"Harold," Klein responded, frowning as he shuffled through his notes. "He's disappeared. I haven't seen him in classes, he doesn't come to the dormitory, and I have no idea where he is."
Feng Zhao, who was practicing partial manifestations of his serpent by the window, shrugged with evident disinterest. "So what? The guy was always creepy. Honestly, it's a relief not having him following us everywhere."
"You don't understand," Klein placed a hand on his chin, his lion briefly manifesting under his skin in response to his anxiety, golden fur rippling across his forearms. "Kassian specifically ordered me to look after him, help him adapt."
"Your brother and his projects," Astor closed his book with a sigh, the leather binding making a satisfying thump. "Always complicating everything."
"Harold never wanted to adapt," Feng added, the scales on his arms gleaming under the setting sun. "He just asked questions. About the academy, the professors, the mines... It was obvious he was gathering information for your brother."
"I know," Klein stood to pace around the room, his expensive boots making soft sounds against the polished floor. "And that never bothered me. I knew he was Kassian's lackey and would report everything we did. It was... expected. But now that he's disappeared..."
"Now you're in trouble," Astor completed, always direct, his serious expression unchanging.
"Exactly," Klein collapsed onto his bed, the silky sheets rustling beneath him. "If something happened to Harold, Kassian will blame me. Just what I need right now, with final exams approaching and after that disaster in the tournament."
The three friends had grown up together in Yano's aristocratic circles. Astor, from the ancient Blackwood house, and Feng, heir to the Zhaos, had been Klein's inseparable companions for as long as they could remember. They had attended the same tutoring sessions, learned to invoke together, and now shared the weight of enormous family expectations at the academy.
Their houses weren't as grand as Klein's...
But neither envied the additional pressure that came with being a Goldcrest, especially with a brother like Kassian.
"Maybe you should report it to the administration," suggested Astor, always the most sensible of the three.
"And admit I lost someone under my responsibility?" Klein shook his head, his golden hair catching the light. "Kassian would kill me."
"So what's your plan then?" asked Feng, dissipating the scales from his arms with a subtle shimmer. "Wait for him to magically appear?"
Klein heard someone knocking at his door...
"Didn't I say not to disturb me?" he growled from his bed, his fangs partially manifesting in response to his irritation, sharp points slowly pressing against his lower lip.
"Lord Klein, I'm very sorry, but..." the servant's voice sounded unusually nervous.
'A strangely familiar situation...' Klein thought.
The door opened before the servant could finish his apology.
"Kassian?" his older brother's name escaped as a surprised whisper.
"Speak of the abyss(Devil)," Astor murmured, straightening instinctively.
"I see you're still Iron rank. Time is running out, little brother," Kassian Goldcrest, at twenty-two, emanated an authority that made even some professors carefully choose their words in his presence. His immaculate appearance, from his perfectly tailored uniform to his precisely styled hair, spoke of a person who accepted nothing less than perfection.
Without waiting for an invitation, Kassian entered the room, nodding briefly toward the other two. "Astor, Feng. As inseparable as ever, I see."
"Kassian," both responded almost in unison, with the formal respect demanded in the presence of the Goldcrest second heir.
"To what do I owe the honor?" Klein tried to maintain a light tone, but the tension in his voice was evident.
"Harold," Kassian went straight to the point, as always. "He hasn't reported in days, considerably outside his usual schedule."
Klein exchanged a quick glance with his friends before responding. "Ah, yes. We were just talking about that. He seems to have... disappeared."
Kassian's smile didn't reach his eyes, creating an unsettling contrast. "Disappeared? How nice. The person I specifically asked you to watch over simply... vanished?"
"It's not like I lost him intentionally," Klein defended himself, his lion partially manifesting in response to stress. "He was here, then he stopped showing up. I thought perhaps..."
"You thought?" Kassian arched an eyebrow, his voice dripping with sarcasm. "That would be novel, Klein. No, you didn't think. As usual."
From across the room, Feng Zhao and Astor Blackwood observed the exchange in silence. Both knew better than to intervene when one Goldcrest brother confronted another.
"I thought he was reporting directly to you about my affairs as always," Klein defended again. "He was your... whatever he was. Your spy, I suppose."
"He wasn't a spy," Kassian responded too quickly, his composed demeanor briefly slipping. "He was a family guest who needed guidance."
Feng and Astor exchanged discreet glances. Both had noticed how strange Harold was from the beginning, with that military rigidity and his way of observing everything as if cataloging information. There had always been something off about him, something that didn't quite fit.
"He was in all your classes," Kassian continued, each word laden with reproach. "He was supposed to be your responsibility."
"I've been busy," Klein protested, though he knew it sounded weak even to his own ears. "The tournament, the final challenges, exam preparation..."
"Busy?" Kassian stepped closer, his voice dropping to a dangerous whisper that sent a chill through the room. "So busy that you didn't notice someone under your care disappeared for days?"
Klein involuntarily shrank back. His older brother had always had that effect on him, the ability to make him feel small with just a few words.
"Perhaps he's sick," suggested Astor, risking speaking up. "Or maybe he was assigned to another dormitory. Things have been... hectic lately."
The look Kassian directed at him was glacial.
"Such friendship," Kassian commented. "And will these bootlickers manage to defeat Luna in the finals this time?"
Klein blushed intensely, the memory of his defeat still stinging. "They are loyal and talented. Both will reach Bronze rank soon."
"I'm sure they will," Kassian responded with barely disguised disdain. Then, returning to the topic that truly mattered to him: "I still don't understand how you could lose Harold."
"I didn't lose him," Klein protested. "I just... don't know where he is."
"That is literally the definition of losing something," Kassian sighed with exasperation, pinching the bridge of his nose. "When was the last time you saw him? Did you talk about anything important?"
Klein tried to remember. Harold had been a constant but discreet presence, always asking questions about the academy, its professors, the mines beneath the building... Nothing too suspicious considering he was new.
"He left me training and went away the day of the false alarm," he finally recalled. "We were told there was an abyssal attack from the mines again but in the end it was a false alarm."
Something changed in Kassian's expression, a flash of genuine concern quickly masked. "The mines? When was that exactly?"