Juliane smiled, looking as small and innocent as she always did, but the timing was too convenient to be a coincidence. Cassandra had been so focused on the residents of Teber that she hadn’t suspected that the real spy might have been by their side all along. Unfortunately, it made perfect sense. The very day Cassandra had formed a faction, Juliane had been desperate to join it.
“Actually, I found something I think you lost,” she said, pressing a slip of paper into Cassandra’s hand, “You should be more careful. Misplacing things is dangerous.”
“Thank you,” Cassandra told her, carefully stashing the mysterious paper. She waited a few moments for Juliane to say something else, but she merely turned and left.
Once she was out of sight, Cassandra cast a quick privacy spell and examined the paper Juliane had given her. It was not the message Cassandra had written, but a response. Cassandra had no idea what she had done to convince Juliane so perfectly that she was on their side, but the spy had personally handed her the proof she needed to entrap her.
“We have no need for useless pawns. Destroy all evidence and silence the screams.”
It seemed Juliane thought Carson was going to rat them out. Another strangely helpful misunderstanding. The main issue now would be keeping both Carson and the evidence intact until they could be handed over to someone who could do something about it. First things first, she needed to update her friends.
“My trap has been sprung,” she told them, “Juliane firmly believes I am on their side and has given me orders to silence Carson and destroy all evidence.”
“What is with us being mistaken for allies of Gaia?” Alois replied with a bit of frustration, “It is convenient right now, but those kinds of accusations can get us killed. Do I just give off traitor energy or something?”
“I think it's just our connections and our circumstances,” Cassandra guessed, “Do you want the paper she gave me for evidence? I can manage a message spell but she knows about the jabber jewels so it might tip her off.”
“Let’s wait,” Alois decided, “But find some way to hold onto it. Once Caleb returns we can send all of this to Prince Nero.”
“Why Prince Nero?” Caleb asked, “My mentor could just as easily handle things.”
“Simon is the king’s right hand,” Alois said, “We can’t risk this information going through him before it reaches the king.”
So Alois had already figured out who Simon was before she could tell them. “I need to tell Tobias about Juliane. She will know something is wrong right away once we take in the refugees so we need to capture her beforehand.”
“Good luck,” Caleb told her, “We still have some time before we arrive. The carts we used for transport are painstakingly slow once they are loaded.”
Only once they were loaded? That sounded convenient in some ways, but Cassandra had no time to allow herself to be distracted. She lowered her privacy spell and sought out Tobias. One thing she had learned since Yuki had become a glorified fur scarf was that he was very good at finding people. He would use his tail to subtly point her in the right direction. It had taken her a bit to figure out what his movements meant, but since the fox barely moved at all she felt they had to have some kind of meaning.
Tobias had decided to disguise his own preparations as a surprise inspection of the guest rooms and storage, so when Cassandra found him he was scolding some servants for their lack of discipline. It was a good strategy but it did make Tobias the target of the servant’s ire.
“We must always be prepared to welcome guests at a moment’s notice,” Tobias was saying as Cassandra approached, “Especially when the students of Nobility are here. You all should know well that these tests often take an unexpected turn.”
So she might need to worry about Osmond using his extra special surprise to hinder them later. As Cassandra was considering this possibility, Tobias spotted her.
“Cassandra,” he greeted, “Do you see the state things have gotten to? This is why surprise inspections are important.”
At first everything seemed fine when Cassandra took a look around, but she suddenly realized what the problem was. Only some of the rooms were fully stocked with necessities, and the backups in storage, while in fine condition, did not match the current theme of the manor. When welcoming a guest of any importance this was unacceptable. However, Tobias knew the guests were just refugees. Unless this was to show a proper welcome to Maximus, acting lord of Dyment.
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“Thank you for your efforts,” she told him, “You are truly worthy to be the steward of Teber.”
Tobias seemed oddly flustered by her praise and quickly pulled her aside. “Have you sprung the trap?” he asked.
“I have,” Cassandra confirmed, “There is some good news for you. The spy was not one of your people, but one of mine.”
After checking again to make sure no one was in earshot Tobias inquired further. “Who was it?”
“Juliane,” Cassandra reported, “We need to capture her before she catches on.”
Tobias grimaced. “It might be too late for that. She just left.”
“Already?! How?” Cassandra demanded.
“She figured out I was preparing for guests and offered to get some supplies. Seeing as she likely won’t return, we will have to do that ourselves.”
Cassandra bit back her bitter feelings. The refugees were more important than wasting time chasing a spy.
Preparations began in earnest and everything became hectic. Cassandra was constantly having to check details such as the number of refugees and if there was anyone in need of medical attention. She also had to see to it that more cookies and snacks were prepared to appease the rogue summon.
Before they knew it, Maximus reported their Carravan’s arrival in Teber. By this point the servants were well aware of what was going on and quickly gathered to their stations. Not long after the report, the first cart of the caravan came into view. Maximus had complained about them being slow, but they seemed plenty fast to Cassandra. If this was slow, how fast had they been without passengers?
Walking alongside the first cart was a man with metallic silver hair despite the fact he did not look old in the slightest. That must be the summon. Cassandra had mixed feelings towards his presence. Controlled or not, he had been the one to kidnap Autumn and Keane in the first place. However, he was also the one who had helped them and defeated the entire enemy fortress.
Riding a horse just like a prince from a fairy tail at the front of the caravan was Maximus himself. Well, he would look like a prince if he didn’t look so worn out. That was something fairy tales tended to leave out. Adventures were stressful and there were things that needed to be dealt with even after they were over.
The rest of the caravan followed and all of the refugees were swiftly taken care of. Autumn looked a bit sick, but Keane insisted on personally taking care of him since the situation was a bit unique.
“Can you handle returning the summon with Caleb?” he asked Cassandra.
“I can,” Cassandra assured him, “Help Autumn, but make sure you get some rest too. You don’t look so good either.”
“Before you send me back, I want a proper meal,” the summon demanded, shamelessly interjecting himself into their conversation. He seemed fearless, but then again, he had the powers to back it up.
“I made sure one was prepared for you upon your arrival,” Cassandra told him, “Would you like your meal to be brought here or would you like to go to a private dining room?”
He considered for a moment. “The dining room so I can sit and enjoy my last treats in this world in leisure,” he decided.
At least he was clear about his intention to never return. She felt pity for any fool who might somehow manage to summon him again. She led him to the private dining room she had made sure to set aside for this exact reason and helped the servants set up his meal. She didn’t miss the way his eyes intently watched her as she did so.
“That is quite the interesting scarf you have there,” he commented, “It practically radiates magic.”
Yuki, the scarf in question growled, shocking Cassandra. He was usually silent and motionless regardless of what happened around her. It seemed Yuki was also uneasy around this summon. That or he was offended by being referred to as a magical scarf.
“This is my friend and summon, Yuki,” she introduced, “Unlike you, his summoning was by his own will, and I have never forced him to do anything.”
“Then what is the point of a summon?” he asked, “Do they not exist to do your bidding?”
Cassandra shook her head. “Of course not. It is a rare and special partnership. Successful partnerships are extremely rare, especially the closer that summon is to being human, elf, or anything humanoid.”
“Is that so?” he mused, seeming somewhat intrigued, but not enough to stick around as he finished off his last morsel, “Let’s get on with this. I am sure you want me gone as much as I want to return.”
It seemed Cassandra had been wholly unsuccessful in hiding how uncomfortable she was around the summon. Yuki’s constant low growl certainly didn’t help things, but again, the summon seemed unphased. Caleb had been waiting in the next room over setting everything up so Cassandra was able to guide the impatient summon over without delay.
“Are you ready?” Caleb asked when they entered.
“I have eaten my fill,” he replied with a yawn, “Just make sure not to make any mistakes or I will find my way back to get my revenge.”
“No pressure,” Cassandra muttered under her breath as Yuki’s growl rose to a new tone, “Let’s get started.”
Caleb began to form the magic and Cassandra joined in. Almost as soon as she did, she felt a new, foreign magic flow into her, taking control of their formation. By the time she pulled back to try to regain control, the summon was already gone.
“Did you feel that?” she asked Caleb.
Caleb nodded with a frown. “It felt just like the archmage’s artifact, but that is impossible.”