Chapter XII
Awaking with a startled jolt, Mallicent Malloway sat up in bed, frantically scanning the darkened surroundings of his apartment, his heart beating powerfully in his chest. At first, he wasn’t sure why he had so abruptly come to consciousness, and a glance at the clock told him that it was only eight in the evening, indicating that he must have accidentally taken a nap, but as he composed himself with a handful of deep breaths, he realized just what was so strange. One of the mana signatures of his enemies had come within half a mile of the apartment, and after taking a few seconds to focus on it, he deduced that it was Ryokumo Caeli’s. Mallicent’s initial instincts told him to get ready for a potential attack, but Ryokumo was approaching his position rather slowly, as if out for a mere evening walk, and since his allies were clearly not with him, he came to the possible conclusion that the wind mage might be on his way to speak with him. After all, even he couldn’t be stupid enough to try and fight him without backup from Ilirianna and Abigail, especially after the threat Mallicent had issued.
Then again, maybe Caeli doesn’t care. He has no reason to protect the magicless, and since he’s not a native Ijirian, he probably cares less about their laws than the other two. Could this be an assault? But no… Mallicent clenched his teeth. If Caeli were here to fight me, he’d probably be moving quicker and under a distortion, if only to minimize the amount of his mana I can sense. There’s no way he’s here for combat… But then what the hell does he want?
Mallicent got to his feet, waiting with bated breath as Ryokumo got closer and closer to the apartment building before finally entering it. His signature then rose the four floors to reach Mallicent’s position, and soon enough, he was standing just on the other side of the door, knocking casually as if he were a friend there for a visit.
Perhaps he’s here for some negotiation? Mallicent considered, but since he couldn’t very well pretend to not know he was there, he decided for the moment to humor this odd situation, finding himself curious what Ryokumo wanted. The boy walked forward and, after one last second of debate, he unlocked the door and pulled it open to reveal the sight of Ryokumo Caeli with his stupidly pleasant grin and dressed in rather baggy jeans, a white T-shirt, and a surprisingly expensive-looking leather jacket.
“Good evening, Mallicent,” he greeted wryly. “Hope I didn’t interrupt anything.”
Still failing to sense anything dangerous and not finding any sign of a companion, Mallicent let out a snort and regarded Ryokumo with a cocked eyebrow. “What do you want? It’s a little bold to so rashly approach my location like this. You are aware of what I told Ilirianna, aren’t you?”
Ryokumo laughed. “Oh, I’m well aware, my friend! Should we try to kill you, you’ll light this whole damn building on fire and cook a few Omaruans. Luckily, I’m just here for a pleasant chat, so there shouldn’t be any need for magic. With that said, may I come in?”
` Ah, so I was right. Negotiations it is then.
“No, you may not,” he snapped bitterly. “We have nothing to discuss, Caeli. You are going to leave me alone until I can use the dagger to leave. There is nothing you can do to change my mind, so save your breath and go run on back to your damn princess.”
But of course, as Mallicent had already learned quite well, Ryokumo was a persistent one, and he wasn’t going to walk away that easily.
“Oh, don’t be like that! See, I don’t really want to be stuck here in Omaruo for any longer than necessary. Just a few weeks ago, I began to attend the great Academy of Erika, so it would be a shame to miss any more of my classes than I’m already going to!” He clicked his tongue. “I have important business back in our realm, so if there’s a way for all four of us to return to Ijiria safely, then why don’t we try to find it?”
“Because there isn’t one!” Mallicent stated firmly. “Especially not with Ilirianna here. The second we leave Omaruo, I won’t stand a chance against her! The only thing keeping her from beating me bloody is our circumstances, so there’s not a chance in hell that I’d ever return to Ijiria with that bitch by my side. You think I’m stupid?”
Ryokumo smirked, strangely failing to react to his insult of the princess. “Me? Think you’re stupid? Never. Now please, Mallicent, after all we’ve been through together, why don’t you trust me? I mean, we entered this realm side by side, so why can’t we leave it that way?”
“Are you deaf? I just told you why!”
“Sure, you said you refuse to reenter Ijiria alongside Princess Ilirianna,” the wind mage stated. “And to be honest, I suspected it might be a waste of breath to try and convince you otherwise. Therefore, I’m willing to amend my suggestion.” Ryokumo then chuckled softly and sighed. “I do respect her quite a bit, but all my life, I’ve only ever had to worry about myself, and like I said, I can’t be in Omaruo any longer than this. Therefore…”
Mallicent narrowed his eyes, already realizing where Ryokumo was going with this conversation even before he put it to words. “Don’t tell me you’re suggesting leaving Ilirianna behind?”
“If that’s what it takes,” he muttered, “then so be it. I mean, it’s not like I have any strong attachment to her. I only met her a mere few weeks ago, after all. While I certainly like and respect her, I’m not about to sacrifice my own well being for her sake.”
This must be some sort of trick, right? Though, it’s not like what he’s saying is particularly wrong. From what I know, the royal team was formed right before they departed for Hiriech and like I’ve already said, Caeli is not Ijirian. He has no particular loyalty to the Iijis. He didn’t grow up getting fed Citadel propaganda about how perfect and respectable the crown is.
Mallicent’s lips drew tight as he did everything he possibly could to subtly try and see past any potential deception, but Ryokumo’s features didn’t reveal anything one way or the other.
If I were able to drag him to my side, I would have a much better idea of what Ilirianna is up to. Naturally, she’s not just going to idly sit by and allow me to run without a fight. There’s no doubt in my mind that she’s trying to concoct some plot to kill me and take the dagger. Right now, I’m blind…so if I could coerce information from Caeli…
“And Abigail?” he inquired. “What of her? Would you abandon her as well?”
Ryokumo’s eyes turned sad and when he answered, his voice was heavy with regret. “To be honest, I would love nothing more than to bring Abi with me. She and I have become very close friends despite the short amount of time we’ve known each other. The problem is that she’s far too virtuous. Abigail would never betray Ilirianna to save herself, and if I suggested as much, she would stand in my way. I respect that about her, but unfortunately, I am far more willing to do anything it takes to save my own skin.”
Yes…I suppose that makes sense. I need to be careful, but I should encourage this for the moment. Don’t let your guard down, Mallicent, but don’t let such an ideal opportunity pass you by either…
Still able to sense Abigail and Ilirianna’s presences off on the opposite side of Wilham, Mallicent was content to turn and motion for Ryokumo to enter the apartment. “Very well, Caeli. Let’s discuss.”
Ryokumo gave a halfhearted smile and followed Mallicent inside, shutting the door behind him before glancing around as he took a seat on the couch. Unsurprisingly, his eyes lingered for quite some time on the drawer of Mallicent’s bedside table, confirming that he could, in fact, sense the mana signature of the realm dagger. However, the boy had cast a minor security charm on it, meaning that Ryokumo wouldn’t be able to use magic to unlock the drawer. The only way for him to get in would be to use the key currently tucked away in the pocket of Mallicent’s shorts, but since it wasn’t made with magic, he wouldn’t know where it was, and thus, even with Ryokumo so close to it, he wouldn’t be able to steal it.
At least not without attacking me, but I just have to hope he’s not about to risk the deaths of all the people in this building…
Content for the moment, Mallicent followed Ryokumo to the couch and took a seat on the opposite side, turning slightly to his left so that he could properly face his visitor. “Alright, so what exactly are you suggesting here? Are you seeking to actively sabotage Ilirianna? How much of a traitor are you willing to become?”
Ryokumo grinned smugly, resting his right foot over his left thigh while draping his arm over the back of the couch. “Well, one requirement is that I don’t get into any trouble upon returning. Like I said, I still want to attend the Academy, so if it gets out that I turned against Ilirianna, well…” He shook his head. “I’d be arrested and executed, wouldn't I? Can’t have that…”
“But then what the hell does the princess think you’re doing here right now?” he demanded, but the young man just brushed the concern aside.
“I told them I would try to negotiate with you, which isn’t technically incorrect, for we are negotiating. Ilirianna just isn’t benefiting from it the way she thinks she is.”
Satisfied with that answer for the moment, Mallicent returned to the initial topic. “So then, what are you asking of me? Do you merely seek for me to inform you when I plan to open the portal?” he clarified, to which the wind mage nodded. “But if I tell you when I’m leaving, what’s stopping you from spilling that information to them?”
Ryokumo rolled his eyes. “What do you think is stopping me? The second you sensed the girls heading your way, you’d duck through that portal in an instant! That doesn’t help me!”
Well, that is a good point, Mallicent silently conceded, though after his many interactions with this man, he still couldn’t quite bring himself to stop suspecting foul play.
“And again, let’s make something else clear here,” Ryokumo went on. “I do not like you. I do not respect what you or your Kosah cultists have done, and should we ever encounter each other again, I will gladly be the one to remove your head.” His voice then turned cold, a hint of rage peeking through that caused Mallicent to sit up a little straighter. “Especially not after what you did to your brother. You may not have killed him yourself, but you allowed the Kosah-Rei to do it. That is unforgivable in my mind.”
“Oh is that so?” he sneered, anger flaring in his own body. “But betraying the princess is not unforgivable?”
Ryokumo smirked challengingly. “Not at all. I’m not harming her. I’m just leaving her in Omaruo a little longer than planned. Once I return to Erika, I’ll inform the Citadel of what happened, and they could retrieve her and Abi themselves. In the end, nobody gets hurt. It disgusts me to even consider brokering a deal with you, but I’m willing to do what I have to.”
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“Do you feel nothing, Mallicent? Do you even care that your family was murdered?”
These pompous assholes just don’t understand! I wasn’t surprised that Ilirianna couldn't bring herself to agree with our methods, but I would have thought Caeli might have at least understood!
“Then tell me, Caeli…do you think our world is fair?”
Mallicent’s question caused Ryokumo to cock an eyebrow. “Fair?”
“Yes, fair. If you took a look at Ijiria—at the Great Cities and the rural villages, what do you find? Take a look at the lives of the poor and the lives of the rich, comparing the slums of Erika to the high-end neighborhoods and the Citadel itself. You, of all people, should have a good understanding given that you’ve experienced both lifestyles, yes? A poor common boy rising to the Academy—no, to the royal team, even! I’ll ask you again: Do you think our world is fair?”
To Mallicent’s mild surprise, the other man seemed to actually be considering the question, his eyes lowering down to the ground as a conflicted expression crossed his face. “To tell you the truth, I do not think Ijiria is perfect. Far from it, in fact, and you’re right…I’d know that better than anybody. Until I got a job for the Lord of Jeysa, I was looked at with disgust and mistrust by those around me. I was a dirty Sukonese boy barely scraping by…and nobody cared. I had to pull myself up the social ladder myself, and even at the Academy, my successes haven’t made me the most popular. There’s plenty of pompous brats that don’t think I should breathe the same air as them.”
“Then why do you berate me for what I’ve helped to do?” Mallicent demanded. “The Kosah-Rei want to make Ijiria a more fair and prosperous place! Yes, I helped kill Aeyir, but it was for the greater good!”
“And what did Aeyir do?” Ryokumo demanded softly. “Who did he hurt? From what I gathered, he was an innocent young man excited for his future, without a hint of the selfishness you accuse, rather fairly I might add, the elites of having.”
Mallicent scoffed. “Because I could already see the thought of power corrupting him. He excused our father’s actions, he turned a blind eye to crimes of the nobility… He was already on the path to becoming our father, so Captain Vesh and I spared him that fate! This way, my brother got to die a respectable man!”
“Is that your reasoning? Is that how you’re justifying it?” Ryokumo smirked, almost like he was pitying Mallicent, and that arrogant look only made the boy even angrier. “To answer your earlier question, the world’s unfairness is not my problem. Call me selfish, too, but like I said when I first sat down, I don’t have the virtue that Abigail and many others have. The fate of the people of this country is not my concern. I merely want to live my life in comfort and peace. I’m not ambitious enough to think a single man like me could ever change the world. I’d be essentially trying to wrap ropes of wind around the sun itself, thinking I could bring it down with my own might. I’m arrogant, but not that much. Yes, it is selfish, but I simply seek comfort and happiness, and should I join you or try to rebel, I will merely be reserving myself a spot in the Citadel dungeons, which is not the happiest place, believe it or not.” He laughed almost to himself and winked. “I seek to join the Citadel one way or the other. I’ll never be a Master, but I’d settle for the army or the Korrei-Tarr. The Kosah-Rei have fine ideals, but they are already stained by blood and violence, so the hypocrisy is crystal clear.”
“Is it? But is that not a contradiction of what you’ve already said?” Mallicent spat. “You claim to lack morals, yet you dislike our methods? If you only cared about yourself, you wouldn’t give a damn about what happened to Aeyir!”
“Then perhaps I’m hypocritical, too,” Ryokumo said simply. “Yes, I don’t care enough to try and change this world myself, but that doesn't mean I wish death upon anybody, so it's a waste of your breath to try and convince me otherwise. I’m willing to work with you in order to get myself out of here, but the moment we part ways, we will become enemies again.”
“So why should I agree to this?” Mallicent growled. “If you’re going to be a threat to my life then why not just leave you behind?!”
The wind mage smirked wryly. “Because we’ll get out of here one way or the other anyway, and Ilirianna isn’t going to let you leave quietly. I can at least try and subtly stall her or direct her the wrong way. At the very least, I can give you a heads-up before she tries anything. You need me, Mallicent.” Ryokumo gave him another mocking wink as he rose to his feet. “I’ll leave you with that to chew on. If you decide to accept my proposal, let off a small burst of mana at around four in the afternoon tomorrow. If I don’t sense anything, I’ll assume you’ve declined.”
“Whatever… I’ll at least consider it.”
“Perfect!” Pushing the front door open, Ryokumo suddenly stopped, as if recalling something important, and glanced back at him with a grin somehow smugger than before. “Ah, that’s right! I almost forgot, I had something to give you!”
Mallicent narrowed his eyes with suspicion as Ryokumo reached into the pocket of his leather jacket to retrieve something that he tossed across the room.
“Thank you for the jacket, my friend! It was much appreciated.”
The boy was confused as he caught the small item in midair, but upon recognizing it as the wallet Uma had left for emergencies, his eyes went wide with rage, for he had been under the impression that he merely dropped it somewhere.
“You fucking bastard!” he roared, but Ryokumo was cackling with amusement as he stalked through the door and shut it behind him.
Mallicent clenched his teeth, half-tempted to march out there and kick his ass, but he reined in his emotions, warning himself not to lose his temper and give Ryokumo the satisfaction of riling him up. For a while, the boy stood there in silence, keeping his senses fixated on the wind mage as he arrived down on the street in front of the building. His mana then flared right before his signature began to rapidly grow distant, indicating that he must be using magic to more quickly return to his allies.
Mallicent plopped himself down onto the couch, once again considering the proposal. Having more detailed tabs on Ilirianna would be very beneficial, but his instincts were warning him from so easily trusting Ryokumo. As much as his logic seemed sound, the young man had been nothing but a pain in his ass from the very second he arrived in Hiriech and despite asking for an alliance, he also threatened him multiple times in that conversation.
But at the same time, I guess there’s no reason to pretend to be friends. He’s right. They’ll get out eventually with or without me. He’s simply trying to expedite the process.
Sighing, Mallicent glanced down at the wallet still clutched in his hand and opened it, wanting to see if Ryokumo had left him some cash, only to be unsurprised at the fact that he hadn't. However, there was a small folded piece of paper left inside, and wondering what it could be, Mallicent pulled it out and opened it, finding a singular sentence scribbled within.
Did you really think I’d ever work with shit like you, you gullible little brat?
Huh? W-what?
Mallicent’s heart dropped, realizing that somehow, he had been manipulated. The boy jolted to his feet, his mind racing as he frantically tried to figure out what this meant.
He must have been distracting me! But if he was, then what the hell was he after? I kept my senses attuned to Ilirianna and Abigail the entire time! They were nowhere nearby, so it’s not like they could have done anything unless—! He felt the blood leave his face as he recalled the fact that they had been in the company of a magicless boy when he was observing them at that clothing store. I wouldn't have been able to sense him, so could he have been close? But where? What would Caeli have gained by…?
Mallicent’s head snapped towards the bedside table where the realm dagger was kept within its drawer, his heart sinking as he realized something: He could no longer sense the signature of the dagger. Nearly tripping over his feet in an effort to reach it, Mallicent violently ripped open the drawer, fury overtaking him when he found it unlocked and empty.
But how?! The magicless boy wasn’t with him, so—?! Fucking hell! Was Caeli distorting him the whole time we were talking? I suppose it's possible, and since the boy doesn’t have a signature, all he’d have to do was conceal him visually! Then, with Caeli and I both in the room, the dagger’s meager signature would have blended right in! On top of that, the security charm only defends against magic, but if that boy knows how to lockpick, he wouldn’t need my key!
Mallicent slammed his fist against the surface, feeling the table tremble against the impact as he realized just how well he had been played.
Damn it! Damn it all! You son of a fucking bitch, Caeli!
***
Despite Ryokumo’s conversation with Mallicent taking up only a handful of minutes, Scott Reiner felt like he was inside that apartment for an eternity. Before Ryokumo knocked on the door, he had cast a distortion spell to hide Scott’s presence, and once again, he witnessed just how marvelous magic was when Mallicent opened the door and didn’t so much as glance Scott’s way despite them only being a few feet apart. From there, he followed Ryokumo into the room, keeping his footsteps as soft as he could, knowing that the spell wouldn’t conceal sound. He was immensely grateful for the rather loud humming of the apartment’s AC, for it was a lucky ally when it came to masking any noise. Once safely inside, the plan had been for Ryokumo to seek out the location of the dagger and then stare at it for a few seconds to inform Scott where it was, and to the boy’s relief, the bedside table where it was kept didn’t look like that challenging of a lock to pick.
“Mallicent’s not going to see you as much of a threat, Reiner, so he will put all of his focus into keeping watch on me, as well as ensuring that Ilirianna and Abi don’t leave your house. So long as he doesn’t sense my distortion spell, or hear you fiddling with his stuff, he won’t realize what’s going on until it’s too late.”
And just as Ryokumo predicted, that was exactly what happened. The wind mage had intended to hold Mallicent’s attention by offering a partnership between them, pretending to be prioritizing his own wellbeing over that of the others, and the boy latched on immediately despite his tone giving away his skepticism.
Meanwhile, Scott carefully moved toward the table and knelt down, terrified the entire time due to the fact that it was within sight of the couch. However, Mallicent’s eyes were more often fixed on Ryokumo, so his head was turned away as Scott carefully and quietly began to try using the paperclips he had twisted into lock picks to attempt to get it open. Unfortunately, while he knew the basics of how to pick a lock, he had naturally never attempted it before that very day, which was why Ryokumo had forced him to spend the last few hours practicing on his doors at home. Scott could feel his body getting sweatier with anxiety the longer it took, and he was terrified that the AC would turn off at any moment, but to his utter relief and excitement, eventually, he felt the drawer unlock. Silently celebrating, he carefully rose to his feet and began to pull it open, constantly glancing back to make sure Mallicent was still looking at Ryokumo. It felt like it might have been twenty seconds before it was open enough to reveal the tool within, and Scott couldn’t help but briefly marvel at what he was looking at.
The realm dagger was a beautiful item, with a blade made of some greenish-blue metal while the pommel was a beautiful gold and the hilt was wrapped in red leather, different colored gemstones no larger than pencil erasers adorning it. Knowing what power it contained, Scott felt slightly apprehensive about even touching it, but since he couldn’t let such a silly thought harm the mission, he reached in and pulled it out before gently closing the drawer once more. When he turned back to find that Mallicent still wasn’t looking his way, Scott risked sticking his hand out of the distortion’s boundary to flash Ryokumo a thumbs-up.
“I’ll leave you with that to chew on,” the wind mage then said, getting to his feet. “If you decide to accept my proposal, let off a small burst of mana at around four in the afternoon tomorrow. If I don’t sense anything, I’ll assume you’ve declined.”
Scott silently crept towards the door, which Ryokumo opened for him. Then, to give him time to slip out, the young man pretended to have recalled something, stepping away from the wide open door to toss the stolen wallet back to its owner while Scott slipped through. Not long after, Ryokumo followed, but they didn’t say a word until they were on the bottom floor and safely outside. Even then, the only thing Ryokumo said was, “Hop on”, before hosting Scott onto his back and casting a spell that launched them up into the air.
Perhaps in other circumstances, he would have been terrified by how fast they were moving across the roofs of the nearby houses, but the adrenaline from their successful heist kept him grinning all through the roughly five minute trip back to his house. Of course, having not told Ilirianna or Abi a single thing about what they were up to, neither were surprised when they landed on the lawn just in front of the porch to see the princess silently standing just below the porchlight, its orange glow illuminating a rather irritated expression as she watched them..
“So where the hell have you two been?” she demanded sharply as Ryokumo lowered Scott to the ground. “We could sense you right next to Mallicent, you know, and you’ve had Abi worried sick. Did you think we wouldn’t realize what you were doing, Caeli?”
But despite a literal princess furiously gazing at him, Ryokumo merely chuckled and winked. “No, I had a feeling you’d notice, and I do apologize for worrying you. That being said…” Stepping aside and motioning at Scott, the mage grinned proudly. “This heist went a hell of a lot better than the last one.”
Even though she was clearly furious, when Ilirianna saw the realm dagger clutched in Scott’s hand, her expression shifted from pissed to shocked to, surprisingly, an exasperated satisfaction.
“You…” she muttered with a sigh. “Are such a goddamn idiot, Caeli.”
Ryokumo laughed. “So you’ve said, My Princess.”