If I had a choice, I would have left Aresford the following morning, but after everything that had transpired, haste seemed vital. I pushed my mount hard, moving south along the road. As I went, I kept my senses stretched as far in each direction as possible, trying to detect any hints of hostile magic or ambushes.

The journey was uneventful, bordering on unsettlingly so. I had expected something- an attack by bandits or an ambush from an affronted noble seeking to teach me a lesson, maybe.

Instead of a fight, I had regrets and ruminations to occupy my time and thoughts.

Why had I accepted Flynn's duel? Pride had been a part of it, as had overconfidence. I had grown rapidly thanks to the Aether pool and thought I could beat Flynn, forgetting how far I had to grow. But was that really it? Was I so easily made into a fool?

I set aside those concerns as best as possible and focused on my meeting with Julian. There was no predicting how the master might react, so I needed to be prepared for any development. More than that, I wanted to consider my magic and how best to improve it without his aid if he chose to dismiss me.

Several days later, I spotted Volaris on the horizon. It took a few hours to reach the city and a few more to pass through to the Academy. I stopped along the way and purchased several thick cloths before finally reaching the school.

Before meeting with Julian, I returned to my quarters and unloaded everything I owned. Samples of Aether water and parts of the monster went underneath my bed, and I had no choice but to wrap the thing's corpse in cloths before placing it in my bathtub.

I would rather not store a decaying body in my home, but it was just too valuable to throw out. And I was unsure who to trust with examining it.

Finally, I stood outside of Master Julian's office. My heart pounded, and I took a few deep breaths before knocking and entering.

Master Julian sat behind his desk. When he saw me, he spread his hands, "Welcome home! I was worried you'd gotten lost on the way back. How did your gambit end? I hope I won't have to find another apprentice to foist-ah, I mean entrust with my secrets."

I had considered lying if I was honest with myself but discarded the idea as doubly idiotic. Julian likely knew exactly what had happened already, and all pretending otherwise would do was irritate the man and remove my ability to explain myself.

So, I placed the borrowed spatial pouch onto Julian's desk, pulled out the journal, and set it down. Then, I stepped away and waited.

Master Julian blinked, then looked at Markov's journal. He picked it up and spent nearly a full minute reading it before setting the book down and returning his attention to me.

"You won, then?" Master Julian raised his eyebrows, "Not that I thought it was impossible, but..."

He trailed off, and I replied, "You were right to assume I would lose. I did."

Julian glanced at the journal, then back at me, and said, "Why don't you explain what happened?"

It took me almost two hours to go over everything, from my first day in Aresford to my return home. I told Julian of meeting with Markov, his double-crossing, my investigations of the noble and the mines, meeting with Flynn, searching for the Aether pool, and killing the monster within. At first, Julian seemed only mildly intrigued, but as I continued to speak, he began asking pointed questions.

The only thing I omitted was retrieving the monster's corpse and my suspicions of deliberate sabotage, both for the same reason. If someone had purposefully tried to destroy Markov, there was one noteworthy suspect, and I had no interest in raising my theories to their face. And if I found some exceptional secrets of magic, I selfishly wanted it for myself. For now, at least.

Finally, I got to our duel. I explained my plan in totality, recited the back-and-forth of our battle, and ended with the apparent cheating, Flynn's reaction, and his strange offer and olive branch. With my story done, I leaned back, swallowing against the dry scratchiness that had come to my throat after nearly two hours of speaking.

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Master Julian tapped one finger on his desk, seeming to consider me. He was silent for nearly a minute before finally speaking.

"What was our deal?" Julian asked.

I did not hesitate, "If I won my duel against Flynn, I would gain additional training beyond what a first-year might receive."

"And if you lost, you would repay me for any wasted gold, and I would never train you again outside of official, sanctioned classes," Julian finished, "Yet here you are, journal in hand, even though you lost."

I remained silent, and Julian continued to drum his fingers on the desk before continuing, "You're training to be an advisor, right? Advise. If you saw this from the outside, what would you recommend?"

Again, I considered lying. But Julian's eyes looked colder, his smile thinner, and his tone shaper than usual. Something, an instinct that I did not fully grasp, told me to be honest. So, I listened.

"The apprentice returned with the journal but technically failed their wager," I replied, "I would recommend not punishing them but also not rewarding them either."

"You don't want special training?"

"Of course I do," I tried not to scowl, "But you asked my opinion. The apprentice did not win their side of the duel. They got lucky."

Julian did not respond at first, and his smile vanished. Seconds crawled, and I almost asked to leave. Finally, the master nodded, "A new offer, then. You'll repay me for any gold spent in full. Once you do that, I'll consider training you again. But our deal is off if you show up before you've paid me back. Understood?"

It was a better deal than I expected. I bowed my head and thanked the man, turning to leave. But as I did, something else occurred to me. I knew I should leave it alone. Yet the mysteries of Aresford had gnawed at me, and I needed to understand.

"Did you know?" I asked, turning back to Julian.

The master had pulled out a blank notebook and was already hard at work copying pages from Markov's journal to his private collection. He did not bother looking up as he replied, "Know what?"

I shrugged, "Everything. Markov's financial woes. The attacks at the mines. Flynn Sion's presence."

Julian wrote for another ten seconds before finally looking up at me, "If I knew all of that, why wouldn't I tell you? Why would I send an apprentice out to such a situation untrained and unprepared?"

I had already considered his motives and reached several possible conclusions. However, one sounded more plausible than the others.

"Because I did not need to know."

Any trace of good humor on Julian's face had vanished, replaced by a glare as he said, "Precisely. And that is why you'll repay me, Vayne. You won that duel in spirit if nothing else. Flynn Sion would never have parted with his journal if he thought he had won. But you should never have been in a duel with another noble."

"I thought-"

"Your responsibility," Julian stressed the word, "Was to meet with Baron Markov, hand him gold for the journal, and return here. When Markov went back on our deal, I was more than happy to let him stew in it. You should have stayed in your room and waited for him to break. Instead, you poked and prodded. You went to the mines and dug. You met with Flynn Sion and made yourself known. You nearly died and left yourself vulnerable."

"I needed to know what was happening with Markov," I protested, though it sounded hollow, "It might help me adapt to changing circumstances."

"No, you wanted to know what was happening," Julian shot back, "You needed to find those glowing waters. That's why you went to the mines."

Julian's glare softened, and he sighed as he leaned back, "I don't care that you have your own goals, Vayne. Honestly, I might be concerned if you had none. Normal people have ambitions, after all. But I'm not looking for an assistant and ally who will sabotage or go around me just to get ahead."

And like that, I realized the truth.

"You were testing me."

"I'm a teacher, Vayne," Julian replied with a snort, "I'm always testing you."

I did not say anything. I could not. Any protest, complaints, or counters would only prove Julian's point.

Julian shook his head and sighed, "Take the rest of the break and think about what you want to do next, Vayne. If you're going to continue working with me, repay the gold you spent and prove I can trust you. Otherwise, we can consider our business finished. Is that clear?"

I nodded and half-turned to leave. Before I could, Julian coughed, "Ah, one more question. You spent some of my gold on your preparations, right? Enough that you dipped into the gold intended for Markov. Had you won, what was your plan?"

"I had enough water from the Aether pool, along with the corpses of several magical creatures and an enchanted wand to barter," I replied, "My plan was to sell as much as needed in Aresford to make up the difference."

"You'd lose those resources?"

"The pool has plenty of water, and I had already copied most of the runes from the wand," I shrugged, "And specialized training from a master is worth more than either."

I had also debated pressuring Markov to lower his price once Flynn was no longer an interested party, but confessing that seemed dangerous. My situation was already fraught, and admitting I had planned to take even more risks after being lambasted for that exact tendency was an excellent way to lose any lingering goodwill.

Julian nodded a few times, then looked down at his notebook again. It was a blatant dismissal, and I bowed my head again before leaving.

---

The door clicked shut behind me, and I started walking back to my room. When I was out of earshot of Julian's office, I stopped and slammed my closed fist against the nearby wall.

My trip was an abject failure. I had been a damned idiot, reckless and overconfident. I had made mistakes I should never have made and let myself be led about by emotions, dreams, and half-formed theories rather than anything intelligent. My magic had leaped forward, but it was a failure nonetheless.

And then there was Master Julian. He had a point. No, he was outright correct in dismissing me. I had thought I was working to further his goals, but it was obvious how much I had put his interests at risk in favor of mine. If I was in his position, I would likely be similarly unhappy.

But...he had manipulated me. Julian might call it something else, but he had sent me into a dangerous, unclear situation with incomplete information. He had not trusted me enough, and that put me at risk. Not a massive risk, but I did not appreciate being treated as an expendable pawn.

I would think about my mistakes and learn. I would train and repay Julian's lost gold, and prove that I was not an idiot unable to better myself. I would earn back the trust and respect of the master, whatever it took.

And I would never again be caught so unprepared that I had no other choice but to dance along to Julian's song. No, never again.