125 – Blight

A dozen different emotions vied inside Elise as she watched the Sorceress herself descend the stairs with the obvious intent to interrogate her. The Sorceress. The Slayer of Seven Cataclysms. The Savior of the World, or close enough. And equal to those titles, though no one besides one of the maids or butlers inside this Academy would think so: the Headmaster’s own sworn lady.

The time for retreat had passed her by, and Elise once again debated whether Nicole had shown greater wisdom by doing so.

“Elise,” Vivisari said as she arrived. “I didn’t know you would return today. I would call it a coincidence, but it might be anything but. I suspect a certain man’s meddling.”

…meddling? Elise didn’t understand what Lady Vivisari meant by that, but perhaps she wasn’t supposed to, because the mage continued before Elise could express confusion.

“Is now a good time for you to speak?”

“Of course, my lady,” Elise responded instantly. Even if just as a social nicety, the Sorceress asking her whether she had time to talk felt absurd. A Glove was expected to make herself available for the lady of the house to begin with, never mind for this lady of the house.

Lady Vivisari nodded, then turned to lead them away. Elise followed after a short hesitation, her thoughts churning. Nicole had scurried off before giving Elise full context. She appreciated having any warning whatsoever, she supposed, but half an idea was almost worse than none. She’d been responsible for the Headmaster and his lady having argued—or rather, Remy had. Somehow?

Finding an empty sitting room, the Sorceress gestured for Elise to take a seat. Elise would rather have stayed standing for a number of reasons, but she obviously wouldn’t go against the Sorceress’s desires. So she sat, and Vivisari did as well.

“Please don’t be worried,” the mage opened with, which Elise noted only happened when there was reason to be worried. “I just need to ask you a few questions.”

“I’ll answer as completely as I’m capable of, Lady Vivisari,” Elise replied smoothly, a decade of training standing strong against even the strangest of scenarios.

There was a short pause as Vivisari studied her. “I believe we met on the Convoy a week or two ago.”

“Indeed. You left an impression, my lady.”

“I’ve been told I do that.” The woman’s tone was as flat and bored as before, yet Elise picked up a hint of amusement buried somewhere deep—maybe even wry and self-deprecating. Though only a few degrees easier to read than a stone wall, the Sorceress wasn’t completely inscrutable. “I’m glad you’ve returned to the Academy. I owe you my personal thanks. I should’ve given them back then, but failed to.”

Elise’s response was her most delayed yet. The Sorceress’s thanks? For what? Elise hadn’t done a tenth of what she could have through the course of those events. “I’m sure I deserve no such thing,” she eventually said.

“My apprentice told me the story. You opened the Lounge’s doors, killed the monster attacking her, and helped dislodge the panel to the backup power cores when it was stuck. I’m not sure it’s a given that anyone else would’ve let her inside to begin with, but you did. So thank you.”

Elise hesitated. Would the collected nobles have let the teenager back inside the Lounge? She didn’t know—Elise hadn’t given them enough time to debate. If the Count had voiced aloud that the banging at the door should be ignored, she wasn’t sure she could have justified disregarding the direct order. So she had acted before the possibility manifested.

She might have disobeyed regardless, given the sheer damage such a demand would have caused. She’d never been a particularly good White Glove. Like all of her colleagues, she had her strengths and weaknesses, and quiet servility sat low on the list. Like the Deputy Headmistress, she thought, internally wincing at the comparison. Constance was fiercely respected, but not well liked. To be fair, what disciplinarian was?

“It is the very least I could have done,” Elise answered at last.

Noticeably—or at least noticeable to a White Glove’s scrutinizing gaze—the Sorceress didn’t disagree with the statement. So she did disapprove of Elise’s inaction during those events, even if it hadn’t been the source of her and the Headmaster’s disagreement. “You still helped my apprentice, and the Convoy. So once again: thank you.”

She accepted the praise only because refusing to do so would be undignified. “Your words honor me, my lady,” she said, dipping her head.

Vivisari studied Elise for a moment. “I’m sure you’re wondering why I wanted to talk.”

“I am certainly in suspense on the matter, Lady Vivisari.”

“I’ll get straight to it then. I overheard you speaking downstairs with one of the students, so you already know the basics. Your little brother. Remy, I believe it is?”

Elise suppressed a flinch from showing on her face. So the Sorceress had been aware of that conversation with Nicole. Elise had started to think otherwise, but apparently she wasn’t so fortunate. At least the woman didn’t seem bothered by what some might have perceived as gossip.

Hearing her brother’s name come from the Sorceress’s lips felt more than a little strange, too. “I see,” Elise said cautiously. “Can I ask how?” The question came out firmer, less servile than anything she’d said previously. The nervousness from being confronted by a legendary figure of history paled in comparison to her protectiveness of Remy. She had spent most of her life caring for her younger sibling. “I struggle to imagine any possible way he relates to you and the Headmaster, much less in a way it would cause you two to argue.”

Vivisari’s gaze drifted away in a manner Elise might have called ‘shifty’ if the description weren’t so unfitting for a centuries-old, extremely powerful archmage. “Argument is maybe too strong of a word,” the woman said. “We just… disagreed on a matter. And it caught me off guard.”

Elise waited, her suspicion growing.

“Winston obviously cares deeply about this academy, and every student who attends or attended,” the Sorceress explained. “When I found out that your younger brother was Blighted, and that you’ve been paying for his treatments, I…” The woman trailed off, a small frown touching her lips. “I was surprised, as I said.”

Elise bristled. Perhaps she was jumping to conclusions, like she had earlier, but she thought she saw the general shape of what had happened now. She had already been on edge because of Remy’s involvement with whatever this was, and she had also already been offended on the Headmaster’s behalf for how his lady had tactlessly argued with him in front of the students.

That mild offense tripled and quadrupled at the implication in the Sorceress’s words.

“Do you mean to say,” Elise began, “that you believe the Headmaster should have done more for me?” She took as polite a tone as she could, but even she could tell it was an obvious veneer. “The Headmaster, who saved my life. The lives of everyone in my hometown. Who brought a destitute orphan with a dying brother into his academy, paid for my training and his treatments, and shaped me into a person who could provide for those treatments herself. You think he should have done more. That man.”

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Vivisari raised a hand to calm her. Elise realized the tone she’d taken with the lady of the house, yet only half regretted it.

“Yes,” the Sorceress said. “I do. But not how you’re imagining. I should’ve finished the thought. From what I understand, your brother’s potions are a substantial financial burden. And while Winston might be Titled, he’s no adventurer. By his standards, even the upkeep of the Academy is significant. He has many students to care for. You obviously yourself perceive that if you’re capable of doing so, then you should be the one carrying that burden. His giving you the means to do so was more than enough of a blessing.”

“Is more than enough.”

The Sorceress inclined her head. “But that wasn’t the source of our disagreement. The reason I was caught off guard, and argued with him, was because I know that he cares about his students. That he would do anything in his power to help them. Except, apparently, one thing.”

Elise hesitated, unsure what Vivisari was getting at.