The rest of the day passed in a blur of satisfying, calculated consequences.
Marcus hadn’t just been disqualified; he had been formally taken into custody by the Guards.
And according to the brief, highly enthusiastic update Mira had transmitted through the communication crystal just an hour ago, capital enforcers had officially arrived at the Valen estate bearing royal warrants.
The family’s assets were frozen, their trade routes were dead, and their reputation was entirely in ashes.
My part of the job was officially done. The threat was eliminated at its root.
Now, I just had to put the pieces of my actual life back together.
I was leaning against the cool stone wall of the first-year girls’ dormitory archway, watching the festival crowds pass by in the distance, when I heard the quiet click of the heavy oak doors opening.
"Sorry I kept you waiting."
The voice was soft, barely rising above the ambient noise of the courtyard. I turned my head.
Emma was standing there. She had completely scrubbed the soot, dirt, and dried blood from her skin, and changed into a fresh Academy uniform.
But despite looking put-together on the outside, she was still entirely fragile on the inside.
Her head was bowed, fingers nervously twisting and fidgeting with the hem of her skirt. She couldn’t even bring herself to look up and et my eyes.
I let out a quiet sigh, pushed off the stone wall and closed the short distance between us.
Before she could shrink away or start spiraling into another desperate apology, I raised my hand and lightly flicked the center of her forehead.
Thwack!
"Ow," Emma blinked, her hands instinctively flying up to rub her forehead as her bright blue eyes finally snapped up to et mine in sheer surprise.
"Stop brooding," I told her, my voice perfectly steady, carrying no pity and no lingering anger.
"It’s over, Emma. He’s gone. Let’s go."
Emma stared at for a long mont. A myriad of emotions crossed her face, lingering fear, overwhelming relief, and a deep, exhausting gratitude.
She bit down hard on her lower lip, fighting back a fresh wave of tears, but she gave a firm, definitive nod. And then fell into step right behind as we walked out from the shadow of the dormitory archway.
The mont we stepped past the administrative building and back into the central courtyard, the sheer, deafening roar of the Spring Festival washed over us. The air was thick with the sll of roasted ats, spun sugar, and the crackle of localized fireworks.
"Pick up the pace," I called back to her over the noise, keeping my tone light.
"If we’re late, Kyle and Sira are going to finish our shares of the profits, and probably all the food, too."
Just as the words left my mouth, a familiar, booming voice cut through the crowd.
"There you are!"
Speak of the devil.
I turned my head to see Kyle, Sira, and Tobias weaving through the dense stream of festival-goers, heading directly toward us.
Before Emma could even fully process their arrival, Sira practically lunged forward.
She threw her arm around Emma’s neck in a firm, affectionate headlock, pulling the startled girl completely against her side.
"Where have you been all this ti?!" Sira demanded, aggressively ruffling Emma’s chestnut hair with her free hand.
"We’ve been looking all over the vendor squares for you! You missed our entire Boar at shift!"
Kyle bounded up right behind them, his green eyes sparkling with absolute, childish excitent.
"Emma! Look at what I bought from the third-year artificers’ stall!"
He proudly held up a ridiculously over-sized, glowing foam sword that vibrated with low-level acoustic runes.
"It makes clashing sounds when you swing it! I’m going to annoy Tobias with it for the rest of the term!"
Emma stood frozen in Sira’s grasp, looking at the glowing toy sword, then at Sira’s huge grin, and finally at . The crushing isolation she had forced upon herself over the past finally shattered entirely.
"I... I’m sorry," Emma whispered, her voice cracking slightly as she looked down. "I really troubled all of you..."
"Troubled us?" Sira scoffed loudly, releasing the headlock just to flick Emma on the shoulder.
"Don’t be an idiot. The only thing troubling is that you weren’t there to help extort Kyle out of his allowance. Next ti you try to ghost us, I’m dragging you back by your collar."
"Yeah, we’re a team," Kyle agreed, swinging the foam sword so it let out a loud, synthetic CLANG.
"You can’t just ditch us for extra credit projects."
"If we are quite finished with this touching, highly inefficient reunion," Tobias interrupted smoothly, adjusting his wire-rimd glasses with a profound scowl.
"Can we please move? You three are wasting valuable ti standing in the middle of a pedestrian thoroughfare, and I still have an arcane theory exhibition to critique before sunset."
Sira imdiately clicked her tongue in irritation, shooting the bespectacled guy a fierce glare.
"Oh, shut up, Toby. Take that stick out of your ass and enjoy the festival for five minutes."
"My na is Tobias, and I am enjoying it. By being productive—"
Before the argunt could escalate into a full-blown shouting match, I stepped forward.
Placed my left hand firmly on Sira’s shoulder and my right hand on Emma’s, physically steering the group toward the massive row of culinary stalls.
"I am starving," I declared, cutting through the bickering with absolute finality. "Let’s hit the food first. Emma will pick the stall."
"Huh? ?" Emma blinked, her bright blue eyes widening in genuine surprise as she pointed a finger at herself.
Sira threw her arm around Emma’s shoulders again, a wicked, challenging grin spreading across her face.
"Yeah, show us your taste in food! But I am warning you..." Sira leaned in dangerously close to Emma’s ear, her voice dropping into a dramatic, nacing whisper.
"If it is not up to our incredibly high expectations, I am going to hold you down and force-feed you Kyle’s experintal, mana-infused swamp-frog jerky."
Emma violently shivered, her face paling at the re thought of it.
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