A Dragon’s Curiosity

 

 

“Three days ago, the academy contacted us and while we feared the worst, it was even more painful when we rushed to the capital and learned that our family members had perished.“

Mentioning the death of his firstborn son, even the younger noble found it hard to speak and sobs choked out his story.

The audience shifted uncomfortably and broke into spontaneous whispered and hushed discussions.

It was certainly not unusual that students at the Royal Academy learned that their aptitudes were not suitable to being a warrior or killing, but it was outright unheard of that a student died there.

For all the strict education and harsh standards, the actual processes had been refined for the past hundreds of turns, so their safety was almost guaranteed.

Having two students perish all of a sudden definitely verified the necessity of a plea during a court session.

Someone had to take responsibility for the oversight, not to mention that the two men standing before the king had spoken of murder and treachery.

No one urged the sobbing father to continue, most of the hushed discussions died down by the time he was able to continue.

“My apologies, Your Highness. The pain is still too much, my heart is rent with pain when I think about my poor son Max and his cousin Jens.“

“No offense taken, We know the pain of losing a relative.

But you have also spoken about outside interference, can you enlighten Us why you claim that there has been meddling with the fate of your family members?“

With the image of a kind and generous monarch, King Cederic waved his hand and dismissed the apology of the Baron, it would be too petty to censor the man so soon after his son had passed away.

At the same time he managed to bring the focus of the conversation on the topic that all attendees were eagerly anticipating.

For many of them, it was the first time they heard that two students passed away in the academy, the previous news only alluded that an incident happened, but its nature had not been widely known.

For those with the connections to learn about upcoming court sessions, this was definitely a great shock.

 

“Of course, Your Highness.

When we had arrived at the capital, we met with a representative of the academy first, before heading over to the [Seven Stars Church], where the boys got their last rites done.

Our families mostly have talent with the fire element, as well as the occasional minor light attunement, so we are followers of the Hall of Fire mostly.

My father-in-law didn‘t believe that both of our children could fall in battle at the same time, no matter what the academy said, so he invited an expert over from the Hall of Life and Death to perform an investigation.

As it turns out, there really were signs of interference, so the story of the instructors cannot be the whole truth based on the findings.

Hence, we are seeking the judgement of Your Majesty, so that the poor boys might rest in peace!“

During his words, the deep grief turned into fuel that ignited in righteous anger, especially when the baron‘s words alluded to outside interfence.

Anyone would be enraged fittere were signs of murder around the death of a relative, not to mention when it happened inside a place that was supposedly safe on top.

Quiet agreements and confirmations roved through the crowd, public sentiment was on the side of the Viscount and his son-in-law.

If a transgression like this was allowed, the thin veneer of civility covering the interactions of nobles would suffer and make it far more likely for more deaths to occur in the future, so everyone paid close attention at this point of time.

„Let Us hear the recount from the Royal Academy and the investigation from the priest then.

Maybe We can get close to the truth of the affair.“

In contrast to the crowd, King Cederic was not quite as impressed.

This incident took place under his authority, it was a matter of face now.

As long as he presided as the nominal head of the academy, it was the same as a personal insult if someone plotted against the students.

Naturally, it was too early to come to a conclusion, and the same wrath would fall on the two nobles kneeling in front of him if they tried to scheme against the royal family.

 

“Step forward and present your testimony! The king, in his infinite mercy, will hear you now!“

The ceremonial master once again took charge of the proceeding, clearly the witnesses were already on standby.

Since the court session was planned to some extent, it would not do to take a break now and let the ruler of a kingdom wait on two insignificant commoners.

From one of the side doors, a rather small woman dressed in a combo of coat and pants with the insignia of the Royal Academy as well as a priest in black garments entered the hall.

Neither of them looked particularly nervous to appear, their positions often demanded them to speak in public settings, hence they managed to preserve for now at least.

Once the two victims moved to the front of the benches, where seats especially prepared waited for them, the new duo moved in the open space between the podiums for discussions, between the throne, the lounges for the big houses and opposite of the benches for the nobles.

Following the hint of the ceremonial master, it was the woman who appeared in front of King Cederic first.

“Greetings, Your Majesty.“

The woman only put her fist on top of her chest, the standard knight salute to demonstrate one‘s martial prowess and dedication of the heart.

Since she did not try to ingratiate herself with the royal family either, it was fairly safe to conclude that she was part of the Royal Academy and had met King Cederic before.

And the king‘s reaction did not disappoint either, as he nodded in greeting and directly addressed the official by name.

“Administrator Salas, We have not met you in quite some time.

As you might have heard, Our academy suffered a loss recently, one not taken lightly.

Can you explain the events that have taken place so far in Our court, so that We can find the truth at the bottom of it?“

 

The braveness of the situation had terminated the discussion Henry and Nisha had before, both of them engrossed in the proceedings in court.

Now that the elf was lost and did not recognize the current speaker, Henry quickly checked that the array was still active and blocking voices before he gave her a quick reminder.

“This is Administrator Salas, from the Royal Academy.

Don‘t look down on her because she does not have a title, this woman is really ferocious.

She used to be a high officer in the King‘s Royal Guard, a knight on the cusp of becoming a Grand Knight after breaching the second great divide.

She retired many turns ago and became part of the leadership of the academy, so it‘s not clear what level her strength has reached these days, but even the king gives her a smidgeon of respect, if only for her service before.“

Now that he pointed it out, Nisha also saw her as a power of her own, and not just an administrator.

Despite the formal wear, it was easy to spot the hard core muscles and confident gait that Sera Salas carried herself with, a bundle of confidence.

Given a sword and light armour, it was easy to imagine her as a knight next to the king.

Whether the lady eventually took the final step and breached the second great barrier between the sixth and seventh rank, the dragon was not quite able to tell.

Through her [Spirit Sight], she paled in comparison to the Dukes and their older representatives, but not by much.

At the same time, she was a notch above the guards, who likely came from the Royal Order, so they were among the best in the entire country.

Either way, the elf took an interest in Sera Salas and paid close attention as the woman in question ascended one of the podiums from before.

 

“Thank you for remembering an insignificant person like myself, Your Majesty.

As the dean in charge of everything aura related at the Royal Academy, it is my duty to keep watch over the good seedlings, so that they may one day contribute to the kingdom.

It is true that an accident happened shortly before, which is the core matter of this inquiry.

Two students lost their life in the process and the academy is as mortified as anyone else that this happened under our influence, and we are not willing to shirk any responsibility, hence we have already started an investigation of our own.

Let me share the results so far, nothing shall be concealed before His Majesty.“

Aside from the growing interest, Nisha also found a trace of respect for the former knight she literally met a few breaths ago.

Pretty much everyone else would have tried to shift the blame and point at someone else to keep themselves safe, yet the administrator did neither and openly agreed that the academy and herself carried responsibility in this matter.

Given the intrigues and politicking in court, this move was about as sane as fighting a troll barehanded and naked, at least when the hyenas prowled in the audience and waited for the first sign of blood to pounce and drag her down.

Then again, Sera Salas managed to stay in her position until now, she should not be a stranger to the machinations behind the curtains, and likely had something to back her up.

“As part of the regular routine to provide the best education and first hand experience to our students, the Royal Academy works closely with the [Adventurer’s Guild] to pick suitable monster encounters.

Over the course of a quarter moon, the guild keeps track of suitable missions and as part of the normal procedure, one or several instructors investigate the destination first before each turn settles on their own destination.

Since all the choices are made by the academy and the areas of the missions are not known to anyone else until the quests not chosen by us are released to the adventurers as large scale missions, there is little to no chance of outside interference here.“

 

Despite being involved in the trip itself that led to the accident, some of the new details were unknown to the dragon, too.

It made sense that the Royal Academy did not have the ability to conveniently summon a horde of monsters every quarter moon, therefore approaching the guild was the most sensible decision.

Furthermore, from all rumors and evidence so far, nothing pointed to an assassination or premeditated murder, hence the elf agreed with Sera Salas conclusion so far.

“The investigation beforehand is not just a cursory glance, the teachers sweep the area and expel or take down any threat above the rank that students can handle, not only on the actual site of the outing but also in a safe distance around it.

There are also many capable warriors present on the trip itself, as such security has never been an issue before.

Upon arriving on the day itself, the students split in groups and face off against monsters, to build their exposure to real threats and give them firsthand experience.

Some shrink back or perform below standards, yet most students rise to the occasion and do great given the chance.

Even if the children encountered a threat above their ability to handle, it should have definitely been possible for them to hold out until an instructor arrived, the destination is constantly patrolled especially to avoid the tragedy that happened now.“

At this point, the crowd burst into hushed conversations again and the lady had to stop speaking, at least for a bit to allow room for exchanges.

Nisha herself agreed with most of the explanation and wondered why the contribution points and exchange were left out, but then saw how it would do little to benefit the audience, if they did not already know about it from relatives at the academy or themselves having graduated from there in the past.

No matter who the students were, the Royal Academy was fair in that regard, anyone could see results as long as they put in the effort and studied hard.

It was still a selfish move, because the best talents would end up working for the crown this way, however it was a win for both sides this way instead of one sided exploitation.