"I don't mean to be pushy, but ever since you enrolled in the White Griffon, you have done a great service to the Kingdom and have been paid accordingly. Why this sudden change of heart?" Marchioness Distar asked.

"Who has offered her heart, body, and soul to the Kingdom more than Phloria Ernas?" Lith's voice was stone cold. "Yet it didn't save her from suffering an unjust fate. She's still just a Captain, isn't she?"

"Yours is a rash judgment. Nothing has been decided and she could be acquitted at any time." The Marchioness was now on shaky ground.

Phloria's still ongoing trial was a sour note that all the friends and the enemies of the Ernas played constantly. The former demanded acquittal and an apology, while the latter demanded an exemplary punishment.

"A trial that should not have even started and yet in a few months it will become one year old. If politics can push a family as powerful as the Ernas to such a degree, I'd rather stay out of it before it turns my blessings into curses. How is Brinja?" Lith asked.

In the Griffon Kingdom's social circles, asking about a relative was the polite way to put an end to a discussion. The Marchioness caught his drift and moved the conversation to less controversial topics, like the development of Lustria county.

"Care to join us, Trequill?" She had noticed for a while the excitable man waiting for the right moment chime in. The future of the Kingdom or of a Great Mage were out of the reach of a countryside noble.

"With pleasure, dear Marchioness." Count Lark literally jumped at the occasion, making his monocle pop out of the eye socket.

Count Lark hadn't changed much since the last time Lith had seen him in person. He was in his late fifties, around 1,83 meters (6') tall with a thin build, that made him appear even taller.

The Count had thick black hair with streaks of grey and a short-trimmed goatee. His inseparable black-rimmed monocle was attached to his breast pocket with a blue silk string.

"How are things going for the Lark family, dear Count?" Lith said while they shook hands.

"They could go much better." Lark sighed. Looking at how Lith had become as tall as he was and thinking about his achievements, Lark regretted the rumors about Raaz being his illegitimate son being lies. "Thank the gods we had three Rangers this winter.

"The problem is not the undead, but the panic they cause. Everyone who died during the last few months had their corpse decapitated and a few villages have been decimated due to violent cases of mass hysteria."

"It's the same everywhere." Lith shrugged. "In the north, a traveler who reached a village at night wouldn't live to see the day. People were so scared that they would mercilessly kill any stranger knocking at their doors.

"How are Jadon and Kelya doing?"

"Great, just great. Maybe too much. After acquiring the assets of my late wife, I let them rule one county each while I supervised their work. Our counties developed so much that my children almost didn't attend their own marriages.

"Never become a feudal lord, dear Lith. It sucks the soul out of you." Lark said before noticing the Marchioness glaring at him.

"Hi, Lith. Where have you been? We all missed you at the White Griffon academy." A gentle hand tapped his shoulder, prompting him to turn around.

"Professor Wanemyre, I thought you hated social events. Meeting you here is such a pleasant surprise." Lith gave her a bow and a hand-kissing.

Lyca Wanemyre was one of his favorite Professors and the woman who had taught him all he knew about Forgemastering.

She was a woman in her mid-thirties, 1.65 meters (5'5") tall, with waist-long black hair with shades of red held up. She was wearing an evening dress and gloves that highlighted her long and nimble fingers.

Not even the puffy fabric could hide her soft, luscious curves. It was one of the rare occasions where Professor Wanemyre would use make-up, making her lovely heart-shaped face stand out and appear younger than her age.

Before Nalear's betrayal, Wanemyre had a calm and composed attitude, but after being possessed by a slave ring, she had become paranoid and cold. Wanemyre had stopped trusting people, living as a recluse for over two years.

During his time as Assistant Professor, Lith had been the liaison between her private quarters and the outside world. He had taken care of both the theoretical and practical Forgemastering lessons while she struggled with the post-traumatic stress disorder caused by Nalear's orders.

"This is actually the first time I get out of the White Griffon ever since the… accident." Her eyes became veiled for a split second while the ghosts of the past tried to drag her back into her personal hell.

Wanemyre took a deep breath and regained her focus.

"You never call, never visit so I thought that meeting my favorite student was the perfect occasion to see how rusty my social skills are. Are you sure you don't want to become a Royal Forgemaster? I would be glad to have you as my pupil again."

Lyca Wanemyre was one of the youngest and most talented Royal Forgemasters of her generation. It was one of the reasons why the late Headmaster Linjos had made her a Professor despite the fact that she was of commoner origins and had no backers.

Even her actions during Nalear's betrayal didn't affect Wanemyre's skill or reputation. Lith had considered asking her help to learn Runesmithing after Orion had declined his request, but the price the Kingdom asked was too steep.

During the evening Lith met Professor Vastor and Headmaster Marth, who were flabbergasted learning that Rena's child had survived.

"If you found Manohar, not revealing his position is an act of treason." Marth said, half-joking and half-serious.

"If I did, I would deliver him to you in a body bag." Lith said with a dead-serious voice. "It was my mentor saving the kid. She's an incredible Healer and an even more amazing person."

Vastor was trying to have Lith promise that he would introduce such a genius to them when his father, Raaz, interrupted their chit-chat.

"I'm sorry, Professors, but I need to steal my son for a while. It's a minor family matter that still requires his attention. We'll be right back." Raaz was many things but a good liar wasn't among them.

Everyone understood that something was wrong, but pretended to not notice and didn't ask questions. For a moment Lith feared that something might had happened to Falco, but he caught a glimpse of Rena amiably talking with Quylla.

There was no force on Mogar that could keep Rena away from her son if he so much as sneezed so it had to be something else. Raaz led Lith to a servants' passage and then to a secret opening in the wall.

Lith found himself inside a hidden living room, without no windows nor doors except that through which he had entered. The entire room was made of solid stone and so heavily enchanted that Lith could feel the hair on his neck standing up.

The room was furnished only with a long oval table and many padded wooden chairs. There was no light source except for the magical gemstones embedded into the walls, giving the place an even claustrophobic look.

It was the perfect place for torturers and conspirators so Lith was surprised when he noticed that the person waiting for him was Orion and not Jirni.