The Phantom's Gambit-Chapter 52: Confrontation 2

"Did I forget to mention that I would tell my father that... Your former student’s deaths weren’t accidental? But they died by your very own... vile hands?" Thorne asked Emery

Throne wasn’t sure of the reaction he expected from Emery, but it wasn’t the raw laughter that reverberated out of his throat. A cold, mirthless sound that sent a shiver down Thorne’s spine.

Thorne, taken aback, struggled to maintain his composure, but his smile began to falter, slowly twisting into a grimace.

Emery rose from his seat, with a deliberate and menacing movement. He strode over to Thorne, snatched the paper from his hand, and started to fold it neatly.

"Do you know what is truly vile?" he asked, "It’s what happens after the passage rites. Everyone is human, and then... they all turn into monsters... but you all would rather call yourselves magic bearers."

"So your reason is because you’re unfortunate to become a magic bearer—"

Thorne attempted to interrupt, but Emery slammed the paper onto the table, making Thorne jump. Emery’s eyes blazed with fury.

"Unfortunate?" He laughed. "What is vile and inhumane is abandoning a faction... What is vile is asking the lowest-grade faction to pay for food while every other faction doesn’t. What is vile and cruel is being neglected and bullied by their fellow students. What is truly vile is the pressure your father has imposed on everyone! Including yourself. And you call me unfortunate?"

"Do not come here to point fingers at me for doing what I can for my faction. There has been no gain from my end, and now I see hope... and to be sure it’s nothing ingenuous, I ask questions, and you’re coming to reprimand me?" Emery’s eyes seemed to bore into Thorne’s soul. "Can you reprimand the rest of the mages? Even dare to stand ten feet next to them when not asked or talk more of pointing fingers at them?"

"They’ve not given me a reason to suspect them." Thorne pointed out.

Again, Emery laughed.

"If you were asked to form an alliance through marriage with any of the other factions, I daresay you would have accepted without hesitation. But because it’s with my faction, you’re doing everything in your power to discredit me and undermine my authority. The mere thought that the Architect faction could possibly bring value to your life seems to offend you deeply, hence your relentless attempts to disparage us."

"Tell me, Thorne, if fate had placed you in my faction, would you have felt so utterly disgruntled? Would it have sat well with you to be consistently overlooked and undervalued, even when you achieved something that would have been effortlessly praised in one of the other factions?"

Thorne stood there, unsure of how to respond. He tried to imagine himself in Emery’s shoes, ending up in the Architect faction, and the thought alone unsettled him. Knowing Emery didn’t intend to succumb to his offer, Thorne turned to leave.

As he reached the door, he paused, his neck twitching slightly. "Don’t say I didn’t warn you," he said, his voice low and menacing.

"Child, if you want to point fingers at anyone, go to your father. You’d be surprised to know what he’s done... what he’s willing to do to maintain his power. The shadows he’s willing to dance with, the lives he’s willing to sacrifice. You’re just a pawn in his game, Thorne. And pawns are always expendable. Now, get out of my office."

Thorne opened the door and stepped out into the corridor, only to find Marilyn standing in front of him, her eyes fixed intently on his.

He stared back for a while before he proceeded to make his way out.

Marilyn watched him go, her gaze lingering on his retreating form before she turned to enter the room.

As she stepped inside, she found her father, Emery, seated in his chair, his expression a mask of indifference.

"What do you want?" he asked, his tone laced with boredom, his eyes barely acknowledging her presence.

"Must I truly submit to a union with that insufferable cad? If he dares to treat you with such disrespect, I tremble at the thought of how he would comport himself towards me. Indeed, he would likely take another wife, and together they would conspire to render me utterly insignificant- a fate all too familiar to those of us bound to the Architect faction. And, no doubt, every magic bearer would rally in support of this travesty. Is this the future you envision for your only child?"

Emery’s response was dismissive. "If you intend to alter the course of events already set in motion, I’m afraid you’re expanding your efforts in vain." With deliberate slowness, he began to arrange the scattered scrolls on his table, his movements a testament to his unwavering resolve.

"As my only child, I explicitly forbade you from entangling yourself in the affairs of the Academy. I instructed you to stay home, learn a trade, and contribute meaningfully to our community. Instead, you chose to disregard my words. Do not attempt to guilt-trip me now, citing concerns I am already well aware of. If you have nothing constructive to offer, then leave. My evening has been spent insignificantly; I will not indulge in further futility."

After a prolonged silence, Marilyn still hadn’t moved. Emery finally looked up from the scrolls he was arranging, his eyes narrowing slightly. "If you’re searching for the exit, Child, it’s the same way you came in."

Marilyn’s response was unexpected, her words tumbling out in a rush. "I’ve come about the Cleansing Purification Rites."

Emery’s gaze snapped back to hers, suspicion etched on his face. "What about it?"

"I know you switched the spell signs with one of mine during the tournament. And now, I need you to do the same, but with an Aetherstone."

Emery’s expression transformed from curiosity to shock, his eyes widening in surprise. He hadn’t anticipated that his daughter would uncover his deception.

Before the tournament, he had asked her to create a spell sign that could alter and change frequencies, supposedly as a test of her abilities. But he had secretly used it to further his own agenda, never expecting her to recognize the modified spell sign, which was remarkably similar to the original.

Emery’s hands released their grip on the scrolls, letting them scatter across the table. "How did you discover this?" he asked, sounding surprised.

"I’d rather ask you one even better; why did you alter the spell sign?"

Emery exhaled slowly, his shoulders sagging ever so slightly. "From the moment you and the rest of your team presented the aetherstones, I believed you all possessed a certain... je ne sais quoi (a quality that cannot be described or named easily). Your innate talents far surpassed those of magic bearers, and I suspected that, by chance, you might all have the potential to become S-ranked."

He paused, his eyes taking on a hint of frustration. "Unlike the Architect faction, which requires a rigorous entrance examination, the other factions don’t follow the same protocol. When it comes to my Faction, The council ’evaluations’ often serve only to whittle down your numbers, after which they’ll handpick students of their choice – individuals who may not have even participated in the trials. And, as your mage, I’m powerless to intervene."

Emery continued "I had faith in you all, faith that your remarkable abilities would carry you to victory in the tournament. And, indeed, you succeeded. I altered the spell sign as a precautionary measure, to protect you from potential sabotage in the event of your victory."

"Precautionary measure?" Marilyn asked with skepticism. "Do you mean to say that you suspected someone within our own faction might be aligned with the dark forces? And rather than risk another loss, you chose to conceal the truth?"

"These are desperate times, Child. You wouldn’t understand."

Marilyn’s gaze lingered on her father’s face before she fell silent. After a moment, she spoke up again.

"I know you possess the aether stones. I require one to alter the purification rites tomorrow. The ritual they’ll be performing involves a similar stone, and since water is being used, a spell sign would be too obvious. But a stone, one imbued with energies, could distort the water’s properties."

Emery’s eyes narrowed. "Why do you plan to alter the ritual? Is there someone you know who might be in alignment with the dark forces?" he paused and added. " Are you in alignment with the dark forces?"

Before she could respond, Emery sighed as he leaned closer.

"You don’t have to answer that; I already know you’re not involved. However, the purification rite has been put on hold. I initially suggested the idea to the other mages to demonstrate that my student’s accomplishments during the tournament were not influenced by dark forces or related to the recent incidents. The Chief Mage didn’t approve of it, citing his reluctance to revisit the previous late Chief Mage techniques... at least, not until he comes up with an alternative."

"Don’t you find that suspicious? For all we know he could be the one in alignment with the dark forces. Who knows, he could have framed the late mage to take his place."

"Marilyn," Emery started. "You need to forget whatever friendship you had with that family. If you keep wanting to prove them innocent, you might get in the Chief Mage black list. It’s already bad enough that his son doesn’t want to get married to you, don’t do anything to shatter what I’ve earnestly worked hard to establish."

"Fine, but I have an idea for a technique that could help identify those collaborating with the dark forces. If the other mages see that a student from your faction has developed this technique, they’ll likely start showing you the respect you deserve, Father."

"I’m listening," Emery said as he leaned back in his chair. He listened in rapt attention a his daughter summarized her idea for him.

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Unbeknownst to them, Thorne had been eavesdropping by the door.

Certain he had heard enough, Thorne pushed himself off the wall and slipped away, making his way back to his private dorm.