Queen Levina’s eyes narrowed when I mentioned using that room. As a queen candidate I knew of a room that the queens use when they need to have a particularly secret interrogation and enemies are in the castle. It was a room that had not been used for a few generations since it was strictly for national emergencies.

“Your story had best be worth it,” she warned.

We were led deep into the castle, then behind a tapestry of the first queen, through a dark stairwell into an underground tunnel. However, even I wasn’t prepared for what I would see when they opened the door to the queen’s interrogation room.

In the center of the room was a condensed ball of pure magic, but the moment we opened the door it started sparking angrily as it tried to escape the containment field and break free.

“So this is where he has been storing it,” I breathed.

“You know something about this?” Queen Levina asked in a cold tone.

I had no choice but to nod and began explaining the situation. What Rosalind had told me, what Alvis had told me, what we had witnessed, and our task. Alois broke in and helped explain the parts he was there for and his own experience with the traitorous headmaster.

“Do you have any idea how serious your claims are if they are true?” she asked, then glanced at the sphere of magic, “No, you do, or else you wouldn’t have asked for this room. However, it seems our lack of upkeep has allowed others to use it as they please.”

“The head magician will be in grave danger if we don’t prepare,” Alois pressed, “It doesn’t matter if you believe us or not. Just left us warn him at least.”

Queen Levina sighed, “At the very least he should know if the one you spoke to was truly the first headmaster,” she agreed, “and based on your story he already had his own suspicions of Osmond.”

I looked back at the sphere of magic. “Should we call him here?”

“No need. I can take care of this myself,” Levina replied, “I only need to release it from its restraints.”

Queen Levina carefully undid the spell tying the magic there, and the sphere instantly dispersed out the open door.

“Incredible,” I whispered. Not just the skill, but the regality in which she dealt with the situation.

The queen smiled. “Follow me. I know of a shortcut to Reginald’s office.”

The underground tunnels had connections to each of the important offices in case of an emergency, but I had never been down here before so I did not know where. As we followed the queen I looked around with excitement.

We took a stairwell up a winding tunnel and emerged at the head magician’s main office. Luckily he was in and alone at the moment. Unfortunately, he was in the middle of some sort of complex magic experiment.

Queen Levina patiently waited until he was done before calling his attention. “Reginald, you might want to hear what these two students have to say to you.”

Head Magician Reginald looked over and saw me first. “Cassandra?” he asked, then paused on Alois with a frown, “The kid who kept stealing my favorite glass vials.”

“Actually, I was hired by your coworkers to sneak in occasionally and put your tools away,” Alois corrected, “It seemed interesting so I agreed.”

Reginald frowned. “What is it you wanted to tell me about?”

I once again recited the story, but it was a bit more scrambled this time because I kept trying to start at the end. Reginald listened to all of it thoughtfully.

“What did Alvis look like?” he asked.

“Long black hair, glasses, and a butler’s uniform. He gave of the impression of that one librarian who always seems to know all your secrets,” I described.

He nodded. “It was the founding headmaster,” he confirmed, “Did he mention what we should do about it?”

“Only that we can’t do anything about Nobility and our teammates there until the three days are over. This is still only the first day,” I explained.

“Barely,” Alois added, looking at the sunset.

“In that case I have a suggestion,” Reginald proposed, “Levina, you should contact King Nero and make sure he keeps quiet. As for you two, you already met one founder. Perhaps you should meet the other. Try not to be disappointed. He is more than he seems at first glance.”

“We are going to meet the founding head magician?” I asked in surprise.

“Only if you want to, but this won’t be a fun visit. We will be asking for help with our current situation.”

“Of course,” I replied.