And they lived happily ever after…
Even as a child in her first life, Maria knew of no greater lie ever told to her face she was expected to believe.
Had this been a simple altercation, it would not have been 'happily ever after', it would have been 'more paperwork for the student council'. As it was…
Once the princes and Lord Claes had been roused, Lady Ascart had stopped screaming from the other side of the now-fogless doorway (Lady Ascart had apparently been too overcome with screaming, and something about fumes and rain, to go for help, and her brother had been too concerned to leave her), and Maria had managed to use Light Magic to ensure Lord Claes was in no danger of bleeding to death, The Lord Head Clerk– or perhaps just the Head Clerk now?– told them everything. About how he had been born to Marquis Dieke and a maid in his service that he had raped, about how he was raised as a commoner with only his mother for family, and how he had been living as Sirius Dieke.
Maria told them how she suspected he had obtained Dark Magic. Finally, she also told them about how he had been controlled for the past seven years by that very same Dark Magic.
" The Dark Spirit of Vengeance of the Dark Magic wielder who transferred Sirius Dieke's memories to him was possessing him?" the Third Prince said. "Is that really your explanation?"
Maria grabbed Rafael by the shoulders and held him in front of the prince. "Look at this face. Does this look like the face of a force of such terrible evil and destruction as to be able to summon the fog to mark the boundary of his chamber?"
Rafael tried to smile apologetically and only managed to look constipated.
To their credit, the Third Prince, his brother, Lord Claes and Lord Ascart did study him intently. "Well, I suppose not…" the Third prince reluctantly agreed.
"I heard you need to be at least ten feet tall to be able to summon the fog," Lord Claes volunteered.
"What about that cult of lunatics in Brightstone Cove who locked themselves up in that building?" Prince Alan said.
"I think that was just faked with water magic, the guardsman who volunteered to go in said they all died in one hit," Lord Ascart said.
"Wait, really?" Prince Alan said.
"Yes, he said he was in a such a state of terror he went in swinging his sword at anything that moved and kept swinging until everything stopped moving. People outside said it didn't take very long. Though perhaps you could argue their aggregate height was more than ten feet tall."
"Maria's much more touchy-feely with the president now," Lady Claes chirped, grinning widely. Ah, this girl. How could Maria have missed how innocent and simple she was all along? Did Lady Claes perhaps hit her head as a child? She seemed to remember some sort of story about that. It would certainly explain so much. Or perhaps she simply neglected to wear a hat on hot days
"Of course," Maria said. "He's a commoner too. Manhandling him is perfectly acceptable."
Why was she squealing? Lady Claes, stop acting like an adorable puppy! Puppies only looked cute to make you forget they turned into dogs, the most horrible monsters in the world, second only to giant rats! The proof was how beasts look so much like dogs!
"Is this some sort of bizarre commoner mating ritual I don't know about?" Prince Alan said.
"No, it's not," Rafael said hastily.
"I don't know why you would think such a thing, your highness," Maria said. "Commoners manhandle other commoners all the time, it's perfectly normal."
"I… don't think it is?" Rafael said.
"You've been pretending to be a noble all this time and are woeful out of touch and outdated," Maria said. "Trust me, I'm a commoner."
Why had Lady Claes' squealing increased in volume? Lady Ascart, not you too! Was this perhaps some noble behavior that had no equivalent in Cainhurst?
"This is insane!" Lady Hunt said. "Do you really think we believe this asinine story that you dueled this 'spirit of vengeance' in your mind when it tried to possess you and managed to defeat it with the power of Light Magic?"
"…Yes? That is what happened after all," Maria said, not untruthfully. So what if Light Magic was only used a little bit at the end, it was all still factually true!
Lady Hunt pointed at her in what Maria thought was an overly-dramatic fashion. Her face was filled with suspicion, such that it overflowed and was pooling down to fill her large… vials of blood. "How do we know this isn't some ploy the two of you concocted together to make fools of us? You had all the time you needed, alone together in the student council room, doing who knows what things– Lady Katarina, would you please stop squealing, I'm trying to be serious here!"
Maria agreed. Humans should not make those high-pitched sounds unless they were being burned and gasses were escaping from their stomach. It was most distressing.
"Ahem! How do we know this isn't just some sort of subversive commoner plot to bring down the nobility?" Mary demanded.
"Er, it IS a commoner plot to bring down the nobility," Rafael admitted. "I… and the spirit too, I suppose… wanted to get vengeance on… that woman… for killing our mother.
"Ah hah! He admits it!"
Maria tried to recall, had Lady Hunt been wearing a hat those times they'd gardened? Clearly the heat had gotten to her. Or perhaps her mind was simply addled with lust. Whatever her mistakes with Lady Claes, Lady Hunt was acknowledged by all as an intelligent, sophisticated woman who was clearly deeply in lust with Katarina Claes. Perhaps this was some sort of attempt to get into her sheets.
…
All right, that was simply disturbing. Lady Claes had the mind of a not particularly bright child! And they'd still allowed Mary Hunt in her vicinity when her intentions were plain to all? After this, Maria was going to have to write a strongly worded, anonymous letter to the Duke and Duchess Claes, perhaps advising some sort of body guard. Eventually, one of these lustful perverts was going to get lucky, and then who would protect Lady Claes from their insatiable lusts?
"Though in my defense, I'm pretty sure the man in black who became the spirit was landed nobility himself, so really, I'm just a poor commoner pawn caught in the plots of my betters?" Rafael ventured.
"Don't try to distract us!" Lady Hunt said. "What you did to Lady Katarina was unforgivable!"
"But don't worry, Rafael!" Lady Claes said, with a wide, gentle smile. "I forgive you…"
"Lady Katarina…!" Lady Hunt sighed.
Rafael's face reddened slightly, staring at–-
Maria jerked him back. "Lady Claes, please do not be so familiar with a commoner," Maria said sternly. "As a duke's daughter, you must refer to Rafael as 'Mister Walt' from now on. Any other form of address is inappropriate for one of your rank."
"EH?! Rafael too?"
"I… don't mind…?"
"Hush you. You're a commoner, not a noble. You should refer to her as 'Lady Claes', not 'Lady Katarina', otherwise you could be accused of disrespecting a noble, the punishment for which is probably death, which would be most unfortunate, considering the bloodshed that would ensue."
"Bloodshed…?" Rafael said nervously.
"Eh?! I wouldn't do something like that!" Lady Claes cried, distressed.
"May I also remind you that, while Rafael was minutely, tangentially involved in Lady Claes' very enjoyable nap," Maria said, "that even he in his position as head of the student council could not have possibly authorized the construction of this chamber, whose perhaps was the study and development of Dark Magic. At the very least, it implies that the woman formerly known as the Marchioness Dieke has managed to corrupt parts of both the academy and the ministry to be able to construct and use this building so."
"So you say," Lady Hunt said.
"She brings up a good point, Mary," Prince Alan said, gesturing at the large room and especially at the magic circle on the floor. "No one could have done this by themselves, even with Earth Magic. The Ministry keeps information about Dark Magic locked up tight, so either someone on the inside who shouldn't have been talking told her, or she went digging for really shady magic and eventually found out about it that way, which couldn't have been for anything good. Though I gotta ask, how are you doing the purple flame?"
Rafael blinked, looking at all the candles glowing with purple eldritch light. "Oh, I added saltpeter to the wicks. It's just something I learned in alchemy class."
"Huh, neat! I thought it was dark magic or something, but it was just alchemy? Hey, do you think we could use this for the graduation ceremony?"
Lady Hunt glared at her fiancée like he'd betrayed her for some reason.
"I… your royal highnesses, I would like to surrender myself to your custody and authority," Rafael said. "I would like to turn myself in for… for the crime of assaulting Lady Claes with Dark Magic, and to submit evidence regarding the unlawful doings of the Marchioness Dieke regarding the use of Dark Magic."
Gently extricating himself from Maria, who had been holding him protectively, he got down on his knees and bowed. "Please, I beg you to see justice done. Whatever form that justice may take."
The sins of Madam Dieke, her men, and Rafael's own sins were hence laid bare.
"Ah, wait don't go adding the assault thing, I already said I forgive him! Don't I get a say in that?!"
A while after Rafael had turned himself in, news of Marchioness Dieke and her men being arrested spread across the circles of noble society, exposing how she made contacts in the Ministry of Magic and Academy's administration through corruption to experiment on forbidden magics. This had required a simultaneous operation led by the two younger princes to ensure no one could escape, especially at the ministry. Magical violence had ensued, which had caused much excitement among the school who had been in a position to watch a part of the Ministry building explode.
Unfortunately, despite all this secrecy, Marchioness Dieke appeared to have planned things out thoroughly. Despite the coordinated attack on her manor, she and some of her men had managed to disappear…
Marchioness Dieke cursed the princes, wherever they may be. She had been so sure that she had covered her tracks, but apparently she had somehow raised the suspicions of the blastedly talented Third Prince. Curse his pretty, arousing face! She had no idea how much he knew, but she had to hurry to the Academy! Her poor, poor Sirius! She should never have let him out of her sight…!
She led the way, traveling on dark, secret roads towards the school, routes they had found over the years of using the building they had established there as a research site. She had never though she would need to go this way again, not after her success, of managing to cure her son of his disease, but she still knew the way.
Two of her men, the only ones she had left for now, flanked her, one slight behind, the other slightly ahead. They watched the trees, trying to see through what little moonlight there was. They had not risked lamps or torches.
Oh, darling Sirius, please be well! If she had to rescue him form the Ministry's dungeons, then she would do it! She would rescue him and they'd leave the country together after killing these two fools to cover their tracks, and then they'd be a family together, and he would love her just like his treacherous father should have, and then they'd be together…
In the quiet of the night, there was a snap. Her horse jerked, then suddenly collapsed, sending her tumbling to the ground. She let out at cry of pain as the hard ground hit.
There was a thud like someone had dropped a slab of meet, and suddenly rain seemed to be falling on the Marchioness as the horses cried out in panic. She looked about in confusion, staring in horror as she saw the blood gushing from the headless neck of one of her men before his corpse toppled of his rearing, blood-maddened horse.
There was a much wetter sound behind her and another shower of blood and malodorous offal exploded over her. She turned, staring in horror at the bisected remains of her other man as his top half fell from his horse, which was bolting into the woods. As the horse moved, she found herself starring at a dark clad figure. A tricorned hat was pulled low over their face, and a dark cloth was over their mouth. In their hand was a saber. Under the moonlight, its razor-sharp edge gleamed.
"I perhaps should not be interfering here," the figure said, walking steadily, patiently towards her as the Marchioness struggled with her skirts, trying to get up, to crawl back, to run, and having difficulty doing any of those. "When not addled by lust, the princes are surprisingly competent. But I made a vow that I would see to his vengeance. And the onus of that vengeance lies with you."
The Marchioness stumbled to her knees, getting her feet under her.
"Oh yes, please run. Make this a hunt. Let's see how far you can flee…"
She ran wildly into the night.
It was a beautiful morning in Sorcier. The sun was shining, the birds were singing, and the nearly naked body hung upside-down by their ankles from the front gate, stripped and barely covered with rags to conceal their modesty. Their hands had been bound and flopped below their heads, and blood covered their face.
Poor Lady Monika Just was the first to find the body on her early morning attempt to confess to Katarina Claes at her garden, and her scream quite loudly woke the school, as the sight had left her quite understandably disturbed and she had to go for a lie down.
It was only after someone had gotten the nerve to fetch a ladder that they realized the seeming-corpse was no such thing, and was in fact an exhausted Marchioness Dieke…