III
Ashton followed the clerk assigned to guide them into the library. As he entered, his eyes found Claryss’s as she organized the shelves with the other librarians.
“What’s this? If it isn’t Ashton Senefelder! I’m glad to see Comrade Olivia and Claudia safe and sound too.” She placed her feet on the side rails of her ladder and slid nimbly down to the ground. Olivia, delighted, immediately tried to go over to the ladder, but Claudia caught her by her collar and held her back. Ignoring the disapproving stares of the other librarians, Claryss pushed up her signature red-rimmed glasses with a grin.
“I’m glad to see you well too, Claryss. But what are you smiling about?” Ashton asked dubiously.
“I heard all about it,” she said. “Cutting down one enemy general after another, unleashing hell upon the enemy, and then you had one of the empire’s Three Generals and the Helios Knights put their tails between their legs and run back to Kier Fortress.”
“I don’t know about unleashing hell...” Ashton said. “Anyway, how do you know so much about it when you’re only a civilian? That seems a bit fishy to me.”
“Yes,” Claudia agreed, sounding suspicious. “Ashton’s right. You know a little too much.” Naturally, the Royal Army’s official announcements hadn’t gone into so much detail.
In response to Ashton’s accusing stare, Claryss took his arm and leaned in to bring her glossy pink lips to his ear. “For a commissioned officer, methinks you doth protest too much, Major Ashton Senefelder.”
“What? I’m just a warrant officer,” Ashton corrected her, flustered. Claryss gave him a coy smile.
“From what I hear, they’ll be calling you major one day soon,” she said.
“Is this another one of your famous prophecies? I’m sorry to disappoint you, but you’ll be waiting for all eternity for that day to arrive.” Aware of Olivia’s gaze, he shook his arm free of hers. “And back off a little.”
Claryss snorted. “You’re as fun to tease as ever.”
“Anyway, how did you hear about what happened?” he asked.
“Just who do you think you’re talking to?” she said smugly. “Getting ahold of that kind of information was child’s play.”
Here, Ashton remembered how back in the day, Claryss had known everything about all the goings-on at the Royal Lion Academy, from trivialities like where the principal’s secret stash of liquor was hidden to organizational secrets which the students were under no circumstances to know, like the academy’s operating costs.
“Well, okay, you always were a bit enigmatic.”
Claryss chuckled. “A dash of enigma is what gives a lady her mystique,” she said, pressing a finger to her lips with an alluring smile.
No sooner had she shown them into the reading room than she hurried away again, returning soon after with a book in her arms. She sat down next to Olivia.
“Did you discover what happened to the Valedstorms?” Ashton asked. The throwaway question elicited a powerful response from Olivia. She pulled her chair right up to Claryss, breathing heavily.
“Did you find it?!”
“C-Comrade Olivia, could you give me a little space? You’re so close you’re making me blush,” Claryss said, uncharacteristically ruffled.
“Okay!” Olivia said. She nodded to show she’d understood but made no effort to back away. If anything, she leaned in closer. She was so overexcited her body wasn’t following her mouth.
“Er, well, never mind. Something smells so delightful it’s making my head spin, but let’s just jump right into it.”
The eyes of the other three went to the black-bound book on the table. The title The Clan of Darkness was written on the cover along with the name of its author, Angus lem White. His title was given as former assistant chief-of-staff to the Kingdom of Fernest.
I remember that title, Ashton thought. I’m sure that’s the book I found the day before we left Fis...
As though she’d read his mind, Claryss nodded. “Yes, Ashton Senefelder found this book. We ran out of time in the end and had to return it, but I went back and read it later. To sum up, I learned that in ancient times, there existed a Clan of Darkness from which the House of Valedstorm was descended. The reason their line died out appears to be related.” She opened the book to a page she’d marked. Ashton rapidly ran his eyes over the contents, where it was indeed written that the House of Valedstorm was the Clan of Darkness.
“But what’s this Clan of Darkness?” Claudia asked as she turned the pages. “I mean, I can tell from ‘darkness’ that it’s not going to be anything good...”
“According to this book, they were a small clan who went against the so-called True King. They were apparently formidable warriors and plotted to overthrow him.”
“A small clan overthrowing a king? That’s a bit far-fetched, isn’t it?”
“As I’ve said before, history is always written by the victors. Only those who were there at the time know the truth,” Claryss said with an exaggerated shrug. Ashton agreed with her. He’d read a colossal number of books in his time, so he knew there was no shortage of cock-and-bull stories. One could only judge their truth on the basis of one’s own knowledge.
“All right. Let’s assume for now that the story is true. Did the Valedstorms plot to usurp the throne like their ancestors?”
“No, the Valedstorms were known for their unwavering loyalty to the kingdom. Also, it says that no one knew they were descended from the Clan of Darkness back at the time.”
“Then what happened?” Claudia said, sounding defeated. If this was all true, there was no explanation of the end of the Valedstorm line.
“There was a secret tip-off. Someone told the king that the Valedstorms were descended from usurpers who had long ago tried to depose a king, and that now, after untold years, they had their sights set on the throne of Fernest.”
“Oh, come on. Weren’t they unwavering in their loyalty?” This time Ashton spoke up, looking at Claryss. “This secret informant came out of nowhere and the king actually believed them?”
“This was in the ninth century of Tempus Fugit, so it’s not unreasonable to think so,” she said matter-of-factly. “You know what I mean, don’t you, Ashton Senefelder?”
The ninth century... he thought. Yes, I see.
The ninth century of Tempus Fugit was commonly known as The Black Years. It was an era of restlessness and uncertainty, as all were worn down by a war from which there seemed to be no escape. It was in the midst of all this that the anonymous tip-off had come and shook the royal family to its core. Without questioning its truthfulness, they had rushed to cut out the rot before it could spread.
In the present day, it would have been subjected to close investigation, but taking into consideration the state of society at the time, Ashton thought it was perhaps only natural that things had played out as they did. That was probably what Claryss had meant.
“So were all the Valedstorms murdered in the end?” asked Olivia, who had been listening in silence. Her expression had turned serious and Claryss, seeing her like this for the first time, gulped.
“In regard to that, Comrade Olivia, I really don’t know. It’s written that the family estate was surrounded and even set on fire, but there’s nothing about whether they lived or died. Though there was one part that caught my attention.” Claryss riffled through the pages, then pointed to a line:
A number of soldiers reported seeing a large shape swathed in black mist fly out from the window of the burning mansion. What it was remains a mystery.
Black mist. Unconsciously, Ashton looked at Olivia’s sword. Claudia must have had the same thought. Her eyes went back and forth between Olivia and the sword.
Meanwhile, Olivia’s eyes burnt bright, the corners of her mouth stretching up as far as they could go. There was a wildness in her eyes that made Ashton hesitate to talk to her.
Claryss, who didn’t know about the sword, went on. “This is the only odd point. Who knows what this shape swathed in black mist could be? The incident isn’t mentioned before or after this one page. Oh, and they were unable to find any evidence that the Valedstorms were planning to usurp the throne.”
“In other words, they were wrongly accused...” Claudia murmured.
“My guess is that the royal family felt guilty after condemning the Valedstorms without any evidence when they’d always been loyal.”
“I mean, even if the Valedstorms were descended from this Clan of Darkness, that was ancient history. It had nothing to do with anyone alive at the time.”
“I think that’s what’s behind the end of the Valedstorm line not being recorded. Under normal circumstances, the whole house would have been expunged. I imagine Angus lem White wrote this book as a kind of atonement as well.” Claryss shut the book, then sighed heavily.
“Do you happen to know the identity of the person who tipped off the king?” Ashton asked. That unprovoked attack was what had set the whole thing off in the first place, and he’d noticed that Claryss hadn’t mentioned it.
“No, there’s nothing mentioned about that either. Maybe the author didn’t know himself. Either that, or he knew but deliberately neglected to mention it...”
The conversation trailed off into silence, which lasted until Olivia piped up cheerfully. “Claryss, Claudia, Ashton. Thank you for helping me with this. I was right to take the Valedstorm name.”
Claryss looked at her questioningly. “What do you mean by that?” she asked, but Olivia only told her not to worry. She stretched, her face radiant. Ashton wanted to hear more himself, but he wasn’t going to press it if Olivia didn’t want to talk about it. Everyone had their reasons, after all.
After leaving the library, the three of them wandered aimlessly through the streets.
“Just like that, it’s over. What are we going to do now?” Ashton asked, turning back to Claudia. She gave him a crooked smile.
“Yes, I thought it would take at least a few days,” she said. Olivia, who walked a few paces ahead of them, came to an abrupt halt.
“All right, then,” she said, “how about we go find something good to eat? It’s lunchtime.” Just as she suggested it, the bell tower rang out, striking the noontime hour. It was such perfect timing that Ashton grinned despite himself.
“Good idea,” he said. “All right, since we’re here, let’s check out the street stalls.”
“Street stalls! I love it!” Olivia agreed, delighted.
“Does that sound good to you, Lieutenant Claudia?”
“That sounds fine to me,” she said.
“And to me. I almost never get to eat at street stalls,” came a voice from behind them. They all whirled around to see a young man with handsome features, wearing a smile that revealed pearly white teeth.
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