The School Days and Beyond

by Storyjumper

These stories are going to focus largely on Ferdinand during his school days with the last few focusing more on Part 5 content. We all know how Ferdinand feels about Dunkelfelger women and I wanted to expand on that with a slight twist... one of them is much more than they seem.

32. To Catch a Prince

Magdelina 4th year royal academy

I was sitting in the main room keeping an eye on my fellow Dunkelfelger students. As one of only two archduke candidates currently present at the academy, it was part of my job to keep the reins and ensure peace in the dorm. This went doubly so for Dunkelfelger which tended towards rowdiness. I rubbed my aching temples. I had to step in and mediate no less than eight disputes just today. I scowled at the apprentice knights in question who were all leaning over a gewinnen board. While debating different tactics was a noble and even a respectable quest, I wish it wasn't because the so called, 'Lord of Evil'. Heisshitze and a few others had left early to gather 'intelligence', while these boys were to practice.

Just thinking about that cold boy had my hackles raised. Sure, he was talented, but so what? What was the point of talent if your words chased off everyone. And that was even taking into account his ruthlessness and lack of chivalry. My mind briefly wandered to the handsome prince who was training as a knight, while still remaining chivalrous. The complete opposite of the so called 'Demon King'. The boys at the other table uttered comments about how a certain strategy could be blocked by unscrupulous means. This reminded me of all the times I bore witness to pretty boy using bone breaking magic tools on his fellows. People from his own duchy, for the Gods' sakes! Ehrenfest always had a good portion of its ditter team wounded, mostly from their own commander. It spoke of a poor leader and a bad temper. I had certainly seen his bad moods first-hand. For someone of his station to brazenly call my sister delusional and child for singing the most beautiful romance song I had ever heard. That a bastard boy of such a lowly duchy would dare speak thusly to my sister! It was beyond infuriating. I wanted to wring his scrawny neck then and there, and might have fallen to Chaos's temptation if my sister hadn't chosen to let his rudeness slide. Again!

I grumbled to myself, and jabbed at my parchment extra hard. The pen gouging the surface of my otherwise neat work. That was another complaint I had. My sister… doted on the Ehrenfest archduke candidate. I had to work not to grimace at the thought, this was too public for my emotions to show. Others thought she mocked and teased; but no, I knew better. I recognized the odd behavior from growing up beside her. She was treating that vicious brat the same way she did Werdecraft and Heisshitze. Leading and pushing, drawing out potential like she lured that hound of hers out from its shell. Even Peter was offering him more help. We had long ago stopped collaborating on Minerva's charms. Though my sister did still test my work whenever I asked. But she did the same for Lord Ferdinand. She even took his rudeness flipping it on its head without redirecting it at him; as she should have, could have. In fact, she had the nerve to chastise me when I called him on it. I remembered the words she said after she pulled me aside as clearly as it had been this morning, it had stood out because she had actually bothered to use euphuisms.

'Schneerst does not bare his fangs without reason and he is Ewigeliebe's Schutzaria.'

I had scoffed. The euphuism didn't even make sense. Schutzaria fought Ewigeliebe every autumn and Ewigeliebe didn't need protection. The first part; I grudgingly admitted, made sense. And rumors certainly hinted that Lord Ferdinand didn't have an easy up bringing, but that was not an excuse for his poor manners and lack of chivalry.

Another burst of noise came from the table. I shot them a quieting glare and the noise level dropped back to a respectable level. I rubbed my temples again. It was supposed to be my sister's turn for this mess, but Geduldh had decided to visit my sister early. Wincing, I realized I was being unfair to send my ire her way. All too clearly, I remembered when the first blessing had come to both of us. Same day, same time. It had been… unpleasant. Aches and bleeding. However, it seemed the goddess had it out for my sister in particular. The first day required a veritable river of potions, as well as magic tools. Peter had crafted a cloak that would prevent outside mana from touching her, while also collecting the excess she produced from her pain.

"My lady." I looked up at my knight, Penelope. The white-haired apprentice knight had just come back from the teleportation room. She held a piece of parchment with my mother's signature on the outside. What's more my guard knight seemed incredibly uneasy. "Lord Heisshitze brought this back."

What? I thought my dear cousin had been with him.

"He seemed very excited." That didn't bode well. It never did. I took the parchment and told my two scholars to keep the peace while I checked the letter in my hidden room. I read once, twice, thrice, and even a fourth time. Each time the words remained the same. My horror and devastation only grew. This couldn't be! What about my plans? I thought of the handsome chivalrous knight. That image shattered under my mother's words. Father was arranging my marriage, to none other than the Lord of Evil himself.

I didn't even think. I snatched up the letter and stomped to my sister's room. My attendants chased after me calling after me. I ignored them. Catherine and Eveline stood outside. The latter went rigid at my expression and quickly scurried into the room. Sister's guard eyed me as I waited. My entourage took my cue and remained quiet. A few moments later Eveline came back out.

"Only Lady Magdelina may go past this point."

My retinue all bristled at Eveline. I noted the slight tremble in her hands, and remembered belatedly that Minerva had taken her into her entourage because Dimitri; the disgusting little Talfrosch, had been harassing her. His own half-sister! I nodded walking past her to enter my sister's room. Lady Minerva knelt in the center of her room. Her glaive was laid on the floor next to her. So, she was practicing. Most of her form was hidden in the black cloak the draped over her shoulders. But the hood was up far enough that I could easily see her face. She looked surprised. Her nostrils flared as if she were a Wolfeniel looking for prey. Looking at her I felt the fury of betrayal rise so fast it might burn straight through my chest. I thought she had been on my side! The door shut behind me and I threw an anti-ease dropping tool at her. She caught it easily and without bothering to check it for poison. I might have reprimanded her for that, but I was too angry.

"How could you?" I demanded. Heisshitze was her knight. It wasn't hard to figure out how this had happened. And with how she doted on him. But I thought… I thought! I bit down on my lip hard enough to draw blood. I wouldn't cry. Not here.

Sister hesitated. She opened her mouth and closed it. There was no remorse nothing but blankness.

I practically screamed, "How could you!" Then it all came tumbling out in a stream. "You promised you'd always be on my side! Yet you went behind my back! To father!" Despite my effort, I could feel my eyes water. "You KNOW I have no interest in the Ehrenfest boy! You KNOW I like the prince. Why would you push for our marriage?"

Her eyes went wide. "(*Fuck*)" That stupid language. Another worm of jealousy. She had only ever taught Peter. "I had nothing to do with-."

I cut her off. "Heisshitze went to father!" No one else could command her guard knight. He hadn't sunk so low as to take orders from the lowly Ehrenfest boy. Not yet.

She growled, "What?" This time her surprise turned to rage. "(*Find him*) Peter."

"What does Peter have to do with this?"

She pinched the bridge of her nose. Her response didn't answer my question. "That fool."

"You can't honestly expect me to believe you had nothing to do with this? I've seen how you shower that boy with affection." The words tasted bitter in my mouth. That bitterness made me spit poison. "If you want protect him so badly, take responsibility and marry him yourself!" She actually flinched at my words. Never once had she allowed something to hurt her, yet now she looked as if I had buried a knife in her gut.

With deliberate slowness she removed the magic tool from around her eyes and laid it on the ground beside her right knee. Then various other charms joined them on the floor. All of them were protective charms. After a small mountain was formed there were several soft thumps. A handful of feystones fell from under her shirt. Feystone armor. Then she picked up her glaive. The blade never pointed in my direction. She rested the tip right above where her mana organ was, offering me the other end. There was nothing protecting her from the blade. Even with strength enhancing magic she wouldn't be able to stop me from running her through like this.

"I swear, before the Seven and all their subordinates. I had no hand in this. I did not plan this. I did not know about this. Had I known, I would have stopped it. I have not lied to you. Nor do I ever want to hurt you. May Chaoscipher make me her play thing for all eternity if I have lied." A small shiver of mana coursed through the room as her red ring flashed. Those silver eyes looked at me with open pleading, but also resolve. She would let me take her life here and now if I couldn't be satisfied. I bit my lip and sighed. Carefully, pulled the weapon away from my twin's chest. It clattered to the floor and Minerva seemed to lose all strength. It reminded me of the dolls she had ordered for me, with little strings to help them move. Only her strings would have been cut.

"I'm sorry." I mumbled when I noticed her hands trembled. This was the first time I had seen her scared since she had protected me from a Giftigfesseln.

Minerva waved me off. "It was only to be expected, once you heard Heisshitze was the one who acted." True, but I had still jumped to conclusions and acted on my rage rather than gather more information. How was I any better than my brother or Heisshitze who I constantly admonished for acting rashly. Shame prickled at my cheeks. Even after several long minutes, my twin hadn't moved.

"Sister?"

"Hmm?"

"Are you alright?"

She gave a hesitant half laugh. "I'm, I'm a little shaken. I will regain my composure soon." She kept her head bowed so I couldn't see her normally expressive eyes. Guilt washed over me and I knelt down in front of her, reaching for her hands. Not unlike she used to do when I was afraid or had waken from my nightmares.

"I am sorry, Minnie." I used her childhood nickname, which I hadn't used since we had started at the academy. Her lips quirked in a smile. "I should have trusted you." This time she did look up at me. She squeezed my hands then reached up and tussled my hair.

"Until you have what you need to be happy, use me as your blade and shield." She groaned and rubbed her temples. A stark reminder she was quarantining herself because she was in a lot of pain. Which should have been another hint that she was unlikely involved in our cousin's antics. I sighed at my own impulsiveness. "I'll have Peter do damage control. Perhaps we can stop this before it gets out." She didn't sound hopeful, but it was worth a try.

Ferdinand 4th Year Royal Academy

I narrowed my eyes at Heisshitze. He looked especially cheerful upon his return. After such an awkward talk I was relieved when he went back to his normal ditter obsession. Why he had felt the need to ask about what my 'type' was I'm sure I didn't even want to know. I glanced at Justus who seemed to have remembered the conversation from a few days ago. My attendant had choked on his laughter. And after that conversation I had to have another very uncomfortable talk with said attendant about what happens between a man and his wife, mana matters, and the sword and chalice. I shuddered. It's not like this was information I would need. No woman would match me. Heck, Lady Minerva barely registered. A child would be impossible between us. I cringed again at the thought. Besides I was already compressing so I would never feel that woman. I shuddered as green eyes rose in my mind.

"It has been settled."

Huh? I tapped my temple with two fingers. "What nonsense are you spouting now?"

"A wife."

Was he serious? I felt my eyebrows rise in question.

The other knight grinned. "Aub agreed. I believe he will be contacting Aub Ehrenfest."

I could only blink. How? When? This question had come up three days ago! Who would they give me to? A glance at the other boys from Dunkelfelger that trained with us, they all seemed excited. I could hear them speculating, most seemed convinced it would be one of the twins. The thought; while not unpleasant, was odd. Lady Magdaline had long stopped showing interest in discussing scholarly endeavors with me. Her sister on the other hand; I had to fight the urge to show my revulsion, settling for tapping my temple instead. Definitely not. She was the most vexing person in the world. It would be nothing but headache after headache to marry her. Before my thoughts could stray too far down that path, I gestured for Justus to investigate. He was gone swift as Steiferise.

"Heisshitze."

I turned to see Peter sweeping down on his winged wolf. The man's face was unnaturally pale. Was he alright? He looked… frightened. Not something that I could normally attribute to the arch scholar. His lady's confidence seemed contagious and rubbed off on her people. Peter was also competent, so anything that pulled off his mask did not bode well. Either that or Minerva was in trouble. The idea gave me no end of amusement, but I wouldn't get my hopes up.

"Peter! I was just about to ask Lord Ferdinand to a celebratory d-."

"I reject." "Your presence is required." I spoke at the same as Peter. But I got the impression that Peter was even more upset. He couldn't get his noble smile to remain in place. In fact, there was a subtle shake to the other boy's hands.

"Our lady is free?"

"Whether she's free or not, your presence is still needed." There was something odd going on. My gaze flicked between the two of them. They were in some kind of deadlock. It broke when Heisshitze sighed.

"I'll go. Will you be joining me?" The other knights grumbled their disappointment. While Peter smiled brightly. For a moment the color came back to his face.

"I wouldn't want to interrupt such a moment so blessed by Ordoschnell and Liebeskuhilfe."

The guard knight looked suddenly very excited. "Ah, I should have known you and our lady were already aware of things. I will go share the joyous news."

Peter smiled as the apprentice knight summoned his high beast and flew off toward the dorms. Once he was gone the scholar's color quickly drained away again. He was actually looking a little green. The other boy reached up and ran a hand through his ponytail. His sleeve slipped just enough to show the bandages he still wore. A tinge of regret and guilt wormed in my gut.

"Perhaps you'd care for a round of gewinnen?"

Peter agreed easily agreed though I noticed he was quite distracted throughout the beginning of the game. He hadn't even taken off his monocle, which was normally clipped to his cloak beside the dragon brooch. I decided to take advantage of his distracted state to probe him subtly about the possible marriage as well as other things. The other boys were watching our game while pretending they were continuing to drill, so I had to be careful. I was certain apprentice knights couldn't read lips, but there were scholars of the sword among them. Better to be vigilant here than come to regret it later.

I intentionally dragged out our game. Normally, Peter was quick to call to attention careless moves in his opponents. Now he was so distracted that he didn't seem to notice his own moves were excessively bold. Some of them I let slide. Too much and he would grow suspicious about my motives for dragging this out. My probing was met with polite noble answers that could be interpreted as either 'I don't know' or that he missed the meaning all together. It was becoming frustrating. At least to the questions that had to do with the marriage that Heisshitze had supposedly brokered. I couldn't tell how he felt about it, but he didn't seem to have an animosity towards me. That at least pointed to the bride being Lady Magdalina.

I sighed.

"My apologies, Lord Ferdinand. I have been a poor host." He took off the monocle and clipped it back to his cloak.

I inquired about what had been distracting him and received an enigmatic smile.

"My work seems blessed Glücklität and Anwachs."

I snorted. There certainly was no end to the trouble he no doubt had to deal with, being Lady Minerva's one and only scholar. Speaking of which, I glanced at my Veronica faction retainers. Most of the knights had long since been curtailed in their more overt actions thanks to that incident. It was the scholars and attendants who were now the trouble. Justus and Lasfam could only do so much. Peter caught my glance. His expression managed to brighten while also carrying a hint of menace.

"It never ceases to amaze what an abundance of Brennwärme and Chaoscipher blessing can do." Peter hummed to himself. "Patients, give them just enough rope."

"What do you mean, give them enough rope?"

His smile had a wicked curl to it. "Leave cleaning up the trash to those people whose job it is to take care of it." I wasn't entirely sure what a rope had to do with taking care of your enemies other than tying them up, but I let it slide.

"I see being around Chaoscipher makes you like her."

Peter choked on his laughter. The mirth in his eyes however was overflowing. "I should probably defend my lady's reputation, but the truth is she probably be amused." His gaze went back to the board. "Especially since you seem to learn her lessons well."

I frowned and the scholar indicated the board. Looking over all of our pieces' positions I frowned harder and tapped two fingers to my temple. This was the same scenario that Minerva had beaten me. Every single one of Peter's pieces matched that first game. Only this time I had turned the table. He had been paying that close attention? Those orange eyes watched me with an emotion I couldn't place. We continued chatting about various topics that related to brewing and projects we didn't mind sharing. He was working on an alteration to the tool that allowed a highbeast to stay formed even without the person suppling it. After a too long of a silence Peter sighed.

"Well, I guess that is my defeat." There were still moves Peter could play. His odds of winning were exceedingly low, but still, he was a Dunkelfelger.

"How very unlike someone of Dunkelfelger to admit defeat."

His lips quirked at the side; an approving smile that disappeared just as quick as it came. "Sometimes defeat is necessary to win what you desire."

I snorted. "You've won nothing here."

Peter reached into his side pouch and pulled out a small velvet bag about the size of a closed fist. "In that; Lord Ferdinand, you are wrong. I got exactly what I wanted." He crossed his arms in deference. Then asked to be excused. I waved him off. Justus had come back in that time. He grabbed the bag that Peter had left and did the customary checks. Then he offered me the bag. Inside was a small fortune in gold dust. I couldn't understand that man or his lady. How was losing and giving me such valuable materials winning? After reviewing and combing through the conversation I couldn't see any intelligence he gained. Where they both truly just mad?

Once we had ditched the dead weight of my 'new' retinue and were safely back in Hirschur's lab, I added the gold dust to the ever-growing collection of resources. She was practically giddy with excitement when she realized what I brought.

"And who is this from?"

"Lord Peter."

"Hmm, he challenged you?"

"No."

Her lips quirked up. "Oh?"

"It was simply a game of gewinnen." An odd one. My gaze was drawn back to the cabinet that held all of our more valuable materials and the bag of gold dust. I still owed Peter for the Giftigfesseln incident. Frowning, went through the materials wondering how best to repay him. My gaze fell on the two stones I had left of that feyinsect after I had made charms for my entourage and Hirschur. The darkness and light element. An image slowly formed in my mind. A protection that linked two people and could gather strength from the other if one was harmed. One was shaped like a crow while the other was a golden dragon. That would work. It would certainly pay my debt to both of them. But how did I get them to accept it?

Lady Minerva 4th year Royal Academy

It was several days after Maggie had confronted me about Heisshitze's stupidity. I had strung my knight up by his ankles at the first opportunity. It was probably unwise to do so in the middle of the common room, but I was very displeased. So, after a discussion where I made it clear he was to do nothing that I did not directly command him to do, I left him hanging there with the intent of leaving him tell morning. That was, until Peter reminded me that his head might actually burst. It was tempting. Very tempting. But I conceded that killing him would be a waste if things could be fixed. Today's meeting would decide whether or not I fell to that temptation or not. As such, I sent Heisshitze, and the rest of the knights to train with the Little Flower. They were all to happy to get a 'reward'; a fool should be able to enjoy his last meal, and I felt better knowing Little Flower had good people at his back. Even if they were a little simple minded sometimes. Ehrenfest's first lady's knights in his entourage had been brought to heel. Parting a knight from his hand was an effective threat, it seemed. Now it was scholars and attendants in the Little Flowers entourage that were still overtly working against him. And I couldn't really afford to stick Peter back in his entourage again. Why were the petty spiteful roaches always the hardest to kill? Tempting, so, so very tempting. My head throbbed and pulsed.

I shoved the pain away and clamped down on those darker impulses. Perhaps I needed to have a word with those pesky Gods. They were so insistent on sticking their noses where they didn't belong. In my mind I saw the Little Flower's face twisted in pain, his eyes a rainbow of colors. I flexed my fingers popping the joints to relieve the tension and irritation. Though I got the feeling the Gods were avoiding me. That should have brought a smile to my face, instead it just made my skin itch. Nothing good was coming; of that, I was sure.

Sighing again, I took the rest of my meager entourage aside, making sure to swear them to secrecy. This would only work if we managed to act without mother, father, or the prince from getting word. Taking my seat in a small conference room I sighed and ran my hand through my ponytail. This was going to be tricky. Subtly wasn't really where my strength lies. Peter stepped close, offering comfort where he could. Maggie came in with five other people. Three scholars, one guard knight, and one attendant. All of them were ones that were single minded in how loyal they were to my twin. Once Maggie was seated across from me, Peter placed an area sound blocking device. Eveline had already swept the room for any kind of magical tools, and Cathrine stood at the door with a magic tool that let her look through the door. Just in case.

I didn't bother to beat around the bush. We didn't have time for that. "So, Prince Trauerqual." As I said this, I watched my sister's people. I trusted them to have her back, but when people's lives were on the line even the strongest loyalty could be broken. Their expressions were a mixture of excitement and trepidation. If this went well, these people could end up elevated to higher positions, but conversely failure could end with at best utter humiliation. At worst we could be executed. Another reason to limit who knew about what we were doing. "What do we know?"

Maggie's fifth year arch scholar responded to my question. "We have a list of his preferences, a bare bones outline of his schedule, agreements with several factions that side with him for support, as well as a list of those who were actively working against him." Trauerqual was not yet the forerunner in the race. In fact, he technically wasn't in the race at all. One more prince needed to fall before he would be pushed into the race for Zenthood. And that would be soon. Our fifth year. Just enough time to get this plan rolling. So, the scholar's information was useful, but no where near enough.

"How many guards does he have here in the academy? What kind of protections do they have? What are their personalities? What are their specialties? At what times is he least protected? All of this is information we need in order for Lady Magdalina to get close enough to take him down." I did have a plan to help ease his guard down, but it would take time and prep. And more than a little luck. "We will not get a second chance at this. Failure will likely lead to death."

Peter stiffened beside me. He known, but it was one thing to know, and another to hear it spoken aloud.

"To that end, I had Peter look into the prince." Placing that bug had been a pain in my ass. Not mention slightly humiliating. At least the archduke candidate Werkestock had been good for something. One could always rely on a petty person to lash out when they were served up an opportunity on a silver platter.

Boxes of boards were brought out from under the table. Eveline handed over the most relevant boards to Maggie's attendant. Only after all the boringly tedious tasks were done, did my sister begin to scan over the information. Her red eyes practically glittered. I could see the moment she got to the prince's comings and goings from his residences as well which family members he had regular meetings with. Most of this would be information I would have struggled to obtain, much less Peter.

"Does this have anything to do with you tripping into him on the first day of class in our third year." I nearly winced. Of course she'd remember. It probably didn't help that not long after that we had the discussion with the Little Flower about being tracked. Sometimes being surrounded by sharp minded people was a big pain in my ass.

"What could a moment of clumsiness have to do with information gathering?"

Her lips pulled into an unamused smile. A small anti-eavesdropping tool was passed to me. I took it with a rueful smile. Lecture or interrogation, which would this be?

"These notes start from that day."

Interrogation. "Well, you certainly couldn't take your eyes off him in class. I just took that as my sisterly duty to look into him for you." My sister's face flushed red. The denial already rising on her tongue. That was a dirty trick in how unfair it was. The young man had been the teacher, of course people were staring at him. Maggie's mouth snapped closed with an audible clack of her teeth slamming together.

"Fine, keep your secrets."

"Sister-."

"I expect you to remove them by our star binding."

I smiled, if I was alive and capable of it then to do so, I will. But I kept this to myself, Maggie had enough to worry about without worrying about me too. One need not unsay say something they never said in the first place. She narrowed her eyes at me, I wondered if she sensed something was off. A shame that that her and Little Flower didn't have any affection for each other. They were both incredible people. Perhaps things could have been different if the Little Flower had been raised with the affection and acknowledgement that he had been starved for. But then again, sister had always been more of a romantic at heart. I sighed and cut that thought off. There was no point wishing upon stars for something that could not be undone. Neither Fate nor Dregarnuhr were that kind. I handed back the magic tool.

"My lady, how do you plan to deal with the prince's guard knight. Even here at the academy he has one.

I cleared my throat. "That will be my job. I can restrain the guard while Lady Magdalina gets her bride task."

"Sister."

"Hmm?"

"Please don't hurt him. He will be my husband's retainer. I do not want to start out on a bad foot with him."

Should I be offended that she believed I couldn't control my strength enough not to hurt him? Though not that I think about it, I have not been in a good mood lately. I suppose our apprentice knights are looking a little more ragged than usual, but it wasn't debilitating. And I only hung Heisshitze by his ankles the once… the other three times don't count. I was saving him!

"Assuming he does not retaliate against you, I will hurt nothing more than his pride." All bets were off then, and I'd crush his bones into dust. Was that a note of skepticism in my twin's eyes? Perhaps. In end it would only matter if the guard knight did something foolish. "You should really be putting thought into what the possible bride task will be. Any thoughts?"

"A few. Dunkelfelger is currently neutral. I suspect he will ask for aid for the brother he is closest to. Our strength will be needed in order to bring this war to a swift conclusion. We waste too many resources as it is."

So, she realized it too. Whether the nobles liked it or not, we were basically batteries for this world and the giant fucking barrier that kept a certain wintery yandere sealed up. Even I could tell our quality was decreasing. Like a laptop that was constantly being left plugged in. The stuff I read in the archive all but proved that. And the declines became more stark right after wartime. It was enough to make me want to rip my hair out in frustration.

We got the plan rolling, then I returned to my room. I decided to skip dinner. This way I could avoid Heisshitze for a little bit longer. Sinking down on the plush rug in my room, I gave into to urge to make a frustrated noise.

"Is it safe?" Peter's voice whispered in my ear.

I fed mana into the circle embroidered on my rug. "Yes. I'll take that report now."

"In regards to the girl Myne?"

"Correct."

"I've only just started checking mana servants, but as they are often hidden it's hard to say whether or not I'll be able to find her. If she even is one; which I don't think she is."

"Why? I wasn't able to give you a description of her." I had only heard her voice and seen things around her and the Little Flower. Mostly an office space with a few servants.

"It was actually the description of the servants that made me think you might be looking in the wrong place."

"How so?"

"Their description matches grey priests."

"From the temple? But no one in Dunkelfelger would put him-." Which meant he wouldn't come to Dunkelfelger if he was to meet little Myne. My breath rushed out so quick that I was dizzy. I don't think I'd ever felt such stark relief in this lifetime. The choice to help Maggie hadn't stolen that bit of kindness from him. I could feel myself lose the last of my strength and I slumped over sideways onto the rug.

"Exactly. No one in Dunkelfelger would ever let him go to the temple. Unless he was seeking flowers." I scowled at that word; hated it for what it meant. "Incidentally, are you alright? You normally are better at keeping up appearances. And I know that rug isn't that comfortable."

I gave the empty room the middle finger.

His chuckle had my toes curling in my boots. "I saw that my love." His voice should be a crime.

I groaned in a VERY unnoble manner. Dignity is my middle name. He let the silence stretch for a long time. Waiting for the heat to drain from my cheeks before asking, "Peter?"

"Hmmm?"

"Whatever protections we can give him these next few years, give him. I don't care how small or slight. No matter the cost, anything and everything."

"We will protect him love." I could feel his determination that matched my own.

"I hope so. Cause I can't lose anyone else. She's too close to leave my sanity intact."

"Our preparations are still underway. I'm hoping the safe house will be fully ready by the Interduchy Tournament of our final year."

"That's cutting it close." We'd have to give him the key somehow during the tournament and explain it's use. Not to mention a safety measure if we didn't have the time to explain.

I couldn't see him, but I knew he shrugged from his tone. "I can only do what I can. Sadly, this is not something I can reveal to anyone else other than you. Too much of a risk. I can't even ask Lord Ferdinand for assistance. He is smart enough to guess what you did and my resulting status. That's not something we can risk getting out, no matter how much we trust him." He was right. Heavy status-based societies were a fucking pain in my ass. Honestly, I wasn't even sure if our lives would be spared if it ever got out. I sighed and shoved that thought away.

"Do what you can."

"Always."

Alessandro (Ferdinand's) 5th year Royal Academy

I attended my lord, Prince Trauerqual the fifth prince. My lord was currently the teacher of the archduke candidate classes at the Royal Academy. He was a man of good reputation and a hard work ethic, evidenced by the mountains of paperwork he managed for his classes while maintaining the dignity of a knight. Truly he was an aspiring lord for me to have the privilege of working for. Even while his elder brothers threw away mana and lives my lord did his best to stay out of their way. Or at least he had until his late brother; the third prince, was assassinated. Now, we were both more vigilant.

The first point of caution came last year. When I was guarding my lord on the way from one of his classes, we came across the twin Dunkelfelger princesses. It was suspicious because they lacked any attendants or guards. They were walking towards one of the empty classrooms discussing some adjustments to a protection. My lord; being a gentleman, approached them to make sure all was well.

It was the younger twin, Lady Magdalena, who did all of the talking. My lord had inquired as to what they were doing. And the lady's response was a euphuistic way of asking if my lord was prying into a lady's secrets. How dare she! It wasn't until my lord inquired if it was ditter related and the lady's face flushed that I realized my mistake. I had forgotten Dunkelfelger's obsession. He was quick to make social amends by pointing out his concern for their lack of knights rather than trying to steal their secrets. To which the young lady pointed out that her twin was acting as a guard. I looked over the silent girl. At first glance there was nothing that made me think she was a threat. Even the magic tool around her eyes gave her the appearance of someone delicate and scholarly. She had sensed my gaze and met it. My schtappe was out almost without thought. Then she dropped her eyes and I dispelled my schtappe. I couldn't believe I had done something so utterly rude. But it had been instinct, it had felt like I was suddenly facing down a massive feybeast. Thankfully, no one other than Lady Minerva seemed to noticed, and the girl seemed to keep it to herself.

These meetings kept happening. Always that same location. When I expressed my suspicions about the twins my lord gave me free rein to gather information. My investigation turned up nothing nefarious. The twins had set days that they snuck out to experiment with magical tools and protections. Each that I managed to catch I would see variations of in Ditter matches later. Though I did find out that Bluanfa danced in the younger twin for my lord of all people. It seemed like that was the reason they had chosen this classroom. So, she could see my lord outside of class. I wonder if my lord suspected as much? Perhaps. I was still abnormally cautious of the older twin, even if I couldn't place the why. Trust your gut, my training master had told me many years ago. So, I kept watch and my guard up.

My lord had long since let his guard down. He had even taken to teasing me about my caution. When I finally confessed my reaction to the older twin he had chuckled and asked if perhaps Bluanfa had struck with Verdränner's strength that I didn't recognize it as such. I couldn't manage to keep my noble façade for that one. My wife and I had been purely a political match. Even towards her end, nothing had changed. The girl, while not unattractive, didn't stir anything like Bluanfa or Brennwärme in me. In fact, my first thought had been to draw my weapon on her as if she were a beast. This received only more teasing.

We walked the same path we had hundred time. As expected, the twins were on their way to their unused classroom. This time I focused on the older twin. She smiled at me, her head tilting ever so slightly, causing the star charms dangling in her hair to make a pleasing sound. My head felt fussy and I couldn't take my eyes off her smile. I was vaguely aware of my lord speaking, but I couldn't focus on the words. Only that smile. Then something made contact with my chest.

It took my mind a whole second to realize what. Lady Minerva had bumped her chest into mine. Shame, embracement, arousal spiked then it was all drowned in horror.

"(*Checkmate*)" That strange phrase must have been a signal. I had only enough time to glance at my lord and Lady Magdalina the latter of whom had summoned messer. Then my legs disappeared under me. I hit the ground with jarring force. My arms were pinned behind my back. None of my charms had been triggered. Before I could scream a warning or a call for help a clothed had clamped over my mouth. I could feel mana in the fabric, likely for silencing. I swore and struggled in vain. But my body refused to obey me. I could only watch in horror as the younger twin tackled my lord and held the blade to his throat.

She smiled with wildly joy. "Lord Trauerqual, I demand a bride task from you."

What? What is a bride task? Was she serious? She wasn't trying to assassinate my lord?

"I do not care what task you give me or which wife you make me, so long as I may remain at your side." WAS SHE SERIOUS?! HOW SHAMELESSLY FORWARD COULD A WOMAN BE? Then Lady Magdalina leaned down and pressed her lips to my lord's. I felt my face flush at such a brazen displace of Brennwärme. One of which had stirred my lord.

There was a soft feminine chuckle near my ear. "Oh my, it seems I am a very bad influence." This was her idea? How could she lead her younger sister to be so lewd and shameless? In public no less? I squirmed harder and tried to voice my objection to such displays. The twin holding me chuckled again. "Hush now, (*bucko*). She won't eat your lord." I felt my face flush at such crude words coming from such a young face.

"Well, my lord?" Lady Magdalina asked my red-faced lord. "Will you give me a task? Or will Geduldh turn her blade on herself?" The grip that held my arms in place tightened to the point of pain at those words. Which told me that Lady Minerva had not realized this would be part of the plan. There was even a subtle shake to those hands. I waited hoping the girl would be distracted long enough for me to break free. Greifechan was not on my side no matter how I struggled.

My lord swallowed. "If I ask for Dunkelfelger's assistance in the war, would that be a suitable task?" The lady that straddled him smiled.

"That is a suitable task, my lord Trauerqual." She practically purred his name. Any man would have felt Beischmacht stir at such a tone. "As I convinced my warrior sister, convincing my father will be no different." I had to give her credit, she seemed confident in her ability to sway Aub Dunkelfelger.

The grip on my arms slackened noticeably. Lady Minerva must have been distracted by what was going on that she forgot about me. I jerked away, this time I managed to break free and summon my schtappe sword. I swung the blade around aiming to pin the girl to the ground.

"Stop!" Lord Trauerqual barked. The point of my blade stopped just short of where I had been about to stab her shoulder. Silver eyes locked on my own. There was no fear, anger, or even surprise, just a cold determination that not even death seemed to be able to ruffle. It was unnatural in someone so young.

"My lord?" They at least deserved some punishment for what they did here. Didn't they?

"Enough. This is a boon from the Gods. One we sorely need."

"But surely-."

"Enough!"

I grit my teeth in frustration, but drew back my sword. Lady Minerva watched me carefully. Her lips pulled into a pronounced smirk that did nothing to lighten the coldness of her gaze. Did she have a death wish? She stood slowly, brushing off the dust from her clothes.

"If Lord Trauerqual doesn't mind, I would like to have a word with my sister." This time the smirk on her lips actually reached her eyes. "Unless you'd rather be left alone for a moment or two longer?" There was a mocking tone to her voice. My Lord and her sister seemed to suddenly remember the position they were in. Instantly they pulled apart very abashed by their lewd behavior. Lady Magdalina allowed herself to be dragged away by her sister into the classroom they usually worked in. I strengthened my hearing to catch what they were saying.

"What was that?" Minvera hissed.

"I proposed."

"Not that! Don't you ever threaten to take your life. EVER! Do you understand me? I do not care what is happening. That is a line you do not cross."

"Minerva, I'm sorry. Why are you so angry?"

"I can't lose a sister! Not again! Not ever!"

"Minnie, calm down. You haven't lost me. I'm still here. I'm sorry. I won't say such things again. I'm really sorry. I didn't mean to upset you."

Huh, I wasn't aware that Aub Dunkelfelger had lost a daughter.

Trauerqual (Ferdinand's) 6th year Royal Academy.

There were many things I hadn't intended to do. Aiming for the highest seat was one of them. Taking on a third wife. Falling in love with said wife. Yet, here I was, sitting across from Lady Magdalina of Dunkelfelger. We are having a chaperoned tea party discussing our future plans. I was… amazed. Yes, that seemed like the right word. Amazed. My student, whom I had nurtured had Bluanfa dancing in her eyes as she watched me over her cup. It left the beginnings of Brennwärme simmering. Or maybe it was the kiss… I shifted my legs to get more comfortable in my seat.

"How goes talks with your family?"

Lady Magdalina smiled brightly. "I promised you the Sword of the Zent. So, you shall have it."

I looked to Magdalina's right hand to her chaperone. Almost an identical woman sat beside her in knight's grab. The only other differences were the magic tool over silver eyes and her was hair pulled back in a single long braid rather than styled like Magdalina's. Lady Minerva looked bored. In fact, she was idly twirling an object between her fingers while scanning the room. At least she wasn't letting her guard down.

"Do you agree, Lady Minerva?" It was abnormal to address the chaperone, but in this case where much of the normal conventions had been turned upside-down, I was certain that bringing in some of Lady Magdalina's family would be wise. Especially one so loyal to her, as her sister. Besides, this child always gave interesting if not blatantly honest answers when push came to shove in class.

The girl stopped her fidgeting and leveled me with those silver eyes. Boredom gave way to a thoughtful expression. "The sword will indeed be yours for this coming battle. We have made it so." I could tell she was careful in how she worded that even without euphuisms. The way she was watching me trying to guess if I understood her whole meaning. Hard not to. Dunkelfelger would support me here, but I shouldn't expect the same in the future. I would need to earn the Sword in the future, not my wife.

"How can you be certain of this?" She was. That much was clear. In her mind, I would win the throne, and her younger sister would be my third wife.

Lady Minerva went back to turning; what I now noticed was a small moon charm, over across the tops of her knuckles. "I am afraid that that is something of a family matter. I'm sure my sister will delight in telling you, after your stars have been bound." I could tell my entourage were bristling at my back.

I chuckled lightly to let them know I took no offense. "I look forward to it. I suppose my people will just have to be extra thorough in the future. In any case, I would like to address the concerns that the rest of your family carries."

She tilted her head, reminding me of a bird of prey. "You say that like you believe I do not also have concerns." Magdalina set her cup down quickly and looked like she was about to reprimand her twin. I made a subtle gesture to her to allow her sister to continue.

"What concerns do you have?" The fact that despite her loyalty she had still brought this up made me think it was best to hear her out. Especially since, she was Lady Magdalina's strongest supporter in Dunkelfelger.

"This is war, (*princeling*), people die all the time in war. You are surrounded by wolves who either want you dead or want something from you. As she is now, between her own strength and mine, my precious sister is safe. At your side, I will be unable to protect her. How do you intend to keep her safe going forward?"

Magdalina's face took on the striking shade of Geduldh's noble color. So, she truly was worried about her sister. I felt a strange twinge in mana organ.

"The simplest solution would be to have you join your sister as her guard. I am sure she would be delighted to have you by her side."

Minerva snorted a laugh. "I am sure Aub Dunkelfelger will be happy to give up, not only two daughters from his first wife, but also two suppliers." Her smile was sardonic and dripped with condescension. Despite her rudeness, I admit she had point though. It was unlikely Aub Dunkelfelger would allow both daughters to come to the Sovereignty. "Even if he did, my job as a guard knight for one of the wives of the Zent would be dangerous. There is no guarantee I would survive long. What protections do you have in place to account for that?" She was smiling, but her silver eyes were hard and pointed, like Schneerst's ice.

"I am not without my own strength. I will protect my family."

"I want your word." My retainers hissed their displeasure. But as far as I could tell, this was cheap price to pay for a wild character to be brought to my side.

"You have my word that I will do everything in my power to keep Lady Magdalina safe."

Silver eyes raked across my face with all the subtly and gentle care of a raging Ternisbefallen. She wasn't satisfied. Not yet. "Professor." I sat up a little straighter at that address. Since her twin had proposed, she had not addressed me as such. "I know you aren't a theological teacher, but I would still ask this question of you, if you'd allow my impertinence?"

What was this change? I should reprimand her here, but some instinctive part of me held back my noble pride. "I'd like to hear your question."

"A hypothetical; What do you think the other Gods' response would be if Ewigeliebe whether through madness, accident, or carelessness killed Geduldh?"

I fought the urge to wet my lips. The intensity of the gaze on me made it clear this was no idle question. And while improbable as it was, I could only imagine the rage the other Gods would feel at such a loss. What's more it was blatant what Minerva was saying; threatening. Chaos erupted, but I felt distant from it, trapped as I was by silver. My retainers had moved to seize Lady Minerva. Her sister was yelling at her. But she had eyes only for me. Something akin to madness lurked in those silver eyes swallowing all sense of reason, even my own.

"I doubt even Ewigeliebe would be spared. All life would be swallowed up by that one act." A debt beyond measure.

Lady Minerva was bleeding from where Alessandro had struck her across the temple. I ordered them to return to their positions. Lady Magdalina was now red faced with anger and shame. She was apologizing to me while also seemingly trying to shield her sister from my people. The tea party ended after that.

Somehow, no one else had noticed the small flash of dark purple and gold light from my ring.