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.

36. Gone

*bet you guys weren't expecting another so soon! Enjoy!*

Ferdinand 6th year Royal Academy

I stepped up beside Heisshitze and two other apprentice knights. The Dunkelfelger knight greeted me with his usual exuberance which made my head pound. Already this headache was making me exhausted and just a tad dizzy. My loyal retainers flanked me, having managed to dodge bringing the dead weight. This would be our last chance to gather before we graduated. So, we planned to make the most of it. We were even going to gather some plants that I had been experimenting with cultivation in the wild.

Our packs were getting heavy well before lunch, but no one seemed to mind. My attendant and scholars carried the excess; being sure to keep one hand free. We ended up eating rations in the forest with our knights taking two separate shifts to eat in. The Dunkelfelger knights chewed on dried seasoned beef strips that they called (*jerky*) as well as dried fruits that had been sweetened during the drying process. We on the other hand had a hard bread that could be added to water with salt for flavor. While I didn't care for the fruit which was just a little too sweet, the jerky they offered was flavorful, if a little tough. I pretended not to notice Heisshitze's smug expression when I told him the food was adequate for rations. When he offered the recipe, I raised an eyebrow at him. I had been getting a lot of things from Dunkelfelger of late. It was enough to make me very suspicious.

We got back to our gathering. The knights were quick to kill off any approaching feybeasts. Even small ones with little resources were killed. Half of the feystones were immediately handed over to me, part of their bribe for a chance at one last ditter match before graduation. The fool actually thought he was getting his cape back. The thought brought a smirk to my face.

Pain lanced through my head nearly blinding me. What was that? Poison? No, it didn't feel like it. Something crept through my mind, an unease that shook me.

"Shield!" I shouted before I could take stock of my body or the area. A bright light turned everything white and a rumble rocked the forest floor with a roar like that of the lord of winter. I had only a few spare moments to summon my own shield. Next thing I knew, a blast of air sent me and everyone else flying. Pain exploded from my back, and one of my charms popped when I collided with a tree. Thankfully, my armor took the brunt of the force. But nothing stopped the roar in my ears.

Then silence; aside from the ringing in my ears. The light faded, and the forest floor no longer trembled under my feet. I grabbed one of my effective potions and drank it down. Then I looked at where we were. I could only blink at the devastation in front of me. It looked like the depictions of the aftermath of a trombe. We stood on the edge of a massive empty space that hadn't been there before. The bare earth was scotched at the center for several feet in diameter. Everything was blown away. Around us was a circle clear of debris surrounded thickly by branches, brush, and even tree trunks. It was like a dome had been placed around us to prevent anything from crushing us. Glancing at my protections and some of the logs, it was clear that I would have been seriously injured in the absolute best-case scenario. What had happened? Had someone tried to kill me?

"My lord!" Eckhart struggled to his feet in front of me, his eyes wide with panic. "Are you hurt?"

I looked down at my uniform, and swallowed hard. The hem of my sleeves and my hands were covered in blood. Looking down further I discovered I had blood stains in a lot of places. A quick internal check showed bruising, but no open wounds. Whose blood was this if it wasn't mine? I tried to think back to the explosion and my head gave another painful throb and a severe bout of dizziness washed over me. Something was very wrong. I whipped around and found all of my retainers, all of them were safe inside the clear zone. No injuries. The same was true of the Dunkelfelger knights. So why did I have a horrible creeping feeling that something was disastrously wrong.

"I'm fine, it's not mine." Eckhart caught my urgency. His gaze went first to Heidemarie, then his other colleagues, finally looking over the Dunkelfelger knights. I could see the exact moment he realized the same thing I had. No one was bleeding enough to warrant this. So, whose blood was I covered in and why was only I covered in it?

Eckhart whipped out his schtappe and cast a waschen over me. Then he glanced back at the Dunkelfelger apprentices trying to guess if they suspected something or had something to do with this.
Was I being set up? Who had been sacrificed for this? I could easily see a certain hateful woman killing someone in order to set me up for murder.

"What was that?" The black-haired Dunkelfelger boy asked.

"Mana." I said automatically. Though why I was certain I don't know. I had researched what happened with rampaging mana, and there were always horror stories passed around by older students. But the amount of damage here was beyond anything even the horror stories described. This was more like a handful of people had exploded at once in a tight circle. Though again, things weren't quite right. The scorch mark resembled what one would expect from a singular explosion, not several packed close.

Heisshitze reached up and touched the cloak pin as he gazed over the destruction. After a moment he said, "Lord Ferdinand, I am going to summon Professor Rauffen." Once the little white bird was sent, he waited a few moments before shooting up a rott. It didn't take long for Rauffen to land beside us. He took in the scarred earth with marvel.

"Lord Ferdinand! What kind of tool were you testing out here?"
Heisshitze spoke up for me. "This wasn't Lord Ferdinand." He explained about the sudden explosion and how we were just barely to shield in time.

Rauffen rubbed his chin, a dark look on his face. He checked the sky for the time then told us to head back to our dorms. He would call the sovereign knights. I agreed and tried to settle the feeling in my chest. Like I had just left something important behind. Once we were flying over the forest, Lasfam pulled close to me.

"Thank you, my lord, if not for your warning and you catching us in your bands of light. Justus, Heidemarie and myself would have been blown away."

I yanked on my reins coming to a sharp stop mid-air. "I didn't catch you." I had barely had time to shield myself. Lasfam frowned at my response.

"My apologies, my lord."

"Why do you think I caught you?"

Lasfam frowned harder at the question. "The mana felt like yours." But now he looked unsure.

That wasn't possible. "I see. When we return, I want a report from each of you."

When we returned, I went to a side room and had Heidemarie report. She confirmed that she thought I was the one who had pulled them in. She even noticed a faint yellow shimmer in the air around us, but it had vanished the moment the blast subsided. It wasn't until Justus report that it became clear that there really had been someone else there.

"My lord, at first, I thought it was you who had grabbed us. But I noticed the band of light came from a different direction from you. The person was surrounded by a gold barrier, but couldn't see anything more."

"Would you be able to remember where they were standing?"

"Yes."

"Tomorrow we will go look. I want you to gather intelligence now and at the tournament if we still don't have answers by then." Justus crossed his arms in deference. After that I was snuck back into my room so as to avoid the first lady's people. We still weren't sure if this had been some kind of set up. Though that was looking less and less likely with what my scholars and attendant were saying.

Once I was back in the relative safety of my room; Justus and Eckhart had swept it for anything that didn't belong, I took a potion and cast a waschen on myself. Then I was changed into my sleeping clothes and went to my desk to review my results from various experiments. For a reason I couldn't understand, my mind refused to focus on the words. Reading the same paragraph three times over was becoming tedious. No matter how I scolded myself, I couldn't help but be distracted from a nagging worry in the back of my mind. Finally, I was forced to give up. I pushed my papers aside and scrubbed my face with my hands. Exhaustion was pressing down on me. That would mean another potion tonight to ensure I woke up early tomorrow. With a sigh I went to my hidden stash. Only a milky pale blue potion. I clicked my tongue and decided that I couldn't be bothered to ask Justus to grab my normal ones from the lab. After popping the cork, I drank it down. It gave me just enough time to crawl under the covers before sleep swept in.

As sleep took hold a magic circle flashed in my mind. I could see it with absolute clarity, yet my mind refused to understand it. The answer would be there then slip through my mind like water through cloth. Only a few details would stay. Gebotordnung, Verbergen, Schlaftraum, Dauerleben, Ventuchte, and Dregarnuhr's symbols were all I could retain. And a singular flaw in the circle. A faint crack. It had veins of dark purple running along it. I reached up and touched them. Suddenly, the circle flashed so bright I was forced to shield my eyes. When the light faded and I dropped my hand, the circle had been replaced by shattered moving images and disconnected sounds.

A snarl of rage. A wall of fire. Trembling blood-soaked hands. The silhouette of a woman holding a needle thin sword. Screams then ripping and snapping sounds. Finally, I saw a bloody hand clenched around four larger feystones. Then everything went blank and calm. The calm was more distressing than the sounds.

Then a familiar male voice spoke in an oddly flat and emotionless tone, "Lord Ferdinand. We keep our promises. All of them. So, in the future, when you have found your Geduldh; if you have the courage to enough to ask her to stay with you, invite us to your star binding ceremony. We will come. No matter what."

I tried to reach out to the person speaking knowing this would be the last time if I didn't stop them. Wait, I tried to call, but the word wouldn't leave my mouth. All of my body felt paralyzed. I started to panic; a desperation I didn't recognize bubbled up. It screamed at me to move before they-.

"SHIELD LITTLE FLOWER!"

A bright light flashed and I was blinded. The same magic circle from earlier flashed before my eyes. This time there was no crack. Instead, a dark purple symbol seemed to laugh at me from its place. I couldn't make heads or tails of this new symbol or the magic circle. The circle flared bright forcing me to shield my eyes again.

"Forget child. It will be easier if you just forget everything." The female voice was honey sweet and seemed to echo through me. The more it echoed the more and more I caught a hint of something sinister in it. A threat should I choose not obey. "Let all your worries fade." Then the woman hissed, "Now!" Suddenly I was looking at the canopy of my bed.

"Liar." The word rasped out of me as I sat up in bed and rubbed my face. My head thumped painfully behind my eyes. By the Gods, that was the strangest dream I have ever had… yet I couldn't remember even a bit of it.

"My lord?" Lasfam was on night duty.

"I'm fine."

"Justus should be-." The door clicked open to admit Justus.

"My lord." My attendant smiled at me. But I noticed he had something in his hands. He walked over and offered me a sound blocking tool. I took it.

"You found something."

"Yes, a few things in fact." He hesitated. "First, is that Lady Minerva and Lord Peter from Dunkelfelger are missing. One of Lady Magdalena's scholars saw the two of them sneaking out yesterday morning. Early."

"So, the fools got caught doing something unseemly and are hiding."

Justus made a face. "I've tried sending ordonnanz to them, neither will fly."

I sighed and resisted the urge to point out that there were several reasons that could happen. But I kept them to myself because of the look on my attendant's face. "What else?"

He handed over the object he had been holding. "I found this in your clothes when we returned last night." It was a large pendant charm that I didn't recognize. It was a silver eight-pointed star with opalescent stone at its center. Each arm had a detailed engraving the night sky. I even recognized the stars as they showed up here at the academy. A pretty piece of metal work with impossibly delicate engravings. Then I turned my attention to the stone.

At first, I thought it was a feystone, but as I studied it, I realized there were magic circles inside. I sharpened my vision to get a better look at them, frustratingly only those close to the surface were legible. Some of them even looked broken or incomplete. Turning the charm this way and that I was able to tell that they weren't in fact incomplete, but needed to be triggered; somehow. This charm worked as both key and door. To what or where I couldn't even begin to guess, much less how to trigger them.

"It's a key, to something like a hidden room, but-." I trailed off as I turned the charm over to see the words engraved in flowing script.

May the stars light the path to safety in the night
No matter how strong darkness may seem to be

These words were followed by four symbols from that language that Peter's notes were in. I closed my eyes, suddenly very sure who had made this. "This is Peter's work," and the words on the back. "At Minerva's request."

Justus nodded in agreement. "I thought so too."

"So how did this end up on my person without any of us noticing? At the very least it proves that one of them was present. The explosion is the only time that we were distracted enough." Justus looked suspicious, but didn't say anything.

"Then you still plan to check the explosion site."

"Yes."

He traded a nutrition potion for the magic tool. I drank the potion and allowed Justus to help me dress into gathering clothes. The star pendant was tucked safely in my highbeast cage. Next, we just needed to slip past her watchers. They always increased their nastiness when they knew the first lady would be coming. Which had become Ehrenfest's downfall; at least as far as the attendants were concerned. Since they were too busy sabotaging me that they didn't even consider Ehrenfest. So, I thought tapping two fingers on my temple, how to get around them? Then I remembered the charm with Verbergen's symbol that I had gotten from Dimitri. It had one maybe two uses left in it. I would only be able to take one of retinue with, so as to open doors and not draw suspicion, but who?

"Justus. Summon Eckhart. I want you to do some information gathering."

He smirked knowingly. "And what will you be doing, my lord?"

"Working in my hidden room."

"I see."

I went to my hidden room once Justus had left. He would join to receive his 'assignment', and then under the amulet of Verbergen we would leave together. This would prevent Lasfam from being pressured into speaking while also allowing him and Eckhart a bit of rest. It had the added bonus of allowing Heidemarie extra time for her experiments that she was presenting this year. After only a few minutes of waiting, Justus' knock on the door came.

"My Lord, Eckhart is here." I opened the door to allow my attendant to enter. Once he was in, he shut the door behind himself and crossed his arms. "How may I be of assistance, My Lord?"

"I will wear the amulet, but I will need you to open doors. We will have to walk to the site so as to avoid being seen. Then once we return, see what information you and Heidemarie can gather from Dunkelfelger." My attendant scholar looked at the floor when I mentioned Dunkelfelger, as if I was a child who was running from bad news. But I doubted those two were dead, not until I saw their feystones or bodies. I'm sure this is part of some plot by that wild woman.

"Yes, my Lord." It wasn't long before the charm was once again around my neck and on my way. Going through the common room left me feeling tense. My enemies were all around us, but they paid little attention to Justus when he was; seemingly, by himself. Only a few glanced his way. None of their looks of condescension or disgust were lost on me. They treated him this way mostly because he chose to serve me instead of Lady Georgine. The rest was my attendant's proclivities towards odd behavior. Justus chuckled at no one in particular, his meaning to me was quite clear. Ignore them. With Steiferise's blessing, we were out of biggest danger zone; leaving hateful looks behind. Justus continued to walk at a relaxed pace. He greeted a handful of people that he knew as we walked. After we had made our way to the edge of the forest he stopped.

"I think now would be a good time to explore." He murmured the words as if he were speaking to himself and summoned his highbeast. My attendant climbed up the monstrosity. We both knew I couldn't summon mine without risking all the effort of hiding my presence going to waste. I tapped two fingers on my temple, but I couldn't come up with a solution that didn't have me riding this feybeast in an incredibly awkward position with my attendant. Finally, I was forced to concede that unless I wanted to walk the whole way, I wasn't getting out of this. Once I climbed up behind my hidden scholar and wrapped an arm around him. "Apologies." He murmured.

"It's fine." Extremely uncomfortable, but I would live with it. The flight was blessedly short, we soon came to the barren circle. Seeing it again drove home how lucky we were to survive not to mention being able to walk away. Justus landed in the area that we had been standing. You could see the line of debris that had hit whatever shield had been placed to protect us. Whatever it was had been impressive.

"Where did you see that woman?"

Justus pointed and I walked in that direction while keeping a close eye on the ground for any indications a person passed this way. I could see a lot of boot prints from the Sovereign Knights' Order. Those soon disappeared as I went past the line of carnage. Then another set of prints appeared. The were slight heeled shoes. By their shape and size, they were female. I glanced back at where we would have been standing. From here the female would have had a good view of everything, and would have been out of my entourage's line of sight. I searched around for anything else that might identify the mystery girl. After several minutes I found a cork from a potion bottle. I called Justus over. He preformed many checks before he sniffed it. I raised my eyebrow at hi, but my hidden scholar frowned as if confused.

"My lord, if I'm not mistaken, this is one of your highly effective potions."

Relief slithered through me. "She was here then."

"My lord?"

"If you recall correctly, I sold that wild woman five of those potions. She said she planned to use them as 'encouragement' for those struggling in the knight's course."

"I recall." His tone implied he didn't understand the connection.

Then I glanced down at the prints. They were small. Smaller than Minerva. This was unlikely to be her. One of her people, maybe? Not her guards, all of the female Dunkelfelger guards are about the same as Minerva if not bigger. Her attendant then?

Caw!

A flutter of wings brushed past my cheek. Claws dug into fabric of my blue cloak and seemed to try to yank on it before letting go. A large crow landed on a fallen branch in front of me. It carefully turned to look at me then Justus, squawked, then beat its wings at us. I took a couple steps toward it on impulse. My boots crunched on the dry twigs and leaves. The crow immediately took of a few feet then turned back to us and cawed again. I recalled Peter's ramblings that crows were actually quite intelligent and could be trained like one might train a dog. Justus followed as we skirted around the blast zone for a while. The crow came to a stop and landed in a pile of leaves. Its beak ducked into the plant matter where it clicked against something hard and metallic. Justus quickly moved around me and carefully cleared the leaves from what the bird had found. It awkwardly hopped a few steps away and watched as Justus worked. Once the plant matter was cleared away Justus froze ever so slightly. I could hear him a soft sigh of regret as he picked up a small object. He did the usual plethora of checks before bringing it to me. It was a piece of black metal in the shape of a crow's wing.

Peter.

I took the piece of metal and felt the unusually rough surface. Not only had the tool been broken, but it looked like a sticky substance had been boiled across the surface leaving it caked and burnt onto the surface. In order to do this kind of damage to a magic tool, the flames would have had to be very hot, and more powerful than the tool in order to break it so cleanly. A high arch noble or archduke candidate levels of mana. More importantly, if Peter had been here, Minerva was undoubtably not far from him.

"Anything else?" If the rest of the charm was still with Peter, I might be able to use this piece to track it back to those fools. Even if it wasn't, Minerva's should still have hers with her. Since the crow and the dragon were connected, I could track her. They were probably holed up licking their wounds.

"No, my lord."

I glanced back at the crow who had retreated to the branches higher up. There it seemed content to watch us with nothing more to lead us to. We continued to search for another bell before I was forced to admit that even if there were hints here, we were unlikely to find them. Best to use the lead I had. As we were preparing to head back on Justus's highbeast the crow gave one last forlorn caw at our retreating backs. Goose flesh crawled down my neck at the sound. I had Justus take me to Hirschur's lab. At least there I would have all the materials I needed there.

Hirschur didn't even look up from her work when Justus entered the room. And my scholar attendant was going to stay to assist, but I shooed him away saying the dorm would need his assistance more than me. He looked like he might protest, but decided against it, leaving me to my work. I quickly began brewing a tool that would allow me to find the other piece of the crow charm. It took several attempts before I had a useable protype, but then for some reason none of the attempts to actually test it worked. I was starting to get frustrated when Justus called to me,

"My lord?" When I turned to look at him, he had an uncomfortable expression on his face. "It's time."

"Time?" I don't recall having

"To get ready for the tournament. Your father's people will be arriving in a bell." But that was… I looked at the window and realized it was dark. Had I really been here all day and night? That would explain the lethargy I was feeling.

"Right, I will need-."

Justus handed over a nutrition potion as well as sleep one. Right, I could hardly whirl as Ewigeliebe if I hadn't slept well. I took both and went to rest, only to wake up a bell later to another vivid nightmare. Though this one was different in that it featured my bloody hands and lot of feystones. One was not far from a broken magical tool that usually covered Minerva's eyes and another by a broken crow's wings charm. The sour taste of vomit filled my mouth until I managed to swallow it back down. I took several deep breaths before checking my hands. They were clean, or clean of blood at least. Bath, I need a bath, I thought to myself, but I knew that I likely would not have time for that. Too much time had been wasted on a tool that didn't work.

Justus came into the room carrying my clothes and everything I would need for the day. A quick waschen was cast to get me clean, then he helped me dress. The rest of my entourage was waiting in the lab. All of them looked like they were preparing for battle. Which we were. Lady Veronica would arrive ahead of my father. So, we would have to endure her until father arrived.

Heading back, I didn't bother placing the amulet back on. It was so early and so close to tournament's start that no one would notice us. The attendants and scholars would be the only ones awake and they would be far too busy to notice us. I went back to my room to allow my entourage to prepare themselves until we were summoned.

I greeted the first lady with my people at my back. Her remarks were all cutting reminders of my place. Though she could find no faults with my preparations. The final threat was to remind me that I should not bring more trouble to Ehrenfest than I already had. All of it I endured with a social smile on my face, at this point I was long since numb to her jabs. Then I was dismissed. I let out a small breath once we were away from her. Eckhart was casting looks back at the veiled woman. There was a glint of something very troublesome there.

"Eckhart."

"Yes, my lord?" That glint was not quite gone.

"Are the apprentice knights ready?"

"They are." Or he'd make them suffer for every misstep.

"See to it. I want everyone to see what we are capable of." I'd rather have a little less protection if it meant my faithful guard wasn't contemplating foolish things.

From there, the day passed in a blur. I kept looking for signs of those two. Every now and then I would swear I caught sight of one of them only to realize it was someone else. It wasn't until I was walking up to the stage in my whirling outfit that I was truly hit with the truth. The Goddess of Light was filled by Lady Magdalena kept glancing to the Goddess of Wind with a blank expression. Schutzaria, who should have been played by the wild woman was instead being performed by a back-up. The last shred of hope that I hadn't realized I had been clinging to was ripped from me. I don't even remember whirling or accepting my honors from the Zent. Everything was passing in a fog.

Then I was sitting across from my father. He looked exhausted. His skin was paler than usual and he had a grayish hue to his skin. Lady Veronica's medicine was no longer working. How much longer did he have? How long before everyone who offered a shred of kindness to me was taken?

"Ferdinand? I something wrong?"

I hesitated before asking, "Are you alright, father?"

He sighed softly. "There will be time enough to talk about me later. What about you? Is something bothering you?" Those eyes which were so like Sylvester's were tinged with concern. "I noticed one of the Dunkelfelger twins was missing. Her sister was giving you a pretty hard look when she accepted her sister's awards."

I swallowed the regret. "Nothing of the sort. She was unhappy about how our engagement came to be. I believe she still holds me responsible for it."

"I can speak to Aub Dunkelfelger about it."

"No!" I was perhaps a little too forceful. I apologized to my father and said, "That won't be necessary. After tomorrow I won't ever see her again."

"If you're sure." He didn't look convinced, but allowed for the conversation to shift to my schooling and what I planned to do when I returned to Ehrenfest. He approved my becoming the next knight commander. It would allow Karstedt more freedom as Sylvester's guard knight. Our conversations continued long into the night. Both father and I were yawning by the end of it. Yet Schlaftraum refused to bless me. In the end I was forced to take another potion. Which meant another nightmare this one vaguer, but no less horrifying than the last.

Once again, I went through the motions of the morning. Justus bathed and dressed me. I drank a potion and then my entourage left. As we walked through the halls, I recalled every previous year getting congratulations from the wild woman. Her scholar skulking in the shadows after her. It felt strange then, now it felt strange to know I would never get that again. I wouldn't see that grinning face, wouldn't have my hair tussled like I was a child, would never hear those words again. I sighed as I realized I was heading to Dunkelfelger training grounds. One last time, I told myself. I could have that, right?

"You are her guard knight?!" A female voice shouted.

"I was given an order. Everyone in the dorm heard it." That was Heisshitze. I came around the corner to see Lady Magdalena laying into the apprentice guard. Lady Minerva's other guard knight was also there. She looked like she had been crying. Off to the side was Minerva's attendant, her bowed deeply, with Lord Sigurd trying to offer her comfort. A new blue cape hung over his Frenbeltag one.

"You left your lady unprotected to guard someone from another duchy! She is now dead! My sister is dead because of you all abandoned your duties!" Minerva's people all flinched at her accusations.

"We were given orders. She said she was going to be resting. It's not like I could go into her room and check if she was still there."

One of Lady Magdalena's guards spoke up, "My lady, several people heard Lady Minerva say as much, and she was seen sneaking out with Peter after her attendant and female guard had already left to return that tool to your mother."

"It doesn't matt-." She turned to her guard catching sight of us in the process. Her already red puffy eyes narrowed on me. Her face flushed with rage. If looks could cut she'd have sliced my head off. "YOU! How dare you show-up here!? Not satisfied with making me suffer you had to kill my sister too?!"

"Lady Magdalena!" Heisshitze shouted. "I was there! None of us saw Lady Minerva or Peter. And it was Lady Isabella and her people who killed them!"

She snorted derisively. "And you're telling me the famed Lord Ferdinand, Lord Evil, master of ditter, didn't notice two people who he regularly insulted not feet from him? You expect me to believe that he didn't KNOW, and didn't CHOOSE to let them DIE?" Her voice reached hysteric levels. "GET OUT! I SAID GET-!"

"LADY MAGDALENA! Hold your tongue!" This voice came from behind me. I turned to see Lord Werdecraft was striding towards us looking equally furious. His red eyes cut his sister's protests short. "If anyone is not satisfied with how much they are making someone suffer it is you. You act like spoiled child throwing a tantrum while you are the one who got everything, they wanted from the engagement you broke off. Apologize to Lord Ferdinand for your unseemly display."

"I refuse!" Everyone else was stunned that she had so blatantly refused.

"You would refuse an order from-?"

"You aren't Aub Dunkelfelger yet!" she snapped at her brother.

"I will speak to father about your out bursts. Go! Before you embarrass Dunkelfelger further with your childish antics."

Lady Magdalena threw one last glare my way before she stormed from the training ground. Lord Werdecraft sighed once was gone.

"Lord Ferdinand, that is not the way an archduke candidate from an upper ranked duchy or a princess should behave."

"It's understandable. They were close."

The future Aub Dunkelfelger looked pained at the mention of his other sister. "Yes. They were." He sighed deeply. "I am glad you are here." One of his attendants came forward carrying a roll of parchment. "When we went through Peter's things, we found this. I expect he intended on giving it to you himself." But that wouldn't happen now. Justus received the item and did the checks before carefully rolling it. His expression softened slightly before handing it to me. It was a powerful poison detection schematic. More powerful than the one I was currently using. There was a list of what poisons it could register, including the lead-based ones.

"What did Magdalena mean earlier?"

"I share this out of courtesy for the offense my sister caused you. It seems Lady Isabella of Werkestock planned an ambush of my sister and Peter. That explosion your people and our apprentice knights were hit with, was my sister's final attack. There were traces of her mana through-out the blast zone. We also found traces of Peter's mana. Specifically traces of blood. It is our belief that Isabella targeted Peter after he rejected her. And my sister reacted as she is known to do. With all of her strength. Killing herself and her enemies. The king is looking into Werkestock. It seems this isn't the only retaliatory move they've made. Now they'll be made an example of."

"Thank you, Lord Werdecraft. I wish to return the brooch." It was the symbol of Leidenschaft that Peter had given to me and Eckhart.

"You may keep them."

I smiled politely. "I will not need them. After today, I am unlikely to return to the academy."

That seemed to saddened the bigger man even more. "Ah, you are correct." His attendant took them from Justus. "I believe Heisshitze would like one last chance to win his cape back."

I sighed. "I think I have caused Dunkelfelger enough grief. By your leave, I will go."

The other man gave his permission and I said my farewells. The mana on my back was both a comfort and a small knife that just seemed to scrape away at my back. Dead. The word rang in my ears, deafening me to everything else, including footsteps that were fast approaching.

"My lord." Justus whispered.

I turned to see Minerva's attendant, Lady Eveline following after us. Sigurd was escorting her. Ah, that was right, the young man had been demoted and engaged to the attendant. That engagement had been the only thing to save his life from the purge.

"Lord Ferdinand, my apologies about this. I, um, wished to pass on a message." She fingered the dragon charm clipped to her cloak. "If my lady made you any promises-."

I waved her off. "The dead don't make promises."

"Oh, well, my apologies." She looked disheartened by my blunt words, but there was nothing for it. This would be last time I saw them. My chest ached. My fingers brushed over the star charm that I still had with. But I couldn't bring myself to toss it.

author's note: Sorry to leave you guys with such a sting. And I have more bad news, sorry to say, but the next chapter likely won't for a while and is unlikely to give any comfort. On that note however, I have one more big chapter then I'm going to do a little backtracking timeline wise before getting into part five content. This is so the light novels can be caught up kindle. I'm trying to avoid too much spoilery stuff, before I decide to kick canon in the teeth and demand justice for certain people. Yes, I am planning a revenge type chapter. Hopefully you guys approve of everything. I will let you know when we get there. But in the meantime, what do you think of Ferdinand's school time so far? Don't worry this isn't where the story ends. Ferdinand just thinks it does.