…
…
…
Dependents, my words are for you, and you alone.
Humans, cursed with mortality,
Many revere no allegiance,
Yet their justice is issued in full,
For it is the design of the Hidden Hand.
∟[Order's Providence]
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Jett awoke in the dead of night, his bulging eyes fuzzily staring at the white ceiling.
Silvery moonlight poured through the large dorm room window, illuminating the entire room.
He could hear the gentle snores of his roommate, Niko.
With precision, Jett removed his blanket. He dressed himself in his dark school uniform, all without making a sound.
Each step he took was with the utmost care.
Donning a black hood, Jett ever so slowly opened the door. He exited and shut the door, all without noise.
'The patrols are on break for the next five minutes, I need to send this out quickly.'
He carefully snuck through the long hallways of the dormitory, reaching the stairs, going down the three flights, and then out the door.
The moonlight was even more intense outside, the low sounds of crickets filling the illuminated night.
Jett had counted on the night to shroud and envelop his movements.
But now the night betrayed him.
He swiftly snuck across the grasses of the dormitory before arriving at his designated dropoff.
At the root of a grand oak was a dark figure.
"I'm getting quite tired of being your errand boy, you didn't even show up the last two times." an annoyed woman's voice whispered.
Sleep-deprived Jett quietly handed the letter to Valeria, his errand boy.
"At least tell me something good," Valeria grumbled.
"I'm still figuring it out, but I'm getting close. There's something, I just haven't been able to spot it," Jett admitted.
Valeria put the letter inside her cloak. "I can't wait to get back to my bed, I'm so sick of this crap. Didn't I tell you about Maros and his stupid missions?"
Jett ignored her, beginning his swift return to the dormitory.
"Have fun at school, sweetie!" Valeria whispered, snickering as she slipped into the night.
'Bastard.'
Jett swore to himself that he'd never, ever, admit that he had to grade papers not once, but twice.
As he walked across the beautifully maintained grass, Jett observed the boy's dormitory, bathed in an overpowering moonlight.
From a window, he could see a glint.
'Did someone spot me?'
Jett picked up the pace.
'No, must have been the windows. Those things are so damn expensive they probably reflect light like kaleidoscopes.'
He had been doing too much overthinking lately. Quite frankly, with such little sleep, Jett felt he was going crazy.
***
Next week, in the dead of night, Jett met with Valeria once more to receive the return message from Maros.
Upon his return back to his dorm, Jett hid the letter and went back to sleep.
The next morning when he was alone, he opened up the contents of the return letter.
And the result was…
'Nothing.'
Jett was not only given copies of each target's last letters but it was even run through Mattias, who was adept at checking for hidden codes or messages. Even he found nothing.
'Right, it'd be too easy.'
Or maybe…
'Did I make a mistake? Are none of them the spy?'
If Jett was wrong with his entire setup, he would have to go through another thousand students once more, and a week's worth of planning would have to be scrapped.
He would be left grasping for straws while the spy roamed free.
'No, I still have more leads.'
That's right, this was just one of many leads.
For Sarah, Jett felt compelled to remove her from the list now. Through his interactions, along with her letters coming up empty, he was confident she wasn't the spy.
'The spy is more subtle than I anticipated.'
At least, in their tactics, not their target choice.
As for Irina, their lack of interactions and little information didn't absolve her.
However, Maros mentioned that her family in the Northern Ridge is real and that she had been truly writing to them for the past two years.
Because of how obvious the potential for spying was, the Storm Wardens had already flagged and investigated her, finding nothing.
'Would've been nice to know beforehand.'
So in actuality, she was off the list as well.
Again, a lot of evidence stood in opposition to Irina being the spy. She truly was just a boring, above-average student.
That left Niko and Raphael.
Niko appeared clean, even if he irked Jett's subconscious. His status was still yet to be determined.
As for Raphael, Jett was convinced he was the spy.
It had to be him, there was nothing else to find. Jett's investigation hinged on Raphael being the spy, which definitely did nothing for Jett's confidence.
The one lead he had was that there was some under-the-radar connection between Alfonse Mathurin the Combat Instructor and Raphael Mathurin, as told to him by Sarah.
Lazy answer: they are two reconnecting ex-family going to the same school.
Of course, Jett didn't buy that.
***
This wasn't Jett's first time in Alfonse's class, but it was the first time the class did anything of importance.
With Alfonse being a renowned adventurer and expert in combat, many students vied for admission.
Jett's fake background gave him unique qualifications for being permitted.
Raphael and Niko also found themselves in the same combat class as Jett.
THWACK…
"Ah!"
Niko was sent to the ground with a rough tumble.
With his wooden dagger, Jett had broken Niko's two-handed guard with astounding force, his upward slash forcing his sword to the side. Jett hadn't even used Soul.
A swift and sturdy kick to the upper torso forced Niko onto his back.
While Niko was adept at using Soul, he was relatively weak without it. Most of the nobles were strangely weak without Soul.
'They've had the privilege of never being in a real battle. Maybe it's a curse.'
Jett had mostly sworn off using Soul. He didn't want to blow his cover by killing students in the night after all.
"Ah… you're pretty good with that dagger, Jordi." he said in between laboring breaths.
Jett helped Niko back up to his feet, unknowingly ignoring his roommate's remark.
For a while now, he had been intently staring at the platinum-haired third-year.
Every moment he would look to catch glimpses, watching Raphael and his interactions with the instructor and other students.
And it made Jett sick to his stomach.
But yet again, it was entirely empirical. Jett could prove nothing.
It felt fake, artificial. No one else seemed to notice it.
Then Raphael reciprocated Jett's gaze.
From a far distance, the two locked eyes, if only for a moment.
Jett looked away, but the glimpse he got reiterated his feelings.
Something was off about Raphael, something that only Jett seemed to see.
"Jordi Reichel," an older man's voice called out as it approached the outdoor sparring mat. "Come off to the side, talk to me for a bit."
'What?'
Jett had somehow garnered the attention of Alfonse Mathurin.
Wiping the sweat off his brow, Jett complied with his instructor's command, stepping off to the side, and leaving him alone with Alfonse.
"Can I help you, sir?"
"You said you hunted in the Southern Reach, right?" Alfonse asked.
"That's right sir."
Alfonse seemed normal compared to the rest of the Mathurin family.
He lacked the platinum white hair, instead opting for a completely bald look. Likely a testament to the exile from the Mathurin family.
His body was sturdy and his face was scarred, yet it still tinged with a ragged kindness.
"Fight any bandits down there?"
"Plenty sir, they plague the mountain roads," Jett replied.
The question—though minor—made Jett's hair stand on end. It was a slight shiver of anxiety when one is potentially caught in a lie.
These were the conversations he wanted to avoid. An experienced guy like Alfonse could likely see through his guise.
'Worse, if he's colluding with his kin, I'll be noticed before I can get anything on Raphael.'
Alfonse chuckled. "I can tell, your style looks a lot like the bandits I've seen. You're very raw, eyes of a killer too."
Jett scratched the back of his head in response to the odd comment. "I was actually looking forward to refining my combat in your class, sir."
"Is that so? Well, I hope I can help you with that."
They exchanged pleasantries, but Jett felt there was more under the surface. It was unnatural.
"…Is there anything in particular I can help you with, sir?" Jett asked.
"Well, Jordi, it's because you've been rather distracted, I wanted to know why." Alfonse's tone turned serious.
"Distracted? By what?" Jett feigned ignorance.
"Did something happen between you and Raphael? It's rather odd."
"No," Jett said sternly, dropping his act. "I'm just rather interested in the relationship between the two of you."
"Ahh…" Alfonse exclaimed in revelation. "Just a little catching up with a former relative of mine. I stress the former part. I have no allegiance to the Mathurins."
"Is that so?"Jett's gaze pierced through the instructor. "So, you aren't in league with any other Five-affiliated family?"
"Is that your angle, kid?" Alfonse said. "Recruiting me to the Storm Wardens?"
"…Or if it's not me you're looking at, it's Raphael. And the Storm Wardens would never look to recruit him…"
Jett maintained his unwavering gaze. "You're making a lot of assumptions. It's weird you would say that. The Reichel family doesn't have that kind of sway."
"The Academy offers unique access to networking, Mister Jordi Reichel," Alfonse said, emphasizing Jett's name. "It's no secret families use this place for all kinds of string pulling and tampering, though I suspect you're a little more than that."
"I never mentioned my past directly to you. Along with the fact that despite Mattias Reichel being of high rank, the Reichel family isn't a very well-known Barony."
"Must have been word of mouth." Alfonse played dumb.
"I'm sure you just do extensive homework on all your students," Jett said sarcastically, though his tone remained strict.
The two locked eyes, engaging in a subtle back-and-forth tug of information gathering.
"Look," Jett said. "This isn't about recruiting. But it would be advantageous to guarantee your neutrality. Do you wish to be a simple combat instructor, or do you want to be more involved?"
Jett's gamble appeared to have worked.
"No entity binds me. Have been for many years, and I intend to keep it that way," Alfonse admitted.
"As long as that remains, you'll have no trouble from us."
Alfonse chuckled. "Alright, I get the deal now. There won't be any trouble out of me."
"I'm glad to hear it, and I look forward to your class, sir."
"Likewise."