The sound of running footsteps cut through a forest of tall trees.
Not a casual sound. Something urgent. Something moving fast.
The rain made everything sharper. Every impact of boot against wet earth, every snapped branch, every breath dragged in between strides. Rain at night, deep inside a forest where the canopy swallowed what little light the sky offered, had reduced Claire's visibility to almost nothing. The others around her were in no better condition.
She was running a support mission. Ard had gone ahead alone to eliminate a black-market organization, and the academy had sent her group after him. The reason was simple and alarming. He had left with no equipment. Only the sword at his hip.
That alone had been enough to worry the professors, Ard's closest acquaintances at the academy, and even Elisha herself.
Ragged breathing. Bodies soaked through by the rain. Night wind cutting between the trees. The darkness pressing in from every direction. Even Claire, who could by any reasonable measure be called strong, felt something cold in her chest that had nothing to do with her family's bloodline.
They did not ride horses. Horses would have been slower.
Eventually the trees thinned and a large compound came into view, its walls stretching high above the surrounding ground. The smell reached them before they were through the gates. Blood. Heavy and unmistakable, soaked into the air itself.
Claire pushed the thought down and went in. The others followed, hands on weapons, ready.
They were not ready.
The moment they stepped inside, every one of them stopped moving. Eyes wide. Pupils gone small. Their heads tilted upward, level with the moon.
But it was not the moon they were looking at.
Ard sat at the top of a mountain of bodies, lit by moonlight that had turned the color of rust. One eye burning red. The other black, with dark flame where the iris should have been. Both eyes fixed on Claire and the others standing frozen below.
His voice came out low and even, carrying across the silence without effort.
"Too late."
---
"That was genuinely terrifying."
"Yes. His eyes, his expression, the blood on him, all of it. The entire place had been torn apart, and the bodies." Claire set her utensils down. "At that point, he was not even particularly skilled in magic."
Around the cafeteria table, the reactions were varied. Anna swallowed, a thin line of sweat at her temple. Tesslon and Luna had found each other's arms without meaning to, both of them trembling slightly. Rena said nothing, sweat at her cheek, her brow drawn together.
Different expressions. One shared conclusion.
"Professor Ard is genuinely terrifying."
"What happened after?"
"Nothing worth mentioning. He came back with us to the academy and shut himself in his room."
"Not only magic, but swordsmanship too! Professor Ard~"
Tesslon leaned toward Sai and dropped his voice to what he probably thought was a whisper. His eyes were on Viona, whose face had gone a particular shade of red.
"Is she alright?"
"I think she has contracted something," Sai said flatly.
"What?! Will we catch it too—"
Luna's elbow connected with Tesslon's stomach before he could finish.
"You muscle-brained idiot, keep your voice down."
"A-alright, alright. Everyone just keep eating." Rena said it with a smile that was doing a lot of work, and the table settled enough for Luna to sit back down.
"Claire." Anna's voice was quiet.
"What."
"Do you hate Professor Ard?"
"I do not know what you are looking for. I was upset earlier. But that was also my fault for starting it."
"Oh, come on~" Anna looked at her with a smile that did not quite fit the moment. "Would you not want to... return the favor?"
Silence.
"Come on, do not be so tense~ I am only asking."
"I understand exactly what you are feeling. The rivalry is obvious. But do not drag me into your family's business, Anna."
Anna's expression shifted. She watched Claire stand, gather her things, and straighten up.
"Also," Claire said, not quite turning around. "Look at the room before you speak. If you want to die, do not bring me into it." She walked away from the table. "How foolish."
"Wait, Claire!" Viona was already on her feet, following.
"H-hey! Viona, wait for me!" Sai went after Viona.
"Hey, muscle brain. Want to spar?"
"H-huh? Sure, but I will hold back since you are a girl." That was what Tesslon and Luna said. Neither of them was actually thinking about sparring.
The students at the surrounding tables had been watching since Anna asked her question. That alone was the kind of thing that could ignite a conflict. Personal rivalries compounded by family ones, and the name Ventias sitting at the center of all of it.
Inside the academy, there were students from families with existing ties to the Ventias house. Others had none, but information spread, and information about Ventias reached parents, and parents with any sense knew what a connection to one of the empire's strongest houses was worth. More than a decade of tax revenue, easily.
Anna felt the eyes. She felt the whispers. Between that and Claire, the irritation became too much. She stood and left.
That left Rena alone at the table.
She did not move. She only watched Anna go, wearing that same quiet smile, the one that gave nothing away and took in everything.
---
A nameplate sat on the desk near the window.
Ard Le Ventias.
Sunlight came through the glass and landed across a pile of papers that had not been touched yet. The man sitting behind them had his forehead pressed against the desk, exhaling slowly and at length.
"Did something happen?"
"Yes," Ard said into the wood. "I have no energy left to do anything."
"You are being dramatic as usual. You taught two classes and spent some time with Saintess Tiffany."
"That is precisely the problem. Teaching alone I could have survived. But listening to Tiffany talk drained every last thing I had."
"You really do go out of your way to avoid the Saintess."
"I avoid her talking. Those are different things." Ard lifted his head and looked up properly for the first time. "More importantly. Why are you here."
Standing near the door was a woman with black hair pulled into a ponytail, wearing a maid's uniform with the kind of precision that suggested it was both professional and functional. She wore glasses, and had a small beauty mark just below her lip.
Her name was Lutra.
"I am your personal maid. Where you go, I go."
"That is not how academies work. Personal attendants are not permitted unless there are special circumstances. And what exactly do you mean by personal maid."
"I spoke with the Headmaster."
'Elisha?'
"She granted permission. I am now officially registered as Professor Ard's assistant." Lutra produced a badge that confirmed exactly what she had said.
"How did you manage that?"
"Women's secret."
Ard was briefly annoyed, then decided it did not matter and moved on.
"I am glad to have you as my assistant. Several things I can hand off to you now. But you still have not answered my question about the personal maid part."
"Miss Anna appears to be planning something concerning you."
"How do you kno, ah. Never mind."
'She looks like a maid. That is the point. In reality she is exceptionally skilled at infiltration and information gathering. Her intelligence is always accurate. Which is exactly why I chose her.'
"I also heard a rumor." Lutra relayed what she had overheard, Claire's account of Ard going alone on the mission with nothing but his sword.
Ard made a sound somewhere between a laugh and a grimace.
'That is not how it was. I went alone because I was very hungry and I wanted to finish quickly. And when I shut myself in my room afterward it was because I had eaten a large meal, felt tired, and slept through the entire day.'
"I do not particularly care about that. You still have not answered my question."
"You are being summoned by the Headmaster for a faculty meeting in the instructors' hall. Immediately. Now."
"That can wait. You have not answered—"
"I have been called by an acquaintance. Please excuse me." Lutra vanished. Not walked away. Vanished.
"Hey! You have not answered my question!"
There was no presence left to answer him.
Ard sat in the silence she had left behind and pressed a hand to his face.
"That woman."
* * *