Once upon a time, in the darkest moments of the Academy, Maria felt the world spin around. Moments later, she crashed on the dirt and her face hurt a lot more than before.

It was one of the times Keith-sama managed to escape.

"Damn! Damn it! Damn it!" Gerald-sama punched the ground, small flames blossoming with each hit. His suit was beyond saving, and he had a nasty cut on the forehead where a stone had almost taken him out completely "What am I going to tell Katarina now…?!"

Maria couldn't say anything. The fact that she managed to survive the last onslaught of stone pillars was a miracle. She wanted to curl and cry, but everything was way too surreal. She couldn't believe the blond prince would get so out of his usual character that it almost felt like a dream.

The warriors helping them gathered, following a stone-faced Nicol… Then Ascart-sama to Maria, close by.

"Stuart, stop messing around and get off the floor." The raven haired young man stated, voice ice cold as he looked down on the maddened prince "Tell me what went wrong."

"Not now Nicol—."

"Stuart!" Ascart-sama roared, his surroundings pulsating. By that point Maria knew of this noble's delicate control of his magic. As if an extension of his body and mind, the wind threatened to harm everyone if his voice was not heard "Tell me what went wrong. Now."

Gerald-sama blinked, looking at the dirt for a moment as his mind worked overtime to process everything at once.

He closed his eyes tightly, showing his teeth in an expression of pure pain. As if his injuries had caught up to him, as if he had been stabbed through the chest by Ascart-sama. His whole body tensed up but he breathed out slowly.

When he ran out of air, he stood back up and tried to dust himself. His expression wholly composed once more.

Nobles were scary like that.

"He displayed greater control over his projections. Not in the finer way, mind you. Just… More things at once I suppose." Gerald-sama informed them as he tried to control his breathing. His stoic facade broke down rather quickly, and looked more and more tired as he spoke.

"At this point we might have to expect he can do anything we can think of." Ascart-sama nodded "We'll have to assume we'll always be too slow and to weak to react."

Maria looked at her hands.

"I'm so sorry." Her voice broke down a little "I don't have the same training as the lords do. If I—."

"Campbell, you're the reason we've managed to last this long. What are you talking about?" Ascart-sama groaned, making Maria flinch. At that point, she hadn't gotten used to his way of being supportive.

"S-Still if I…"

"If you had chosen any other path, with any other skill…" Ascart-sama took a deep breath, as if he was angry at her for being stupid "One or more of us wouldn't be here to have this conversation."

"Your skills with light magic were, are, and will always be key here." Gerald-sama sighed "We can't outmaneuver or overpower Keith-san. We'll have to fight a battle of attrition. And for that, we'll depend on you, Maria-san."

Maria was speechless. Her feelings bottled up because Ascart-sama blocked her attempt to get them out. But new sensations invader her chest as well. She didn't know what to say or do.

She turned to Ascart-sama and found him nodding along.

Maria hadn't gotten everything off her chest, but now she felt more nervous than before. Unable to convey how powerless she felt. Entrusted more responsibility that she didn't feel equipped for.

"I-I'll do my best."

"Idiot, you're already doing more than enough." Ascart-sama scoffed.

"Still, I can't protect myself…" Maria insisted but didn't continue as she saw Ascart-sama's mood deteriorate further.

"We'll sacrifice anyone in your stead." Ascart-sama turned to the prince "You're more useful than nearly anyone here."

"What…?" Maria couldn't believe the outrageous things the raven haired noble was saying. So she turned to Gerald-sama for answers. For him to shut down the blatantly inhuman things he was saying.

Instead, Gerald-sama kept Ascart-sama's stare. When they looked away, their expressions were more grave.

"He's right." Was all Gerald-sama said "We can't lose Maria-san. Even if it's Nicol-sama or me…"

"They won't know what to do without you." Ascart-sama interrupted him.

"..." Now Gerald-sama became speechless "Let's go back to the topic."

Ascart-sama took a lungful of air, opening his hands for the first time since Maria saw him approach. The warriors looked demoralized, unable to interrupt. When the raven haired noble got his hair off his face and backwards, Maria was able to properly see him.

The veins in his face and neck were so visible they looked ready to burst. His features were hardened so much the muscles beneath could almost be counted apart; and his teeth had blood where he had bitten his lip in an attempt to rein himself in.

It wasn't that he was heartless. In fact, he was just as mad as Gerald-sama for failing. It was just that this man had never learned to channel his feelings properly. In a way it was a blessing in disguise.

He couldn't cope with loss so he pushed onwards, never hesitating. Never relenting.

"You can do this. Go first." Back in the present, Katarina-sama encouraged Maria with a small push. The noble lady still didn't look like her usual self, but her mood seemed to be improving since Alan-sama and Mary-sama arrived.

"Katarina-sama?" Mary-sama looked confused. She had been out of the loop so of course she'd need clarification. And the lady wasn't her usual self. Maria understood she'd be worried.

"I can't possibly, Katarina-sama knows him the best." Maria pushed the topic back in a place where Mary-sama could understand, so she wouldn't be inclined to dig deeper into Katarina-sama's thought process.

"Maria-chan has been closer to him recently." Katarina-sama countered "You two went through the toughest times together, right? I thought you'd be inseparable by this point."

Maria felt as if she had been physically slapped.

Katarina-sama blinked "...No?"

"Katarina-sama I doubt Maria-san wants to think about that now." Mary-sama interrupted, taking the attention of the lady back to herself.

"I…" Katarina-sama deflated "Right. Of course."

"You don't have to be brave for us." Mary-sama gave her a small smile "We understand if it hurts. You don't have to pretend it didn't affect you. Keith-sama's your brother after all. We get it, all of us. Even Maria-san, as she was there in the thick of it."

Mary-sama turned to Maria, looking for support.

In spite of her shaken feelings, the light mage did not hesitate.

"That's right. I saw Keith-sama's state, I saw everything happen in front of me." Maria stated "Even if I know nothing of a siblings' relationship, I know the hurt that this whole thing has brought. So please, Katarina-sama. You can be weak with us, just this once. I… We all deeply care about you."

Katarina-sama looked stunned, but quickly offered them a smile as her expression broke down a little bit.

"We're all been weird lately, huh." The lady took a trembling lungful of air, trying to clear her eyes.

"It's okay, Katarina-sama." Mary-sama placed a hand on her chest "We're all here for you. We won't abandon anyone anymore. Even if our presence ends up amounting to very little. We will be here."

"If Katarina-sama wishes, I will go first." Maria decided, fixing a determined stare at the closed door "But please don't get any strange ideas now. This will be pointless if we try to help Nicol-sama at the cost of your well-being. I… I am sure he wouldn't want that."

The two girls looked at each other, waiting. Maria was done being unable to help, doing only as much as her magic allowed her. Keith-sama had been the same, hadn't he? Burdened with a skill he didn't ask for, and which came at a terrible price. Maria understood that it had been only luck that placed her on the current side of that coin. Free instead of shackled to who knows what spells from the Ministry. But she'd take that chance, she'd make a difference in any way she could. Not just with her magic.

Katarina-sama nodded. Maria returned the gesture before grabbing the doorknob.

"I haven't seen him like this before…" Maria admitted shakily "...But I will do my best!"

She swung the door open and stepped within without further ado.

The young lord rested on his side, cradling his knees and facing the farthest wall of the room.

"I-I'm coming in…" Maria closed the door with a lot less strength than when she opened it, and her steps were hesitant as she approached.

The wind felt stale, as if the windows were closed. Maria took it as a bad sign, as it looked to her as if the lord's will was so beaten up his magic didn't even reach his immediate surroundings. Plus, and this she'd readily admit, Maria hated seeing the usually impertinent man look as defeated as he did.

"Nicol-sama…?" She kneeled behind him, placing a hand on his shoulder as gently as she could. She leaned in and saw his eyes open, if barely. He knew she was there, but she still did her best to not startle him "It's me, Maria."

"..." He closed his eyes but didn't answer. Maria frowned.

She thought back at his interaction with everyone, but it wasn't in her to try and bother him. It wasn't in her, and she'd do a terrible job at it either way. She wasn't as witty as the others, and she certainly was no Katarina-sama to try and get all buddy-buddy with him out of the blue.

She thought back at how he acted during distress. On the way he tried to prevent himself from exploding. How he avoided others as he tried to calm down.

Maria sighed.

"I… I like Katarina-sama." Maria murmured. She felt bad talking about herself at this moment, but all she could remember was the way he made room for others' feelings instead of his own. Perhaps in an attempt to feel strong, helpful or otherwise indomitable. Maria didn't know, she hadn't always thought of relying on him. She hated the notion in the beginning. And now, when everything was said and done, she realized she could only rely on what she thought Nicol-sama was "I really do. She's kind and helpful, unflinching and warm… But these talks about… About stories and plots, and main characters and romance… I feel lost."

He must feel that way too.

"But… But that's just a part of her. Isn't it? If my feelings are real, if they are strong as I believe they are… Then I'll have to learn to love that part of her too, right? Understand the way she sees me. Come to terms with whatever reality she has faced… And when I think about it I feel even more lost. It's surreal. And it's worse because of everything that's happening. Because in the end nothing can ever happen without dealing with… With all of this."

Maria took another lungful of air. She felt a bit dizzy.

"But… But I guess I owe you an apology. I didn't understand, couldn't have but that's not the point. I… Nicol-sama, I… I hated you. I hated how much happiness you gave Katarina-sama. How you were accepted in spite of all your shortcomings. I didn't understand why or how, but I guess it now makes sense in a twisted sort of way. I suppose you brought a comfort no one else could bring. Different in thinking, in behaving. And I wonder if you didn't see something in Katarina-sama as well, because of what you two are."

The noble didn't answer. He simply kept on breathing with his eyes closed. He looked more tense.

"And then… Keith-sama. And you were the first to jump to help. And I hated that nobility in your attitude. The way even that didn't make you a proper hero, however strange that sounds. I hated that I could see your need to act. To set things right. But now I understand. I think I just realized something too, actually. Nicol-sama, even before Keith-sama… Were you scared?"

Nicol-sama tensed up. Maria barely missed it, but she had learned to look out for those small changes to gauge him properly.

"Thrown in a strange world, in a place where nothing worked the way it should. I bet it was scary, I bet it hurt. And you picked the pieces of what you were from there. You didn't sink. And that… Nicol-sama, you and Katarina-sama are the bravest, most wonderful people I've met in my life." Maria got closer, getting her forehead to touch the side of his "Because of Katarina-sama I was able to befriend people far above my station. Yet even if that wasn't the case… You'd have accepted me all the same, wouldn't you? Not out of pity or duty… But simply because that's who you are. Selfishly selfless, cowardly in the way people that have been hurt too many times are."

She sighed, having her words become a whisper helped her keep it up. But the weight of her words still took its toll.

"So… I suppose telling you the same I told Katarina-sama is in order? You've done enough. You can be weak with us, with me. Nicol-sama, you might be special. But so am I. You do not have to carry the weight of the world on your shoulders, let us take a bit of that burden from you. Not out of pity, but out of gratitude for what you've done. Not out of malice, or any ulterior motives. But because we don't want you to get crushed under the weight of our own incompetence."

"...So you mean to tell me to be sad… To cheer me up?" Nicol-sama murmured. And Maria resisted the urge to stand back up out of embarrassment.

"I… I don't mean to burden you anymore." Maria composed herself "Please have the time to properly process your feelings. But I wanted you to know that we're here for you. We won't abandon you."

She stood back up, fixing her dress and controlling her breathing as she went back on what she said. She winged most of it, but it probably would be too much if she added anything else.

"Do you… Want to be left alone?" Maria asked.

"..." Nicol-sama moved his head, stretching his neck a bit to look back without moving the rest of his body. He quickly went back to his position from before.

Maria waited a minute, then another. Even when he didn't make any other move or sound, Maria waited. Firm in fulfilling her word.

"...No." Nicol-sama admitted.

Maria smiled brightly.

"Your will be done." She bowed even though she wouldn't see it.

"That's so weird, quit it." He complained.

"As expected of Nicol-sama, you're really weak to praise."

"Campbell." Nicol-sama stopped her, sitting up. He still looked rather weakened. But his eyes had regained a bit of the sharpness. She had overstepped a boundary "I always knew about Claes and you."

"Wha...!" Maria blushed, straightening up and clasping the helm of her skirt "What...?"

"You two were way too obvious."

"Please forget about that!" Maria covered her face, feeling the heat increase more and more. She turned around, looking at her shoes while she tried to deal with her feelings "I... I'll tell Mary-sama you want to see her!"

"Wait, no don't..." But Maria was gone.