Saturday Night, That Very Day
"Herbena?"
"Hello. It's been a while, Young Master."
The sight left both Skadi and Blow too stunned to speak. Herbena lowered her arms, the corners of her eyes trembling as she offered an awkward smile.
Skadi came back to herself first. She stepped in, caught Herbena's hand, and pulled.
"Let's go."
"...Hm? Where?"
Herbena didn't budge. Skadi, unable to make sense of what she was saying, stopped where she was and stared at her in blank confusion. Blow, meanwhile, was studying the woman in front of him with care. No matter how he looked, something about her was wrong.
"Herbena, let's go. Now!"
"Go where? I already had dinner."
"Don't give me that — you heard it from Linne!!"
"No. I've got things to do. I told Linne the same."
"Things to do? Do you even understand what's happening right now?"
"Ah — the situation? I know. Everyone knows. There's no way I wouldn't."
Herbena answered as if it were someone else's affair, twisting her hair up with one hand. At the sight of it, Skadi's clenched fists began to shake.
"Well. I'll head in, then."
"Head in? Where do you think you're going right now!!!"
Skadi closed the distance again and shouted. Herbena frowned, and a deep sigh left her.
"Skadi, you're loud. Why are you yelling?"
"And this looks like a moment when I shouldn't?"
"I've said what I had to say. I'm going."
Skadi only stepped in closer and seized her by the collar.
"What...?"
"I don't know what you're thinking, but I'm taking you with me even if I have to drag you!"
"Oh? You think you can?"
A violet magic circle bloomed in Herbena's raised hand, and Skadi's own circle answered it without yielding. In that instant Blow was already beside Skadi, his hand settling on her shoulder.
"Let's go, Skadi."
The strength ran out of her all at once. She managed to turn her head and look at him. He meant it. His eyes didn't waver. Unable to believe what was happening, Skadi stood frozen and glared, and he leaned in until his mouth was at her ear.
"Anything more will only make a scene. For now, it's better if we just leave."
"But still..."
"Herbena can handle herself. She was never someone we needed to worry about in the first place."
Even so — he was really going to leave Herbena behind, in a moment like this? She had been sure he would drag her along by force if he had to.
Skadi looked at him again. He only shook his head. She let out a breath, closed her eyes, opened them, and turned her gaze back to Herbena.
"Watch yourself."
"I will. Thanks for worrying."
Skadi gave no answer to that. She headed for the carriage.
Blow, as if suddenly self-conscious, took in the sight of Herbena rubbing at her own neck for no particular reason. She wore nothing but thin clothes, no cloak at all, as though the cold had no claim on her. He pulled off his robe and held it out.
"Put it on. You'll freeze."
"Young Master."
"I'll see you next time. Once this is sorted out, I'll come."
He patted her shoulder with his right hand and walked toward Skadi's carriage. Herbena watched his back. She gripped the robe he had left her, and a smile so faint it was almost not there rested on her lips.
"You arrive on Wednesday?"
"Yes. We're scheduled to arrive on Wednesday."
While Blow was meeting Herbena, in Mnevoir's laboratory, Mnevoir was in communication with Gethier Ropert — the imperial official responsible for the Blow affair.
"I'll make preparations."
"Do. This time, you will have to bear a share of the responsibility yourself. You are aware that your case differs from Blow's."
"......"
"We delayed our response because we trusted your word. You will pay a price in proportion to that."
"I understand."
"No need to explain further. Convenient. I hear, however, that all of Caipol has been thrown into an uproar."
"Yes. Well, you'll see for yourself when you arrive."
"Even so, you are a former colleague. We will observe the proper courtesies, so do not worry overmuch."
"Thank you. Even if it's only words."
"And should you manage to reach Lady Lisleia, contact me first."
"Yes."
The communication ended there. Mnevoir let out a long sigh, drained what remained of her coffee, and turned a thin smile on Christina beside her.
"Assistant Christina. Now that I think of it, I forgot to check. Did you finish what I asked yesterday? The potion errand."
"Yes, Professor. I delivered the potions and your message to the top student in every subject. I labeled them and checked again, in case the names got mixed up."
"Good. Then, Assistant Christina — I'll leave the research materials as they are, so if you want to take them on, you may."
Mnevoir smiled, her hand resting on her own notes. Christina's shoulders sank. She looked ready to spill into tears at any moment.
"Yesterday was the same, and today as well, but I have to keep meeting with Aurora through Wednesday. There's a handover to finish. Classes will proceed as normal until Wednesday..."
"Professor..."
"After that, as you know, Hannes will take the classes."
"You already told me that. I remember."
Christina couldn't find what to say next. Mnevoir held out the coffee, smiled once more, and went on.
"Wouldn't it be nice to feel the wind of the Imperial Capital for the first time in a while?"
"You're not going for a good reason."
"I have to take responsibility. I should keep my word, at least."
"......"
"Just treat Aurora the way you treat me, and you'll be fine. She's a capable person, after all."
Christina couldn't bring the coffee to her lips. She only hung her head. Mnevoir patted her back as if to tell her not to worry, then went to the window and took in the moonlight pouring through.
At that same hour, in a narrow room of a crumbling tavern on Scampia Street, the so-called Regime Breakers sat packed shoulder to shoulder around a table — five of them now, one more than last time.
The woman in the seat of honor had reached Caipol around the day before. Pitch-black skin, stark white hair: she was impossible to mistake. A cheroot between her lips, she twisted her hair up. Redfrin swept her with a strange, lingering look and spoke in a hush that didn't suit her at all.
"Your face has brightened since I last saw you, Squad Leader Beatrice."
"Redfrin. You still talk as if rank means nothing to you."
"What, want me to drop the 'Squad Leader' while I'm at it?"
"No. Then you wouldn't be our Redfrin."
As if she found it charming, Beatrice traced Redfrin's chin with a fingertip, breathed smoke into the air, and went on.
"The city means to summon Blow and Mnevoir to city hall?"
"Yes. That's what I confirmed."
Narcis answered — the one who had stood as leader before Beatrice arrived. Redfrin turned to him, plainly not following.
"Huh? Why?"
"The whole city's in an uproar. They want to show, in public, that they're handing the two of them over to the Imperial Palace Magic Bureau."
"Ohhh."
"Right, Redfrin. If the city wants to quiet the crowd, that's the least they have to do."
"When are you thinking of moving?"
"The Imperial Magic Bureau reaches Caipol around Wednesday, so Tuesday or Wednesday."
"You think they'll stay out of sight until the very end, and only then show themselves."
"Yes."
Beatrice cut it off there. Demian, who had been sitting with a gloomy face, opened his mouth carefully.
"Squad Leader. Is it certain Lisleia is in the city?"
"Yes. I definitely caught the scent of her mana."
"If you say so, then it's certain. But why has she stayed quiet since she arrived?"
"Even in the old war, Lisleia was famous for being impossible to predict. What's certain is that she's doing something."
"So, just like you ordered, we've burned every meeting place we've used until now!"
"See that this one is handled properly too."
Redfrin grinned and nodded. Demian, silent for a moment, spoke to Beatrice again.
"Squad Leader. If Lisleia appears, how do you mean to catch her?"
"We seal her mana with the trap we set near city hall, then kill her. A mage who can't use mana is worse than an ordinary knight."
"What, it was way fucking simpler than I thought."
At that, Beatrice let out a short laugh and shook her head.
"No. It only means that person's magic is that powerful."
"Did you place the trap near city hall because you foresaw this?"
"I put it where the odds were highest. And since it played out as predicted, there's no need to move it now."
"Even so, there'll be a lot of people around city hall. From Monday, the protests start."
"That's the point. Bringing an archmage down in front of everyone."
"Exactly! Demian! Then it'll feel like — bang! — firing off a victory salute, don't you think?"
Beatrice smiled faintly at Redfrin's excited shout and added one more thing.
"Redfrin. You and I have to finish this as fast and clean as possible. So the others never get the chance to interfere."
"Mariel and I will run the withdrawal routes a few more times before the day of the operation."
"Do that, Narcis. The withdrawal matters most. Success is success, but staying alive matters too."
Beatrice's eyes glinted through the smoke. Mariel, who had said nothing until then, opened her mouth with a smirk.
"However it turns out, it's not a bad position to be in."
"What do you mean?"
"If Lisleia doesn't appear, we've beaten a Lisleia who refused the provocation. If she does appear, we simply catch her."
"Even so, if we're speaking in odds, the chance she shows is over ninety percent."
"...Oh, come on. Really? Even after what happened to 108 Swords?"
"Lisleia isn't enough of a halfwit to stay away while they take her one and only disciple."
"If it goes according to plan, it really would be enormous. 108 Swords, and then Lisleia..."
"Yes. Finish this, and we move on to the next."
"That would be Deschamp, I suppose?"
"Hard to say. If he disappears, the Imperial Capital could fall into chaos, so that person seems to be hesitating a little."
With that, Beatrice took up another cheroot and shifted her gaze to Demian, who was staring fixedly at Mariel beside her.
"Did you do as you were told?"
"Yes. They'll be heading for Blow Deblique's establishment soon."
"Good. Work like this needs the fire fed, again and again."
"Yes. I'll see it through to the end."
"Do. Perform well, and I'll see that you're rewarded."
Demian's face flushed scarlet. Mariel and Redfrin stifled their laughter, and the room grew a little thicker with the smoke Beatrice breathed out.
On the carriage ride back to the estate, after Blow and Skadi had faced Herbena, Skadi bit down on her lip and stared at the floor. She had been certain they would bring Herbena with them.
She could grant that Herbena was acting strangely. What she could not understand, no matter how she turned it over, was Blow.
Even when Herbena was being like that, he just let her go?
She couldn't reconcile it with the man who had been willing to fight a duel for Jane's sake. And yet that very fact let her accept it. If it was Blow, there had to be a reason.
Before she knew it, the carriage had passed through the heart of the city and was drawing near her estate. Blow, who had kept his mouth shut until then, turned his gaze toward her.
"Skadi. Why aren't you saying anything? I was waiting. I figured you'd have something to say."
"I thought there must be a reason. I was annoyed, but like you said, she isn't someone we need to worry about that much. It might just be me sticking my nose in."
"...Was that it."
"Yeah. Right now, I just want there to be a reason. For you, and for her."
Her voice was subdued. Blow looked at her and smiled.
"For now, you don't have to worry too much."
"Huh...?"
"I mean I don't think we need to worry. About Herbena."
"So there was a reason after all?"
Her face brightened all at once. Blow, who had been watching her steadily, gave a small nod and pushed up his right sleeve.
"She was wearing a bracelet. Herbena was."
"A bracelet?"
"Yeah. A bracelet. The same as the one she gave me. Almost like she wanted to make sure I'd see it."