Koyuki, the Necromancing Foxkin

While we had a breakthrough in necromancy and a way forward to create a vampire spellblade, the day had not gone quite so well for others. We decided to celebrate at dinner in the mess hall and we saw quite a few sour faces. Apparently the guards had used Solday to question a few students.

"Do you think they will keep Archibald locked up?" I wondered.

Helena shrugged. "Depends on what they have found. The ambush after the ball pointed towards his family. If they have proof of him being involved it could get him into a lot of trouble. You are sponsored by the princess, not to mention that Cassie and myself are the daughters of counts. Hiring people to come after us is a serious crime."

"And there is the Ilestria angle. If he provided support to the fake Eva that would be huge. Assisting a foreign agent with an assassination is not something taken lightly." Cassie added.

"He is still the son of a duke, even if he does not inherit. That comes with a lot of protections." Skadi pointed out.

"Assuming his father does not throw him out." Helena added.

"Would he do such a thing?" I wondered.

Helena shrugged. "I don't know Duke Francis well enough. He might, if Archibald becomes a big problem. Ilestria will be the main issue. Duke Francis controls a small part of our border with them. If his son was helping one of their agents it might lead to an investigation. It might also impact the alliances between the dukes."

"While they waste their time with politics Koyuki has revolutionised necromancy. Makes you think how much they could achieve if they did something productive." Skadi mused.

"I did not do it alone, all of us worked on the project." I replied.

"To a new era in necromancy!" Helena raised her mug.

"Cheers!" We replied.

While we enjoyed our drinks I spotted Simon walking towards our table. Interestingly he was alone.

"Celebrating your victory?" He sneered.

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"What victory?" I asked.

"Don't be coy! You framed Archibald, haven't you? You were at the raid! And Eva… She is dead because of you!" Simon accused me.

"The real Eva is missing and has worked with Ilestria, as far as I know." I replied.

"Lies! She would have never done that!" Simon replied.

"I think you are drunk and should get some rest, young man." Kaito advised.

Simon turned towards the dullahan. "Shut up you headless corpse!"

Kaito raised an eyebrow. "Your powers of observation are astounding. My head is indeed not attached to my body, however I am still in possession of it. So the term headless might be debatable."

Simons' face grew red. "Stop mocking me! I will show you!" He pulled a dagger from his belt and tried to stab Kaito, who easily sidestepped the clumsy attack.

Simon tried to attack him again, only to freeze as fangs pieced his skin. Hatsumi was behind him, biting his neck.

"I have stunned him, I felt like it would be the simplest method of stopping him, without doing permanent harm." Hatsumi said.

Kaito inclined his head towards her. "Appreciated. I was reluctant to freeze him. I believe he has a water affinity which would have complicated my method of disabling him."

"I will deliver him to the staff." Hatsumi replied and picked up Simon. A lot of students had been watching but no one had interfered. As Hatsumi left, Valeria approached.

Helena sighed. "So much for our celebration."

"We need a better spot to eat. Too many people bother us in the mess hall." Skadi said.

"Shall I intercept her?" Kaito asked.

I shook my head.

"I could carry some poisoned drinks and offer them to anyone who bothers us…" Cassie mused. "Nothing lethal, just uncomfortable." She added, after Skadi stared at her.

"Koyuki, Helena, Cassie and Skadi. It is good to meet you. I wanted to thank you for your help in recovering the Iron Beak." She said with a smile.

"No problem. The undead helped as well." I replied.

"Of course." Valeria said. "Was your maid carrying Simon away just now? What happened?"

"He was drunk, started shouting, tried stabbing, got bitten." Cassie summarised.

Valeria blinked. "What?"

"He seemed upset that Archibald was arrested. Not sure what happened to Archibald but it looks like he had some dealing with the thieves guild." I added.

"I see." Valeria said. "I think he was questioned today, so was Jack. I don't think they have gotten to Florence yet. She seemed quite upset."

Helena shrugged. "She should have thought about that sooner."

"Perhaps. Your raid has certainly strained the relationship between Duke Reynold and Duke Francis. I want to thank you again for your help. I have already testified myself about the Iron Beak and confirmed that you have recovered the right one. I won't disturb you and your celebration any longer." Valeria said, then she left.

"What was that about?" I asked my friends.

"Her mother's duchy is between Reynold and Francis. There was a lot of pressure on her after Archibald got wounded during the first field trip. I think we kind of helped her family a lot, by accident." Helena explained.

"Was it an accident? It was her Iron Beak." Skadi said.

I groaned. "Please, no more politics!"

Helena patted me on the back. "There, there."

"See, that is why I suggested poison! If we poison everyone who gets close we will have peace!" Cassie said.

"Once your discovery about necromancy gets out you will have even more people who want to talk to you." Skadi said.

"I will just have to feed them to Nyx." I mumbled.

"Meow." Nyx agreed.