Valeriana's scream bounced on the walls in a series of echoes. With eyes glimmering like a bull on a red flag, she charged at the Court Leader as fast as her legs could take her. Aeron seemed sweaty at the sight of her but scrammed to run as he realized what sort of trouble he had gotten himself into.

Headmaster Kylon helplessly massaged his forehead as a loud sigh escaped him. With the problems at hand, there were still lots of interruptions involving the 'talks'. Aeron had escaped and avoided a few more times than he could count but perhaps it was time he really did open his mouth. Even Kylon felt inquisitive about the whereabouts of the man. Despite how busy he seemed to be, he never failed to play out schemes and come to the academy. There were only a few exceptions to that--and usually they were no more than trivial things.

"It seems you have to run, old friend!" Exclaimed Lienhard, his smile reaching his ears.

"Perhaps I'll catch up with you later!" Replied Aeron, waving a brief goodbye before dashing away as swiftly as he could.

These two were so alike it was almost scary. The only difference between them was that Lord Aeron seemed more inclined to playing the schemes and directing the stage while the Grand Duke liked watching from the sidelines. No wonder they got along so well. Two peas in a pod--that exactly what they were.

"You think you can get away?!" Valeriana roared. "You said you'll answer my questions when we come back but you ran away! I'm not letting you go!"

"Oh dearest me." Aeron quickly jumped for the nearest exit which was only a few meters away.

Within a few moments, he had successfully abasqualated the vicinity, his presence like bubble disappearing in thin air.

Valeriana came rushing after him, leaving a subtle disturbance in the air in the form of a wind gust as she skidded to a sharp turn for the exit as well. Kylon eyed her wearily before turning his attention to the other members of the Circle.

"Alright, everyone." He spoke through the sound amplifier, a simple device made of green resonance stones formed into a circle with a hollow middle that projected his voice into a louder form. "Let us start with the cleanup of this place. Decide on what you'll do with the venue for the next fight tomorrow between Elfre and Raziel. I will attend to Genevieve and Zevlin's situation for now. I shall explain everything you need to and can know afterwards."

Things quickly turned a hundred and eighty, the atmosphere which bathed previously in such drama, now somewhat comical. Even so, everyone else proceeded with their assignments smoothly, allowing the distraction to pass by without turning their heads around for more than a second. Surely this day was eventful, that was an irrefutable fact. But some things were more important than a mere chase, and there was no need to pry into another's business.

Valeriana was more than determined to get her hands on the scheming, conniving man once and for all and wring out the answers from him should the need arise.

Of course, the tireless training and exercise paid off as she found her endurance a lot longer than before. The last time she got into a chase like this was a few months ago, down the streets of Boston, after a man who had stolen her bag out of nowhere. Before, she would've ended up the same, face flat on the floor.

Things were different now.

She was no longer just the Valeriana she was before.

The girl had her eyes trained on the running figure before her and followed him closely, but a sudden turn to their left led them straight into a thick crowd of people. Lord Aeron had instantly disappeared in the sea of bodies, making Valeriana's heart jump to her throat. The disappointment rising to the surface was suppressed by her through a swift grind of her teeth. The wild auras swimming in her vision made her squint and she focused on the only thing she was looking for.

Lord Aeron.

Whether to die trying, she would not let him get away from her this time. She wanted answers and the need for them was growing as the sands of time trickled.

She scanned the crowd, her sensitivity to auras and presences flooding her senses. Within moments, her eyes automatically landed on a familiar figure. That scheming man was trying to blend in, walking away casually as though everything was normal. Her feet shuffled forward instinctively and she pushed herself, leaping for her prey without wasting a precious second.

"Lord Aeron!" She exclaimed and tackled the Court Leader, making him yelp as they both fell over.

People automatically parted, gasps ringing as they watched the girl and the man.

"Alright! Goodness me, let me go now!"

She wrestled with him, pressing down on his arms as she twisted them on his back. He had his cheek against the dirt with a weary look on his face.

"No!" Valeriana firmly exclaimed. "I want answers and I want them now! What do you know about Garvyn Vernados Edgar?"

"Garvyn . . . ?"

She tightened and twisted his fingers, making him howl. "Answer me straight! You promised me you would answer and you ran away!"

"That's not--stop this at once now, Valeriana! I am not a fugitive you should straddle in this manner!" He yelled out, groaning and grunting from the uncomfortable position.

"Give me your word, Lord Aeron. Then, I will let you go." The dangerous edge to her voice earned a sigh from the man.

"Alright, I will tell you what I know. Don't twist my bones too much, they're not that strong as they were before." He agreed at last.

"Thank you."

She got off of him but kept a firm grip on his wrist. Aeron fixed his appearance but could not totally remove the dirt marring his cheeks and the ones caked in his hair. He gave a look to Valeriana, one which said that he was being forced into something he did not like.

"Bring me to tea, dear, will you?"

Valeriana gladly took him to the dinner hall and watched him sip on his cup of tea, looking wildly disheveled the girl felt somewhat guilty knowing it was her doing. It might be a show of disrespect at some point but it was not something she could've avoided.

The slow music was prevalent and they stuck out like sore thumb. With Valeriana clad in the special uniform made solely for her and Lord Aeron's unprecedented presence heavy.

"I'm sorry. This one's on me." She told him.

"You must be forgetting I provide your stipend." He corrected.

"Oh, yeah."

There was an awkward pause.

"Can you please give me the answers I need?"

"Firstly," he put the teacup and saucer back onto the table and eyed the girl, his hands raking through the ash-blond hair to take out a crumb of dirt. "You must be aware of the reason for my long absence. I, myself, had been in search for several pieces of the puzzle I could put together. I have gone back to Earth."

The revelation made Valeriana's eyes widen. "You went back to Earth? Where? Is it Boston?"

"Yes, precisely. I have investigated the backgrounds of your father. He was an investigative journalist specializing in crimes and controversial murders, it was not quite an easy job to stomach." He had his hands laced, resting on his lap. "Yes, I was aware your father's real identity was Garvyn, and I had an inkling right from the start."

"Why didn't you . . . ?"

"Because I was uncertain of some facts and I wished not to give you false information and mislead you." He eyed the area around her neck and frowned. "Are you not wearing what I asked Seraphina to give you?"

Her hands flew to her neck. "I . . . didn't think I needed to."

"Well, you should." Aeron took the tea and drank once more. There was a short pause before he continued. "Firstly, the name Kerrigan was what he took for a reason. It was a huge part of his identity as an individual. Janus was the name of the person who stood as his father figure. He did it to honor him. Lastly, Andreś was something for his sense of humor. He was fascinated by the Spanish culture it was quite amusing."

Valeriana listened to him closely.

"And I think your father's death was not a simple accident."

She leaned forward at this. "Not?"

"Yes. I believed this has something to do with the influx of demonic activity that occured around the same time as his death. This was the very first time the boundaries between our worlds had began to blur."

"You're saying this is the reason why demons are escaping into Earth?"

"Yes, precisely. You are right about that. The hunt for demons started around that time. Very recent in Valemnian time, really. Just about a year ago."

"What does this have to do with his death? And what sort of blurring?"

"The gates have been weakening for a long time. A hole was bound to appear. We are hastily trying to solve this but numerous problems had risen ever since the prince--forget that."

"If this is about Prince Bertram, yes, I'm aware of it. You can tell me more."

"How did you--"

"A lot has happened since you were gone. Continue."

Their eyes met with the same intensity, but Valeriana had such strong determination in her eyes the Court Leader could not find it in himself to refuse.

"There's an unknown force brewing. I think this was what your father was after. What that is, I do not know."

She sighed heavily, rubbing her face. "I--actually, something's going on. Valemnians are turning into demons through a very different process of tainting."

"A different process of tainting, you say?"

"Yeah. It's kinda complicated and the Twelve are kinda panicking. There's this weird prophecy thing we're left with and I think everyone's trying to figure out what's actually going on. It's not something I can easily say."

"Alright. I will look into this. Maybe this has something to do with your father's--"

'That's it!" She exclaimed, her hands slapping against the surface of the table. "Cifaro said the incident occured a little over two years ago. I'm not sure. It was completed just this year. The timeline's confusing and we have a lot of grey areas. This has something to do with what happened back in Loquin and the tainting of the Guardian Beasts. They're all happening at the same time. Maybe they're all connected at some point . . . I gotta tell the others."

She turned to run.

"Wait, Valeriana."

She stopped.

"Did your father leave you anything before he died? Anything?"

She thought back on the box. "He did. Though I don't think I can open it until my birthday."

"When is it?"

"The twentieth of this month."

He raised a brow. "You are born the same day as the Crown Prince?"

Her jaw dropped. "I am?"

"You said the twentieth of this month, and if I'm not mistaken, that will be the night in which the prince is presented as the new king of the lands as well. Prince Bertram will be ascending the throne to replace his father. If he is unable to do so, a Candidate Selection will be held instead." He elaborated. "Your father had decided to stay back on Earth many years ago after that expedition, and he was one of the many few of our dispatched group who did the same. Of course, unlike the others who did so outright, he lingered for four to five years before going back. I'm uncertain. He met your mother, then, I suppose. It does makes sense that you were born that time but . . . the sequences of these events are somehow confusing for me to understand."

She walked towards him slowly and sat back down. "Does my mother know? Is she aware?"

"I am not sure about that. See here now, we have a general outline of what we need to look at. I promise you I will help find the answers. Whatever the cause of your father's death is somehow related to the brewing trouble in Valemnia. I feel that he had been trying to solve the mysteries happening back then in Earth."

"So Earth is in danger, too?"

"Yes. Perhaps the entire human race if this is not put to a stop."

"We can't have that. I don't want to have the problem with demons spread to my home." She concernedly told him. "Headmaster Kylon said he's trying to look into the matter, but I feel like it's not enough. I don't think I can sit around and enjoy this festival alone."

"On the contrary, the Ember Festival is a huge symbol for the progress of knighthood and the expansion of Celeste Academy. It will end in a matter of days and I'm sure Kylon already have things done."

"Is he not going to ask us for help for this? We found the problem--"

"If that is so or even if it is not, you lots are too young to handle cases as serious as this. If the task was categorized, it would be labeled an AA plus, which only the Twelve Celestial Knights are allowed to handle. If there were people this would be entrusted to, it would be the trained, experienced, and graduated knights. Students are out of the question."

Valeriana shook her head. "I don't think the Twelve would sit well with that."

"Well, Valeriana. I do not think you have any choice regarding this matter. I do not recommend telling them as this would fuel unneeded . . . desire within your group. You have seen what happened back then in Preluresia and Larkovia, am I not right?"

Valeriana fell into a deep trance about his words and realized he was right. "Alright, I get it."

"Ooh? Look over there. If that isn't Lord Corvan?"

She threw her gaze over her shoulder and saw the first-ranker accompanying that strange lady from before. At the sight, she felt a frown creeping to her face and the corner of her lips turned down.

"Who is she?" Valeriana voiced out.

"Why don't you go and find out?"

"Are you crazy?"

"Are you jealous?"

She seethed. "Are you serious?"

"Are you oblivious?"

"Oh my god."

"Oh, yes, which god? Is it the god of Love, Anateos?"

"Is that Valemnian mythology?"

"It is not merely mythology." He smartly replied.

Valeriana gave him a brief glare before turning to stare at the two. Aeron watched closely with keen eyes, his smile widening.

"Interesting. Seems I have found a new scheme to play out." He chuckled to himself.

"Were you saying anything?"

"Do mind me not!" He cackled.

The Court Leader's laugh sent chills down her spine.

This man was terrifying.