It was late at night. Christo had left a long time ago, and Caspian knew that he should have gone as well, but he stayed in Axium, wandering the town with Erica and her entourage. Perhaps a part of him had been hoping that he'd get to see Elincia again, or maybe it was because he had no desire to return to the place that hated him.

Lights filled the night air, not the twinkle of stars painted across the sky, but of a thousand spirit crystal floating on a unique propulsion system. It was another invention by Karen Hildegarde. He didn't know how it worked, but it was truly an impressive piece of technology, albeit, it was also the most fatuous bit of magitech that he'd ever seen.

Cassidy was no longer crying, but she had stopped talking to him entirely. He wasn't sure what he'd done wrong, but it must have been bad for the normally polite girl to stop talking to him.

"Cassidy, are you upset at me?" he asked.

"Hmph!"

Cassidy turned her head away from him—

"Kya!"

—and because she wasn't watching where she was going anymore, she tripped on... something, and fell flat on her face. As she lay there with her butt sticking in the air, Caspian wondered if she would ever stop tripping over her own two feet.

Kneeling beside her, Caspian helped her sit up. Cassidy's face was covered in dirt, and there was a large scratch on her forehead.

"A-are you okay?"

"I'm fine."

"You don't look fine." Caspian reached into a pouch on his thigh. "Here, I've got something that I can at least wipe the dirt off with."

"I don't need your help, Master Caspian."

For some reason, her use of the word "Master" made him wince.

He tried to help Cassidy stand up, but she didn't accept his hand and stood up on her own. She pushed past him. Walking into the crowd, Cassidy disappeared. Yet even so, Caspian could hear her shriek of "kya!" and the sound of her face planting itself into the cobblestone when she fell again.

"That girl..."

"Are you worried about my maid, perchance?" Erica asked.

"Perchance!" Tiffania cheered beside the sorceress.

Caspian did not appreciate the leer on Erica's face. "Of course I'm worried. Have you seen how clumsy your maid is? What if she trips and falls into the sewers beneath the city or something? Someone needs to look out for her, and since you're clearly not doing it, that means I have to do it in your stead."

"My, how valiant of you," Erica said. Caspian thought she sounded sarcastic. "In either event, I wouldn't worry about Cassidy. Cauliflower can find her."

"It's Collafloore," the half-elf boy grumbled before disappearing into the crowd. Having been subjected to Erica's terrible name calling before, Caspian felt for the boy.

At least she's not butchering my name anymore.

"So, Caspie, about my maid..."

Looks like I spoke too soon.

"What about your maid?"

"What do you think of her?"

"What do I think of her?" Caspian parroted, frowning. "You mean, like, as a person?"

"As a person, as a lover." Erica waved a hand through the air. "I'm not asking for something specific like that. Just tell me what you think of her."

Caspian thought about the question. He'd been getting asked that a lot these days. It seemed like at least one person asked him what he thought about someone, whether that be Elincia, Cassidy, or Erica. He didn't really understand why someone would care so much about his opinion, but he couldn't claim to understand the minds of women either.

He answered honestly. "Cassidy is a hard working young woman whose polite and kind, but is also really clumsy and accident prone."

"Thank you for that outstanding analyses, Doctor," Erica said, her voice rank with sarcasm. "But that's not what I'm asking. I want to know what you think of her. Do you like her? Do you hate her? Is she annoying?"

"Well, I don't dislike her," Caspian admitted with a shrug. "Unlike my peers, Cassidy treats me like a person. I don't have to pretend to be something I'm not. I feel like I can be a normal person around her."

"Is that so? That's good, ufufufu..."

"Why is it that I feel like you're plotting something whenever you laugh like that?" Caspian asked.

"Fu fu fu!" Tiffania mimicked Erica.

"Not you, too!"

"Ah! My Lady Erica's laugh!" Derek suddenly sprang forth, hands clasped together as if praying to the spirits. "Is it not a wondrous sound? Truly, it fills my heart with joy and my loins with passion every time I hear it!"

"Down boy." Caspian deadpanned at the armored idiot before turning back to Erica. "In any case, do you mind if I asked you something?"

"Not at all. What is on your mind?"

"Were you and Cecelia el le Blanc close?"

Erica did not speak for the longest time. The expression on her face was nothing like he'd ever seen before. Her raven hair swayed forward, as if seeking to hide her face, which had become cast in darkness. Her lips, ruby red and sublimed in their lushness, were turned into a perfect frown. The harsh angles of her face, created by shadows cast by spirit crystals, seemed depressing somehow.

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.

"Sorry," Caspian began, "I shouldn't have asked that."

"It is fine," Erica said at last. "Your curiosity does you credit, and it is only natural that you would wish to know more about one as beautiful as I."

"Wow. That sounded really narcissistic. Really narcissistic. Arrogant much?"

Erica merely smirked at his words. "Lady Cecelia was probably the closest thing I had to an older sister after my original family died. While Sylvia was the one who brought me into the fold, so to speak, it was Lady Cecelia who taught me everything I needed to know to about being a sorceress. She was a dear friend. I was... shocked when I'd heard that she had been killed."

As the smirk vanished from her face, an aura of sadness seemed to permeate from the woman. It was as if waves of heartache and grief were radiated from her like heat from a fire.

"My Lady Erica..." Derek mumbled, his eyes wet with tears. Caspian really hoped the man didn't start crying. That would have been embarrassing.

"Big Sis. Big Sis. Why do you look so sad?" Tiffania asked. "We're at a festival. You should be happy!"

Erica smiled down at the little girl and ruffled her hair. "Right you are, little one." Tiffania smiled, even as she opened her mouth in a wide yawn. "However, I think it's about time we went to bed. We've stayed up well past your bedtime."

"N-no... I'm not tired yet... I can... stay up late..." Tiffania tried to say between yawns. Her eyes almost seemed to droop against her will.

"So you say, but look at how tired you are."

Erica scooped the girl into her arms. Tiffania didn't fight it and wrapped her arms around the sorceress's neck. She was out like a light almost a second later.

"Well, then, it looks like this is the part where I leave you, Caspie. Tiffa needs her sleep."

"R-right." Caspian would never admit it, but he was still stunned by how tender and gentle Erica could act when it came to Tiffania. "Have a good night."

"You as well."

Erica and Derek wandered off into the night. All around him, the festival continued, but he no longer had any desire to remain. With no one else around to speak to, Caspian decided to turn in for the night.

"Caspian!"

He didn't go more than a single step before a familiar voice called out to him. Spinning around to locate the source, Caspian easily spied Elincia running toward him. No longer dressed in her gown, she'd donned simpler clothes that would allow her to blend in with the common folks. The white blouse she wore flattered her slender figure, and the long pink skirt danced around her ankles as she ran.

"Elincia," he greeted as the girl stopped in front of him. "What are you doing here?"

"I'm here... to spend time... with you..." Elincia huffed, making it clear that she'd been running for a good while.

"Shouldn't you be with Sylvia and the other sorceresses, though?"

Elincia shook her head. "I've spent enough time with them. I'd rather spend time with you."

Caspian took her words to mean that she had run away again. This had occurred quite often back when he and Elincia were children, and he understood her reasons. She was probably sick of being cooped up in a single place now.

"It is getting kinda late," Caspian said, "but I suppose we can spend some time together before we head off to bed. Speaking of which, are you still sleeping in the servant's quarters?"

"No." Elincia shook her head as she and Caspian waded through the streets hand-in-hand. "Lady Sylvia said that sleeping in the servant's quarters was unbefitting a sorceress. There's a mansion close to the academy that she plans on using for all of the sorceresses, including myself."

"Oh, you must be talking about the mansion that's been closed off to the public."

Caspian knew the mansion she was talking about. It was a large structure located halfway between the mansion and the colosseum. No one had ever been allowed inside, which had caused rumors to spread that the mansion was haunted by vengeful spirits. Caspian thought it was a load of Ifrit dung, but he knew that some people believed in those stupid rumors.

"I guess that makes sense," he said slowly. "The servants' quarters isn't really a fitting place for you to sleep... and why do you look so depressed?"

"It's just... I liked the servants' quarters," Elincia admitted. "It wasn't luxurious, but I felt free while I was sleeping there. If I sleep in that mansion with all the other sorceresses, it'll be just like when I was locked up in Lady Sylvia's mansion. I won't have so much as a smidgen of freedom."

So that's what's bothering her.

She'd mentioned it before; how, after he'd left for the academy, Sylvia had taken away her freedom to go outside, how she'd spent her years wandering empty halls and isolated rooms. With everything she'd told him, Caspian couldn't blame her for wanting to sleep in a place where she felt free.

He switched his grip on her hand, lacing their fingers together. "Even if your sleeping arrangements change, I'll make sure you don't spend all your time there."

Elincia's answering smile was like rays of sunlight warming his heart. "Thank you."

"You're welcome. Now, let's have some fun before it becomes too late and all the booths shut down."

Like a pair of children, he and Elincia ran for the nearest booth. They'd play the games there. Even though both of them were horrible, they'd laugh it off and move onto the next booth and play the games there, too.

Caspian didn't know how much time he'd spent with Elincia. Time seemed immemorial. Yet it eventually became too late. As more people left the festival and headed off to bed, the booths closed down one by one, until there was nothing left for them to do. Both of them unanimously agreed after the last booth closed for the night that it was time to head back. They'd travel to the academy, where Sylvia would likely be waiting to scold them.

As they walked through the nearly deserted streets, Elincia moved closer to him until their shoulders were touching. "I wish this night could last forever."

Caspian nodded in agreement. "Yeah. Me too."

They continued to travel up main street. While Elincia merely looked disappointed that their night was ending, Caspian suddenly felt on edge for reasons he couldn't discern. Nothing appeared to be out of place. Yet he couldn't shake this feeling that something was lurking within the shadows of the alleys. As they passed by one particular alley, Caspian peered into it with his enhanced sight.

And that's when he saw it.

Glowing red eyes.

His instincts screamed at him to move.

"C-Caspian?!"

Elincia shrieked as he scooped her into his arms and leapt backwards. He was just in time, too, as something sharp and long impaled the ground. It was a spear, gleaming bright in the moonlight. The spear had sunken into the cobblestone all the way up to the shaft.

Several figures appeared before them. Metal figures stalked out from multiple alleys, surrounding them. Eyes glowing a malicious red peered out from behind steel plated face masks. Metal joints contained an iridescent sheen, like they were flowing with energy. Caspian realized with a start that the joints were actually spherical spirit crystals. Veins ran from each crystal to the rest of the body, creating a network of intricate lines that crisscrossed along their frames.

Their bodies were built similar to those armored men from Takama no Hara. Their armor work reminded him of that one guy that he had run into a little while ago, the boy with the large sword. Segmented. Thick. It creaked as they moved. Helms that reminded him of a demon covered their faces and kept him from seeing anything except their glowing eyes.

Each carried a weapon—some a sword, others a spear. Caspian recognized the make as being foreign. The swords were long, single-edged rather than double-edged, curved instead of straight. Likewise, the spears were more intricate than those found in Arcadia. The leaf-shaped blades gave them away. Naginata, he believed they were called.

"Caspian? What's going on? Who are these people?" Elincia asked, her tone laced with worry.

Caspian narrowed his eyes, studying the mechanical way they moved. "These aren't people. They're automatons."

Automatons were a type of magical robot powered by spirit crystals. Being a recently created invention, there weren't very many on the market, and a single automaton cost well over the price of a mansion. Caspian counted exactly ten automatons. Whoever had sent these things must have had deep pockets.

The spear that had impaled the cobblestone road was pulled free. All ten automatons closed ranks around him and Elincia.

"Caspian...?"

"Get ready," Caspian warned Elincia. "They're coming."

A second later, the magically fueled machines attacked.

Caspian was once more thrust into battle.