Dalliah continued to sign–Thea repeating aloud for Luin–as they finished their food, explaining that the two knights who had visited were those with skills that would allow them to cast a barrier of mana around the estate. They would be doing so as a precaution against whatever had done damage to the apartment. There wasn’t any certainty that anything dangerous would come to the estate, but the commander wasn’t taking any chances given what he had learned in the investigation. But the very fact that the commander had somehow gotten approval to use a barrier in the capital–something that the emperor himself would need to approve–was quite shocking.

It was a lot of information to take in, and Dalliah laid out the facts as blatantly and plainly as possible. Her thoughts and concerns beyond that were well hidden. Far from thinking that her mother didn’t care, Thea knew that this meant her mother was trying to let Thea make her own decisions and opinions on the matter.

Thea’s hands stalled in mid air as she paused signing back to her mother, letting them fall to her lap as she leaned back in the iron garden chair. Closing her eyes, she went over what she knew, both older events and new, and connections began clicking into place.

Suddenly, the lack of swords on the two knights made sense. They were mana knights, magi who had trained with both mana and a weapon of choice and been accepted into the Royal Knights–often by skill over pedigree but sometimes both. The fact that not one, but two of them were sent by the commander gave Thea a sick, nervous feeling in the pit of her stomach. Just one mana knight was a response that merited quite a bit of concern, but two?

There were so many holes in what she knew, and perhaps the commander was just being kind and overly cautious given that Thea was his partner’s sister and their family was valued by the emperor. But somehow, it didn’t feel like that was the case. The thought of buildings being damaged also stuck out in her mind until she realized that there had been two instances of similar damage in the past few days, not just one: her apartment and the clock tower. Both involved her family.

Could someone be targeting us?

But why now and not before when the clocktower was first being built, or even right after it was completed? It’d been over a decade since it was completed and dedicated to the imperial family. If any nobles or people in power resented or envied her family for its accomplishments, they surely wouldn’t have waited this long to strike a blow, right? This seemed to be something even beyond what the nobles would normally attempt, and she knew they could be quite the viper’s nest when something caught their attention.

A nagging thought started to form then, one she had wanted to push away. However, there was one new thing that had happened to their family–to Thea specifically–since a few days ago, and that was Luin coming to her library. He’d shown up the night after the clocktower incident. Thea had only read about it in the papers but hadn’t realized how serious it truly was until now. It wasn’t some quick repair job that her parents would take care of and be done with like she’d initially thought. And somehow, the destruction had spread, encompassing her apartment. She’d had the thought at the time that she took Luin home with her that he could have people after him. She simply didn’t know enough about his past to venture a guess. But even with a terrible past, wasn’t the destruction of a third of her apartment a bit much? And how was someone who mistreats a young boy powerful enough to do such damage and not get seen or caught? Was it some kind of dangerous skill?

The only piece not making sense to her about that last theory was that she had no clue how the damage at the clock tower tied in with the damage at her apartment, even if it did have something to do with Luin. Could he have deserted from a group of terrorists or something?

Thea glanced at Luin. He sat beside her with his head hanging so that what long hair had escaped his hair tie hid his face, his fork clenched tightly in his fist. Concern welled up in Thea. How bad were his feelings that they’d shown through despite his usual control?

Could it be that he’s worried that something will harm me or harm my family because of him? Or is he now worrying that with trouble on our doorstep, I’ll wash my hands of him? Thea knew with certainty she didn’t think any of them would take a threat lying down, especially not with the commander already on the case, and neither did she plan on forsaking him just because of a threat. There was simply too much unknown at the moment, though the boy beside her might have some answers. However, she was hesitant to push him for those answers at the moment.

Thea forced her tense shoulders to relax. She looked at her mother, who watched and waited while sipping her tea. Thea had the feeling that her mother had had similar thoughts and was just waiting for Thea to piece together her own as well.

“Thanks for inviting us to lunch and updating me, Mother,” Thea signed and spoke aloud. “Please thank the commander for me as well. But, I think Luin and I will head back in. I think I have several letters to write and things to go over to settle my affairs if I’m to move back to the estate for a while.”

Dalliah smiled and nodded before signing, “I must head to the clock tower to assess the repairs and then to the palace to be there for the appointment for your father and I to meet with the emperor about it. We may be out late, so have supper with Darcin and don’t wait up.”

Thea swallowed hard, but put on a smile when she stood and held her hand out to Luin. “Let’s head inside, Luin. You wanted me to read those books, right?”

Luin’s head popped up, surprise in his eyes as if he had expected Thea to say something completely different. “O-okay,” he said, as he put his hand in hers before heading back into the manor.

Thea’s mind raced with all of the things she needed to take care of now that she’d be staying here for the foreseeable future, but she didn’t forget to think of asking one of the maids to bring some dessert to her rooms in a bit. I bet Luin has never eaten an eclair before, she thought, proud of herself. No one can be as worried with an eclair, some warm milk tea, and some books to read.

That went for both of them, of course.

***

Cyris passed the overcoat of his kight’s uniform to a butler as he entered the small palace that constituted the capital estate belonging to his father, Duke Hollendale. If one were to describe the estate in simple terms, it would be grand but hollow. Its often absent owner was a general and was rarely without work out in the various territories of the empire. And while two of the Hollendales resided here currently out of the five, there was no warmth to be found.

Cyris couldn’t help but compare this grand, ducal estate to the much smaller Chronwright estate. The differences were stark, and he was surprised he felt his family’s estate to be lacking in comparison. He had managed to relax some there, but rather than being able to lower his guard in his own home, he instinctively raised it.

Normally, he would pass only servants–or possibly no one at all–on his way to the suite of rooms that he’d used since he reached an age to attend the academy. However, his instincts as a knight had him on edge for some reason, and they didn’t disappoint. As he stepped onto the third-floor landing, a smooth, mocking voice that set his teeth on edge called out to him.

“The infamous, favored investigator for the emperor has been busy today, I hear. I would have thought you’d beg a room at the palace for the evening rather than crawl back home while the sun’s still out.”

Cyris turned, keeping his expression cold and blank. As exhausted as he was from work and from using his skill more times than he should back to back, he found it hard to keep his voice neutral though. “Yes, Brother. I have been quite busy. I have to both contact Father and rest, so why would I not use my own rooms? And as a knight, I cannot impose on His Majesty when my family estate is so close by no matter how favored I may be currently.”

Varcien Hollendale, Cyris’s older brother, sneered, his eyes narrowing as he approached. Cyris despised the fact, but Varcien and himself looked quite alike, both so similar to their father that there had been no question about their legitimacy. It was always disconcerting to see such similar eyes analyzing Cyris coldly ever since they were children, but at least now that Cyris had been training as a knight for so long, his frame was wider and more filled out than his brother’s, and he’d ended up being just a bit taller too–much to Varcien’s displeasure. Varcien was wiry by comparison, though no weakling in the grand scheme of things, and his eyes were deeper set and shadowed from both his occupation and habits.

“Sure, sure. Though perhaps you can spare a moment to tell your older brother how you managed to get the emperor to approve your use of not one, but two magus knights.” Varcien was close enough that Cyris could smell the tainted cigar on his brother’s breath, but though he attempted to tower over Cyris, their physical differences wouldn’t let him. Finally, he rocked back on his heels, giving up the posturing but not the conversation. “The palace is already abuzz. Did you call in some favors? Though, I can’t blame you for trying to get some special treatment for your buddy in the City Knights. Wouldn’t want him to think less of you for not being the Hollendale heir after all.”

Cyris took a step back. Now was not the time to engage with Varcien in this stupid tug-o-war that had been going on since they were both young. Varcien had the title of heir, political and financial power, as well as their father’s attention, but it was he who became bothered and aggressive whenever Cyris achieved anything for himself. It didn’t help that those achievements garnered more attention from their father, so Varcien’s jabs had only increased in frequency lately.

“The knight’s I’ve issued orders for aren’t just prizes to be handed around. They are going to do their jobs. And His Majesty wouldn’t approve their orders if there wasn’t a good reason for it, though I am not permitted to share that with you.” Cyris’s exhaustion kept his words flowing even though he should have kept quiet. “Or are you implying that His Majesty is in the habit of handing out the services of his top knights just to reward someone?” Cyris paused as Varcien’s face darkened, and managed to rein himself in. “I’m simply here to rest. You need not waste your precious time on me, Brother.”

Cyris turned and headed to his rooms before Varcien could retort. He knew he’d probably pay later when his brother got some sort of petty vengeance on him, but he was so worn thin that he could hardly spare a thought for that now.

Once in his rooms, he saw that a hot bath had already been drawn in case he wished to bathe before resting. It was still daylight, and there were still quite a few bells before sunset, so he opted for the bath. Though he could never fully relax in his father’s home, the hot water did a lot to wash the sweat and dirt from him as well as put him in more of a mindset to finally rest. Once out of the bath, he downed an elixir the knights often used when pushing their stamina in training or on missions. It would help him recover more while he rested than just rest alone.

He had an odd thought as he was pulled down into sleep. I wonder if I could persuade Tim to keep me as a guest for a while. It might help the investigation if I didn’t have to worry about Varcien, and I could be in place in case those creatures tracked down Luin or Thea.

Truthfully, he had no idea what being present for an attack would even accomplish, but it had to be better than simply showing up after everything was over. He nodded to himself just as the rest his body and mind needed caught up with him.