The student council meeting dragged on for a while as Michael kept quiet, his eyes out of focus—deep in thought. While everyone discussed what would happen moving forward, his mind kept on circling something.

The method of soul extraction.

Back in Velmara he had felt some sort of entity try and bash down the doors of his inner palace. While he couldn't say for certain if this happened in Claywall and Newhold, he had an inkling it was the same.

I still find it difficult to believe such a small occult group could pull off something like this in two separate places...

Perhaps I can ask Magnus? He thought, his eyes narrowing.

Of course, he needed to be careful. Showing too much interest could cast suspicion on his identity—something that he was not prepared to reveal, not yet.

Sure he had revealed the secret to Melody and Rudy, but it was not the full truth. Besides, he trusted them enough to know that they would respect his wishes and not spread the information around.

Not to mention that the two had no real other friends besides himself and Lilly.

It wasn't that Michael was being overly cautious—just that he was worried how deep the conspiracy went. He didn't know who was involved, nor their goals for killing his mother.

If they could infiltrate the Aurelius family in the noble circle, how deep are their roots?

A thought popped into his mind, so scandalous that it made his heart beat faster in his chest, thumping in his ears. What if the assassins had ties to high society? What if they were linked with the royal family itself?

The thought was as scary as it was overly paranoid. He had no proof, not even a shred of evidence that would justify any suspicion towards the royal family—apart from their decision to try and sweep the attacks from three years ago under the rug.

But objectively speaking, it wasn't uncommon for people in power to do such things in order to stifle any panic.

However, this just reinforced the fact that Michael couldn't trust anyone so easily, at least not until he was strong enough to protect himself. If worse came to worse, he could announce himself as the heir to the Aurelius family—possibly bringing the real culprits out of hiding.

But this was a last resort, and something only possible far into the future.

For now, Michael was merely a bug that could be squashed at any time with the smallest of force. He needed to grow and become stronger, that way he wouldn't have to worry about stupid political games or being so cautious.

I need to grow stronger...

It was the age old tale of 'Might makes right'—something that he had yet to be the beneficiary of.

But his time would come, especially after his unique soul finally got the chance to spread its wings.

"Alright, let's bring the meeting to an end," Magnus stated, running a hand through his blond hair, his exhaustion evident.

As the prince stood up, Michael did so a moment later. "Do you mind if we have a brief chat?" he asked, trying to sound somewhat casual.

However, everyone in the room turned to him, weird expressions on their faces. Especially Melody who was visibly confounded—her jaw open in disbelief.

Magnus raised an eyebrow, assessing him intently before nodding. "Everyone else can leave," he stated, an effortless authority in his tone—one that was born from his status.

It seemed to work. The class representatives rose from their chairs, sending curious glances between Michael and Magnus—as if they truly wanted to stay and be a fly on the wall.

However, they had no choice in the matter.

Melody was the last to leave, her eyes lingering on him for a few moments before she exited, closing the door behind her. Michael felt a little bad about leaving her out, but he could just make it up to her later.

With all the students gone, only Michael and Magnus were left, standing in their respective positions across the round table. The two shared a gaze for a few moments before the former opened his mouth to speak—only for Magnus to raise his hand, stopping him.

The guy then waved his hand, his single violet ring appearing beneath the cuff of his sleeve, glowing deeply.

"Ventus Tacere. Aeris Custodia. Vox Obmutuit."

Magnus chanted an incantation, causing a mana circle to begin constructing itself above his palm—causing the air to visibly thicken. A dome-like wind spread from the violet circle, swallowing the two teens and creating a barrier around the round table and chairs adorning it.

The prince flexed his fingers, causing the mana circle to dissipate—yet the barrier remained. He gestured to the chair in front of Michael with a slight nod, "Sit, no one can hear us now." he said, more of a suggestion than a command.

Michael swallowed his words, composing himself. The violet ring was a reminder that the man across from him was not just a noble, but a powerful mage in his own right.

While definitely not as powerful or knowledgeable as the headmaster or Professor Murphy, he deserved the respect of his rank—an Arcanist mage.

"I have some questions regarding the group you captured," he said calmly, taking a seat on the chair he'd just risen from. "Specifically the method they used to capture the souls of their victims."

Magnus's eyes flashed briefly, a look of surprise that was hidden almost immediately. He took a seat, his expression donning a calm mask—one that was likely forged after countless years in the presence of other noble families.

"Ask." He stated implicitly, not giving anything away.

This will be tough… Has he already found me suspicious?

It was hard to tell. The impassive mask on his face was not something that he could break through easily, and Michael needed to keep his cards close to his chest in order to not reveal anything about his past.

"Do you know the method this 'Black Night' used to harvest the souls?" Michael asked, cutting directly to the chase.

For a moment, he thought the young prince was going to avoid giving an answer—however the response surprised him.

"Ancient ritual magic…" he replied, the impassive mask cracking briefly, showing disgust. "We weren't able to recover the tomes, but we managed to find remnants of the magic circle and altar—though the collected souls were not recovered…"

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