After giving me that warning, Nero suddenly leapt back into the sky and I was left alone again. At that point I decided that it would be easier to wait for Storm to contact me for now and headed back inside.

I hadn’t made it far before Nero’s barking duck, Gerald, came to fetch me. Was Nero trying to distract me from my questions by confusing me with his unique pet? In the first place I had my reservations about following Gerald, but since Nero and I already had an appointment of sorts I pushed my suspicions back.

Gerald led me to Nero’s second office and started barking up a storm at the closed door. I jumped a little, but Nero’s aid was as calm as ever as he opened the door. He beckoned for me to enter as Gerald rushed past his ankles and plopped on one of the armchairs. I followed and carefully chose a seat without a duck on it.

The door opened again when Nero himself entered. “Ah, I didn’t expect you to get here that fast,” he admitted, “Well, that’s fine. I am sure you remember how I revealed a traitor and first became king in the first place. I will tell you the story I told King Dalton then.”

“Okay,” I agreed. I felt strangely nervous as Nero checked for possible eavesdroppers.

“Nobility is a school the takes place while having the students manage territory,” Nero began, “That traitor was working to support students who were against the existence of magical races and helped them persecute them. Normally that sort of thing shouldn’t have been able to happen, but the fairies in those territories were hunted, locked away, and had their wings ripped off during just the first year. Knowing we couldn’t withstand a second year of such harshness, we fought back.”

“What happened then?” I asked. Judging by his expression it can’t have gone well.

“Our rebellion was reported as one against Tethia itself. We were supposedly siding with one of the nearby nations. I was just a child at the time so I did not understand, but an army came to suppress us. Our homes were destroyed, our possessions were taken, and just when we thought we could at least flee for our lives the king himself showed up and captured the remainder of us. Luckily I was able to attend the school here instead because I was a child, and I was able to use my knowledge and authority as I gained it to free the rest of us, but for the longest time I hated this country.”

“That… That is very understandable,” I admitted as I thought of what he had been through.

“Well, eventually I realized that it was a traitor and misinformation that caused the incident and took care of things from there,” Nero replied, “To be perfectly honest I still loathe the idea of being king. It is the position I despise the most.”

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“Was there a different position you wanted?” I asked, unable to hold back my curiosity.

Nero considered for a few moments. “I think when I was young I used to look up to the head magician. I got along with Reginald when I first met him here too. We developed several kinds of magic together.”

It did sound like being king was not his calling, but Maximus wasn’t ready, and to become anything else Nero would likely have to start over from the bottom.

“I just have one more thing I am curious about,” I decided, “When did you take the du- I mean Gerald as a pet?”

“Ah,” Nero replied with a smile as he shot a quick glance at the bird, “I found him during my own time as a student of Nobility. While I was managing the territory I discovered a swamp the locals all claimed to be haunted, and there I discovered a clever duck. The swamp was full of much more dangerous predators, but Gerald is smart. He could scare them or otherwise outsmart them anytime. He got me a couple times too. I suppose he ended up getting attached because one day he just followed me back.”

Somehow that sounded just like Gerald and I couldn’t help but chuckle at the thought. I glanced at Nero’s ever silent aid but decided I had pried enough into his privacy for today.

“Thank you for answering all of my questions,” I told him, “But you know, if you want to help Tethia from your current position I think you should stand proudly as who you really are. There is no need to hide your wings or fly in the night here no one can see you.”

“I know,” Nero said with a sigh, “It is just a habit, I guess. It isn’t that easy to just stop, and I am used to being suspicious of everyone.”

“I won’t tell anyone but there might be those who already know,” I warned him.

Nero nodded. “You should get some rest tonight. Why were you out there, anyway?”

“I was looking for Storm,” I replied, “For various reasons I am probably going to need his help as my bodyguard for a while.”

“I’ll let you know if I see him. Stay safe,” Nero told me and opened the door for me.

After returning to my own room I lay in bed with my head full of various thoughts. Today had been quite the day for revelations. Somehow or another Alvis seemed to be at the center of everything. I wonder what he would have done about Nero’s situation. Then again around that time he must have been serving as Prince Lann’s butler and etiquette instructor.

My dreams were full of strange conspiracies and clever ducks ruling swamps. When I woke I could barely remember any of them. I decided I should probably give myself a little break and headed out to town to buy some food to lure Storm.

What should I get this time? Storm liked cookies, but he seemed to appreciate any dish so long as it was of excellent quality. I had been staying in the castle since I was ten, so I knew my way around all of the best places in the capital. Should I just go with some breakfast and buy something for myself too?

As I was pondering and walking down the street my eyes were drawn to a young girl with bright red hair. It really stood out, even in the diverse capital, and my senses were screaming that she was an important person. I felt a little guilty for judging her for her hair, but I approached her anyway.

“Are you all alone?” I asked her.

The girl’s purple eyes snapped up to meet mine. “I am,” she said and then burst into tears, “Master told me that if I don’t go to the castle he will throw me away, but the guards are so mean and scary!”

I froze, but managed to maintain my smile. This was probably bad. “Why do you need to go to the castle?” I tried asking.

The girl sniffled, “I need to find the Great Alvis. He is the only one who can save me.”