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After the Princess was saved, conspirators imprisoned, and a pat on the back for a job well done, Leo and Jacob were escorted back to the Academy, where they would ultimately attempt to catch up on some much needed sleep. However, no plan survives contact with the enemy, especially when that enemy has plans of their own.

Even if they were staying in two completely separate parts of the academy, both heard the blast. In the minds of many, an explosion simply meant Louise, so they tuckered back in for the night. Leo and Jacob, while aware of Louise's own mishaps, knew better in the long run. Louise didn't strike them as the type to return in the middle of the night just to blow something up, so they immediately set out.

Jacob and Leo followed the string of faculty that seemed to have the same line of reasoning as they had, ultimately making their way to the sources. The principal's office. A hole had been bored into the wall, more than enough to allow a man to pass through unhindered. Clearly, a break in. But where they after, and were they successful? At the moment, it was impossible to tell. Even Agnes had managed to make her return at some point, and at the moment she appeared to be talking to the principal.

The man himself was stroking his long, white beard, lost in thought. Regardless, things were already on a sour note. This was like the Floquet incident all over again.

"Professor!" Leo said, getting the attention of the balding middle age man. "Do you have any idea what's going on here?" Meanwhile, Jacob let out a yawn, rubbing his eyes tiredly. He was not used to having to get up in the middle of the night, let alone to investigate unknown explosions.

"No, I just got here myself," the man said, looking toward the room. Agnes and one of her lieutenants were standing besides the principal. The combined size of their bodies wasn't enough to obscure the blast's results. "It appears that a ruffian broke into the Headmaster's office." Leo merely frowned. There was a hope that with the ringleader captured, that the rest of the infiltrators, spies, and saboteurs would be forced underground, of not placed behind bars as well. It seems like they missed one. Though that didn't answer what this one sought, why they sought it, and what seeking it out would cause.

For it to be secured in such a location meant it was valuable. Something that should, needed, to be hard to acquire. One of the safest places to lock a valuable in. But that failed to explain anything else. Leo's eyes narrowed.

"Don't worry, everybody. It was only a minor incident," the old man said, turning around. Leo and Jacob's thoughts could be effectively summarized as bullcrap. In no way was this possibly a minor incident, nor was this something to be easily shrugged off.

"Everyone, return to your rooms," Agnes said, causing muttering to rise up from the small crowd that had gathered, which only seemed to annoy the leader of the Musketeers. "I ordered you all to leave. The Musketeer Corps will investigate the cause of the explosion. You are all dismissed."

While the muttering increased for a few seconds, everyone knew that crossing Agnes was a bad idea. Under any circumstances. What few of the young mages that lacked survival instincts were shown exactly where they were placed in the pecking order, and they served as an example.

"Expect for these two." Jacob groaned inwardly, and Leo resisted the urge to let out a sigh. There was no rest for the replacements, and certainly none from the weary.

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The room itself was dark, despite the hallway being full from the soft glow of magical candles. Most of the room looked like it was in perfect order, excluding the safe, which also had a hole in it, appearing to be carved out of it by fire.

"The ruffian broke in while I was gone and destroyed this safe," Old man Osman started. "However, my familiar was watching as events unfolded, so it came to get me." He whispered something to the small, white mouse on his shoulder.

"She was very nimble, and managed to get away in no time." the man continued, seeming reminisce on something as he picked up what looked like a stamp. Leo had no idea what he was thinking of, but it looked like one of those pervy old man looks that happened in anime.

"What was in the fault?" Jacob asked, officially curios. Money, gold, jewels, magical artifacts?

"The Wind Ruby and the Water Ruby. Queen Henrietta told me to hold onto them the other day," the old man said. Leo scowled. He had a passing awareness of what those were, of course. That also meant that all of them were about to be in so much trouble! But, nobody seemed to be freaking out. "She said they were precious items to her, but were too much of a pain to keep close by."

"You mean to say the thief thought the Wind and Water Rubies were in that vault, correct? After all, if they that valuable, and they were actually stolen, we would be tearing this place apart trying to find them, right?" Leo said, thinking hard on the matter. Something that valuable, things that clearly showed themselves to be easy enough to steal, then it made no sense to leave them in such a place. The only real reason would be to use fakes as bait, and keep the real ones someplace that you knew wouldn't be taken easily.

"Smart," Osmund nodded, stroking his white beard. Leo could pinpoint a slight smile between his whiskers.

"You mean the Rubies in the safe were fakes?" one of the Musketeers asked. Like the rest, her hair was short, but was blue, one of Halkgenia's more exotic colors. Leo made a mental note to keep any eye on her to the best of his ability. Hair that was abnormal by earth standards was a trait that all mages didn't have, but it wasn't a trait he had seen any commoners with, either. That combined with her reaction, already made him suspicious.

"The real ones aren't here. I forwarded them to a friend in Romania," the old man continued to nod. Jacob sighed, but Leo had to agree with the cleverness. Acting like the Rubies were in one place, while really in another was simply brilliant. Risky, if the person knew what they had ahold of, but by the time a thief managed to even get close enough to make an attempt, they would end up with broken cover, and nothing to show for it.

"Is it really all right to give Her Highness' precious items to a foreigner?" the bluenette asked.

"It's safer than keeping them at the Palace or at this Academy," Osmund responded. He was correct. Isabella had talked about how both had been infiltrated before.

"There were no signs of anybody escaping from or entering the campus," Agnes stated, stepping forward.

"Which means the thief is still on the premises, and the Rubies are still in their possession," Jacob finished. It looks like their work cutting off the enemy spy ring had it's advantages. "And seeing how magic was used to accomplish this, this makes any mage suspect." Jacob was correct on that one. But how perfect of a disguise would a mage pretending to be a commoner be?

He knew crime drama's, and how they worked their plot devices. Very rarely was the original suspect guilty. It was going to be someone, who, as far as they were aware, weren't mages in the first place. However, it was time to get this show on the road.

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"Out of all the places to mark a person, he has to do it there, What type of pervy old man throws a magical stamp at a person's chest, anyway?" Jacob seemed more than a bit irritated. Not from the outcome, but the fact their biggest clue was that the thief would have a magical sigil on one of their breasts. "There has got to be an easier way to accomplish this!"

Leo agreed, with both sentiments. That stamp would only confirm the identity, but it couldn't be the base of their investigation. If it was, then they were stepping on an ethical landmine that will and should get them killed.

"Correct. The stamp will only confirm the identity, but it must not serve as our base," Leo nodded to himself. "Agnes's list of suspects is extremely large, and mine is even larger than that. We must learn who it is not, without a shadow of a doubt. Only then do we send them to Agnes for the final test."

"Larger? Let me guess, you think there is a chance the infiltrator is diagnosed as a non mage?" Jacob questioned, earning another nod from Leo. Well, that was great. How were they supposed to test that?

"Like i said, we must find out who it is not. I doubt many of the students have the magical skill or affinity required for such an operation, and even if they did, almost none would have respect or knowledge in the art of stealth. While the teachers certainly have the skill, they don't have the athleticism or knowledge of infiltration," Leo went on. "While it wouldn't hurt to check, but I doubt we'll find much if anything."

"So you think it's either a servant or one of the musketeers?" Jacob had to bite back to keep from shouting. That seemed impossible! But at the same time, it would be the safest place to be. Nobody would expect a military core made of commentaries to have a mage. Well, clearly, somebody did.

"I'm thinking of a way to definitely test each student's magical affinity, a combination of task, requiring specific combinations of magic. There'll have to be a carrot attached, of course. For the teachers, simply seeing if they could pick a lock with and without magic should be sufficient." Leo continued, almost seeming to ignore Jacob. "We send those who pass off to Agnes for final inspection."

"But you don't expect anyone to pass, do you?" Jacob asked. Leo nodded again. One would either need to be at minimum, a line class mage to break in, and at most, a triangle. At their strongest points, the students might be line, at best, and it wasn't a guarantee that if they were, they had the necessary magical affinity to do so.

"No, I don't. They shouldn't be able to pick the lock without wind magic, and even if they could, that would result in the following two trails to be impossible," Leo nodded to himself. Of course, that wasn't the only factor. If the trap actually worked out, that was fine and dandy. In reality an infiltrator would either skip the event entirely, if not fudge their own results. In reality, it was meant to eliminate suspects, not catch them.

The event would be watched, naturally, to watch for cheaters and observe the results. Though, they needed to first construct an area for the event to take place in. Rapidly. The longer they spent, the more time the thief had to find a place to stash them, or worse, escape. Well, it seemed like neither of them was getting any more sleep tonight.

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By sunrise, many of the students were confused by the new structure that found itself in one of the courtyards. It's dark surface seemed to absorb all light that came into contact with it. Even with a stone wall raising out from one end, it appear ominous. A factor only added by Leo's appearance of exhaustion. Was it related to the break in last night?

Leo was considered odd by more than a few. A commoner that was friends with Isabella wasn't exactly surprising, but the fact one of their teachers also got along with him, and they both shared a teacher student relationship. Though it who doing the teaching, and who was being taught had been up for debate. However, what truly made him stick out was his immunity to Kirchie's charms. Rumor had it he was gay, but at the same time, he wasn't phased by Julio, either.

His earlier arrival and disappearance had given him a bit of mystery, but his return and desire to stay only partially enhanced that. He did seem privy into some type of military research, and likely was working on a project for the Princess herself. But at the same time, he typically kept to himself. Isabella was the only one to really drag him out, and even then, it was with him being willing.

Jacob was just interesting. Despite him and his sister sharing hardly any physical similarities, most didn't have a hard time making that connection. He wasn't bad looking, for a commoner, with black hair and brown eyes. However, nobody was really willing to make a move towards him. Firstly, it would bring shame onto their houses to take such a man as a lover, and second, nobody wanted to deal with Isabella's sisterly wrath.

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Kirche, like many of the other students had found their way to the courtyard, curious about the new structure at the academy. In fact, she heard Leo talking about how it was a challenge, and if they succeeded, they would get a reward. The first one could be seen when the doors in front opened or closed, showing another door.

But seeing how it didn't appear to have been opened yet, had to mean there was something more to it. Did they need to open it with a certain type of magic? Every once and awhile, she saw someone exit from the side. So the trial consisted of three separate steps. The door up front, being first, the wall in the back, as the last, with an unknown in the middle.

It took a few moments, but the redhead was able to spot Tabitha leaning against a wall, book in hand, though she seemed to have her eyes on the small structure, rather than on the page. The bluenette gave a nod, recognizing her friends approach.

"Do you know what happening here?" Kirchie asked her friend, leaning her back against the wall as another of her classmates failed. What had likely started as a few had become a line, each failure adding to the glory of someone else's success.

"Break in last night," Tabitha responded. Kirchie knew her friend wasn't one for words, but this was pretty big. She frowned, thinking back to the Fouquet incident. That could have easily gone better, and the idea of another criminal running around made her feel uneasy.

"And this is to help catch them?" Kirchie questioned, puzzled. She didn't see how this was supposed to help.

"No. To find out who isn't," Tabitha shock her head. Kirchie paused. That made perfect sense, in a way. The real thief wouldn't fall for such an obvious trap. But however, appealing to her peer's pride, a scenario was set up to blatantly find out who it wasn't. Not only that, it was a trap the thief wouldn't fall for anyway, adding another layer of security to the assessment.

Though that did raise questions as to why Tabitha was able to see through it, but hardly anyone else. Maybe it would be for the best if she just did it anyway, get any suspicion aimed towards her out of the way.

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Testing every single mage at the academy was nearly a day long chore, and the school was only at half capacity. Still, they managed to get everyone tested, which only reified what was already on file. Almost all students were dot images, with only a handful of lines sprinkled in, while faculty were mostly line and triangle, class, with a few squares, but Osmund and Colbert appeared to be obsolved, given their placement at the time of the crime. Even average triangle was unable to pick the lock, which was a replica of the one on Osmund's office doors.

To be blunt, Agnes wasn't exactly happy about the findings, and what exactly that implied. Anything from kidnapping and impersonation, to other, even more dangerous levels of disguise.

"At this point, it's safe to assume that the thief is not one who we would expect to be a mage," Leo said, pushing the paper forward. "At this point, beyond searching every person and their quarters, which I doubt will work, seeing as it would be foolish to leave such incriminating items on their person, there isn't much we can do."

"Well, at least this shows that they haven't kidnapped any student's, at least," Agnes sighed, more out of frustration than anything else. The thief remained on the loose, and there was nothing them seemed to be able to do about it.

"Honestly, the best thing we can do is wait and plan for the opponents next move. Since they know that the Jewel's are fake, it's likely they'll try to plant them on someone else, in an attempt to incriminate them as an accomplice." Leo stated. It was simply the most logical move. There was no way for the criminal to remove the mark that they had acquired obtaining the two objects.

They could however, try to divert attention from themselves. It was frightening, how fast the situation could turn into a witch hunt. Which, like the real thing, would never turn up any witches. Agnes nodded. That didn't help catch the thief, in fact, that would make it impossible beyond an extremely gross violation of privacy of every single women currently on campus.

"I do have a plan though. Hopefully, it ends tonight," Leo grinned. Agnes merely nodded. Of course he would. His ideas were unorthodox, without a doubt, but he had proved himself while helping to guard the princess, in his own strange way. Maybe, at the moment, unorthodox was what they needed.

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Halgenia's twin moons hanged high in the heavens, light filtering in through the windows. Leo's form was locked in slumber, safely nuzzled between the blankets. It was warm, safe, and comforting.

The latch on the window opened, followed by the window itself. Leo remained undisturbed, even as a shadow entered the room. Quietly, the shade moved across the floor, tip toeing over the stone. Slowly, two ruby rings were lowered onto the bedside table.

"Do you know how creepy it is to watch some disguised as yourself sleep?" a voice came from above the door, causing the thief to jump into the air. Before anyone could react, a large glass jar came tumbling from the shadows, breaking against the stone floor, sending it's slimy payload all over the criminal.

Try as she might, the criminal found herself stuck, as if glued down by the substance. A foul stench entered her nostrils, akin to that of dead fish. Her eyes widened with shook, as her struggle to escape became more violent. Even already, the substance was becoming translucent.

She just had a jar of sticky air thrown at her! While it's behavior was unexplainable, she was aware of the alchemical concoction. Without the presence of air, this substance was a dark brown liquid, but with it, the substance became translucent, and extremely tough. It was almost impossible to break without magic. And she couldn't reach for her wand.

"I know you probably have a few questions. Like how I'm awake with this being the third night I've gone without sleep, or how I have access to this much sticky air?" Leo slide down from his perch, looking for to Jacob, who was, unsurprisingly, still asleep. "Or how I knew you would break into this particular room in an attempt to plant incriminating evidence on me."

"All these questions are fairly easy to answer. Firstly, Caffeine, and lots of it. Second, I, in all right and legal purposes, work under Professor Colbert. You know, the teacher who's either doing his job or using the power of science to learn new things? I'm allow to borrow stuff so long as I tell him what it's for, and he approves. Thirdly, planting evidence on the person leading the efforts to investigate you is pretty smart. Immediately, everything they've told you comes into doubt," Jacob grinned, smile breaking even. "And besides, Michelle, you're responce back at the office pretty much put you at suspect number one. It's just that without proof, nobody would have believed it."

The thief's eyes widened once again, completely and utterly shocked. And she still had both rubies within her hands. There were only a few ways for things to get worse.

Of course, the rules of drama used be applied when one asks for them, and as such, the door fell, kicked inwards. Agnes had spotted the movement near on of the windows, and went to investigate. Of course, she had not expected the sight of one of her lieutenants, seemingly immobilized by an invisible substance. Of course, with both rubies still gleaming in Michelle's hands, things didn't need much further explaining.

The academy was thankful that somebody was able to capture a thief without using an extraordinarily rare magical artifact.

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And that' the end of this chapter. I know I've done some things out of order, but I hope you all enjoyed and I hope to see you next time!