King Philippe frowned, setting down the papers he'd been reading and moving a hand to his forehead, sighing. "This is...very difficult to believe." he stated, turning to look at Karin, who stared down at the table unblinkingly, ignoring the comforting arm of Sandalion sitting next to her. "Baronetess Maillart, try to think clearly. Are you saying that this fire was not started by Count Marteau Colbert? He isn't specialized in fire magic, but he is capable of using it with up to Triangle-class proficiency. Do you really think that this Enjya person can do this?"

Karin frowned, moving her hand to pull the blanket she'd been provided around her neck, the cooling wind magic added by Guiteau helping to keep her back injury from hurting. While it helped the physical pain, no amount of wind was enough to help her remain fully stoic when being scolded by the King, a man she had never met before today and had never expected to with how low her rank was.

She glanced up as she heard the sound of Sandalion smashing his fist into the table, facing Philippe with a scowl. "Are you saying she's lying? You saw what's happening to Lady Yuya, even Lord Guiteau's strongest wind can't put out that fire! That's Square-class magic, and there aren't any Square fire mages besides her!"

Though Karin was recovered, the Purgatory Flames surrounding Yuya were still ongoing, the burning woman having been transported atop the ground she was lying on by Osmond's magic and set in a stone surface, also made by the academy headmaster, to simply allow it to die out on its own if nothing else could be done.

"Do you think this is a situation where you should be questioning your superiors?" Queen Louise asked, crossing her arms. "It's easier to believe that Karin de Maillart's mind was affected by some other spell than to think there's been such a strong mage hidden under our noses. Marteau has already escaped from custody once, he is the highest priority target right now. As the commander, if he is captured-"

"Karin is not lying, nor is she mistaken." came Guiteau's voice, the wind mage stepping in through the open door as the queen went quiet, watching him as he reached to pull out a chair and sit down with a sigh, his eyes closed as he shook his head. "Lady Bismarck was legitimately defeated by a child going by the name of Enjya, and Lord Osmond's investigation turned up little sign of a fight beyond the initial impact that generated the crater Miss Maillart found her in. I taught Mister Cobble, his fighting style has always been more wild than that. I hardly see him changing now."

Philippe hummed to himself, resting his chin on his hands and supporting himself with his elbows. "Very well, you are someone with a reputation for your clear sight, and I saw in the report that you had Hurricane active at the time. Inform Innocentius and Osmond of what he looks like and set up guards for my younger children. Until such time as Yuya is able to fight again, my son, Pierre, is in charge of these two." He waved to Karin and Sandalion, who had reluctantly sat back down but still kept the same angry expression on his face. "As for the other two, it seems they are doing well in their mission. You will ensure their safety and track the whole city using Hurricane."

Guiteau nodded, humming as he scratched his chin. "And what of Enjya? You can hardly expect Miss Maillart to return to the field after what she witnessed, can you?" he asked. "Marteau is enough of a threat to require all three of us other Square-classes, and most of the other soldiers in the city are dealing with the uprising and enemy knights."

"Assuming that what Baronetess Maillart said is accurate, Enjya is seeking to reunite with Marteau and communicate that Marianne and I have returned to the palace. He may fight alongside his commander against you, but if not, I believe my strength is enough to defend my family, and Marianne is a Square-class as well and nothing to scoff at. If it comes to it, we will personally fight."

Queen Louise spoke next, her gaze moving to Karin. "As for Maillart, how strong is she? It admittedly wasn't a fair assessment of her personal capabilities to go against Enjya, who was able to catch even Yuya off guard despite both being fire mages."

Karin grit her teeth, lowering her head again and not saying anything. What point was there? She'd tried to cast her most effective spell, and hadn't been able to in time. Enjya knew what runes she used now, he would be prepared if she tried again in the future.

"She's a Triangle-class wind mage, and her best spell is Heavy Wind." the Valliere heir said, and she turned to face him, shaking her head.

"No, that's not helpful, Sandalion." she said, and he grinned, patting her back before facing the king and queen again.

"Heavy Wind's normally not much of a spell, and even I can use its stronger variant Waterspout, though I can't use the ultimate Tornado. But, she also has an extremely excessive amount of willpower, way beyond anyone else at the academy, so even though she only has basic spells, they're all maximum strength. Just today, her Windwalker and Stage 1 Fist combination was able to push a house into the sky long enough for me to evacuate some commoners."

The queen narrowed her eyes, while Philippe nodded at the explanation. "She is able to add to damage output using Windwalker, which normally can only be used for travelling on foot faster, and in conjunction with Stage 1 Chevalier Style...Basic spells or not, I should take you seriously, Baronetess. You have my apologies for making assumptions about you based on your rank."

The girl shook her head, setting a small smile on her face as she looked up, finally willing to turn to their direction, though her eyes were tightly closed, still nervous simply by being near the royal family. "I completely lost to that Enjya, but strength is something I've always admired. If I meet him again, I'm going to ask why he's following that Marteau...I don't see someone that powerful but so young fighting without having ulterior motives."

"Doesn't he just hate nobility?" Guiteau asked, raising an eyebrow. "That's Marteau's motivation, and I imagine most of the rebellion agree with that sentiment."

Karin shook her head, looking at the man who had taught her only two years prior. "He said that, but it didn't sound like he really felt it...It was just like he was regurgitating someone else's words. Even when he was casting that Purgatory Flames spell, it sounded like his laughter was hollow. I may have been delusional then, or even unconscious already, but I don't think he cares about the rebellion. Besides…" She frowned, twiddling her fingers in her lap. "His familiar is an ifrit. They're too stubborn to follow someone who has no ambitions, there has to be something he wants."

The room was silent for a few moments, before Guiteau sighed, grunting as he pushed his hand to the table and pulled himself to a standing position, a small breeze blowing to help him up. "An ifrit is a pain to deal with, but having knowledge that it exists is good. I'd ask that old man Innocentius since he knows how to kill those things, but I should be able to beat it back anyway. It's just smoke, it can't fight my superior wind!"

"Mm." Philippe hummed in agreement, before coughing into his fist. "Well, now that we have a plan...I don't want to displace the commoners any more than they already have, nor do I want panic any longer. This is a major battlefield, the other uprisings across the country are being dealt with as we speak. Once they've lost their Square-class combatants, the rest of the rebels will fall in line soon after."

"Have you already weeded out the ringleader?" Guiteau asked, and Louise shook her head.

"There is suspicion that Adelaide Serevare of D'Angleterre is connected to the leader, but as there isn't concrete evidence, we can't send troops in until Thrace is back from his investigation."

"That man takes forever to do anything, he's too particular about every little detail." Philippe scoffed, leaning back in his seat. "It'll take ten years to hear back from him!"

"If ten years is what it takes, then so be it. For now, we should be focused on the situation at hand. It doesn't matter who the leader is if they no longer have troops to support them."