The king grew bold because of this, and invited Legosia to talk with him. Their lands were prospering, but only due to knowledge they’d been blessed with.

“It begs the question, My Remont. What else do they hide from us?” The king asked Legosia. He did not know, of course, but there was no need to.

“Our people could prosper further. But in that knowledge is required. Knowledge that we do not have. I beseech you, Legosia. Go forth and conquer their lands! Bring me the hidden truths that they keep!”

-From the 7th Chapter of “The Remont of Elneshe”

Galeon woke up sore, despite everything he’d put into his body last night. Instinctively, he sent a shock of bewl through his body, trying to right out the pain wherever he found it. It relieved him, but another problem arose.

The Afterburner looked down at his clothes, covered in blood, scratches and tears. I can’t be seen like this, he realized. People would ask questions, and he wasn’t a great liar as it was. Instead, he opted to strip himself of the dirty rags, shoving them under his bed.

Galeon put on new pair in its place, with the same red jacket to protect against the cold. He looked outside of his room, glancing left and right. No one.

They hadn’t realized it was him, then. Good. But it felt like he was forgetting someone. When the fight had broken out… where was Novi?

Galeon cursed himself, slamming a fist into the wall beside him. She’d run away from the baroness, that much he knew. But was she safe? They could’ve hunted her down, kidnapped her after the commotion had died down.

Instantly, he jumped off from his floor, taking into the air. Galeon didn’t care for the ice frosting over him as he flew, blasting past and towards Novi’s offices. The window was open, and Galeon landed in a skid across her floors.

“Novi!” he shouted around, only to find her sitting primly. She had a cup of tea in her gloved hands, and quirked an eyebrow at him. Beside her, Leane was also sitting in a dress. Biscuits were plated on the desk between them. They were having a tea party?

“I wasn’t expecting you to be so early,” she told him.

“You… are you alright?” Galeon asked her. He looked behind himself, lowering his voice to a whisper.

“Did they come after you?” he added. Noviselle shook her head, pushing a chair towards Galeon with her leg.

“Who?” Leane asked.

“I told you; I can handle myself. Now close the window and take a seat,” Noviselle ordered him. the Afterburner sighed in relief, obeying the countess.

Leane poured him some tea and pushed the cup towards him. Galeon took it with a smile, wetting his parched throat. For a few moments they just enjoyed the tea in silence.

“I’m going to need a new uniform. I’ve torn too many of mine,” Galeon said idly.

This narrative has been purloined without the author's approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.

“I’ll have them brought over. You should wear something thicker than those,” Noviselle said, pointing to his current attire.

“If it’s unbearable, I’ll just heal,” Galeon reminded her.

“And if you’re out?” Noviselle asked. Galeon shrugged, popping one of the biscuits into his mouth. Noviselle sighed softly before returning to her cup.

Leane kept tapping away at the top of the table. As more time passed, the rhythm increased until she finally stopped and slapped her hand down.

“Are either of you going to tell me or not?” Leane asked.

Noviselle didn’t answer. She set her cup down and stood up. She latched the window shut, closed the door, and returned back to her seat, folding her arms.

“We broke into Duchess Arelia’s offices last night,” Noviselle told her.

“That was you?” Leane asked, exasperated. “You’re the one they said went flying off into the night?” she said to Galeon.

“Galeon’s not stupid. He wasn’t the one everyone is talking about,” Noviselle backed him up.

“It was the dual hallowmancer. The servants called him Retruv,” Galeon replied.

“I’ll have to search up that name,” Noviselle muttered. Then she raised her face to meet Leane’s.

“Do you believe us now? What would a traitor be doing in the grand duchess’ abode, familiar enough to know the staff?”

“…yes, I do,” Leane admitted.

“And there’s these papers too,” Galeon said, removing the documents from his jacket. He placed them on the table, separating the maps from the automaton drawings. As he did, Leane and Noviselle stared intently.

Leane covered her mouth, noticing some of the more ‘realistic’ designs for the automatons. Galeon couldn’t blame her, considering how unnerving he found them himself.

“The duchess had these hidden in one of the drawers.”

“Maybe she wanted to design a new kind of Weave?” Leane offered as an explanation.

“Or she found them somewhere,” Noviselle gave an alternative.

“Novi, I don’t remember a single one of these in any of my memories.”

“And neither has any soldier on either side. Arelia is a historian, not an inventor. Look at the joints here and here,” Noviselle pointed in several spots on the drawing, near joints and wedges.

“Not a modern design. Ours are more advanced than these, at the very least,” she said.

“Retruv kept asking me what I’d found. I think he didn’t want this getting out,” Galeon added.

“... so, the duchess is exploring Elneshe without the king’s supervision. You should take this over to him, bring her to justice! That would stop her, wouldn’t it?” Leane said.

“But we would run into the same issue, Leane. Not enough evidence. We need physical proof, instead of documents that any scholar could create for us,” Noviselle told her. Leane deflated, back to a worried expression that Galeon didn’t like on her. Was she that unnerved?

“His Highness’ stronghold is well-protected, Leane. He will keep you safe,” Galeon reassured her.

“Only as long as I’m his ‘Daughter of Elneshe’,” she remarked.

It surprised him. He hadn’t thought she had a mean bone in her. It reinforced what Galeon already believed. He couldn’t let Novi drag her into their missions.

“These must be why the duchess had that Ravenishtani general killed,” Noviselle noted. “While we’re busy fighting our wars, Arelia snuck all of this outside of Elneshe under the king’s nose. Which means… She’s looking for the Spear of Arneshal for herself.”

Leane clutched her dress. Her lips stammered

“But, why would the duchess want the Spear?” she asked.

“The duchess’ rank is second only in importance to the king’s family. I would swear on Antov this was for power,” Noviselle snarled. “And she’s going to drag two countries down for it.”

“But we won’t let her,” Galeon replied.

“All we need is proof, isn’t that what you said, Novi? We’ll find the proof with these,” he pointed down at the notes. “Wherever the duchess is looking, we’ll get to it first. If we do… that would stop the fighting, wouldn’t it?”

Noviselle looked up at him. Her expression wavered, but she gave him a mirthful smile.

“We can hope,” she told him.

“You’re both so very stubborn. But it cannot be entirely a bad thing, can it?” Leane sighed. “Keep yourselves safe, please.”

The young woman stood up from her seat, stretching.

“The king will be expecting me back soon. More talks with medicine workers and nurses, I think. Goodbye for now, both of you,” Leane said respectfully.

After she left, the both of them chatted for a bit longer. About possibilities and their next move. But then they both parted as well.