"Where… could Van be?"

"You kids should go back to your dorms. I will be fine"

​​

"No, we will stay here with you, Miss Andrea. At least until Van returns"

Beatrice could not help but click her tongue as she walked to the door, trying to see if Van had arrived. But alas, there was still no sign of Van, not even a shadow. "Where could that idiot be!?", Beatrice adjusted her glasses, a huge frown plastered on her face.

The guards and the healer have already come and go, and yet Van still has not returned. The city guards were now scouring the nearby areas for anyone who matched the description that Andrea gave them.

Beatrice was about to go back inside, but then a loud flapping noise entered her ears and her long hair waved in the air as a gust of wind hit her in the face.

"What…", Beatrice could not help but hold her glasses as she stared at the creature that suddenly landed in front of the house. She almost activated some of her skills, but when she realized that someone was mounted on the creature, she quickly squinted her eyes to see who it was.

"This… a pegasus?", Beatrice blinked a couple of times. The woman that was riding on the pegasus quickly jumped down and ran past her, going straight inside.

"Andrea!?", she shouted as she entered the house.

"S… Sarah?", Andrea could not help but stand up as she saw Sarah suddenly barging inside the living room. "What… are you doing here?"

"Are you okay!?", Sarah quickly hugged Andrea and checked on her condition, gently grabbing her shoulders as she scanned her from head to toe.

"I… I'm fine", Andrea awkwardly chuckled, "All of you should stop exaggerating…", Andrea said. She then turned her head to the side, lightly biting her lip.

"Sorry… I said I would take care of the house but…"

"It doesn't matter", Sarah quickly shook her head. "These things could be replaced"

"But your sister's clothes...", Andrea whispered, "They burned all of it"

"...", hearing Andrea's words, Sarah's eyebrows slightly twitched but quickly returned to normal as she smiled at Andrea, "It's… alright", she shook her head. She then looked towards Beatrice and Harvey, who were staring at her with very curious expressions.

"Students?", Sarah tilted her head, "Where's... Evans?", she could not help ask when she realized that Van was not in the room.

"That…", Andrea once again bit her lip, she then looked towards Beatrice and told her to go home. Beatrice and Harvey insisted to stay, but Andrea winked at Beatrice, telling her that she would be alright since she already had someone staying with her.

Harvey was going to insist more, but when Beatrice realized what Sarah was to Andrea, she quickly pulled Harvey away.

"W… what!?", Harvey stuttered, "I thought we were going to stay with Andrea!?"

"Sshh!", Beatrice covered Harvey's mouth as she forcefully pulled him out of the house, "We're going to go now, Miss Andrea", Beatrice bid her farewell, waving her hand before leaving the house and shutting the door closed.

"We'll try to find Van before we go back to the Academy, Andrea!"

Harvey let out one final shout before his voice completely faded away.

"..."

"Who did this to you?", Sarah asked as soon as the two were gone, her tone full of weight.

"It's not important", Andrea shook her head, "The city guards are already trying to find them"

"I will also have my men look into this"

"Please help in finding Evans instead!", Andrea waved her hand.

"Relax…", Sarah sighed, "Evans is already a young man, he knows what to do"

"That's just it!", Andrea's voice became louder, "He doesn't!"

"I'm not stupid, Sarah", Andrea stood up as she slightly backed away, "You know what I mean!"

"Andrea…"

"He killed his father!", Andrea closed her eyes, "There weren't any monsters, I was the one who found him!"

"...", Sarah didn't know what to say as she looked at Andrea. She couldn't help but let out a deep breath as she remembered her conversation with one of her men. That Van was just one bad day away from doing something drastic.

***

The night passed and Beatrice and Harvey were already in their class. The both of them could only stare at Van's empty desk, wondering where on earth he could possibly be. Harvey checked Van's house before going to class, but alas, he still wasn't home.

Victoria also could not help but squint her eyes as she realized that her seat neighbor still was not in his seat. This was the first time that Van wasn't present in class.

She then looked towards Harvey and Beatrice, as if asking where Van was, but they could only shrug their shoulders and shake heads in response.

The day fleeted and all of their classes were over, and yet, Van still did not attend the class.

"Let's visit his house", Harvey approached Beatrice, "Maybe he's already there?", he said, his tone filled with concern.

"Hm", Beatrice fixed her glasses as she nodded.

But before the two could leave the classroom, Victoria walked towards them, "Can I come?", she muttered in a weak voice.

"That…", Beatrice and Harvey could not help but look at each other. The situation in Van's house right now was a bit complicated. But seeing as Van seems to have befriended Victoria without them knowing, then they might as well let her tag along.

As the three were walking outside, they couldn't help but notice the influx of students that seemed to be in a rush. Is there… something happening? The three could not help but look at each other.

The three decided not to see what the commotion was about since they still needed to check if Van was already in the house, but as they reached near the Academy gates, Harvey's eyes could not help but widen.

His brother, Gerald, was currently sitting on the ground, his expression slightly snarling as he stared in a certain direction. Harvey couldn't see clearly who he was looking at since there were a lot of people surrounding him, but then, his eyes widened even further as he saw the target of Gerald's scornful stares.

It was Van, not wearing his uniform but instead wearing rags.

This…

...What is happening?