Mori ran his fingers through his white hair. "The Princess of Valor wants to talk to me?"
"She reached out via communicator and asked for whoever is in charge of the Aegis Rose case. That would be you, wouldn't it, sir?" The guard suddenly seemed uncertain.
Her superior scratched his chin. "Well, the government police aren't involved yet, so I suppose the credits stop with me, don't they?"
"I wouldn't know, sir." The woman dipped her head.
To be fair, no one knew. It was a strange situation. Government headquarters hadn't responded yet with instructions. It was probably still working its way up the chain of command until the right person was found.
How had Valor been able to contact them so quickly when it had only just happened?
Well, until someone higher up took up the problem, the white-haired man would have to deal with it himself.
Mori stroked his chin. "Which princess is it?"
The guard hesitated. "Morgan, Sir."
"Oh." Mori shifted his weight uncomfortably before straightening his back. "Well, there is no use in delaying. On which screen can I find her?"
"She was transferred to your office."
"Thank you. That will be all." Mori dismissed his subordinate. He dipped his head to the two teachers. "If you will excuse me."
Noble took a step toward him. "May I join you?"
The man paused his exit and contemplated for a moment. "You may observe."
"Thank you." Noble had almost expected him to decline, but Mori was relieved to have her company. Indeed, a leader of a Great Clan reaching out was not a common occurrence.
Mori was head of security, not public relations. He spent time actively staying out of the public eye so he could maintain law and order. He never craved attention from the Great Clans. This development was truly vexing.
Lovia was concerned as well, but for a different reason. She stepped back from the pair.
"This is where I will take my leave. People don't tend to react kindly to smiling faces in tense situations." Lovia chuckled.
Noble understood. She didn't envy the other woman's Flaw. The feeling was most likely mutual.
Parting ways with her colleague, Noble followed Mori down a series of corridors. At last, they reached a room with a keypad where he entered a code only he knew.
The office was adequately furnished, and Mori directed Noble to the seat in the corner of the room out of the view of the large screen on his desk. Noble opted to float beside it instead.
The head of security took the seat at his desk.
A silent glance passed between the pair before Mori pressed the blinking light at the base of the screen.
Lady Morgan's face appeared. Noble did not recognize the background behind her, but she guessed that it was their manor in the NQSC. She certainly wasn't in Bastion—there was no way to communicate across Realms like that, and even if there were, the citadel did not have electricity.
"Lady Morgan. I am Awakened Mori."
The crimson-eyed beauty frowned.
"You are the head of Academy security?"
The man in question bowed deeply in his seat.
"I am ma'am. How may I be of service to you?"
The Princess of Valor regarded him for a moment and, deciding not to waste any more time, got straight to the point.
"I just received the most distressing call from my cousin that something dreadful has happened at the Academy. I wanted to reach out personally to make sure everyone is alright."
"Lady Tamar is well, and Sleeper Keth is in custody without anyone getting hurt." Mori nodded.
"That is excellent news. Who can I thank for such vigilant protection? You?" Morgan smiled politely.
Mori held up his hands.
"I cannot take the credit. The standard of excellence is all thanks to our dedicated staff members."
"Oh?" The princess's gaze turned sharp. "My cousin mentioned a Professor Noble. Was she one of these staff members?"
Mori could not come up with a response immediately, which was all the answer Morgan needed. The professor hummed softly.
'Whelp, so much for anonymity.'
Noble stepped forward into the frame.
"I was, Lady Morgan."
The Princess did not at all seem surprised by her appearance. If anything, she was expecting it. Morgan had not requested that the conversation be private, so an audience seemed natural.
"Ah, there you are. I have heard a lot about you, Professor Noble." Morgan's pleasant words still seemed to have an edge.
"I hope your cousin, Eldric, spoke kindly of me." Noble dipped her head.
Morgan's expression relaxed. "He did mention you were clever."
"You flatter me, Lady Morgan." Noble kept her gaze even.
She had expected to feel more fear when facing the princess directly. Morgan's presence and attention were not something to be taken lightly. Perhaps it was the screen between them or the fact that Noble had already faced Morgan's uncle before Antarctica that the beautiful woman didn't make her nervous.
But most likely it was because of Noble's recent encounter with the lady's elder brother. Looking at Morgan just now, Noble could sense the two were different sides of the same coin, and Morgan came out as the saner of the two—which was ironic considering she had seen the woman rip out some random man's heart in the Dreamscape once upon a time. Noble shook off her wandering thoughts.
Morgan might have been sane, but that didn't mean she wasn't dangerous. Noble still needed to be on her guard.
"I do what I can for every student. I want what is best for each and every one of my charges."
The Princess of Valor regarded the professor's calm demeanor for a moment. If she believed Noble was lying, she didn't show it.
"Thank you for your hard work at the Academy."
Noble felt the tension in her shoulders relax. She hadn't been afraid, but her body was still ready for a fight.
"Now, Awakened Mori. While I appreciate your apprehension of Sleeper Keth, you may release him now. Clan Valor will deal with this matter personally."
Noble's muscles tensed again. She had already known that Keth was sent by someone, but part of her had hoped the culprit had been from the Aegis Rose Clan to help Keth improve his status or remove a rival.
Now, Noble suspected that Elric was Keth's handler for a much more powerful entity—the royal family.
'Why would Valor care about a Legacy Sleeper?'
Surely they had better things to do than chase down a young woman whose power was to jump. 'The Clans are gearing up for war…what could they possibly gain by the death of…'
Noble recalled how Fort had said it would take barely a spark to bring things to a head.
Everything clicked. While not a princess of Song, Tamar was the daughter of a Saint in a leading citadel of the Song Domain.
If she died in the care of the Academy, even if Keth hadn't been implicated, the Song Domain would have demanded answers and blamed Valor.
Valor would deny the claim, and everyone would be forced to choose a side. War would follow.
That meant Tamar was more than just the daughter of a Saint.
'She's the spark!'