'Knock Knock'

...

You have got to be kidding me.

I get up from my bed groggily after jolting awake violently and glance to the nearby clock. It's been just past an hour since I crawled into bed. Who in the world would wake an 8-year old at this time?

I walk to the door grouchily while tugging at the collar of the dress at the heat. I usually deal well with being woken up, but I want my sleep to prepare for Gilbert.

"Lady Lily?" A nervous voice sounds from the other side of the door. It's Lionel... He must have been quite desperate to knock on my door... or perhaps he chose mine because I already knew of Bertram. Either way, he's being far too persistent today.

I open the door and slowly stare out at him. As expected, he is all flustered. He even perks up since I actually opened the door. Seems like it was against his expectations.

"Have you seen my brothers?"

Ah. That makes sense.

I pause and listen carefully for a moment, but it didn't seem like his brothers want to come out. Why? Also, what a pain. I glance down the hallways, but if they're hiding this desperately then perhaps I should be careful in replying. I don't intend on lying though.

"Mmmm brothers?... I did find a couple of 'ghosts' in my closet, which I tossed pillows and my duvet at until I couldn't see them anymore." There, elegant, right?

Lionel's shoulders seemed to drop with relief, but he then looks behind me.

I cautiously close the door a bit more and narrow my eyes at him.

"I am not inviting you in," I grumble at him. The consequences could be a pain.

If the brothers wanted to talk to him they would have to do something on their own, and they weren't. If they were really afraid then they'd be wide awake at the door knock just like me. Still, it was quite obvious Lionel was anxious with worry for them. He even looks down guiltily at my words. Being so dutiful hits a soft spot of mine... I click my tongue at the thought that he'd gotten under my skin even if just a little. Curse you for looking like a panicking but dutiful older brother.

"I don't want visitors tonight. Also, I don't want any food or drink from your old maid. The 'medicine' your old maid gave to your brother smelled weird."

I said brother to let others believe I was talking about Curtis or Reynold. Currently, the only one certain that I knew about Bertram was Lionel... at least it should be.

Lionel stares at me for a while as if he doesn't understand, but I can't really think of a better way to tell him this.

Why hadn't I told him the part about the maid earlier? Well, I figured it was just daily life in their family... but if he's this worried about Curtis and Reynold then he might be worried about Bertram too... and Lionel grew pallid. Not suspicious or anything like that... just pallid like I'd told him someone was dead.

"...Excuse me..." he mutters and turns with a stagger. His staggering steps, however, quickly grow determined, and by the time he leaves my sight they were filled with fury.

Interest... that shock. He'd expected Bertram to be unaffected by the poisoning incidents? So Lionel was expecting his mother to behave, but...

I glance to the closet as I close and re-lock the door.

If even the 7 and 3 year year old Reynold and Curtis were victims... then Lady Tepet might have been unable to overlook it.

Bertram's mother was not just looking for him to be recognized. She wanted him to be the heir to the Marquess house. That was the only reasonable explanation as to why she wanted all three of Lady Tepet's sons dead. If this is the case, then Lady Tepet herself had likely been attempted poisoned as well to make sure she couldn't birth Lord Tepet more children.

Lionel was caught in a war fought with poison. Like me he was fighting to put out fires and escape death, but unlike me he was still just a child. He was trying to protect Reynold and Curtis the best he could... but... he couldn't be everywhere at once. His father required his presence, and Alstair did as well. To Lionel I had become an unpredictable danger that took his time away from protecting his brothers.

I sigh as I crawled back into bed. At least for tonight I'll take care of the two of them... I'm not without compassion. For a kid Lionel is doing well keeping everything together.

---*---

'Knock Knock'

...

Lionel... Don't wake people up once an hour!

I glance to Lumere and calmed myself. Let's just calm down for now and check the door. He probably wants something important that can't wait. I rub the bridge of my nose in irritation at being woken up again.

"Uhm, Lily-sama, I have come from Lady Tepet..." the voice spoke as I slowly wake up and make my way to the door. A maid? ...I guess you get off the hook this time Lionel.

Still, if it really is from lady Tepet then I'm obliged to answer.

I slowly open the door and peer at the maid standing outside.

She smiles at me kindly while holding a tray of midnight snacks. There's a single glass, but there is a can right next to it to refill multiple times. Together with it is a little plate of cookies, along with some bread and sausage.

While it could indeed be a midnight snack, it was probably meant to be dinner for Reynold and Curtis. They could've been hiding in the closet for a good while before I found them. Since they hadn't been part of the party, they likely hadn't gotten to eat at all.

"No thank you. I am not hungry."

Yes, I said that despite knowing the above. I've seen three poisonings today, and I had no energy to take anymore risks tonight.

The maid stares down at me with a dumbfounded look.

"No... uhm... Lily-sama... it is quite unhealthy not to eat enough."

Ho~

I'll play along with you, but after rejecting you thrice I'll consider you as having bad intentions you know?

"I have eaten plenty."

"Mou~ Lady Lily. Lady Tepet herself put a lot of care into this, it would be rude to reject them."

Skillful. She was using the rank of her superior to her advantage. But, you are being too forceful.

"In that case I must apologize to Lady Tepet in the morning. I cannot eat anymore, I am simply too tired, as would be expected when you wake up an 8-year old at this time."

I say it tiredly and sweetly, but I think it is a brilliant dodge from my side.

"It should be fine if you just leave it in your room overnight. It's good with a glass of water before bed."

She smiles sweetly, but she's now gone to overstepping her boundaries. I've refused her thrice. That makes it forceful instead of respectful.

"No. You should leave now."

I stop the formalities and instead get serious with her for a moment before closing the door... or I would have.

She shoved her foot between the door to keep it open.

Our eyes meet, and as they do the words she was about to say fade away for killing intent... for with the look I have in my eyes right now it's probably clear that I intend to call for the guards. I know in an instant, that her life is at stake. One or more of the things on her tray are definitely poisoned.

I am not fast enough to react to the silvery shimmer that appears while the plate clatters against the floor, and a searing pain bursts through me from my shoulder as she pieces it with a knife. I grit my teeth stubbornly and endure it as I prepare my response. The pain isn't bad. The adrenaline keeps it at bay, but the shock always hits hard.

She's going to have to pull it out now, and it's going to turn me dizzy, but none the less I need to endure.

"Die!" Her voice fills with panic as I stare up at her mostly unaffected. She'd hoped to have this done only by poison, and the reflection of me in her eyes seems terrifying.

"Lumere!" I call the god's name and the air around me trembles lightly.

I curse internally. I haven't properly finished the spell I am going to cast, so there are going to be nasty side effects from casting it half finished... but I cannot summon a tsunami in here. It would cause too many casualties and be too big of an expense for my family to carry. Furthermore, it would ruin the evidence I needed for what I was about to do.

"The Force of Winters"

"Unchallenged. Untainted. Pure."

"Shield the Art of Peace"

I clapped my hands as she lashed out at me again. I can't afford another injury while I'm casting, so in a moment of clarity I followed her eyes to her goal, and with a side step of flowing elegance I reduced the stab to a light cut on my side... but as I do, a sword of ice quickly takes shape in my hands. From the base of my hand came the shape of the handle. A familiar shape as that in my memory. The rough ice gives me enough grip to hold, and the length would give balance...

I have no intention of wasting time on making a new spell every time I need a new sword, so I'd given it the proper size from the beginning, though it may be rather unhandy. The weight of the blade grew heavily as the slender blade formed to glitter in the moon light from the window. The sound of water freezing over clings through the hallway.

Her failure to kill me in that moment would be her death.

She backs away at the sight in front of her with an awkward smile. I hardly did anything either. I just got into stance and prepared the blade... ah, was it because the sword was longer than me? Don't worry, I have the proper strength to wield it. I am a priestess of water after all. Even a sword with a total length of 5 feet won't be a problem you know.

Like a rolling wave my steps become light despite the considerable burden in my hands. With every step adrenaline rushes through my blood, at the thought of risking death in battle once more, and the pain of the wounds dull to the sound of my drumming heart. She backs away, the smile replaced with terror.

I come to a halt in front of her, and with every bit of strength in my small body I swung my body, and the sword followed in a merciless surge that made the air screech, twist and whirl at the raw force. I let out a scream of exertion like a lion's roar, and though she tries to dodge, there was no escape from the lion's claw.

The blade digs into her soft flesh... and with the a strength a child a shouldn't have, it continues into the bones of her rib-cage and down through her chest, with the sound of firecrackers at new years.

Wherever the blade cut blood spluttered out violently. Had she been just a few centimeters closer she would've been dead in an instant. But she was still alive... barely... and by the grace of shock, she'd passed out from the pain the instant I hit her. Though she would bleed out by any time now, it would by no means be a painful death. Other than the fear she felt the moment she realized she would be hit... it was a peaceful death...

It was all over in an instant...

... and with that... an overwhelming nausea hits me. Not from the dying body of the maid in front of me, but from the recoil of the unfinished spell.

..

"...Li...ly?"

Lionel? I gaze to the side where Lionel stares at me. He is pallid. He's holding a knife meant for self protection... but it isn't aiming at me...

"...Assassin..." I speak out... but as I do my insides twist. Without warning I keel over with a retch of blood.