"You don't have to do this," the Third Prince said. "You don't have to go in there to talk to her."
"No, I want to," Rafael said seriously. "I have to."
"I'm sure we can find someone else," the prince insisted. "I heard there was someone here who was a master of disguise. We can find another way to learn if someone used Dark Magic to remove incriminating knowledge from her mid."
"No, it has to be me," Rafael said. "She'll only talk to her precious son Sirius. So she'll talk to me. I can pretend to be him one last time to find out what she knows, who might have escaped, what was done to her, how painful it was, if she wet herself through it, whether they used dull, jagged or hot knives…"
"Um…" the prince said nervously, giving him a weird look.
"…I have to do it. So that, at the end, when we've gotten everything out of her, I can reveal that not only did I helped cause her fall, but also that her son's been dead this whole time, so I can watch the despair fill her as she realizes she's truly lost EVERYTHING…!" Rafael said dreamily. "At last, my vengeance will be complete!"
The third prince took a small step back as Rafael began to laugh to himself.
"So!" Rafael said brightly. "Let's talk to her!"
The prince put a restraining hand on her shoulder. "First, we have to calm you down so you don't obviously look like you want her dead. Second… we need to make you look like you escaped from your cell to rescue her. And third… we need to get you to stop smiling like that, or its going to look really suspicious."
"All right, that's all the paperwork for the day," Maria announced. "Good job everyone. Lady Claes, I hoped you enjoyed today's sweets. I will be sure to bring more for you tomorrow."
"Yay! I can't wait!" Lady Claes cheered. She flashed Maria a wide, hungry smile full of desire. "Miss Campbell's sweets are the best!"
Once upon a time, Maria would have assumed that was some sort of unknowingly-incestous sexual innuendo promising a future conquest. Now that she had eyes to see, however, she could recognize it as simply Lady Claes being a bottomless pit with a child-like lack of restraint or decorum. She smiled and set about trying to correct that. Honestly, how spoiled was this girl? "Lady Claes, please control yourself. You just had sweets. Now, why don't you go off to Miss Shelley so you can wash up for dinner?"
"Ooh, dinner!" Lady Claes said, collecting her things and getting up. "I wonder what the dining hall has? See you there, everyone!"
At that she skipped of merrily out the door.
"Don't skip, you might trip and hurt yourself!" Maria called after her, and was rewarded with the sound of childish running. Well, certainly safer than skipping in skirts, but not by much. "How energetic."
"Big sis… you promised to never leave me…" Lord Claes sobbed.
"Lady Katarina… wait…" Lady Ascart sobbed, cradling her hand. "Hurts… so much…"
Lord Ascart patted her awkwardly. Sometime in the past three days he'd somehow learned how to write ambidextrously, possibly from the Third Prince, and now both of his hands were in pain and twitched, so he sort of had to flop one on his sister's head and bounce it up and down with his elbow.
"Damn those useless pretty princes for abandoning us to this paperwork!" Lady Hunt raged weakly, cradling her own hand.
"It can't be helped," Maria said as she began using her Light Magic on herself, the eldritch light shining from her overcoming the abyssal darkness she was still leaking slightly. "They are conducting an important investigation crucial to the security of the realm, and must do so with timeliness to see justice is done."
"You mean they're getting Rafael's revenge for him," Lady Hunt huffed.
"An important investigation crucial to the security of the realm," Maria said, most definitely not smiling.
"You might not be smiling, but the blush sort of gives it away," Lady Hunt said.
"I have no idea what you're talking about," Maria said.
"You're a lousy liar, Campbell," Lady Hunt deadpanned.
Preposterous. She was excellent at deception! She learned at the Healing Church.
"If you would be so kind, I could use some assistance, Miss Hunt?" Lord Ascart said. "I would like to regain use of my hands?"
"Of course, Lord Ascart," Maria said. "You need only have asked…"
Rafael stepped out of the Marchioness' prison, the door blocking off the howls of despair and curses, a wide smile on his face.
"I'd say you're enjoying this far too much…" the Third Prince said, "but who am I to judge a man for his life's work? Though did you have to twist the knife in at the– never mind, silly question."
"Thank you for your understanding, your highness," Rafael said.
"The sound was a bit muffled because of the whispering," the prince said as they began to walk away from the secured ward. "Could you summarize?"
Rafael nodded. "She was headed here in a misguided attempt to rescue me," he said, a dark and terrible smile on his face at those words, "But someone ambushed her party in the woods last night. Though she remembers it happened, she can't provide a description, even though from what she said, they must have gotten very close. I think Dark Magic was used to alter her memories of the assailants in question, or at least obfuscate it. She claims there was only one person, but given the violence of the ambush she described, that seems unlikely. Nothing else seems to be altered, though we'd have to check to be sure. If someone scrubbed a specific name from her memory, we'll have to interview all the prisoners to find out."
"So there's another Dark Magic wielder out there," the prince mused. "One out on the wind. And with a group, at that. That's… concerning. For all their research, we have no indication they made another wielder recently, or in the intervening years. We'll have to widen our search. It's not like they're going to make this easy for us by announcing themselves."
Rafael could only agree.
He still couldn't help the smile that started to grow on his face again as he recalled THAT WOMAN's face contorting into betrayal and grief…
Maria was just locking up the Student Council office, normally the duty of the superfluous president, when she saw Prince Alan coming down the halls. She turned and bowed. "Good afternoon, Prince Alan," she said. "I hope the investigation fairs well?"
"Hey, Campbell," he greeted. "Getting there. We searched the grounds, found a dead horse that was probably the horse the Marchioness was riding and… well, we found where she was probably attacked. I'd say she was fortunate, but given the state we found her, I don't think that was it. Just got back from my rooms to bathe and get the smell off, then I have to get back to the ministry to tell my brother. Anything happen while I was gone?"
"We have received the estimates for the saltpeter candles for the graduation," Maria reported. "They are within budget. We have prepared the final order, which will be pushed through tomorrow."
"Huh, that's great!" Prince Alan grinned. "Those purple candles are going to be something to see. Anything else? I really have to go, we have to see what that woman knows while it's still fresh."
"Your highness, there is also a personal matter I would like to speak to you about if you have a free moment," Maria said.
Prince Alan frowned. "Is it urgent?"
"That is part of the reason I wished to speak to you, your highness," Maria said. "As I commoner, I do not know enough to understand what my betters would consider 'urgent'."
Prince Alan grunted. "Well, all right, I still have some time, if you make it quick," he said. "What is it?"
"I believe I have somehow acquired Dark Magic due to recent events, possibly because I destroyed that dark spirit while on that sigil meant to bestow Dark Magic in exchange for a sacrifice of death," Maria said. "I am unsure if this is an urgent matter, so I defer to your judgement."
Prince Alan blinked at her. Stared. "Sorry, what?" he demanded.
See, Lady Hunt? She was excellent at deception!