[…Marietta…]

I could see it from the moment I saw him, pitch black, like the color of a crow's feathers.

It was a spirit that reeked of death, and yet I wasn't sure. It followed the boy like a shadow, and in a sense, it was his shadow.

But his answer reassured me that what I saw was indeed correct.

"Callus…"

Besides Afrecht's prodigy, he was the only one able to see in that darkness. He even knew who cast the spell, it roused my curiosity, it made me certain.

When I placed my hands on his shoulder, I felt hope.

It was the very same, one and the same feeling that she felt on that day. Within that boy, there was another, one that reeked of death and suffering.

If I show you an inkling of what I am, will that spirit within you respond in kind?

I'm sure that it will appear again.

Soon…

[…]

I don't know what I should do, it's not a case of procrastination, but one of infuriating drawbacks.

It's the progenitor of things, roaming free in the academy. Even if I were to ask Callus and his…well, I don't know if he's met his companions yet, but he's met at least one or two of them at this point. 

The point is, even if I were to ask for his help, he wouldn't be able to beat a progenitor. He struggled against the Vampire King, and even that was around a year from now.

The professors may be of help, but it might turn out for the worse. Vampires can manipulate the minds of their opponents, there are conditions under which it needs to be activated but if she was able to pull it off, the results would be disastrous.

One thing is clear, I need help, not even to kill her. Just to distract her, to make it so I'm not the progenitor's next victim.

What can I do?

Then, I remembered.

"Oskar…!"

Oskar du Alaric, fifth prince of Alaric, with the fate of death. Unrelated to Callus, unrelated to those with strong wills. Well, except for the Alarics who possess the fate of royalty.

With his help, I could access the hidden library, I could find information related to Marietta's household. If I'm able to find what she wants, then I'll be out of harm's way.

The only problem is that I don't know what Oskar is like, his personality, his skills, anything. He was killed without the opportunity to be saved, so there was no opportunity to learn anything.

But there was one entry you were able to find inside the royal palace.

'Archmage.'

One does not simply waltz into the royal palace, and there's no certainty that Oskar has even revealed his identity. There's not even a guarantee that he's returned to the palace, the only thing I can do is either find him or wait until he comes to me.

Certainly, he wouldn't be ungrateful?

"Priest Andrei, I've finished today's sermon. I've granted 11 mercy, and saved the lives of 10 as the lord dictated."

I've decided to continue volunteering here, if not to build rapport, then to continue to get used to the environment here. I'm sure the frontlines will be far worse, the choices I'll need to make will be similar.

I suppose this is somewhat like an internship.

"Oh, well done."

Priest Andrei seemed to have been talking to someone. When that someone spotted me, he began to walk towards me.

"It's you."

"Duri, believe me, I tried to dissuade him but he would not cease to ask for your whereabouts."

The man was quite tall, he stood at the same height as me. His hooded appearance made me instinctively reach for a weapon.

"You are my savior, I have not forgotten your name."

"…!"

"I hope you have not forgotten mine."

When he came close enough for me to see his face, I was certain.

Oskar du Alaric.

"Perhaps we should speak in private, Priest Andrei would it be alright to borrow the confessional? This is an acquaintance of mine."

"Of course, I'll make sure the area is secluded whilst you speak."

Priest Andrei led us to the confessional, giving me a key.

"It is an acquaintance of yours, but I've seen things go sour in the confessional before. Sit in the left box, if danger arises, there is a better knife within a lockbox."

"Thank you, Priest Andrei."

"Hm."

After he left, I sat in the left box, and Oskar in the right. Adjacent to each other, and in complete privacy.

"Oskar du Alaric, what brings you here?"

I asked this, but this was the result I had hoped for.

However something was strange, last time when I saved him his injuries included severed tendons, and yet he seemed to be walking just fine, his grip strength was definitely weak but he was able to hold onto a sword.

"You can just refer to me as Oskar, it's uncomfortable for you to call me by my full name, Duri Zoran Noctum."

I see what he means.

"Please refer to me as Duri, Your Highness, that certainly sent shivers down my spine."

"Your Highness? Well, I suppose that's fine."

Damn, look at this guy.

After a brief moment of silence, he began to speak.

"I've come to you today because I've taken up residence within the palace, I'm sure you know what this means."

"You've become the Fifth Prince again."

This is extremely fortuitous.

"Fifth Prince yes, but not fifth in line. Two of my brothers have been killed in the time I was absent, aside from me the ones who remain are the First and Third Prince."

This is how the story progressed in the game as well, the Fourth Prince was without a doubt murdered. His body was found in the courtyard being eaten by dogs, the ones found to be the perpetrators were the supporters of the Second Prince which applied pressure upon him. 

The supporting family loyal to the Second Prince did not commit the murder, they were framed. Then immediately 4 months later, the Second Prince went missing, his body undiscovered.

He's most likely still alive, but I'm not sure of the exact circumstances.

Then without skipping a beat, 2 months later, they found the missing Oskar du Alaric, hidden on the battlefield. By complete luck, he had survived and made his way to me, where I then saved his life.

It's more than likely that the First and Third Princes are in cooperation, but in just a year, those two will bare their fangs against one another. It's also not certain whether or not they were truly aligned but interrogation of suspects and cooperators hinted towards that.

"Why are you telling me this?"

"I don't have many allies."

The newly emerged Prince, once thought to be dead. No one would think he had a chance to become crown prince.

"I know of house Noctum, it's far off in the East, warding off the barbarians. It has significantly lost authority in the last few years due to the involvement of the other nobility."

I know what he's suggesting, but I hold back.

"What of it? You know my household can do nothing for you."

I felt bitter as I said those words, more and more of Duri was leaking into me. These emotions aren't all mine, even my way of speech. I was always more crass before, wasn't I?

"If you can support me, I promise to save your household."

"My household won't last more than five years, no maybe even less than that."

I probably won't be able to finish my education at the Academy, the destined year for house Noctum to fall is 844. Duke Noctum had promised to hold out for five years, but a promise isn't a guarantee, the territory had an average lifespan of 3 years in most runs.

842, that's probably when the Dukedom will collapse. Our resources have constantly dwindled, our soldiers have been dying with no one to replace them, and my Father's health has been worsening.

"It'll probably only last 3 years, we can't put you on the throne in 3 short years."

"Do I have permission?"

"What?"

"Do I have permission to slide my hand through to your side of the confessional? I have something I need to show you."

"What do you have to show me? Your severed tendons? They seem to have healed just fine."

He slid his hand through the slot, laying his hand on there.

"What I'm going to show you must stay between us, or we both die."

Without waiting for my response, a blue spark emerged from his hand.

"This…!"

It seems you weren't a cripple after all.

"Was that sword just for show?"

It's magic, Oskar du Alaric was no swordsman, he was a mage.

"I've inherited the blood of the Archmage."

This is beyond a doubt, definitive proof.

"With this, we could gather more followers."

"But only those I deem trustworthy."

I felt hope.

The only one of the princes to have inherited the magic of the Archmage.

But another question weighed on my mind.

"Why me? What could you gain from showing this to a leper?"

"Well, then what could you have gained by saving a cripple?"

"You're royalty."

"Yet I have nothing."

He slowly tapped his finger against the wood.

"This relationship between us isn't trust, it wasn't because of trust that I came to you. I took a gamble that the person who saved me had something I wanted."

"…"

"That's how a relationship works, if we each have something to give each other, then we can work together."

"What do you think I have?"

"A good heart."

I heard a chuckle from the other side, causing me to laugh as well.

"Pfff…hahaha! A good heart? Really? I'm a leper!"

"You know what I mean."

"Yet you laughed as you said it."

"Because it was so ridiculous."

As I settled down from laughter, I began to weigh my options. 

There's no doubt Oskar came to me because I'm his savior, but there's something else he knows about that he needs me to acquire. Even if I couldn't see his face, I knew that he was also hiding something.

If I agree to work with him, I'll be able to access the royal library, and possibly some royal authority should he be capable of it.

But with the situation as it is now, I don't have much of a choice.

I can only agree.

"I'd like to add another condition."

"Name it."

My head would ache whenever I thought of her, my heart would twist in fear.

"A certain Progenitor is roaming our halls."