CHAPTER 86: OFFICIAL DOCUMENT

The silence of Osiris Lawless’ office was broken by the loud knock on his door.

The head of the Investigation Authority sat behind his desk, quill scratching lazily over the parchment before him, the faint glow of wards lighting the room in pale orange.

His assistant slipped in quietly, bowing.

"My lord," the man said carefully, "you have a visitor."

Osiris did not look up. "I am not to be disturbed."

The assistant hesitated. "He bears official documents from the Royal Academy of Magic."

That made Osiris pause. Slowly, he set down his quill and leaned back, eyes narrowing. "Very well. Let him in."

The door opened wider, and in stepped a man Osiris recognized.

Tall, with broad shoulders, and the scars across his face that could tell a riveting story.

Professor Oliver. Combat Instructor of the Royal Academy. A man well known at the warfront.

His expression cool and serious as he walked into the office, his simple grey cloak standing out against the lavish robes of most officials who dared stand in Osiris’ office.

His eyes, a burning gold, locked onto Osiris without the smallest flicker of deference.

"Professor Oliver." Osiris said evenly, gesturing toward the chair opposite his desk. "To what do I owe the pleasure?"

Oliver did not sit. Instead, he produced a sealed scroll, bound with the Academy’s crest. He placed it on Osiris’ desk with deliberate calm.

"Official business, Lord Lawless." Oliver said. "By authority of the Principal and the Council of Professors of Camelot’s Royal Academy of Magic, Noah Webb is to be recalled immediately into the custody of the Academy. Effective at once."

Osiris blinked, his jaw clenching. He immediately reached for the scroll, broke the seal with a flick of his thumb, and scanned the contents.

The language was legal, and most importantly, airtight. The Academy was invoking its right of recall, a statute buried in the laws that governed the relationship between the Academy and the Crown.

His voice dropped lower, harder. "This boy is integral to an ongoing investigation, Professor. He is connected to the disappearance, and corruption, of Juniper Rowe."

He leaned forward, eyes narrowed. "Do you think I will simply hand him back to you because your Principal says so?"

Oliver didn’t break eye contact, his arms folded behind his back. "That is precisely what you will do." He said with the time of a man who already knew he had won.

"The statute is clear, Lord Lawless. Any student held by an external authority for longer than two months without conviction of a crime may be recalled by the Academy."

"Noah Webb is a student. A student of the Academy to be precise. It has been over two months. He has not been convicted of anything. I believe the law is very clear on what will and will not happen here. You are bound to release him."

Osiris let out a low chuckle, though there was no humor in it. "Conviction, you say? Okay, how about this?"

He raised his fingers and began counting. "Noah Webb is guilty of several crimes. Guilty of obstruction of justice, guilty of withholding information vital to the survival of this kingdom. I declare him convicted. There. The law bends to the needs of survival."

Oliver’s eyes hardened further, and for the first time, he stepped closer to the desk. His voice was cold as steel.

"Is that truly the path you wish to walk, Osiris? To fabricate a conviction? To trample the very laws you are sworn to uphold?"

The temperature in the room dropped.

"Do you believe the nobles, the Academy, the Crown itself, will turn a blind eye if word of this reaches them?"

The room grew quiet, each occupant running through the consequences of each action in their heads.

Osiris’ fingers drummed once against the armrest of his chair. His mind raced.

Noah was his. His experiment. His plaything. The boy had endured what no ordinary student could, and Osiris was certain he was close to uncovering something critical. Something extraordinary about Noah Webb.

He couldn’t just let the boy go like that. When else would he get his hands on something of this value? Something he could erase like he pleased?

But Oliver’s words were not idle. To fabricate a conviction, to defy an official recall from the Academy, would set fires he could not easily extinguish.

The Academy would not stay quiet. The High Magus would hear of it. And the nobles, especially Lord Rowe, who already seethed with rage, would seize upon it as proof of corruption.

Was Noah Webb worth it?

Osiris’ lips curled, frustration and reluctance warring across his face. For a long moment, the silence dragged, until finally, he sighed.

"This boy," Osiris said, his voice low, "is a thorn in my side. He is important to the truth. To the safety of this kingdom. But..." his gaze flicked down at the official recall order again, "you are right, Professor Oliver. This is not worth the consequences."

Oliver inclined his head slightly, his expression unchanged. "Then you will release him."

Osiris’ jaw clenched, but he nodded once. "Very well. You may have him back. For now."

A facsimile of a smile appeared on his face, and even Oliver blinked, unsettled by it.

"But mark my words, Oliver," Osiris’ lips pulled wider, "the moment that boy makes a single mistake, the moment he slips, I will be there to drag him back into the shadows where he belongs."

Oliver stared at him for a moment, then the faintest hint of a smile appeared on his face. "Then perhaps you should pray he never slips. Cause I heard something... interesting. About someone backing the kid."

He chuckled. "I wouldn’t be so eager if I were you."

He turned on his heel and strode towards the door, leaving the air heavy with tension.

Osiris sat back in his chair, fingers gripping the arms until the wood creaked. Hatred burned in his chest, directed not only at Oliver and his damned Principal, but at Noah Webb most of all.

"Enjoy your reprieve, boy." He muttered to the empty room. "But the laws of the world cannot be broken. The darkness always reclaims what belongs to it."