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.

33. Brewing Buddies

Ferdinand Between 5th and 6th Year Royal Academy

I was walking towards the library. Eckhart had been pulled away for classwork, leaving me with Justus and Heidemarie as my only archnoble loyal retainers. The rest were Veronica's spies. They had grumbled at how inconvenient going to the library had been until a mednoble girl had asked to go along. Then they all snickered. She beautiful as most nobles were, but the way she smiled brought back memories I didn't want to look at. My female scholar already tried to chase off the simpering lavender haired fool.

"Lady Madelyn, I believe your grades are still far below the necessary acceptable level. Perhaps Professor Primevere has some time to spare in tutoring you." Even with that insult to the girl's intelligence and noble bearing she had simply smiled, putting a hand on her cheek.

"My, my and here I thought the Ordoschnell was simply letting a stray ordonnanz fly. Does Lord Ferdinand have a taste for his guard knight's fiancée, even though Liebeskuhilfe has chosen one of Leidenschaft's disciples for his wife. How ever will Dunkelfelger react to this?" She had basically threatened to mess with my escape from Veronica either way I chose. And while I doubted anyone from Dunkelfelger would take them seriously, I knew it would be unpleasant for Lady Magdalena to deal with such rumors. As it was, she was not pleased with the engagement.

"Do as you please," I had growled at her. The rest of trip had been Lady Madelyn making many attempts to touch me. Justus and Heidemarie did their best, but with my other scholars and attendants interfering it was a losing battle.

She reached for me again as we were going around the corner. A flourish of blue came in between the offending hand and myself.

"Oh my, fair Efflorelume. One should be careful when you're reaching for the heights. Set your roots in place where you can grow beautiful safely." Peter had caught her hand. He smiled charmingly while his thumb made gentle circles over the top of Lady Madelyn's hand. Red flushed across her face as the boy leaned in close and whispered. "May I borrow your archduke candidate for a bit? I wouldn't normally want to take something so precious from a Dracula orchid such as yourself. But I fear I must insist."

The girl fanned herself and gave a coquettish response, that tried to worm her way into joining. Peter deftly turned her away while seemingly leaving her breathless. Promising to keep an eye on me. Heidemarie rolled her eyes at the girl and glowered at Peter. Her opinion clearly showing through. It was this that seemed to convince Lady Madelyn to leave without further mischief. I; on the other hand, saw it for the ploy that it was allowed him to lead the way to the library.

My Veronica attendant, Nathaniel smirked, "We humbly beg Lord Peter's forgiveness for such a shameful display. Certain people have poor tastes, especially with a generous engagement granted to them."

Peter looked over his shoulder at the orange haired boy. The charming smile that he had used to send away Lady Madelyn was no where to be seen. "Yes, I can see that you have poor tastes. You can't even reign in a mednoble Efflorelume from being a such a disgrace to your duchy. I wouldn't trust you to clean a toilet, so I am ever so curious how did you gain the first lady of Ehrenfest's trust? Mediocre grades, lackluster management skills, and you don't even seem to care about the whispers about that dear cousin of yours."

Suddenly hysterical screams from the direction we had just come from. Nathaniel paled and whipped around. Peter's face transformed into a well-crafted mask of surprise. Beside me, Justus was fighting a smile and trying not to look back. Heidemarie was watching Peter with no small amount of suspicion.

"Speaking of Lady Madelyn, as her family, shouldn't you go check on her?" Technically he should have stayed to attend to me, but it was clear this was part of Peter's plan.

"Go." I commanded cooly. "See to it that she does not embarrass Ehrenfest any further."

Not only did Nathaniel go, but the first lady's other two people followed after him. Only once they were well and truly gone, did a wicked curl of a smile crack the mask of concern that the Dunkelfelger scholar had been wearing. Peter moved to stand at my side next to Heidemarie. "My apologies for causing you trouble again, Lord Ferdinand."

I grunted. It wasn't like I could tell him I was grateful for his interference with that pest. Or that I needed the time out from under those vicious eyes. The truth was I very pleased to see Peter. He had been absent since we had played that strange game of gewinnen. More troubling was the distance his lady had put between us since then. She wouldn't even look at me anymore. I suspected the hood she added to her cloak was specifically to aid in that. Heisshitze was still his usual self, but he couldn't answer about his lady. Peter had also been conspicuously absent in this time. Justus had only been able to catch that he was working on a project from the scholars of the sword. Nothing substantial on what it was or its purpose, Peter seemed to be keeping his work close to his chest this time.

"What is it you want my assistance with that you would overtly sabotage people?"

"I'm hurt, Lord Ferdinand. Must you assume I have motives other than visiting a friend? Also, I was clearly standing right here when trouble befell the lady. It's rude to imply an upstanding gentleman such as myself had anything to do with any tragedy that befell someone outside my line of sight." Not a single denial anywhere in those sentences. He smiled and there was a strange feeling in my stomach. I shoved those feelings aside and scoffed at his stupidity.

"Now you are acting like Heisshitze."

Peter furrowed his brow in mock horror. "Now you are being cruel. If you missed me, you should just say so." Truly the subordinate matched his pillar.

I scoffed, "Fool." Even as I said the word, relief was working through me. If he was being this silly than the engagement hadn't changed anything with him. "What are you after?"

"So young and so cynical." He sighed and produced some parchment from the shoulder bag he wore. Those papers he handed immediately to Heidemarie. She took them and skimmed the contents. Though I noticed she deliberately took an extra long time double and even triple checking for poison. When it was proven clean, she begrudgingly handed it to me. Justus was reading over my shoulder practically vibrating with excitement. I scanned over the parts that were legible. Some of it was clearly written in another language. But there wasn't enough to even hazard a guess as to the meaning. The project was pretty self-explanatory. He was still trying to modify a tool that kept a high beast manifested so that the tool could force movement even at a distance.

"Why?"

"To prevent accidents like the ones that happened during our high beast creation class."

There was more to it than that, there always was. "Is this what has kept you so busy, lately?" I doubted it. This was a secondary project. Whatever he was working on was likely to be vastly more complicated than this. So why was he asking for help on this?

"No, but this might come in handy, apparently." So, he didn't know the why, and was simply given a task by his Lady. This task may or may not be in conjunction with whatever else he was working on.

I tapped two fingers to my temple. "Why do you want to separate people able to control it?" That seemed frankly dangerous. It would take only trusting the wrong person to take a long fall up towering staircase. Peter's smile was congenially, he knew exactly what I was thinking. Why I was hesitating to help him.

"Her entourage is smaller than yours, despite her position for a reason."

Now it was, but his point still stood. For how stupidly openly that nuisance of a woman was, she didn't trust easily. I winced remembering that that said woman would soon be my sister-in-law. Was that a headache I felt coming on?

"I might be able to find where you went wrong. Aside from the obvious."

Peter chuckled at the jab. "How much is it going to cost me?"

He was only asking that now? The fool. Justus handed over a board for Peter to look over. The Dunkelfelger scholar whistled at the list.

"That is an impressive list. It will take a me couple days, but I can manage it." That brought me up short. I had meant for him to pick several things from the list; half at most, not pay for the whole thing. Even I was aware that that was absurd. How much was this project worth to him? Justus and Heidemarie were both eyeing him like a Fetze eyes mana rich prey. They both knew some of those resources were incredibly rare, likely they would have to come from his lady.

"Can you even manage that?"

He shrugged. "I'll have to get permission to go home for some of these." Which would be difficult because Peter was Minerva's only scholar. Lady Magdalena was likely going to have something to say about it as well. Especially if she thought I was the reason. "It won't be a problem." He sounded certain, but I was less so. He held up the board. "Do you mind if I keep this?"

I nodded. We entered the library and the shumils greeted us. I my scholars to work and got to work on my project while also looking into what would be needed for Peter's project. I sketched out a couple of possible designs using tiara circlet as the base for one and a pendent for another. Peter could choose which worked best. The Dunkelfelger scholar plopped himself down at one of the tables close by and began working on something that was completely covered in that strange language. Only the circles I understood, but they were such a weird mishmash of functions that I couldn't be sure they were even for the same project. Barrier circles, mana suppressing, several involved with hidden room creation, a few for moving and regulating mana, regulating climate, air circulation and purification, and a few with Verbergen and Chaosfliehe featured heavily in them.

At some point an ordonnanz landed on Peter's shoulder. "Report." It repeated three times in Minerva's voice.

Peter looked over at me. "After you have the materials, how long would it take for you to create the tools?" Glancing over his notes I was confident that could probably brew this in a single sitting even without time-saving magic. But I didn't want Peter to think he could just dump his tedious work on me.

"Depends on who is providing the mana."

"I will of course."

"After materials are received, three days of brewing. One for each part." I could feel Justus' gaze boring into my back. He knew very well that this project would take a day at most. But this way I could fish for information, Hirschur could grill him for any new research, and I got her to stop pestering me. Three birds with one stone.

Peter turned back to the ordonnanz. "The tool will be completed three days after I hand over payment. I will need to return home first." He sent the little white bird off and promptly went back to scratching out his notes. A few minutes later the bird returned.

"You leave tonight, Maggie has agreed to cover your absence, but you will have to deal with mother and Werdecraft. We will test it once it is complete." The words repeated themselves and Peter did his best not to wince. Did this mean Minerva was going to test it out first? That seemed like a very bad idea.

He sighed, "A small price." No response was sent back this time. I got the distinct impression that his lady was likely laughing at him. And I had to wonder if it really was going to be a 'small price'. Peter continued his work alongside my scholars and I. He said nothing, content to work in in relative silence; he was humming to himself, until the first lady's people came sniffing around. The ladies were sent away by Peter's disarming charm and casual flirting. While the boys were politely ripped to shreds with the noblest of smiles. It was quite amusing to watch, even if I was likely to suffer for the latter. Perhaps I should just go back to Hirschur's lab. That was for the best. Eckhart joined us just as we were packing up. Peter smiled at my guard knight.

"Well, now I don't have to worry about you safely reaching your destination. May Schutzaria bless you, Lord Ferdinand." Then the green haired scholar left at a some-what hasty speed. I didn't even have time to point out he invoked the wrong God, much less return his notes to him.

Eckhart looked between the other two and myself. "What was that about?"

I shrugged. "I think it's best not to try to make sense of those who have none."

When we reached the lab. Heidemarie updated Eckhart on what had happened while he was gone. I probed Professor Hirschur about what Peter might have been up to. She thought it over but even after several minutes could only hypnotize that he was creating a controlled room. But the effort would be wasted as it was likely impossible. She guessed that even I wouldn't have enough mana to power such a room for longer than a couple days. It would take a massive amount of mana that it simply wasn't feasible. That was disappointing. If he were making something like that, it could be very useful in cultivating fey plants.

I didn't get word back from Peter until third bell on the fifth day. It was in the form of an ordonnanz that asked when was convenient to hand over the payment and begin brewing. For brief moment I considered right that moment. I held myself back, and gave a time two days from now. Peter warned that he would be having two knights transport the time-stopping magic tool. Reading between the lines, Heisshitze would be coming. I nearly groaned; didn't the man have anything better to do; like guard his lady?

Justus was practically in stitches at the look on my face.

"At least we can trust him not to understand all the sensitive research in the lab."

I rolled my eyes, not actually certain that was a good thing because Heisshitze was one of my main sources of information from the upper duchies. The time spent waiting for the meeting passed by relatively slowly. My entourage filled the time by securing Hirschur's older and more dangerous experiments, and cleaning the lab. I, on the other hand, prepared for brewing the tools that Peter wanted to make, being sure to set aside the basic ingredients that we would need. He would probably compensate me for those too, knowing him.

When Peter's arrival at the lab was followed by boisterous complaints of Heisshitze and another fifth-year apprentice knight. They carried a large time-stopping tool between the two of them.

"Lord Ferdinand!"

"I am busy. Hurry up and get out of the way."

Peter coughed into his sleeve. "Heisshitze, don't forget, Lady Minerva can't leave the dorm until you return." That stopped the bigger boy in his tracks. "We both knew how pleased she will be if she is kept waiting." He cringed. "Our lady hasn't been able to do training while I was gone." The color of both knights' faces drained drastically at the implications. I remembered vividly how unsettled I had been after only a handful of days not training. No doubt, Minerva was probably about to burst from the frustration. That thought brought me no small amount of mirth.

"Pardon our rudeness, Lord Ferdinand. It is best if we leave." They dumped the magic tool in a corner of the room close to where we set up the brewing stand. Then they beat a hasty retreat. Justus and Heidemarie did the poison checks of the contents of the magic tool, as well as double checking everything was there that should be and nothing extra was added. Eckhart kept a watchful gaze on Peter who kept a respectful distance from me.

"Lord Ferdinand, everything is as it should be."

I laid out the designs for Peter to look at. He put his monocle on as he looked over both the pendant and the tiara versions. He muttered to himself about the pros and cons of each design. Then he waited a moment. After a moment of silence, Peter nodded, having come to a decision.

"Both. Have the pendent be the 'master' one and the circlet one be subordinate."

I blinked. This was unexpected. I shrugged, "It's doable, but I refuse to give either the ability to turn the high beast back to a stone."

"Fair." He was completely in agreement. If he really wanted to create one of these tools with that function, he easily could. I would be burning my notes once we were done crafting it, just in case. No need to give a certain green-eyed woman any ideas.

I started with the tool that would be attached to the highbeast itself. Walking Peter through the steps. I didn't bother with time-saving circles and instead asked about various fey plants that were useful for magic tools, but hard to cultivate. His answers were mildly disappointing. It was clear he had little to experience cultivating even though much of the materials we discussed were things he used regularly in his magic tools.

"Perhaps Lord Ferdinand should start study of domesticating and cultivating fey plants. I'm sure you could easily find scholars who would support such research, in time, materials, and even money. Especially if you sold to them the results of your labor first."

If I were anywhere other than Ehrenfest. "Perhaps when I move to Dunkelfelger, the Aub would support such an endeavor."

"Perhaps." His hand shook every so slightly. I wondered if the wound from the Giftigfesseln still bothered him. The wound itself should have healed by now even if he couldn't use magic on it, but I knew scars could hurt. Which reminded me, I signaled Justus to get the box with the two charms in it. As I hadn't seen Peter since I finished them, I had been unable to give them to him. Peter added the last ingredient for this part, and now we merely had to wait.

"Would you like to play a game gewinnen while we wait?" I noticed Hirschur glance at the brewing pot. Her lips pulled into a smile before she turned back to her work.

"I'm not sure I have anything worth offering in stakes. This last transaction has cleaned out my supplies to dangerous levels." I resisted the urge to smirk. That was his own damn fault. Anyone else would have bargained at least a little.

"Perhaps we can come up with a solution. I am in need of ingredients, but I have no qualms about gathering them myself. I just need a few trustworthy guards. Maybe even being allowed around Dunkelfelger gathering area?"

Peter's lips quirked into a cheeky grin. "I may know a few trustworthy apprentice knights who will still be here to look after those taking remedial and extra-curricular classes." Heisshitze was definitely one them, if that grin was anything to go by. The scholar was still hesitating though.

In order sweeten the deal. "I'll use a handicap."

"How very generous of you Lord Ferdinand. Has Dunkelfelger provided such a poor challenge that you feel the need to go easy on us?"

"There is nothing wrong seeking out the blessing of Glücklität every now and then."

He didn't buy, but I hadn't really believed he would. "How about a secondary win condition?" He proposed. I gestured for him to explain. "I'm sure you remember that fight with Heisshitze that was timed. You both won and lost that one if I remember correctly." Which allowed both of us to save face, was Peter offering a timed challenge? No, that would tip the scale more in my favor. "One does not always the win conditions of their enemies or allies." Ah, there it is.

"So, you want a win condition that will allow you to win even if I win? What's to stop you from making up the win condition at the very end to secure a victory you did not earn?"

The smile on his face was absolutely dazzling in nature. "Ah, but I am sure your loyal guard has confidence enough in your skill that he could ensure fairness while also not dishonoring your esteemed skills." If he had chosen anyone else, questioning my honor would have backfired and resulted in me learning right away what the secondary condition was. Justus and Heidemarie both looked disappointed while Eckhart was positively beaming.

"My lord will not lose."

Peter smiled indulgently at my guard. "That is what I wish to see for myself." Once my guard was properly baited, the Dunkelfelger scholar turned to me, "And should I win? What then?"

"What do you want?"

He gave my question genuine thought before answering, "A favor."

"What would this favor entail?"

Peter shrugged casually, "I don't know yet." A smile lurked at the corner of his lips.

I sighed and tapped two fingers against my temple. Open ended promises were dangerous and while Peter may have some trust, he didn't have that much. "That won't be possible then."

The smile that had merely lurked in his expression bloomed like a flower in spring. I had fallen into his trap. "What if I gave you my name when we graduate?"

Silence fell at those words. I narrowed my eyes at him. The whole room seemed to be holding its breath. Even Hirschur had paused what she was doing. My namesworn watched Peter carefully, weighing and judging him. What was his game? Why offer his name to me? Minerva couldn't have put him up to this? While pranks and jokes were generally her style, this seemed excessive; even for her. Was she even aware of what he was offering me? Did it matter? I didn't need to think long about the answer to that last question. Yes, it very much mattered. And I suspected someone so blessed by Chaoscipher not only knew what her assumed fiancée was offering, but planned it. Why would she allow her future husband to swear his life to someone else who wasn't her, Aub Dunkelfelger, or blood family? Then another thought, Peter had all seven colors. It was possible an archnoble was born with such, but very unlikely.

"Is that even yours to give?" Why? What was there to gain? This was more trouble to him than a reward. Could a single favor be worth this?

His expression became that of the nobleman I knew him to be. "Lord Ferdinand, isn't one's own name theirs to give to the one they see as worthy of their devotion?" Normally, yes, but it wasn't unheard of for someone to try and use it to assassinate a person. I had to be cautious. Especially since his answer was not a yes or no.

"I will consider it." A glance at Heidemarie had her and Lasfam leaving to do digging. I would make no promises without further information. Once they were gone, I asked, "Why wait until graduation?"

"One cannot have their name sworn to someone from another duchy without it being considered a betrayal." A fair response in the grand scheme of things. Yet I suspected that he didn't care about that at all.

"And if I cannot grant this request, what would you want?"

He clicked his tongue and shifted his stance while glancing up. "Hmm, how about making another magic tool for me? I give you the general idea." I could practically feel Hirschur's ears perking up at that. There was no need for her say what she was thinking, 'if you lose this chance to get something interesting out of him, you will regret it'.

"Fine." In the time we had been discussing this insanity Justus had set up the board. Peter took his seat across from me and asked for a quill and ink. He pulled out a piece of scrap parchment from his shoulder bag. He was careful to angle it away from the rest of my entourage and myself. Judging by the frown on Justus face, he was sorely regretting not being able to read a quill's movements. Eckhart was shown the scrap of paper. He visibly frowned then smirked condescendingly at Peter. What could possibly have been written there? The paper vanished into Peter's sleeve.

I made my first move.

Peter made his.

Back and forth.

Back and forth.

Back and forth.

Peter sighed, "If you have questions, you should ask them. You're about to burst with agitation." I sat up straighter and raised an eyebrow at him. How did he-. "It's as obvious as what Ewigeliebe wants. You've been trying to stare a hole through me. It helps that I did just drop a (*nuke*) on you, so of course you would have questions."

I tapped two fingers to my temple. "What grantee do I have that you'd answer?"

Peter snorted. "Absolutely none." Before I could point out that there in lay the flaw in his argument he continued. "But you clearly have gained nothing by staring at me. As far as I see, you lose nothing by asking. Even if I were to mock you, refuse to answer, or lie, you've not lost anything. In fact, you'd have gained something from each of those 'negative' responses. Each one gives you a little information. Mocking speaks to the character of the person and often provides opening due to their pride, refusing to answer means there are a lot of missing threads that you need to look for, a lie allows to eliminate a possibility among other things. But what if I do answer honestly? Then you have at least part of the picture for significant less wasted effort. Sometimes we not be so quick to look up Verbergen's sleeve, Anhaltung's palm can offer just as many answers."

I frowned at him. In truth, I did think Peter would give at least part of the truth. His track record so far was that of a competent scholar who was good at balancing his various roles, even when balancing divided loyalties. But it was that trust that I was suspicious of. I hated that I trusted this boy even to a small extent. Even my most loyal retainers had to offer me their names to get anything close to this. So, why did I give it to Peter without asking the same? Doing so wasn't safe. I looked into the bright orange eyes that were waiting patiently for my answer. There was no judgement in that gaze, but something very soft that couldn't identify. Why?

"I don't see the value."

His eyebrows rose. "You don't see the value in what?"

"Why would the head scholar and future husband of Dunkelfelger's next Knight commander; an archduke candidate of the second ranked duchy, want to give their name to a lowly bastard child that has no prospects in their own significantly lower duchy?" I said the words as casually as I could and tried not to imagine the person who would regularly spit much the same at me.

The knuckles on the hand that Peter had on the table turned white. His face had a proper noble smile, even if his eyes flickered almost imperceivably to colors that weren't orange. He dropped his gaze to the board. "If I may grant you a small kernel of wisdom, Lord Ferdinand?"

I nodded, not sure where this was going.

"Do not say such things."

"It is the-."

He sighed loudly cutting off the rest of my sentence. His gaze went to the ceiling and he muttered, "(*This kid.*)" He tapped a finger on the table. After a moment he sighed again and reached into the shoulder bag. A bundle of cloth a little large than two fists laid on top each other was laid beside him. In a quick motion he unrolled it to reveal various pieces of jewelry. Most of them were little masterpieces, with three of them looking more like first attempts or scrapped designs. With exception of the three, all of them had delicate little details that matched or exceeded the quality of the hairclip I had received from my father and brother. I felt my face flush as I realized the theme of the pieces gave away their intended recipient. Each one depicted a dragon of some kind.

"Can you guess which of these is most valued?"

The answer was obvious. A courtship piece that depicted the Goddess of Light linked to the Dark God by Liebeskuhilfe and Sterrat. It was pair of metal clips linked by several delicate chains made of stars and light. The first clip was a lithe golden dragon. While the second was a bulky black dragon. Every aspect of the creatures made them look alive. Even their wings you could see fine veins rendered by a skilled hand. That didn't even cover the high-quality materials that had gone into the piece.

When I gestured to this piece, Peter picked it up with a smile. "It is the costliest piece in this collection for Minerva." There was more? He truly was Ewigeliebe. "But it is not the most valued." I frowned and looked over the pieces again. This time I considered who these were for. A cloak pin caught my eye with that in mind. It had the beast looking like it was mid battle, spitting fire. The whole thing was wreathed in colorful flames. A glaive was in its claws. Surely something that represented Minerva would be best choice.

I selected that one. This time Peter merely ran his fingers over the glaive. "Do you know which of the pantheon has a glaive as their symbol?"

I thought it over, but couldn't think of any mentions of any of Leidenschaft or Ewigeliebe's kin having a glaive as their symbol. Finally, I shrugged. "I don't believe it came up in any of my studies."

A strained smile touched his face. "No, I imagine it wouldn't. Especially since it is not Chaoscipher's only symbol. It certainly doesn't help that more often than not; she is warded against rather than called upon in worship." It seemed to me like that was all the more reason for it to be that wild woman's choice, but the scholar's tone implied that it was the exact reason it was not. "Minerva really hates this one actually. She only wears it when she's angry and going to battle."

"Which is it then?" I was already getting annoyed with how far off track we had gotten. I was starting to suspect he was trying to lead me into his condition.

Peter selected the smallest and simplest piece. A round palm sized pendant on a long chain that would allow it to be hidden under clothing. It had a wheat-colored dragon curled around a small star. The dragon was blowing a gentle flame into the star as if feeding it strength. While the design was nice enough, the edges of the charm were worn, several scales looked like they had been ripped off. Even the spots where the wings should have sprouted were rough as if they had been broken off by a strong blow.

"You must be joking. Even someone so capricious as Minerva can't possibly find value in such a mediocre piece." A smug grin spread across his face before he could completely reign it in.

He offered it to Justus for checks. "Indulge me, take a closer look."

After my attendant cleared it with poison checks, the charm was handed to me along with a jeweler's glass; which Justus had managed to dig up from somewhere in the lab. Through the glass I inspected the faults that had been so clear at a glance. The joints where the wings had once been attached swam into view. The two ovals were about as big as the thick part of a shumil's claw. Under the glass I could see they were a dark brownish red color. I had assumed that was rust, with a bit of white particulate at the center. But the white was shaped like a shattered bone. This break was intentional. I quickly inspected the missing scales. They had been a dark muddy color, which I had at first thought was dirt caught in the missing enamel. On closer inspection one could see they were wounds. There were even claw marks in them showing another beast had attacked. He not spared any detail, even the tiny claws and teeth were chipped and scratched. I flipped it over to the back where a phrase was engraved in that language I couldn't understand.

"What does it say?"

"It translates to 'The torch will be passed on'." What torch? It was clearly symbolic, but its meaning escaped me. "Value is relative and can often depend on how you use a thing or what your needs in the moment are. That goes for anything. People, information," It was not lost on me that he glanced at Justus for that one. "Materials, mana. Everything has value to someone or something." I ran my fingers over the carefully inscribed words.

"The perhaps I should rephrase my question, what value do you find in me, that you would give me your life?"

He chuckled, "I didn't think you were one to fish for compliments, Lord Ferdinand." I could feel my ears burning. I walked straight into that. "The reasons are numerous. Your ability to craft magic tools would leave Vulcanift jealous, your memory is a thing of wonder, in your hands Grammalatur could be an assassin, but mostly? I want to."

I stared at him. How could I help it? This was utter insanity. There were so many ways this could backfire for him. Did he not realize that? Surely, he did. Peter was no fool. "You realize I could ask you to betray Minerva." Peter's lips quirked up.

"Will you ask that of me?"

Yes. If I would benefit from such an action, I certainly would. Yet the words refused to come out.

Peter smiled reassuringly at me. "I am aware that doing so means that I subservient to you. That you could order me to take Minerva's life." A shiver went down my spine. I disliked those words, and how gently Peter said them. As if he was talking to a child.

"You would betray your future wife?"

"Only if you asked me to." The expression on his face clearly saying he doubted that I would ask that of him. But there so many ways one could betray another, even unintentionally. "Lord Ferdinand." He dragged me back from my thoughts. "Take a deep a breath."

I snorted instead. "Why?"

"What you fear may or may not come to pass. Not even Sehweit knows everything (*warp*) and (*weft*) of Ventuchte's weave. No need to strain yourself over what may never happen." But chances were, it would. The Gods seemed intent on ripping any and all kindness from me, no matter how small. This would be no different. I swallowed those thoughts down, burying them where the Goddess of Lights rays would never touch them. And locked them behind my noble smile.

"You have an awfully high opinion of yourself."

Thankfully Peter didn't take my harsh words to heart. Instead, he chuckled, "I am incredibly charming after all. How can one not have such a high opinion of themselves when they are this charming?" It was moments like this I wondered if his lady had struck him on the head. I even offered to check. Which in turn wrung a chuckle out of even Hirschur; Justus was practically in stitches leaning against one of the tables. For that alone, I made sure to crush Peter mercilessly in our game. Which didn't stop the other boy's cheeky grin.

"I will take the loss and my favor."

I narrowed my eyes at him. "What was the other condition?"

He reached into his sleeve and pulled out the piece of parchment. After unfolding it, he turned it towards me so I could read it. I grimaced at the words written on the page.

'Lord Ferdinand will refer to my lady as Minerva with nothing added to it.'

He couldn't be serious! Is that what he was basing his insane idea that I would not ask him to betray her on? This was the height of foolishness. "I think your theory is on shaky ground if that's all you have to back it."

He was fighting hard to hide his amusement. "Lord Ferdinand, I believe you are under the wrong impression." I tilted my head signaling for him to explain. A chuckle bubbled up through his self-control. "I'm afraid, I just couldn't resist teasing someone so serious." I could feel my ears burning as the green haired boy lost the last bits of his control and laughed so hard tears formed at the corners of his eyes. I felt a mixture of annoyance, and shame, but there was also a lessening of the tension inside me. Peter looked more relaxed than he had at our last meeting. Like a weight had just been lifted off of him. Of course, the brewing pot took that moment to flash, informing us that it had finished.

I pulled out an ornate cuff and passed it over to Peter for inspection. He took his time looking over every aspect including the circles. Then he set it aside and nodded approving at me. "Beautiful work, Lord Ferdinand. You are truly gifted." I looked away from him at his praise, remembering all to well how easily the boy across from me used compliments to get things he wanted. "Shall we get started on the next part?"

I begrudgingly agreed. There was no reason not to, at least without tipping my hand. I still managed to drag out the brewing to two days, but even Hirschur couldn't stretch it out longer with all of her questions. So, it was startling to have Peter knock on the lab door on the third day. When I asked why he was here, he grinned.

"I told my lady three days of brewing and then we would test. I never said that the tool wouldn't be finished sooner."

"So, you're goofing off?"

He played at being hurt by my observation. "Well, if you'd rather spend the whole day testing instead of brewing something interesting."

"Bring him in. If you aren't taking him up on his offer, I will." Hirschur's voice came from behind me. Peter was pulled into another minor project we were working on. While he was distracted Justus brought the box with crow and dragon charms I had made. I hadn't been able to bring myself to give them to him after he'd taken so many opportunities to tease me. I was being spiteful. The second day it just didn't come up. Now, with my attendant looking at me very pointedly, I couldn't really dodge it. If I waited any longer, I would run the risk of giving them to Peter when Minerva was around. And I refused to be teased by both of them.

Thankfully I could wait until after lunch tea. Professor Hirschur scarfed her food down as quickly and politely as she could manage before returning to her work. Orange eyes watched me suspiciously when I took my time to enjoy my tea. Justus refreshed the tea and sound blocking tool was passed to the Dunkelfelger scholar. His gaze sharpened and I didn't miss him casting a quick glance at all of my retainers.

"I have something that I wanted to give you to repay the extra work you've done. Your thoughts would prove useful for future tools." I reminded him that he wanted me to make him another tool.

His eyes snapped back toward mine, then to Justus who brought him the small box. He seemed to remember it from his time in lab. "That is very generous, Lord Ferdinand." I could tell he wanted to reject the gift, but something was stopping him. Peter did the custom checks of the outside of the box before flipping open the lid. He froze as he gazed at the two charms. For several long seconds he simply stared. It was like he couldn't understand what he was looking at. Then I started to internally panic, and worry he believed I was over stepping. His lip trembled for a breath then a soft smile slowly spread across his face. Peter reached out and gingerly stroked the detailed work. His eyes widened in surprise at the feel of his own mana. What a pain that had been, preventing contamination with my mana. Justus had some feystones with Peter's mana leftover from the other boy's short stint as one of my scholars.

"Where did you-. The Giftigfesseln. This is… thank you, Lord Ferdinand. These are truly rare treasures." He didn't take his gaze from the tools. "(*Nothing, don't worry. I'll show you later. Yeah, I think we will meet you there shortly.*)" He cleared his throat. "If there's nothing else, shall we go test the tools?"

I gave commands to Justus. It wasn't until we were about to leave that I realized Peter was still staring at the dragon. The crow was no longer in the box.

Peter led the way to the Dunkelfelger training ground. Sure enough, Minerva and the rest of her entourage were already waiting. The lady in question was lounging on the bench with her hood up. For a brief moment I wondered if she was actually asleep. At our approach she looked over in our direction.

"(*Everything good?*)" She was looking at Peter who nodded. Her shadowed gaze turned toward me. "Well, what do you have for us, Li- Lord Ferdinand?" I wasn't certain how I felt about her stopping her impulsiveness. It certainly didn't sound like her usual teasing mockery.

"I believe your scholar has everything."

Peter presented the tools to her. She inspected everything carefully before passing the circlet to Peter. It was only after she pulled out her own highbeast stone; slotting it into the cuff that her female guard knight protested.

"My Lady, shouldn't one of your guard knights have that? Peter doesn't have our reflex training."

She summoned the highbeast which manifested largely the same as always. The biggest difference was that now a fancy looking collar wrapped around the base of the dragon's neck.

"The problem, is the person's mana has to be closer to mine in order to get quick motions." I wanted to rub my temples at what she was saying. Don't say such things where others can hear you, I nearly yelled at her.

"I must insist, my lady."

Minerva puffed out a sigh, as if this were some tedious thing. "How about a test? If Peter is faster than you on your highbeast, then we know your knight skills won't make a difference." This actually stacked the deck against Peter. His closeness in mana range would make him more effective, but there would always be a small delay. Something a person on their own highbeast wouldn't have any issues with. A surprisingly reasonable solution for the wild woman. Which made it all the more suspicious. The female guard knight narrowed her eyes at her lady, clearly, she thought it was suspect too.

"That seems possible."

"I'm glad you agree." Not that she had a choice, I wanted to growl at that fool of a woman. I could feel my frustration gradually rising. "Peter, give it a go. Get a feel for it."

With a sigh Peter placed the circlet on his head. Almost instantly the statue began to move. The first few steps it took were awkward. Peter wasn't used to the way the dragon's body moved yet. It took him only a few minutes to get the feel for the differences. Once Minerva was satisfied with his progress she produced a ball from her pouch.

"Alright see if you can grab this before it hits the ground." She wound up and threw the ball. Judging by how fast it went rocketing from her hand, she had used enhancement magic. The highbeast took off after it like an arrow from a bow. Just as the ball started to lose momentum and air, the dragon's mouth. "Nice! Bring it back." Peter made her highbeast return the ball. Minerva proceeded to pat the top of the dragon's head like it was an oversized dog. I had a horrible sneaking suspicion.

"Did you really waste so much resources in order to play with your highbeast?"

Her hood tilted in my direction. "No, this is simply a test." So, why did it sound like she was laughing under that hood?

I muttered under my breath, "What a waste."

This time a chuckle did come from her hood. She mounted up her highbeast clipping only one of her harnesses to her belt. "Peter, Catherine, meet you up there." She then took off so quick, it left her retainers flailing to catch up. They rushed to summon their own beasts and follow. As they did; I wondered, why did Minerva decide to ride it? Wouldn't it have been better to test their reactions without her on the highbeast. Something was off.

"Justus, Eckhart be on guard." I enhanced my vision to watch what was going on high above the academy grounds. Without the enhancement magic they wouldn't have even been distinguishable. Unease squirmed in my gut. Why so high? I watched as Minerva stood on the back of her highbeast. She made a quick movement with her right arm then a small explosion of smoke encased her. The next moment a blue cloaked figure was falling.

That fool!

I summoned my highbeast and raced toward the falling figure. From above Minerva's highbeast was plummeting after it's falling rider. Wings folded against its body and nose pointed straight down with its front legs out. Lady Catherine was also racing against Ewigeliebe and Steiferise to catch her lady. Clear panic written across her face. Even Peter who was soundlessly directing his lady's highbeast, looked actually panic stricken. This wasn't planned. My heart was practically galloping out of my chest until the blue scaled beast snatched its rider from the air. The relief I felt was enough to make my hands tremble on my lion's reins. That feeling was very short lived as Minerva's hood fell back to reveal…

She was laughing.

Laughing!?

It was like this had been some great ride for her. Had she not realized she held all of her retainers lives in the palm of her hand for that stupid stunt? By all the Gods, how was this funny? Yet there she was her head thrown back laughing so freely. Never mind noble bearing, how about just a shred of common sense? I landed back on the ground fighting my rising temper, managing to mask it behind a noble smile. Once they were all back down on the ground, all of Minerva's retainers; except Peter, were rebuking her. She pretended to meekly take their scoldings. But Peter and I seemed of the same mind that she was merely acting for their benefit. His expression was hard. It was only when those silver eyes met mine that she seemed to hesitate.

She inclined her head. "My apologies, Lord Ferdinand. It was not my intention to cause you trouble."

I scoffed. "I find that hard to believe. Surely even someone so foolish could understand how this would reflect poorly on me? You were after all, testing something I made." Her eyes widened ever so slightly. So, she hadn't thought about that. This meant she also hadn't considered what the consequences to me would be, regardless of whether or not she was hurt. I continued to smile at her.

She crossed her arms and bent her head low. "My sincerest apologies." She might have genuine in her remorse, but I left before I could look too deeply into it.

Note from the author: In case you are wondering. Peter ended up using the dragon charm that Ferdinand made to heavily guilt her that stunt. No mercy. It doesn't even matter that she was literally in no danger. Yes, Minerva had several safeties in place to prevent her from being injured.