A Game of Cards

Chapter XXI: Onyx Ying

Questions swarmed my mind even as I sat down for the fourth period a week later back in Magislight. I had contacted Empress Desdemona once more (against my pride) for loans to replace the equipment damaged in the invasion, to which she replied with much disdain that there was nothing that they could do, and that the whole scene might have just been a hallucination I made up while drunk. I did not bother to argue the matter, however certain I was of the weight of the situation. Mace had made no further effort to discuss the issue with me when we returned to the academy, and I, in turn blissfully ignored him as well, as if we had not both witnessed the impossible feat of the century.

No further attacks were made against Spades, and the five generals I had sent to protect Spades palace at the beginning of the infiltration reported nothing of suspicion around the palace area, meaning that the whole attack was not a distraction, but rather the actual purpose of the assailant. The attacker would have absolutely no benefit from attacking the military base, and I spent multiple nights racking my brain to find reasons why anyone would do something like that. I found none, except for the possibility that the assailant might have been trying to send out a message to Spades, warning us about their power. It was a ridiculous thought, and not even a court jester would have the stupidity to challenge the Land of the Military in a display of power.

I had been caught zoning out of the lesson multiple times by Sir Daebell before the liberating lunch bell rang. I took my time to pack my things and stretch my numb legs before heading towards the lunch hall, in no rush to meet anyone. Occasionally, I would eat with Dane and Cozbi, but more often than not, they would have a different lunch time and I would end up eating alone in the loud, crowded place. If there was one place I hated more than Lake Retentia, it would be the lunch hall. On a normal day, it was filled with rowdy students not bother to keep the volume of their conversation down, fashioned in the style of an old Daemia building that could have been beautiful had it not been filled with the stench of badly disposed rotten food. If there was one thing good about that place, it was that the background chatter could mask any conversation, making it difficult for eavesdroppers to overhear anything they shouldn't. It was a secure place to discuss topics you wouldn't want others to know about, so secure, in fact, that you could talk about dealing drugs on the school grounds and nobody within a one-meter radius would bat an eye. The school learned of certain things the hard way.

My mind wandered elsewhere as I shoveled food into my mouth, ignoring the unsavory taste. At least it was better than the hardtack biscuits I had consumed during my time as a soldier in the military. I probably looked quite pathetic, the almighty Ruthless General of Spades eating lunch miserably all by herself, but I couldn't care less what they thought about me. My reputation was in tatters anyways, and my popularity was already at rock bottom. The inactive social life that I lived was precisely the reason why I needed Dane and Cozbi, individuals who had flourishing social connections much more successful than my own.

I thought of the situation back in Spades as I stared at the crowd of students chittering away, oblivious to an unknown danger looming over all our heads. I had sent a note for further investigation on every shadow puppeteer of higher magical education who may bear ill will towards the Spadian government, but even in this specific circle, the files were endless. It would take me months to go through them all, balanced with the Starlight Project and schoolwork, the workload was enough to make me dizzy just thinking about it.

I was jerked out of my head as sharp laughter rang across the hall. My gaze immediately slid to the opposite end of lunch hall, where waves of red-cloaked students were gathered, a clear divide between their Heartisian crimson and our Spadian black. I pinned my eyes on a group of closely gathered students at the center of the crowd, laughing over some sort of inside joke. They were all golden haired and blue eyed, yet the features of a particular one of them stood out. Mace's chuckle was smooth and melodious, like cool water running across shining pebbles, deep and alluring. It was the laugh that had led many girls to their heartbreak, a laugh held by all the Impersonated Princes in the past. A condemning laugh. Prince of Deceiving Lovers indeed. I watched as he leaned over to brush a strand of hair off the face of the female student in their group, holding in an amused snicker as the girl flushed bright red. What a flirt, I thought, while a twinge of annoyance sparked at the bottom of my stomach at the same time. It was quite ironic that I was the one to have mounds of paperwork to complete, while Mace, the cause of this whole fiasco, was living his life as he usually did, entertaining himself with his friends, teasing the pretty females.