«I hope you didn't come here just for a refresher on the rules,» I repeated in a deep voice, mocking the old professor.
«What's the point of your damn rules if you don't do anything to enforce them!»
In a fit of rage, I kicked a table. I regretted it immediately and started hopping around, holding my foot. I could see that Sophia was trying her best to suppress a laugh
After our futile visit to the headmaster, she and I had moved to the common room. It was deserted, our classmates were still in class. We were both going penalized but, after all, 10 points weren't that big of a deal.
Sophia slumped into an armchair, now laughting at loud, not being able to hold back anymore. I guess she needed to relieve tension a bit, as we just found out an unknown killer was lurking in the Academy.
Now that I think about it, I had never heard her laugh so sincerely before. Usually I could feel a tinge of sarcasm but not this time.
Her laugh was kinda... cute? That girly tone sure clashed with her standoffish nature.
Once she had regained her composure, Sophia commented:
«I don't think he cares much whether we obey the rules or not. It's all a facade. In fact, he probably finds it impressive if someone manages to kill without getting caught. If he really wants to find the most capable fighter among us, why not value stealth...»
I frowned in response.
«So, do you think he's okay with leaving a murderer at large? What if they takes us all out? He surely wouldn't want such a vile mage to become the heir of Sir Aldric.»
«I doubt it would come to that. If their plan is to pick us off one by one without dueling, they're probably not that powerfull. Maybe Skylark just thinks finding them will be a fun pastime for us...» Sophia replied coldly, «unless...»
Sophia shook her head, as if she were dismissing a foolish idea.
For a few minutes, we fell in silence. I mentally tried to make sense of the informations we had gathered so far.
A girl, Mary Stillwater, was dead.
We knew that the murder had occurred between last night and the moment Sophia entered class today.
SInce this morning no one seemed to have noticed anything wrong, there were two possible explanations: she was either killed in an isolated place or the killer struck last night, when all the other students were asleep in their rooms.
In both cases, it was strange that Mary would accept to duel in such obviously suspect conditions.
That made me believe that she was in fact not killed during a duel,
But then: why was Mary out of bed? We needed to investigate to find out.
But where should we start?
I decided to ask Sophia and see if she had any ideas.
«What do you think we should do now?»
Sophia remained silent for a moment, lost in thought, but her answer wasn't what I expected:
«What do you mean?»
«Uh? What should we do to find the culprit, obviously.»
«Ah thank you... that's not what I meant. I don't see why we should do something about it together. Today I tagged along 'cause it was an emergency, but I allready told: I have no intention of cooperating with you.»
«Oh...»
I allmost forgot.
For some reason spending time with her felt so natural that the whole month we spent ignoring each other didn't even feel real right now.
«But... working together would surely be more efficient, right?» I tried to object.
«On the contrary, if we investigate on our own, it's less likely that we'll make the same mistakes,» Sophia stopped me.
YOU ARE READING
Duelcrest Academy
FantasyElizabeth Belvoir has a dream: to meet her idol Aldric, the most powerful wizard in the kingdom. The opportunity to achieve her dream arises when she receives an admission letter from Duelcrest, the Royal Academy of Magic. Little is known about this...
