Give us ten minutes," Shouta said.
The line went dead.
Kiro lowered the device.
Ten minutes.
He went inside.
The room was already tense. Two healers standing there looking confused, Niel blocking their path with the particular energy of someone trying to be diplomatic while absolutely not moving.
Niel glanced up the moment Kiro walked in. Raised an eyebrow.
Kiro gave a single nod toward the back of the room.
They're coming.
Niel's shoulders dropped half an inch. He turned back to the healers.
"Manual treatment only for now. No healing magic until further notice. That's an order."
The healers exchanged a look.
"Sir, her temperature is critically low standard procedure would be"
"I understand standard procedure. Warm compress, blankets, monitor vitals. That's all for now."
Nobody argued with that voice.
Kiro stood at the door and waited.
They arrived in under ten minutes.
Nobody stopped them ,nobody really registered them walking in, everyone too focused on the chaos of the room. But the tension on both their faces was clear the moment they stepped through.
Kiro met them at the door.
"Sir." He looked at Dr. Sakamura directly. "It's Himari. The girl you treated before. She's injured again ., please, come with me."
Dr. Sakamura didn't ask questions. He just followed.
He stepped into the room and stopped.
Took one look at her.
"What happened to her." Not accusatory just someone doing a rapid assessment and needing information fast. He looked at Kiro. "She's quite critical."
He turned and noticed Niel standing in the corner for the first time. Didn't stop to address him.
"You two" he said to the healers already in the room, moving toward Himari. He listed what he needed, quick and precise. They ran.
"Shouta. Have everyone leave the room."
Shouta turned immediately. "Everyone out please. Now."
The hallway was quiet in the way that felt wrong.
Kiro stood against the wall, arms crossed, foot tapping against the floor — steady, continuous, the only thing giving away what was happening underneath the surface.
Liliana sat on the bench across from him. Not speaking. Just there.
Tyler was in another room down the hall, being treated separately. Leo had gone with him. Niel had been called away higher up, something urgent, Judi already handling the official side of things.
Just Kiro and Liliana.
The door stayed closed.
Kiro's foot didn't stop.
Liliana looked at him once, then looked away. There was nothing useful to say and she was smart enough to know it.
So they waited.
The door opened.
Kiro was across the hallway before Shouta had fully stepped out.
"How is she."
Shouta looked at him steadily. "First tell me what cold region was she in? Her body temperature is critically low. That kind of drop doesn't just come from magic overuse alone the environment made it worse."
Kiro answered immediately the location, the temperature, the snowfall, how long they were out there.
Shouta listened without interrupting.
"And the magic usage?" he asked. "How many times?"
"Three. Wind magic. Consecutive. With the seal still active."
Shouta exhaled through his nose. "That's why. The seal restricts her magic output but doesn't stop the physical cost. Every time she pushed through it her body paid the difference. Combined with the cold" he stopped. "My father is stabilizing her. She's not in immediate danger anymore. But she needs time."
Kiro said nothing.
Just stood there.
Foot finally still.
"And don't worry," Shouta added. "Himari is going to stabilize. The worst is over."
Kiro leaned back against the wall.
Nodded once.
Liliana, still on the bench, exhaled quietly.
"Wow." Liliana's voice broke the silence. "What a surprise. I never thought I'd end up meeting His Highness face to face let alone working with his daughter."
She looked at Kiro sideways.
"By the way as far as I know, His Highness only has two daughters. Which one is she?"
Kiro looked at her.
Head to toe. One slow, unimpressed look.
Said nothing.
Turned and walked straight into Himari's room.
Liliana stood there.
Just her and Shouta now.
She looked at Shouta.
"...So," she said.
"Your information is incomplete, Miss. His Highness has three daughters. She's the third one."
Liliana stared at him. "...Third."
"Third," Shouta confirmed.
She looked at the closed door.
Everything suddenly made a lot more sense and somehow also much less sense at the same time.
"That's not my fault then," she said. "If the information out there is incomplete." She looked at him. "By the way what's your name?"
"Shouta Sakamoto. Healing magic student. Arthford Academy."
"Arthford? So you know her from there?"
"Yes."
She nodded slowly. "Small world."
Shouta looked around. "Where's the other injured one?"
"Follow me." Liliana was already walking. "I almost forgot about Tyler — come on."
Inside the room, Igarashi slipped in behind Dr. Sakamura.
He looked at her lying there. Then at the doctor.
"Is she really okay?"
Dr. Sakamoto was quiet for a moment.
"She's stable," he said. "But her body is getting weaker from the inside. The seal on her neck it's been constantly snatching her magic. Every time she uses it, every time it reacts her body pays the price. It's been accumulating."
Igarashi looked at her.
Something quiet and heavy settled on his face.
"Not more than a month," Dr. Sakamoto said quietly. "I can't sugarcoat it or give false hope."
"But there must be a solution," Kiro said from where he stood. "There has to be a way to remove the seal."
Dr. Sakamoto looked at him steadily. "Kiro. She is His Highness's daughter. If the royal physicians couldn't remove that seal what do you think we can do?"
Silence.
Kiro looked at Himari.
Then back at the doctor.
"Then we find whoever put it there," he said quietly. "And we make them remove it."
"We're taking her back to the estate," Igarashi said. "His Highness's orders. She's to remain there it's the safest place for her right now."
Kiro looked at him. Then at Himari. "And the seal?"
"His Highness is aware of the situation. Everything will be handled at the estate."
The door burst open.
Niel.
"She's going nowhere." His voice was tight, controlled only barely. "With whose permission? She isn't even fully conscious who decided this for her?"
Igarashi looked at him calmly. "His Highness "
"She told me herself she doesn't want to go back. I was there. She said it directly."
"Could you be silent for one second."
Kiro's voice. Flat. Quiet.
Everyone looked at him.
He was still looking at Himari.
"She's not awake," he said. "So right now nobody decides anything. When she wakes up she decides. Not her father. Not you."
He looked at Niel.
"Not you either."
Silence.
The first thing she registered was voices.
Too many of them. Overlapping. Someone saying her name. Someone else cutting them off.
Then the ceiling.
White. Unfamiliar.
She blinked. Once. Twice.
Her body felt like it had been wrung out and put back wrong heavy, slow, every muscle protesting even the small movement of turning her head.
But she turned it anyway.
And found the entire room looking back at her.
Kiro. Niel. Igarashi. Dr. Sakamoto.
All of them mid-conversation. All of them now completely silent.
She looked at each face.
Then her eyes landed on the two familiar ones.
"...Is mom here?"
Just that. Small. Fast. Like she needed to know before anything else.
The room went quiet in a specific way.
Igarashi stepped forward gently. "No, Madam. She is not here."
Something crossed Himari's face.
Gone before anyone could name it.
"Okay," she said.
Just okay. Flat. Like she'd expected it and was filing it away.
She looked back at the ceiling.
"Should I call Sir"
She shook her head. Small. Clear.
No.
Igarashi nodded quietly, accepting it without pushing.
"How are you feeling, dear?" Dr. Sakamura asked.
"I'm okay. Just a headache. And cold."
Dr. Sakamoto nodded, already checking her temperature. "That's expected. Your body went through quite a lot."
She looked down at her hands.
Bandaged. Still.
"...How bad was it," she said quietly.
"Nothing critically bad," Dr. Sakamoto said. "But you cannot use magic anymore."
He looked at her directly.
"I am serious, Himari."
"Not even a little?" she asked.
"No. Not even a little. Any further magic use with the seal active puts you in serious danger."
A knock on the door interrupted them.
The estate doctors filed in.
Igarashi looked at her gently. "Madam. Our doctors are here. You're going back to the estate."
She looked at them.
Pure flat annoyance.
"Can I invite my friends?" she said before Igarashi could continue. "One of them is also injured." She looked at Judi. "I'm right, aren't I, Sir Judi."
Igarashi opened his mouth,,
"And" she added before he could finish, "my father is quite generous. He would never say no to something like this." She looked at Igarashi directly. "You should ask him yourself, Mr. Igarashi."
Igarashi looked at her.
That specific look of someone who has watched this girl grow up and knows exactly what she's doing.
But couldn't argue with it.
A quiet smile crossed his face. Just barely.
"Very well then," he said. "You are all invited to rest at our estate for a few days."
She didn't argue about going.
One of the estate doctors moved to support her elbow.
She pulled her arm back.
"I can walk."
Flat. Sharp.
The doctor stepped back.
Igarashi slowed his pace slightly to match hers.
Her brain wouldn't stop.
Damn it. The staff. Every single one of them has already seen me like this. Silver hair, bandages, the whole disaster.
Ahh. I just want to get to my room.
And then Niel.
I actually thought he could handle my father. Give him one good reason and I'd never have to set foot back here. Him and his stupid ideas.
She looked up at the familiar ceiling of the Arthford residence.
Ahh. I'm standing here again.
The lounge was empty.
She'd half expected her mother.
Nobody.
She kept her eyes forward. Don't look at anyone. Just walk.
She made it as far as the living room before Igarashi's voice stopped her friends were coming, her father was coming, she couldn't disappear upstairs.
She sat down.
Then leaned toward Igarashi and said in the lowest voice she could manage
"Go to my room. Or send someone. Left side of the dressing table there's a brown contact case. Bring it to me as fast as possible."
Igarashi nodded once and slipped away.
She sat there.
Hands in her lap.
Eyes down.
Waiting.
"Himaaaa"
Oh no.
Rin.
She came in like a warm breeze that somehow also had opinions greeting the servants on her way through without breaking stride, crossing the room fast, sitting right beside her.
"Oh my what happened to you"
Her hands were already on Himari's face. Gentle. Checking every cut, every bandage.
"Himari, what have you done to your face"
Then her eyes dropped to the bandaged hands.
"Who did that." Very quiet. Very controlled. "Who did that to your hands?"
She didn't wait for an answer.
"Come on, get up not here, I'm taking you to your room" her hand was already on Himari's forehead. "You have a fever. And these clothes" she made a sound. "Could you at least give me a reply? Anything?"
Rin was already on her feet the moment she saw Igarashi coming down the stairs.
"What happened to Himari? How is she this injured? And where is father?"
Igarashi stopped calmly.
"Madam, please calm down. Sir is on his way. And we will also be having a few guests."
Rin blinked. "Guests?"
"Sir asked me to deliver this message as well could you please check the guest rooms are prepared."
She looked at Himari.
Then back at Igarashi with an expression that said very clearly I have about fifteen more questions.
"Fine," she said. Then pointed at Himari. "You. Don't move."
And went.
Himari looked at Igarashi.
He held out the contact case.
"Here. But you don't need to"
"Please." She was already opening it. "You know father doesn't like my eyes. Don't start."
She put them in quickly. Brown replacing red.
Then
"Could you send me a glass of warm water please."
"Anything else, Madam?"
She shook her head.
"How long do I have to sit here? Teleportation doesn't usually take this long."
"I'm not entirely sure what's keeping them."
"Oh. Okay. I'll wait then."
Igarashi gave a quiet instruction to one of the maids and slipped away.
And she was alone again.
The living room felt bigger when it was quiet like this. It always had.
The gates opened again.
A girl walked in, talking to the man beside her finishing something, efficient, unbothered. Then she was done, sent them outside with a word, and came in.
Himari saw the whole thing from the sofa and tried her best to look anywhere else.
Not possible.
She'd already been spotted.
The coat and bag went to the maid without breaking stride.
Then Aika came to Himari and sat down across from her.
"So." Her voice was smooth. Measured. "Madam is finally back."
She looked at Himari.
Taking in the bandages. The borrowed clothes.
"Yes, I'm back." Himari looked up at her. "Hello. Welcome home, you too."
Aika came closer.
"So. What new headache did you bring this time? Because seeing your condition" her eyes moved over everything, "it's clear you've kicked the bucket again, hmm?"
"Nothing much." A beat. "You look quite tired though. Have you had dinner? You should rest."
Aika looked at her.
The specific look of someone who has just watched their younger sister redirect an entire conversation about her own injuries back onto them.
"I'm fine," Aika said.
"Mm." Himari looked away.
"You should know father is coming"
Aika didn't finish.
She reached down and took Himari's arm.
"Get up. Eat something. You look quite miserable. We sent you to Arthford to study and you created a quiet mess. Come on."
"I don't want to. I'm tired"
"I know you." Aika's voice was flat. "The second you finish talking to father you're going to skip dinner entirely and disappear upstairs. So you eat first. Then talk. Come on."
"A few friends are coming too," she said. "I'm just waiting for them"
Aika raised both eyebrows.
Turned to one of the maids.
"Set the table for guests as well. They're in the annex let them know dinner is ready. And let father know too, he's with them."
She looked back at Himari.
"Now. Up."
Aika took her to freshen up ground floor room, not upstairs.
"Sit on the bed. Let me find you something to wear."
She went into the wardrobe.
Himari sat.
I just want to go away from here. They're already starting giving their way into my life, ruling everything. Am I a puppet?
She didn't have the energy to be angry.
She pressed the tears back down.
Not here. Not now.
A knock.
"Oh my, Miss Aika is back"
Rin stepped in, smile already on her face. Then it landed on Himari.
She must have just finished with the guest rooms.
The easy warmth between them as they greeted each other. Himari just watched.
"So how was your day?" Rin asked Aika. "And who are these guests?"
"Dining together apparently," Aika said from the wardrobe.
"Yes , father told me to come get you." Rin looked at Aika. "We're all eating together. Mother joined too."
She looked at Himari.
Hesitated.
"She's actually not feeling well," she said, keeping her voice casual. "Maybe she should rest"
She looked at Himari. "Is that okay?"
Himari nodded.
"Well okay." Aika held out a set of clothes. "But wear these at least. Change fast you look bagged."
Just changing clothes had taken everything she had left.
She came out and didn't make it further than the bed.
Just fell.
Face down. Into Aika's pillow. The soft pink cardigan, the loose cream pants, the fuzzy slippers all of it warm.
She closed her eyes.
Just for a second.
A knock.
She didn't move.
"Come in," she said into the pillow.
The maid barely had to knock twice.
"Madam. Sir has called for you."
She sat up.
"Okay."
She tried to stand.
Her legs had other ideas.
The maid was already there shoulder offered without making it a big moment.
Himari took it.
They walked.
Slowly.
Toward her father's study.
She kept her face composed.
Whatever was waiting behind that door she would walk in upright.
That much she could control.
The maid knocked.
Stepped aside.
Her duty ended there.
The study opened around her large, heavy, her father behind the long table on his chair. Niel and Kiro on the other side.
She looked at all three of them.
"Good evening."
Her father gestured.
"Sit down, Himari. We need to talk."
She looked at him.
"I'd rather stand, if"
He didn't reply.
Didn't even acknowledge she'd spoken.
Like her sentence hadn't happened at all.
She sat down.
He folded his hands on the table.
"Himari. I've been informed you went to the archive at Arthford."
"I just,"
He cut her off.
"Yes or no. Did you go there on your own will?"
"Yes."
"And did you offer to join this camp yourself?"
She nodded.
His voice sharpened slightly.
"Did you inform Professor Arata?"
She shook her head.
No.
He was quiet for a moment.
Controlling something.
Then
"Sir Niel."
He looked at Niel directly.
"I have no objection. In fact I'm glad. At least she's being of some use. Better if it's for the nation."
Not pride.
Not relief.
Just , utility.
Himari sat perfectly still.
Nobody in the room knew.
That was the thing.
She sat there with her face completely composed and inside something was breaking quietly into pieces.
Her own father.
Not one word of concern. Not one flicker
utility. Safety. Us.
"You can take her back as well." He said it simply. "I'm no longer involving myself in this matter. It's her own will. We will not intervene."
A pause.
"However. Do not disclose her identity publicly. Not in military circles. Not anywhere she might be connected to us. For our safety."
Not hers.
Ours.
She exhaled.
Got up.
"Did I say you could leave?"
She looked at him.
"Did I ask?" she said simply. "I'm sick. You're done asking questions. I'm leaving."
She paused at the door.
Turned back.
"I'm going to see mother. Don't stop me."
A beat.
"And I hope you understood what I meant."
She didn't wait for a response.
The door closed.
The study was silent.
Tsukihara looked at the door.
Said nothing.
Kiro looked at the table.
Niel looked straight ahead.
Nobody spoke.