I was gasping for air as I y on the floor. Well, it had been the floor at some point. Now, it was a hole in the wood. A crater. I didn’t remember who had made this particur one. The same went for all of the other, rger holes all around the room.

  Actually using mana properly was more intensive than I had thought. It seemed even my rge reserves could feel strain through proper mana condensing. Not enough to be a true strain, but certainly enough for me to feel it.

  I had ended up on my back plenty of times fighting against Violet. Despite my figuring out what I’d been doing wrong this time, that wasn’t exactly enough to make up for a lifetime of the same instincts someone like Violet had. Violet had thrashed me even more thoroughly than she had before.

  All of Violet’s mana usage was instant. Quick. Instinctual. Mine all took time, conscious thought. I had been rather arrogant, relying on the power of a God and thinking that would be enough. I would fix that, damn it. When there was time to breathe.

  There was one difference this time, though: this time, Violet wasn’t prodding me to go again right away.

  I raised my head just enough to look at the girl. She was sitting with her back against one of the walls, her warhammer at her side.

  It was a pointless chain of thought, but I couldn’t help thinking about this strange girl. In this world, mana and Gifts made the difference between men and women small, but there were still norms. Expectations.

  This was something more accepted amongst common folk. The nobility was a different story altogether. Our House and its retainers were something of a rare breed. Violet was a far more extreme exception.

  It was no wonder there were so many rumors about her. You didn’t get a nickname like the ‘Mad Red Dog’ for no reason after all.

  “What the hell are you looking at? You wanna go again?” Violet made to rise. Grunted, fell back down on her ass again. I had gotten a few decent hits in, as evidenced by her pted corset being sunken in or smashed off at certain points. Though, seriously, a pted corset? I needed to get one of those.

  “There’s not much of a room left to fight in.” I pointed out. “I doubt your father is going to approve when he sees this.”

  “It wouldn’t be the first time.” Violet yawned. “He has someone with a Gift that can fix shit like this. I guess that guy isn't here right now, though.”

  This girl could apparently sound somewhat reasonable once you tired her out. She was also surprisingly…considerate. If Violet had attacked me st time as she had now, I would have been a bloody mess. Actually, I would be dead. Even now, she'd slowly picked up her own pace as I got used to my own mana. It wasn't quite what I'd have expected from a crazed, battle-hungry girl. She could click her tongue and act annoyed well enough.

  Damn it. Why am I thinking this right now?

  “Hey, can I ask you something?”

  Violet raised an eyebrow.

  “You never met your mother, right?” I turned to stare up at the ceiling, even when it would have been better to stare at Violet.

  Coward.

  “Obviously. Are you trying to be some kind of fucking smartass?” Violet growled.

  “No. It’s just….” I paused. “Let’s say you could meet her, and all it took was…a bloody price. One paid by people you didn’t know and would never know. One day, you met Lady Scarlet again. Would you want something like that?” It was a pointless question, with no possible advantage behind it at all. I asked it anyway.

  There was no answer, not for several long moments. I looked back at Violet and saw her staring at me. She was staring at me as if I were an idiot. Despite that, I couldn’t help but notice her palm squeezing the handle of her warhammer so tight it had turned white.

  “You sure fucking love the sound of your own goddamn voice, don’t you?” Violet drawled.

  “Perhaps I do,” I said. “So…would you?”

  “Fuck no. I’d beat the shit out of the bastard who did something like that myself.” Violet said proudly. “It’d give me an excuse to use this hammer against someone for once.”

  A very emphatic answer. Again, not quite what I'd expected. “You….you wouldn’t even think about it?”

  Violet gred, reaching for her hammer. “Don’t fucking disrespect my mother like that, you hear me?” She shook her head. “Hell, my mother would probably beat the shit out of whoever tried that herself.”

  I found myself smiling before I even knew it. It wasn’t like Violet’s answer would have actually changed anything at all, but I still wanted it all the same. I felt a little lighter now, and I found myself at least mildly respecting this strange beast of a girl.

  I wonder if I’d have the same answer Violet just did. I liked to think that I would have.

  "Well, smart-ass, let me ask you something then." Violet's question cut my train of thought short. I looked back at her.

  "What?" I wasn't aware this girl was even capable of asking questions. Okay, that was probably a bit too mean.

  "You thought something funny didn't you?" Violet drawled, reached for her hammer again.

  "Err...nope." I raised my hands. "So what was the question?"

  Violet paused for a brief moment. Seemed to rex even as she looked away from me. "Why the hell are you still here? No offense, but I did kind of beat the hell out of you. Most noble brats would have cried for their mom-" She paused. "dad-" Paused again. "Cried for someone by now."

  I stared up at the ceiling, held my hand up in front of me, even as I slowly clenched and unclenched my fist. "You're honest," I said finally. The answer came from a part of me I both recognized and didn't at the same time. "Guess that's why."

  "For a shitty, petty reason like that?" Violet sounded distinctly as if she were raising an eyebrow.

  "I guess so.'

  Neither of us spoke for a time after that. I wrestled with an alien emotion that I didn't recognize and didn't know what to do with. It was grief, I think. Violet herself was surprisingly quiet. Eventually, I shook my head, raised myself up, and asked:

  “I’m guessing that was enough to…get some of your interest at least.”

  Our eyes met. She huffed, pointedly looked away. “Not really. It was better than st time, maybe. Maybe.”

  I rose, forced myself on shaky feet, and stretched my arms. “Oh? That’s a shame. I suppose in that case, there’s no point in ever doing this again. Since I can’t catch your interest anyway.”

  Violet’s face twisted, reddened. She huffed and turned away.

  “You just want to go in and see, right? That’s all, right?”

  “Yes.” I nodded. A lie, but despite her answer, it wasn’t like I could actually tell her what I was thinking.

  I thought she’d leave it at that, but then she finally muttered. “Fine. When?”

  "An hour? I'm starving."

  She just nodded. That was enough for me.

  “Your father won’t like this.” I didn’t even know what made me point this out. “It feels like he doesn’t want anyone going anywhere close to that part of the Manor.”

  “Like I give a shit about what he wants,” Violet grumbled. “A deal’s a deal. Fuck knows what you actually want there, though. It’s just some rooms.”

  That was all she said, and it was enough. Despite the exhaustion I felt, I couldn’t help but feel good at that. “I do hope you don’t change your mind. No offense, but you are a little moody.”

  Violet looked at me, gred, and raised her warhammer high. Then, she set it down again. I got the distinct impression that had it been anything else, she might have considered throwing it at me. Hell, she still probably did. Violet huffed, looked away again.

  I wasn’t going to get anything more out of her, and I’d already gotten far more than I could have hoped. I left her there as I stepped into the hallway outside. Was my watcher here? I didn’t bother channeling mana to find out. Best to just assume they were and leave it at that for now. They would scurry away in an hour when Violet was with me anyway.

  Of course, I imagined they would try to stop me when they figured out what I was doing, but by then it would already be too te.

  The view outside from the many windows was enough to tell me that we had spent a lot of time sparring. I hadn’t even eaten anything yet. It hadn’t been important then, but now I was starving. It took no time at all for me to get back to my room; my mental map was getting better. The first thing I'd pnned was to send for food. I briefly worried if Duke Indri had shown himself again, though I doubted it. He would have sent for me if he had.

  I sank down onto the overly-rge bed. If today hadn't been important, I might have even considered sleep. The door opened before I even reached for the bell. I turned, saw Aline stepping forward with a tray of food. My stomach let out a very un-Ladylike noise, and my mouth watered even before I smelled the scent of food.

  “My Lady didn’t even have breakfast, and then I heard she was with Lady Violet. Is now a good time?”

  “It’s an unimaginably good time,” I informed her. “How did you know to bring it now?”

  “The two of you were quite loud.” She nodded and set the tray in front of me. “If My Lady needs anything else, please use the bell.”

  It was perhaps a little impolite, but I had already reached for the water by then. I hadn’t exactly had anything to drink all day, either. I simply nodded, watching her leave me in silence.

  I just wanted to eat, but I also had to check in with Anias. I tried to send a message back to her every six hours, and it might have been longer than that. Actually, why couldn’t I do both?

  This time, the kitchens seemed to have prepared an almost entire roasted chicken for me. A bit excessive, but I wasn’t going to compin. I tore off a chunk, started to eat even as I absently channeled mana into the neckce.

  Anias. Did you find anything?

  I managed to get a few more mouthfuls before there was an answer.

  My Lady, I am gd you are safe. We were worried. No, there has been no word of the Duke. By all accounts, he should still be back at his manor.

  I nodded absently. Either he had some way to get around the city without being spotted, or he was somewhere in his own estate. Not at the manor, or surely Violet would know. In any event, the window was still there. I had spent perhaps a little longer than I should have with Violet, but it shouldn't matter.

  I should find what I’m looking for very soon. In about an hour. I think I know what he’s pnning. He’s trying to bring back his wife, somehow.

  This method of communication was too slow to get into the specifics, and so I didn’t even bother trying.

  If My Lady says so, but even attempting such is quite heretical.

  That was a small surprise. You’d think a world where people could do miracles with Gifts and Artifacts would be more open-minded. Oh well.

  I need you to be ready. Not just you and Estovan. Hire adventurers. Just a few elite fighters. Make sure they can keep their mouths shut when needed. Price isn't an issue. Don't use official channels.

  House Veyne and the Adventurer's Guild were on very friendly terms, seeing as how we were the ones they had to go through if they wanted to leave the city, where all the quests worth a damn were. My father had been very lenient with them, too, often to the point of covering for their occasional screw-ups beyond the wall. I didn't know why he bothered, but it should prove useful now.

  Something inside of me shifted. The world blurred. The strength in my arms vanished almost in an instant. It was hard to stay upright, let alone do anything else.

  “What-” I croaked out. Darkness was cwing at the edges of my vision as I fell on my side. My fingers twitched. I forced movement. My hands felt like they were made of lead. I grabbed the neckce, tried to channel enough mana to send the signal. It felt like trying to suck in a raging river through a straw. Damn it. I think I only just managed to make it glow faintly. This wasn't the signal. Damn it.

  Instead, I barely willed myself to channel and condense the tiniest of mana in my fingers and used them to tear the neckce off. It worked. I weakly flung it to the side, and a light cttering came a second ter.

  Even that strength was gone now. I was fading, my eyes closing on their own.

  There was a creak, and then footsteps.

  “It worked then?” An alien voice, faintly familiar all the same. It had a schorly tone.

  “Aye, My Lord. Just as you asked.” Another familiar voice.

  “Good. Good.” The voice sounded somehow both eager and sorrowful. “I wasn’t sure it would affect someone with this much mana…it seems I worried for nothing.”

  Footsteps approached. A hand settled on my shoulder, cold and hard.

  “I’m sorry, Adrian, but you betrayed me first.” The voice seemed to choke.

  Everything went bck.