Almost 3 weeks to the day since the last chapter. Certainly beats the usual trend of 2 months followed by only one day.

Not only is this the second longest chapter so far, beating Ch.6 by about 300 words, it also contains some of the longest single segments of the story as well. I don't have those word counts logged.

There's yer useless trivia for this chapter.

"Louise, have you seen Tabitha?"

Louise looked up from her history book to see Kirche standing before her with a concerned expression.

"You know, now that you mention it, I haven't," Louise answered, giving her page a final skim before flipping to a new one. "Not since lunch, I think."

"It's not like her to miss lessons," Kirche said, crossing her arms with a 'harrumph' as she dropped into a seat across from her pink haired rival, growing increasingly annoyed when Louise's attention wasn't drawn completely away from her book. "Speaking of lessons, what's up with you lately?"

Louise looked up and arched an eyebrow at the redhead, putting forth a dry expression of questioning.

"It seems like Darrian isn't the only one emulating Tabitha's behavior. I haven't seen you without your nose in a book since before the Exhibition!"

"I'm researching, Zerbst," Louise snorted, flipping another page in her book. "It's become painfully obvious that I'm not gonna figure out my magic problem with wishful thinking."

"Sure, but history books?" Kirche leaned over the table, peering over the top of the book, only to share an annoyed look with Louise when the latter pulled the text away from the redhead's sight. "Wouldn't you get more out of, like, exotic spellcasting tomes or foreign stuff?"

"Tried that, no dice," Louise snarked dryly as she tried to wave away her rival's insistent attempts to sneak peeks at her book, before giving up entirely and snapping the tome shut with a frustrated sigh. "Fine, let's go look for Tabitha!"

"I think I saw Miss d'Orleans heading towards the dormitories earlier," piped up a new voice as Siesta appeared out of nowhere.

"Gah!" Louise and Kirche both yelped in surprise, nearly falling out of their chairs as Siesta put on a sheepish face.

"Siesta, please, don't just sneak up on us like that…" Louise sighed as she righted herself, earning an apologetic bow from her handmaid. True to her word, Siesta had stepped into her role under Louise's employ with gusto and efficiency. Despite not being needed for a great deal, the maid seemed genuinely a lot happier than she had been previously, and spent much of her free time reprising her old role at the academy.

"Sorry…" Siesta put her hands up placatingly, but the little smile she wore was proof enough that she wasn't really sorry at all, likely because she knew Louise wouldn't be truly upset.

"So, you saw Tabitha earlier? When?" Kirche asked, recovering quickly from the maid's sudden appearance.

"Hmm…" Siesta hummed, tapping a finger against her chin as she thought back. "Around midday, I think. I was helping with lunch cleanup, so I wasn't paying too much attention."

"And she was heading for the dorms?" Louise asked, earning a nod of confirmation from Siesta, which in turn prompted the two rivals to share a look of realization. "You don't think…"

"As it happens, I do think," Kirche refuted in a dry manner, earning a flat look from Louise. "Specifically, I think Tabitha went to keep a certain someone company after he couldn't get out of bed this morning."

"He had to talk me out of doing that myself," Louise commented in an equally dry tone as she rose from her seat, followed quickly by her rival, and the three of them set off for the dorms to investigate.

"There has to be something there," Kirche snarked, grinning smugly at her pink haired rival, before her expression turned serious. "Were you able to ask about…?"

"No, not yet," Louise answered as they began ascending a set of stairs. "I was gonna wait a few more days, at least until he was feeling better."

Kirche didn't respond, simply sighing to herself with a mildly worried expression. No more words passed between them, and it wasn't very long before they arrived at their destination. Pressing a finger to her lips, Louise silently pushed the door open just a crack and peeked through, then widened the gap to allow the others a clear view.

"Aww…" Siesta cooed quietly, clasping her hands over her chest as she smiled at the sight of Darrian and Tabitha curled up beside one another. Both of them were facing towards the door, sound asleep. Darrian's arm was held around Tabitha's form protectively, and they each had a hand poking out from under the blankets, fingers woven together as ever.

"I'm telling you, Vallière," Kirche whispered, leaning over Louise's shoulder with an expression that crossed between her usual smugness and genuine happiness.

"Hush, Zerbst," Louise whispered back, shaking her head briefly as she stepped silently into the room. The pair in the bed remained still, and Louise was pleased to note that the discomfort in Darrian's expression had lessened. Deciding it best to leave them for now, Louise stealthed across the room to procure her rapier, then retreated just as silently back into the hallway and pulled the door shut. "For the record, I never refuted your claims, only ignored them."

"Then surely you agree-" Kirche started excitedly, only to be cut off when Louise pressed a finger to the redhead's lips with a stern expression.

"Maybe you're right, or maybe you're not," Louise said, quietly fastening her rapier to her hip. "I'll admit, the evidence is pointing to you being right. Either way, it's their business."

"You seem remarkably calm with the idea," Siesta commented. Louise said nothing in response, simply setting off back down the hall, and motioning for the other two girls to follow. "If you don't mind me saying, Miss Vallière, I would think you'd prefer to see yourself in Miss d'Orleans place."

"How so?" Louise asked confusedly, glancing sidelong at the maid. "If you're speaking about romance, I'm actually already spoken for."

"P-pardon!?" Kirche yelped, quickly circling around to Louise's front and taking the pink haired girl by her shoulders, staring at her with eyes the size of saucers. "You, spoken for!?"

"Strictly speaking, it's an arranged marriage, but yes," Louise confirmed, trying and failing to suppress an amused smile at her rival's sudden shock. "I didn't choose it, and I would imagine he was pressured into the idea by my mother. She doesn't care for politics, only strength, and he's the captain of Her Majesty's Magic Guards."

"Oh, I've heard of him," Siesta piped up, pressing a finger to her chin once again as she concentrated. "He's a viscount, right? One… Viscount Wardes?"

"You're well informed," Louise commented dryly, before nodding another confirmation. "Yes, Viscount Wardes is my fiancè."

"Viscount Wardes!" Kirche exclaimed, stars in her eyes as she began shaking her rival's shoulders roughly. "Louise, please! It wasn't your choice, right!? Break it off! Cancel the engagement and introduce me to him!"

"Whuh-!" Louise babbled, the violent shaking combined with her rival's begging rendering the pink haired girl unable to form coherent thoughts. Before long, Louise was forced to break herself free, though the task was made easier by Kirche's apparent fantasizing. "What is wrong with you, Zerbst!"

Kirche either didn't hear or willfully ignored the complaint, simply wiggling herself around as she drifted away into fantasy land. Siesta, who had been a tad jealous at the proclamation of Louise's engagement, began giggling up a storm over Kirche's antics, and showed no signs of slowing down.

Louise herself could only turn away, burying her face in her hands and desperately wishing for it all to stop.

"Has anyone seen Guiche? I really need to hit something…"

It was in the latter part of the afternoon, as the sky was cast in pale red from a low hanging sun, that Darrian was roused from another round of dozing. Tabitha remained still beside him, somewhere on the brink between sleep and wakefulness, though she too was roused when Darrian shifted his position to lay on his back. Shifting herself around, she draped an arm over his chest and cracked her eyes open, though her gaze remained unfocused.

"I thought I told you that it wasn't a competition," Tabitha murmured, her emerald eyes flicking up to peer at Darrian's now mildly puzzled expression.

"It's… not," Darrian responded slowly, before remembering how their first conversation ended. Internally, he couldn't help but cringe, and he realized that his actions didn't necessarily fall in line with his response.

"It just seems like… you're trying to catch up," Tabitha said, echoing Darrian's line of thought as she unfocused her gaze once again. "Guiche, Fouquet, Mott… You keep getting hurt."

"One of those doesn't quite belong," Darrian snarked, earning a glare from the blue haired girl. "You're not… entirely wrong, though. I'm not trying to catch up, but I guess I'm not really trying to avoid it, either."

"I…" Tabitha started, but cut herself off as she pushed herself up to her knees, staring down at Darrian with a worried expression. Darrian followed suit a moment later, pushing himself up to sit across from the blue haired girl, and allowing her to take hold of his hands again. "I don't… want to lose you…"

Darrian couldn't help but choke up hearing that, grimacing to himself as Tabitha's worry echoed his own prior realization. Instead of responding outright, he leaned forward, resting his forehead against hers, and the two shared that moment of melancholy. For a moment Darrian considered giving voice to his concerns, to tell the girl before him just what he'd realized, but something happened then that shattered the moment and had him recoiling in mild embarrassment.

His stomach produced a growling sound that was quite possibly longer, louder, and higher pitched than any stomach growl he'd ever heard. y for Lucky for him, Tabitha's lips curled upwards just barely in a little smile, which saved Darrian from being too incredibly mortified.

"You haven't eaten," Tabitha accused gently, staring at Darrian intently, and causing him to quail somewhat.

"Guess not…" Darrian mumbled, averting his gaze out of embarrassment, a little blush barely dusting his cheeks. With a weary sigh, Tabitha scooted herself to the edge of the bed, then pushing herself up and staring at Darrian expectantly.

"Dinner should be soon," Tabitha said quietly, holding a hand out as an invitation. Swinging his legs over the edge of the bed, Darrian took her hand and smiled gently up at her, before letting go and pushing himself to his feet. As the two of them prepared for the evening, Darrian's mind wandered back over his revelation, and he decided against bringing the matter up.

Not yet, at least.

Strapping Derflinger to his back, Darrian stopped short as he and Tabitha made to step out of the room, which prompted the quiet girl to look back at him confusedly. Taking a deep breath, Darrian pulled something from his inventory in a little flash of light, and held it out in front of him.

"I want you to have this," Darrian said as Tabitha gingerly took the item from him with a look of confusion. It was a small rectangular thing that looked very similar to an item that Darrian himself was constantly fidgeting with. "It's called a Cell Phone. We can use these to communicate over long distances, either by speaking into them, or sending messages that we can read."

"That's… convenient," Tabitha said slowly, inspecting the device carefully, and almost jumping when she managed to switch the screen on by accident. Darrian suppressed a smile as he watched the quiet girl's first attempt at understanding the tech. After a moment, her eyes flicked up to meet his, an expression of confusion returning to her face. "Why would you give me this?"

"For safety, more than anything else," Darrian answered, raking a hand through his hair. "I'm gonna give one to Louise, too, just in case. I don't… want us to get separated like before, with no way to communicate with each other."

Tabitha held the device over her chest for a moment before stowing it under her cloak with a complicated expression, but it was obvious that she appreciated the gesture.

"Show me how it works later," Tabitha murmured, earning a nod and a grin from Darrian. The two stepped out into the hall, saying nothing as they set off down the corridor. As they walked in companionable silence, Darrian's mind went to work puzzling over how he could achieve his immediate goals.

Despite realizing the truth of Tabitha's situation, Darrian just didn't know enough to really start making moves just yet, and so his first priority remained with helping Louise. Since her rivalry with Kirche had become more friendly in nature, one of the pink haired girl's three problems had been solved. The remaining two problems were centered around the mystery of her magic, and the way her family had been treating her. Louise herself had remained relatively tight-lipped on the situation, staying firm in the belief that the best course of action would be to prove herself a worthy scion.

It was the right idea for the wrong reason, in Darrian's opinion. Whether she realized it or not, Louise's motivation to live up to her family's legacy included a desire to be accepted by that family, but the acceptance she was looking for was something that should have been given from the start. Sooner rather than later, Darrian was going to have to make Louise understand that it was their failing, not hers. Regardless, it was going to have to wait until Darrian had the chance to meet the family for himself. As for the magic issue…

"Come on, work!"

The sound of Louise's voice pulled Darrian back to reality as he entered Vestri Court. Louise herself appeared somewhat frustrated, pointing her wand at a metal construct that was standing before her, unmoving. At a table near her was Kirche and a relatively winded looking Guiche, who were being attended to by Siesta. A pair of swords were laid over the table, one of which appeared to be Louise's rapier.

"Looks like a party," Darrian commented dryly, earning the attention of Guiche and Kirche, the latter of whom immediately began grinning smugly at the pair that had just arrived.

"Well, good morning, you two," Kirche drawled, drawing the attention of those around her, who all immediately turned to investigate. Sensing an opportunity to cease her fruitless attempts at casting, Louise delivered a swift kick to her metal practice dummy, watching with mild satisfaction as it fell over in a heap. Satisfied, she turned and joined the others at the table, dropping into a chair across from Kirche with a huff.

"Sleep well?" Louise asked with her own mischievous smile, which only widened when Darrian's immediate response was to roll his eyes.

"Well enough," Darrian muttered, dropping into his own seat next to the pink haired girl, and carefully ignoring the intrusive stares of the other occupants of the table. "What's up with the metal dummy?"

"Ah, that is one of my bronze valkyries," Guiche explained theatrically, taking some minor offense to the blunt description. With a wave of his rose wand, the valkyrie rose from where it fell and bowed in the direction of the table, before disappearing entirely in a flash of light.

"I was using it as a practice dummy," Louise said sarcastically, turning her mischievous grin on Guiche, who immediately returned it with a flat look. "Or I was trying to, anyway. Stupid spells, not working…"

"That's cuz it ain't the right time, girly," piped up Derflinger, causing everyone except Darrian and Louise to jump in surprise. "Or maybe it just ain't the right situation. I forget..."

"That's not good enough, Derflinger," Louise sighed, crossing her arms and puffing out her cheeks. "'Not the right time or situation' isn't a good enough reason for me to laze about. I need to keep trying."

"What were you trying to do?" Darrian interjected before the two could start arguing, causing Louise to slump over in mild despair.

"I read about a rare spell that apparently isn't formed by one of the four elements," Louise explained evenly, glaring down at her wand as if it were the reason she couldn't cast the spell. 'Rare' in this case likely referring to the Void, a secret she was intent on keeping until she could prove it was her alignment - if it even was. "It's called 'dispel'. Something about a magic nullification field…"

"Are we just gonna skip over the talking sword?" Kirche asked nervously, a bead of sweat appearing on her cheek as she eyed the sword in question. Derflinger's only response was to blow a raspberry at the redhead before dropping into its scabbard. Guiche just stared at the sword with a perturbed expression, and Tabitha's only response was to shake her head and bury her head in a book.

"So partner, what exactly are we doin' all the way out here?"

"I don't know, Derf," Darrian sighed, raking a hand through his hair as he sat at the edge of a water fountain, situated in the plaza near the capital of Tristain's front gate. "Information gathering, I guess? I wanted to try and make some kind of headway on my goals, but I didn't really stop to think how I would do that once I got here…"

"Seems to be a running theme for ya," Derflinger snarked in an amused tone, though the quip just earned a frustrated sigh from its wielder. The sword wasn't even wrong, either. It was exactly the same mistake Darrian had made when he ran off to try and save Siesta, even if there wasn't as much a sense of urgency now as compared to before. "What are your goals, partner?"

Darrian just laid back, twining his fingers behind his head and staring up into the cloudless night sky. It was an odd feeling, looking up at a set of stars that he was totally unfamiliar with, and it reminded him just how out of depth he was in his current situation.

"I just… want to help my Two Lights," Darrian said softly, closing his eyes as he tried to put his feelings into words.

"'Two Lights'?" Derflinger quoted confusedly, earning a grunt of confirmation from Darrian. "Oh, those two girlies. They really that special to ya?"

"They saved me," Darrian answered with a wistful sigh. "They keep saving me, repeatedly. If not from danger, then from my own depression. I just want to return the favor."

"And is that why you only gave those light up things to them, and not the others?" Derflinger asked. Kirche had seemed quite jealous when she wasn't given a Phone, despite her rival and best friend each getting one for themselves. Siesta wasn't too bothered, considering her own prior gift. Guiche hadn't expressed interest in having one, likely believing he hadn't earned enough favor to warrant such a gift, though he did acknowledge the utility it presented.

"I don't have a lot of those to go around. Only six of them exist, so I need to be careful about who gets one."

Darrian opened his eyes to gaze up at the stars once more, feeling quite ready to just head back to the academy, only to be met with the sight of someone leaning over and peering down at him.

"Whoa! Where'd you come from!?"

He shot up into a sitting position, turning to face the amused newcomer, whose cloak and hood did nothing to hide the light giggling over his reaction to their arrival.

"Give me a break, Your Majesty," Darrian chuckled once the shock of her arrival wore off. "What're you doin' out here, this late at night?"

"I am sorry for sneaking up on you like that," Henrietta apologized, taking a seat near Darrian. Her ever present and loyal guard, Agnès, nodded her own greeting, before taking up a position to keep watch. "Matters in the palace have been stifling as of late, so I sometimes enjoy an evening stroll. And this evening, I could not help but to overhear the conversation you were having with your… sword."

"A totally normal situation," Darrian said sarcastically with a grin, eliciting another giggle from the Princess, though his expression softened after a moment. "If you heard, then you probably know why I'm out here. And that I didn't have a plan. Again."

"Indeed, I did hear that much," Henrietta confirmed, clasping her hands together in her lap. "Even still, it warms my heart that you would consider my dear Louise Françoise to be so important to you, and that you would actively strive to assist her."

"Even though I don't know exactly how to do that," Darrian snarked, casting his eyes up at the stars again with a sigh.

"I understand it must be frustrating," Henrietta conceded, offering Darrian a placating look. "If you don't mind me asking, who is the other of your… 'Two Lights'?"

Darrian glanced sidelong at the curious princess, somewhat hesitant to answer, for fear of giving away too much of his worry. Princess Henrietta was already a busy woman, after all, and he didn't want to start dumping his issues onto her after the kindness she'd shown over his involvement in the Mott Incident. Still, something about the way she was asking, and the expression on her face…

"Tabitha," Darrian responded reluctantly, before elaborating when Henrietta just looked confused. "The one with blue hair, glasses, and a big dragon for a familiar. Won second place in the Exhibition?"

"Ahh, Miss d'Orleans," Henrietta realized, a soft smile gracing her features, and drawing a look of mild surprise from Darrian. "I should have realized. Is her situation truly so dire?"

"I'm not entirely sure, honestly," Darrian answered, raking a hand through his hair. "I can't really get into too much detail, not without breaking her trust, but… Well, I think someone might be after her. Or she's being used by someone, and they're looking for an excuse to get rid of her."

"As I recall, she's in the country on asylum," Agnès interjected, causing Darrian's eyes to shoot open in surprise.

"Agnès?" Henrietta murmured, equally surprised by the Musketeer's sudden input. "Whatever gave you that idea?"

"It was right before you became more active in palace work, Your Majesty," Agnès clarified, crossing her arms as she scanned the area. "That girl came in from Gallia two years ago to enroll in the academy, something about relations back home breaking down. I had some of my girls look into it, just to be safe, but they didn't find anything solid. Whatever's going on around that girl, it's all hush hush."

"Shit…" Darrian mumbled, burying his face in his hands. "Dealing with a time bomb is one thing, but an international time bomb? What am I supposed to do about that, without starting an incident?"

"There may be a way…" Henrietta started, seeming moderately unsure of herself. "If Miss d'Orleans' situation is as bad as you fear, you may be able to seek the assistance of the Church."

"The Church?" Darrian quoted in disbelief. "Not to be offensive, Highness, but what can the Church do here? How can they help?"

"The Founderist Church, as the name implies, is built on the teachings of Founder Brimir," Henrietta explained with a serious expression. "If you recall, the four Halkeginian nations were each founded by one of Brimir's sons. Tristain, Albion, Gallia, and Romalia, are all bound together in a holy alliance. If one steps out of line, the Founderist Church based in Romalia can begin an inquisition upon the offender, which can incur heavy penalties."

"If you can get in good with the Church, you might even be able to get the Pope to write a Holy Writ for you," Agnès added. "You'd need solid evidence to back you up, and you'd probably need to do a hefty favor in return. But that's probably your best bet."

"Well, it's a start," Darrian commented blandly, his gaze unfocusing as he tried to get the gears in his mind to start turning, and he began mumbling to himself. "If these Writs are as useful as they sound, that could be their ticket out of Gallia. What then?"

Darrian groaned to himself, hunching over and scratching the back of his head with both hands frustratedly.

"Ey, Princess," Derflinger piped up, causing said princess to jump slightly. "Couldn't my partner just buy some land or somethin'?"

"That takes money I don't have, Derf," Darrian said dryly before Henrietta could respond. "If you want to go that route, I'd have to build something defensible, and probably hire guards."

"Wouldn't you have the building part done yourself?" Agnès asked just as dryly, earning a look of confusion from the Princess. "You told me yourself that you have building powers, yes?"

"Yeah, but I don't know anything about building codes in this land," Darrian countered, looking equal parts frustrated at the line of thought, and appreciative that there was an attempt to help him reason his way through it. "I could hire an architect to help, I guess, but that's just another thing for the pile of things I can't afford."

"So get a job," Agnès retorted, even more dryly than before. "The way I see it, you've got some impressive abilities, and even more impressive loyalty. And I just happen to know someone that values both very much."

Agnès' gaze swapped from Darrian to Henrietta in a very slow and deliberate manner, silently suggesting exactly who that someone was.

"Indeed," Henrietta said, looking surprised for a moment before her expression turned to one of pure satisfaction. "I am in need of an agent, one that can deal with matters both here and abroad. You would answer directly to me alone, the pay would be quite substantial, and there would be resources available should you choose to pursue the matters we have discussed."

Darrian could only stare back, slack jawed. When he'd come out to the capital, he hadn't known exactly what he'd be looking for. The trip had been made mostly out of impatience, after all. But an opportunity like this, just falling into his lap, along with what could be a strong lead for one of his personal goals?

"What say you, Darrian? Would you be an Agent of the Crown?"

Very quickly, Darrian's shock melted away, leaving nothing on his face but satisfaction pure enough to rival Henrietta's. He rose slowly from his seat at the fountain's edge, turned to face the Princess, and bowed deeply in a gesture of pure gratitude.

"It would be my pleasure."

At the Princess' request, Darrian remained silent about the contents of their conversation, with a promise that it would not be long before Louise could be filled in. It would take some time for Henrietta to come up with a viable first assignment for her newest Agent, but she did make it clear she had something in the works already.

Sensing an opportunity to broaden his communication network, Darrian offered the Princess one of his remaining Cell Phones. It had taken a demonstration of their effectiveness, one that caused Louise a fair amount of alarm when she suddenly received her first phone call, but was quick to vouch for the device's usefulness when it was discovered just how far away both parties were.

In the days that followed, Darrian's newfound resolve would not go unnoticed by his friends. While not entirely back to his old self, it was obvious that he'd made some kind of turnaround in his recovery, one that came as a relief to those around him.

Louise made little progress in her personal research, finding and testing a variety of old spells, though not one was met with any real success. She was pleased at least to finally stop making some spells explode, though the ones that failed silently rather than explosively were still few in number.

As Summer began to set in, lessons finished for the season, bringing Louise and her friends' time as second years to an end. Most of the students returned home, intent on spending the summer with their families, but Louise chose to remain at the academy for at least a while before returning home. She wanted to make some kind of progress with her magic before standing before her family again.

Of Louise's friend group, only Guiche opted to return home for a time, though he claimed it would be a short visit before he returned to the academy once again. Strangely, Louise sort of found herself looking forward to his return, if only because he'd made an unexpectedly decent sparring partner. She still couldn't really stand him as a person though, no matter his intent on improving himself.

And then one evening, as Darrian and Louise were winding down and preparing for sleep, the former's phone buzzed to indicate that he'd received a message. Furrowing his brow and ignoring Louise's less than amused stare, he switched on the screen to discover that the sender hadn't been the Princess as he'd been expecting, but Tabitha instead.

"'I need a favor, can we talk?'," Darrian quoted out loud, turning Louise's expression to confusion as a response was tapped out, letting Tabitha know that he'd be on his way soon.

"This late at night?" Louise asked rhetorically, raising an eyebrow at Darrian as he stood and pulled on his jacket.

"As if you and the Princess haven't been constantly sending night messages," Darrian responded sarcastically, raising his own brow amusedly and earning a flat glare in return.

"That's different," Louise muttered, a light blush creeping up her cheeks as she waved him off, cracking open a novel she'd borrowed from Siesta. "Whatever. Go on, it might be important."

"Right. Be back in a bit," Darrian called as he shut the door behind him, leaving Louise to her book as he set off down the hall. In the months since he'd arrived at the academy, Darrian spent a fair amount of time gazing at the moons in the evenings. For no reason in particular, he'd picked out a spot in one of the upper dorm hallways, where one side was opened up by wide stone arches. He didn't go there every night, but it was frequent enough some would know to look there if needed. Tabitha would come and join him some nights, but occasionally, she would be there waiting before he arrived.

Tonight was one such occasion. With her phone and a letter both held in her hands, Tabitha gaze was unfocused, though she did tilt her head just barely as she heard Darrian approach.

"Hey. What's goin' on?" Darrian asked softly as he sat down beside Tabitha, worry creeping up in his gut.

"I need a favor," Tabitha repeated her text in a low voice, earning a nod from Darrian.

"I'll do what I can," Darrian promised, listing over and gently bumping his shoulder against hers, and smiling slightly when she leaned into it. "I do need details, though. Whatever it is, we'll figure it out."

Tabitha nodded once, remaining silent and still for a moment, before holding up the letter in her hands.

"There's a lake, on the border between Tristain and Gallia," Tabitha started softly, her gaze unfocusing as she began her explanation. "Ragdorian lake, home of the last Water Spirit. It has begun to raise the water, flooding the surrounding villages, for no known reason. I've been ordered to determine the cause, and return the waters to their shores."

"I'm guessing the implication of a potential reason means this spirit is sentient?" Darrian guessed, earning a single curt nod from the blue haired girl at his side. For a moment, he was distracted by her being ordered to investigate. It put her situation somewhat at odds with Agnès' description of her being in asylum, and Darrian wondered if that might have just been a cover ordered by someone above her. After a moment of consideration, he shook it off, deeming it to not be relevant at that time. "So then, the play would be to open with diplomacy, see if it can be reasoned with?"

"Yes," Tabitha confirmed as softly as before, and while her gaze remained unfocused, her expression hardened just barely. "If it cannot, then it must be eliminated."

"You can't!"

Tabitha and Darrian both whipped their heads around to see a robed Montmorency, holding her hands over her mouth with a panicked expression, and thoroughly embarrassed at having made her presence known in such a manner.

"What do you mean, 'we can't'?" Darrian asked somewhat sharply, glaring as the blonde girl seemed to shrink in on herself.

"I, er, that is…" Montmorency stammered, casting her gaze down at the stone floor. "It's… My family, they, have a pact with it! The Water Spirit, I mean…"

"A pact?" Darrian repeated with a raised eyebrow, remaining unconvinced.

"They have received its blessing and favor," Tabitha explained, swinging her legs over the stone railing to face Montmorency fully. "If the Water Spirit were lost, these things would be lost."

"Hm. Tough cookies, I say," Darrian said dryly, earning a dumbfoundedly panicked expression from the blonde girl who opened her mouth to argue, only to be silenced when Darrian continued talking. "If the spirit is flooding entire villages, it's not just ruining their homes and livelihoods, it's ruining their lives. That's more important than one family being favorited."

"Favored," Tabitha corrected softly, earning a flat look from Darrian. "Montmorency. If your family is favored by the Water Spirit, then you should be able to summon it."

"I, uh… yes. My family taught me the rite," Montmorency said, her stammer and blush receding somewhat as she got the words out, though she did seem a bit squeamish as she admitted the next part. "Just needs a drop of my blood…"

"I'll pay you," Tabitha said, earning another dumbfounded look from the blonde, though it was considerably less panicked than before. "For your efforts, and your discretion after."

"Er, that is… as long as we try diplomacy first?" Montmorency squeaked, unsure of how else she could respond, though the request was met with an immediate nod from the blue haired girl.

"Well, that was the plan anyway," Darrian commented dryly, before offering his own nod in the blonde's direction. "Alrighty. What about Kirche and Louise?"

"Kirche has already accepted my invitation," Tabitha answered, glancing up at Darrian as he nodded his acknowledgement. "I would not have invited you without accepting Louise's presence. You are a package deal."

Darrian couldn't help but suppress a smile at the way she worded it, even as he nodded once again.

"So, where will we be staying? Ragdorian lake is three days by horseback…" Montmorency said, likely imagining that they'd be camping, something she dreaded doing.

"My family's estate is near there," Tabitha answered with a melancholy expression, and though Montmorency heaved a sigh of relief, Darrian couldn't help but turn a little critical eye on the blue haired girl. "You would be my guests until our business is concluded."

That kernel of knowledge was enough to give Darrian pause. There was an opportunity there, but he wasn't entirely sure he could pursue it, not without breaking Tabitha's trust in some way. If there was anything he'd learned about the quiet girl, it's that she was incredibly protective of those she cared for. If she found out what he wanted to do, he had no doubt she would insist he back off, out of her desire to keep him safe.

Darrian extracted a quick hug from Tabitha before heading back to inform Louise of their new plans. With every step, the weight in his heart only amplified as a single thought began to bounce around in his mind.

He was going to have to choose between losing her trust or losing her entirely.

Sowing the seeds for future plots! Wardes is mentioned, Darrian starts handing out cell phones like they're candy, a peek at some of what Louise's research is pointing towards, and the entire cluster bomb of info dropped by Henrietta and Agnès. A clear path forward through the plot is beginning to take shape.

Derflinger is getting some screen time, finally.

As for the bit with the cell phones. As mentioned in the chapter, six of them exist; those who posses them are currently:
-Darrian
-Louise
-Tabitha
-Henrietta

And the last two will be handed out eventually. Why six? One for Darrian and each of his friends.

And now, the Water Spirit arc begins, this time with no love potion! Shocking twist isn't very shocking.